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On one hand, I understand the frustration on the part of the blacks in light of the string of alleged police killings. Whether or not those are justified killings, hearing about them week after week would rightfully give the impression that the police is killing blacks and no consequences arise from the killings. No one can deny a lot of blacks are getting killed by the cops.
So, it really boils down to causation. Did the blacks disregard police directives or attacked the cops, thereby causing their own death? Or did they get killed for no reason whatsoever because they are black? This can only be determined on a case-by-case basis. Thank goodness for videos. Without them, none of these cases would ever come to light, because everyone would accept the cop's version of events. It's hard to dispute what you see with your own eyes on video.
So, while I am generally very skeptical of LE in these types of situations, for example, based on Eric Holder's Department of Justice final investigation report, I can say with confidence that Michael Brown case was a justifiable shooting (at the very least the first shot). First and foremost, there is no dispute that Michael's blood (DNA) was inside the SUV and there was forensic evidence that the first bullet was discharged in the SUV while Michael's hand was right next to the muzzle. Clearly, he was so far into the SUV that he was on the right side of Wilson's body where his gun was holstered, and that was the first shot.
But then there are a string of other cases where the cops' fatal actions were clearly not proportional to the alleged disobeyance by the victim. You clearly cannot kill someone for their simple refusal to get down or get out of the car - of course, after disregarding repeated instructions, they need to get subdued physically without fatal results. Common sense.
Finally, I think the cops showed tremendous restraint in this video against the crowd. Some people were literally getting within inches of the cops. I know people are angry, but please don't be stupid. Being a cop in inner cities must be a horrible job.
Should every truck driver, roofer, logger, fisherman and construction worker be able to kill people at will too? Those jobs are all more dangerous than being a cop.
The dangers involved in these jobs do not come from other people. The conditions that do cause deaths on these jobs, these professions are allowed to actively take action against even if it imposes a financial burden on their employer or imposes on the rights of others.
Quote:
Originally Posted by newtoks
The notion that being a cop is incredibly dangerous is an enduring myth that is not backed up by actual statistics. In an average year less than 170 cops will die on the job, and less than 50 of those will be the result of a violent crime, the rest are accidents.
Yet, even at "less than 50", police officers are killed by violent crime at a rate an order of magnitude larger than the rate at which people are killed by police officers. (Police officers would have to kill over 16,000 people per year for the rates to be equal.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by newtoks
For comparison about the same number of taxi drivers are killed each year as cops that die in violent episodes. Should every taxi driver be able to pull out a gun and shoot everyone that does not show them the proper respect?
And the right of self-defense for taxi cab drivers is well established, extending so far as to allow them to carry concealed without a permit in some states (the cab is considered their place of business). If you think it it hard to convict a police officer of murder, just try to find the last case where a cab driver was convicted of murder for shooting someone in their cab.
LOL. Are you kidding me? Do you actually know any cops?
Do you actually know any statistics? We all know that cops are cowards, who fear for their lives every time they see a black guy. That doesn't mean that their fears are justified, or that their job is anymore dangerous then dozens of other jobs.
Do you actually know any statistics? We all know that cops are cowards, who fear for their lives every time they see a black guy. That doesn't mean that their fears are justified, or that their job is anymore dangerous then dozens of other jobs.
In 2013, the most recent year with complete data, the incidence rate for occupational injury or illness resulting in missed work from violence by persons or animals for police officers is 89.1 incidents per 10,000 full time workers per year in 2014. This makes police officers the second most dangerous profession for injury caused by violence, after state health care workers at 146.0 incidents per 10,000 (even private sector health care workers, the single most dangerous profession in the private sector for injury caused by violence, are only 16.2 incidents per 10,000 per year). Local government workers continue to be 300% more likely to be injured by violence from other people than private sector workers, and the gap is attributable almost solely to assaults on police officers.
You can see from the statistics that the other professions you are discussing, loggers, cab drivers, etc, the injuries are overwhelming caused by "contact with objects" (e.g. car accidents, falling trees, etc) not by "violence".
So what leads to the difference when analyzing danger by fatality rate? Driving a car and other mundane activities are far more likely to kill you that violence. You are 5400% more likely to be killed by your commute to work than to be murdered by a police officer. When you analyze by a specific rare type of injury, on-the-job fatal injuries, rather than by the cause of the injury, the two orders of magnitude difference in death by traffic accident versus death by violence makes violence a tiny fraction of your criteria, when the vast majority of people would perceive violence to be the primary determinant of "danger" that would require self-defense.
Do you actually know any statistics? We all know that cops are cowards, who fear for their lives every time they see a black guy. That doesn't mean that their fears are justified, or that their job is anymore dangerous then dozens of other jobs.
Clearly an agenda driven bunch of drivel. I get that you hate cops but your biased opinion is clearly formed from ignorance and probably bad experiences with cops. I have no doubt your reaction to a cop when being pulled over would put you in a bad position and probably well deserved.
Yet another thread with an agenda that only shows the high lights of some feeble attempt to support their agenda. Show me all of the facts before I pass judgement. Did the guy have a warrant? What I see time and time again in these videos are uncooperative, I won't accept responsibility for my actions, entitled disrespectful people.
No matter how the other person is acting, it should be expected of the police to maintain composure and do whatever they can to deescalate situations. Some of them argue back and flaunt their badge/power, and that's clearly problematic. Being stopped by cops is annoying; people are going to have attitudes, but cops should have better sense to not argue back.
I think you are confusing police with some type of computer program, or maybe your expectations of kindergarten teachers. When did the guy breaking the law get to 'exercise his rights' to be a jerk, but the officer who puts his life on the line every day is expected to somehow 'deescalate' someone's action who refuses to be civil?
Do you actually know any statistics? We all know that cops are cowards, who fear for their lives every time they see a black guy. That doesn't mean that their fears are justified, or that their job is anymore dangerous then dozens of other jobs.
We know thugs are cowards killing and robbing people and have to fear cops from preventing them from their criminals acts. Hopefully kaboom a thug will commit a violent crime against you one day and you will have to call a cop.
Not sure what happened prior to the officer/s extracting the man from his car, but I'll say one thing. If you act like a disrespectful fool for a minor traffic stop, then you will get treated like a disrespectful fool. I myself have been stopped numerous times and this is how it usually goes...
I'm asked to pull over which I do. I roll down all my windows and shut off my vehicle. When the officer/s approach I nod my head and say "how are u officer". They usually respond with "I'm doing well. Do you know why I pulled you over?" I always respond "no officer". He or she will then proceed to tell me what traffic law I broke and ask me for my license/registration/insurance card which I hand over with no problems. They'll go back to their vehicle and come back within 5 minutes with either a ticket and explanation of it, or let me off with a warning. Off I go to live another day. Mind you I'm not a white male but instead a hispanic minority. Some people just go off on a tirade once pulled over despite the fact that they may have indeed been pulled over for a traffic law that they broke. I dont curse the cop out, try to flee, tell him to go F off, refuse to give him my name, etc....
One minor revision: The reg/ins (or maybe the insurance) is usually in the glove compartment. I say, "The insurance card is in my glove compartment. May I reach over to go get it? May I do that?" or "May I reach over to open it? Is that ok?"
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