America's Police Brutality Now Pandemic

When authority gets use to having its way, and we get use to seeing it, will it just become the norm? It will if we don't stand up and demand those responsible are removed from power.

reply to post by LDragonFire


Ah Ha, well then, that's a complete different can of worms. Yes, cops shouldn't execute, etc. BUT, if they see a gun getting pulled out, then it's time to take defensive actions. Mistakes happen alot though, we have 300 million citizens, and I forget how many cops. If you're suspected, don't run nor try anything. Some guy a few posts before said his friend was killed by the cops because they assumed he did something, Key word he said was that he ran, Now why would he have ran? Would he had expected anything good out of it?

Originally posted by Gorman91
reply to post by LDragonFire

 

Ah Key word he said was that he ran, Now why would he have ran? Would he had expected anything good out of it?

Yeah, he might have expected that he would get away!

At that moment he might have thought that to be good.

reply to post by interestedalways


And why exactly would you run from the police? 90% of people don't get away. As I said before, does he think he's superman?! If he was innocent, he would have simply let them arrested him. Then he could have sued for much money. Or perhaps gotten some police reward for his troubles. If you're innocent, you don't run. Why exactly would you WANT to get away if you're innocent?

Would not common sense dictate that you'd be in a much better position NOT running?

[edit on 1-10-2007 by Gorman91]

Originally posted by Gorman91
reply to post by interestedalways

 

And why exactly would you run from the police? 90% of people don't get away. As I said before, does he think he's superman?! If he was innocent, he would have simply let them arrested him. Then he could have sued for much money. Or perhaps gotten some police reward for his troubles. If you're innocent, you don't run. Why exactly would you WANT to get away if you're innocent?

Would not common sense dictate that you'd be in a much better position NOT running?

[edit on 1-10-2007 by Gorman91]

It is unlikely that he was innocent. But lets not pretend we live in a perfect world of perfectly crafted laws.

Everyone doesn't obey the law, like it or not. The guy could have had a warrent for not paying a ticket and dinner was cooking at home and he preferred to not be bothered by going downtown.

I am not advocating running from a police officer, I am just putting it out there that about 49% of our society would prefer to not be bothered with the "justice" system and it's quirks. If you don't have money the playing field is very different than it is for those who can just call up a lawyer to take care of things.

Running shouldn't qualify for brutality.

Did you ever run from one of your parents when you were in trouble? Some people still operate from that level of mentality.

It is a sad situation for the social values in the country on both sides of this issue.

reply to post by interestedalways


Yes, but if you let them search you, then they'd find nothing and, tada, you go free. Dinner cooking or not, usually the cops will let you go for that or be quick, as they don't want to be blamed for your house burning down. People assume the cop is automatically brutal or evil. Where did this mentality come from? Maybe it's a localized thing, but the cops in my neighborhood or good people who help you and do their jobs. They stop speeders, aid at crashes, and do good. Many times their heroism has been seen.

Case and point:
There is a block in my area known as jumping block or something; the racists call it N-word block, but that is obviously offensive. The cops do their job to stop the Italians from beating up the blacks, and the blacks from beating up the Italians. Usually these fights are over a robbery, or a racist slur. A poor Mexican or Black will rob from a rich Italian or a rich Italian will say offensive words to the poor black guy or Mexican, and it's like the Mafia or La Raza comes out of no where. Both sides are wrong, and the Cops do their job to stop the violence. For the most part, this area is like no mans land. You only go into the area for trouble, or when there is no other way. The Cops do very well for stopping it though.

So maybe it's just the local cops where you are, but where I am, they are good people.

There was another local case today where officers used the taser on a man who was running from them when they saw him appear to be smoking crack.

He was a 44 year old black man and they tasered him which resulted in him dying in police custody shortly thereafter. Granted the crack surely didn't make his heart any stronger, nevertheless the electrocution didn't either.

His mother was crying on the TV saying "I made him leave because I didn't want him doing drugs in my house, I guess I should have let him smoke crack here, at least he would still be alive"

It was sad. The whole thing is sad. It is sad that people are smoking crack and sad when they run from cops and die.

There is no easy answer but we must really question the use of what certainly has been lately, Deadly Force.

Brings us all back to the haunting words of Titor :

"Some nonlethal weapons turn out to be quite lethal.

But I think tasers are kind of good. Is there a pain lever on them? Perhaps it is too high? I think that running from the cops is the problem to begin with. Why run? You know it won't end nicely.

[edit on 3-10-2007 by Gorman91]

I don't know I've seen cops act more and more unproffesionally as the years have gone on. Heres my experience with cops. Cops are pretty subjective. They have biase. hate to say it but they do. Although I've never had any serious problems with the cops, probably not because of anything I was doing but for probably how I look. But I've seen cops act very dasterdly.

1. Seen an entire LAPD task force cover up an accident thqat seriously injured several people. completely due to a reckless 25 year old punk cop. Watched in horror as me and about (no joke) 50 or so other witnesses, as police investigators lied boldly, covered up evidence, and threatenig the local news and anywitness who claimed that the cops were writing down false statements (although the witness' themselves were eating dinner and had no reason to lie) with arrest. threatened a news reporter with arrest when she started digging. seriously scummy underhanded stuff.

2. Know a police officer on the LAPD on patrol as I type this who used to confiscate drugs and them give them to his dad. Called me once all excited because he got to "light " someone up with a tazer. bragging about how the guy was standing on his tippy toes and peed on himself. yeah thats sure funny to me....if I had a serious mental pathology.

3. Went on a ride along once several years ago with a cop. he literally turned to me and "said point out anybody and I'll make something to arrest them, go ahead point out anybody" thats F'ed up.

4. know another cop who lied his way past the lie detector tests regarding drug use and has made it onto the force. PS he still goes to this guy down the street to buy pot, but arrests others and takes their pot. hypocrite.

From my experience cops tend to abuse their authority when nobody is looking. not a good thing

Sad but true, Cops are the guys that you pulled their undershorts up to their ears in junior high school. So when they sort of grew up, they wanted revenge and became cops with the guns and such.
The best thing to do when confronted by cops is "think" and say what it takes to get away from that situation.

I agree that most cops that I know were/are very insecure on a deep level that they won't admit. they were the same people who felt insecure growing up and since they couldn't control their own lives they went on to control others. it's mainly a control issue thing in the end if you really analyze your average cop. Now I know a few good ones, but I still think that even the good are sewing more public decent than they think.

The reason the LAPD is the way it is is because they lowered standards in order to "diversify" the force. Its the same story with the NYPD, back in the 1950s everyone who wanted to be a cop wanted to be a NYPD officer ... it was the best of the best at the time. Today in 2007, nobody wants to be an NYPD officer and everyone instead gravitates to the suburban police and sheriff's departments on Long Island, Westchester County, NJ, etc and they have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get new recruits (who are often rejects from the suburban departments and wannabe buffs).

20/30 years ago
i would have agreed
back then cops did what they wanted and got away with murder (literally)

with dash cams and video cameras all over the place
it does not happen as often

there will always be bad cops, always
but in my eyes
they are not as bad as what they used to be

chickenfeet

The militarization of Americas police force stems from the War on Drugs, if our police are waging a war, then what does that make you?

We have made quite a mess, I can't even imagine what other stories we will see and read about in the future, but IMO sooner or later we will stop seeing these types of stories. Its logical to assume that the next crackdown will be what we are able to view, I can imagine that it will be a crime to post anything negative regarding our beloved authorities.

The USA as we all once known it seems to be over, I'm just waiting for the general population to wake up one day and realize this. What a interesting day that will be.

We have gone from "to protect and serve" to "enforce and intimidate"

some other related threads here:
Anti-Crime Unit To Carry Submachine Guns On Central Fla. Streets
Police identify man who died while in custody [after Taser]
Police caught on tape threatening to destroy and invent evidence

If you think our police are militarized then you need to do some traveling overseas.

www.operations.mod.uk...
z.about.com...
www.mnlf.it...
newsimg.bbc.co.uk...
www.robertochicco.com...
Italian Carabinieri

www.tvoggisalerno.it...
www.sailingchannel.it... a_antiimmigrazione/2966-2-ita-IT/15_guardia_di_finanza_i_guardiacoste_e_attivita_antiimmigrazione_full_serietrasmissione.jpg
content.answers.com...
Italian Guardia di Finanza (Customs)

www.nato.int...
img.search.com...
upload.wikimedia.org... mes_mobiles_dsc07407.jpg
mondedesgendarmes.free.fr...
French Gendarmerie Nationale

kristavanvelzen.sp.nl...
members.lycos.nl...
www.vredesnaam.com...
www.marechausseecontact.nl...
Dutch Koninklijke Marechaussee (Royal Constabulary)

www.cascoscoleccion.com...
hrw.org...
content.answers.com...
content.answers.com...
Carabineros de Chile

All of these cops look a heck of alot more paramilitary then the so called "fascist police state America stormtroopers".

One odd aspect of todays police is the use of informants, they allow their informants to commit crimes, pull in others who may not be inclined on their own to commit crimes.
This ties in all to well with the "War on Drugs". Where the police gather names of drug users, go to the federal government for money to fight it, but yet only harvest just enough druggies at election time to show what a great job they are doing.
They cant really dent the drug use or they loose funding!
One town I know of, the folks there are tired of the drugs and many suspect the police are involved and using drugs themselves. Some wanted the police to be drug tested. The Chief however says, drug testing these heroes will be bad for moral.
I know a Sheriff, his department received an armored vehicle from the government. I said Bud, what the hell are you going to do with that? He says in case there is a public uprising we will use it. I said, Bud, if you use that on the people in this town, you had better move into it as you wont have a house to live in. He later painted on it "rescue vehicle"!

Do you feel safe? Are we now living in a Orwellian society?

These increasingly frequent raids, 40,000 per year by one estimate, are needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders, and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they’re sleeping, usually by teams of heavily armed paramilitary units dressed not as police officers but as soldiers. These raids bring unnecessary violence and provocation to nonviolent drug offenders, many of whom were guilty of only misdemeanors. The raids terrorize innocents when police mistakenly target the wrong residence. And they have resulted in dozens of needless deaths and injuries, not only of drug offenders, but also of police officers, children, bystanders, and innocent suspects.
Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America

If there is a war on drugs, and the police are soldiers what does that make us? This heavy handed tactic reminds me of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Is this the America we want? Is this what we rebelled from England for, what our founding father sacrificed for, what our ancestors fought and died for?

Take a look at this map:

Botched Paramilitary Police Raids

If a widespread pattern of [knock-and-announce] violations were shown . . . there would be reason for grave concern."
—Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in Hudson v. Michigan, June 15, 2006.

Now we have a War on Terrorism, furthering the agenda of our civilian police being transformed into a military apparatus. Yes I said agenda, meaning this is intentional, and it will get worse before it gets better.

Now if the cops are the soldiers in these two wars. Again what does this make us the citizens?



[edit on 6-10-2007 by LDragonFire]

[edit on 7-10-2007 by LDragonFire]

Well according to some U2U's some members here are not comfortable to discuss this publicly. This is sad, how far we have fallen so fast.

You can't really argue that you have lost freedom of speech when you chose not to exercise it. So Exercise it, speak your mind.

The police state is already here, and dissent will not be tolerated.

Originally posted by LDragonFire

You can't really argue that you have lost freedom of speech when you chose not to exercise it. So Exercise it, speak your mind.

The police state is already here, and dissent will not be tolerated.

I have found myself more aware of what I say lately.

Particularly since I named my town and the metro area close to me on one of these threads about the actions of the police in my area I have been pulled over for a small crack that was in my windsheild and was searched during the process when told that my car would be towed because the crack made it faulty equipment unless I allowed the search, which I did.

Then the police came to my apartment while I was at work and my daughter was at home saying that they were investigating an old report of drug use at that address but that it must have been the previous occupants, even though I have lived here for 6 months.

I have gotten a computer virus that caused alot of problems, kicking me off line continuously and so forth.

Sure I am probably being paraniod and attaching things to something that has no bearing and are mere coincedence in thier timing, but I still feel somewhat vulnerable.

I would like to be braver and stand for something but at this point it is all still fuzzy.

All except for the part about the police state already being here. It is and it scares the bejebuz out of me.

[edit on 7-10-2007 by interestedalways]

Don't forget that USA has the highest incarceration rate, even more than communist China. Just because Americans love to say they're free and have the freedom to condemn the government doesn't mean we are actually free. Just look at how Congress and the White House both openly ignore the will of the people. (I know people will dismiss poll numbers because they constantly change, but the poll numbers constantly change because these people lie to us. Once the truth comes out and the people know more of the overall picture, then we realized we were lied to, and our opinions change.) So what if we get to talk bad about the government? The government still pushes its agenda down our throats--wars based on lies, amnesty to illegals, North American Union, spending on war rather than rebuilding infrastructure and modernizing our public transport, etc. Fact is, it doesn't take much to turn USA into an open police state. With the MSM in control as it is and these "non-lethal" weapons being given out to police, all it takes is a few higher-ups to tell the police to use it "to be safe than sorry", and the MSM will hush it up the same way the MSM hushes up anything that goes contrary to the "support the troops" mantra.

In fact, it's arguable we do live in a police state. We are currently still under the War Powers act. Anyone ever read the patriot acts, military commissions act, the enabling act, and defense authorization act?

[edit on 7-10-2007 by 1011010110]

[edit on 7-10-2007 by 1011010110]