Guest Post by Karl Denninger
“With the increasing number of ambush-style attacks against our officers, I am deeply concerned that a growing anti-government sentiment in America is influencing weak-minded individuals to launch violent assaults against the men and women working to enforce our laws and keep our nation safe,” said Craig Floyd, chairman and CEO of the memorial fund.
“Enough is enough,” he said in a statement. “We need to tone down the rhetoric and rally in support of law enforcement and against lawlessness.”
Bite me Craig.
Here are the facts. There were 126 on-duty deaths reported among all officers in 2014. There are approximately 1 million sworn officers between federal, state, county and local government entities (and another couple of million employees who are not sworn; that is, they are not officers and do not have arrest powers, such as dispatchers and clerks.)
This is a rate of fatality of 12.6 per 100,000. Sounds bad, right?
Wrong.
If you’re a logger, you have a fatality rate ten times that of a cop.
A fisherman? Almost time times — 117 per 100,000.
A pilot? 53.4 per 100,000. Yes, really — it’s about four times as dangerous to fly a plane or chopper than be a cop.
The guy who puts your roof on? 40.5 per 100,000 — about three times as dangerous.
How about iron workers — you know, the guys who put up the buildings you work in? Yeah, those dudes. Three times the risk of a cop in dying, most from falls, being crushed by heavy materials or welding accidents.
Your garbage man has a risk of death twice that of a cop. Why? He gets hit by cars or crushed by heavy equipment (yes, it would suck to get caught in that trash compactor in the garbage truck!)
How about the lineman that repairs your power lines? Slightly less than double the risk of a cop, and of course the means by which they die are falls and electrocution, mostly.
Truck drivers? Close to double the risk, most from traffic accidents.
Farmers? Same risk, roughly; getting caught in a combine is a ****ty way to die.
Or you could just be a construction laborer. Your risk in that profession is materially higher than that of a cop (17.3 .vs. 12.6) as well but nobody cheers for you. Never mind that without said laborers you wouldn’t have a house or an office to work in.
So let’s cut the crap, eh? Being a cop isn’t particularly dangerous as occupations go.
Sworn officers are in fact officers of the court. Lying is unacceptable among both them and any organization that represents them. That means this butt-clown as well as the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association in NYC and Patrick Lynch, their President. Pathological liars are worthy of the middle finger, not respect, no matter who they are.
Further, these organizations are not going to get any sympathy from me as long as we have cops arresting anyone for “DUI” when they choose to sleep off their alcohol in a parking lot rather than drive, nor are you going to get to claim “valor” without a loud pushback from people like myself as long as there is even one cop who reaches a settlement for his alleged attempt to create pornography with the intended target being solicited as a means to void an alcohol possession citation. That’s official corruption and if I pulled something like that I’d be prosecuted instead of being able to slough off the “settlement” on the taxpayers of the town.
Then there’s this sort of corruption:
It’s not a slowdown — it’s a virtual work stoppage.
NYPD traffic tickets and summonses for minor offenses have dropped off by a staggering 94 percent following the execution of two cops — as officers feel betrayed by the mayor and fear for their safety, The Post has learned.
So either 94% of the stops and summonses were never justified in the first place, in which case the entire NYPD is nothing more than a band of felons committing armed robbery by the tens of thousands a week or this “action” constitutes acting as an accessory to crime after the fact.
Either way these are not cops they’re crooks. In either case every single one of these “officers” deserves to be arrested and thrown into prison for decades; odds are it’s the first of the two possibilities, by the way, which means that this “action” is as close as you’re going to get to an admission of tens of thousands of armed robberies committed by the cops each and every week.
If law enforcement officers want respect they can start by deserving it and that means cutting the crap — including false claims of “outrageously dangerous” working conditions that in fact are less hazardous on a statistical basis than the guy who picks my household trash, an immediate and complete cessation of false arrests on bogus charges and full prosecution of each and every member of such an agency who is alleged to have abused someone in the line of their duties.
Let me know when that happens and at that point my middle finger will be retracted — but not one second before.
I’m 55. I’d have to say that cops do encounter a part of society that most of us don’t. That part of society can be ruthlessly dangerous. The part that bothers me about cops, nowadays, is what they seem to have become. They should be helping people, but now, for the most part they seem to be angry and to only be concerned with revenue generating. I live in a small community in north Texas..3 stop lights, population 2500. Why do we need to set up 30 mph speed traps? A 30 mph zone where the speed limit ought to be 45 or 50. These local cops are writing speeding tickets for 5 and 10 over, and the tickets are $200 or more. Why? Are they trying to save my life or someone else’s, out in the middle of no where? It’s for revenue generation, pure and simple. Issuing tickets out to the very people that pay the taxes, that pay their salaries! I’d also have to say that the only interaction I’ve ever had with a cop is during a traffic stop and thankfully haven’t been issued a ticket for more than 2 decades. One of my daughters was stuck at a stop light, after she got off work at 11pm. This light didn’t change for 5 minutes (she videoed and posted it on youtube the next night). She decided to turn left at the red light, she looked both ways, nobody coming, frustrated, but on her way home, right? Wrong. Guess who was there, just waiting for her to do what she did? That’s right, Johnny law the ticket writer. She came home in tears. I was furious. Is she or am I supposed to have any respect for that? Not on your life!
I’d have to agree with Stefan F, who wrote above. There’s too many people on the government gravy train. They scheme ways to self perpetuate, revenue generate and justify their own existence. It’s shameful and disgusting. And now they’re becoming more militarized. It seems as though we the citizens have become the enemy. I don’t hate anyone and I don’t hate government employees or cops, but I like it a lot better when they’re not around!
MORE REVENUE GENERATING BULLSHIT DESIGNED TO FUCK YOU. KNOW YOUR ENEMY.
2015-01-03 05:30 by Karl Denninger
RIP One Scam (Hopefully!)
Oh please.
A promising industry betrayed by the behavior of its customers—that’s the story of the red-light camera business.
There has never been any scientific evidence that “red light cameras” improve traffic safety. Zero.
I will note that the idea that this “product” paid for itself was utter nonsense. It did no such thing — it instead stole funds from motorists. The idea that it was “cost-effective” is utter and complete crap; by definition this is impossible as an officer that issues a ticket for a blown red light puts all the funds into the city or other government entity involved where these “camera systems” do no such thing.
Indeed the fact of the matter is that while red-light cameras decrease T-bone incidents (maybe) they dramatically increase rear-end collisions as drivers will attempt panic stops they cannot safely complete due to the proximity of traffic behind them. Worse, cities invariably shorten yellow times when the cameras go in which makes the problem much worse.
Yellow time standards are minimum recommendations and are for 1 second for every 10mph of speed with a minimum of 3 seconds, rounded up. That’s a minimum value; note that reaction time is typically 3/4 of a second or thereabouts plus the time to actually stop and thus those recommendations are reasonably valid for passenger cars but often not for trucks, loaded pickups and anything with a trailer behind it.
The big problem in ordinary traffic is that if someone is following at a distance of less than their reaction time behind you when you panic-brake they will hit you with certainty and this situation (following too close) arises, especially in cities, a lot.
The solution to that when it comes to safety and reducing the number of crashes is longer yellows, not shorter ones. But if you do that then the camera doesn’t write any tickets and suddenly there’s no argument for it at all.
Finally, these cameras will ticket you for a less-than-complete stop when making a “right on red”; a “violation” in name only as it carries no safety risk on a clear intersection and in fact helps traffic progression in general if the cross-street and crosswalk is clear and there is a line of cars wishing to turn right. We should be encouraging things that improve traffic flow and do not impact safety, not citing people for it.
Redflex is a company that has no business model at all absent tampering with well-established safety standards that act to increase crash risk and effectively steal motorist funds. I argue that individuals and corporations that collude in such a fashion are in fact criminals and while their approach to same may be “innovative” it is exactly the sort of innovation that should be banished rather than encouraged.
51,697, FBI stats for 2013 total number of officers killed and assaulted by bad guys. I don’t believe that there is anywhere that states an officer signed up to get injured or killed. Sure the job is risky, sure there are bad cops just like there are bad plumbers. Obviously administrator hates police. Just don’t forget who to call when you get your ass handed to you for no reason as your walking down the street and you just became a crime victim. Trust me that plumber isn’t going to come help you.
John
You nailed it. You call the donut eater 2nd responders AFTER you became a crime victim. YOU are the 1st responder. The cops arrive to draw the chalk outline around the body. There were 50 cops killed by firearms in 2014 Johnny. A cop knows exactly what the risks are when they accept the JOB.
How many of the assaults were due to cops enforcing ridiculous drug laws and thousands of other worthless laws designed to keep the sheep docile and compliant?
Sounds like Johnny is a brain dead statist.
I bet you had no problem with the lockdown of Boston. I bet you have no problem with the militarization of Barney Fifes across the land.
If only joe blow ordinary folks knew what salary and benefits Poo’lice get–they would switch jobs in seconds :^(
New Hampshire police chief offered to drop charges against teen if she posed nude for photos
Janelle Westfall was 18 when she was arrested in 2013 while walking along a road with a beer can after a party. Westfall, speaking Saturday for the first time since the incident, said it was ‘chilling’ when the police chief, David Seastrand, made the photo proposal. Now she has reached a settlement with the town of New London and Seastrand, who has resigned.
BY Jason Molinet
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Seastrand allegedly offered to drop charges against Westfall if she posed nude for him. DAN SEUFERT/Union Leader Correspondent Enlarge
New London Police Chief David Seastrand resigned amid allegations he offered to drop alcohol charges against a teenagerJanelle Westfall in exchange for nude photos.
It was an indecent proposal.
A small-town New Hampshire police chief resigned after he allegedly asked a teenager to pose for nude photos in the station basement in exchange for dropping a possession of alcohol charge.
Now that teen is in the money after the town of New London, N.H., and the former chief have agreed to a $70,000 settlement with Janelle Westfall, who was 18 when she was arrested March 3, 2013 while walking along a road with a beer can after a party, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.
Ex-chief David Seastrand, a police officer for 27 years and chief the last 18, has agreed to give up his police certification and will not face a civil complaint after Westfall had asked for jury trial, according to a Dec. 18 settlement.
Four days after her initial arrest, Westfall said the chief called and asked if she’d come by the station. She did and he had a proposition for her: Pose nude and he’s drop the charges, which included giving a false name to cops.
“That’s when it was really chilling,” Westfall, speaking for the first time Saturday, told the Union Leader. “He’s standing there in uniform, he had his gun strapped on his side.”
Seastrand reportedly told Westfall the nudies were meant to be an incentive.
“He said would grab the station’s camera to shoot a series of nude photos of me,” Westfall said, “and then he’d hold it over my head for two years to be sure I didn’t commit another crime.”
Her father called state police, and after a state attorney general’s investigation, Seastrand stepped down April 4, 2013.
Westfall, who said she feels stigmatized by the ordeal, did not return to Colby-Sawyer College because she has not been able to focus.
“She’s been very brave,” her father, Todd Westfall, told the Union Leader. “But she’s been an emotional wreck.”
The agreement Westfall made with Seastrand and the town also means there will be no admission of liability, wrongdoing or culpability.
John says:
“Just don’t forget who to call when you get your ass handed to you for no reason as your walking down the street and you just became a crime victim. Trust me that plumber isn’t going to come help you. ”
Seriously? How is writing a report after the fact going to help you? No matter who does it.
You’re still standing (perhaps) there with your ass in your hands!
Regardless of all the stats, answer this; ifbeing a LEO/cop (not a peace officer) requires selflessness and bravery why do so many selfish cowards flock to the profession?
Mr. Denninger,
It appears your law enforcement fatality statistics come from this website (see: http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/ ). But you should have drilled deeper into the cause of their demise by opening the sub category of the causes of these deaths (see: http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/causes.html ). As can be seen, the 102 deaths for the year 2013 were attributed to: 32 deaths were shootings, 2 were stabbed, 1 died from a bombing incident, 11 were struck by another vehicle, 34 died in vehicular or aircraft crashes, 13 died of physical illnesses, 6 from falling, 2 drowned and 1 was electrocuted.
So guns, knives and bombs killed 35 out of 102 which brings the deaths per 100,000 cops down to 3.5 percent for 2013.
Another website gives similar causes for police deaths (see: http://www.odmp.org/search/year?year=2014 ). Here 118 police deaths were reported for 2014 and 61 were due to shootings or vehicular assaults which brings the deaths per 100,000 cops down to 6.1 percent for 2014.
So the risk of a police officer dying due to shootings or stabbings is extremely low. But what about citizens dying at the hands of the police? This website shows 1,100 people died due to police encounters (see: http://www.killedbypolice.net/ ). Here are some of the reasons why Americans die at the hands of the police (see: http://www.targetliberty.com/2014/12/a-fun-list-of-ways-to-be-killed-by-cops.html ).
The bottom lines is that being a cop in America is very safe compared to other vocations.
@ John (9:40am)
Which is precisely why I learned plumbing, electrical, maintenance procedures (and learn of to protect myself).
I am 51 years old and have yet to call a policeman for anything.
pokethetruth,
not only is beign a cop a fairly safe profession, it may soon be safer than being a citizen in teh USSA, otherwise you are one of the little people…
harry p.
I miss having your posts on TBP.
I hope all is well with you and your family.
partly due to more job responsibility and partly at times realizing the pointlessness of trying to change the minds of those that choose to stay enslaved by stupidity and govt drones means i post and write/post/comment a lot less and focus on the postive changes i can affect (like with my son and immediate friends and family)
it also doesn’t help that my companies new provider blocks TBP so i am limited to posting/commenting via my phone. i do read and learn from the posts on TBP regularly and appreciate all the work you and the regulars add (particularly stucky)
my family is doing well, thanks for your thoughts and considerations, one of these days when we are visiting my parents in phoenixville we should meet up, grab a beer or i can bring some of my firearms and we can hit the range, hope your glock is serving you well.
keep up the good fight in 2015 and i will try to get a few posts up here.
…and for “stucky” more then half of the “heroes” killed were killed in auto accidents speeding to the “crime”. Most Police today are lying, corrupt ( the 200,000 shakedowns a year in NYC alone) Psychopaths. They have a higher divorce rate / Higher alcoholism rate/ a Higher spousal abuse then the avg. American. I don’t want to hear its because of their job. NO these Psychos seek out these jobs. and guess what; we don’t need them. 99% of the time the police come AFTER a crime has been committed. NYC proves that we don’t need them for all that petty shit. And if there was no WAR ON DRUGS we could get rid of about 80% of the useless asshole.
And if there was no WAR ON DRUGS we could get rid of about 80% of the useless asshole.
amen
steve
Ms Freud has several clients who are cops, wives of cops, and even one who is a child of cops.
Let me tell you what I have surmised from these interactions ….. she never gives me details cuz that ain’t legal, and frankly, I don’t give a shit …….. but judging from her demeanor afterwards, especially the severe face-palms …………. almost all COPS ARE FUCKED IN THE HEAD egotistical bullies. That, sir, is a fucking fact.
Of those 126 “died in the line of duty” deaths, approx. HALF died as a result of racing around like maniacs and crashing their cars. (look it up)
Another significant percentage of “died in the line of duty” deaths comes from, yep, heart attacks and the cops shooting each other. (look it up)
So much for the usual propaganda via the phony baloney US of Everything Is Rigged, Illegal (or pending).
Steve- ” if there was no WAR ON DRUGS we could get rid of about 80% of the useless asshole. ”
+ 1000
Also please eliminate War on Terror and War on Poverty as well. We need to get rid of 80% of the bureaucratic Cake Eaters that “need” or direct Law Enforcement.
Armst- “6) Specialized units under the US ARMY Military Police are organized equipped and used to deal with drug cartels, street gangs, and organized crime. There is no due process for these groups when caught only execution after a military tribunal if found guilty.”
WTF, there is so much wrong with this I cannot believe you put this out there like it had a shred of merit. Did you read this after you posted? You need to find another country to share your political solutions with, North Korea or Yemmen seem appropriate.
jpintx may have gotten a record number of down votes for his implication that his son is more important than other people.
I guess cops think that “Push comes to shove(or worse)” doesn’t apply to them.
“:I don’t hate anyone and I don’t hate government employees or cops …” —- Txsecededave
You just haven’t been on TBP long enough.
bb, thanks but I can take care of myself. I learned by the age of 14 that calling the police usually makes the situation worse, not better. The best they can do is nothing in most cases.
I have called the sheriffs recently, because the neighbor’s dog was being left unattended for days on end in the summer heat, jumped my fence and killed some of my chickens. It was also coming into our yard and threatening us every time we walked outside.
I would have taken care of it myself, but I didn’t want to face charges for killing a purebred pit bull that was purchased for mating potential. The officer told me and my husband that if the dog came into our yard again, having seen the carnage and the situation, that we would be justified in shooting it based on fear for our own safety. This is one time when actually speaking with the law provided assurances we would not be held liable if any action were taken in the future.
I could care less about the dog being a pit bull, it is the point that it won’t stay in its own space and even more that it killed our egg producers. The survivors still haven’t started laying again, I think the dog may have frightened them into menopause (or whatever chickens go through).
And Admin, it isn’t just cops. Have you dealt with a firefighter lately? Talk about self serving inflated sense of self importance. Our local department has gotten rid of volunteers entirely, has gone to a VERY small “reserve” contingent to supplement the full timers, and requires ‘x’ hours of commitment from them to even be able to be reserves. This though there are many people in the community who would be willing and able to serve if allowed. Our department even had the gall to offer a ‘bonus’ of $2500 per year for every full timer who moved into the district – as if being here were a bad thing. If that’s the case then don’t take the f@#@ing job. It’s a low income community but it’s not exactly hell’s kitchen or new jersey. Most of the people I know don’t even lock their doors, no need. Thankfully with the economy dumping they got rid of that ‘bonus’ temporarily; I suspect it may never be brought back; when it got around in the community it existed there were a lot of pissed off people.
Fred on Everything say:
Solving the Police Problem
If They Don’t Want to be Policed, Don’t Police Them
December 31, 2014
It is obvious, is it not, that all of the recent problems with the police have occurred because cops keep meddling with people. If the fuzz had left Rodney King alone, Los Angeles would not have burned. If the cop in Ferguson had not stopped Michael Brown after he robbed the store, the town would not have burned. If a New York cop had not tried to keep from selling illegal cigarettes, there would be no protests. If OJ Simpson had not been prosecuted for murdering his wife, racial tension would have been less. On and on.
It is blindingly clear that nothing but trouble results when cops interact with criminals in places of high diversity. It makes no sense to meddle. It is racism. It is irresponsible. It leads to arson. It needs to stop.
And it can.
If you were a young white cop just out of the academy, and asked my advice, I would say, “When on the street, mind your own business.” For example, if you see a drug dealer on the corner peddling rock, what should you do? Nothing. Doing nothing protects you, protects the dealer, and keeps the locals from burning the neighborhood. As a police officer, it is your duty to protect.
Do nothing. Here’s why: Let us suppose that the dealer is young, weighs 290 and, when you try to arrest him, says, “Fuck off, whitey.” You are 35, 180, and haven’t been to the gym for a while. What can you do?
You could call for backup and five of you could swarm the guy, but that looks bad to the population. (“Dem white muhfuhs be gangin’ up on a brotha.”) Your other choices are try to wrestle him down, pepper-spray him, Tase him, club him, or shoot him. All of these are ugly to watch and upset the locals.
All have a chance of ending unhappily. The perp has asthma and the pepper spray does him in, or has a weak heart and the Taser croaks him.
Then here come Jesse and Al, Barack and Eric, the Four Horsemen of the Acopalypse. You will be raped in the media, lose your job and your mortgage, goodbye retirement, and face six months of media circus, death threats against your family, civil suits by the family and civil-rights charges by the feds.
Don’t risk it. You have nothing to gain and everything to lose. Leave drug peddlers alone. Don’t get involved.
Nonintervention, note, will please everybody. If your department really is brutal, as all are said to be, you can’t be brutal if you leave people alone. Complaints about misbehavior will diminish, pleasing blacks and liberals, and this will make your chief happy.
When you go on the street as a rookie, you will find that police incidents fall into three categories.
First, things that you encounter by chance: crack whores, bar fights, drug dealers, muggings, burglaries, the fifteen-year-old runaway being worked by her pimp, the guy breaking car windows to steal the GPS. These are the small change of police life. Ignore them. You can later say that you didn’t see anything. It is much harder for the feds to come after you for something you didn’t do than for something you did. Again, you have nothing to gain by interfering with local enterprise.
Second, hot calls: rape in progress, armed robbery in progress. You have to answer these because dispatchers record their radio traffic. They are, however, calls dangerous to you. For example, rapists often have violent tendencies. They usually do not want to go to jail. A rapist may attack you with a length of rebar, in which case your choices are to shoot him or have your skull crushed. How do you profit from either of these outcomes?
The armed robbery offers equal hazards with no rewards. Armed robbers typically are armed. In a shootout you very possibly get killed, which is not to your advantage, or the perp does. It then turns out that he was sixteen, wanted to go to divinity school, the gun was plastic or a cell phone. Brutality, extremism, overreaction, profiling, black lives matter, and here come the Four Horsemen.
But a wise cop can easily avoid these perils. Rapes don’t last long, nor do armed robberies. When you respond to the call, drive at the speed limit, stop for traffic lights, and hit the siren and bar lights well before you arrive at the scene. When you get there, the rapist will be long gone.
This is a happy ending for everyone. You are happy because you will not be charged with racially motivated murder. The rapist is happy because he will not go to jail. Businesses are happy because they won’t be looted, the locals because a brothah was not mistreated.
Be very careful of profiling beefs. Since this sin is not defined, you can never tell when you have committed it. Suppose you encounter a 2015 Beamer with the passenger-side window broken out, plates with rust stains around the bolt holes, and a nineteen-year-old driver in ghetto-bag attire who refuses to make eye contact. What do you do?
Nothing. It would be profiling. (If you saw him run out of a bank with a gun in one hand and a bag of money it the, and arrested him, it would be profiling.) Don’t risk it. The locals will appreciate your sensitivity.
Technical tip: Don’t run the tags out of curiosity. They will come back to a 2006 Camry, and you will be on electronic record as knowing the car was stolen and not doing anything about it. It isn’t your problem. The insurance company can handle it.
If you are of liberal leanings, you can think in terms of cost and benefit. Is an $80 GPS worth a man’s life? Should a rapist die because of ten minutes of bad sex? Ferguson burn over a handful of stolen cigars?
In black neighborhoods, you should do nothing at all in response to anything. This just shows a decent respect for the desires of the population, who do not like white cops, or any cops. (Chanting “What do we want? Dead cops”, would seem indicative.) Find a good bar or doughnut shop. Stay in it.
In mixed regions, arrest only middle-class whites over forty-five to avoid profiling. As for the neighborhoods of rich white liberals, they do not need police because they live in gated communities, so you probably will never be assigned there.
It is simple democracy. In regions that are almost entirely diverse, people do not want to be policed. It is unmistakable. Why force outside cops on them? It leads to chaos, arson, and armored shoe-stores. Should they not be allowed to police themselves as they choose, to the extent they choose, as towns once did? Live and let live. It is the American way. <
jpintx said:
“Some may become the sort IndenturedServant describes, but far fewer, I hope, as academic and character standards have risen.”
Wow dude! I’d like to know what Utopia it is that you seem to be living in. It’s my impression that academic standards across the country have fallen dramatically throughout our history. Character standards? Really? As far as I can tell, LE agencies all over the country are vacuuming up ex-military psychopaths who, with their increased “academic” skills, could not avoid the military. Recall Abu Ghraib?
I was born on a military base and spent the first 27 years of my life on military bases all over the world. Each base put out it’s own newspaper which included a monthly police blotter and Article 15 summary. On every base, without exception, it was military cops who got arrested more than any other military job. They also led the pack in Article 15 judgements. It is these people, thanks to the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan that now dominate LE organizations so you’ll excuse me if I don’t share your Utopian expectations.
While I’m sure you have the utmost confidence in your son, I sincerely hope you were able to raise him with a sense of morality and uncompromising integrity that compels him to reject becoming a scumbag or protecting the scumbags in the police force.
If you only allow cops to carry one bullet on their person and require them to carry it in their shirt pocket like Barney Fife, that will require them to engage their brains first. I’d also require them to wear pedometers and make them walk most of their beat each day getting to know the business owners and citizens who employ them and pay their salaries. Instead, we equip and dress them like ROBOCOP, isolate them in patrol cars all day where they only talk to other cops and argue about who has the bigger dick.
I used to have this argument with my FIL, who was a 25 year fire fighter.
I would tell him that my profession was more dangerous than his but logic means nothing with these ppl (statists).
even though they are completely useless, they all think they are heros…..
it’s really quite sad….
Absolutely correct, the police in my opinion will not get any respect or be believed until the good ones put the bad / murdering cops behind bars..
There is a fact that no one seems to take into account, and that is the police selection process. It is a fact that the selection process is completed within a very narrow IQ window to where candidates who are chosen to enter the academy must be in this IQ window. Most would thing that they would select those who register high scores but that is a false assumption. The criteria is to hire only those who record just barely above average IQ. So now you are expecting people, who do not have the mental faculties to think outside the box to do so. Ain’ t going to happen, it is physically impossible.
Now you take the atmosphere of hate that the police themselves have created by their criminal behavior and subsequent cover ups and you have the scenario we live in.
But you cannot blame the lame alone for their inability to perform their occupation with respect and honor, which they do not have the mental faculties to do, but you must rather look at those who do the covering up of the crimes they commit; and starting with that list are the prosecutors. The DA’s are the only ones who get to address the Grand Jury and their version of events is the only one they get to hear (the defense is not allowed to participate), so when you have a corrupt prosecutorial office then the deck is stacked before it even gets played. In order to prosecute crimes by uniformed people who identify as police firstly the DA’s have to stop covering up for them.
Cops investigating cops is such an obvious conflict of interest that where it in any other field it would be decried at it’ s onset. Let there be civilian oversight committees who do the investigating and then THEY report to the Grand Jury their findings. It isn’ t a perfect answer but it will bring more transparency than what exists at the moment. Make cops answerable and accountable for their actions. Body cameras that are switched off should be an automatic admission of guilt, being proof of what the law calls ” evidence of a guilty mind” .
Cops will gain respect when they start behaving in a respectful manner towards citizens. until then they will be seen as the thugs they are.
There is much angst and consternation against prosecutors and grand juries who refuse to bring charges against police officers, even when incontrovertible evidence is presented. Even with incontrovertible audio and video evidence, prosecutors are loath to prosecute rogue law enforcement personnel.
Let’s examine the reasons why it is so difficult to prosecute thug cops:
Most prosecutors are former police officers or have extensive dealings with police departments and have ongoing relationships with police departments in their respective jurisdictions. They are friendly with the judges in their jurisdictions, as well. This, along with “absolute immunity” makes it easy for them to “cover up” police abuses and behavior. Prosecutors cannot be sued for malfeasance…it takes a judge (who prosecutors are friendly with) to bring charges on a rogue prosecutor (which almost never happens).
In addition, prosecutors guide the actions of grand juries. Prosecutors are not required to introduce any evidence to grand juries, (can and do) easily “whitewash” the actions of rogue cops. On the other hand, prosecutors can (and often do) go after honest citizens who seek justice outside official channels…prosecutors have ultimate power and are not afraid to use it…their immunity sees to that.
Another aspect to a grand jury’s inability to prosecute bad cops is the fear of retribution…cops drive around all day, have nothing but time, have access to various databases, and can easily get the names and addresses of grand jurors…this, in itself can be a powerful deterrent against grand jurors who “want to do the right thing” and prosecute bad cops. There are many cases of cops parking in front of grand jurors’ residences, following them around, and threaten to issue citations to them, in order to “convince” them to “make the right decision”…the “thin blue line” at its worst…
The whole system has to change.
Eliminate absolute and qualified immunity for all public officials. The fear of personal lawsuits would be a powerful deterrent against abuses of the public.
Grand juries must be superior to the prosecutor; ALL evidence must be presented to grand jurors. Failure to do so must be considered a felony and subject prosecutors to prosecution themselves.
No police agency can be allowed to investigate itself. Internal affairs departments must be restricted to minor in-house investigations of behavior between cops. All investigations must be handled by outside agencies, preferably at the state level.
Civilian police review boards must be free of police influence. Members of civilian review boards must have NO ties to police departments. Relatives of police would be prohibited from serving…
Recently, the “supreme court” threw police another “bone”. The court ruled that police are not responsible for their actions if they are “ignorant of the law”…now, let’s get this straight–honest citizens cannot use “ignorance of the law” as an excuse, but cops can??
Revolution is sorely needed…
Here are “police” practices that deserve to be exposed:
#1. During a traffic stop, the police officer will touch the back of your car. The reason for this “touch” is that, quite often, the police officer will have a small quantity of narcotics (marijuana or cocaine) on him (in his hand) that he will rub on the car in order to help “justify a search”. When the dog is brought in, it will react to the drug on the vehicle and help “justify a search”. This tactic is mostly used against young people. Drugs can also be “planted” on a “suspect”.
The “touch” used to be a way for police officers to “prove” that they had an interaction with a citizen, but no more . . .
#2. Most (if not all) cops possess a “throwdown” weapon. This “helper” is obtained from a criminal who is then “let go” without his weapon and is always used to justify a questionable police situation and to “sanitize” a “crime scene to absolve police on the scene of criminal police behavior.
#3. If you are in the back of a police car, LIE DOWN on the seat. Police use the concept of “screening” to abuse their unwilling “passenger”. This involves, driving at high rates of speed, violent turns and other antics to get the passenger to “hit the screen” separating the front from the back with his face. Hence the act of “screening”.
#4. If you are being handcuffed, quite often the police officer will wrench you arm behind you, forcing you to “turn around”. The officer will then add a charge of “assault” to whatever other charges they concoct against you (just for being forced to turn around). They “pile on” charges, hoping you will plead guilty to at least one.
Remember–NEVER CONSENT TO SEARCH . . . You must be polite, but firm in your refusal. You can state that “you NEVER consent to searches” as well as using these “magic” words–“am I free to go?” The police officer MUST answer your question . . . If you are being detained and an illegal search takes place, you have legal recourse.
Remember–police are not your friends . . .
That being said, not all “law enforcement” is criminal, but the “thin blue line” that they so jealously guard (and “look the other way” when rogue cops abuse their authority) does much to taint ALL “law enforcement” with having ulterior motives.
Rogue cops almost always get a “paid vacation” and returned to “duty” (at the taxpayer’s expense) after “internal affairs” and a “rubber stamp grand jury” are through with them.
The “thin blue line” must be brought under control…otherwise, the following may be the result:
I hope it never comes to this, but there may come a time where aggrieved groups “take things into their own hands” . . .
Find out where one rogue officer lives. case his home. Wait until early one morning and catch him as he comes out of his house- bring a gang. Once you have successfully beaten him into unconsciousness, go into his home-tie up his family. Break everything in sight. Pour an adulterant (water works fine) in all the gas tanks of their vehicles. Get all the info you can off their cell phones and computers. move on to the next rogue officer until you have visited them all. Then case the rogue chief of police. Keep doing this and they might start to back off being such assholes. When these bastards have to “grow eyes in the backs of their heads”, they might decide to “behave themselves’. Give these so-called “law enforcement” bastards a “taste of their own medicine”.
The above is just a thought. I hope it will never come to that, but . . . with the amount of unjustified murders that cops get away with . . . it is a possibility.
There have been individual cases where rogue cops have been “black bagged”, tied to a tree and warned to start behaving themselves. Of course, these cases are never publicized.
Look up “the battle of Athens, Tennessee”. This is but one instance of the townspeople “taking back” their town from corrupt “law enforcement”.
Obtain a copy of “Unintended Consequences” by John Ross…in it are lessons on law and constitutional government, and many ways to “take back” our government.
It is interesting to note, that, when this book first came out, sellers were routinely harassed by ATF, FBI, DEA, and other “law enforcement” types…Although, out-of-print and a little expensive, it is well worth the cost…
There are things that could be done to reign in questionable behavior by police and other public officials.
1. Eliminate both “absolute and qualified immunity” for ALL public officials. If public officials (yes, this includes police officers and their administrators, firefighters, prosecutors, court officials and all other “public servants”). If they knew that they could be sued personally (and possibly lose everything they own), they would tend to behave themselves. Require ALL public officials to obtain and maintain “personal liability (malpractice) insurance” at their own expense as a condition of employment. You can bet that insurance companies would react to instances of abuse by law enforcement personnel faster and more thorough than through existing channels.
2. Establish and enforce an “video audit trail” whenever there is interaction by any public official with the public. In the case of police and firefighters, no “video audit trail” would mean the inadmissibility of “evidence” as well as censure and immediate dismissal with loss of pension if there is a failure to assure that this “video audit trail” is present. “Equipment malfunction” would not be a valid excuse. A “video audit trail” works “both ways” and would also do much to eliminate the possibility of frivolous lawsuits by the public against public officials as well as assure that public officials “behave themselves”. This is especially true in police interrogation rooms where police-coerced “false confessions” occur with alarming frequency.
3. Prosecutors should be subordinate to the grand jury. Grand juries should be able to indict without needing the prosecutor’s “permission”. Of course, there would be NO absolute or qualified immunity for prosecutors or grand jurors.
4. Civilian police review boards should be mandatory–they should exclude anyone who has a police background or relatives of police from serving. Civilian police review boards should be able to bring up charges against corrupt police officials and officers as well. No police agency should be permitted to investigate itself. All investigations must be done by an outside agency.
These changes would put the public on an equal footing with our “leaders” (who are actually supposed to be subordinate to us citizens).
There have been many cases where people who have been legally recording police (mis)behavior have been harassed by police, their equipment damaged or destroyed, and charges brought against them. Severe punishment should be meted out to those public officials who interfere with lawful recording by citizens.
Of course, our so-called “supreme court” threw corrupt law enforcement another “bone”…it is now not necessary for cops to know the law. The “law” is whatever they say it is…
Revolution is sorely needed…
Cops are not the enemy. They are usually benign except when it comes to”just following orders” The order givers are the main problem. Cops are hired help who provide the muscle for TPTB.
John said:
“Just don’t forget who to call when you get your ass handed to you for no reason as your walking down the street and you just became a crime victim.”
The point of the conversation here is that with today’s roided up, asshole cops, you are just as likely to have your ass handed to you by a cop as you are a petty (read amateur) criminal. Who the fuck do you call then? According to an increasing number of courts, rules and regulations you are just shit out of luck because there is no recourse when a cop kicks your ass by mistake or for no reason.
I include firefighters in my bid to abolish immunity for public officials because of the following two cases…
A firefighter from a certain southeastern Michigan community claimed to have a “arson dog”–one that could detect accelerents. This “firefighter” and his dog were instrumental in ruining many peoples’ lives by his testimony alone. Insurance companies LOVED this guy as he was able to get them out of paying (valid) claims. People were denied valid insurance claims and prosecuted for arson on the testimony of this “arson dog’s handler.
Those who were “burned” by this supposed arson dog “handler had no recourse, because of “qualified immunity”. The firefighter (and fire department) could not be sued.
Finally one citizen who had been accused of arson fought back by suing to prove the “arson dog’s” ability. The dog was found to have NO special ability. The “arson dog” and his human master’s career was finally over. How many innocent people were convicted of arson and lost everything they had??
Another case was that of a plating plant that caught fire. The owner had a fire department “approved” fire plan in place which involved shutting off utilities and shutting down processes in an orderly fashion. The firefighters that responded to the fire pushed the owner out of the way, and told him that they were going to do things “their way”. The building burned to the ground.
A firefighter’s job (for at least 98% of the time is not inherently dangerous. This does not take away from the seriousness of their job, which is to be commended. but, firefighter arrogance can be just as dangerous as police arrogance. THIS is why firefighters should be included in the abolition of immunity for public officials.
As a contrarian, or at least a contrary old fart, holding the record for thumbs down in this instance might be taken as a good thing. This is a hive, and it is sure buzzing.
How Police Are Revamping Their Tactics
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/03/2015 20:45 -0500
This satirical look at how the police in America ‘might be’ revamping their tactics brought to you by The Onion,
In the wake of widespread protests against police brutality and discrimination, law enforcement departments across the country are instituting new rules and policies to ensure safer practices.
Here are some of the ways departments are reforming their training, tactics, and management in light of scrutiny:
Improved training to ensure that combat-ready assault rifles are not misused in the course of community policing
Armored vehicles to be decorated with murals celebrating the communities in which they are deployed
Switching to new all-organic tear gas blend
New funding for outreach programs to encourage better relationships between officers and their fathers
Officers to de-escalate tense situations by drawing progressively smaller firearms
iPads somehow incorporated
Disgraced law enforcement officials to be given even smaller desks than normal
Cops encouraged to report the misdeeds of their fellow officers, thereby sabotaging their own careers
Ensure this can all legally be thrown out the window if a cop feels threatened
* * *
Are we on the verge of martial law?
Law enforcement today is..’politician’s revenue gathering’..as the laws that are written by politicians are meant to only bring in money …not for the betterment,and or safety of citizens…..and these same politicians require the LEO’s to collect this bounty…Using SWAT as their primary tool to extract compliance from the citizens…….Respect is earned…and not freely given to those that are NOT deserving….Freedom and Liberty are loathed by the ruling class..politicians and their enforcers….so that the real badge of courage awarded to them will and should be as this author states..the Middle finger….imho…..Semper Fi
yahsure, just a clarification for the commenters on the AZ window film issue. The SCOTUS last week in its “opinion” (that is all they are), said that the 4th Amendment does not apply to police, I.e. that because the Police “Believed” that the law applied, it was a search that had “reasonable suspicion” going for him to stop the vehicle. That is what the AZ court used as its basis. The illogical ruling in that decision puts every citizen in jeopardy; because it means that we the people are held to a higher standard than the police once again. They can thus claim ignorance of the law and be given a pass, we cannot!
I am going to relay this, for prosperity sake, about my run in with Garland [Texas] police. I caught a brother of one such police officer putting a camera on a stick and peering into peoples windows.
After that I was visited by Garland police, while staying in Motel 6, which gives a list of those staying there, daily, of those who have paid to rent a room.
A knock on the door, I look out thru the peep-hole, no one there, I open the door, suddenly two police officers step around. Some shit about Joe Miller, saw to be coming into the room, that I never knew, they came into the room, looked around, no drugs but some beer in the cooler. I was charged with nothing.
I knew who the officers were.
That is why I am pissed. Most officers do good. These were not, just trying to cover up the peeping tom that what this guy and wife took upon themself as moral actions, when they were not in any way moral.
“On every base, without exception, it was military cops who got arrested more than any other military job.”
I heard the same at our old base. Later in a civilian job, I heard one of the site managers assess the problem – it appears we have 35 year old boys.
“With the increasing number of ambush-style attacks against our citizens, I am deeply concerned that a growing pro-government sentiment in America is influencing weak-minded individuals to support violent assaults against the men and women working to expose our illegitimate laws and keep our nation safe,”
how civilizations fall…As GK Chesterton once quipped..” never take down a fence, before first understanding why it was put up.”
So, the first thing that can start the dissolution of civilization, and place our foot on the long, blood-soaked, sad path toward that aboriginal tribe that has forgotten how to make needles or sew, is the treason of the clerks.
One the king is convinced (or in these more degenerate and democratic times, the parliaments and congresscreatures who have kingly duties but no sense of a higher power to whom they are obligated) that he has authority to overrule the laws of civilization, perhaps to make the pathway clear to the alleged utopia that the priests said surely will arise once anarchy is unleashed, then the legitimacy of his state is gone, and he is merely a raving beast like a mad man-eating lion.
The first thing the lion eats is the sense of honor that keeps his fighting men in check. His fighting men includes what in the modern day is both the military and the police. The police are made more and more militaristic; they are cast as the enemy of the people; and the military is degenerated from its ancient precepts of honor and courage, and instead becomes sensitive and friendly to womenfolk or sodomites.
Now, to be clear, in a modern bureaucratic state, any one who has the power to enforce the law and harass the people is, for all practical purposes, a policeman, a soldier, a fighting man of the king. We would call these bureaucrats, everyone from the tax man to the clerk on a planning and zoning board enforcing an irrational eco-nutbag regulation.
The sense of honor needed to keep soldiers and civil servants in check evaporates as the lawlessness of the anarchic King spreads down the wall to the next row, and the soldiers, police, and civil servants become young lions, red in tooth and claw.
Once the fighting men are corrupted, next oldest support of civilization vanishes: the burghers, the townsmen, the bourgeoisie, the merchants, the shopkeeper and tradesman, and middle class. Their corruption is far easier and far quicker, because trade and possession depends on a faith in objective law and evenhanded enforcement of contracts, not to mention the soundness of coin or currency. The middle class can be taxed out of existence, as they were in ancient Rome, which collapsed the Western Empire in one generation, and kept the Eastern Empire in a state of servitude and poverty for the remainder of its millennium.
The merchants who turn to the King to make a sweetheart deal create crony capitalism, which is also, more correctly, called fascism. The industries, such as are left, become organs of the state and are protected by increasingly one-sided and nakedly unfair taxations and regulations.
The important point to note is that the treason of the merchants undermines the unspoken social contract which allows trade and manufacture, or even guilds and small shops, to exist: that is, namely, the unspoken social contract provides that spoken contracts shall be upheld, and trade be fair and free. This idea is laughed into nonexistence, and the merchants are no longer merchants, but become jackals slinking and slouching in the shadows of the lions consuming the people, greedy for scraps.
But no civilization of this is possible without the brotherhood of family and clan. And that is not possible without marriage and an institution of paternity.
So the final course of stones to go is the social contract, the bargain, between fathers and mothers, between male and female. The deal is that, in return for the bearing the burden of bearing children, the womanfolk will be protected and cherished. When the barbarians attack, the women and children go first to the stronghold, and the men man the walls; the iceberg strikes, the women and children go into the lifeboats, and the men go to death in the icy water. In return, the women preserve and reproduce the race.
In barbaric ages and nations, this was done by polygamy, where the women were chattel, and in Christian civilization, by monogamy, where the women could not be divorced nor put aside except for fornication.
To prevent the menfolk from killing each other, or slaying the bastards fathered by other men on their wives, the women uphold modesty and chastity. Modesty deters unwanted extramarital or premarital sex; the chastity confirms the paternity of offspring, and expels a cold marriage of convenience in favor of a warm and romantic Christian marriage.
The first crack in this base course of the wall of civilization was the legalization of no-fault divorce, which was widened by contraception, and then a free-love sexual free-for-all which has, for all practical purposes abolished marriage among our urban poor.
The crack was widened again by feministic hypocrisy and insanity, which somehow demands all the burden of paternity be bourn by the father, even though he can be divorced at any time, and cast away; but that men take care not to offend women, no, not by so small a trifle as wearing a loud shirt or using the wrong pronoun; whereas women can do as they please, and whore around.
Such harlots seek to become the chattel of the strongest young lion or the richest sniveling jackal, and the idea of a modest matron raising children becomes as laughable to the corrupt harlot’s mind as an honorable soldier or an honest merchant.
Obviously no one believes that women can both be equal to men in facing all danger, and yet at the same time must be protected by trigger warnings lest they faint away. No one believes it, feminists least of all. This rampant hypocrisy has been clear ever since the days they rallied around Clinton, the Adulterer-in-Chief, and with their silence damned to hell all the women mutilated, enslaved, humiliated, falsely accused, and slain by Shariah Law.
In the same way the priests betray and eliminate the idea of the sacred, and the kings betray and eliminate the idea of legitimate authority, and fighting men and public servants betray and eliminate the idea of honor and duty and faithful executions of the laws, and the merchants destroy the idea of a fair deal, the feminists destroy the mystical concept of womanhood.
The feminists hatred for the feminine is accomplished, and their treason is complete, when motherhood is as purely despised as maidenhood, and women are once again possessions of the strongest.
It is noteworthy that, in the current day, all the courses of the stone wall, from lowest to highest, are cracking, creaking, and tumbling, and the loudest traitors cry that the stones are oppression, blocking and hindering us from skipping down the road of yellow bricks; they scream that the Emerald City of Oz is just outside the gate, which we must throw open to welcome the Wonderful Wizard who will grant all our contradictory and childish wishes.
And the bloodthirsty lions and jackals awaiting without are never mentioned.
Whether the traitors are blind but sincere, or merely suicidal and malign, makes no difference to the end result.
because of this…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiTYDJ15r_c&feature=share
we now suffer this..
[img
[/img]
135 thumbs down at my 11:18 post.
SWEEEEEET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the American justice system the death penalty is doled out and reserved only for those that actually kill another person(s). That assumes the killer gets ‘due process’. These pigs are playing judge, jury & executioner on the spot, fully eliminating the due process of American law. They should have the ability to defend themselves, but SO SHOULD WE!! It doesn’t matter if you wear a badge and a gun, if you’re being a total sociopathic control freak fuck, don’t expect the population to like you, help you, assist you or anything but loathsome distane. Why do you think people are retaliating against pigs? Have you all been so indoctrinated as to not acknowledge how many unarmed civilians these pigs kill? These pigs get what they get!! The only reason they’re getting it, it because of how they’ve been acting, treating the population and we are ALL so very fucking sick of it. We are a population of FREE Americans and all these dirty pigs seem to have forgotten that. These pigs will atone for their deeds and the population of the USA will see to it. Dirty pigs!!
Regarding Grand Juries: It is my understanding that the Grand Jurors are in no way beholden to the DA. As I understand a sitting GJ can dismiss the DA and question witnesses independently. They can also open and conduct investigations independently of the DA’s office, with full subpoena power.
The most powerful people in the courtroom are the jurors whether they be Grand or Petit Juries. Sadly, most people are completely unaware of the power that jurors have over the law and the enforcement of it. This is intentional.
If “We the People” knew the power we can wield through the jury system these outrages and abuses of power by the police, and others that feed at the public trough, could be dealt with effectively and we could protect each other from prosecutorial abuses. See http://fija.org/ for more complete information.
Sadly, the NFL, NBA, MLB, and Honey Boo Boo all take precedence. As a society, we’ve reached a very sad state of affairs.
In conjunction with all those statistics, you leave out the most important… the stats on how likely a laborer would kill me. Compare those statistics to You’re Nine Times More Likely to be Killed by a Police Officer than a Terrorist, It would be thousands of times more likely to be killed by a cop then a laborer… if cops have killed twice as many Americans than 911 since 9-11-01, it brings perspective.
The writer is partly correct. There are some antigovernment protesters are starting trouble. Most of the protesters or peaceful with some bad apples in the mix.
The writer fails to mention and the main players in this violence which are our very own government officials all the way up to Obama himself has been caught telling protesters to stay their course in one protest and paid for transportation of protesters in another protest. The Justice Dept has been caught giving out over 1.5 million dollars to sponsor cop killing music Rap videos.
They intentionally found some of these corrupt officers not guilty on purpose to stir up the violence. They could have stopped the violence when it first started but ordered law enforcement and the National Guard to stand to stand down. They could have arrested the instigators that started the violence but they refused. They couldn’t stop the violence when it started but law enforcement and the National Guard or order to stand down to allow the violence to spread. Some of these instigators or pro government and all are working with our government to escalate the violence.
This is being done on purpose to pit race against race and everyone against law enforcement. When the violence spreads wide enough the U.S. government will come in and act like saviors and federalize all law enforcement agencies putting them under one rule to use against all of us who love freedom and liberty.
People of all races and law enforcement need to understand that the criminals in Washington, DC are fueling these riots to pit everyone against each other to keep all of us from working together against them. It is called divide and conquer. People need to understand that this violence could have been stopped long ago but was allowed and ordered to continue.
People should not be attacking innocent law enforcement officers for something corrupt evil officers have done that our government intentionally finds not guilty on purpose. You do not attack your brother because your neighbor attack you, it does not make sense.
All races and law enforcement need to work together to fight the criminals in Washington that are instigating these problems because they are the real enemy, not each other. We cannot allow those criminals in Washington to cause us to kill each other when it is them themselves that are responsible for what is happening.
People need to wake up and see what is really going on and quit believing what the government controlled media is lying in telling you and do the research yourself and find out what is really happening.
We are all so going to FEMA camp.
Being a Cop as being a soldier is a job. Unlike other jobs the criminal activities of these enforcers is applauded, lauded and if bad enough paid for by the society they are supposedly representing.
A roofer drops a hammer on a passerby he pays the damage.
Cops kill pets or innocent people, citizens pay and cop is off clean. You chose your job take responsibility for your choice or quit. No free ride for their aggressive behavior while armed and armored on or off duty. No real victim equals no real crime so stop with the highway robbery.
If all soldiers would quit there would be no unjust wars and if all cops quit we could have a free market in security services based on want or need not extortion and taxation. politicians to should be held accountable personally for their misdeeds .
With regards to the whole “my son is a cop” bit…
I don’t doubt that your son joined for the right reasons. And its for that reason that I hesitate to jump on the hardline libertarian “who cares when a cop gets his” bandwagon. I think it sucks when anyone’s life has to end, doubly so when that person unknowingly commits evil and immoral actions, thinking he’s doing it for the greater good.
I’m sympathetic to this. What I would want for your son, or anyone in his position, would be to see the career for what it is and to get out of it. I do not want harm to befall him.
At the same time, the Biblical wisdom of “live by the sword, die by the sword” holds true.
Cops…. all, not just some, are required to pull people over for petty traffic offenses and steal their money with the threat of government force backing it up. They also must arrest people, that is, to forcibly put them into handcuffs and throw them in a rape cage, for carrying unapproved plants. They must back the CPS up when they engage in child stealing. They must enforce the laws against prostitution even if both the prostitute and the customer agreed to the interaction in question. They must enforce gun laws. That is to say, they must use state-sanctioned violence to force people not to do these things.
I am not writing this post in anger against you or your son. Though I don’t know you guys, I care for you guys. That you are even reading and taking seriously a libertarian thread like this shows that you want to learn. I’m glad. I think that’s a good thing.
I do not “hate cops.” I don’t hate your son. I’ll be honest, I do dislike all cops AT A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL. Your son likely acts like a decent person as well as he knows how. But as long as he’s still a cop in this immoral system, as long as he is acting as an agent of the State, no matter what percentage (since it isn’t 100%) of his job involves stopping real crime, his actions are immoral.
The Bible says that the gentile, pagan kingdoms lord it over each other but that it should not be this way with Christians. I don’t know if you or your son are Christians or not. If not, you are welcome to disregard this post if you want, it likely wouldn’t do any good.
But if you do value the Bible, keep in mind that Biblical justice was all about restoring the victim. There were no rape cages. Now, I am not saying every aspect of Biblical law is for American society today. Some elements were specifically written to govern the Israelite theocracy. But the core principle of restitutionary punishment and non-arbitrary punishment is still binding, and the American government violates it, continually. Your son is part of it whether he realizes it or not.
There are good people who happen to have the character flaw of being police. But there are no “good cops.” That would imply that its possible to engage in this profession in a moral manner that respects the dignity of men and follows the Golden Rule. I am convinced it is not. In a theoretical world, maybe. But not right now.
The “state,” which includes judges, politicians, cops and IRS agents/employees(in the US) have no factual evidence that the constitution and law apply to anyone just because he is physically present in some geographical location like California or Florida or Texas or Montana et.al. So, using force against anyone who has not harmed person or property is not justified. That said, one always has the right to defend himself if he is attacked. The tough one is how do we know what is an attack. Assuming one is about to be attacked is not an attack, else everyone could shoot anyone and escape with the excuse that he felt or believe or thought he was about to be attacked. I would like to see the police function privatized and if they stepped out of line they would lose contracts and or the vigilantes would step in to “correct” the violators.