Cop Shoots Unarmed Fleeing Man in the Back

Originally Posted By fkurucz

>>However, when I read something like this, I could easily hear someone putting a race in for the word "police."<<

Wait until you have family members abused by the police, and we'll see if you still think that way. Did I ever share how my late mother, a frail old woman, was roughed up by the police because she didn't understand a command they gave her?

 

Originally Posted By fkurucz

>>Umm....I think you said it pretty well right there. This relationship needs fixing. And painting ALL cops as terrible is not going to help.<<

As long as they all cover up for each other, they are terrible. Stop defending the police state, Josh.

 

Originally Posted By utahjosh

I am not defending the bad the exists.

However, I will defend individual cops who are not the cause of the problem.

 

Originally Posted By fkurucz

I think that it is possible to "defend" those few and far between "good cops" while admitting that there is a structural problem in place that will require more than just "talking" to fix.

That said, I have an interesting anecdote to share. I know a "good cop" here in my town. He is older and retired. He confided to me that the new cops being recruited are cut from a different cloth than they were in his generation. He used an interesting way of describing them: "They're animals"

So there you have it. A "good cop" told me that there is something terribly wrong with the new crop of cops. And this isn't happening by accident, it's deliberate.

 

Originally Posted By trekkeruss

"And then there is the issue Police Militarization.

Even in my podunky, low crime, lily white town the local police have armored vehicles, and they use them.

Why in Heaven's name do they need such equipment?"

I don't suppose many police departments do need such equipment, but since the federal government gives it away, that's why they have them.

 

Originally Posted By skinnerbox

<<My brother was recently pulled over by a cop. For the record, my brother drives SLOW, so much so that I tease him and call him Captain Slow. So the cop tells him that he was doing 65 in a 55 zone. My brother asks the cop if he is certain of that, because he was pretty sure he was doing the speed limit.

That was a BIG mistake. The cop became verbally abusive. He then called for backup. They kept my brother detained at the side of the road for over half an hour, probably while they searched every database in the country for some excuse to arrest him. They found none, so he was eventually let go with a speeding ticket.

And keep in mind, my brother isn't black. I can only imagine how they would have treated him in that case.>>


This is EXACTLY the kind of crap that ALL OF US are being subjected to now.

Bad cops who have to fill quotas by issuing tickets to drivers who have done NOTHING WRONG.

You're not speeding. But you cannot prove it. And you end up with a HUGE fine in most municipalities across the country. Your fine is funding their department and local government.

Take fkurucz's story and juxtapose it to this one from Think Progress about California's court system and outrageously expensive fines:

<a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/04/08/3643497/california-courts-are-just-as-messed-up-as-fergusons/">http://thinkprogress.org/justi...rgusons/</a>

From the article:

"When California state residents are issued a traffic citation, for offenses ranging from driving without a seat belt to vandalism, misplaced registration stickers, broken taillights, truancy, not officially changing a home address, littering, or sleeping on a sidewalk, they receive a $490 ticket. In response to the 2008 recession, the state raised the fine amount from its baseline of $100 by attaching additional statutory fees. When people don’t pay off tickets or appear in court to discuss the citations by an assigned deadline, they’re fined a $300 civil assessment fee and have their driver’s licenses suspended. Those who cannot pay $490 are therefore burdened by more debt."

Imagine fkurucz's brother being fined $490 for speeding when he wasn't speeding. How many drivers in CA are having the same thing done to them? And what happens when those law-abiding citizens are stopped and issued tickets that they do not have the funds to pay? Especially when they've done nothing wrong, or as the article pointed out, have a "fix it" issue with their car that should only require a non-penalty citation? That's how it used to work.

That happened to me in the eighties, late one night in Orange County when the fuse for my headlights went out and the street lights were so bright, I didn't notice. The patrolling cop did and issued me a citation to fix it, less than one block from my apartment complex. So I replaced the fuse, went to the police station the next day and proved the lights were once again functional. But those days of the free "fix it" citations are gone.

This is a vicious cycle of hate and abuse aimed squarely at citizens who are just trying to live their lives as best they can. The cops don't care, their bosses don't care, the local bureaucrats don't care. It's all about looking out for yourself professionally, protecting your good paying job, even if it means screwing over the citizens in your community in order to achieve that end.

So much for brotherly love and compassion. Gone, baby. Gone with the wind.

 

Originally Posted By ecdc

>>I do believe there is a systemic problem that needs to be addressed.... And painting ALL cops as terrible is not going to help.<<

Agree completely.

It's easy to get fired up over this stuff (see my outraged OP). But ultimately, in order for the system to change, police officers need to be a part of the solution. Recognizing that most of them mean well is important. But that also cannot detract from a fundamental truth: this isn't just about weeding out bad apples; the entire system needs to change.

 

Originally Posted By fkurucz

>> Recognizing that most of them mean well is important. But that also cannot detract from a fundamental truth: this isn't just about weeding out bad apples; the entire system needs to change.<<

Exactly. The problem is that bringing about that change is going to be very difficult. It might very well take a citizen's revolt to bring about such change.

 

Originally Posted By utahjosh

Glad to see you guys agree with that.

Change is extremely difficult. I don't know how to fix the problem. I just feel that outrage against all officers is going to exacerbate the problem.

Back to the original post though - this cop is a murderer and should be put away.

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

The person who captured this incident on a cellphone is damn lucky the cop never seemed to notice him, or else he might have been killed as well.

 

Originally Posted By ecdc

The Onion...wow.

<a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/nation-hopeful-there-will-be-equally-random-chance,38397/">http://www.theonion.com/articl...e,38397/</a>

>>Americans told reporters they have faith that, as long as a fair-minded eyewitness happens to be passing by at the exact right time; has the inclination to stop and film; an unobstructed view; enough battery life and memory on their phone; a steady hand; the forethought to start filming an interaction with the police before it escalates into violence; is close enough to get detailed footage, but far enough away to avoid being shot themselves or seen by the officer and potentially having their phone confiscated; and it is daytime, then justice would certainly be served.<<

 

Originally Posted By utahjosh

spot on.

 

Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder

I encourage everyone to ask their local police departments if they can go on ride alongs.

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

Here's another video of a team of cops beating the living shit out of some guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWiUnMXim7s&feature=player_embedded

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

<a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWiUnMXim7s&feature=player_embedded">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...embedded</a>

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

Here's a reasonable message


<a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.wistv.com/story/28772115/mans-candid-honest-video-about-race-and-traffic-stops-is-going-viral">http://www.wistv.com/story/287...ng-viral</a>

 

Originally Posted By ecdc

>>Here's a reasonable message<<

...that has nothing to do with anything.

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

Sorry thought it linked to the video.

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

Here we go this has the full video

<a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://foxct.com/2015/04/11/watch-young-mans-candid-video-about-race-and-traffic-stops-goes-viral/">http://foxct.com/2015/04/11/wa...s-viral/</a>

 

Originally Posted By Dabob2

I think ecdc's point is that it had nothing to do with this case in SC. It's great that this young guy had a traffic encounter that was respectful and non-violent. The very fact that that is considered newsworthy when it ought to be the norm is actually kind of depressing.