Thread: FOP plates and Thin Blue Line Stickers

Not to get too high on my soap box....but....today I was stuck in traffic and was passed on the right, on a one lane road by a gold dodge intrepid with FOP plates. The occupant was a younger woman and what looked like a tween daughter in the passenger seat.

I am not a perfect driver, just ask my wife, that said I don't advertise who I am...nothing pisses me off more than an idiot making it known they are a cop whilst they are doing stupid shit. Its hard enough to keep everything on the straight and narrow, we don't need douche bags advertising their affiliation and further jading public perception.

Anyway, its likely this was a spouse and I am all for being proud of what you do...just be cognizant that people see you.

End rant.

And before you say they could be going C2.5 in a POV....they pulled into a shopping center just up the road.

Personally I don't understand why anyone puts police officer type identification on their vehicle. Greater chance of being broken into, vandalism, etc, etc.

nothing pisses me off more than an idiot making it known they are a cop whilst they are doing stupid shit.

Ditto.

Of course, I think anyone with an FOP license plate or a thin blue line sticker is an idiot, anyway; regardless how they drive. Might as well have a sticker that says "please shoot me" - or to a much less serious extent - "please dick with my car." Cops are routinely sought out and executed by dirtbags just for BEING cops. You would think we would all know better by now.

Letting your WIFE drive around in a vehicle so clearly marked as being owned by a LEO? Just unfathomable.

Driven around NoVa recently? Thin blue lines abound...even saw someone with a police K9 sticker and gun stickers. Not to mention, I remember going out with probation guys a couple of times and laughing at the number of people we hooked up that had FOP stickers on their cars in the driveway.

Works the other way as well though...was stuck in traffic a number of months ago behind a patched motorcycle club guy. I had enough time to look up the club on wikipedia....

I agree flagging your status as a LEO is not a smart thing to do...but I would not call them idiots either...just my .02...it seems that most of these LEO's are fairly new in our field, probably 2 to 4 year wonders...I think we all can agree that when we were 2 year wonders we did some not smart things...I call that being a Rookie or Probi or Boot, but not idiot...

I call that being a Rookie or Probi or Boot, but not idiot...

I don't think the FOP plates, stickers etc...are idiotic "per se", though you will never see one on my car. What is idiotic is doing stupid things and being recognizable.

Please feel free to do what you like...take jumps, go upside down, have at it...but please don't bring my profession down with you.

Thanks....

Letting your WIFE drive around in a vehicle so clearly marked

What can you do?

[QUOTE=Sandles2Sidearm;530550]I don't think the FOP plates, stickers etc...are idiotic "per se", though you will never see one on my car. What is idiotic is doing stupid things and being recognizable.

Please feel free to do what you like...take jumps, go upside down, have at it...but please don't bring my profession down with you.

Thanks....QUOTE]

I agree 100%

Originally Posted by Kegan30317

Personally I don't understand why anyone puts police officer type identification on their vehicle. Greater chance of being broken into, vandalism, etc, etc.

The PBA shield is on with suction cups in good areas, not that it does any good, and it comes off in bad areas.

Good marker for folks breaking into cars to look for guns.

I don't give out cards any more. Again, no respect, and in many cases they get misused when the simple solution to problems is to drive prudently.

The other thing that bothers me is being out in public and seeing an obvious rookie wearing clothing with agency/fraternal organization logos and poorly concealed hardware. They invariably get an attitude when you tell them their colors are showing.

Originally Posted by rzaruba

The other thing that bothers me is being out in public and seeing an obvious rookie wearing clothing with agency/fraternal organization logos and poorly concealed hardware. They invariably get an attitude when you tell them their colors are showing.

When I see then, all I do is smile...how about the LEO off duty wearing 5.11 pants!!!...is hilarious...not so long ago I put together a training iretation for my unit, that required us to train downtown among civilians going about their business, I told the guys to dress down, so we could blend in...I told them no cargo pants, no desert boot or LE working boots, no polos with logos, etc...it was summer and it was very hot, so I encouraged the guys to wear flip flops and cargo shorts, t-shirts (this is a coastal city)...so, here comes training day and everyone is dressed accordingly, with exception of one of the guys, who dressed in 5.11 pants, 5.11 summer short sleeve shirt (tucked in), nylon and velcro belt and Oakley tan boots....so, I asked him "Hey .... was up with your 5.11 uniform? I put out specific instructions...his relpy was "This is my off duty wear, Sir"...I laughed my arse off...this guy honestly wears 5.11 gear while off duty...so, I nicknamed him "Federal Fred"....

The other "look at me I'm a LEO" thing...is to use the credential and badge wallet as the personal wallet...

Most folks can't distinguish 5.11 gear (i.e. pants) from any other types of clothes. To many civilians 5.11 pants simply look like ordinary cargo pants.

Thin Blue Line stickers? Most don't know what that is either. I had to explain it to carload of relatives when I was behind a car that had one.

Originally Posted by g6445v

The other "look at me I'm a LEO" thing...is to use the credential and badge wallet as the personal wallet...

A PITA.

I have retired creds and a retired shield. They are in my safe deposit box.

What I wear under my shirt around my neck in a credit card holder on a chain, is my DHS retired ID, my firearms related stuff, and my DL. Everything I need.

No bulges, no back pain from ham hock wallets and cred cases.

Originally Posted by Chaser199

Most folks can't distinguish 5.11 gear (i.e. pants) from any other types of clothes. To many civilians 5.11 pants simply look like ordinary cargo pants.

Thin Blue Line stickers? Most don't know what that is either. I had to explain it to carload of relatives when I was behind a car that had one.

you'll be surprised what the populace know, my friend...just google 5.11 or thin blue line sticker...

Originally Posted by g6445v

you'll be surprised what the populace know, my friend...just google 5.11 or thin blue line sticker...

Well I do have a pretty good idea of what an ordinary Joe Blow usually knows. Cargo pants are just that and a thin blue line sticker is just another sticker that he has no idea as to what it is. Mind you, when I refer to Joe Blow citizen, I am not referring to Joe "I've been arrested 16 times" Blowser.

One can Google anything, but how is Emma from Iowa or Ernie from North Dakota going to know that, "Hey, That's Thin Blue Line' sticker," or "Those are '5.11' pants, lemme Google that to find out what that means."

I carry my badge/creds wallet as a personal wallet. Nobody touches it but me, and I don't go around "accidentally" flipping open the badge cover. I can fully open it to access my license, credit cards, cash, etc., and to everybody else it looks just like a normal wallet.

Now I have seen guys who use a creds case as a wallet, and maybe that's what you're talking about with the "look at me" thing, because there's no real way to open the ones I've seen without showing your shield and/or id.