Hey long time no see man.

also, no police state here, move along.

Wow.... just wow.

jesus

The only reason he made it out of that night alive is because of the dash cams and the dispatch recording.

Without the cameras or the recording, those uniforms could have juiced him until his hair smoldered and left him for the 'yotes, put his car down the road apiece in the nearest bar parking lot and walked away.

I hope he gets justice.

Can't watch this shit. Started to but can't. Seen too much real life. Stuff like this goes on in all 50 states, has for decades, Columbus PD used to terrify African-Americans back in the 70's. Guys I played hoops with would show up on the courts unable to play, beaten to a pulp. To this day I've never seen people so badly beaten. And open warfare with biker gangs like the Avengers. Undercover cops dramatically separating uniformed officers from bikers. That was almost a blood feud. Things are better than they were because of dashcams. At least more people know. It's very saddening though.

Knowing that people who have no human decency or brains have been put in a position of authority over the rest of us... that's just great!

lemur wrote:Knowing that people who have no human decency or brains have been put in a position of authority over the rest of us... that's just great!

The qualities of decency, as well as brains, are likely more superficial than substantial. The problem any policeman has is one that confronts any of us upon assuming power over others, particularly if it is one of life and death.

http://news.stanford.edu/pr/97/970108prisonexp.html

Does one possess power, or is it power that possesses us? Men insist so on the illusion they can "do" when in truth, everything "happens".

Just after I left the Corps, the Rodney King ordeal happened. I was at an event a little while later when I heard an off duty cop who was out of uniform and drinking proclaim loudly to the crowd around him that Rodney King got everything he deserved. He was a big guy but I was still dealing with a few anger management issues from the Marines and the first sand box and my mom was dying a hard death from cancer and I truly did not give a fuck. I walked into his face and in front of that same crowd I offered him a chance to go Rodney King on my ass. I offered him first shot. I offered him a chance to go to the phone and call some of his buddies. I told him that it did not matter because I was gonna wipe the ground with his ass no matter what he had on his side. When I saw that he was completely cowed, I told him that if he ever went hard on my family or someone I loved that there was no place he would ever be able to hide from me. My brother and friends were all freakin on me and grabbed me and dragged me out of there before other cops showed up.

I will never forget that. I learned that there are many cruel and brutal people out there who seek out the authority of a badge and a uniform so that they may find away to exercise their cruelty and brutality. They are not brave. They are not bold. When left on their own, they will not stand and be counted. Many of these types probably do find that a position in law enforcement can help them to fulfill their desires.

punkinlobber wrote:Just after I left the Corps, the Rodney King ordeal happened. I was at an event a little while later when I heard an off duty cop who was out of uniform and drinking proclaim loudly to the crowd around him that Rodney King got everything he deserved. He was a big guy but I was still dealing with a few anger management issues from the Marines and the first sand box and my mom was dying a hard death from cancer and I truly did not give a fuck. I walked into his face and in front of that same crowd I offered him a chance to go Rodney King on my ass. I offered him first shot. I offered him a chance to go to the phone and call some of his buddies. I told him that it did not matter because I was gonna wipe the ground with his ass no matter what he had on his side. When I saw that he was completely cowed, I told him that if he ever went hard on my family or someone I loved that there was no place he would ever be able to hide from me. My brother and friends were all freakin on me and grabbed me and dragged me out of there before other cops showed up.

I will never forget that. I learned that there are many cruel and brutal people out there who seek out the authority of a badge and a uniform so that they may find away to exercise their cruelty and brutality. They are not brave. They are not bold. When left on their own, they will not stand and be counted. Many of these types probably do find that a position in law enforcement can help them to fulfill their desires.

The pivotal moment in my law enforcement career came when five of us were subduing a small mentally ill man inside the jail. He was down but still struggling, none of us were in jeopardy, all we needed to do was get him cuffed and into the pad. My sgt. walks up, takes a look at the situation and kicks the man hard in the balls. This was followed by a lot of swagger and "guess he'll stop fighting now!" BS and hearty laughs and jokes from my fellow officers. I was appalled, I've spent most of my life trying to look out for the little guys, the underdog... not abuse them because it's fun or convenient.

I started applying for firefighter/medic job the next week, got the hell out of law enforcement as soon as was possible. Too many super troopers and wannabe SEALS back in my day.

Queen, I am sorry to hear that. Don't get me wrong. I believe that the ideal of law enforcement, to serve and protect, is one of the most honorable of pursuits that a person can follow. The chivalrous code is served by all in law enforcement, military service, emergency services, etc. The problem (in my observation) is that with the authority that goes with these professions also goes great responsibility. Because authority is the ultimate corrupting force in humanity, those who are already compromised or corrupt will become more so, much more. It would seem that those in law enforcement would take a special care that the right person is being recruited for the job. I know that here in much of the south the only requirement is a high school education and no felony convictions. Hopefully, time changes things.

I hope that as well, punkin. Far too many people with big chips on their shoulders, emotional instability, and/or a need to have authority, are drawn to the profession. I wish more stable, compassionate, well adjusted folks would give it a go, but the job is so awful I can see why they choose other lines of work.

I remember growing up with the Unit 2 CPD guys getting busted for literally using Gestapo techniques on folks they had detained for questioning. The colors of the largest, most organized streetgang in Chicago is black and blue. That may have changed under Hillard, I have no idea. I always limited my interactions with the CPD.

Gotta watch out for the young turks. Veteran officers are typically much fairer in my experience. And like anyone, police officers are prone to groupthink. In fact, most reported police abuse comes from a group of them.

Avoid groups of police and avoid newer officers. Not always possible, and also, maintain a sense of sympathy towards the police. They have a tough job and I tend to appreciate the work they do.

troutkiller wrote:Gotta watch out for the young turks. Veteran officers are typically much fairer in my experience. And like anyone, police officers are prone to groupthink. In fact, most reported police abuse comes from a group of them.

Avoid groups of police and avoid newer officers. Not always possible, and also, maintain a sense of sympathy towards the police. They have a tough job and I tend to appreciate the work they do.

All very sensible.

In my somewhat recent dealings with SLMPD, it was the young Turks that failed to wear accurate nameplates. I chose to not be amongst the arrested. They seemed ok with my compliance.

punkinlobber wrote:It would seem that those in law enforcement would take a special care that the right person is being recruited for the job. I know that here in much of the south the only requirement is a high school education and no felony convictions. Hopefully, time changes things.

It's hard to recruit good people when you're paying next-to-nothing for someone to risk his life on a daily basis. There have to be other reasons for people to want to do those jobs. For some, it's because they have a strong desire to protect and serve, but, I fear, for most, it's because they have a strong desire to have power.

I doubt that the quality of the police force can drastically improved without having higher standards for recruitment, I doubt that those standards can be raised significantly without reducing the potential applicants below needed levels, and the only way I can see to raise them back is to increase pay and benefits, which requires money, which requires taxes.

So, yeah, I hope things change, too, but I'm not holding my breath for local and state taxes to be raised significantly anywhere in these United States.

wfaulk wrote:

punkinlobber wrote:It would seem that those in law enforcement would take a special care that the right person is being recruited for the job. I know that here in much of the south the only requirement is a high school education and no felony convictions. Hopefully, time changes things.

It's hard to recruit good people when you're paying next-to-nothing for someone to risk his life on a daily basis. There have to be other reasons for people to want to do those jobs. For some, it's because they have a strong desire to protect and serve, but, I fear, for most, it's because they have a strong desire to have power.

I doubt that the quality of the police force can drastically improved without having higher standards for recruitment, I doubt that those standards can be raised significantly without reducing the potential applicants below needed levels, and the only way I can see to raise them back is to increase pay and benefits, which requires money, which requires taxes.

So, yeah, I hope things change, too, but I'm not holding my breath for local and state taxes to be raised significantly anywhere in these United States.

Yeah. Too bad all that DHS money can be used to buy tanks and planes and guns and 007 surveillance toys for morons, but not to hire people who aren't morons.