Quote:
Originally Posted by Sangetsu
If I were a police officer in the area and I got a call to this coffee shop about a robbery or fire I would probably take my time getting there. And once I arrived I wouldn't be too careful about actually looking for the robbers. I'm pretty sure that firefighters might take a little extra time getting their hoses hooked up and organized before actually using them to put out the fire.
"Professional Courtesy" is an expression used between police and firefighters as both professions work together on a daily basis, and they help each other out both on and off duty. A police officer in a car wreck is going to get quick help from the fire department, and a firefighter who gets pulled over driving home after a few too many drinks is not going to get a DUI. Any business who raises the ire of either organization can count on never getting timely service from either.
The shop owner didn't really care about the gun, he is just a counter-culture nut who dislikes police officers and needed some kind of excuse for his action. If I was the officer in this situation and I was asked to leave you can be sure that I would do so happily, and never return, even if the owner called 911 and begged for me to come back. I would take my time driving to his shop using a roundabout route, and just before getting there my patrol car would somehow get a flat tire, and I would ask that another unit from the district be dispatched instead. And you can be sure that the next unit wouldn't be breaking the speed limit to get to the call either.
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I guess I am glad you are not a police officer or fire fighter in my town, as I wouldn't want my local police or fire fighters "playing favorites" in ways that can seriously affect people's lives.
As a translator, no one is going to lose their life by the decisions I make. However, if a cop decides to let a drunk firefighter continue his drive home, then his decision certainly can lead to the loss of life.
If a firefighter decides to take his time showing up to a fire because he doesn't agree with the politics or policies of the victim, then that can lead to neighboring businesses or houses being damaged.
Those police certainly have the right to protest the policies of the business. They can choose not to go there and buy coffee. They can choose to write letters to the local paper, and they can choose to tell their friends of the store's policy.
However, what they should not choose is not do their job as diligently as they pledged to do just because they don't agree with the businesses policies. Then they make themselves as bad, if not worse, as the business itself.