Traffic Cop Memories.

[awa355]

Some of my earliest re collections of the local Traffic Officers in Putaruru.

Noel Cole was the officer who took me for my licence. Known as a hard man, he wasn't afraid to apply a bit of 'corrective' training at the roadside if the local yobs got a bit lippy. His patrol car was an EH Holden. He got phoned up one Sunday morning by a resident who was pissed off at the cars ignoring the tempory speeds over the street roadworks. Noel went down to Arapuni st and set up his black box on the roof. One of the locals he nicked was the guy who had phoned him, returning from uptown.

Noel made a point of calling in on all the local trucking companies on a regular basis. He would turn up at smoko time with cakes etc and spend time talking with the drivers. They all knew each other and there was always a mutual respect for each other. If there was an awkward load to be delivered somewhere, Noel would leave the rule book at home and assist with traffic control or advice etc.

Saturday night would see Noel teamed up with the local police. Alf Gyde or Jack Lopdell. The police never had a police car in those days, so us yahoos would be forever looking out for Alf's green Morris 1100 or Jacks blue MK111 Zepher. Two 'old school' policemen. I never had a problem with the law but those who did, soon learnt not to backchat these two policemen.

After Noel retired came a guy called Johnson. A different kettle of fish. Straight from the college. He even gave his own wife a ticket for speeding. He stuffed up his record tho' by letting her take the patrol car ( mk 4 Zodiac ) up to the local shops whereby she ran into another car.

Tirau had an officer stationed there as well. In 1971 Leo Tooman was based there. He was a bigger tearaway than most of us. He pulled me up one night to have a look at my new XS650. Ended up taking it for a blast up and down Tirau st. Gave me his cap to hold and away he went. He drove a HT/G Holden that had the 253 V8. For the time, it went like stink.

We had a lot of respect for those men in uniform back then. I think a lot of that came from the respect our parents had for them.

Anyone else have memories of their early days and the local law?

[Akzle]

yes. And none good.
Cops have never done me any good. Even in the times afore i went baiting them.

The td were just wannabe cops. Giving them shit was fair game.

[unstuck]

We had one traffic cop that was good bastard, and after getting caught doing doughnuts on a newly sealed road, picked me up the next day and took me to visit the roadwork crew as punishment, where I had the shit scared out of me.
We had a really good cop too, who was of the old school variety and spent a lot of his own time trying to help us scumbags out. Fond memories of those 2 chaps. Even though their lives turned out to be quite tragic in the end, they were always fair and straight up with me.

[Bender]

Yeah I remember them, but not with the rose coloured fond memories you guys do. I lived in Orewa and had a Honda 175. There were five cops lived locally, which had to be the biggest traffic cop per head of population ratios in the country. As a result they were bored and constantly harrassed the local population, especially us young ones.

Here's one classic example. I was coming onto the main road from a side street and as I approached the intersection one of the local cops, a prick called Joe kerr, went past. "Uh oh" I thought, knowing I would be in for some harassment. Sure enough he spins a U turn and stops me, reckoning I was speeding. As I was about 50ft from the intersection with the main road it would have been extremely silly if it wasn't impossible.

He let me proceed but followed me along the main road. A few hundred metres later he stops me again and is about to do me for carrying a pillion without pillion footrests. I pointed out the pillion footrests which were neatly hiding under the pillion's feet.

Once again I get to go. About half an hour later I notice that the cop car is parked outside our home. "That's not good" I thought to myself. When I get home I'm in deep shit because Kerr has called on home and told my father that he had stopped me for speeding three times that day - only his respect for my father had prevented him giving me tickets, but he thought my father should know.

So I'm in the shit and my father is threatening to confiscate the bike. He did not believe my side of the story.

So that was the end of my relationship with my father. I thought forever after that he was an arsehole for believing Joe Kerr instead of me.

That's the sort of shit we put up with in Orewa back in the '70s.

[Hitcher]

I can't be bothered retyping, but here's a traffic cop story. Names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty.

http://bit.ly/14IVomx

[unstuck]

I can't be bothered retyping, but here's a traffic cop story. Names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty.

Good stuff. very nicely written.

[Goblin]

Hitchers story reminds me of my father when he was a logging truck driver. He had a few cops who liked to ticket him for overloading. One cop used to always take the hub meter off and lick the dust off it, so the old man would always piss on it! A great uncle was the explosives man at the local quarry so the old man aquired some explosives then early one morning blew up the weighbridge.

[Oakie]

Kerry Salt in Oamaru was a bike cop. I thought he was a prick for a start but then I grew up a bit and realised that he was a fair bloke and quite approachable. He had an RD350LC all of his very own so I suspect he enjoyed a bit of lively riding himself.

[T.W.R]

Try living with one

[unstuck]

Try living with one

Thats some nice looking cars in the background.

[Road kill]

My riding test for my bike licence was up the main street of Putaruru from of the library to the top of the street an back while the local TO watched from the front steps.
Same cop was instrumental in taking it off me again a few months later.

Oh wellfuck em all!

[granstar]

Local cop in a small town was really good and fair most likely because everyone knew everyone. ...counts fingers 123456.
Often told us to bugger off home when hanging out in streets drinking, I don't think the breatherlizers were that accurate in those days (70's) or they didn't like doing all the paperwork, they definitely were on the beat cops with a presence and knew what was up. After a couple times he would be stern and really warn you of consequences, that was respected and never got into trouble with him. Then in those days we never did anything bad like some of kids today, lot of tom-foolery but respected peoples property, never stole anything or damaged property. They used to take the keys off you and let you walk home and sober up a bit, there was no need to be smart with them, they were respected and if you did get booked, you likely deserved it.
Went for my car licence at 15 for work and he asked if I had a licence for the Triumph 500 he'd seen me riding about. Confessed no, and he gave me my car licence A with B ticked as well (no test).
Moving to the city life one finds a different breed of copper, classic example the recent road block at Omakau after Brass Monkey, local cop accommodated all the bikers in both's best interest, can't imagine that happening in the city.

[red mermaid]

My best memory that I am sure members of KB will like is....

Getting sent to a school cause some kids were riding a scooter round the playground and the local grump complained.
I went, explained what the story was, how someone had complained, how they shouldn't be there, and left them to it.

Up to the road, swing my leg over my pride and joy, a CB 650 that wasnt my allocated bike but might as well been as I rode it the most, started her up, up the hill round the corner and oh shit, pea metal on the bend and over I went.

Lucky it was relatively slow, the kids came up from the school and gave me a hand to pick my bike up, and I was able to carry on with one broken mirror cause the Honda's had crap chrome ones that broke at the slightest excuse.

[scumdog]

The one down here in the late 60's had a hot daughter....

[T.W.R]

Thats some nice looking cars in the background.

Ha, they got a lot better than that, Chev Impalas, then a whole host of Holdens, Premiers & utes ans a couple of XC Falcon utes and brit bikes stashed in any space that was available