I can fully answer this question for you:
Because we don't, quit worrying about it, on the average very few motorcops go down and even then, its very low speed. Most accidents on police bikes do not involve much road rash, but usually do involve broken bones, that any type of armor would not have saved you from.
It has nothing to do with what the individual officers image is. It does have to do with public perception. The public in california has such a problem with police having functional equipment that they are willing to sacrifice the safety of officers, just to keep us from looking scary.
There you are, that is your answer.
To the person who said....hey, they get injured and we have to pay for it. Yes, and I pay too, and I have to pay into workers comp when your ass gets carpel tunnel (spelling sorry) and cant function at work cause your hand happens to have a little pain in it.
To the shithead who said we are overpaid....Get stabbed (like I have), get shot at (like I have) and go back to that job every week for 30 years, knowing that you are going to put up with that kind of behavior from people.
You ever invite a cop to your house to say hi or have a cup of coffee, NO!
You "invite" us over when you can't keep control of your own life. You invite us over when you have "usually" (and not everyone, im being jaded at the moment) made a personal fuck up in your judgement and cause yourself a mishap. Yes dumbass, you need to take your backpack to the bathroom with you in the cafe....dont leave it at the table while you take a shit in the bathroom....It won't be there when you get back dumbass. The fact that you had 10 credit cards, 1000 dollars, your laptop, and a pocket pc is just YOUR fuckup for leaving it there. So, quit bitching at us because you fucked up and left your shit laying around!
End of rant...sorry, tired of hearing the overpaid thing, when I barely pull down enough to cover my bills, after taxes.
But the gear thing. I don't think there have been enough bad things happen to motor cops for the state to want to pay to change it. I know for a fact that if the state started buying us 1000 dollar protective suits and the media heard about it, there would be nothing but outcry from the public on the "waste" of money the taxpayers are being forced to pay.
But then again....stop giving handouts to people who refuse to work, because they know they are going to get a handout from the state...and maybe they could foot the bill from that.
brash
