For you PBA holders out there....

It really depends on who/what/where/how you get pulled over....If your speeding...and Highway 1 gets you...most likely the PBA card will do nothing....same with State Police...Westchester County etc.
If you get stopped by NYPD...the window sticker near your registration/inspection should at least merit a "who do you know"....be polite..and dont act like you expect to get let off because of it...be appreciative.
That has always worked for me...especially with my State Police credentials...
Good Luck
S

 

Do you mean minibadge that has 'NYPD' stamped where a shield # would be? If you have one of these get a badge wallet (Junior's Police Equipment on E21st or ebay for twice as much if you're lazy) and - this applies if you have both, or just the PBA card - when you open your wallet to produce your ID you casually display the mini which should solicit 'who do you know', and/or keep the PBA card behind your license so you hand him both together, stacked. He'll either laugh or give you a break

Don't convey that you expect any break while doing this, that usually works opposingly.

 

I second the wallet approach: mine has the mini shield on one side and the card(s) in the clear window in front of my license on the other side. I never say anything about them but make sure that the officer/trooper can see them as I remove the license. On the one or two occasions where I've held the wallet quite close or turned away from them (way out of home territory so didn't think it was worth showing the creds) they've spotted the badge anyway and asked about it.
I never say anything about it until asked and I never ever ever have even a hint of an attitude about expecting anything.
It is truly amazing how polite and friendly most LEOs are with this approach - to the extent that several have apologized for "bothering" me! Gotta love it.
Also, the emblem on the car has on at least one occasion saved me from even being stopped when they've caught it in their lights.

 

I have a wallet that says officers brother on it in gold letters with a spot to place the shield in the middle, on the other side is the pba card with his shield number on the front, his name and precinct on the back. Haven't been pulled over so never really got to use it, but my sister who has been pulled over said that the cop let her go once he saw it, she did a "California Roll" at a stop sign.

If you have one of those pba cards with no shield number on it, you're just going to get laughed at. I wouldn't even try using one of those. Also, I second the stig. Never slap it in their face, just flash it while you pull out your license from the back of the card.

 

how do you get one to begin with?

 

The minis? You can get a generic (i.e. w.out a shield #) off ebay that usually says NYPD e.g., but those hold little weight esp compared to a mini dupe that a LEO has made of his badge that has the # on the mini instead of 'NYPD'. Not only that but when a LEO asks you 'who do you know' and you bullshmidt him - and he asks you to get your 'buddy' on the phone - you'll be doing some 'esplainin.

 

I just put my PBA card on my forehead and act like it's not there.

Also, remember to ask the officer to NOT look in your trunk. That way, they won't waste their time. Or yours.

Frequently mention that you pay their salary -- and always, always, always act really fidgety. They love that.

Oh, and bonus points for not turning your car off, telling them to "hurry up", reminding them that you make in an hour what they make in a year, that you know the mayor and will have them fired, and when they ask where your front plate is, throw it at them.

It also helps to have empty beer cans in the passenger seat (Schlitz or Pabst -- cops are trained to look for those brands), rolling papers in plain sight, spent shell casings on the floor, and a lot of wadded up $20 dollar bills in your pocket as you fumble for your license.

I've got a few other pointers, but you can read them in my book:

Ridicule The Cop and Never Get a Citation, Scofflaw Edition

Available wherever idiots shop. (Best Buy)

 

C'mon Emil, you know that someone's going to think that you're serious!!!!

 

I guess 35mm film cans have kind of gone out of style eh?



(okay, for those too young to remember, a film can visible in the car used to constitute probable cause for a search in the suspicious
minds of certain members of the law enforcement profession)

 

Police usually will give a "break" to immediate family members..i.e. brother, sister, mother, father, wife, child of a Police Officer. If you give a break to everyone who says I know...... there would be no reason to have Police because in some way shape or form, everyone knows a Police Officer. And if you are an immediate family member, present all of the required information the Officer requests, be honest about what you did and then mention who you know along the lines of.."I should have known better my _____ is a Police Officer." "He/She is going to kill me." Don't ever expect a break because of who you know because being cocky and expecting a break, will get you a ticket and a hefty one at that, plus a phone call to who you know who is a cop.

Some Police are still just a-holes. I am an Officer and my wife was pulled over by the State Police for, get this, being on her cell phone. Well when she mentioned that her husband was an Officer, the big hat pulled a power trip and gave her a ticket. So goes to show you, even a cops wife can't catch a break sometimes.

good luck! and remember, ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL!!!!

 

There's one in every department. Someone I know is the wife of a state trooper. She was speeding on the road that leads to her development while heading home in response to a call about a medical emergency. She refused to stop and proceeded to her home where she was confronted by an extremely angry local officer with his weapon drawn screaming at her. She screamed right back. He called for backup, she called her husband. Local chief shows up and gets things calmed down. She demands that they wait until her husband arrives, they decline the invitation and leave.
The state trooper is coming down the main road, sees the local car, turns around, pursues the local and pulls him over. An angry confrontation takes place. An apology is demanded from the local police department and the end result is a letter in the local officer's permanent record and a written apology to the woman I know.
Yes, she was wrong not to stop but the biggest problem in the situation was the ego of the local officer.

 

you guys actually pull over?

 

Not always -sometimes I just wave, shrug my shoulders and keep going. Yes it has worked.

One time I did stop, asked the officer what the problem was, told him I didn't much care for his driving either... he looked at me dumbfounded, turned around and walked back to his car and left.