Jackson Jambalaya

He's absolutely right. They are rewarded by finding drunk drivers and then given such latitude that they can define anyone as DUI regardless of the legal limits. It's ridiculous. I went through a road block recently courtesy of MHP where the officer had his breathalyzer out and in his hand while checking licenses. They're aim is to keep that funding source when it should be to enforce the law. Most of these guys would be bagging groceries or cutting my yard if they weren't in law enforcement, and they're taught that they ARE the law and to be assholes.

Before any zealots start ranting about how great the DUI laws are, pay attention to this statement in the article:

Who in their right mind is not against drunk driving? But in the process of accomplishing this good, the system has turned into an unfair, unconstitutional, money-making machine for government.

It's kind of hard to respect someone's position on a subject if they can't even agree to fairness and legitimate legal methods.

What gets me is the silly questions that don't deserve to be answered (and won't be by me), like, "What's that in your mouth?, You been drankin'?, Where are you headed?, Where you been at this hour?, What's in that sack?, etc. It's hard to resist answering 'none of your F*ing business!'

Easy solution stop drinking and driving . Designated Driver .

If you are not breaking the law why would you need a designated driver?

This kind of crap cost my family $2800 this summer. HP officer at a late night road block did not test my son, no breath test, no blood test, nothing but his hunch. Wrote him a DUI ticket.

HP did not show up for court, so case dismissed. But I am still out the $2800 all because some HP officer "thought" my son was driving drunk at a road block.

If your not drunk nothing to worry about

If you drink don't drive do the watermelon crawl. Simple as it gets.

Read the article and comments hardliners. 20% not intoxicated or guilty of anything other that driving while an over-zealous officer is bored. The point is clearly that if you are not drunk you do have something to worry about.

Nobody is in favor of drunk drivers.

Why would an unsubstantiated charge of drunk driving cost you $2800 if the issuing officer did not appear? Oh, perhaps you got an attorney. Musta been a cheap assed attorney. Most start at 10K.

This notion of "If you ain't drainkin' you got nuthin to worry about' is bullshit. We're talking here about zealous, over-reaching, boisterous, testosterone laced 27 year old jerks anxious to tap a baton on someone's head.

Listen up people. I am a retired police officer, so let me tell you why I retired as soon as I could and why I did not let the door hit me in the ass on the way out.
I took on a career in Law Enforcement because i wanted to rid the world of criminals and make the world a better place for all of us to live in.
For the longest time it was great, and the priority was to protect and serve the public.
But a few years ago, things drastically changed. It was no longer about protecting and serving the public, but it was about being pressured to write tickets and make arrest.
You see, the majority of money for the traffic tickets and the fines for arrest made goes into the city's or states general fund, depending on which agency it is.
There is a so called " special breakfast " every year where the Governor of Mississippi meets with every Law Enforcement officer in the State of Mississippi who has written 100 or more D.U.I.'S. This is called the " 100 club ". These officers are then awarded a paper certificate and a lapel pin to wear on their uniforms that say
" 100 club ". If this does not encourage quotas ( which are illeagle ), then I do not know what does.

Why is this such a touchy issue? As Emmerich stated - no one should drive impaired. But to ignore the racket this has become is foolish. Is there an easy answer - no. But the only solution is to air the problem and perhaps have the police get in some heat for bad arrests. If they were not incentivized to cross the line, perhaps they could focus on detecting the many truly impaired that are driving and not waste countless hours on bad stops/arrests.

It is the politicians who control how the money is spent from the general funds. So this is why the Mayors, Governors, ( or whoever )
tell the top Law Enforcement officials in their cities or state to make their personnel write more and more tickets.
Do you really think that when the Highway Patrol, Municipal or county Law Enforcement agencies have their little ( click it or ticket ) roadblocks that they care about you or anyone else ? No, they do not. But they make tons of money from all the suspended licenses, expired car tags, expired inspection stickers, and anything else that is a violation.
Dont get me wrong, dangerous traffic violators need to be ticketed because they kill by causing accidents, and the drunks need to be taken off the roadways because they do kill innocent people.
But when Law Enforcements priority is no longer to protect and serve the people because politicians turn their agencies into a money making entity, then innocent people will suffer, and this is unacceptable.
This is why I was so damn glad to get out of this career field.

Well I do D.U.I by the law and money has nothing to do with it on my end .

Then you are an honorable professional 6:31. It is no fault of yours that the politicians have perverted our Law Enforcement system to try and make a dollar by screwing innocent civilians over.
But when officers are pressured and told that they need to write more tickets and make more arrest instead of patrolling neighborhoods or businesses, then this is a dis-service to the public.
And we both know that when officers are pressured to write more tickets and make more arrest, then this is putting quantity over quality, and the chances of an innocent person getting arrested or getting ticketed are by far greater.

6:10 and 6:25:
Thanks for the honest service you provided in putting a priority on serving the citizens. There is a severe swing towards guilty until proven innocent (so the local governments can generate revenue). I feel for you both and admire your honesty and integrity to retire from all of that BS and run. Yet, you were the ones on the side of the innocent peeps, and it is sad that we don't have you on our side now.

The judge in Ridgeland and the judges in Rankin Co find the accused guilty at the first court hearing--no exceptions. If you want to prove your innocence, you have to hire an attorney and appeal. It doesn't matter if your your BAC is under the legal limit--or if you were even tested. If you get arrested for DUI, you will be found guilty, and you have to get an attorney and appeal.

I do not know about other LE but all MHP roadblocks are special funded so each trooper there is making extra money being there. Each Troop Station has a board in its meeting room listing how many have written DUI's and discuss it with those who do not write a lot. You can go on the MHP website today and open the monthly newsletter and it list the top MHP DUI givers. The tickets/fines bring in local and state monies so everyone is making money when someone gets a DUI and ecouraging more.

As an officer I have seen alot of injustices done to people , but I have seen this job become a for profit thing to some extent .

I'm so glad Law Enforcement Officers are verifying
what most citizens have known all along.

In Ridgeland, Madison, and Rankin : it's not about getting drunks/addicts off the road.

( which we all agree is a good thing )

It's all about money for said county / municipality.

Then we have MHP .

If they will cheat on internal promotional tests , ...
well, ....draw your own conclusions about ANY citation they may issue to an innocent driver.

3:29 If you use mouthwash or you are exposed to chemicals, such as paint, cleaning agents, etc., then you should worry. Exposure to chemicals will throw the breathalyzer test off. So when you end up in jail, have to make bail, pay to get your car out of impound, and have to hire an attorney to appeal your guilty verdict, you may be singing another tune. After paying $2000 plus for trying to prove you did nothing wrong, suffering the public humiliation of being falsely accused, and found guilty without the opportunity to defend your innocence on the first go around, you will see the light. Just wait..it will happen to you, a member of your family, and/or your teenage child. When you are out $2000+ (that you will never recover) to prove innocence, please let us know if you feel the same way.

I agree. It is not the hard working officers ( Highway patrol, county, or municipality ) who are causing this. These honorable officers do their best to get the real drunks and druggies off the roadways to keep us safe.
But a lot of these officers are being pressured ( ordered )by the " Top Cops " of their agencies to bring in more dollars by making arrest and tickets the priority.
To protect and serve the public is a thing of the past. It is all about the money now, just as everything else is.
The politicians get away with this because they hide behind the fact that the public point their finger at Law Enforcement for doing this, and not the " Fat Cat ) politicians who are really behind it.

The decent law enforcement officers are forced to go against their morals. Imagine the psychological impact they are dealing with--and at the same time dealing with true criminals. The law enforcement peeps that only care about themselves will eat shit and convince themselves the turd is a caramel apple to get a promotion.

6:31
Please elaborate on your interpretation of "by the law." Please cite your policies, procedures, and the statutes you abide by. Hyperlinks are much appreciated.

9:00 you can find everything you need at mscode.com . Never pulled anyone over without probable cause .

SEC. 63-11-30. Operation of vehicle while under influence of intoxicating liquor, drugs or controlled substances, or other substances impairing ability to operate vehicle or with blood alcohol concentrations above specified levels; penalties generally; granting of hardship driving privileges; penalties for violations resulting in death, disfigurement, etc., of another; penalties for multiple offenses; concurrent running of suspensions.

I live in a college town, and the students quickly learn that the police here are not their friends. The students are a cash cow for the local PD and the PD presence is concentrated in the areas frequented by students. Many students walk home from the bars only to be arrested for public drunkenness. My student (female) was pulled over for not using the blinker to turn right. A field sobriety test ensued which she passed. The officer took it a step further and had her blow....she was barely over the limit (so he said). She was taken to the local jail and since it was full, she was to be taken to a jail in a neighboring county. My student was hysterical and I was hysterical. I was finally told to bring $800 cash (this was at midnight) to the local jail and they would release her to me. There was the expense of DUI
school, a lawyer, spiked insurance rates, court fines. After graduating and interviewing for her first real job, guess what showed up on the background check....you guessed it. It was a nightmare that never seemed to end. It was a hard lesson for all of us, but my college student did learn from her mistake. I still have a bitter taste in my mouth.

7:11pm: "The judge in Ridgeland and the judges in Rankin Co find the accused guilty at the first court hearing--no exceptions."

That's bull. I've personally witnessed "the judge in Ridgeland" toss cases. I've also seen him tear off into an officer on a BS case. As to Rankin, if the case ends up in County Court, the defendant will get a fair trial. The County Court Judge will dismiss a case if the evidence isn't there.

Next lets discuss the other half of the ripoff, the lawyers who hawk themselves in DUI commercials and charge 10K and all they do is question the officer's knowledge of the testing mechanisms.

There has not been a significant drop in alcohol related fatalities since MADD campaigned to reduce the BAC to .08 in 2000.

And, it should be noted that only about one third of automobile fatalities are alcohol related.

It is impossible to prove that ticketing or BAC has been a factor in the reduction of alcohol related fatalities. It is reasonable to deduce that alcohol awareness programs , designated driver campaigns,changes in high schools re: prom nights etc and making selling liquor to the underaged more difficult has worked.

Indeed, it is reasonable because it's the alcohol related deaths of drivers under 21 that has shown the drop. The incidence of alcohol related fatalities in adults over 21 hasn't changed significantly since MADDs creation because alcoholism percentages among adults over 21 don't change significantly. And, even taking a license won't keep an alcoholic out of a car.

MADD has been successful, but now they have to create " issues" where none exist to perpetuate their existence. How else will they continue to raise funds? And, those who have benefited from MADDs success in increasing DUI tickets/arrests will continue to support any effort MADD suggests, however baseless.

I applaud Wyatt for taking this on.

Law enforcement should be focused on reducing the MAJORITY of fatalities which are unrelated to alcohol.

What if the highway patrol would begin enforcing the 'window tint' laws? It's not a stretch to suggest many of those vehicles are owned by druggies and probably contain drugs as well as illegal weapons.

http://www.dps.state.ms.us/dps/dps.nsf/webpages/PublicSafetyPlanning_100-300DuisClub?OpenDocument

Late to the party here, but the very first comment on this thread is dead on. Way too much of our law enforcement has no business near a badge or a gun. And yes, officer, I'll take care of my own property and family. It will all be over before I have time to call 911.

The Orwellian thought police are everywhere, usually disguised as heroes doing the Lord's work. Be careful what you give up in the name of safety, because you will always wind up with a power hungry asshole that really likes his job.

Curt: Did those cases in Ridgeland occur before or after Officer Soto got booted from Ridgeland PD? Prior to Soto's booting... I personally when with my friend to get her son's car out of impound and accompanied her to the courthouse to speak with a clerk. She was told that the judge always convicts at the first hearing. I was there, and I heard it first-hand.