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Cops 2: Pay No Attention to the Rioters Behind the Curtain

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Re: Cops 2: Pay No Attention to the Rioters Behind the Curtain

WeAreNDHockey said:
Misbehavior by law enforcement is not limited to unwarranted use of force and outright corruption. There is a culture of arrogance that permeates far too many police departments in this country, arrogance that causes them to act as if they are above reproach or any sort of criticism. Any organization needs to be open to criticism. One that is funded entirely by public funds and is "entrusted" to do the people's business is required to hear and properly react to criticism even more so.

This linked article is a perfect example of how the South Bend Police Department operates on a regular basis when confronted with even a modicum of criticism. Like a bunch of spoiled children. As to the charges leveled at the police officers in the linked article, they were not made public at the time. The organizers of this event went quietly to the city, not to the press, and made their concerns known. It was only after the FOP (the world's worst union but one of the only ones that seems to get the support of the occasional right winger -- how 'bout that?) and its members changed their story that the organizers of Bike The Bend went to the press and the public. There were no lingering hard feelings between the organizers and the police or city prior to last year, no ongoing issues with how the event was policed, so this isn't some sort of t1t-for-tat retaliation. This incident is a shameful abuse of the power we give to police officers.

The saying used to be when seconds count the police are only minutes away. I guess sometimes they just don't bother to show up at all.
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Here's the big question, and is the reason why checks and balances were placed into this country: What body is moderating the domestic terrorists without any conflict of interest?

Consider the following: A domestic terrorist does something wrong. Typically, there is an internal investigation, and in most corrupt departments, they find nothing wrong was done. Domestic terrorist gets away scot free. Either that, or a paid vacation to make them look like they did something. Let's say that the judiciary gets involved, whether grand jury or actual trial. Who is responsible for prosecuting? The district attorney, who is also a member of the same executive branch as the domestic terrorist. In essence, the prosecution is prosecuting themselves. Take a wild guess as to how that one is going to go. Now let's just say, by some miracle, the domestic terrorist is convicted. The judge, who has to deal with the domestic terrorists on an essentially daily basis both on and off the clock, and therefore in fear for his well-being, gives a very light to no sentence. A corrupt force probably cannot fire a domestic terrorist for felony or misdemeanor conviction, especially with a union involved, and so the domestic terrorist sticks around.
 
Re: Cops 2: Pay No Attention to the Rioters Behind the Curtain

Kepler said:
This is what will ultimately cause police departments to reform. Not conscience. But: whatever works.
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I dunno. Cities have been paying out millions for years, yet excessive force is still used daily. What bugs me is that the city is allowed to pay nearly $6 million to the family of Garner, but does not have to admit liability. It would probably be unconstitutional but I wish lawsuits could not be settled in this fashion. If you don't want to own up to any liability, then defend yourself in open court.
 
Re: Cops 2: Pay No Attention to the Rioters Behind the Curtain

WeAreNDHockey said:
I dunno. Cities have been paying out millions for years, yet excessive force is still used daily. What bugs me is that the city is allowed to pay nearly $6 million to the family of Garner, but does not have to admit liability. It would probably be unconstitutional but I wish lawsuits could not be settled in this fashion. If you don't want to own up to any liability, then defend yourself in open court.
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I guess as long as the city just passes it along to the taxpayers you're right, they won't change until the taxpayers who are getting it in the shorts revolt. And before that happens white flight will just impoverish the cities, leading to more crime, more police brutality, etc...

It would be great if the states were on the hook for these payouts. The good people of Bethesda and Rockville would have the entire B'more police department in cuffs roughly ten minutes after the first bill hit.
 
Re: Cops 2: Pay No Attention to the Rioters Behind the Curtain

Legal versus good policing. Like too many tragic encounters between law enforcement and unarmed citizens, this trooper escalated the situation until there was an arrestable event. It would have been incredibly easy for Trooper Encinia to do any number of things to prevent this simple traffic stop from ending in anything other than the warning he originally intended to issue. It is this kind of "policing" that needs to be eradicated. Until it is, the relationship between the police and the citizens will continue to go down the path it seems to have been going for years now. I used to have the utmost respect for law enforcement but every day now that respect gets less and less, to the point it is at now, almost non-existent.
 
Re: Cops 2: Pay No Attention to the Rioters Behind the Curtain

WeAreNDHockey said:
Legal versus good policing. Like too many tragic encounters between law enforcement and unarmed citizens, this trooper escalated the situation until there was an arrestable event. It would have been incredibly easy for Trooper Encinia to do any number of things to prevent this simple traffic stop from ending in anything other than the warning he originally intended to issue. It is this kind of "policing" that needs to be eradicated. Until it is, the relationship between the police and the citizens will continue to go down the path it seems to have been going for years now. I used to have the utmost respect for law enforcement but every day now that respect gets less and less, to the point it is at now, almost non-existent.
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Was a good piece in NPR about this where somebody brought up a condition along the lines of Authoritative Personality Disorder or something like that. The gist of it was that police departments are on the lookout for people who first and foremost want to exert control over others and have no empathy for people. They try to weed these recruits out, but they do tend to gravitate towards jobs in law enforcement. The idea was that Encinia seemed to suffer from that and couldn't handle the very idea of being questioned.
 
Re: Cops 2: Pay No Attention to the Rioters Behind the Curtain

Rover said:
Was a good piece in NPR about this where somebody brought up a condition along the lines of Authoritative Personality Disorder or something like that. The gist of it was that police departments are on the lookout for people who first and foremost want to exert control over others and have no empathy for people. They try to weed these recruits out, but they do tend to gravitate towards jobs in law enforcement. The idea was that Encinia seemed to suffer from that and couldn't handle the very idea of being questioned.
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Interesting. A friend of my wife is an Air Force Colonel, and he's been on task forces where the military also had concerns they were attracting that type. They found it correlated highly with other authoritarian personality traits ("universalist" ethical system with no gray areas, distrust of people, blind adherence to authority structures, extremely reactionary politics, worship of powerful personalities, dismissal of mercy as "weakness"). He joked that when they found them they just transferred them to the Marine Corps, but it has apparently been a big military objective to weed these types out because they make terrible leaders and decision-makers.
 
Re: Cops 2: Pay No Attention to the Rioters Behind the Curtain

FlagDUDE08 said:
He won't be convicted. DA prosecuting one of his own; clear conflict of interest.
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DAs / prosecutors are typically much too cozy with cops -- the way the system is right now they have to be -- but did you read the story? It sounds like this county prosecutor in this case is going for the max. I actually thought his language seemed prejudicial, but I don't know what limits (legally or in terms of decorum) are placed on a prosecutor talking about a case in a public statement.

To our lawyers: does the government prosecution have to watch what he says about a pending case outside the courtroom?
 
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Re: Cops 2: Pay No Attention to the Rioters Behind the Curtain

Kepler said:
DAs / prosecutors are typically much too cozy with cops -- the way the system is right now they have to be -- but did you read the story? It sounds like this county prosecutor in this case is going for the max. I actually thought his language seemed prejudicial, but I don't know what limits (legally or in terms of decorum) are placed on a prosecutor talking about a case in a public statement.

To our lawyers: does the government prosecution have to watch what he says about a pending case outside the courtroom?
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He may be "going for the max" in order to look good in the public eye, but I'd take a much closer look at the jury selection, and see how many pro-domestic-terrorist folks there are out of the twelve (or whatever they use in that state).
 
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