So I got schooled again on my post about LEO by Brian, Glenn and Boarshide, all former LEO. All are readers who've commented before and have done so with courteousy and politeness.
I do realize there are good as well as bad cops out there, I have run into a few of them myself over the years and the point that I think these folks were trying to make is that while the management may be at fault, not the the entire police force.
For the Patriots that are LEO, I do apologize. Unfortunately I do believe they are far and few between but I shouldv'e made that distinction before I lumped them all together.
Gentlemen, thank you for your polite comments.
I think being a cop is a tough job. IF I were a cop and were tasked with enforcement in a big city, dealing with bottom feeding ghetto rats, White trash morons and mexican gangbangers The law would be very obstructive in cleaning the streets.
ReplyDeleteWhat is needed to fix the mess that inner city politics has bred is a massive bombing campaign using daisy cutters and mustard gas... But since that pesky constitution forbids it, we keep allowing the law breakers free reign behind the constitution.
When I read of gang sweeps, officer involved shootings where the bad guys end up dead I have NO PROBLEM applauding. When I hear of raids that are unjustified, I get a bit pissy. But raids that are unjustified are very rare.
All cops aint bad, All criminals are bad. If the criminal is a cop it's a real bad thing... Rare too.
I understand its hard to be a cop. How much of this do they bring on themselves? Kenny, you spoke about the militarization of cops earlier. I live in a small town (around 8,000 people) and the cops here have two surplus Humvees, a five ton truck, and they wear tactical vests and BDU's on patrol. A cop walking up to your window on a traffic stop has six AR mags strapped to his chest. WTF? Like you, I was raised to cooperate with cops, but this has gotten downright ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe there are good and honest police officers out there. I believe most cops are honestly hoping and working to make their community a better place. However there are some officers that are only in it for personal power, or to get their jollies at the expense of those they come into contact with. These few officers are evil and should be drummed out of law enforcement and prosecuted for their abuses.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes people distrustful of most cops, not just the evil ones, is the thin blue line bullshit. There are many cases of officers looking the other way, or even covering for absolutely horrible behavior by their co-workers. This is only made worse in the public eye as when an abusive officer is "punished" it is never to the same degree a regular citizen would be for a remotely similar offense.
Perfect example, Harless in Ohio. Threaten to murder people, multiple times on video with his partner present? No consequences until he makes national news. Even then, NO PROSECUTION for the threats he made against helpless handcuffed citizens while he was armed. Now the police union has gotten a ruling that this worthless piece of filth not only gets his job back, but since the department HAS COVERED FOR MUCH WORSE OFFENSES IN THE PAST (WTF!?! seriously...) Harless should not have been punished to the degree he had been in the first place.
Until the "few bad apples" are publicly held to account for their bad actions with real and serious consequences, there will be a growing rift between police and all the rest of the citizens in this country.
Wirecutter, no need to apologize, your blog, your feelings and thoughts from your training, experience and knowledge. Coming from that career and hearing about killing cops causes a bit of consternation. I've been all over the blogsphere looking at all the blogs in your side bar trying to figure out where I fit in. There appears to be a split and many factions re: Patriot/Militia mission statements etc. .Anyways..Any contact with a cop can go one of three ways....good contact, neutral contact or bad contact. Fortunately or unfortunately cops are not robots, but are people who are trained to "survive" any type of confrontation/contact and that sometimes interferes with common sense. By that I mean a mediocre cop treats everyone exactly the same (treats a regular Joe/Jane like a possible threat/gangster etc.) The badge gets really heavy for some and those that snuck thru the intial psych./lie detect.screening and of course by cronyism and nepotism. We were constantly reminded of the deaths of other law enforcement from the "CHP Newhall Four, Onion Field, San Francisco 3?," and many, others. During my career each year, on my department, we lost an officer to gunshot and some to car crash. On most departments the officers are trained to be gung ho but they work in a small city with no gang/criminals to use/maintain their skillset. Instead, this is where you might find the type of cop who finds an excuse to stop everyone. (my experience/observations/anecdotes only). As a kid growing up in So Cal you knew which cities the cops/sheriffs were a-holes and stayed away. The "ghetto" stations are a different story. There develops a mindset sometimes where its us vs. them and some kids forget that some good citizens could not afford to move or lived there all their lives. I told my subords. to wave to everyone cuz they may save your life one day if you were involved in a fight. I even waved to gangsters and confused the fuck outta them..lol. Cops also have the same problems as everyone else, bills,taxes,marriage (50% div. rate or higher, I've been lucky, married to the same woman 27 years!),sickness etc...Anyways, now that I'm retired I still think about what I would do if confronted with a bad (rogue) cop on a t-stop, I know in my mind, "I" would survive.
ReplyDelete~Boarshide
Thanks Kenny. I knew you are stand up.
ReplyDeleteBrian
Sorry - Anyone who violates the intent of the Constitution and the Natural Laws of Man every single working day, and gets paid to do it via forced theft by taxes, is not a "Good guy" or "Just doing his job".
ReplyDeleteEvery cop who busts a guy for a dirty carry is violating his oath to the Constitution and Natural Law. Every cop who busts some pothead for weed is doing the same.
If one's definition of a "good cop" is a guy who will laugh at jokes and might be fun at a poker game, so be it. If one's definition of a good cop is a cop who actually abides his Oath - you've got a better chance finding a virgin under 12 in a -stan.
Kerodin
III
Sam - When I was living in a small town a few years ago with a police force of 10, I passed a friend that was pulled over and whipped into a parking lot to see what was going on. When the cop wrote him his ticket and left, Lumpy came over to me and was laughing - the cop spotted a joint in the ashtray, growled "You aren't smoking that shit while you're driving are you?" and said nothing more about it. The cop is now a supervisor where I work and when I asked him about that incident he said he didn't remember that specific incident because it happened more than once.
ReplyDeleteThe more unrestricted power that is given, the more temptation for corruption there's going to be.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, with the militarization of police and things like police organizations calling for access to your info without the formality of getting a warrant, more corruption is already here.
I salute cops that maintain their integrity, but how do we know which ones those are?
Hearing "good" cops complain about criticism of law enforcement is like hearing an escort get offended for being called a hooker. "It's management not rank and file" is the rationale of the coward. There are no good cops or bad cops, only good men and bad men. If you choose to make your living in a corrupt profession, get a thicker skin.
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