Looks Like The Police Are Becoming The Enemy

[TheMastersNemesis]

We are getting a poorer quality person for our police these days. There are too many incident of police brutality and misbehavior. When you cannot trust the police it is a national crisis.

Not all cops are bad of course. But we have a problem.

[Lifelong Dem]

1. I disagree

[TroglodyteScholar]

2. Heh n/t

[Savannahmann]

18. I'll agree with you.

The OP's statement that not all cops are bad is obviously something to disagree with. I mean, even if the "good" cops don't actually participate in the executions, beatings, rapes disguised as searches. Then they write the reports full of lies to protect those who are.

Welcome to the boards, and good catch on the point to disagree with.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

22. x2

[AnotherMcIntosh]

25. They also willingly and regularly lie under oath. Find a person who has never heard "testilying"

and you'll find someone who is not a cop.

Any civilian who has not heard the term before can read, for example,
Testilying: Police Perjury and What to Do About It by Christopher Slobogin
67 U. Colo. L. Rev. 1037 (1996)
http://www.constitution.org/lrev/slobogin_testilying.htm

[DJ13]

3. Earlier this evening we had 3 police officers with flashlights looking around our back yard

I went outside, and they ignored me, kept looking around, then left after 20 minutes or so.

I wasnt going to risk confronting them, and I have no idea what they were looking for.

[hfojvt]

10. a couple of weeks ago

I was waiting outside an after school kids hangout where I have started to volunteer. A cop came driving up because he said somebody had called about some unattended kids.

This group of kids, from a poor neighborhood. They gathered around this cop like he was a rock star. They were all chatty and friendly, seemingly without any fear or distrust.

As for me. Well, I work for the city and so do the cops, so they are just fellow city workers to me, and I think my status with the city has saved me from a few tickets.

Not sure though, what happens when I retire.

[Savannahmann]

19. Are you kidding?

Of course the cop was a virtual rock star. I mean, how else can you kill, brutalize, and maim and not only stay out of trouble, but get awards and promotions?

[Deep13]

4. They have always been the enemy.

Sure, there are useful things that they do, but their basic purpose is to enforce the existing power structure. Plus, the limits of formal law have allows allowed them a great deal of discretion in the use of violence and also in plainly unlawful activity. The kinds of people attracted to the police as a career are often overgrown schoolyard bullies who simply want to continue to exercise power over others after high school is over.

[hfojvt]

5. too many incidents?

or just too many bloggers who search through the refuse to find and post an "I hate these awful cops" stories.

How many incidents do we read about here where a cop, who is perhaps a decent person, gets killed in the line of duty?

Was there a thread about this guy? http://www.odmp.org/officer/21864-reserve-officer-robert-libke

or this guy?
http://www.odmp.org/officer/21861-police-officer-casey-kohlmeier

this guy?
http://www.odmp.org/officer/21761-village-public-safety-officer-thomas-o-madole

this guy?
http://www.odmp.org/officer/21769-sheriff-eugene-crum

according to this site, a cop dies in the line of duty about every three days on average.

But there are not dozens of threads expressing outrage over their untimely deaths here or on Dkos, are there?

There were seemingly 15,000 people convicted of homicide in 1994. The police helped to capture and put them away. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/html/cjusew96/cpp.cfm

But those incidents are not worth discussing much. Only bad things are news. Only bad things get brought up week after week until you are inundated and soaked in them and it seems like there are far more bad incidents than there really are.

The problem we have is in our eyes, in our point of view, to be hunting always for something bad, something we can get outraged about, some horrible, rotten, foolish person that we can spew three minutes of hate on to. Because those daily frustrations in our stress-packed lives have got to be released somewhere.

[Jesus Malverde]

7. The big game changer has been camera phones, which shine daylight on the dirty work of policing...nt

[Savannahmann]

20. According to your site,

Roughly equal to "gunfire" deaths is all automobile related accidents. So why aren't we outraged about that? The taxpayers have to foot the bill on the death benefits, or the medical expenses for the officer, most of whom would be alive, or at the most minimally injured if they had worn their seatbelts. So how much money are we wasting on this?

http://www.thestate.com/2012/10/22/2490016/for-police-not-wearing-seat-belts.html

How much are we taxpayers footing for line of duty injuries and deaths that are preventable if the police were to follow the same laws that they ticket us for? Do you realize that roughly half those deaths you are bemoaning could be prevented if the police were just a little more cautious in their driving, and wore normal standard safety equipment that is installed in the car by law?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

26. If you can find a single cop like Serpico who is willing to be honest and report illegal actions of

fellow cops, like delivering unnecessary and excessive violence, you'll find a rare cop. One that will be ostracized by fellow cops and even the police brass.

Do you have any links to any Internet stories about such honest cops?

If you did, maybe you could provide a public service by posting a few.

[hfojvt]

29. a couple questions for you

One, is that the only thing a good cop is supposed to do?

Two, how many times in your work life have you seen a co-worker do something they were not supposed to do, and how many times have you reported it?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

38. Ah, a diversion. (1) Obviously no. (2) Cops are public employees who owe a duty to the public.

[FreakinDJ]

33. DAs do it all the time - and in Calif its illegal to take action against BAD Cops

Cops who lie under oath and blow the DA's case

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023999724

[AnotherMcIntosh]

39. Your link doesn't support your assertions.

There is nothing to support your assertion that "DAs do it all the time." Nothing at all.

There is also nothing to support your assertions that "in Calif its illegal to take action against BAD Cops." Instead, your post found with the link merely provides:

"The first, SB 313, would make it tough for police agencies and sheriff's departments from punishing officers who have been found by district attorney's offices to have lied or behaved in other dishonorable ways. The bill nevertheless passed overwhelmingly in both houses and is back in the Legislature where an amendment favored by police chiefs and sheriffs associations is being considered. Those groups had previously opposed the bill, given that it would make it tough for them to root out bad cops.
<snip>
"Current law forbids the public from having access to the disciplinary records of misbehaving officers. The union-allied group that sponsored the bill, PORAC (the Peace Officers Research Association of California) has paid for the legal defense of officers accused of terrible behavior. And it's already difficult to fire bad employees because of the Peace Officers Bill of Rights and other protections."

Unreliable hearsay is routinely rejected by the courts. We have no idea as to what SB 313 provides. And no link was provided so that the summary of that Bill could be verified and the Bill could become law. Even if verified, the summary does not support the assertion that "in Calif its illegal to take action against BAD Cops."

[Egnever]

28. Well said

sometimes I think this place is looney tunes.

The whole GD page is one post after another of negative. Of course the news is almost always negative.

It is warping peoples perspective.

[EOTE]

32. Did any of those hero cops testify against their criminal cohorts?

Because criminals exist in EVERY PD. Yet we see pretty much no Serpicos, they just don't exist. You ever wonder why that is?

[FSogol]

35. Well said, but your post will drop like a stone here on police-hating DU. n/t

[99Forever]

36. Police get "hated" for what they do...

... NOT who they are.

Act like a pig, be thought of as a pig.

[FSogol]

37. All the stories about terrible police interactions represent 0.000001% of everyday

police interactions. To hate public servants because of the f'upped actions of a few is ridiculous.

[99Forever]

40. 0.000001% ?

Really?

Please document this with actual verifiable data or it's just plain old bullshit.

[FSogol]

43. Use some common sense. Even in a small town police department,

how many times does a single officer interact with citizens every day? 100? Extrapolate to account for the number of police, the number of towns, etc, etc. My guess-timate has to be conservative. Bullshit is pretending that the 1-2 terrible incidents reported here weekly are representative to the whole of law enforcement.

[99Forever]

45. "Common sense" my ass.

You quoted a SPECIFIC percentage. Back it up with real data. You have been outed.

[FSogol]

47. Whatever dude. If you can't tell an obvious guess-timate from a fact,

that's not my problem. You sound like those gungeon guys that jump in when someone uses the term "clip" instead of "magazine" and then pretend the entire statement is invalid.

[99Forever]

50. What I can "tell" dooooood...

... is when someone is pulling bullshit "statistics" out of their ass.



wudevva

[1000words]

63. +1

straight out of his/her keister.

[sendero]

41. That may be true...

.... but 20 years ago 99% of these things NEVER HAPPENED and when they did the cop went to jail or at least lost his job.

THAT"S THE DIFFERENCE.

[FSogol]

48. Never happened? Don't you mean "never reported"?

There is a different.

[ronnie624]

46. 0.000001%?

What is your source for that number?

http://thinkingaboutphilosophy.blogspot.com/2013/03/know-your-rights-police-brutality.html

http://www.justiceforjordanmiles.com/about-the-campaign/national-police-brutality-statistics/

http://www.policemisconduct.net/

For every police officer who engages in misconduct, there are dozens more who provide cover with silence and lies.

[FSogol]

49. You posted this AFTER I said it was a estimate.

How many police do you think there are in this country?
How many police departments?
How many times does each police officer interact with the public?
How many reports of problems?

Use some common sense.

[ronnie624]

55. What conclusions am I supposed to draw from your questions?

I'm genuinely interested.

'Common sense' can often mislead. Long ago it convinced people that the Earth was flat.

[hfojvt]

61. that 5,900 is NOT a lot of incidents

and not a lot of misconduct.

There are 900,000 police working 24/7 and 365 days a year. There are 8,760 hours in a year. If an average of 100,000 police are working for every hour of the day that is 876 million person hours of police work.

In all those hours, some of it interacting with the public, you have 6,000 reports (not verified) of misconduct.

6,000 in to 876 million is .0000068. Say there are ten times as many incidents as those reported and that is still only .000068. Which is a lot less than 0.01%.

So being 99,99% good and 0.01% bad is pretty darned good, isn't it?

That does not mean I want to ignore police misconduct, but I don't think it should be exaggerated either.

[FSogol]

67. Careful. Your estimate needs to be a published study or this crowd will discount it.

Nice analysis, BTW.

[ronnie624]

70. Your "analysis" is balderdash.

I don't think man-hours or number of interactions is relevant in the least.

If thousands of police officers, nationwide, are prone to misconduct , there is a problem, it's just that simple. I'm inclined to believing that the incidents of police brutality are vastly under-reported. The 'blue wall of silence' isn't just some myth, you know, and those who actively cover for the crimes of others, are just as guilty, in my opinion.

Several years ago, a young man I know, decided to enroll in the local police academy. I encouraged him, because I knew he would make an excellent police officer. He completed the course with ease, and very promptly went to work for the local PD. Within two weeks, he had quit. Stunned, I asked him why, and he said, "Because I just can't treat people the way they wanted me to."

I like decent people, and he will make an excellent role-model for his two little girls.

[geek tragedy]

66. It's cultural cop hate. Not much different than the Islamaphobes.

They're convinced the only good cop is one that hates other cops and spends his entire professional career trying to put other cops in jail.

[hfojvt]

71. I think there is a little bit more logic to it than that

Myself, looking back on my life, I can think of positive run-ins with the police - where they have helped me, neutral ones (like when I was weaving around on I-94 while I reached for and read a map, and it just so happened that the other car on the road, a quarter mile back was a hypo, so he pulled me over and gave me a warning ticket. Not really a good experience, but not a terrible one either. Or when I got pulled over south of Mason City for not having a license plate (Wisconsin had not sent me one yet) or south of Galena, Illinois for having a license plate light out.)

And yes, there have been some negative ones too, like the thug cop who hassled me for walking home from the grocery store at 2 am.

But for some people, for example, people who smoke pot, their only interactions are negative. For some reason, the police are constantly suspecting them of using illegal drugs, and hassling them for it.

They have a negative outlook, though, based on their negative experiences.

[Comrade Grumpy]

57. You are welcome to post such stories if you like. In the meantime...

...here's the latest DAILY rundown of police misconduct: http://www.policemisconduct.net/


Here are the 10 reports of police misconduct tracked for Wednesday, November 6, 2013:

Update: Glens Falls, New York (First reported 10-07-13): A police officer who remains jailed on charges that accuse him of assaulting his girlfriend has resigned. ow.ly/qyU1Q

Baltimore, Maryland: Prosecutors have charged a police officer who they said struck a person at the juvenile booking facility. He was charged with second-degree assault and misconduct in office. ow.ly/qyVNT

Update: Santa Rosa, California (First reported 10/30/13): The parents of the 13-year-old boy killed by a deputy who thought his airsoft gun was real has filed suit. ow.ly/qyRG5

Gila, New Mexico: Another man, with another minor traffic violation, was subjected to medical procedures, including an anal exam, after a K9 dog falsely alerted officers of drugs. The dog is not certified in New Mexico. The man was pulled over for not putting his
blinker on. ow.ly/qyZ3G

Update: Washington County, Minnesota (First reported 03-01-13): A now-former sheriff’s deputy has been convicted in the theft of drugs from a locked pharmaceutical dropbox. He admitted to the charges. ow.ly/qyFUW

Pinellas County, Florida: A deputy was fired and accused of inappropriate conduct while interviewing a 17-year-old alleged sexual assault victim. The officer said he was intentionally trying to make the girl feel uncomfortable so that she would tell the truth. The sheriff’s office said he overstepped interview boundaries and violated agency policy. ow.ly/qywJr

Update: Indianapolis, Indiana (First reported 02-15-13): A jury found an officer guilty of all charges against him. He was on trial for criminal recklessness and drunken driving charges for crashing his squad car while on duty into a group of motorcyclists. A man was killed and two other people were seriously injured. ow.ly/qyf0B

Togiak, Alaska: A police officer has been charged with sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl. He allegedly had sexual relations with the girl in his city-owned cruiser, but was off-duty at the time. ow.ly/qxYli

Onalaska, Texas: A police officer has been sentenced to three years in prison for providing arms to a convicted felon. ow.ly/qxY9B

Update: Alexander City, Alabama (First reported 10-07-13): A now-former police officer was sentenced to a total of 89 years in prison. He pled guilty to sexual abuse, sodomy, and sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old. ow.ly/qyOx5

[hfojvt]

59. sorta proves my point

a site dedicated to looking in the toilet and putting a light on the crap they find there.

Amazingly enough, of the 900,000 people who are cops, they are not ALL perfect people.

This must be the only profession in America for which that is true. Otherwise, all teachers are perfect, all mail carriers are perfect, all doctors are perfect, all lawyers are perfect, and especially all janitors are perfect.

And if there are ten stories every day, which it seems there are not since the ten listed here are recycling older stories. That would still only be 3,650 a year - out of 900,000 - or 0.004.

So 0.4% of bad apples proves that the whole bunch is rotten.

[Taitertots]

68. Harping about police deaths to excuse police criminality is absurd

Because it really isn't very dangerous.

[Jesus Malverde]

6. I disagree they are "a poorer quality person for our police"

The opposite is true, they are over trained in military tactics and behavior, either through direct service in war zones or through federal grants of training and equipment. Every department is training to fight asymmetric warfare against terrorists. When they use that training, one should not be surprised.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

27. A well trained military can distinguish those who are enemies from those who are not.

A common problem, and one that is expanding, is that we have more and more militarized cops (and many on steroids) who want to treat the general populace as the enemy.

[YoungDemCA]

8. I for one, love Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers

So yeah...wait, what?

[freshwest]

16. They are coming for you:

Or else these guys are:

Okay, I got nothin'

[L0oniX]

42. Here's the opposition...

[dionysus]

9. i think it's all where you live, honestly. in my neighborhood, you'll see some officers in 7-11

drinking coffee, and they say hey how's it going.

as I know by reading DU, which I have always loved because it aggregates news sources, there's assholes somewhere else in the country doing highly illegal cavity searches on people, berating or even killing people for the slightest of reason. swat teams going into the wrong house, ect. driving while black viewed as a crime, et al.

in the small town where I grew up in, the most the cops would do is wrestle the town drunk to the ground once in a while. in the big cities, it's totally different i'd imagine

[hfojvt]

13. speaking of towns where I grew up though

I did think it was interesting that a couple of kids I knew from grade school, and thought were quite thuggish - later became cops (or I just heard that they were going to).

Although they were both jocks too, One was a starter on the basketball team and track and football star and the other was an all-state wrestler.

Still, even the wrestler's little brother, when I spoke to him at the ten year reunion and he told me his older brother was training to be a cop, and he joked "he spent most of his teenage years running from the cops, and now he's gonna be one."

Although another classmate, who became a deputy sherrif seemed like a pretty nice guy. He was the starting heavyweight wrestler his senior year. He got to retire after only twenty years. Although, like many young retired people, he foolishly got another job instead of enjoying his retirement.

But I think work is different too, when you know that you really don't HAVE to work.

[freshwest]

21. I think so, too. My experience where I live now, although urban in a blue state, is very different

from my experience in both urban and rural settings in a red state. I've even seen better behavior with rural cops here.

Can't say it never happens in a blue state, because it does, but our local police work out of community stations and have definite laws and courts that favor the law over lawbreakers, including the police. It takes an active, informed citizenry - not just finger pointing or sensationalism that is used by Koch ops to get people to defund all public workers - to make the difference.

Walk away from your local government in any way, or your county or state, don't vote or vote to 'starve the beast' and the fascists will take over.

There is no such thing as a political vacuum that waits to be filled by good things happening. The anarchy some dream of producing revolution and freedom is a right wing construct, forces that want to steal the Commons.

They are always pushing horror stories out of all proportion, with no positive solution given. The groups that profit by this are rogue police groups or militias who seek to take over by guns as we see attempted in some states. They are mostly fascists who will victimize everyone they happen to come across. Whether they wear a badge of an official LEO or not, that's what apathy gives people.

In the NM case, every person along the way broke the law and acted like maniacs. It was not just the police, who were the least of the problem - the hospital was the worst of it. So they ought to be targeted the most.

JMHO.

[Gravitycollapse]

11. Police departments are what they've always been. The career destination of bullies.

Dynamics have changed. We are seeing a militarization of the police not seen previously. But the same sort of unfair practices and self-serving policies exist today as they did as far back as the modern police department has been in place.

[Iwasthere]

12. Way too easy to become one ...

... if they did get proper and ethical training and they were paid much better we would have far less bully types applying... imo

[Gravitycollapse]

15. Better pay means nothing. In my hometown, cops make 90 to 100K a year with overtime.

This is in Arizona so that's a ton of money. Needless to say, they're all assholes. Especially if you aren't upper-middle-class and white like they predominantly are.

No, it's the specific authority that draws a very specific type of person to the role. And that type of person is usually conservative, authoritarian and mean.

[blkmusclmachine]

14. .

.

[gulliver]

17. You have to go by statistics.

The vast majority of cops are not bad. If you read DU, the FTPers may persuade you there is a problem by cherry-picking stories from around the country. As a percentage, I'm guessing there are a lot more bad people to be found among FTPers than in law enforcement.

One of the biggest curses of the drug war is that it turns people against law enforcement. Drug abuse ranges from harmless recreation to serious mental illness, but one thing it should not be is a crime. Ending the drug war will let cops focus on real crimes and improve their image in the community.

[Fumesucker]

24. Cops are dead set against ending the drug war

Yes, you can cherry-pick some cops who don't support the drug war but the overwhelming majority are drug war boosters.

The Law Enforcement Officer's Job Protection and Wage Enhancement Act is what it should be called.

[EOTE]

34. If the vast majority of cops aren't bad, then why aren't they testifying against the bad ones?

Why is it that the bad cops consistently get away with their crimes?

Yeah, the drug war needs to end. All consensual, victimless crimes need to end.

[a2liberal]

23. becoming? (n/t)

[FreakinDJ]

30. Not a single day goes by without the Shooting of an Unarmed Citizen in this country

kinda like an epidemic

[kelliekat44]

31. It's called worshiping the gun. From wars to the shooting ranges. We train people to kill and

admire them when they do. Our culture is one of macho, racist hate and we are paying for it in many ways. Police have ALWAYS been a problem and a fear among African Americans no matter what their status. Now police brutality is slipping over into majority families. Now we are paying attention. Now, maybe, something will be done.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

44. You know what policing was like before the Miranda Warning?

Seriously, the police could basically pick pick you up for any reason, then beat the living daylights out of you. Read about how the police put down union marches in the early 20th century.

I'm not excusing what police have been doing recently, mind you, just pointing out that this has always been an issue. I think maybe the difference is that we have higher standards today.

[FSogol]

51. Higher standards as well as Advisory Committees, Civilian Review Boards, Internal Affairs, etc.

Bottom line: where the police are a problem, change them. They all answer to Mayors, city managers, civilian authority, etc. Don't like your police? Then put pressure on your local reps to change the way they operate. Some areas of the county have very decent, professional departments.

[freshwest]

60. +1. Only thing is, if the voters are all gloom and doom, they'll get away with it.

Not voting or refusing to dirty oneself with local politics is not a neutral act. It is a subservient one to things going on that more involved communities do not tolerate.

If the majority believe government can never work for them and don't vote or vote a very narrow interest, they get exactly that. The We the People government is not us and them, it is We. They reflect our values.

If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for, at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them.

~ Paul Wellstone

And using the generic 'you' in this rant, not specic to you, DUer:

Don't like the police?

Get into your community groups or visit the police and their supporters to find out what is going on. Don't wait until things go to hell. I mean it, go to the police station and talk. Tell them you're concerned about the path being taken and let them know you can't vote to fund such things from tax money, or explain to you why it was deemed legal by them. You may find that they did it with good intent, or they were being assholes.

They are the tools of the legislature and governor and follow whatever they are told they can do. This was obviously not a spur of the moment decision. It was planned out and all the medical people agreed to do it. Why?

Talk to legislators about why these things are legal. They make the law. Are they ignoramuses who don't care?

Let you know you do.

Don't approve of medical 'professionals' abusing a citizen the way is being done in NM?

Go to the hospital board meetings, find out who is paying for this, confront them for being tools.

Don't like the creationists putting their religion into public school cirriculum, the dumbing down of the coming generation by lack of history on labor, civil rights and the real history of this country, editing text book for wingnuttery?

Run for school board. We all know that wingnuts never miss a chance to get into office, and they show up at all the PTA and other meetings to push agendas.

Nothing's written in stone, not the New Deal or other programs. You can't count on the past to make your future. You got to be there.

And prepare yourself to deal with the wingnuts and shady characters since they'll be there with bells on and you have to deal with what is in place if you community has been asleep at the wheel.

It may show a person a lot about why things are not just dealt with by fiat from Washington, D.C. You may have to work with people you think are very wrong. While you are there, you will be forced to park your own ego. They think they and their ideas are as good as you think yours are.

Understand that the more deeply you hold your ideals, the more you are morally obligated to be pragmatic... Idealism without pragmatism is just a way to flatter your ego.

- Barney Frank

Why should theirs be the only voice?

Don't like the housing or the homeless situtation?

Run for planning board or attend those meetings for the public posted as 'land use actions' that come up since the developers will be there. Why not work to influence them?

P. S. Anyone who thinks these mundane things don't make a difference is kidding themselves. They create the basis of society.

Excuse me, I had to

[FSogol]

64. I would also add: Live in the type of community that reflects your values.

Awesome rant, freshwest. Make it an original post sometime.

[freshwest]

69. I do live in that community. It's the one Michio Kaku said we should have from 0:51 to 1:26:

When I see the 'nothing can be done' or 'they are all powerful' talk I know I am speaking to a person who has internalized this on an subconscious level, the conservative view, although they are not conservative in their awaked conscious. We have been drowning in this media environment for years.

Kaku talks about those who say that violence is 'just human nature.' That belief gives power to conservatives. I consider not voting or getting involved as that belief causing them to surrender.

There are few things in life as aggravating as trying to work these things out in a public sphere and face to face when confronted with this mindset, which I feel expresses both the worst of the LEOs and anti-LEOs beliefs about society and 'human nature.'

There is a better way, but not voting or refusing to get involved is accepting, unconsciously, being a victim. When I read such words as 'kill the pigs' that is the same camp as a conservative, IMHO.

Employing the methods of violence don't make life better, they only defer the solution to the problem. It's a huge failure, a last resort. A free, democratic society is a preventative medicine to that.

As far as making OPs go, I usually don't. as I get several requests. If you or anyone wants to use any thoughts I share to make one, feel free. Life if short, share the ideas.

BTW, I posted that video earlier, just because of that concept. Here it is, it long since disappeared off the page in V&MM:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017155930

Not much interest. Should I have posted it in GD?

[mike_c]

53. +1-- police have ALWAYS been thugs for the 1%....

eom

[KansDem]

58. Hence the reason WI Gov. Walker exempted police...

...and firefighters' unions from his union-busting legislation.

You don't want to upset those who protect you from the masses...

[gopiscrap]

52. that's the biggest problem

the cops view the general public as their enemy.

[DiverDave]

54. Police back up the bad cops because they will need their help someday

and to ask for backup and hear crickets is a death sentence.
And dont tell me I'm lying because it happens ALL THE TIME,
Just try nit, drop a dime in a
dirty cop and see how much help you get,...NONE

[KamaAina]

56. The Police are becoming Public Enemy?

Sting can rap?

Thanks for the content-free OP.

[One_Life_To_Give]

62. Too young for Andy Griffith

The kids coming into the force now havn't seen Sheriff Taylor. Nor have they heard One Adam 12 see the Man or Car 54 where are you.

As someone else said upthread. Cop shows today don't show the typical, people being stupid. Then again apparently police forces don't want to hire the brightest bulbs in the box anymore either. Unfortunately it's a dangerous situation to have the police hyped up to deal with the worst case Terrorist/Serial Killer situation. When they typically have to run into people who are so busy trying to get thru their own hectic day. They make stupid errors in judgement or don't realize what else is happening around them.

[MrScorpio]

65. My SOP is to avoid dealing with the cops as much as possible

I know for a fact that they're not my friends.

[damnedifIknow]

72. The beating death of Kelly Thomas woke me up to police abuse

Yes I knew about abuse before but the Kelly Thomas murder shocked me into reality.