The Police Brutality Thread

[Katy Lied]

Thats what bothers me. There is no fear of harm to the cops-- they've just lost their tempers and feel they have free rein to retaliate.

[Solon]

Thats what bothers me. There is no fear of harm to the cops-- they've just lost their tempers and feel they have free rein to retaliate.

The damnedest thing about all of this to me is that ubiquitous cameras are proving perhaps to be the citizenry's best real weapon against the overreach of heavy-handed authority.
In the dystopian novels, it's the police & government who use the cameras to terrorize the citizens.

I didn't see that coming.

[wuapinmon]

Video of Sherriff's in San Bernadino beating a man even though he had given up.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/lo...299250951.html

If either of those first 2 cops keeps their job, something's rotten.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The damnedest thing about all of this to me is that ubiquitous cameras are proving perhaps to be the citizenry's best real weapon against the overreach of heavy-handed authority.
In the dystopian novels, it's the police & government who use the cameras to terrorize the citizens.

I didn't see that coming.

It really is remarkable how much of an impact cell phone video has made.

[imanihonjin]

It really is remarkable how much of an impact cell phone video has made.

It's really telling that police officers resisted being recorded and tried to claim that it was illegal to do so. Thank the heavens those court cases challenging these laws turned out they way they did. It is readily apparent that police officers need to have a check and balance as they have been given far too much deference in the past.

[Eddie]

The damnedest thing about all of this to me is that ubiquitous cameras are proving perhaps to be the citizenry's best real weapon against the overreach of heavy-handed authority.
In the dystopian novels, it's the police & government who use the cameras to terrorize the citizens.

I didn't see that coming.

It really is remarkable how much of an impact cell phone video has made.

This morning I listened to a radio show talking about police brutality. One of the guests commented that it isn't that there are more incidents occurring. It is all about the fact that so many people are carrying around video cameras in their pocket now to catch it.

Cameras help, obviously. But I don't think there will be significant changes until there is a change in police officer attitudes.

And I still think they will struggle to reconcile with the ideas of always being on their guard for potential deadly situations, without treating everyone as a threat.

The more I think about it - the more I like Wuap's idea of giving them a long sabbatical at some pre-determined interval to step away from the hyper-vigilance. It also wouldn't hurt to have them rotate through assignments in which they are interacting with the public at events or locations in which their sole purpose is to build relationships and trust - and I mean their ability to trust that not everyone is a perpetrator or threat.

[Bo Diddley]

This morning I listened to a radio show talking about police brutality. One of the guests commented that it isn't that there are more incidents occurring. It is all about the fact that so many people are carrying around video cameras in their pocket now to catch it.

Cameras help, obviously. But I don't think there will be significant changes until there is a change in police officer attitudes.

And I still think they will struggle to reconcile with the ideas of always being on their guard for potential deadly situations, without treating everyone as a threat.

The more I think about it - the more I like Wuap's idea of giving them a long sabbatical at some pre-determined interval to step away from the hyper-vigilance. It also wouldn't hurt to have them rotate through assignments in which they are interacting with the public at events or locations in which their sole purpose is to build relationships and trust - and I mean their ability to trust that not everyone is a perpetrator or threat.

The police culture has to change. I've witnessed it firsthand.

But in a lot of ways, you also get what you pay for. The training investment in a single police officer is significant. Departments do not easily fire officers who should be let go because of the replacement cost. Community policing is expensive. They used to walk a beat, but now we put them in a car so they can do more with less officers. Often the wages are too low to attract the type of people you want as police officers.

[Eddie]

Interesting article: http://www.theamericanconservative.c...not-anecdotal/

Some excerpts:

Is it just a few bad apples giving the rest a bad name?

Despite the increasing frequency with which we hear of misbehaving cops, many Americans maintain a default respect for the man in uniform. As an NYPD assistant chief put it, “We don’t want a few bad apples or a few rogue cops damaging” the police’s good name.

This is an attractive proposal, certainly, but unfortunately it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Here are seven reasons why police misconduct is a systemic problem, not “a few bad apples”:

If misconduct is so frequent, why isn't it prosecuted?

On a national level, upwards of 95 percent of police misconduct cases referred for federal prosecution are declined by prosecutors because, as reported in USA Today, juries “are conditioned to believe cops, and victims’ credibility is often challenged.” Failure to remedy this police/civilian double standard cultivates an abuse-friendly legal environment.

Are minorities really specifcially targeted?

To give a particularly striking example, one Florida city’s “stop and frisk” policy has been explicitly aimed at all black men. Since 2008, this has led to 99,980 stops which did not produce an arrest in a city with a population of just 110,000. One man alone was stopped 258 times at his job in four years, and arrested for trespassing while working on 62 occasions. Failure to address this issue communicates to police that minorities are a safe target for abuse.

What about the police protecting their own "good name" by reporting offenses?

Here’s the real clincher. A Department of Justice study revealed that a whopping 84 percent of police officers report that they’ve seen colleagues use excessive force on civilians, and 61 percent admit they don’t always report “even serious criminal violations that involve abuse of authority by fellow officers.”

This last one kills me. Seriously. To the point that I would say any cop who witnesses another cop involved in "a serious criminal violation that involves abuse of authority" may need to be looking for a new job as well. Maybe not on the first offense - I could understand it taking time to change a culture and some training being needed. But I could see a warning, or maybe a three strikes rule. But not more than that.

If these guys are supposed to protect the public, then then need to protect the public. Even from their peers.

[Solon]

Interesting article: http://www.theamericanconservative.c...not-anecdotal/

Some excerpts:

Is it just a few bad apples giving the rest a bad name?


If misconduct is so frequent, why isn't it prosecuted?


Are minorities really specifcially targeted?


What about the police protecting their own "good name" by reporting offenses?


This last one kills me. Seriously. To the point that I would say any cop who witnesses another cop involved in "a serious criminal violation that involves abuse of authority" may need to be looking for a new job as well. Maybe not on the first offense - I could understand it taking time to change a culture and some training being needed. But I could see a warning, or maybe a three strikes rule. But not more than that.

If these guys are supposed to protect the public, then then need to protect the public. Even from their peers.

It's too bad he's gone, because I would really like to hear the thoughts of Eazy-E concerning the police.
It's too bad he never made his opinion public.

[Eddie]

It's too bad he's gone, because I would really like to hear the thoughts of Eazy-E concerning the police.
It's too bad he never made his opinion public.

Truth be told, I've worked quite a bit with police in the past and generally respect them. Usually in conversations like this I'm at the forefront defending cops for doing a difficult job, being required to be respectful of others no matter how they themselves are treated, and always being on the lookout for potential threats. It's a hard job. Particularly for the street cops who end up rolling into situations where they never know if there will be danger or how much.

But I have to admit - that last bit gets to me a little. Too many stories of cops defending their own or covering up mistakes. If they are getting a bad reputation and seem to have lost credibility, most of them (according to the above statistics) have no one to blame but themselves for not doing anything to change that.

[Bo Diddley]

Truth be told, I've worked quite a bit with police in the past and generally respect them. Usually in conversations like this I'm at the forefront defending cops for doing a difficult job, being required to be respectful of others no matter how they themselves are treated, and always being on the lookout for potential threats. It's a hard job. Particularly for the street cops who end up rolling into situations where they never know if there will be danger or how much.

But I have to admit - that last bit gets to me a little. Too many stories of cops defending their own or covering up mistakes. If they are getting a bad reputation and seem to have lost credibility, most of them (according to the above statistics) have no one to blame but themselves for not doing anything to change that.

Ever hear of the Brotherhood in Blue? Or the Blue Code? The Blue Shield? I'm telling you it's absolutely real, and a part of the culture that needs to change.

[frank ryan]

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[dabrockster]

New video of a big brawl in Cottonwood, Az. Where policy had to shoot a man. Family of 8 originally from Idaho. Crazy video..

[CardiacCoug]

Some real life Grand Theft Auto policework here. Sounds like it was justified.

[byu71]

Cops have to be the lowest paid per hour of anyone whose decisions are likely to have grave consequences. I don't think teachers are comparable, but they too make decisions that can have grave consequences and are paid low on a relative basis.