TheAgitator.com
The New Professionalism
Monday, December 3rd, 2007It’s probably worth reiterating from time to time that the point of these roundups is not to suggest all police officers are evil or corrupt or abusive. It is to suggest that the good ones tend to cover up for the bad ones, and the bad ones are rarely disciplined. The other point is of course to mock Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia for his opinion in Hudson, where he argues that a “new professionalism” has taken root in police departments across America, negating the need for judicial remedies for police abuses. Your latest roundup:
• Police in Arkansas went out looking for a man who failed to show up for a reckless driving charge. They apparently saw a man jogging alongside the road with the same name, whom one of the officers recognized as a locally famous Special Olympics athlete. It wasn’t the man they were looking for. Nevertheless, when the learning disabled man pulled away from the cops—as most any of us might do if wrongfully arrested—they hit him with the Taser. The police chief says the entire incident was justified because the innocent guy “pulled away” from the officers.
• Atlanta PD: The gift that keeps on giving.
The husband of a city police sergeant was arrested on a child pornography charge on Thursday, and federal investigators said police officers had apparently withheld and destroyed evidence in the case.
• Local police were called to the home of suspected wife killer Illinois police Sgt. Drew Peterson 18 times in two years. Peterson’s third repeatedly told police Peterson had hit her and threatened to kill her. Peterson’s fellow officers never arrested him, though they did arrest and charge the wife on two occasions (she was acquitted). The third wife is dead now. And Peterson’s fourth wife is missing.
• By my count, 99 seconds from getting pulled over until the guy gets “a ride on the Taser,” as they say. More troubling to me is how many people watch these videos and find nothing wrong with them. I realize these people aren’t being as respectful with the police as they ought to be (if for their own safety, if not out of courtesy). But if we’ve gotten to the point where a paralyzing jolt of electricity is now an acceptable punishment for getting uppity with a police officer (or in this case, for not bowing to the officer’s uppity-ness), well, I find that a little troubling.
• Regular readers won’t be surprised by this:
Chicago police officers are the subject of more brutality complaints per officer than the national average, and the Police Department is far less likely to pursue abuse cases seriously than the national norm, a legal team at the University of Chicago reported Wednesday…
…According to the new report, rogue police officers abuse victims without fear of punishment, and the lack of accountability has tainted the entire department, resulting in a loss of public confidence. Patterns of abuse and disciplinary neglect were worst in low-income minority neighborhoods, said the authors, Craig B. Futterman, H. Melissa Mather and Melanie Miles.
• Wrong-door SWAT raid in Milwaukee. Looking for a suspected child pornographer, police turned an innocent woman’s house upside down, terrified her and her family, and roughed up a 74-year-old man. Had they bothered to check, they’d have discovered the suspect moved out five weeks earlier. When they realized their mistake, they told the innocent people they’d just raided that they’re “just another one of” the actual suspect’s “victims.”
• A Muncie, Indiana drug task force is facing some “accounting problems” with the money it has seized from drug suspects. Sure is a nice workout facility, though.
• The city of Seattle just had to pay a $185,000 settlement to an artist who was beaten bloody by several of the city’s police officers. The man’ s “crime” was to ask questions after a police officer confronted his friend for littering. He was arrested, charged with resisting arrest, and after arriving at the police station, had his hand slammed into a wall while still handcuffed. The criminal charges against the man were dropped when the city refused to turn over video of the arrest. A civilian review board investigation recommended the officers involved be disciplined. Not only did that not happen, the cop the police chief said was most responsible for the beating was…wait for it…promoted.
• Investigation finds Dallas cops lied on tickets, made false arrests, and belittled ticket recipients by writing made-up occupations on their citations. They might be disciplined, but won’t be criminally charged.
There is no excuse for the recent tasering of a man driving with his family in the “40 MPH” zone. Most of us cops looking at the video have to be shocked. In regards to another taser incident some cops have offered an apology. There are a lot of cops, who should not be cops. There is a breakdown in values not just in society but in police departments across the country.
Many people, I think, even after watching these videos still support the police because they live in the real world and get pulled over but the police with no incident. I would guess there are thousands of car stops each day in this country and so, the bad incidents while looking like a lot on this site in reality are not the norm. Even Tom Sowell in a recent article praised the two cops that recently pulled him over. They did not know who he was. I for one have troubl ewriting a ticket to somebody with kids in the car. I don’t want them to see dad or mom getting a ticket. They are the authority and I want their kids to know that.
There are bad cops, just watch this site. But there are many more good ones who fight to protect property and Life.
Pax
Marty
I will have a lot more respect for the good cops when they start working as aggressively to find and punish the bad cops as they do any other criminals.
You wrote, “the point of these roundups is not to suggest all police officers are evil or corrupt or abusive.”
Of the 9 stories you point out only 1 is a SINGLE officer incident, (99 seconds to taser). Two of the 9 stories might have only involved a couple of officers, but OVER HALF the stories involve a large number of officers or entire departments.
Could the next round-up include a higher percent of single-officer incidents? It might reassure us they aren’t ALL, “evil or corrupt or abusive.”
The taser seems to be the new billy club.It’s easy to use and fun to watch the results.I don’t want cops held to a higher standard,just the same one as we are.
@Zeb
I can’t speak for all departments but my own. I see the orders come down everyday. I see police officers who lose their jobs and other types of discipline such as lost vacation days and special assignments being taken away. This happens because of the excessive use of force down to the use of foul language.
You just don’t see it on YouTube.
If cops are covering up for bad cops then how in the hell are they good in any meaningful way? Maybe slightly less bad. But not good.
@ Mr. Pack
Cops should be held to a higher standard. The Taser was requested by civil libertarians because the nightstick was to harsh to watch. So, we created a Less Lethal use of force Taser that in some departments on the Use of Force Scale is used before the nightstick at about the same level as Pepper Spray.
Right or wrong the civil libertarians wanted this.
Marty,
zeb stated, “…as they do any other criminals.”
“Excessive use of force” sounds like assault to me.
In what court does a judge sentence a criminal found guilty of “assault” with loss of vacation days?
Sorry Marty, you sound great and might be in a pretty clean department, but check your premise.
“Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. … You will find that one of them is wrong.”
Ayn Rand
Marty,excessive us of force should result in loss of job and jail time.As I said,the same standard as the public would be fine.
JOR is right… if they are covering for bad cops, then objectively speaking, they aren’t good either. It’s one thing if they cannot do anything, so they do nothing. It’s quite another when they protect the corrupt ones.
Besides the moral issues, there are professional ones. A lot of people base their support on government itself on the grounds that it is going to work toward a generally professional use of force. When it protects people who abuse their authorization to use preemptive force, it undermines the professionalism of the entire agency and ultimately, the system as a whole.
One of the things that shocked my liberal family members was when I pointed out to them that the single biggest class in society that abuses assault weapons is the SWAT unit. I’d sooner trust the Indian immigrants who live below me with an assault rifle that could do at least a 3 round burst, as they are clean-cut, mild-mannered people more than the average SWAT officer…
Marty,
If my neighbor was standing in my yard, and I told him to get off my grass, and he or she told me to kiss their ass, would it be acceptable for me to whip out my trusty taser and zap them? That’s what a number of tasings come down to when you read about them.
Code
No my premise is correct. People get fired for excessive force. Assault is intentional physical injury. A cop may in a split second rightly hit a person twice, but then hit a third time. so, a monday morning quarterback, needed in a free society, deems the force excessive so the cop is disciplined.
I guess, like a doctor that kills your family member because he read a chart wrong. He caused a person’s death but is not guilty of manslaughter. Of course he can lose his practice and and we can sue but not criminal in most cases.
We have had cops here that have actually assaulted citizens and they have gone to jail. Excessive force is not assault. My premise is based on Law.
BTW…I am not here just to argue there is so much that I agree with even though I am more conservative than libertarian.
Pax
Marty
Marty,
Since we’re on the subject of what should be done here, how do you feel about holding police officers to the same standards that military ground forces are held to when the police use military tactics and armaments against civilians (like SWAT raids)? I’m thinking, for example, the requirement that I read is in place in Iraq where the Army doesn’t bust down a civilian home’s door without at least 3 corroborating pieces of intelligence to justify the action, and the unit’s ass is on the line if they break protocol and anyone got hurt.
Police in Arkansas went out looking for a man who failed to show up for a reckless driving charge. They apparently saw a man jogging alongside the road with the same name, whom one of the officers recognized as a locally famous Special Olympics athlete.
If they recognized Travis Henderson as a Special Olympian, shouldn’t that have eliminated him as being the same man on the reckless driving warrant? How many Special Olympians drive?
MkeT
I am not in anyway supportive of the Taser incidents you see. My opinion is that these cops seem likes asses.
In my department only supervisors carrry Tasers. I went through most of my career without one.
We all understand that cops and all of us can use force to protect ourselves from harm or somebody else from harm. MY question is to some here do you believe that cops can use force to effect an arrest even though the cop is not in fear of physical harm?
So, you are the cop pull someone over for a red light infraction. The person claims he did not go through the light and he does not recognize The State and it’s enforcers(true story). You ask a few times for the driver’s license but the person refuses. You inform him of possible arrest and he still refuses. He is not fighting but in a car and not compliant. I sforce justified to drag him out of the car? Or does that make me a statist?
Marty, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and your not one of those “cops, who should not be cops”. So what the hell am I supposed to think when I see this crap? Thsoe wonderful SWAT members who gunned down Kathryn Johnston, planted drugs, solicited false testimony certainly weren’t acting alone. Go here for another example of quality police work. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/16/nyregion/16police.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/M/Massage&_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1196719961-Fn/SAhLHpX1egcMAKt5thQ These guys weren’t acting alone, there were three. you’ll note they got nabbed by the business owner, not fellow ifficers. Nobody else on the force knew about this stuff? I was born on a tuesday, but it wasn’t last tuesday.
REMEMBER KATHRYN JOHNSTON!
Marty,
It’s obvious you aren’t here to argue. How could you? The links found at “The Agitator” on a daily basis are generally stuff impossible to defend. But, as I noted above, these stories don’t point to a SINGLE bad officer here and there. They point to a systemic crisis.
I stated to you in the older thread;
“Laws, policies, and procedures requiring officers to commit theft, make it impossible for any officer to remain “good” AND employed.”
Your premise says: “You work hard, follow the rules, and are polite in your service as an officer. You are good.”
I say, if you remain employed as a servant of this system you CAN’T be good. Police agents are the enforcers of all prior-restraint laws. Prior-restraint laws are just about every single law that was created during this century.
Murder, in all it’s forms, has always been illegal. Yet, carrying a gun in your city is illegal, (or the equivalent of), and you, and your kind, enforce that law.
I could continue on with thousands of other prior-restraint laws, but just that one is more than enough for me to know you are not “good”.
Yes, maybe all the people that you have personally caught with a gun were “evil”. But the resulting intimidation you have left on ALL the “good” citizens that no longer carry a gun for self-defense because of that intimidation give society a negative net result.
Yes, it is justified to do that if the state’s constitution allows the police to do that.
It’s just not acceptable for them to use as a first resort in a case like that. It’s also not professional because a cop should be able to restrain a typical person in a normal situation, without using a weapon of any sort.
I live in NYC but grew up in a suburb. In my opinion, small town cops are thugs. Every time I visit my parents and see a cop on the road, I pull into a parking lot. I’m not doing anything illegal, have nothing illegal with me, etc. In fact, I’m a lawyer. But small town cops are just too dangerous to deal with, ever. They cannot be trusted, period.
That said, in general I love the NYPD.
MikeT,
I ask that question only because as I am learning there are some who think the use of force by the police is always wrong. I am a conservative, states’ rights localist. It is only recently I have been reading and learnign about the different libertarian ideas.
So, in my mind I can never justify why a cop used force to a person who does nto believe there should ever be force used by the state.
You on the other hand like me believe that cops can use force in certain situations. From there we can at least argue over when and how much is justified.
I may use my pepper spray(a weapon) becasue, I think that there would be less force than fighting and wrestling with a perp, where a fall could split his head open.
Marty-
Thanks for stopping by. You have remained civil despite some attempts to rile you. You come across as a nice guy who wants to do the right thing. More power to you.
Another day passes, another wanton act of police brutality commited against unsuspecting innocents under the guise of “official duties”.
My greatest fear is that not enough of my fellow countrymen/women will awaken, from the narcotic-like effects of American Circus Maximus, to save what is left of our constitutional republic.
The following are a few of the “repeated injuries and usurpations” that are listed in the US Declaration of Independence. Strange how history has a way of repeating itself, especially when you have an ignorant electorate as is the case in the US today.
“He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.”
“He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.”
“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.”
“He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:”
“For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:”
“For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:”
“For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:”
“For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.”
“He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.”
“In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
The corporal in Austin appears to be a serial asshole, and the video RB links to here is not the only incident of unprofessional behavior in his record. See the two suspension memos at the website of Austin’s Office of the Police Monitor:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/opm/
Some other interesting reading there, too.
Thanks Lloyd. There is a lot I agree with here on this site. I have read Radley’s Overkill and would agree with many if not all of his recommendations. Of course there will be some that don’t like cops and have had bad encounters with cops. Understandable.
I support local police work against the over federalization of crime and police.
I think many drug issues should be left to the states.
Many cops have become victims of the Federal government as seen recently in the case of Border Patrol agents Ramos and Campean.
Most police officers I’ve met are total tools, not only in their professional life, but in private life as well. Ever try to win an argument with a cop (even when they’re off duty)? If so, you’re lucky you didn’t take a nightstick in the back for suggesting they might be fallible. What I really enjoy is reading some of the forums that get linked from this site from time to time. That’s where the officers’ true colors really come to light.
I’m sure there are plenty of exceptions to the rule, and just because a cop is a dick in general doesn’t mean that every single interaction with that officer is going to be negative.
Whether this attitude is caused by the job, or people with this personality are drawn to be cops, I’m not sure (probably a little of both). One thing I am sure of though is that the police should be held more accountable for their actions, and recording them should NEVER be against the law.
When a person can legally assualt another person, carry a gun, and by default be “more innocent” than someone else it’s way past time to enforce a higher standard. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I don’t accept that we HAVE to do what we are told, even if I were in my rights, and sort it out later. With little to no redress there is absolutely nothing that can or will prevent abuse. I am confident we only know the tip of the iceberg and that more crap floats to the top than otherwise. More laws to protect cops and obsolve them of any responsibility is incredible, very SS like. Given that so many stories are based on suspicion rather than any evidence a total reworking of ‘the system” is now required. Yes, rendering videotaping illegal as some kind of obstuction of justice is un-f/believable. I would say it’s the ONLY way to ensure justice in some cases when there are so many cases of misplaced, lost evidence, accidently destroyed police video, or the camera conveniently wasn’t on.
Marty: I’m fifty-one years old, and because of a very early interest in libertarian politics, I’ve been watching cops for much more than thirty years, going back to the very first time I was ever stopped on the road by a cop, when I was seventeen years old and skidded just a bit on a patch of ice: that cop pulled me over and very graciously asked whether I was okay before he sent me home. This was in 1974.
What I’m telling you is that I’ve paid attention to the evolution. And I say that no honorable person would be a cop, now. The very nature of the job now attracts all the wrong personalities. A great deal of this has to do with the War on Drugs and the horrific disregard of *freedom*: we are actually, actively, manufacturing criminals now on both sides of “The Law”. One of the worst aspect of this is that people like me have no way of knowing who *you* are: you wear (wore?) the same uniform as the stark animals now running rampant over innocents in this country, and who are far far too often protected by the “brotherhood”.
Do not hand me “The Law”, sir, as if it is come down as some metaphysical-given like lightning or hurricanes because it’s not. We’re talking about the actions of men, which ought to be available to reason and manifestly is not, now. Henry David Thoreau had people like you in mind when he cautioned that “It is not so desirable to cultivate a respect for the law as for the right.” Do not confuse the two.
I’ve said it before and I’ll tell you: I would love to be able to respect cops. There is no way that I can do that, now, in good conscience. That’s because I value Americans much more.
Try to understand.
“I would love to be able to respect cops.”
Me too. One of my favorite people in the whole world is uncle Wolfgang, one of my dad’s brothers who’s a retired cop. He was motorcycle, most of the time, and I never heard him tell a story about policing where I wasn’t proud to have him on the side of the good guys.
But we’re talking about more than 20 years ago since he retired. I doubt he’d think much of the current culture.
@ Billy
I really do understand. There is a very big difference in the caliber of cops in my father’s day than the job is now. Cops are a reflection of society. Look at posters there some excellent ones and others are angry that they did not become a cop and got a ticket one day. That is why I do agree with so much of the work that Radley is doing on this site and not just ignoring it all together.
It’s funny though. It always seems to come down to drugs. I can’t say I care either way about drugs, except that it should be a state issue.
Also, I did not hand you “The Law”. I gave a writer a definition of asault based on Law. You can call it whatever you want but assault is assault based on Law. It’s funny how hard you try to make me seem arogant.
“Animals” Well I wear the uniform and I and the people that work fo rme do not run rampart over innocents, we are not animals and . THere are many incidents as seen on this page but there are thousands of interactions between police and the public each day, which makes these incidents very small in comparison.
@ Robert
“Dicks” and “Tools”. Nice.
How do you know that the guys writing on those message boards are all cops? Sure some are, but how do you know? Any chance a guy angry when he got a ticket for smoking weed and decided to post on a board pretending to be a cop?
“It’s funny how hard you try to make me seem arogant.”
That is not the point at all, Marty. The point is about a crucial distinction between what’s law and what’s right. And I’ve yet to see you draw that distinction.
“…which makes these incidents very small in comparison.”
To *whom*?
You can think them “small” is you want to. I, for one, think about this stuff in terms of *principles*, and that makes all the difference.
Billy they are not small to those involved and should be handled based on priciples. I meant they are small in the number of incidents compared to interactions with the police each day.
Draw a distinction where? Someone said a cop should be charged with assault and in some cases they have. When assault is appropriate. Assault is a penal law term that’s all I meant. You can’t charge somebody with assault if they did not commit assault. Or else we could charge Murder for using a taser.
Cops should be and have been charged with assault.
Marty-
You have to realize that a lot of the people posting here think the world would be a better place if there weren’t any laws, cops, taxes, etc. There’s nothing you can say that will make them like you. It’s not about you. Don’t take their guff personally.
I guess I’m a soft-core libertarian. I think society needs some laws (some codified limits to human behavior), and some people to enforce them (let’s call them ‘police officers’). I happen to think there are too many laws and there could be fewer cops.
We can discuss things like the ‘War on Drugs’ (I’m against it) or police misconduct (everybody’s against it), but I wonder how many of my fellow libertarians would NOT call 911 if, for instance, some tweaker was shooting out car windows in their neighborhood with a .22. I certainly would. And I’d be glad to see a black & white show up.
“There’s nothing you can say that will make them like you.”
It’s not about liking him, Lloyd, and anyone who would try to reduce the matter to something like that is just being myopic.
“…some tweaker was shooting out car windows in their neighborhood with a .22.”
Left to my own judgment without the prospect of cops beating my door down, I’d be shooting *back*.
“911″? Listen: speaking only for myself here, I can do without the third-rate comedy.
Billy Beck-
I’d feel so much safer in AnCapistan, with random nuts shooting up the place.
Lloyd, I don’t take it personally. Just pointing it out. Yea, I know that my posting on these issues is tough on this forum because I as a Conservative see the need for order and police and the libertarians here could do without the police in any situation.
Yes Lloyd you would be amazed how many* libertarian writers* and readers call 911 in lesser situations than gun fire. It is quite humerous.
I also love the target shooters that talk about how they would handle being shot at. How about just having a gun pointed in their face, standing alone in the projects.
I am BTW a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment and self defense.
It’s not the fear of the person having a gun *only* that prevents a shooter from taking the shot. It is also the fear of jail and cops getting them later.
Lloyd,
If the state wasn’t so damn hungry to disarm “civilians” the tweaker shooting a .22 wouldn’t last long enough for police to get there before the blood stopped flowing, let alone the time to organize and dress a SWAT team in cool tactical gear.
Leaving citizens defenseless is a tactical decision all governments attempt. First, it fosters citizens like you who actually believe WE NEED THEM. Second, when the time comes it leaves citizens no reasonable means to take our Rights back. (A hurdle freedom seeking slaves may well have to overcome… again).
Marty said, “I am BTW a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment and self defense.”
Sorry for the language Marty, and correct me if I’m wrong, but how the hell can you claim this while working in NYC for an organization that is doing the exact opposite of your statement???
Knowing what we both know about the founders reasoning for specifically including the 2nd Amendment, doesn’t this strike you as “evil”?
I could respect you if you were a gun-control raving loony moonbat, at least than you would be honest to what you BELIEVE is right.
Look around you, Lloyd. There is now more law & order than ever before in American history, and you’re the one who was constrained to mention tweekers shooting the place up.
You don’t have any room to lecture anyone about “AnCapistan” while America looks like it does right now.
My question to you: can you be a man and admit reality?
Marty: “I also love the target shooters that talk about how they would handle being shot at. How about just having a gun pointed in their face, standing alone in the projects.”
*Now*, your presumption is offensive, sir. I’ve been there, so kindly get off it or go fuck yourself.
Try to keep it respectful, Beck. I’ve spoken to Marty on the phone a couple of times. We don’t agree on everything, but he is an ally on much of the stuff I write about. I also think it’s helpful and encouraging to have active police officers reading and participating on this site.
I share your frustration at some of these stories, believe me. But dialogue is helpful. I don’t want an echo chamber. Please do challenge and debate him. But “go fuck yourself” doesn’t really get us anywhere.
Marty-
I have had guns pointed at me, in a somewhat different venue than what you’re used to — I was 4 years active duty US Army. I didn’t really care for the experience. It’s something that playing cowboys and indians with the neighbor kids doesn’t prepare you for. You’re right: you don’t know how you’ll handle it until it’s real and in your face.
Billy Beck-
When I mentioned “random nuts shooting up the place,” I was talking about the Charles Bronson wannabe Rand-roids who, in their fantasy lives, imagine themselves taking on the Crips and the Bloods single-handedly.
“Try to keep it respectful, Beck.”
I do, Radley.
I *never* give it away. People earn it from me.
Your move.
Like who, Lloyd? I might be interested to read “Charles Bronson wannabe Rand-roids who, in their fantasy lives, imagine themselves taking on the Crips and the Bloods single-handedly,” just to see what one looks like.
Got any cites on that?
In the Utah incident, if the trooper was worried that there was something dangerous in the car he’s lucky he was wrong. If the wife had been someone inclined to cause harm to the trooper she could have easily. She was in view of him before he knew she was there. Also, his escalation could have caused an escalation by the other party in the car easily. He did not handle that situation well and he is lucky. If he’d have shot that guy, and the wife was just a wife with a gun it could have ended very badly for him. Escalation was a poor decision.
Sure Marty, these guys with thousands of posts on “cop forums” are probably just there lurking and hoping to give cops a bad name. Probably because of a weed bust. If I wasn’t sure you were a cop before, your response to that comment would have confirmed it. Not only that, it proved my point about arguing with a cop… they’re never wrong, you are always wrong, no matter what. I do wonder what happens when they argue amongst themselved though… oh, that’s right, the “brotherhood” forbids it.
Dicks and tools is about right for people who take a job that involves driving around all day looking for petty infractions of a draconian law system in order to turn a buck for the city (or county, or whatever). The guys in the videos posted on this blog are, in my opinion, criminals for what they do. It wouldn’t take too many firings and prosecutions for the police to be quite a bit more careful about when they decide to taser someone.
One thing to keep in mind, I have yet to see one video posted on this blog in which the police officer couldn’t have calmly defused the situation. I thought that police were trained to defuse tense situations… dicks and tools indeed.
Billy Beck-
Use your imagination. If that doesn’t help, try a mirror.
Use plain English, Lloyd, and say what you mean like a man.
Insinuations are for pussies.
And you’re as wrong as you can be.
How about this: You are nuts. You need to see a psychiatrist.
A net.shrink rings in. Very impressive.
Did you get your degree with your ISP deal?
Can I dstract a little? I shoot well enough within 30 yards to be confident I’ll get several solid hits within my house. I hope it’s not a cop, I suggest they call first or knock. At 2am I won’t be waiting to ask questions either and if they’ve knocked out all my motion security lights by the doors I won’t feel bad for very long when highly trained people attempt to use overwhelming force instead of good judgement.
Marty #29. I think that’s a typo AND it’s true. “There are people that didn’t become cops and got tickets one day.” What that implies is what some people already know, cops generally don’t get ticketed. That also goes for unpaid leave, disciplinary action, firing etc for poor performance. I know you would risk your career for outing some of the abuses you likely have already looked the other way over. Be honest about it at least with yourself even if you can’t say it. The average citizen wants to trust the police, THEY make it hard to.