Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

We still have time to mess this up!

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

T R E 4 5 O N

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Everybody saw this coming.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Criminal Justice / Shitty Cops / I Bet Eric Garner Wishes He Got Just One of These

I Bet Eric Garner Wishes He Got Just One of These

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Thug life:

The city’s police-officers union is cracking down on the number of “get out of jail free” courtesy cards distributed to cops to give to family and friends.

Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association boss Pat Lynch slashed the maximum number of cards that could be issued to current cops from 30 to 20, and to retirees from 20 to 10, sources told The Post.

The cards are often used to wiggle out of minor trouble such as speeding tickets, the theory being that presenting one suggests you know someone in the NYPD.

Damn it’s good to be a gangster.

Reader Interactions

58Comments

  1. 1.

    Gravenstone

    Semi-serious question, are the cards confiscated at time of presentation? Because, if not – then they just serve as incentive for the “connected” to be scofflaw dicks, building to worse and worse behavior knowing they will get a free pass.

    And yes, the cops getting bent out of shape over the proposal shows just how spoiled and insular the “thin blue line” has gotten. They think themselves, and those they choose to be apart from the society at large.

  5. 5.

    The Moar You Know

    Holy crap. This is a real thing? How can this be a real thing?

    @Anacreon: Seconded. How the fuck is that even possible? HOW THE FUCK IS THAT LEGAL?

    I wasn’t looking for even more reasons to leave the country and never come back today, but damn if this isn’t a good one. That is straight-up corrupt bullshit right there.

  7. 7.

    Mike in NC

    Always wondered if those PBA or state police bumper stickers were a way to get out of getting handed a speeding or parking ticket. The county sheriff solicits donations by mail and phone and I ignore them.

  12. 12.

    LAO

    @Gravenstone: I can actually answer this. Years ago I successfully represented a NYPD sergeant and got one of these cards from him. There is a place on the back for the officer to write in his cellphone number. Since I am the most law abiding citizen, I never though I’d use. Then one day, I pulled an illegal U-turn on Park Avenue South and was pulled over. I used the card. The officer took the card. He went to his cruiser and called the Sgt. 10 minutes later he came back to the car, handed me my license and the card back. He was laughing — and he said, in sum and substance, Sgt X told me to return the card to you because the infraction was to minor to waste the card. He let me go, without even a warning.

    ETA: I should note, the cards are individualized with the officer shield number on them.

  13. 13.

    Brachiator

    The city’s police-officers union is cracking down on the number of “get out of jail free” courtesy cards distributed to cops to give to family and friends.

    Do they say “These are not the droids you’re looking for…”

  14. 14.

    zattarra

    Grew up in NYC. This is real. Got me, my family, my buddies out of many a speeding ticket. Heck, we illegally cut off a cop at 1:00AM once, he followed us across the Brooklyn Bridge to ticket us and let us walk when he saw the PBA card in my buddies wallet. You get the card back. I knew so many cops back in the neighborhood I was turning down cards. Oh yeah it’s a thing.

  18. 18.

    ruemara

    Vomit. This should never even be a thing. How does this work with equal justice under the law?! Fucking hell.

  20. 20.

    John Revolta

    Back in Chicago back in the day, my father had a decal on his windshield that had some Saint on it that performed this function. I don’t know where he got it but we had an Uncle (Lou the Law) who was a cop so………………….

  21. 21.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    From reading on some police forums (for whatever that is worth) it is uncommon nowadays for these cards to be used, aside from places like NYC apparently. About an hour ago I saw what looked like a sheriff’s shield attached to a rear license plate. Don’t know if that’s a similar thing.

  22. 22.

    Yarrow

    the theory being that presenting one suggests you know someone in the NYPD.

    Some criminals are more equal than others.

  23. 23.

    Gelfling 545

    @Gravenstone: No. at least not here. It’s typically the cop’s business card. You hand it to the police with your identification; they hand it all back. My daughters had their father’s card. It got them out of some minor traffic tickets. Don’t know how it works on more serious offences.

  24. 24.

    bystander

    Serving on the Port Authority of NY/NJ entitles one and one’s family to free bridge and tunnel fare for life. Corruption and graft are deeply ingrained in NY politics. Boss Tweed’s passing was but a blip.

  25. 25.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Starfish: Heck no. I had some close calls with 911s because I didn’t know how to handle them. I borrowed a GT3 at track day last year and it carved nicely, but I still never felt comfortable in it.

  26. 26.

    SWMBO

    @Yarrow: Wasn’t there a thing about New York’s Finest Taxi Service once upon a time? I’m vaguely remembering it as rich people getting through traffic in the back of a squad car or something.

  28. 28.

    rm

    Holy crap, I thought I wasn’t naive.

    There was a plotline like this on Gotham, where Penguin was giving out licenses to commit certain crimes, and the police let them go if they had a license.

  29. 29.

    Amir Khalid

    I’ve come across the name Pat Lynch before. 18 years ago he was the PBA president, if that’s the right title, who called Bruce Springsteen some choice names for writing and performing American Skin (41 Shots), about the unjustifiable police shooting of Amadou Diallo — even though the song never actually directs blame at the cops. Nice to see he’s still in that job.

  30. 30.

    VeniceRiley

    I have one of my brother’s fireman jacket patches right in the driver’s corner of my windshield. Couldn’t hurt.

  31. 31.

    Ruckus

    Decades ago I had a business card from a cop friend, whose brother, also a friend, was a coke dealer. I think the cop didn’t actually know his brother was a dealer. Also in the LA area a lot of people have license plate frame with the radio call sign of the sheriffs department. Not sure this works.

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is the largest and one of the oldest municipal police departments in the United States, with approximately 36,000 officers and 18,000 civilian employees. Source

    36,000 × 20 = 720,000 cards.

    Add in the gross number of cards from retirees and we are at well over a million.

  36. 36.

    Barbara

    Why should they get any? If I were obsessed with this, anytime I got a ticket or some other minor offense I would defend on the basis of equal protection that ANY CITIZEN is subject to different laws than any other citizen. Seriously, this really is outrageous.

  38. 38.

    Peale

    Chalk me up to the idiot who thought this was actually a myth. I know the cops near me will let off relatives of police, and get them handicapped parking permits without all the necessary paperwork. I’ve witnessed that myself when a friend got pulled over for having illegally tinted windows. But I didn’t know there were actual cards specifically for friends and relatives. If that really exists, I’m fine with it, I guess. We can just reduce their pension payments accordingly.

    ETA: actually, this sounds like a benefit that should be tracked and taxes paid on it, especially for retirees. The police should have the value of the ticket that would have been paid taxed as income.

  39. 39.

    Adria McDowell

    @ChrisS: Can confirm. And those stickers help you wiggle out of stuff as well. Seen it happen in NYS.

    One of my friends growing up had a dad that was a NYS trooper (a detective). Kid got pulled over for going too slow. Then they realized who my friend’s dad was, rolled their eyes and laughed at my friend, and told him to drive the actual speed limit.

  40. 40.

    Yarrow

    @Peale:

    this sounds like a benefit that should be tracked and taxes paid on it, especially for retirees. The police should have the value of the ticket that would have been paid taxed as income.

    That would be awesome. Why should taxpayer be footing the bill for friends and family of cops to avoid paying tickets?

  42. 42.

    ruemara

    @SenyorDave: I knew the name had a foul, familiar stench.

    @Peale: I ain’t fine with it. We just had a case of racist ass police kids threatening fellow students on snapchat in AZ and the police refuse to investigate and added to the family harassment. If the general public can’t buy these things, the police shouldn’t have them. Period.

  44. 44.

    Amaranthine RBG

    You folks don’t exchange favors with your friends and acquaintances?

    The balloon juice commentariat’s admixture of utter, depraved cynicism and childlike naiveté of is something to behold.

  45. 45.

    catclub

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I knew a lot of places give out stickers so you can avoid traffic and parking violations, I was hardly surprised to read about this.

    So why don’t I just print out my own and see how that works?

  46. 46.

    Peale

    @Amaranthine RBG: As a teacher’s kid I would have enjoyed the courtesy of extra help on examinations, but sadly, I wasn’t provided any peek at the questions beforehand. And no, we have laws about those things for all other government workers. Police are no different.

  51. 51.

    Brent

    I have known about this for awhile. I think anyone who has spent any significant time in New York or other major cities in the NE has probably come across this stuff. Not that it doesn’t exist elsewhere. I just happen to know its quite prevalent up there.

    I do remember being told that sometimes these cards are offered as incentives to small time criminals for their cooperation in pointing the way towards more major crimes. Of course, I have no idea how much that use case is in play.

  56. 56.

    zonker

    I don’t know how it works in other states, but in WV, the Governor’s office hands out license plate numbers from 1 to 999. Mine is a middle 3 digit number, I have been cruising down the interstate only to have law enforcement come up behind me, see the number, and just let me go without pulling me over. The last officer that did pull me over was a young city of St. Albans officer, he had me for speeding, dead inspection sticker, and expired registration. He wrote me warning and told me to slow down.

  57. 57.

    Renie McCarthy

    My husband and I each have one of these cards from my next door neighbor who is a cop. My husband’s father was a cop and we use to have ones from him. The card has the officer’s name and badge on the back so it can be verified. I’ve never used it and I don’t think my husband has either but then I don’t think I’ve ever gotten pulled over. Depending on situation I don’t know if I would even use it.

    ETA: Yes I did use it once when I had to drive into Queens for work and parked in an ‘iffy’ spot. Put it on the dashboard hoping not to get a ticket.

  58. 58.

    J R in WV

    Actually, in WV the past 20 or 30 years, driving a car in good shape and being bald with a gray beard, I have only gotten one warning ticket. I’m also polite and well spoken. When I want to drive fast, I’m usually on a small twisty rural road, where you never see a cop. My last ticket was while the speed limit on limited access highways was still 55, and I was going 67 after topping a steep hill. So long ago now.

    Never knew a governor well enough to get a special plate. There are also legislative plates, for Delegates and Senators.

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