Police have a dangerous job

[cyclonefence]

made more dangerous by their behavior toward people of color, particularly young men with dark skins.

The police who are unnecessarily aggressive toward some of the people they stop for minor traffic infringements increase whatever risk they feel by coming on as the power force who hates and/or fears the people they have stopped.

While police are killed during routine traffic stops, I assume sometimes without inviting aggression by their own behavior, the fact that police officers *admit* that they are afraid of attack by some (read: dark-skinned) people they stop is telling.

If you are applying for a job, a large part of which involves contact with something or someone you are afraid of, why would you want such a job? If you are afraid of heights, you wouldn't want to work on constructing sky-scrapers. If you're afraid of snakes, you wouldn't apply for work at the reptile house at the zoo.

If you are afraid of the people you believe are the most dangerous and most likely to try to kill you, why would you want to be a police officer?

Could it be because you want to be in the position of bullying, torturing, and even killing those people you fear--without (until recently) any accountability? If the job in the snake house consisted of killing snakes, someone afraid of snakes might well want that job.

What kind of psychological testing is done on applicants for police work?

[wryter2000]

1. Yeah, well, black people have a dangerous life

In part because of racist police.

[Ferrets are Cool]

9. +1

[CrispyQ]

2. Occupations where one has authority or control over others,

often attract the very types of people that shouldn't have authority or control over others. It's just the way it is. Law enforcement, judges, high up politicians, military commanders, even corporate management. I've seen people who I thought were really nice people, go into management & turn into complete buttholes.

[Celerity]

10. +100000

[Paladin]

11. Daily evidence of this unfortunate trait. (nt)

[Scrivener7]

3. The numbers of police killed in routine traffic stops is vanishingly small.

The number in 2019 was 6.
https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2019-statistics-on-law-enforcement-officers-killed-in-the-line-of-duty

For comparison, 39,443 died that year from trips and falls at home and at work.
https://www.nsc.org/work-safety/safety-topics/slips-trips-falls

Seems like being a cop making a traffic stop is a lot safer than you or me going to the office or making coffee in our kitchen.

The "cops killed at traffic stops" bullshit is a canard.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

5. Because most idiots are so caught up in

Not going to jail this officer was lucky

Just posting as I am seeing a good bit of nitpicking today.

[ret5hd]

8. Still waiting:

https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15331022

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. "What kind of psychological testing is done on applicants for police work?"

The kind of testing that would determine whether they're a good fit for the job, which involves being an authoritarian bully.

[Happy Hoosier]

6. Good post, though no doubt...

you'll get some knee-jerk responses to the provocative title.

My reply to the that argument from the right is always, "that they CHOOSE to do."

A job being dangerous does not eliminate the the requirements to act responsibly and within the law.

[Bettie]

7. In terms of dangerous jobs, not even in the top 10

https://www.ishn.com/articles/112748-top-25-most-dangerous-jobs-in-the-united-states

22. Police officers
BLS Category: Police and sheriff’s patrol officers
Fatal injury rate: 14 per 100,000 workers
Total deaths (2018): 108
Salary: $67,600
Most common fatal accidents: Violence and other injuries by persons or animals

Police officers are law enforcement officers tasked with enforcing the law, protecting life and property, and maintaining order. Police officers may perform tasks such as patrolling an area, issuing citations, investigating crimes, arresting suspects, and working with prosecutors on cases.

How dangerous is it to be a police officer? Working as a police officer is about 4.1 times as dangerous compared with the average job nationwide, based upon the workplace fatality rate. Police officers have a workplace fatality rate similar to maintenance workers, construction workers, and heavy vehicle mechanics.

The most common cause of death for police officers at work is violence by persons.

[rgbecker]

13. Farmers are twice as likely to die at work than a policeman.

[link:https://www.ishn.com/articles/112748-top-25-most-dangerous-jobs-in-the-united-states|


Same link as posted by Bettie above. Thanks Bettie.

[Bettie]

14. Happy to help

Roofers: 41 per 100,000

Cops: 14 per 100,000

About 3x more likely than cops to die on the job.

Loggers, Airplane mechanics, Farmers, Maintainence workers, garbage collectors...and yet, somehow, cops are the ones who are terrified at all times.