We all know or suspect that police get treated differently than other motorists on the roadways. Locally there have been several recent scandals about this:
Recently a Bellevue Police Officer, Andy Hanke, was allowed to call his wife after being pulled over for DUI (KOMO News). He eventually resigned from his police department. This was Hanke's second issue, having previously been disciplined for unruly behavior at a Seahawks game after which he admitted to driving home under the influence. He was prosecuted for DUI in the Issaquah Municipal Court, yet they were only able to secure a Negligent Driving conviction.
In 2011 A Seattle Police officer, Scott Moss, was arrested for a second time for DUI (King 5). The trooper that stopped him claimed that he could not give him a portable breath test, due to his "battery being dead" on his PBT, and only gave the officer one of the normal three standardized field sobriety tests. The trooper also took several hours to get the officer to an evidentiary breath test, at a nearby police department. This time delay resulted in tests totaling .069 and .075 - below the legal limit of .08. The case was later dismissed by the court.
Most recently there was a story in the news about speed enforcement, and the Washington State Patrol. (Q13Fox) Apparently, a convoy of police officers were making their way through the Wenatchee area, speeding at 20 MPH over the posted speed limit, even weaving in and out of traffic at one point. Officers in an airplane noticed the speed, but officers on the ground refused to stop the reckless drivers, noting that they were driving unmarked police vehicles.
There definitely seems to be a different standard for civilian motorists, versus police officers!
Comments
John Tymczyszyn Reply
Posted Oct 11, 2014 at 20:07:39
I agree with you Keith! It seems like the state of Washington has a double-standard when it comes to enforcing the law!
Keith Hall Reply
Posted Dec 18, 2014 at 16:22:30
Thanks for your comment John!
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