“Why do police officers speed?”/“Because they can.”

Police vehicles often go beyond the speed limit, and it’s not clear if there is an emergency. There’s a joke about this:
 
Q: Why do police officers speed?
A: Because they can.
 
Who will give a police officer a speeding ticket? “Because they can” has been cited in print since at least 2009. The joke was said on the ABC television news program 20/20 in October 2013.
 
     
SuperHonda.com
Why do cops do this…
crvchris
02-25-2009, 11:53 AM
i was referring to when cops just speed, because they can, ...
     
fluther.com
Why do Police get to Race past me doing 80+MPH on highways yet there is no emergency anywhere?
Asked by Rickomg (259 points ) April 22nd, 2009
(...)
qashqai
Because they can.
 
SodaHead
Why do police think they can go over the speed limit all the time?
by SarcasticB*tch Posted May 01, 2012
(...)
Claybern May. 2
Because they can.
 
Twitter
MoPOLICEFUNERAL.org
‏@MoPOLICEFUNERAL
REMEMBER TENET #3 OF BELOW 100!
3. Watch Your Speed
Why do cops drive fast? Because they can, right? Well,... http://fb.me/1r8bX3SbG
6:06 PM - 26 May 2012
   
The American Spectator
CAR GUY
SPEEDING PRAETORIANS
A blatant double-standard in speed enforcement.
By Eric Peters – 6.14.12
If “speeding”—defined as driving faster than the legally posted maximum velocity—is necessarily “unsafe,” why do cops do so routinely?
 
The answer, of course, is: Because they can.
 
More precisely, they can do so with impunity. Who watches the watchmen, after all?
   
Twitter
Rya Ludtke
‏@RyaLudtke
“Why do cops speed” “because they can” wtf…
9:30 PM - 4 Oct 2013
 
Twitter
20/20
‏@ABC2020
Why do cops speed? A former NJ state trooper says “because they can” and says it’s “prevalent.” #abc2020 (via @mattgutmanABC)
9:30 PM - 4 Oct 2013
   
Google Books
Contemporary Issues in Police Psychology:
Police Peer Support Team Training and the Make It Safe Police Officer Initiative
By Jack A. Digliani, Ph.D, Ed.D.
Xlibris Corporation (Xlibris.com)
2015
Pg. ?:
Why do cops drive fast? Because they can, right?
 
Twitter
Jarah Ice
‏@J_icey05
Question of a lifetime:  why do cops feel its okay to speed past you but then pull you over when you do it? Oh Because they can? silly me 😒
12:02 PM - 8 Mar 2015
 
Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, KY)
Mother of teens killed in crash with trooper urges officers to drive safely
By James Mayse Messenger-Inquirer
February 4, 2016
The old joke told Wednesday afternoon at the Owensboro Police Department was a familiar one: Why do officers speed?
 
All of the officers in the department’s community room knew the punchline: Because they can.