Guest Post by Eric Peters
Naturally, the solution to the problem of police abusing their authority is to hold them less accountable when they do exactly that.
Leave it to “law and order” Republicans such as Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Ted Poe to evolve such logic. They have put forth the Black and Blue – whoops, Back the Blue – act (see here) which would make it harder to sue run-amok law enforcers in civil court to recover damages resulting from actions undeniably illegal – while at the same time imposing more severe penalties on Mundanes who affront the person of a law enforcer than those imposed on Mundanes who do exactly the same thing.
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As regards the first:
So long as the victim – er, perp – was “engaged in felonies or crimes of violence” (how this it to be determined in the heat of the moment remains unclear) the law enforcer administering the wood shampoo or directory assistance (beating administered with a phone book in between the flesh and he nightstick, to keep the bruising down) or some other such technique will be immunized from subsequent civil suit by his victim, provided the abuse suffered occurred while the enforcer was acting in a “judicial capacity.”
Breathtaking.
This will not only encourage more lawless “street justice” by the enforcers of the law, it will also encourage the generous application of the law – i.e., of bogus/trumped-up charges (such as felony “resisting”) in the immediate aftermath of a beatdown, to immunize the beaters from legal consequences. It’s even better than a throw-away stiletto – which dirty cops used to keep on hand to leave adjacent to the bloodied corpse of their victim, so as to justify his aeration.
That was at least illegal.
What these Republican brownshirts – and that term isn’t too strong; if anything, it is too soft – propose to do is legalize objectively criminal conduct, the conduct to be justified by eructing that the victim was a “law breaker” and so – presumably – deserved to have more than the legally prescribed justice meted out to him and – critically – before he has been duly convicted of anything at all.
Under the proposed Black and Blue lawlessness, law enforcement is to be given discretion to administer street justice, according to its lights – and the victim of this is to be rendered legally helpless. No damages are to be awarded for any violations of law that occurred during “any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in the judicial capacity of that officer.”
Hut!Hut! Hut! You will respect my authoritah! 
At the same time, any assault upon the person of a law enforcer by a Mundane becomes a separate federal crime with a mandatory two-to-five-year stint in federal prison. Twenty if the accused was in possession of a weapon during the incident.
The legal definition of “assault” can be a trivial as jabbing a finger onto someone else’s chest. Or – in the case of law enforcement – defending oneself against an assault by a law enforcer. Attempt to ward off his blows, a reflex action that is almost impossible to suppress, and – to well-practiced cries of “stop resisting!” – you have just purchased a two-to-five-year ticket to the federal prison of their choice.
It goes without saying that a law enforcer who commits exactly the same offense – assuming he is even charged – will suffer nothing of the sort. Cannot suffer anything of the sort, because the the law specifies more lenient treatment for assault-by-cop upon a Mundane.
And the lights just got a little dimmer.
One hates to trot out the Nazis, but they seem never to go away. They merely change uniforms. In the Third Reich, to strike an officer of the Reich was an enormous crime, far worse – and treated far more severely – than the treatment meted out to officers of the Reich who abused citizens of the Reich. For which acts, the officers of the Reich were usually rewarded.
As is often the case, the words of Reichsmarschall Herman Goring are worth recalling.
But first, it is worth recalling that Goring was Nazi Germany’s chief law enforcer for a time. Head of the Prussian State Police, creator of the first German concentration camps and founder of the Gestapo, the acronym standing for geheim staats polizei, or secret state police. He was hanged – well, supposed to have been hanged – after the judgment at Nuremburg precisely for his activities as Nazi Germany’s Top Cop.
And here is what Goring had to say about his law enforcers, when the question of excesses arose:
“Shoot first and inquire afterwards; if you make mistakes, I will protect you. Every bullet which leaves the barrel of a police pistol is my bullet. If one calls this murder, then I have murdered. I ordered all this. I back it up. I assume the responsibility and I am not afraid to do so.”
What the hell happened to us?
Well, to some of us.
There has always been a jackbooted strain in American politics, the bloody lust of the Red Queen to “off with their heads.” But until recently, it was backwater – along with things like handling snakes, jabbering in “tongues” and sipping strychnine.
But these and worse barbarisms wax mainstream.
Rather than hold those who enforce the law to at least the same standard expected of the rest of us, they are to be held to a lesser standard. We, meanwhile, had best not so much as raise our voices to these dispensers of “justice.”
And it’s only taken 70 years for us to get from there to here.
Why is it that the government polls so low on “trust” issues again?
“At the same time, any assault upon the person of a law enforcer by a Mundane becomes a separate federal crime with a mandatory two-to-five-year stint in federal prison. Twenty if the accused was in possession of a weapon during the incident.”
Should this travesty become law (and it likely will) someone is going to go to Leavenworth for two decades for having a key chain Swiss Army knife in their pocket when they “assault” the officer.
The writers of this bill should be impeached and flogged in the streets for having the gall to put it in words.
I hoped as I read that this only applied to Federal law enforcers but I clicked on the link to read the bill-if a state takes $ from the Federal govt,it applies to that state.
To me,that is as bad as the content of the bill.
By and large,the Republicans are just as much lying sob s as the Democrats.
When it’s convenient they talk state’s rights but it is usually in opposition to something the Dems are pushing.
When it is important to them or their fellow Republicans they do not give a damn about principles.Just pass something that is important to either their donor base or a special interest group that either has a large # of voters or a group that the public will be gullible enough to think
they should support.
I’m no democrat, but I hope no democrat senator supports this abomination. There ought to be at least three GOP senators who would opposed this – on federalism grounds, if nothing else. Cops already get waaaay too much benefit of the doubt.
I never realized there were so many stupid politicians.
But I guess at my age, I’m a slow learner.
The distrust in law enforcement officiers is the result of a decades long transformation of our country . The thin blue line protecting fellow officers that should be asking if we want our order supersized . The politicians and industry heavy weights that destroyed the job base for the majority of middle America creating frustration with the people drawing government paychecks uninterrupted as the great unwashed are deliberately left behind bankrupted . And you wonder why the political arm are strengthening legal protection of their minion enforcers ? It’s because politicians know when the blue line collapses their fate is assured !
The lights dimmed long ago. This is a banana republic festooned with the artificial ornaments of real life. The real people, the real producers, don’t have as much time as needed to realize what’s happened. They work two or three jobs and cart their kids around until they collapse into bed. I don’t blame them really, because I know what it’s like.
People are discovering how they’ve been so screwed by the pols, banks, mic, and a certain country or two in the middle east. I believe that, and more hard working, everyday people waking up to that is the only thing that will save our civilization.
May God bless the citizens and soldiers who have served our great country, I pray for them.
This just reinforces my belief that when TSHTF police officers are going to be the first casualties. They will be the most immediate visible representation of any type of authority which has thrown the average citizen under the bus and they’ll be the first to feel the wrath of the public.
If anything, police should be held to a higher standard than that of the public…As it stands now, police can commit crimes with impunity because, in most situations, they investigate themselves…Behavior that would get an ordinary citizen charged, convicted and incarcerated is routinely ignored by “the powers that be” because police are considered to be “above the law” as the “law” is whatever they say it is, the Constitution be damned…
Ever notice that police unions are “fraternal”? This should tell you something. The “thin-blue-line” is a gang, little different than street gangs–at least when it comes to “covering-up” their questionable and quite often, illegal and criminal behavior.
In today’s day and age, “officer safety” trumps de-escalation of force. This, in part, is due to the militarization of the police along with training in Israeli police tactics. This becomes a problem, with the “us vs. them” attitude that is fosters, along with the fact that Israel is a very different place, being on a constant “war footing”, and by necessity, its police tactics are very different.
There are too many instances of police being “given a pass”, even when incontrovertible video and audio evidence is presented. Grand juries, guided by police-friendly prosecutors, quite often refuse to charge those police officers who abuse their authority.
Police officers, who want to do the right thing, are quite often marginalized and put into harms way, by their own brethren…When a police officer is beating on someone that is already restrained while yelling, “stop resisting” THAT is but one reason police have a “bad name” in many instances…this makes the “good cops” who are standing around, witnessing their “brethren in blue” beating on a restrained suspect, culpable as well…
Here are changes that can help reduce police-induced violence:
1. Get rid of police unions. Police unions (fraternities) protect the guilty, and are responsible for the massive whitewashing of questionable police behavior that is presently being committed.
2. Eliminate both “absolute” and “qualified” immunity for all public officials. This includes, prosecutors and judges, police and firefighters, code enforcement and child protective services officials, and others who deal with the citizenry. The threat of being sued personally would encourage them to behave themselves. Require police officers to be “bonded” by an insurance company, with their own funds. No bond= no job.
3. Any public funds disbursed to citizens as a result of police misconduct should come out of police pension funds–NOT from the taxpayers.
4. Regular drug-testing of police officers as well as incident-based drug testing should take place whenever an officer is involved in a violent situation with a citizen–no exceptions.
5. Testing for steroid use should be a part of the drug testing program. You know damn well, many police officers “bulk up” with the “help” of steroids. Steroids also affect users mentally as well, making them more aggressive. The potential for abuse of citizens increases greatly with steroid use.
6. Internal affairs should only be used for disagreements between individual officers–NOT for investigations involving citizen abuse. State-level investigations should be mandatory for all suspected abuses involving citizens.
7. Prosecutors should be charged with malfeasance IF any evidence implicating police officer misconduct is not presented to the grand jury.
8. A national or state-by-state database of abusive individuals who should NEVER be allowed to perform police work should be established–a “blacklist” of abusive (former) police officers.
9. Most people are unaware that police have special “rules” that prohibit them from being questioned for 48 hours. This allows them to “get their stories straight” and makes it easier to “cover up” bad police behavior. Police must be subject to the same laws as civilians.
10. All police should be required to wear bodycams and utilize dashcams that cannot be turned off. Any police officers who causes a dash or body cam to be turned off should be summarily fired–no excuses. Today’s body and dash cams are reliable enough to withstand harsh treatment. Body and dashcam footage should be uploaded to a public channel “on the cloud” for public perusal.
11. All interrogations must be video and audio recorded. Police should be prohibited from lying or fabricating stories in order to get suspects to confess. False confessions ARE a problem in many departments. Unknown to most people, police can lie with impunity while civilians can be charged with lying to police…fair? I think not…
12. Any legislation passed that restricts the rights of ordinary citizens, such as firearms magazine capacity limits, types of weapons allowed, or restrictive concealed-carry laws should apply equally to police. No special exemptions to be given to police. Laws must be equally applied.
Police work is not inherently dangerous…there are many other professions that are much more dangerous.
A little “Andy Taylor” could go a long way in allaying fears that citizens have of police.
That being said, I have no problem with police officers who do their job in a fair, conscientious manner…however, it is time to call to task those police officers who only “protect and serve” themselves.
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 “cues” from its handler as well as the drug residue on the vehicle and help “justify a search”. This tactic is mostly used against young people. Drugs can also be “planted” on a “suspect”. Yes, planting drugs is more common that most people realize.
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”. Another “trick” is a foot to the instep, forcing the individual to involuntarily “pull away”. 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” personnel are 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.
When I had my little runin with local cops a few months ago, I was on the ground with cuffs around my wrists (that looked misleadingly like padded wristbands). With no one touching me, the cuffs emitted pain as if being tightened remotely. I felt almost as if my wrists were being twisted and the pain was excruciating. I tried to look around to see who was controlling the cuffs, but any attempt to look up resulted in more painful tightening.
It was a very frightening experience and even though I invited it by storming off into a neighborhood on foot in front of a bunch of cops performing a questionable traffic slowdown close to a college campus, I won’t be volunteering for another such inquiry into police practices.
What the hell is attached to those cuffs?
If they put the cuffs on “backwards”…yes, there is a “right way and a wrong way”, the cuffs will dig into your skin with the slightest movement…causing excruciating pain…the cops actually enjoy this form of torture.
It felt like my wrist bones were being crushed. Like I said… I learnt my lesson about being an inquiring mind.
There have been too many instances of police errors, mistakes, and misconduct that have not been properly addressed. From harassing honest citizens over minor disagreements, questionable shootings of honest citizens, to SWAT teams raiding “the wrong house”, smashing everything in sight, with no apologies to the occupants for their “mistakes”, there is something seriously amiss with law enforcement in this country.
Militarization, along with the “us vs. them” attitude, seeing the general public as the “enemy”, treating the public with suspicion, many of those that comprise the “thin blue line” do much to alienate themselves from their “bosses”, the law-abiding public.
It is a loosely-guarded secret that American law enforcement personnel are being trained in Israeli military tactics, which are not suitable for civilian “law enforcement”…the US is not a “war zone”. In addition, I would be very wary about hiring ex-military veterans for civilian law enforcement without extensive “deprogramming” to get rid of the perception that the civilian population is the “enemy”. I say this as a veteran myself…yes, I do have a “dog in this fight”.
It seems that in today’s supercharged climate of “officer safety”, innocent civilian lives have been extinguished, with tragic results.
Part of the “problem” has to do with the elevation of “officer safety”, trumping “citizen safety”. It seems that honest citizens have been relegated to second-class “status”, being expendable whenever a “law enforcement” officer’s (perceived) “safety” is threatened.
The hypocrisy is so blatant, that even with incontrovertible video and audio evidence, police-friendly prosecutors, along with “rubber stamp” grand juries STILL absolve rogue cops of wrongdoing.
The public is not stupid, seeing through the double-standard that presently exists. This, in no certain terms, absolves anyone of responsibility for perpetrating unnecessary violence against “law enforcement” or the general public…
The sad part of this whole situation is that when the SHTF, the (few) good cops will suffer, as those with “axes to grind” will see only the uniform and will be unable (or even unwilling) to differentiate between the “good” and the few “bad”…collateral damage at its worst.
If anyone has seen the movie “V for vendetta” you can see where this is going. There is a quote in the movie, where a lone, intuitive police detective (you know there are still detectives like this, though rare in the PD now) narrates a scenario where basically everyone is so fearful, that at some point a “law enforcer” fears a masked person, and shoots them in cold blood. As the masked person is shot, the mask comes off, and reveals a young girl underneath. Upon witnessing this “enforcement”, the village decides to come out in force against said enforcer, and proceed to beat him to within an inch of his life. All the while, he is waving his gun and shield stating he is a “law enforcer”.
The laws being passed above, causing a continuous ratcheting up of a mentality of impunity to law enforcers upon the public they are supposed to serve, is ultimately going to resort in the type of anarchy that only develops when you have an enemy occupation. Understand that in certain parts of this country, entire generations are being brought up to know that the police are their enemy. These type of laws do nothing to stop this, and the mentality that the cops go out on the street with, backed by this nonsense will only perpetuate this. History has shown that you can only oppress a population for so long until it finally snaps. When that happens, they can pass all the laws they want to protect these thugs in blue, and it will do no good, as the laws of mathematics will take over, and the blunt truth will be exposed that their are for more of ‘us’ than ‘them’.