Police fear 'suicide by cop' cases. will no longer check on your suicidal family member

[KentuckyWoman]

12. Police aren't there to protect and serve YOU

They are there to protect and serve the governmental body who pays them. They enforce the laws of the state at direction of their bosses. Generally, protecting citizens from the harmful acts of other people is part of that direction. But protecting you from yourself isn't.

Ultimately they report to the citizens, but not directly. If you want change in police policies, then you have to either work with the government leaders you have, or get new ones.


As far as suicides. Police do their best, but they aren't psychiatrists. Unless someone else is being put in harm's way there isn't a reason to be involved. Small governments hit by lawsuits are breaking municipalities. They've had to make some tough choices.

I'll add a good bit of this is of their own making. Police generally have failed to weed out the shitheads from among them. Now there is such an environment of distrust that is it a no win for anyone. We need a police force we can trust. But if a young black man waves a toy gun around in a public park and gets himself suicided by cop - a large amount of citizens will count to toward cops who deserve jail for murder. There are more benefit of the doubts available to anyone.