Posted on Jun 2, 2020
Seven Reasons Police Brutality Is Systemic, Not Anecdotal | The American Conservative
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Posted 4 y ago
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Nothing will change until the "good" cops are finally willing to ditch the "blue code" and report the "bad cops" for discipline. And have the courage to stop the bad action while it is happening. It's a common tale, and if it weren't for phone cameras and the body cams put on cops over their objections, most of these cases would never see the light of day.
In Chicago, an unarmed man is shot multiple times and killed by one cop of several at the scene. Cop claims guy was coming at him, and he feared for his life. Several of the other cops back that up with their statements. Except the video comes out showing the guy was backing away, and never moved towards the cop who killed him. But the other cops "had his back" and supported the bad cop.
In Louisiana, cop says he killed guy because he says he was being dragged by car. Other officers support that in their statements. Video shows no such thing happened. They "had his back". In Florida, officer sucker punches a handcuffed suspect who was just standing next to the cop car. Other cops standing next to him don't even react to the punching, and don't report it. Only when the video comes out is the suspect's claim investigated.
The number of truly bad cops is a small percentage of the force. But IMO the problem is that there are a great number of officers who would never do such acts themselves, but, because of the blue code of silence, will never report or testify against a fellow officer. That's why almost no brutality cases are even investigated. The complain goes either to the police department itself, or to the district attorney who works daily with those cops. the cops statement denies anything happens. The authorities automatically believe the word of their fellow officers and assume the suspect is lying. Case closed; or rather never opened.
Until police departments add the "or tolerate those who do" to their approach to police misconduct, it will be very, very difficult to stop brutality. Only cases with video evidence, usually captured by bystanders, stand any chance at all of being pursued.
In Chicago, an unarmed man is shot multiple times and killed by one cop of several at the scene. Cop claims guy was coming at him, and he feared for his life. Several of the other cops back that up with their statements. Except the video comes out showing the guy was backing away, and never moved towards the cop who killed him. But the other cops "had his back" and supported the bad cop.
In Louisiana, cop says he killed guy because he says he was being dragged by car. Other officers support that in their statements. Video shows no such thing happened. They "had his back". In Florida, officer sucker punches a handcuffed suspect who was just standing next to the cop car. Other cops standing next to him don't even react to the punching, and don't report it. Only when the video comes out is the suspect's claim investigated.
The number of truly bad cops is a small percentage of the force. But IMO the problem is that there are a great number of officers who would never do such acts themselves, but, because of the blue code of silence, will never report or testify against a fellow officer. That's why almost no brutality cases are even investigated. The complain goes either to the police department itself, or to the district attorney who works daily with those cops. the cops statement denies anything happens. The authorities automatically believe the word of their fellow officers and assume the suspect is lying. Case closed; or rather never opened.
Until police departments add the "or tolerate those who do" to their approach to police misconduct, it will be very, very difficult to stop brutality. Only cases with video evidence, usually captured by bystanders, stand any chance at all of being pursued.
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To summarize article, all cops are bad and all those who come in contact with police are angels.
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PO1 (Join to see)
There is no possible way that this is your honest, objective opinion on the article. It can't be. Unless of course, you didn't read the article.
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LTJG Richard Bruce
Writer's suggestion to reform policing will eliminate it. No person would want to join law enforcement if they must personally pay for all expenses defending themselves in all complaints and legal actions. And, police must allow pets to attack them or else they are bad people.
Point 1. Nonviolent training is common. Article writer is either ignorant or doesn't like the training.
Point 2. Use of force polices are regularly contested in court cases. The legal system determines what is excess, not the police.
Point 3. 99% of brutality complaints are dismissed because they are unfounded. Cases are reviewed by many and are open to civil suit. Writer must want to hang now and judge later.
Point 4. Police are public employees and have the same level of immunity as any mayor, councilman, fireman, or any other public employee. The legal system will decide if police behavior is outside scope of office. Again, writer wants to eliminate due process.
Point 5. Writer wants proportional enforcement based on special interest group membership. Where I live has 3.33% Asian population. So to if 3.33% of police interactions are met, then no further interest must be taken. Otherwise police are racist against Asians. The law must be color blind. I know many Whites that are frequently stopped by police. Is that racist?
Point 6. Police have more use of force options today than at any time. Writer doesn't like the way it looks and can't support her concerns.
Point 7. Video recordings usually favor the police. Video often fails to provide context to an incident. Video is as flawed as eyewitness accounts.
Point 1. Nonviolent training is common. Article writer is either ignorant or doesn't like the training.
Point 2. Use of force polices are regularly contested in court cases. The legal system determines what is excess, not the police.
Point 3. 99% of brutality complaints are dismissed because they are unfounded. Cases are reviewed by many and are open to civil suit. Writer must want to hang now and judge later.
Point 4. Police are public employees and have the same level of immunity as any mayor, councilman, fireman, or any other public employee. The legal system will decide if police behavior is outside scope of office. Again, writer wants to eliminate due process.
Point 5. Writer wants proportional enforcement based on special interest group membership. Where I live has 3.33% Asian population. So to if 3.33% of police interactions are met, then no further interest must be taken. Otherwise police are racist against Asians. The law must be color blind. I know many Whites that are frequently stopped by police. Is that racist?
Point 6. Police have more use of force options today than at any time. Writer doesn't like the way it looks and can't support her concerns.
Point 7. Video recordings usually favor the police. Video often fails to provide context to an incident. Video is as flawed as eyewitness accounts.
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LTC John Shaw
LTJG Richard Bruce - Reforming policing is the only way out of this continuous cycle. We may find that we need more police and more training, more counseling, time to decompress and more choices for non-lethal options. It does make it really difficult to be in the police force.
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After reading the article I admit that things may have changed in policing while I was acting like a responsible adult. The police officers in my family have retired, and I have not had any police interactions (good or bad) in 30+ years. If the article is correct, I am extremely sorry that the profession my father was so proud of has changed so much. Very sad.
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