I am aghast at the polarization in this country between the police and ordinary law abiding citizens. I have never been in trouble with the law but at this time I am more afraid of the police than I am of criminals. I drive with my wallet on my dashboard in case I do get stopped by a police office, hopefully, I will not get shot because the police officer thinks I am going for a gun while showing my driver’s license!

As a yogi, I believe in Karma. The poor, innocent dogs that were shot by the SWAT officers will never have to be reborn as they have learned their lessons very well. The SWAT officers involved in the shooting will be reborn many times as they have failed to learn their lessons.

Thank you for reading.

Charles

George Orwell

http://www.examiner.com/x-536-Civil-Liberties-Examiner~y2009m2d5-Police-raid-victim-convicted-for-act-of-self-defense

Many here seem to be very polarized, and of course, the site is called theagitator.

I would suggest that there are some that would benefit from being able to drive a wedge between the people, and their own police. I doubt that they are very nice, or have our best interests in mind. If the wedge were effective enough, we would become just like many of the other countries I have been to. In many places the police/military are little more than tools to control the population, rather than serve them. Some places may be getting like that here in the US, but not most, not yet.

Radley – great rebuttal! I read Schweinsburg’s letter first, and was tempted to reply to it. You’ve done a much better job than I probably would have.
We do have to regain control, and keep it.

Yes, there’s a place for SWAT. As in the Hollywood robbery. But to unleash them on unsuspecting citizens within their own homes is simply unacceptable. They’ve turned into a bunch of hired murderers.

BTW, there’s a reason I am a FORMER fed. It has everything to do with how the place is run, and I don’t mean the elected portion of the management.

I watched that video, and it was disgusting. The sad thing is, even at an hour long it would take hundreds of these videos to capture all the abuses that happen.
http://fluxview.com/USA/Worlds-Largest-Street-Gang

I don’t believe that I ever heard of the thing in Minn/St.Paul. My search-fu is weak and I cannot find anything on it anywhere.

Haven’t we already determined that “following orders” is NOT a valid defense?

Laura Victoria: I have recently traveled in many countries around the world, and while the majority of people may not quite consider the USA one giant prison, that isn’t far off the mark. I met a number of people who are appalled at what passes for good governance in the USA, and an Australian made his apologies while informing me that Australians tend to think of Americans as stupid. (The joke here is that AUSTRALIANS think Americans are stupid.) Of course, it isn’t so much that Americans are stupid as that we have a policy of deliberately miseducating the public, but it still speaks volumes.

G-Man: I am also concerned at the indiscriminate cop-bashing. Mind you, there’s a lot of cop-bashing that needs to be done, but it should not be indiscriminate. I have met a few principled police officers, and many more who are trying to do the right thing but aren’t sure what that is. We should not confuse those with the cowards and criminals that hide behind a badge.

However… there can be no officer designated with a tranquilizer gun for the simple reason that tranquilizers are not instantaneous… someone in charge of the dog or dogs is a good option… proper padding and a noose/snare… Officers could wear snake proof leggins which don’t allow teeth to penetrate… put that over tin skin clothing.

Now, all that being said, cops in general are not the problem.

So long as they abide by the “code of silence/thin blue line” mentality then yes, they are part of the problem. The enable bad cops to remain on the force and engage in bad behavior which undermines the public’s support of law enforcement. This is a bad thing on many different levels. To be so tone deaf to it suggests that you yourself are part of the problem as well.

The vast majority I have met and served with genuinely want to help and protect people, and care about doing it the right way.

I’m sure they do, but when they see wrong doing and corruption within their ranks how many of them do nothing out of a misplaced sense of loyalty or out of fear of retalitation? You know the saying about evil, all it takes is for good men to do nothing.

….and they certainly wouldn’t have discharged a firearm unless their life was threatened.

Bravo sierra. Standard operating procedure: shoot the dog. So they would indeed shoot even when their life is not endanger.

If you want to blame someone, blame the individuals and the department for their attitudes (and I would argue corruption).

You mean the culture and rhetoric has absolutely nothing to do with it? Like that we are “at war”? That there are LEOs and there are the rest of the people? The “think blue line” mentality? Bravo sierra again, I’m afraid. It isn’t just individuals or a failure of training and such, it is a failure of the culture and the mindset that has been engendered in police officers. Look at your own post you can see its presence there.

You are part of the problem. You need to look at what you are doing and think if it is evil or not. Initiating force against someone who has not initiated force against you or someone else is evil. Initiating force against another for their own good is utterly despicable and something you’d see in a authoritarian regime. I know you’ll like think I’m full of crap and just leave, but until you consider what you do and how you do it, you are part of the problem.