There are roughly 800,000 cops in the United States...

[MrScorpio]

23. If you look at the big picture...

Last edited Thu Feb 27, 2014, 05:18 AM - Edit history (1)

You'll realize that cops, as an occupational class, are way more abusive and violent than they should be.

For example, in 2012, there were 587 people killed by police and in Germany the same year, there were only three.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_the_United_States_2012

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

I use Germany as an example because I've lived there for four years and had the opportunity to witness how they operate vs. how US cops operate in general. The difference is quite striking:

For example, American police are way more prone to escalate ANY given situation with immediate violence, they are usually disrespectful when dealing with citizens and are way more likely to stop, detain and search citizens without any sort of form of probable cause or even any kind of reasonable suspicion. Once an American cop interacts with someone, that cop usually intends to find something to cite or arrest the person they're stopping for. Even if it's something minor. American police are generally encouraged to violate citizen rights, and many times, there's a direct monetary incentive to do so, with the number of civil forfeiture laws that we have on the books in many jurisdictions. These laws are designed to allow police to legally take money and property from citizens who have not been charged with crimes. American police pretty much operate in this way without any fear of repercussion. Even when shown to have committed crimes themselves while on duty, many cops are never ever punished or removed from duty for violating the rights of citizens. The crimes that they're usually punished for usually revolve around things like drunk driving, drug use, theft and sexual assault of minors, problems with are at epidemic levels in many departments. While on the other hand, domestic violence is usually underreported and too many cops are never held accountable for abusing spouses and girlfriends, even when some of them are killed.

And most of all, think about the fact that, percentage-wise, the US incarcerates more people per capita, than any other country on the planet. America is literally the world's prison state. And it's that way because the police are the leading edge of an overworked justice system which makes it very easy to get in to and very difficult to get out of.

In Germany, you don't see this sort of overly-intrusive, overly-aggressive, over-violent behavior. They are trained to deescalate situations and are not used in lieu as armed social workers, the way that American cops are always used. Let me tell you, after spending four years in Germany, the first thing that struck me about US police behavior and methods were the way that US cops tend to harass citizens, violate their civil rights and abuse them so casually, frequently and and openly. They're basically bullies in blue with a bully's mentality and a bully's exaggerated sense of entitlement.

Basically, they're assholes and will stick up for each other, no matter how much of an asshole their fellow cops are. They're pretty much gang members in uniform.

I've got some resources here that might help you out:

http://behindthebluewall.blogspot.com
About Police domestic abusers

http://photographyisnotacrime.com
This site focuses on documenting police abuse on video

http://www.innocenceproject.org
This site focuses on the unjustly convicted and imprisoned

http://www.copblock.org
A police accountability site

https://twitter.com/radleybalko
Radley Balko's Twitter feed, a journalist and author who has reported on the militarization of US police departments

And last, but not least: http://www.policemisconduct.net/databases/
The crown jewel of reporting police misconduct in this country.


Tell you the truth, when looking at the big picture, I can't see how anyone can say that we don't have a huge problem with police misconduct and abuse. The collective evidence is way overwhelming… and these are just what's reported as you've noted. I'm just thinking that you're underestimating the extent of the problem and under-cutting the implications of what the overall picture looks like.

I'm sure that you hate to see it when people like Iggo and myself spout off with something like, "Yay, Cops! They're the best." But think about the fact that you're seeing that a lot because there are a lot of stories out there about and cops, and we're resolved at the point, in looking at these stories, of just expressing exasperation at all of it.

American cops are doing an overall poor job of protecting and serving our citizens. That much is clear.