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The men and women of the force have always been a force to run to in desperate times of help, the people who helped keep our communities safe, whose presence was admired and welcome. They were as much apart of us as any employee; federal , state or local. But now in 2012 I think Congress is the only job whose employees are more hated than them. They consistently come off as arrogant, aggressive , abusive , apprehensive and intimidating. They have shown themselves to use unnecessary force on the elderly, children , and the disabled. They try to cover each other's tracks when they have down heinous criminal acts against citizens and in the case of the NYC officer, he was using the damn criminal database to catalogue women he was gonna kidnap, rape, murder and eat. Is their some kind of external force at work here causing this? They are always on edge and ready to shoot too, maybe the environment justifies it? I dont know what's going on.
Say what you want about cops but I like seeing them around. The more cops I see, the less likely I or my household is going to be a crime victim.
Also, what makes you think what you wrote is true?
I like when cops bust people. I like it when they write tickets. That money goes to me, the county or state resident. I wish they'd bust every Harley out there with loud illegal pipes and all the illegally modified muffler rice burners the punks are driving.
The men and women of the force have always been a force to run to in desperate times of help, the people who helped keep our communities safe, whose presence was admired and welcome. They were as much apart of us as any employee; federal , state or local. But now in 2012 I think Congress is the only job whose employees are more hated than them. They consistently come off as arrogant, aggressive , abusive , apprehensive and intimidating. They have shown themselves to use unnecessary force on the elderly, children , and the disabled. They try to cover each other's tracks when they have down heinous criminal acts against citizens and in the case of the NYC officer, he was using the damn criminal database to catalogue women he was gonna kidnap, rape, murder and eat. Is their some kind of external force at work here causing this? They are always on edge and ready to shoot too, maybe the environment justifies it? I dont know what's going on.
what you have described above may define a very few men and women of the police force in the minority of these here United States but certainly not the majority. I know what you say may indeed be descriptive of what you have read in the news or seen on TV (yes, I view and read the news as well as watch an occasional TV program) but personally, I have never experienced any of these scenarios. Not saying it hasn't happened or can't happen just that it has never happened to me or any of my friends or family.
That said...I am sure under certain conditions these things may occur. In general, however, I believe these actions to be an anomaly of appropriate police conduct.
Say what you want about cops but I like seeing them around. The more cops I see, the less likely I or my household is going to be a crime victim.
Also, what makes you think what you wrote is true?
I like when cops bust people. I like it when they write tickets. That money goes to me, the county or state resident. I wish they'd bust every Harley out there with loud illegal pipes and all the illegally modified muffler rice burners the punks are driving.
Back in the early 50s and before the police were a part of the community and there wasn't a divide between the police and the citizens of the community. The people were the eyes and ears for the police. Then sometime in the early 60s or so the police started to become alienated from the citizens and then by the late 60s many people looked at the police as a threat of sorts. Its too bad but thats the way it happened.
If they are rude and obnoxious and pushy, they few that I will grant you are getting that way, it's probably because the people in society that they are dealing with are getting more that way as well. There was a time when people looked up to and respected police. Not anymore. Especially since the 1960s counter-culture revolution. If they stick together like glue, it's because everyone else is against them. The external force is us. We watch a few cop shows on television and arrogantly think we know all there is to know about law enforcement. We hold them to the "higher standard" but don't treat them any better.
At the risk of sounded very cynical, here is my piece on this.
Aggressive behavior, being abusive, this has existed within the ranks of the police for ages. The difference is that it was noticed less before 1960. Why was it noticed less? The persons who were often abused by the police were Blacks, Latinos, and Asians. Police brutality was quite common in Black neighborhoods. Respect for the police was not universal. Many Blacks feared the police before the 1960s. Fear later turned to anger in the 1960s. Why else did the original Black Panther Party form? Protection against police brutality in the Bay Area.
If you weren't White, you would be harassed and even subjected to physical abuse from police officers much more than Whites. It still holds today, but more people are aware of it. There is also a trend where some police officers are willing to be abusive towards anyone of any race or ethnicity.
But my point was this. One asks "what has happened to American police officers"? I say you could ask that. I also another appropriate was to put it is this: Why has this behavior only been noticed in the recent times? Why are some police officers more willing to abuse their power with White people now more than before?
This being considered, not all police officers are like this. I have ran into some very nice police officers, who have not abused their power. I've seen some very good police officers. My idea is this. The notion that police officers didn't abuse their power or were more respected back in the old days is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. Abuse of power and lack of respect for police officers has existed for a long time, long before the 1960s.
I think a lot of the problem is the recruitment of ex military for civilian law enforcement.
The military supports an "us vs. them" mentality that may be fine when fighting a war, but tends to define American citizens as the "enemy" in domestic law enforcement.
Military also trains solders to react to any kind of resistance or opposition with overwhelming force.
This kind of training may have its place in SWAT teams, but is causing a lot of police brutality in dealing with regular citizens that we are seeing on video nearly every day. This is causing more mistrust of law enforcement and the feeling we are becoming a police state.
Todays police are being trained as para-military forces. Every incident gets over kill of force. They show up dressed as ninja warriors with helmets and an M-16 And now they have toys like a taser which is used for the slightest provacation. Ask one a question like where is so and so store and you get a snarky, snarly answer. Every citizen contact is treated as though you are a criminal. I don't think they teach communication skills and community relations at an academy anymore.
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With all due respect...
