Originally Posted By vbdad55 <But you're right, I don't know much about what cops do, and I don't care to. So long as they stay away from me.< it's far more than ticketing speeders - I wouldn't do their job for what they get paid. Working with domestics is not an easy role. A sergeant we know ( his wife works with mine) lost his life a fewyearsbackwhen he went into a domestic dispute - they thought they had it quelled when the woman grabbed a gun from an officer and started firing, unfortunately he didn't come home that night -- wife and 4 kids - but then,he is just another taser happy - speeding ticket writer.
Originally Posted By barboy ///but then,he is just another taser happy - speeding ticket writer./// If he was one of those then I'm glad he's gone, just one less negative soul adversely affecting others--- if he had honor then the story saddens me.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 he was a solid family guy --was officer friendly in the schools - a DARE officer etc....
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <again, I am not saying there are no bad cops out there - of course there are - and they should be held to a higher standard because they are entrusted to carry weapons etc. - and prosecuted to the fullest extent for abuses - absolutely.> I think that makes perfect sense. I would guess there are no more bad or jerk cops than bad or jerk people in the general population - the trouble is, if you run into a bad cop, he has the authority of the State behind him, and can cause you to have a much worse day (or a lot longer than that) than if you just ran into a bad sales clerk, say. So cops must be held to a higher standard than other professions, if anything. I also think dshyates had it right in #30 - much depends on the tone set from the top as to what is tolerated and whether bad cops think they can get away with abuses, or know they'd better not try.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Please expound on how a resident of Japan can be familiar with police and tasering in the U.S. to the point where the resident can draw what he or she believes to be definitive conclusions.*** Don't be ridiculous. Most residents read the same news articles I do and draw their conclusion. Everyone has different levels of experience with cops and tasers (from never speaking to cops and never having a problem (most of my family), to people like me who've had the occasional, always unpleasant run-in with cops but no big problem, to people who are breaking the law and experience cops and tasers first hand, perhaps often), it's totally stupid to say that just because I live where I live I can't possibly comprehend what's going on. How many times has the average LPer had dealings with cops (speeding, or whatever, or perhaps something worse)? I'm certain I'd fall right into the "same as everyone else" category. That's just your excuse for dismissing my opinion on these issues. It's a pretty weak one.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder I'd be defensive about it if I were you, too. You've read about all the negative things in the press, and as we all know, the press is eminently fair and balanced. All the good police do on a routine, day to day basis is always front page news, right up there with the yahoos who abuse tasers. So of course, you're an expert. Glad we cleared that up.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***So you've read about from afar.*** As does most everyone. By the way, my negative opinion about cops was formed not HERE, but back THERE when I used to live in America. I had occasion to run into cops from time to time, and most of them were power tripping jerks.
Originally Posted By Mr X You can add to that my experience hanging out with cops, usually a friend of a friend as I doubt I'd ever actually want to be friends with one, and I heard story after story about those "stupid people" they get to harass every day in their oh so exciting job *chuckle chuckle*... One of them told a story about harassing some kids while standing over my friends kitchen sink washing out his bong. Real stand-up kind of guy. No, Passholder, my opinion has little to nothing to do with where I'm living NOW, or the fact that I'm just reading about the brutality rather than experiencing it firsthand.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<question : does anyone believe the % of bad cops to the population of police is larger than the % of bad people in the general population?>> Yes. For two reasons: 1) Some people become cops because they have power issues. There are psychological tests upon application, but those certainly don't successfully screen all the "cowboys" from being hired. 2) The departmental culture in which many cops work is macho, prejudiced, antagonistic, self-protective, and closed. It encourages, supports, and covers bad behavior on the part of its members. Not so different, perhaps, from many other occupational environments: construction crews; college coaching teams; auto repair shops; etc. But, as previously mentioned on this thread, the consequences of policemen acting inappropriately are significantly more serious than the consequence, say, of a sales clerk at an oil-change shop acting inappropriately. I HATE bad cops. Obviously, I hate that they abuse their power and treat citizens unfairly. But perhaps moreso I hate them because they give a bad rap to the vast majority of cops who are AMAZINGLY fair, level, patient, and skillful in their dealings with citizens.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "I had occasion to run into cops from time to time, and most of them were power tripping jerks." Given how quickly excitable you can get around here, I have no doubt that was your impression then and how they might have seemed to you.
Originally Posted By Mr X Well, again with the assumptions. No, you're wrong. In fact, I'm not even speaking about their treatment of ME personally, but the treatment of friends of mine which I witnessed. Nice try though. No, you can't put the blame on me (I've never committed a crime or been to jail), but I'm sure you'd like to. Yes, Passholder, cops are great and anyone who has a problem with their actions must be either at fault, delusional, or absent. How many more excuses are you going to come up with?
Originally Posted By Mr X Look, Passholder, every time I express my opinion on these matters you go out of your way to try and find a way to invalidate it. Why not just take my word for it, and simply acknowledge that my experiences in this matter have been negative. That's not a scientific study, I'm not trying to claim it is, it's simply one man's experiences and I have every right to form my own opinions based on such things. To try and find every excuse in the book to explain away my opinions as somehow tainted or without justification is just you being insulting.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "Yes, Passholder, cops are great and anyone who has a problem with their actions must be either at fault, delusional, or absent." Yeah, that's exactly what I've said. "Why not just take my word for it, and simply acknowledge that my experiences in this matter have been negative." Again, I have no doubt. I also find your attitude to be irrational. Such is life.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***"Yes, Passholder, cops are great and anyone who has a problem with their actions must be either at fault, delusional, or absent." Yeah, that's exactly what I've said.*** Wow, and you're going round calling OTHERS "irrational"? You're really blind to these issues, you know that? I'm not sure why, exactly (I'm assuming simple defensiveness because of your career, which is even more scary since you should know better than most about the problems and what we should be DOING about them...but instead you throw on the rose colored glasses and claim everything is great). Wow.
Originally Posted By barboy Could some of SinglePark's angle come from the fact that he has a father-in-law who is/was a police officer? Probably. How about his time spent in security for a retailer? Or time spent as an interrogator. Or that he, in effect, currently practices law enforcement in a very populated county in the LA area. I could only think that experiences like those could and would shape his take on things.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "You're really blind to these issues, you know that? I'm not sure why, exactly (I'm assuming simple defensiveness because of your career, which is even more scary since you should know better than most about the problems and what we should be DOING about them...but instead you throw on the rose colored glasses and claim everything is great). Wow." Here's what I've actually said in this thread: "Well, everyone can feel real neato about calling the cops names, and if they deserve it they should and will be punished. But there's no way in hell this broad brushes all police officers, which is certainly the intent here in this thread." "Well, considering the intellect shown here on your part, no need to go any further with intelligent conversation. You've missed the point I was making completely, which is there was no defending this, so why would anyone want to try? You obviously wanted to fight in this thread, but you're not getting one from me. As for the sterotyping, you bet bet your sweet ass I was. Using bad behavior by jerkwater cops as a way of showing how all cops abuse tasers? Go away. And don't even start with me of all people about being friends with cops. So yes, bad cops with tasers=bad things happen. Point's been made." Please, tell us where any of this says "throw on the rose colored glasses and claim everything is great".
Originally Posted By dshyates I was just glad to here you say this was indefensible. I think your view (except that I was trying to demonize all cops) is pretty reasonable. I think a big problem is that good cops don't make the news unless the give a kidney to a little girl. But that is the nature of news. A guy wrecking and killing a family of 6 is news, a guy arriving home safe in his driveway is not. So what we get from the news is just all the bad stories.
