It's easier to hate the cops than become one

[DragonBorn]

28. Even if you join, what are you going to do?

I've wanted to post this for a long time too but haven't.

A friend of mine recently became a cop (2 years ago) with a small department in NY. Ever since his training days in the academy they try to instill an us vs. them mindset in the recruits. One example is them jogging around the neighborhood surrounding their academy singing a song about how their here to lock you up. I forget the exact words but they were antagonistic.

Since then he's pulled over drunk cops who where driving erratically and blowing through stop lights, a city worker drunk and passed out behind his wheel in the middle of the street, been told to leave a scene when he's sure the arrestee is about to get a "tune up".

Every single time he's had to let these people go on the orders of his superior officer because in his superiors words "We are a small department and they (offending PD) may have to back us up one day".

You don't really want to piss off the people who may have to have your back in a life and death situation one day, they may decide to drive really slowly to that call....

My friend is a good guy and is not the type to abuse his authority but what the hell can he do alone about such pervasive corruption? Don't even tell me record these encounters, because that's exactly what Adrian Schoolcraft did and it got him locked up in a mental ward for six days and has since pretty much destroyed his life since.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Schoolcraft

He's not looking to become a martyr on the alter of police corruption especially when no one really cares. There should have been livid protests about what happened to Schoolcraft and how he was treated but instead there was silence. Its the public's fault there aren't more whistleblowers, when they come out they get trampled on by the system and the public just doesn't give a damn.