9 Boston police officers arrested in connection with overtime fraud scheme (apartment, crimes)

[Bridge781]

It was 200k spread out over 9 people over a period of at least 4 years. It cost more to investigate this and hire the lawyers. Then all 9 of them were arrested and booked. It costs money to arrest people.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

Poor cops, being investigated for their stealing and murdering.

Except very few cops are investigated for those things. It's typically far more mundane stuff, criminals claiming mistreatment, "violating my "rights"" blah blah blah...etc.


And btw I hope you never get investigated for "murdering".

[Cantabridgienne]

Seems fitting that a cop apologist would put quotation marks around the word rights.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

Seems fitting that a cop apologist would put quotation marks around the word rights.

Not a cop apologist, just infusing a dose of reality into a forum where that is often lacking. And if I was, not sure why that would be fitting. Let me guess, you are one of those experts who knows more about your "rights" than the law itself does?

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by massnative71

It's not just the physical toll, it also comes with extreme mental stress. Yes being a coal miner wears the body down more than working law enforcement. Not the point. Thing is, do you want a 65 year old police officer with arthritis and high blood pressure fighting alone with a 6'5" 250 lb guy high on crack and backup is still 5 minutes away. It's just a liability. I heard somewhere that the average life expectancy of a cop or firefighter is a good 10 years less than the general population. Shouldn't they be entitled to a few years of enjoyment and relaxation after leaving the street? Those serving in the military get to retire younger as well, same concept. I imagine you have a similar resentment against them?

While it is true LEOs have lower a life expectancy, if you remove early retirements due to health, it's in line with the general public ... average age is right around 82.X versus 84.X for other public sector workers (taken from an Oregon study, recent CA study yielded higher expectancy from LEOs).

Now, its fair to argue the job conditions lead to a high number of health induced early retirements, but I frankly have seen any clear data on what drives early retirements. It could be as simple as too much seat team, but high stress could be an equal or greater drivers.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by massnative71

And btw I hope you never get investigated for "murdering".

Well, if Cantabrigian doesn’t murder anyone, I’m sure they’ll be fine.

Still waiting for some movement on Breonna Taylor’s killers, but it’s seeming more and more likely that lady justice won’t be seeing to them any time soon.

I won’t be holding my breath regarding Jacob Blake’s shooter. Following the Rittenhouse murders, everyone seems to have forgotten why people were riled up in the first place.

[Bridge781]

I don’t understand why people get so angry about the pension thing. If it’s taken away the money won’t be going to your pockets. I think it’s a nice perk they get. My employer gives me a 401k with matching which is also a nice perk. I only wish I had put more into at a younger age but that’s my fault. I also could have become a cop if I wanted to (not sure I’d have made it through the academy) but I didn’t want to. Therefore I don’t get the benefits that come with that job. End of story.

Firefighters have great benefits too and they aren’t always honest people either. I’ve heard stories about disability fraud there.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

While it is true LEOs have lower a life expectancy, if you remove early retirements due to health, it's in line with the general public ... average age is right around 82.X versus 84.X for other public sector workers (taken from an Oregon study, recent CA study yielded higher expectancy from LEOs).

Now, its fair to argue the job conditions lead to a high number of health induced early retirements, but I frankly have seen any clear data on what drives early retirements. It could be as simple as too much seat team, but high stress could be an equal or greater drivers.

I'm not sure why one would remove early retirements, that kind of comes with the territory. I imagine there are several factors. Could be indirect too. Between the stress, long hours and shift work, that can lead to poor lifestyle habits (lack of sleep, poor diet, alcohol abuse...); although to be honest it seems worse among the firefighters I know vs. the cops. And yes, with all that seat time you can only expect back problems and a whole range of other issues. I also get the impression that those poor habits are more prevalent among the older cops.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by massnative71

It's not just the physical toll, it also comes with extreme mental stress. Yes being a coal miner wears the body down more than working law enforcement. Not the point. Thing is, do you want a 65 year old police officer with arthritis and high blood pressure fighting alone with a 6'5" 250 lb guy high on crack and backup is still 5 minutes away. It's just a liability. I heard somewhere that the average life expectancy of a cop or firefighter is a good 10 years less than the general population. Shouldn't they be entitled to a few years of enjoyment and relaxation after leaving the street? Those serving in the military get to retire younger as well, same concept. I imagine you have a similar resentment against them?

How many cops in their 20s or 30s do you think would tackle a 6'5" 250lbs guy on crack? Because I bet almost all of them would wait for backup. And, to be clear, they would be right to do so.

BTW if I complain about the retirement age I am not saying they should be deployed in the worst possible places. Cops could be relocated to low-risk assignment in the police force once they reach a certain seniority (or age) or they could be eligible for certain town/state jobs that are not policing. Or they could work in the private sector if they prefer. Their pension would still be based on their police job but it wouldn't be paid until they are 65 (or something).

I mean there are plenty of ways you can tweak this.

Also, a really good deescalation training wouldn't just protect the public, would also protect the policemen themselves because the less they are in a fight the less they risk.

[Bridge781]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

Well, if Cantabrigian doesn’t murder anyone, I’m sure they’ll be fine.

Still waiting for some movement on Breonna Taylor’s killers, but it’s seeming more and more likely that lady justice won’t be seeing to them any time soon.

I won’t be holding my breath regarding Jacob Blake’s shooter. Following the Rittenhouse murders, everyone seems to have forgotten why people were riled up in the first place.

Cops don’t get in trouble every time they shoot someone. It’s part of the job. Maybe people should get their sh@t together so they aren’t in these situations with police.