Staff Editorial: They See Me Phonin’…

Flashing lights of red and blue cause the driver to sigh and pull over. He regrets using his cell phone while driving and ashamedly tells the other person on the line he has to go. As the police officer walks up to the stationary vehicle, he finishes up a hearty conversation on his cell phone. Then, still laughing, he proceeds to give the old, “Do you know why I stopped you, sir?”
It is agreed that cops do have a free pass when it comes to certain laws; they park in the forbidden red zones reserved just for them, speed to procure a suspect and use their sirens to scoot traffic out of their way; these are all part of getting business done.
However, using cell phones while driving is said to be worse than driving intoxicated, and no matter their occupation ranking, cops still have human limitations.
Police officers spend a typical day on duty driving while switching their focus between the road, the computer screen in their cars and the police radios. Arguably, this means they already have the ability to multi-task, and adding a cell phone to the list won’t make much of a difference. Honestly, if they can walkie-talkie while on an epic high- speed pursuit and still stay calm, why wouldn’t they be able to manage a simple phone call?
Furthermore, police radios may not always be crystal clear, or some officers may want to engage in private conversations; since radio transmissions operate on certain frequencies, a simple turn of the knob of some curious radio-listeners could intrude on the entirety of a case, with full details. A cell phone would only widen the set of resources available to them.
Officers tell stories about how their cell phones get the resources they need within a matter of minutes, without the hassle of locating a pay phone or being restrained to a headache-inducing, static-flooded radio.
Every member of the American 21st century requires a cell phone, according to common knowledge, and thus, it should be a right to own one, including police officers. Consequently, every person who owns a cell phone is trusted to abide by the laws that accompany it.
As a staff, we agree that everyone has a right to own a cell phone and use it, whether it be for personal or business reasons, but how hard can pulling-over and making the call be, especially since cops have the enviable allowed-double-parking at their disposal.
Better yet, awarding a hands-free Bluetooth headset to each officer, just like all of the other drivers are permitted. Also, getting an additional hands-free speaker installed into their high-tech cars could do the trick.
With the many options available, it just seems that these officers are abusing their power when they take out their handhelds, instead of setting a good example as patrollers.