I pay your salary!

One of the lamest arguments that people bring up when arguing with a police officer is when they come out with the "I pay your salary." Please! Is that statement supposed to make me want to kiss your ass? Am I supposed to suddenly not write you a ticket for speeding and running through a red light? Does the fact that you "pay my salary" put you above the law, or make you any more special that any other citizen in the community? The police are not Burger King, and you do not get your way all of the time. In my profession, the customer isn't always right. You pay my salary? Then how about giving me a raise, you cheap bastard! The community and the legislatures/councilmen/commissioners want better educated, better trained police officers. Police agencies themselves want to raise the stakes and want to only hire officers who are educated. Well, if you want better trained, better educated officers, then you should pay for that education and training. My agency pays me a base salary of about $37,000. In any other business with 130 employees, what do you expect a middle-management person of 12 years seniority with a college degree should earn?

You pay my salary? That doesn't give you the right to act like a complete ass. If we want to play around with wording, then how about the fact that I, too, pay taxes. Taxes pay my salary. Therefore, I pay my salary. And, since I am self-employed, then I can do whatever I wish, you snivelling, malcontented bastard.

Let's clear the air. 99% of all officers work hard as officers, not for the money, but because they feel that they can make a difference and want to help people. I feel that way. I'm not in it for the money. In that same vein, these same officers believe in treating everybody the same, regardless of race, sex, or social standing. I hate social functions, because inevitably someone comes up with some story about how they were wronged by some officer who wrote them a ticket for something they didn't do once they find out what my job is. Quit whining. 99.9% of people who are issued tickets deserved them. Don't tell me you pay my salary. Pay attention to the speed limit signs along the roadway. After all, you paid for them, too.