Police are ALWAYS Wrong...

How do you know he was telling the truth? That's a common pretext for a search.

 

We had a report of a fast food joint being robbed with a handgun by a suspect driving a Blue Camero. When I got on-scene in a marked patrol car, I saw a Blue Camero leaving the drive-through window, so I did a traffic stop on the two occupants. I did it at gunpoint and I ordered the occupants out of the car and had them lay down on the ground.

It turns out that it wasn't the right Blue Camero -- and the driver was pissed!!!! :chairshot:

I explained to the driver what was going on and apologized for the inconvenience, but he was still ranting and raving and screaming that his food was now cold. :cool2:

I had the impression that he thought I was lying, but I'll never know if he believed our story. :redface:

Sometimes it doesn't pay to get out of bed!!! :smashfreakB:

 

His food got cold, what a dick!

I have a question though. How do you make the emoticons appear inside of the thread reply, like you did here. I can't figure out how to put my trademark smiley face next to my name like I used to

Abner

 

I completely agree with you MC. We as a nation have to stop searching for a way to be the victim. If you threaten or attempt to take the life of a police officer, you are very likely to be killed. Those are the rules by which we live. If you don't want to get killed, don't try to stab, shoot, or run over a police officer.

 

I just click on them. If they don't show up where I want them, I simply retype or cut and paste as needed. Now I'll let the thread get back on topic. :hijacked:

 

I'm going to try and tread carefully as I suspect my opinion will not be popular.

Let me start by saying that the huge polarity that results in irrational types and levels of resistance in situations where it is not required is a bad thing.

I do believe that people defending their right to protests is a good thing. If I was at a rally and cops tried to shut it down I would gladly (and peacefully) refuse (and don my vinegar soaked bandanna, and swim goggles, now illegal in some states). It would be wrong to hurt individual officers who are following orders; however, what they are doing in many cases is also wrong. If a couple wing-nuts throw some bottles at the cops it's not fair to deprive a multi-thousand person protest of their rights. I'm also skeptical of the government controlling who can protest what, especially because the protest is usually directed at the parties making those decisions. That is a conflict of interest. Instead I believe the process should be standardized, simplified, and well publicized.

I also believe that incidents of police brutality are fairly well documented and am grateful that youtube has these incidents documented so the proper public outcry can be fostered. I do not believe that all cops are bad because of the actions of a few, but I do believe that certain officers have gotten away with things that should not have happened and that cover-ups have occurred.

I would also like to point out the wide variance between jurisdictions concerning the standards that their officers are held to. The fact that some jurisdictions and some cops get away with the things they do is outrageous, I'm sure police in other jurisdictions are more reasonable.

Finally, it's important to realize that police are part of a system with an incarceration rate three times higher than the rest of the developed world (almost twice as high as Russia, the next in line). It's important to acknowledge that people rot in jail for months waiting for trial for crimes they did not commit with no evidence against them and are not compensated when released. Also, baseless accusation is a big problem today, at least here in Colorado springs. It's no longer true that if you are innocent you have nothing to fear, I'm not old enough to know if it ever was true, but I'm confident that it is not true today.

Is that the fault of the police? Not usually, generally it is law-makers and poor policy, much of the anger is misdirected at police, but saying that they don't share in fault on some level would be wrong in my opinion. Smaller (but still important issues) like rampant profiling and smack talk, while understandable, are patently a failing of police. I know profiling exists in Colorado Springs, not just because of race, but age and gender, especially in traffic situations. Is it logical? Yes! Is it OK? NO!

But I do want to say I'm grateful to the good cops and good jurisdictions, particularly the cops that frequent this forum that I believe are trying to do what's right. I hope I haven't stepped on too many toes. This is one of the bad jurisdictions, and it has colored my perception of the whole. Excessive force, knit-picky policies and constant verbal harassment that would never be allowed if it were directed at a cop are common here. I can testify to that. I do believe this must stop, I do believe our freedom is at stake, and I do believe that cops have a tough job and face a tough moral choice every time they enforce a bad law. I hope my opinion is clear and without aggressive tone.

Please don't flame me

 

Here's to you, rickyjo :firedevil:

JK.

Police brutality happens. It is horrible. It is unjust. It needs to be addressed. rickyjo, I would be right next to you in my helmet, superman cape, and galoshes.

BUT, that's not what we're talking about here. An individual pulled a knife on a police officer. That individual was hispanic, and the event occurred in an area with racial tensions. So, the event gets sensationalized, and people cry "victim" where it's not appropriate. In the second story, an individual attempted to run over a cop, and he was shot. He was black; the cops (impliedly) were not. His mother doesn't want to believe he could ever do wrong. That's understandable. But, those officers did have a right to defend themselves.

Should there be an investigation? Absolutely. Should the officers' stories be subjected to inquiry to verify their validity. Certainly. People died; it would be unjust for a full inquiry not to be made.

But the sensationalism with which these events are treated, and their use by interest groups as inflammatory tools, reeks of just another form of social terrorism. If we as a society need documented examples of injustice around which to call for reform, then let us at least use valid examples, not just some random event in which there may or may not have been any real wrongdoing.

 

Well I'm with you in those two examples as I currently understand them. You can't pull a weapon on an officer and not expect him/her to react in kind. I certainly don't want our police in danger either. I may have seen an argument where there was none

 

I live in a nice up scale neighborhood. I'm white. My 20 year neighbor was black. (He's still alive. I say "was" because he moved away and is no longer my neighbor.) The police stopped him traveling to or from his own home many times over the years. I have never been stopped in my own neighborhood by the police. I really can't blame him for being bothered by this.

This doesn't mean that I don't respect the police because I do. They have a hard job and frequently don't get the respect, accolades, and pay that they deserve. Just the point is that there are different perspectives and in different contexts there can be different valid points of view.

 

BULL@$%^ you keep doing what you are doing. They can whine and cry all they want but if you are doing the right thing in which your scenario you were, then do it. Its criminal mentality that allows the public outcrys of injustice. Yet, the men and women who serve our streets as patrolman no one understands what they go through. Yet if this persons camaro was stolen I bet he would want you to pull every Camaro out there. He would want road blocks and choppers searching his car.

 

Were you in the car with him every time he got pulled over? Ever stop to think maybe that blinker was not on? Maybe he did not yield long enough? How ever minor the infraction its still the law. Do we like it sometimes no? I have gotten tickets in my past but I did something wrong and dealt with it.
IS there bad cops out there ? Of course .. But my god its these minor things that start cops to believe their jobs are meaningless then they care less then nothing gets done.

 

It was awhile ago (mid 70's) but I was stopped by an officer with his gun drawn. The reason being that an elderly couple had been robbed and severely beaten in their home the night before. My car matched the description of a car seen in the area and I matched the description of someone seen in the area. I was checked out and let go. I saw something on the news later in the day about the robbery and beating. I didn't have a problem being stopped.

I would add though that I have a much greater respect now for people that are willing to take on law enforcement jobs than I did 35 years ago. Something that comes with age.

 

I guess I'm glad that this thread has dried up a bit. To me it seems a silly argument. Are Police ALWAYS wrong? Of course not. Are they ALWAYS right. Certainly not. The truth is ALWAYS found somewhere in the middle. Law Enforcement is a very difficult profession, especially on the street level. Sometimes human will make human mistakes. Other times they will get it exactly right.

Here's a story that's playing out in my neighborhood. No one knows yet how it will turn out.

Witnesses dispute police account of fatal shooting - The Boston Globe

 

It does matter but it is a very bad idea to demand that the officer show you proof on the spot. Responsible citizens follow up by contacting the appropriate office for the department the next day.

It certainly does happen but that doesn't make it right. The flip side of the coin is that having worked largely in minority neighborhoods in Philadelphia for many years, I can state that one of the most consistent profiles we use is checking on the activities of young white males driving through such areas. I would estimate that close to 70% are there to make drug purchases. An abnormally high percentage also have outstanding arrest warrants or are driving with suspended licenses due to DUI convictions. The thing is that we are not looking to harass the hardworking citizens who are just trying to live their lives. We are trying to make the neighborhoods we work in better places for its residents by reducing crime and the negative effects that come with it. It doesn't do those residents any good if we ignore what our experience tells us is a valid indicator that criminal activity is taking place. Suburban cops wouldn't ignore it and their residents would demand action, I don't think that urban residents deserve any less.