"Professional Courtesy" in police departments, why aren't police being held accountable when they break the law?

To get an idea of how far professional courtesy has gone in infecting our system of traffic safety enforcement, just Google "professional courtesy police" and you'll find a wealth of reading matter about when if ever law enforcement officers should apply the same traffic penalties to colleagues as they do to civilians.

Professional courtesy is a lively topic of discussion on police forums such as PoliceOne.com, where officers heatedly debate such topics as whether police who drive drunk should receive the same courtesy as other offenders.

"You are either an [expletive deleted] traffic cop or a civilian …" wrote someone with the handle Ronin. "It's perspective, boys and girls, in the grand scheme it's traffic. Nothing more than a revenue generator for the idiot politicians to spend on yet another failed social program. Cops should not write other cops, whether that cop is a new boot, salted veteran, or retired with Wyatt Earp."

What the reply shows is not only a disdain for ethics but for a large part of the body of law officers are sworn to enforce. It also exposes a contempt for fellow officers who take traffic duty – one of the most dangerous and necessary assignments in police work — seriously.

These attitudes are no secret to civilians. The National Motorists Association is a fringe group that essentially opposes all traffic law enforcement. Here's what its president, James Baxter, had to say:

"For as long as traffic laws have been enforced there has been professional courtesy among police officers. Cops don't give tickets to other cops. Why is that? If these laws have merit and it's to everyone's benefit that these laws be obeyed why aren't the enforcers held accountable?"


Link:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/commuting/bs-md-dresser-getting-there-02-09-20110204,0,353880.story