It happened to me once in Minneapolis. I was driving through downtown at around 2AM on a weeknight and a squad pulled me over. They asked if they could look in my trunk. I let them. They looked and they let me go without explaining what they were looking for or issuing a ticket. Anyway I have had bad and good experiences with cops, mostly good, and I agree we shouldn't presume the worst and doing so just makes it a self fulfilling prophecy. I understand they have a tough job and prejudging them negatively isn't helping a situation where you deal with police. That doesn't mean police shouldn't be held accountable or criticized for abusing their power. Also fully agree with Johndoe about the war on drugs and I suspect that most posters here feel the same way.
Its tv and intentionally image conscious, but recently I watched some cop programs like "Cops" and "Real Stories of the Highway Patrol". And I thought a couple times on some of the situations "Crap if I WERE that cop, I'd FREAKING [flip out easily over the ignorance and stupidity of the accused] if they did that to ME!". And I'm FAR from an authoritarian control freak. I don't envy their job that much. I think the rise in bad cops might coincide with the rise of stupid entitled people in society in general. Or maybe there's rise in the ATTENTION paid into all things stupid which makes it look worse than what it really is. Most cops I've come across have been really dickish. The females even WORSE. I'd agree that all the intrusive drug hunting they have to do for the "Drug War" has interfered with the police approach.
We can get them into the eugenics process and have them reproduce more people who in time will create a population who wont ever even break the law! We can force them together by - ugh, there goes those legalities again. Yep, just no better approach to it. Got to work with what we got, hired human hands who are hopefully adept and properly trained for their positions.
Simple rule: If a public official's duties are to create or uphold the Law, they should get automatic double sentence for breaking the Law. Politicians, Police, Judges, etc....
You're not going to get many fans of this thinking... little things like the constitution, freedom, stuff like that. I was being open minded about your position in this before I read the quoted post. I won't go into the slope of what your mentality then would provide for, and only say that I understand the job of an officer is a difficult one. I can even see some of the parallels you're making in terms of Rhad's proposition of prejudice towards officers and of officers' seemingly increasing prejudice of citizens in general, but when you imply that anyone who's not doing anything wrong should have no problem forfeiting their rights and dignity in order to keep an officer from being abusive, you have lost me altogether.
My experiences have left me with the feeling that it takes a certain type personality to be a cop in the first place. Or maybe he does develop it after working with his peers. But he personality typically is a total D-Bag who believes he is above the law and has no problem overstepping his rightful powers. Two examples: 1. Driving to work about 7:30 am. Had a registration sticker out. Cop whipped around to pull me over. Runs my license and it turns out my Dad has a 15 yr old unpaid ticket for not paying a state inpection. We have the same names but I'm the 3rd. Says so on my DL. He takes me in and tells me "We'll let the court sort it out". No phone call for half the day, so work, wife...no one know where I'm at, since I'm being transported down to county. 2 days later I'm out on a PR bond. 1 day in court clears up the mess. No sweat off the cops back. He plainly didn't give a *****. F him!! 2. Playing in a golf tournament to re-elect constable so & so...I'm just playing with a friend and two other sherrifs. The rest of the teams are sherrifs deputies. these people were so hammered, throwing beer cans and trashing up the place and I must have heard "We can do whatever we want. We're cops" about 5 times. No lie. F the Po Po. They don't give a hoot about you personally, I can tell you that with certainty. Anyone ever met a humble cop? I know I haven't.
Getting pulled over numerous times for doing nothing at all and getting off with some bogus warning. Getting harassed by police because I looked a certain way in high school. Having my friend maced while pushed up against the wall just because he was around some idiots who got into a fight. Having several cops and former cops that I know talk about their abuse because they thought I was a "cool" dude. What so sad is how many cops brag about the inappropriate stuff they do. The culture in many police departments is toxic. It turns average people into assholes.
And another. Excerpts: The criminal cases are still pending, but... More at the link. The system reeks of a lack of accountability.
No one intelligent with a college education wants to become a police officer as a career. The Police end up fishing for applicants fresh from the Military. The Military fishes for high schoolers that have no intentions on higher education. At the end of the day you get some stupid, violent egomaniacs with guns.
All the cops around me consist of the kids from high school who were too dumb or were druggies in high school and couldn't get into community college. Not like there's much crime where I live, LOL anything more than weed or a traffic ticket is the talk of the town.
Winner of the Cops = Assholes Award? Former Marine/Iraq War Veteran shot 60 times with his wife and child in his home, with his weapon safety on, after a no-knock entrance, after two of his wife's relatives were killed by home invaders. If that wasn't enough, the police seemingly didn't kill him after the 60 bullets, but allowed him to bleed out and die for an hour before calling a paramedic. Furthermore, the raid resulted in NO arrests, NO seized contraband, NO evidence taken from the scene, the officers gave provably false statements and the sheriff has sealed the warrant and affidavits indefinitely (only 4 days after the murder, when the press became involved). This is so crazy, even Law and Order wouldn't be able to make it a story, the writers would say it's too unbelievable...
Get a load of this http://www.kgun9.com/story/14742791/video-documents-answer-questions-about-swat-raid A U.S. Border Patrol hat? that MOFO HAD TO DIE! Those hats are uncommon! I hope the killers are brought to justice.
