me too. ive had too many negative interactions with them so i am at the point where i automatically distrust them. i live in austin and imo, we have the most unprofessional police force ive ever encountered. half of them look and act like they are on steroids...very aggressive. two recent ones... a few years ago i was walking my dog at peace park, in the leash-free area. my dog was peeing on a tree as a bike-cop rode by and he yells at me "you better pick up after your dog" to which i replied "how do i pick up urine, sir". so he turns around and rides up and gets about 6'' from my face and says "dont talk back to me" and rides away. another time, i was riding my bike down 6th street - i must have ridden by 2 dozen cops and this one decides to shine his flashlight directly in my eyes as im riding. his partner shined his light in my eyes too - they were talking to some ladies and i guess trying to look like big men. i ask what the problem is and he orders me to get off my bike. i ask why and he says "because i said so". another time i got robbed at gunpoint in my own house and the cops came out and the only thing they could think of was that i orchestrated the robbery in order to steal my roommates (any my) stuff. they came out for 30 minutes and left - i tried to contact them multiple times but the detectives would never call me back.
I don't believe all cops are bad, I'd actually say my interactions with them have been about 50/50 in terms of positives and negatives, maybe a little more negative but I think those experiences tend to stick out more than the positives ones so there is that. I think that the standards that are used for selecting police officers may be low. I think it takes a special person to assume that type of authority and not abuse it somehow whether it be something as simple as turning on their lights to go through a red light or something more major like assaulting a suspected criminal. It is probably even more difficult to find those with that type of balance.
So that I am clear - You have no negative encounters to relate. In fact, you are a law abiding citizen. Yet, you assume any contact with a police officer will be negative because of an assertion (of yours) that all police officers endorse the actions of the few reckless ones. Generalize much?
I don't have to have a specific anecdote myself to justify using other data points to draw a conclusion. Perhaps you misunderstand the difference between a drawn conclusion and a generalization.
Ok then, lets add a few data points for you: The death of police Officer John Falcone after he pursued a gunman who had just fatally shot his wife, shocked city residents, veterans of law enforcement and elected leaders. Falcone was described with love by those who knew him. Loved for his sense of duty, his compassion and selflessness. In the hours before his death, he comforted a 92-year-old man who feared a burglar was at his door. He stayed with the man until family arrived. A highly decorated seven-year veteran of the Arlington Police Department died early Wednesday in a fiery wreck involving his patrol motorcycle and a school bus. Fahey was able to identify Tiner before dying of his wounds. Officer Fahey, according to local press, "was an efficient officer, and fell while in the discharge of his duty." He is the first Austin police officer known to have died in the line of duty. A total of 160 officers on federal and local levels died in the line of duty as of midday Monday, an increase over the 117 killed last year
A tit-for-tat police story dialogue is beyond unproductive. Let me re-summarize: 1) Police officers caught doing dirty deeds rarely receive sufficient punishment, often due to the "brotherhood" nature of the organization. 2) In light of this, one could argue their is tacit acceptance of said activities. 3) Accordingly, I find it difficult to trust police officers, and tend to view them with a preemptively negative attitude. 4) I posit that this is justified due to point 1 above. You are, of course, welcome to go the opposite direction and assume every cop is a perfect representation of law, order, decency, and humanitarian altruism. I just prefer to be cautious so that I don't get my teeth knocked out or end up in jail for stuff I did not do. To each his own.
1) This is no doubt true 2) This is extremely unfair of you (how does a street cop have anything to do with the illegal activities and/or subsequent punishment of a peer/colleague of his, assuming he is uninvolved/unaware?) 3) This seems very short sighted and narrow minded for someone like yourself, and as Behad already suggested, likely a self-fulfilling prophecy 4) Eh
Cop culture lives at the heart of the problem. The U.S. needs an "abuse of power" felony law on the books. This law would provided added punishment for anyone who, acting in the role of a public office that has been (ostensibly) granted power by the public, uses their powers to perpetrate, escape, or facilitate a crime. I would argue that it should automatically double the sentence of the concomitant crime. So, should a police officer be sentenced to one-year in prison for jacking off while forcing your handcuffed 13 year-old daughter to watch, then he'd receive two actual years. And, it would add mandatory sentencing guidelines. This would help, and it would make a strong statement about who we are as a people, but it's unlikely to happen.
Police do not determine the punishment for wrongdoings, the courts do. Or one could point out dozens of stories of police officers now behind bars, place there by the courts using evidence gathered by other officers of the law. But a tit for tat argument is not warranted here. Here is where I have a problem. You don't trust a group of people that you admittedly have not had any dealings with? A quick story - I know a woman who will not drive thru a certain part of town that, for lack of a better term, is a black part of town. I asked why she drives the long way, and her response was eerily similar to yours. "I've heard so many bad stories about blacks that I'm afraid to go near there". I'm truly sorry for the racial comparisons, but thats how you sounded to me. Keep this in mind - police officers deal with a lot of evil people. People that will shoot another human being without fear or remorse. Cops not only know that these evil people exist, but that it's their job to apprehend them. So they must be hyper vigilant at all times. Does this added attitude spill out at the wrong time? Sure, for some cops, it's hard to keep it in check. But for me, with a son that does this line of work, I would rather he err in dealing with people at large versus letting his guard down against the evil ones.
Assuming he is aware, there is no other reasonable way to explain point 1. If he is unaware, then this is simply a matter of coincidence, not innocence. No. I am not generalizing anything about the officers themselves. I am generalizing the documented potential for any such interaction, and taking precautions accordingly. An analogous situation is a pressured time-share sale where the salesman offers you some enticing prize provided you first hear his spiel. I trust that both yourself or Behad, if in such a situation, would be very guarded and view the situation as inherently negative. That's not because of the salesman per say (although there obviously is that potential as well), it's more a matter of situational awareness, where you are decidedly less empowered than the other party. In regards to interacting with a police officer, this is especially true. Indeed.
Here's a page for you to read, rhada. I'm not sure how ofter people get killed in your line of work, so I thought you might want to read about others. http://www.odmp.org/
Police Officer David S. Crawford St. Petersburg Police Department Florida End of Watch: Monday, February 21, 2011 Biographical Info Age: 46 Tour of Duty: 25 years Badge Number: Not available Incident Details Cause of Death: Gunfire Date of Incident: Monday, February 21, 2011 Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type Suspect Info: In custody Police Officer David Crawford was shot and killed after responding to a report of a suspicious person. At approximately 10:30 pm Officer Crawford and another officer responded to a report of a suspicious person on the 700 block of 3rd Avenue after a citizen observed a male walking through his backyard with a broken brick in his hand. Officer Crawford canvassed the area and found the subject near the southwest corner of 2nd Avenue S and 8th Street S. He parked his patrol car and approached the male. At some point during the encounter there was an exchange of gunfire and Officer Crawford was shot and wounded. He was taken to Bayfront Medical Center where he died from his wounds. The suspect fled and after a 24-hour search, a 16-year-old male was arrested and charged with first degree murder. Officer Crawford had served with the St. Petersburg Police Department for 25 years. He is survived by his wife and daughter.
Look, I understand there is an emotional component to this argument for you, but I sincerely think you're twisting my words into something they're not. Fundamentally, I don't think there is sufficient accountability in the police force. Being cynical/cautious, I tend to assume the worst and act accordingly in any associated situations. This is vaguely consistent with my attitude towards politicians, and that's perfectly understandable given the parallels.
I'm not twisting your words at all. In fact, your words are proving my point, but you don't see it. For example, you just said "I tend to assume the worst and act accordingly in any associated situations." A cop has to do that with every single call or encounter with the public every single day. Or they may die. Do you think the St. Petersburg cop I mentioned above should have been worried about a 16 yr old with a brick in his hand? Apparently so. You can't always be a nice guy and be a cop. But more to your point. Some cops break the law, so you should not trust them. I just can't reason that one out. What about bankers? Chefs? Home builders? Lawyers? (Ok, I'll give you lawyers, they really are all crooked)
@ Behad I've had nothing but negative interactions with the police. I've been a driver for various chinese and pizza places since I was 16. The first time I was pulled over, I was at work and refused a search. They proceeded to bring a dog out. The dog 'detected something', so they proceeded to tear apart the interior of my car. Not only did they fail to find anything, they left the interior of my car torn down without any compensation -- just an apology, and they wasted an hour of my time while I was being paid $4.00/hr. on the road. In my most recent interaction, the police knocked on my door at approximately 3 a.m. When I opened the door (in my underwear), two officers proceeded to let themselves in to investigate the view from mine and my roommate's window. They justified this by claiming that somebody was throwing objects from our building at passers-by (I live near a bunch of bars and night clubs). Fortunately, there wasn't anything incriminating laying out when the police came in that night. However, like I said in my first post, it isn't their fault, it's the legislature's fault for passing immoral laws that empower the police and strip the people of their constitutionally guaranteed rights. But it isn't as though the police can't do anything about it. If the police refused to carry out unjust laws, regular folks like me would probably have a more favorable opinion on the job they do. Of course, they'd probably be fired for not maintaining the quotas they claim not to have.
So, even though you had nothing to hide, you just felt it was your civic duty to refuse a search of your car (which had nothing illegal in it). Hypothetically speaking, if you had said "Sure officer, take a look", and said it with respect - do you think they would have torn your car apart and left it in shambles? Why were you pulled over to begin with?
