General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Michael Brown Autopsy Report Leaked. Here It Is. [View all]Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)There as a rent a cop, I was taking a class to get the permit for the Baton. This would allow me to own, and carry one at work. The Police Officer teaching the course told us that if we ever used the club, we should lie to the witnesses and tell them the individual we had beaten was a Child Molester. He told us that this made it easier to get the conviction later, as it turned potentially hostile witnesses into more favorable when they told their story to the Jury.
Since that time, I have become far more acquainted with the "Routine Lies" told by law enforcement.
There are tens of thousands of stories out there backed up by video about cops lying under oath, and lying on their reports.
http://khon2.com/2014/09/15/maryland-police-officer-punches-man-charges-him-with-assault/
All of those officers, and all of their reports all said the same thing. Now, how did they manage to get the reports to agree? Was it co-ordinated after the fact? Did the offending officer, the one who punched the man with no reason. Did that officer suspect that anyone in uniform watching would report the truth? Or did the officer have good reason to believe that the culture of the routine lie would back him up?
Even officers in other departments regularly lie to protect their brothers in blue. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-15/news/ct-police-testimony-lies-met-20140415_1_police-officers-five-officers-chicago-police
But in a "Perry Mason" moment rarely seen inside an actual courtroom, the inquiry took a surprising turn when the suspect's lawyer played a police video that contradicted the sworn testimony of the five officers three from Chicago and two from Glenview, a furious judge found.
Without the videos that are now coming from every direction, the police would still be getting away with it over and over again. This man was lucky to survive, the police were telling the routine lie for the video so they could get away with killing the man, which would have been murder. Without this one tape, an innocent man would be dead, or in prison because of those cops. All of whom participate in the routine lie technique. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/police-dash-cam-video-exonerates-nj-man-implicates-cops-article-1.1701763
Police owe more to Hollywood than the armed forces. John Wayne made the military cool, a place for real men to go. Bruce Willis, Stallone, and how many others have made Cops the greatest people in the world regularly taking down huge criminal organizations in the minds of a dwindling majority of the public. Stories like the ones I've linked to, a fraction of a fraction of a single percent of what is out there I might add, are bringing the truth to light, and exposing the routine lie.
And they don't just lie about important things, like felony arrests. They lie about traffic tickets regularly.
http://www.wsvn.com/story/23070302/ticket-talk
When police do commit crimes, the brotherhood comes riding to the rescue as much as possible, and the sentence is always far lighter than if a mere civilian had done the terrible deeds. If a police officer rapes a woman who was pulled over, well she shouldn't have committed the traffic offense in the first place. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/23/oklahoma-police-rape_n_5870752.html
My experience in the matter is one that is more than two decades. My experience in the matter is that the last people who would be trustworthy, would be the police. Their stories require a suspension of disbelief that is beyond ridiculous. The brutality is beyond systematic to ingrained. The abuse of the use of force is insulting, and beyond description.
We know the police are using excessive force. How do we know it? http://www.policefoundation.org/content/body-worn-cameras-police-use-force
Because when cameras are used the use of force drops dramatically. So it's not the suspects who are acting illogically and irrationally. It's the police, so long as they can get away with it.
Police Foundation Executive Fellow, Chief Tony Farrar, recently completed an extensive yearlong study to evaluate the effect of body-worn video cameras on police use-of-force. This randomized controlled trail represents the first experimental evaluation of body-worn video cameras used in police patrol practices. Cameras were deployed to all patrol officers in the Rialto (CA) Police Department. Every police patrol shift during the 12-month period was assigned to experimental or control conditions.
Wearing cameras was associated with dramatic reductions in use-of-force and complaints against officers. The authors conclude:
"The findings suggest more than a 50% reduction in the total number of incidents of use-of-force compared to control-conditions, and nearly ten times more citizens complaints in the 12-months prior to the experiment."
It might not make any sense to those who worship at the feet of law enforcement. But the truth is right there to be seen. Half of the incidents of the use of force by police, is unjustified. Half.