Poll: Do you consider police fixing speeding tickets in exchange for KU basketball tickets to be bribery? / LJWorld.com

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Response		Percent	Votes
Yes		91%	1049
No		5%	64
Not sure		2%	31
Total	1144

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pace 1 year, 3 months ago

Those numbers are a relief to see. Nice so many different people can agree. Common ground.

TheSychophant 1 year, 3 months ago

Now lets hope Charles branson sees it the same way.

cheeseburger 1 year, 3 months ago

You mean the same Charles Branson whose favorite words are dismiss, diversion, and probation? I wouldn't know why he'd throw the book at these guys when he's soft on all other crime.

Only if it was the actual Officer who stopped and wrote the speeding ticket accepted the basketball tickets in exchange for not issuing ticket. You have to know the facts of this case before you can answer this question.

JackMcKee 1 year, 3 months ago

whose fault is it that we don't have the facts to understand what happened?

JustNoticed 1 year, 3 months ago

It's general question. You don't have to know anything about a particular case although you have a point - that such details would make a difference if answering a more specific question.

aeroscout17 1 year, 3 months ago

"Bribery is the offer or acceptance of anything of value in exchange for influence on a government/public official or employee." Makes no difference if it was the officer issuing the ticket, a clerk or a judge. It is bribery!

JackMcKee 1 year, 3 months ago

It sure sounds fishy.

Deb Engstrom 1 year, 3 months ago

People use forms of bribery all the time in many situations -- I have something you want and I you need to change your behavior to get it. Its no wonder it rises to this level on occasion. Doesn't make it right, just explains it a bit.

smitty 1 year, 3 months ago

ask Olin

CWGOKU 1 year, 3 months ago

KU basketball tickets? No, that is understandable. Tickets to the Paige Arena in Columbia, well yes. Seriously, this is a dumb question. Bribery is bribery no matter what you are bartering with. Next question, please

rtpayton 1 year, 3 months ago

Stubhub has a few tickets for the Missouri game. It appears $500.00 will get nosebleed seats. The highest price tickets in the corner yesterday at $5,000 a piece weren't the best.

weedy01 1 year, 3 months ago

Anything that benefits the police should be against the law. If it was above board and donated to a charity, then maybe not. But they already do pay double the fine and get diversion, so what is the difference.

bad_dog 1 year, 3 months ago

No, the person with the citation pays a double fine to have the ticket amended to a non-moving violation, thus not reportable to the insurance company. The difference is that the proceeds are still paid to the city/county, etc. rather than placed in a police officer's pocket. The legal authority gets twice as much fine related income plus the court costs.

Given what tickets sell for, I doubt a season-ticket holder would do this, unless it was a very serious offense. Now if you're stealing the tickets and have access to plenty more-that's a different story.

cheeseburger 1 year, 3 months ago

How many of you have accepted a 'bribe' from the local court system when they offered to not inform your insurance company of your traffic violations in exchange for doubling the fine?

Pot, meet kettle.

happypill4014 1 year, 3 months ago

I didn't think that was legal. i asked about it when I got a ticket a long time ago in high school and was told that it was illegal to do that.

billbodiggens 1 year, 3 months ago

Its called a plea bargain. It is just another way for the County Attorney or City Attorfney to rip off the public when they are of the mind to do so. The main purpose is to not get into a situation wherein absolutely everyone wants a reduced charge. Thus the high price. he The wealthy or those with access to funds can buy their way out of a moving violation without encouraging too many others and the poor to ask for the same thing without paying for it dearly. But, yes, it is a bribe.

bad_dog 1 year, 3 months ago

"It is just another way for the County Attorney or City Attorfney to rip off the public..."

Let's see, a double fine plus court costs (let's say a fairly significant speeding charge inside city limits ~ $300) or the possibility of increased auto insurance rates for three years -especially if it is a second violation within a 12 month period...

In my experience, these amendments usually involve relatively minor traffic offenses. Most jurisdictions won't amend more than one ticket per year or have other rules such as they won't amend a ticket if an accident was involved, the driver was speeding in excess of 20 mph over the limit, reckless driving, etc.

smitty 1 year, 3 months ago

FBI Bullerin

http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/may_2011/law_enforcement_professionalism

Police Corruption An Analytical Look into Police Ethics

In a study conducted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 7 of the top 10 issues determined as critically important to officers actively working in the field of law enforcement involved ethics and integrity. Positively, the research concluded that a majority of the agencies surveyed (80.3 percent) commit resources to train instructors to teach ethics courses, and 72 percent of the organizations said that they provide some ethics-related training beyond the basic academy experience. But, while almost all of the agencies (83.3 percent) taught ethics to recruits in the academy, only a surprising minority (34.4 percent) had ethics as a rated category on their field training reports for those new officers.

happypill4014 1 year, 3 months ago

I think this is the first poll I have ever seen where we almost all agree on something....

rando1965 1 year, 3 months ago

Response Percent Votes Yes Republicans 93% 494 No
Democrats 3% 21 Not sure
non registered voter 2% 11 Total 526

shotgun 1 year, 3 months ago

This is hilarious! Narrow minded view!

skyking62 1 year, 3 months ago

I'm very progressive...and I voted YES...want to apologize?

SinoHawk 1 year, 2 months ago

Good luck getting 93% of responses to be by Republicans in Lawrence

Jayhawk_4_Life 1 year, 3 months ago

that couldn't be further from the truth

Easy_Does_It 1 year, 3 months ago

I always roll with doughnuts in the front seat just in case.

melwetzel 1 year, 3 months ago

It shows that the people who (are/were) in the KU Athletic Dept. think that they are above the law and should not be held to the average man's rules and laws. It shows that some of the Lawrence police also believe that.

What kind of tickets were these? Ten miles over the speed limit? 20 miles over the speed limit? Speeding can endanger the lives of everyone on the road . . . especially when individuals start doing it with impunity because they know how to throw a bone to the police.

stops4armadillos 1 year, 3 months ago

I guess you could say the Po Po got caught ridin' dirty...

tolawdjk 1 year, 3 months ago

I think someone had a good (tickets) that they exchanged for a service (disappearing traffic violation). An agreement was reached, both parties were in accord.

At worst it was "barter" and best it was "capitalism" at its finest!

Anyone who thinks differently is a Neo-communist, pinko, taliban loving, unUhmurehkan traitor!

skinny 1 year, 3 months ago

Smitty, All the posts you have made here you have not substantiated not one of them. Starting with the Gregg Sevier shooting, Yellow House, on down to this last LPD incident. How about giving it a break!

smitty 1 year, 3 months ago

psssttt

Jayhawk1958 1 year, 3 months ago

We can't tell if it is indeed bribery, at least not yet until the case unfolds. Could have just been an under the table business deal.

juma 1 year, 3 months ago

This is great!! I was missing living in Arabia and all the bribery. Now I feel at home and know that all things have a price. Reminds me of that old joke. You know, about asking the girl at the bar if she would sleep with me for a million dollars; answer OK. Then how about ten dollars. What no way, what do think I am? We have determined that, now just discussing the price. So, a speeding ticket is worth a losing team ticket; how much for robbery? Trip to Vegas? Come on, these police officers, and the coverup is just that, criminal.

overplayedhistory 1 year, 3 months ago

I don't know, is what Doug does to the City bribery? You need a suit for that kind of behavior. I realize the Police uniform is supposed be held to a higher paragon of virtue, but really had it been an insurance agent suit fixing stuff, so athletic suit rates did not go up, it would be expected slimy power suit leverage stuff as usual. Now power suit defense attorneys have power to leverage and extract more fees from their clients. Me? I am willing to look the other way, given they always show up, even get results when I have needed them, but this serious because they don't wear a suit, they wear a uniform.

adagio 1 year, 3 months ago

Duh.

mikekt 1 year, 2 months ago

Well, a bribe is a bribe;.... and accepting a bribe makes one the bribed. That Simple! Maybe a local ordinance or county law needs to be created, to make accepting a traffic ticket bribe into a crime....so the rest of us could pay thousands of $ to send it all to trail....Ha,Ha,Ha!!! Who wins here????? Supposedly. not every LPD Police officer, Prosecutorial Employe or Court Employe does this, so it makes this officers behavior exemplary. Obviously, in response, an example was made of this officer, thru the loss of the officers job. TV news said that the officer caught, was making $80,000 per yr. in honest salary before this & is now unemployed. Loosing $80,000 per yr.. That is a pretty big fine! In retrospect, i doubt that the officer involved sees getting those KU sporting tickets as a "good deal"now! And whatever real value that the officer delivered to the public during his career, aside from this issue, is lost to disgrace. My respects to all of the other LPD officers, Prosecutors & Court Employes who have never accepted bribes ( or used the system to screw the public,... unfairly... sometimes people need to be troubled by the laws many systems, for just reasons, to protect the public, etc. ) for making wise decisions, that go towards job ( and Karma ) security, as well as towards showing respect for their office, good ethics & the general public that they serve.

Food_for_Thought 1 year, 2 months ago

This is a misleading poll. The investigation never established whether or not the citations were dismissed IN EXCHANGE for basketball tickets, or whether it was more of a case of long-time friends "hooking up" each other by taking advantage of their "powers" within their positions. This does not make the misuse of each other's positions acceptable, but I find that calling it "bribery" is a stretch. Seeing how the FBI and US Attorney's Office has more knowledge about the investigation and more skill/experience in the investigation of criminal acts, I would have to side with the decision made by the FBI and US Attorney's Office...unless of course, everyone here thinks that the FBI and US Attorney's Office is corrupt and needs citizens review boards for them as well...