police in America

[tulc]

US police have killed 197 people in 2015.
Killed By Police - 2015
tulc(thought this was news)

 

[tulc]

some interesting stories about the police in America
Handicapped Janitor Suing After Cops Forced Her To Wear "I'M DOPE" Shirt: Gothamist
tulc(found some news about the police in America)

 

[tulc]

it seems the police don't just kill people they also cost taxpayers millions every year
6 Police Misconduct Settlements Worth Millions - ABC News
tulc(is going to need more coffee)

 

[tulc]

Do lawsuit payouts equal a pattern of police misconduct? | cleveland.com
tulc(wonders where all those "good cops" are)

 

[tulc]

here's one about Chicago:
Chicago Police Misconduct Payouts Topped $50 Million in 2014
thought this was interesting:

That’s more than the budget for the offices of the mayor, the city treasurer, the city council, the council committees and the department of human resources – combined.

tulc( )

 

[tulc]

Police are not just shooting people they're also tasering them:
At Least 35 People Killed by Police Tasers in US in 2014 ? Amnesty Int'l / Sputnik International
tulc(is glad American dogs are safe at least)

 

[tulc]

oops...spoke too soon! :o
https://www.facebook.com/DogsShotbyPolice
tulc(wonders if this is a trend)

 

[keith99]

There is a serious problem with police in the U.S.

They get viewed as a monolith. Or at best each department gets viewed that way.

It is not true and that way of viewing things tarnishes good cops and allows bad cops to remain on the force, or at the least make it take far longer to get rid of them.

They need to be seen as individuals and to individually be held accountable for their individual actions and only their individual actions (which does include covering up or remaining silent).

 

[dgiharris]

I've been giving this subject a lot of thought recently and I think the problems we have with police can be attributed to simple Darwinism.

In an ideal environment, good police would be rewarded, bad police would be punished to the point of eventual elimination from the force. Police conduct would be evaluated within a system that fosters reasonable judgement and common sense and adjudicates said conduct vs the law and constitution.

However, the policing environment is far from ideal. The system is overwhelming skewed to favor police. There is virtually no penalty for police perjury and as a result fictitious police reports are so common as to be norm. When police reports contradict video evidence again absolutely no penalty for perjury happens. When police are found guilty of subverting or denying civil rights it is a rarity that said police are fired. In fact, most often the police department will "stand behind" the officer citing "proper procedure was followed".

Which brings me to "police procedure".

Police procedure has become a term which allows police near unlimited authority to commit violence against the citizenry over ANY conflict with police to include said citizen REFUSING unlawful and unconstitutional orders. For instance, a man was slumped in his car in a diabetic coma. Police arrived and thought the man was drunk. Since the man did NOT follow police orders to step out of the car, put your hands on the wheel, give me your hands, the man was beaten to the point of hospitalization. This was "supported" by "Police Procedure" because the man was not following commands.

However, a person in a diabetic coma is not combative, is not a threat, is not offensive in their actions and has almost no cognitive function. Said person is more like a 2 year old than an adult while in a diabetic stupor. So, how could police procedure ever support beating such an individual to the point of requiring medical care? How does "not following orders" equate to forfeiture of civil rights to the point of receiving life threatening injuries? Why is it permissible for such violence to occur under the banner of "resisting arrest"? Why does "resisting arrest" grant automatic license for extreme violence vs the citizenry in lieu of common sense.

So, it is no wonder why police departments have become a haven and playground of bullies. If I were a bully, if I were a sadist, if I were an ego maniac, then being a police officer would be a dream job. You argue with me, I can invent a contrived charge like "disturbing the peace" or "obstructing justice" or "Loitering" or "trespassing" and then I can arrest you. You resist my arrest by any means to include simply stepping back from me and arguing, I now have near unlimited license to beat you in the name of "police procedure" since you are now "resisting arrest". Once I arrest you, I can write whatever I want in the police report with virtually no fear of reprisal since I've mastered the art of fudging my reports just enough to provide enough gray area for me to be justified in my actions. And the police department will close ranks around me and protect me.

 

[bhsmte]

There is a serious problem with police in the U.S.

They get viewed as a monolith. Or at best each department gets viewed that way.

It is not true and that way of viewing things tarnishes good cops and allows bad cops to remain on the force, or at the least make it take far longer to get rid of them.

They need to be seen as individuals and to individually be held accountable for their individual actions and only their individual actions (which does include covering up or remaining silent).

Very well stated and I agree.

Everyone tends to paint with a broad brush and you just can't do that and be accurate in how you view things.

I don't know how many cops there are in the US, but there has to be hundreds of thousands, most of which, I am sure do a fine job.

With that said, there are clearly events that happen, that appear to be extreme overkill and the cops acting with hair triggers, when it comes to using their weapons, as the method to stop someone.

Lets face reality; the US has always been a gun driven culture. Young boys got toy guns when they were young, we have all watched the western movies and the cops and robber shows were guns are prevalent and everyone is shooting it out. When people are constantly exposed to this culture, it has an impact and there is no way around that.

Also, I have always thought, cops have a very difficult job and they have to make decisions that could impact their own life and the life of others, in a split second. For that reason, it is important, cops are thoroughly screened from a psychological standpoint, to help weed out candidates, that may not be well suited to staying calm and level headed during the stress of decision making.

 

[dgiharris]

There is a serious problem with police in the U.S.

They get viewed as a monolith. Or at best each department gets viewed that way.

It is not true and that way of viewing things tarnishes good cops and allows bad cops to remain on the force, or at the least make it take far longer to get rid of them.

They need to be seen as individuals and to individually be held accountable for their individual actions and only their individual actions (which does include covering up or remaining silent).

Completely disagree with bold. Bad cops remaining on the force has nothing to do with the public's perception of police. Bad cops remain on the force because the system protects them, because so-called good cops do NOTHING when they witness bad cops violate the civil rights and constitutional rights of the citizenry. In fact, so-called good cops support bad cops, lie for them, write their reports to match theirs, and do not report these bad cops to Internal Affairs unless something tragic like a death occurs.

There are good police departments out there, but they are few and far between. There are police departments that hold their officers to a very high standard of conduct and they seriously investigate complaints but again these are the minority. The majority of departments hide their stats, hide their data, close off their findings to the public, stand behind their bad cops and have a ridiculous umbrella of protection when it comes to "police procedure". Even in the case of clear misconduct and video evidence many police departments choose to sweep it under the rug and do nothing.

I'm hoping, I'm praying that this anti-police movement sweeping the nation will lead to reforms of the police departments in which bad cops are just not tolerated. I mean, can you imaging if an employee at Apple, Dennys, McDonalds, or Sony did 1/100th of the crap bad police do? They'd be fired in a heart beat. Whereas for some reason, as a society we somehow justify the existence of bad police and accept the fallacy that it is just an impossible problem to fix.

No, no it's not. It is an extremely easy problem to fix. We need to turn on our brains and stop giving passes to ridiculous childish lies police use to justify their behavior. I mean, the lies they come up with sound like something a 6-yr old would say when caught with his hand in the cookie jar yet we believe it. Police beat a man in a diabetic coma and somehow we accept it as "Well, it was a mistake, he thought he was drunk."

No. Drunks are combative and dangerous, people in diabetic comas are like turtles that can barely move. Yet we the public accept that excuse with a shrug and we've got to turn on our brains and stop being sheeple!!!

 

[TheChristianSurvivalGuide]

oops...spoke too soon! :o
https://www.facebook.com/DogsShotbyPolice
tulc(wonders if this is a trend)

When you say that you "wonder if this is a trend", what are you referring to as "this?"

 

[dgiharris]

....
Also, I have always thought, cops have a very difficult job and they have to make decisions that could impact their own life and the life of others, in a split second. For that reason, it is important, cops are thoroughly screened from a psychological standpoint, to help weed out candidates, that may not be well suited to staying calm and level headed during the stress of decision making.

FWIW, cops are thoroughly screened but not in the way we think.

If your IQ is too high then you are disqualified. Yes, that is right.

There are other metrics as well they use to disqualify you.

What they are looking for is their kind of guy or gal. Someone who isn't going to rock the boat and will assimilate nicely into the current police culture and not question said culture.

Food for thought.

 

[tulc]

When you say that you "wonder if this is a trend", what are you referring to as "this?"

I thought the post was pretty self explanatory.
tulc(is surprised anyone didn't understand)

 

[Nithavela]

FWIW, cops are thoroughly screened but not in the way we think.

If your IQ is too high then you are disqualified. Yes, that is right.

There are other metrics as well they use to disqualify you.

What they are looking for is their kind of guy or gal. Someone who isn't going to rock the boat and will assimilate nicely into the current police culture and not question said culture.

Food for thought.

Citation needed.

 

[JustOneWay]

oops...spoke too soon! :o
https://www.facebook.com/DogsShotbyPolice
tulc(wonders if this is a trend)

No, this is not a trend....

this is training by killing living animals which makes it easier for them to shoot people when the opportunity arises.

 

[tulc]

Citation needed.

Court OKs Barring High IQs for Cops - ABC News
tulc(likes to help)

 

[tulc]

or here:
Can Someone Be Too Smart To Be A Cop?
tulc(has a couple more if desired)

 

[bhsmte]

Court OKs Barring High IQs for Cops - ABC News
tulc(likes to help)

Yes, I am familiar with that high IQ piece that occurred.

Here is the thing though, high IQ, doesn't always correspond to good decision making under pressure and are completely different measurements. Being able to turn down high IQ candidates, probably had something to do with a concern those folks would grow very bored with the job.

Being able to make decisions under pressure, that a cop is thrust into on a whim, I don't believe relates a whole bunch to IQ.

 

[whatbogsends]

Yes, I am familiar with that high IQ piece that occurred.

Here is the thing though, high IQ, doesn't always correspond to good decision making under pressure and are completely different measurements. Being able to turn down high IQ candidates, probably had something to do with a concern those folks would grow very bored with the job.

Being able to make decisions under pressure, that a cop is thrust into on a whim, I don't believe relates a whole bunch to IQ.

So police work is very dangerous and we need the best, but not the brightest, because it's too boring?

IQ may not have a direct correlation with the ability to do police work, but they shouldn't be weeding out people because of high IQ....but they are.