It's Time for Conservatives to stop defending Police

[sinkspur]

http://reason.com/blog/2014/07/17/cop-caught-on-dash-cam-i-dont-do-dogs-il#comment

Cop caught on dashcam:  "I don't do dogs.  I'll shoot the damned thing."  And he did.

One of these days, some pet owner is going to shoot back.

[Oceander]

They've used the drug war to turn the police into a domestic military, so basically the federal government has a military with the equipment to back it up that can stay home and be used against civilians. Spending billions of dollars on a war we cannot win in an effort to tell people what they can or cannot put in their own bodies is not following conservative values either.

On that we can both wholeheartedly agree.

[Oceander]

So I guess that thug in Houston who executed a police officer in cold blood, and then killed a bystander who tried to help, should be given a medal or something?

Strawman arguments aren't.  Looking at the cops without the benefit of rose-colored glasses and acting accordingly doesn't in the least justify what your thug did. 

[olde north church]

So I guess that thug in Houston who executed a police officer in cold blood, and then killed a bystander who tried to help, should be given a medal or something?

That wasn't nice.  I apologize for what I said and NOT if you thought it wasn't nice or took it the wrong way (you know, the typical non-apology apology).

[mountaineer]

I'd like to write an essay on how "it's time for conservatives to stop making sweeping generalizations - about the police and everything else."
Just sayin'.

[olde north church]

Ah...a cop bashing thread....we have several members here with family members in LE and one member whose brother died in the line of duty.

Like every profession there are good and bad people...

Must say I don't appreciate where this thread is going...

1.  There is nothing about this thread that is bashing people who join a profession of their own free will.  People are not pressed into police work.

2.  Why don't you give a quick check to the FBI crime stats page.  About 13,500 homicides 2012, I think it was.  You know how many were LEOs?  About 112.   What's that as a percentage?  .01 I think?
That's somebody with a gun on his hip, a vest around his chest and a radio for backup, knowing he's going into a hot situation.  How is that situation going to work out for some poor bastard putting a key in his lock, turning the knob and walking in on methheads with nothing to lose?

3.  The Law Enforcement industry is corrupt from the street on up.  Where does John Q for recourse when the "boys in blue" have you in their sights for whatever wild hair crossed their asses? 

4.  It's easy to play the "wild-eyed, tattooed, gangbanger" card to juice up the fear in the law-abiding.  Problem is, the law-abiding are the ones being squeezed in the middle of both kinds of criminals.

5.  Keep hearing about the "few bad apples".  There are reason why LEOs aren't cleaning out their own sheds?

Thanks.

[olde north church]

1.  There is nothing about this thread that is bashing people who join a profession of their own free will.  People are not pressed into police work.

2.  Why don't you give a quick check to the FBI crime stats page.  About 13,500 homicides 2012, I think it was.  You know how many were LEOs?  About 112.   What's that as a percentage?  .01 I think?
That's somebody with a gun on his hip, a vest around his chest and a radio for backup, knowing he's going into a hot situation.  How is that situation going to work out for some poor bastard putting a key in his lock, turning the knob and walking in on methheads with nothing to lose?

3.  The Law Enforcement industry is corrupt from the street on up.  Where does John Q for recourse when the "boys in blue" have you in their sights for whatever wild hair crossed their asses? 

4.  It's easy to play the "wild-eyed, tattooed, gangbanger" card to juice up the fear in the law-abiding.  Problem is, the law-abiding are the ones being squeezed in the middle of both kinds of criminals.

5.  Keep hearing about the "few bad apples".  There are reason why LEOs aren't cleaning out their own sheds?

Thanks.

2.  Why don't you give a quick check to the FBI crime stats page.  About 13,500 homicides 2012, I think it was.  You know how many were LEOs?  About 112.   What's that as a percentage?  .01 I think?
That's somebody with a gun on his hip, a vest around his chest and a radio for backup, knowing he's going into a hot situation.  How is that situation going to work out for some poor bastard putting a key in his lock, turning the knob and walking in on methheads with nothing to lose?


Actually, that's incorrect.  The 112 represents total amount died in the line of duty, of which about 75 were homicides.  That would make it closer to .0075 (please check my math). 

[aligncare]

Never, ever, EVER call  a cop.  There is no situation that won't be made worse by the presence of LEOs.

Like the rest of the populace, cops are less educated, more prone to emotionalism, and know that they can hide behind "I was in fear for my life."  Uniform cams should be mandatory and any cop who doesn't turn his on in a situation should be presumed to be hiding something.

It's time these thugs are as afraid of us as we are of them.

We are now a police state.

Sincerely,
The U.S. Constitution

[DCPatriot]

We are now a police state.

Sincerely,
The U.S. Constitution

Heard Michael Savage yesterday....he said, that in reality, we're only "this close" to where, just like in pre-WWII Germany, people will be picked up off the street in black Chevy Suburbans....never to be seen again.

Over the top?

I report....you decide.   

[EC]

I will never, ever, stop defending honest cops doing their (totally thankless) job. When was the last time you thanked a cop for their service? I will also never, ever, stop trying to expose the corrupt thugs and violent crooks in uniform, of which there are too many.

Get rid of the damned union. LEO has a motto: "To serve and protect." That is to serve and protect the community, not themselves.

[olde north church]

I will never, ever, stop defending honest cops doing their (totally thankless) job. When was the last time you thanked a cop for their service? I will also never, ever, stop trying to expose the corrupt thugs and violent crooks in uniform, of which there are too many.

Get rid of the damned union. LEO has a motto: "To serve and protect." That is to serve and protect the community, not themselves.

If you could clarify something for me regarding the duty of English police vs American police.  Only from what I've read and seen and that was some time ago.  In America, we could approach a police office and ask for directions or other type of assistance.  English police perform a different function, ergo you wouldn't approach a policeman the same way.  Correct or oversimplification or somewhere in between.

[EC]

If you could clarify something for me regarding the duty of English police vs American police.  Only from what I've read and seen and that was some time ago.  In America, we could approach a police office and ask for directions or other type of assistance.  English police perform a different function, ergo you wouldn't approach a policeman the same way.  Correct or oversimplification or somewhere in between.

Our cops don't even carry guns - mostly. That is only for our equivalent of SWAT teams and has saved more than one dog's life. You will find them (when you can find them, they are a timid sort of species that tends to hide in their patrol cars and watch) to be friendly and helpful - just as most US cops are. Walk up to them, ask a question and they'll do their damnedest to help you.

Ours have not yet got to the same level of military wannabes yours seem to have. I say seem, because good news and the good stuff they do is never page 1 news.

It's the same basic function. Solve a crime, find the perp, keep the chain of evidence intact. They are a reactive service not a proactive one, by law.

[olde north church]

Our cops don't even carry guns - mostly. That is only for our equivalent of SWAT teams and has saved more than one dog's life. You will find them (when you can find them, they are a timid sort of species that tends to hide in their patrol cars and watch) to be friendly and helpful - just as most US cops are. Walk up to them, ask a question and they'll do their damnedest to help you.

Ours have not yet got to the same level of military wannabes yours seem to have. I say seem, because good news and the good stuff they do is never page 1 news.

It's the same basic function. Solve a crime, find the perp, keep the chain of evidence intact. They are a reactive service not a proactive one, by law.

Thanks for that

[EC]

Thanks for that

Any time, my friend. We're not just two countries separated by a common language. Cultural assumtions play their part too.

[aligncare]

Our cops don't even carry guns - mostly. That is only for our equivalent of SWAT teams and has saved more than one dog's life. You will find them (when you can find them, they are a timid sort of species that tends to hide in their patrol cars and watch) to be friendly and helpful - just as most US cops are. Walk up to them, ask a question and they'll do their damnedest to help you.

Ours have not yet got to the same level of military wannabes yours seem to have. I say seem, because good news and the good stuff they do is never page 1 news.

It's the same basic function. Solve a crime, find the perp, keep the chain of evidence intact. They are a reactive service not a proactive one, by law.

That's sounds a bit like the cops I remember growing up in Italian Bensonhurst Brooklyn in the early 60s. Only, I remember distinctly the beat cop. He was this huge Irish fellow who twirled his baton as he strolled along our street and who took the time to chat with the street urchins. However, that scene soon disappeared as cops took to their patrol cars in the 70s and 80s. It was Guiliani in the 90s who brought back the beat cop and soon after, crime fell in New York City. The rest is history as Bloomberg continued the Giuliani approach, which helped to keep New York City the most crime-free major city in america.

[olde north church]

That's sounds a bit like the cops I remember growing up in Italian Bensonhurst Brooklyn in the early 60s. Only, I remember distinctly the beat cop. He was this huge Irish fellow who twirled his baton as he strolled along our street and who took the time to chat with the street urchins. However, that scene soon disappeared as cops took to their patrol cars in the 70s and 80s. It was Guiliani in the 90s who brought back the beat cop and soon after, crime fell in New York City. The rest is history as Bloomberg continued the Giuliani approach, which helped to keep New York City the most crime-free major city in america.

I have quite a few friends and relatives who were on the police force, which makes it this situation all the more difficult.  I remember the pride that went with the uniform.  When the cops gave a boot in the ass or found you a place to puke (and told you they never wanted to see you that way again!), as necessary.
Those days are long gone.