Law Enforcement: How do we keep them accountable?

Dayum...that hurt ME just watching! The video seems complete - though there is still some question I have as to what happened outside the cell. No matter, I do think the shove was excessive and unnecessary.

CPT Gregory Wagoner And all of us should emulate my brother-in-law's behavior. Each side needs to sit down and get to know each and not assuming the worst. Never did she merit that and I am sure if he could have done it over again, he would.

Cops get PTSD too and police stations need to rate them with PRPs to make sure that this does not happen.

The cop in that video needs to be fired and then put on trial for assault. I have no qualms with the "militarization" of the police force. When they get into a fight with two men carrying AK-47's and body armor, it is easy to sit on the sidelines and complain about the equipment they are getting. I think the screening for people becoming cops should be better. I think they should be paid more for the work they do. You can't attract the cream of the crop with low paying wages for the danger they put themselves in. I think all cops should wear body cameras and all cars be equipped with cameras as well. I think all cops should be with partners and never alone. There are a lot of improvements that police can make but I for one will not tie one hand behind the back of the police and limit the weapons they are allowed to use. I do think they should stand trial for things that happen like in the video you posted though.

Besides "military" gear usually doesn't come out except for very select circumstances. The problem is that those circumstances tends to be headline news (and played ad nauseum over the air) so there is a perception that cops are always running around with body armor and assault rifles....which is not true.

I know most police officers are not brutal and twisted and this story below shows you and fellow RPers an example of the kindness police officers do behind the scenes. Rest assured I back up our police and I thank you for your service to your country as a veteran and law enforcement officer. I just believe the stuff like the first video has to stop and I have no doubt most law enforcement officials like yourself agree. My prayers are with you :)

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. Just like the military, law enforcement as a whole is a microcosm of society. There's good and bad Soldiers, teachers, doctors, etc. I'm not making excuses, but I can tell you that it's a hard job and lately it feels like it's getting harder. Shift work, mediocre pay, poor benefits, not enough equipment, etc. Add to that the stress of going to a job where you have to strap a gun to your hip and don a bullet proof vest on a daily basis and it can start to take a toll on your soul, which then in turns starts to affect your personal life. I'd say about 75% of the guys I've worked with in the course of my career are divorced or in the process of getting divorced. Some of them are on their third marriage! One guy is on his fourth! (because the forth time is the charm I guess??? I don't know? Trust me, I know first hand us coppers don't always make the best decisions!) Starting to kind of sound a lot like the military right? My first department was Gary PD in Indiana, just a stones throw away from Chicago. If you've never heard of it, look it up, it's a pretty rough town. Made the FBI's list of top 10 worst cities in America last year. Was our country's per capita murder capital for several years while I worked there. I was young when I started (21) and having grown up in a middle class family I can't being to tell you what a culture shock it was to work there and see how the other side lived. Even in the town I work in now. A suburban town that is upper middle class, the job changes you. I've traded homicides for suicides, overdoses on RX drugs, wife beating and even our share of child molestations and rape. I deployed to Mosul, Iraq in 2005. I was in Tal Afar when we went on the offensive there. One of our line units in my combat engineer battalion was attached to the 3Rd ACR at the time. You'd think the worst I'd have seen would be during that time and you'd be wrong. I can't begin to tell you the complete brutality and utter acts of senseless violence I've seen one human being, one American, do to the next. And for what? Over a pair of shoes? Some spare change? A car? A girlfriend or a boyfriend, or an ill conceived notion that they've been wrong or insulted? It's crazy! At lest the military puts an emphasis getting help if you need it and if you're lucky enough to have a good chain of command, then hopefully you get the help you need. It's not like that in law enforcement. It's a very ego driven job. The cops I work with are relentless on one another and if they "blood in the water," then you're going down. I know a lot of cops who suffer from PTSD but they let peer pressure and their own macho ego, or fear of losing their job get in the way of getting help for themselves. Because of that stuff like that video you posted happens. Like I said, I'm not making excuses, but maybe this will be some food for thought that you weren't aware of? So yes, please send all the prayers you can my way! I'm actually looking to move on from local LE and hope to get a job with the railroad police. Better pay, benefits and hopefully an over all around better working condition.

I don't know you at all SSgt Furman so I am NOT speaking of you directly but the issue I have with LE is the same issue I have with Muslims. and that is that if it is a small sector of your community causing the problems why does the majority not do a better job of policing itself and clean up the problem individuals? Just my observations.