US Police Forces: Little More Than Racketeers And Thugs

[JFN1]

Being a police officer means becoming part of an exclusive culture which has become increasingly hostile, violent, vindictive, and arrogant. On any given day you will find multiple stories about police abuses - violence, killing, civil rights, lawsuits, militarization, stalking, theft, revenge, blatant corruption - it is an almost endless list.

You don't have to take my word for it; these stories are becoming unbiquitous. The big story right now of course is the Martin murder, and the possible attempted cover-up by the Sanford, Florida police. But there is so much more - in just two minutes spent surfing various websites I found these items:
--- --- ---
Pinal Sheriff's Office stockpiles, prepares to sell military equipment -- Uh, it's legal if the police are doing it...right? But don't ask such questions, or else...

Police taser pregnant woman for refusing to sign ticket -- Anything goes, anything at all, for law enforcment has no line to cross...

Rochester Woman Arrested After Videotaping Police From Her Own Front Yard -- What the police do in public, is private, even on your own property.

Ticket-fixing has been condoned for decades as part of the "NYPD culture." -- Police protesting because they have to follow laws. How dare us expect to have a law-abiding police force!
--- --- ---
And it isn't the big, newsworthy things, but rather the small, everyday things we all fearfully and resentfully accept, which are becoming more and more embedded in our lives.

The small stuff eats away at our culture. Stuff like the cop who goes flying past you on the highway - no lights, no siren - just burning up the passing lane, driving with a posture which suggests you'd best not get in his way...and then a few miles down the road you see him pulled over, socializing with another cop in a different car.

Or the knowledge (I would say) every American not in law enforcement shares, that pissing off a cop, is a very bad idea - don't do it while he's on duty, don't do it in a social setting - don't do it EVER...or he can, and likely will, change your life.

In so many ways, society's relationship with its police force has eroded and devolved.

I ran across a Facebook page a while back called "Big City Cops," which proudly displays the Caligula phrase (next to a skull, of course...apparently cops don't mind sharing sensibilities with sixth graders) : "Let them hate, so long as they fear." You should check the page out, it's quite the eye opener - but I won't link to it. Hell, no.

I'm not suggesting there are no good cops - quite the contrary. I would guess the good ones far outnumber the bad.

For it is not indivudual cops so much as it is the cop culture - and the self-perception of being powerfully righteous, which is driven by this culture - that is so damaging. Cops who speak out against the culture are ostracized, fired, or worse - and there are stories of this nature all over the place, too. Thus the good ones end up protecting the culture, further perpetuating and strengthening it.

Very, very soon, we must take action; we might consider instituting federally mandated police standards which include psychological testing, Constitutional education backed up by testing to ensure a basic understanding of their relationship to the citizenry, continuing education in rudimentary psychology and sociology, ongoing crisis intervention training, job performance standards for departments and individuals, and maybe even set a maximum number of years an individual can be a police officer.

And perhaps the most pressing item - police need to be re-armed; their military-grade weapons, vehicles, and assault equipment needs to be substantially reduced - or eliminated altogether.

This is an intolerable situation, and another divide which continues to accelerate and widen. We must face this, and we must act, else the police will be little more than racketeers and thugs, preying at will on a defenseless society, wearing the guise of their protectors...

Our government... teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. --- Justice Louis D. Brandeis

[DLevine]

1. I agree with you.

It's not just a matter of some bad apples, it's the whole cop culture. And it only seems to be getting worse.

[wwytchwood]

2. it is getting worse

first, the new style is "proactive" police work (think: Gestapo) - these new coppers think just the way you describe

second, the courts have been okaying anything the police wanna do (in MI, as an example, the cops can pull you over if you look at them, OR if you look away from them!)

third, the citizens are okay with all this, til their son or daughter gets the jackboot, then they are outraged

all in all: Sieg Heil!

[FarPoint]

3. Another angle not mentioned is the Sheriff's and D A's are elected positions; thus political.

Indictments can be tools to go after someone as in the saying, " You can indict a ham sandwich"; or go the other direction by leaving out evidence for the Grand Jury so someone of favor is not indicted. The money-political angle goes into play.

Definitely stealth corruption.

[marble falls]

4. When cops don't live in the cities they patrol, they are an occuopying .....

force, when they wear paratroop pants, combat boots, carry M-16s - they are paramilitary. All the black uniform with badges and insignia in silver they look awfully SS-like.

[pasto76]

6. "paratroop pants"?! wtf are those?

you mean like a BDU pant? Combat boots? m16s? sorry bub, takes a lot more than that to be "paramilitary".

[marble falls]

14. gathered at the cuff into the boot. So having a ranks, having assault weapons, tanks ...

command structure and command vehicles, military uniforms, armor, patrolling neighborhoods not ones own while not being part of the military, having taps played at their funerals, medals, military ranks, salutes etc doesn't make a group paramilitary????????? Sorry bub, but you aren't looking close enough.

[malaise]

5. US?

Global is more accurate

[DiverDave]

7. Good cops are the norm?

No, if that was true they would be on all this bullshit in a heartbeat.

But they aint, because the "good cops" are only good to their family's and friends.
Else why are they SILENT??

No the 'good cop' is a myth.

Now lets wait for the cop defenders...3.2.1.

[JFN1]

8. You may be right, I don't know.

Personally, I do not know, nor have I encountered, any "good" cops - they all have had the same arrogance in my encounters. I am old enough I was indoctrinated to think of cops as trustworthy, so believing there may more good cops than bad could be a bit of inertia on my part...

[DiverDave]

23. I'm a child of the '50's (57)

we were taught to respect them.

I now fear them, even when I have no reason to be.
I tell my kids to comply with anything they ask and don't give them ANY reason to make
them mad.

I really hope they never have to experience what is bring done to innocent people these days.

[bupkus]

9. Cops flying past you on the highway!

I don't know if this has been mentioned on DU but check it out.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/nj_state_troopers_face_probe_f.html

N.J. state troopers face probe for 'Death Race 2012' down Parkway to AC

TRENTON — The State Police are investigating complaints that two troopers escorted a caravan of luxury sports cars at speeds in excess of 100 mph down the Garden State Parkway to Atlantic City last month. The occupants included former Giants running back and sports car enthusiast Brandon Jacobs, according to a source with knowledge of the trip.

In the complaints, obtained by The Star-Ledger, witnesses said that in the early afternoon March 30, they saw two State Police patrol cars with their emergency lights flashing driving in front of and behind the southbound caravan, which included dozens of Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other vehicles, all with their license plates covered with tape.

One witness, Wayne Gantt, dubbed the escort "Death Race 2012."

"I had the great pleasure today of nearly being killed by, not one, but two, Lamborghinis traveling in excess of 110 mph in a (New Jersey State Police) escorted ‘caravan’ of approximately 30 exotic vehicles all traveling well over 100 mph," Gantt wrote in an e-mail complaint to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which oversees the Parkway.

He added that many of the sports cars were weaving across all three lanes.

There's an "investigation" going on now but it's already come out that this kind of stuff has happened HUNDREDS of times.

Read the rest at the link.


Read the rest at the link.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/nj_state_troopers_face_probe_f.html

And the "investigation".
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/nj_attorney_generals_office_in.html

[CanonRay]

10. Cops protecting and pampering the 1%. Again.

[WTremblay]

11. A culture of violence and preferential treatment

No surprise that cops are getting more violent; did you know that the Israeli Mossad is training our small-town cops now? The Posse Comitatus act has prevented the military from being used as law enforcement, so they've found a clever way around it: make the police INTO the military! This is just one piece of the bigger picture showing that the US is headed for martial law... Check out this website called Martial Law USA. It explains it all pretty well.

[DustyJoe]

12. broad brushes

As an ex-cop, I think that those are some really broad brush strokes. The next time a cop resonds to an accident as first responder and pulls one of you or your children from a vehicle and starts cpr, maybe the brush can get narrower. Sure there are bad cops, there are bad politicians, there are bad cooks at Mcdonalds. But is that cause to paint them all as bad ?

[JFN1]

13. "I would guess the good ones far outnumber the bad."

Didn't say all police are bad, I actually said the opposite.

As far as the brush goes, in attempting to identify a problem or outline a solution, one must necissarily begin with broad strokes. I also stated the problem is not with individuals, but with the entire culture.

Here, check this out, it was posted just a while ago by Jello Biafra :

Perhaps one of the most shocking (amazing) details from today’s protest were the actions, or inaction’s, of some of Chicago’s finest. In a surprising turn of events, reports have emerged that numerous Chicago Police officers openly refused to arrest non-violent protesters – some officers even refusing to show up for work. I had the honor of speaking with one of these brave men, and although he wishes to remain anonymous (for obvious reasons), he wasn’t shy about how he and many other officers feel in regards to the ever-increasing police state.

It’s just not right, ya know? I mean… uh… a lot of people think that every guy with a badge and a gun has a thing for lockin’ people up. But that really ain’t the case most of the time… I became an officer to help people, ya know? I didn’t sign up to throw kids in jail for taking pictures on their phones.. and I certainly didn’t sign up to.. uh… arrest war veterans exercising their right to protest… I mean, this is still America right?

But as you can see, the officer the reporter spoke with did not wish to be identified, which is a recognition of the power the police culture has and how it intimidates and represses those good officers who disagree with how the culture manifests.

[FSogol]

16. +1. Well said. n/t

[provis99]

20. bad cooks at McDonalds don't club people and shoot people dead.

Cops do.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

21. It's interesting to see you say "Sure there are bad cops ...," but you don't directly say

that you believe that there are good cops.

Maybe there are.

But there are people whose life experiences includes seeing police officers act like part of an occupying army and treat law-abiding citizens as the enemy.

Have you not come into contact with such people?

[Rex]

15. YEP! At one time they were Officers of the Peace

now they are nothing more then plutocratic pawns. Pathetic and sad at the same time. All these private armies and the pay for prisons. This country is so fucked...

[hifiguy]

17. Bravo.

The Bill of Rights is no longer worth the paper it is written on anymore.

[lutefisk]

18. WI law enforcement joined the protesters- remember that?

The State Patrol, Sheriffs, Deputies, and City Police were supportive of protesters and outspoken last year in Madison. They defended the citizens against a corrupt state government. There are plenty of stories from that period- here's one:

Ever since massive demonstrations began breaking out at the Capitol last week, police and protesters have maintained a convivial relationship. Now it's about to get downright cozy.

On Friday, the head of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association called on the governor to keep the Capitol open to overnight campers, and even urged members to join them...

"Law enforcement officers know the difference between right and wrong, and Gov. Walker's attempt to eliminate the collective voice of Wisconsin's devoted public employees is wrong," continued Palmer. "That is why we have stood with our fellow employees each day and why we will be sleeping among them tonight."

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_b785247a-404d-11e0-91f6-001cc4c03286.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4748754

[JFN1]

19. Yes, and that was wonderful. But it is the exception,

not the rule. This is what we need to change - the predominant police culture that glorifies ignoring the Constitution - to a police culture which CONSISTENTLY honors it.

[daaron]

22. Thank you!! THIS!!!

Especially the bit about "federally mandated police standards" which include (GASP!) education!

The biggest problem with the cops is that they're uneducated hired muscle - it attracts the wrong crowd. We should pay them a lot more, and require twice as much, in terms of personal development as a well-rounded individual. Perhaps a minimum Bachelor's degree.

Just an excellent post. Spot on.