So, you think you wanna be a cop?

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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby bstrawse on Mon May 06, 2013 11:10 am

JustPlainT wrote:I'd never want to be a cop, though not from this sort of incident (though these are really bad, rare days to be sure).

I couldn't take the mindset change needed (that all my fellow citizens are beneath me and guilty until proven otherwise), and the internal politics that occur in any government-based organization.


I don't think most police think that way. I worked in law enforcement for just over two years and have worked with law enforcement for more than twenty. This attitude is rare, but unfortunately it is prevalent in some departments.

The internal politics, well, I can't argue with that!
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby JustPlainT on Mon May 06, 2013 11:19 am

bstrawse wrote:I don't think most police think that way. I worked in law enforcement for just over two years and have worked with law enforcement for more than twenty. This attitude is rare, but unfortunately it is prevalent in some departments.


All I will say then is evidently I have very unfortunate luck in the probability and statistics realm, because if I was to take solely my anecdotal experience, I would assume the opposite distribution.
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby XDM45 on Mon May 06, 2013 11:29 am

bstrawse wrote:
JustPlainT wrote:I'd never want to be a cop, though not from this sort of incident (though these are really bad, rare days to be sure).

I couldn't take the mindset change needed (that all my fellow citizens are beneath me and guilty until proven otherwise), and the internal politics that occur in any government-based organization.


I don't think most police think that way. I worked in law enforcement for just over two years and have worked with law enforcement for more than twenty. This attitude is rare, but unfortunately it is prevalent in some departments.

The internal politics, well, I can't argue with that!
b


I guess your perception is different than mine is. When I worked for the defense contractor, I spoke to LEOs all over the US and from local, state, and federal agencies, along with those who worked in corrections at those same levels. I found their attitude to be unlike your experience. LEOs are there after all to enforce the law and then let the court system figure it out. Even in the Miranda statement, "anything you say CAN and WILL be used AGAINST you" is not to your benefit. if I were a LEO, I would not presume guilt of everyone, but I would presume suspicion of everyone.
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby grousemaster on Mon May 06, 2013 2:03 pm

White Horseradish wrote:No, not particularly.

That doesn't really have anything to do with that video, though. Crazy bastard trying to kill you isn't that common an occurrence even for cops. It's the everyday dealing with ******** that I couldn't take.


Right. Both my grandparents were L.A. County Sheriffs for over 30 years. Riots, etc...neither of them ever fired their duty weapons aside from range time.
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby -=VILLY=- on Mon May 06, 2013 2:24 pm

My son wants to be a cop when he grows up, to be just like his dad. But I don't want him to. It’s a thankless job for the most part. Most of the time is spent dealing with the bad elements of human nature, then other times dealing with good people on their bad day. Nobody wants a cop to be around. The bad guys certainly don't, and neither do some of the good guys until something bad happens. And then after the bad happens do they then get blamed for not being around to stop or prevent it to begin with. The worst is when the cop who day in and out does the right thing with good intentions without ever getting noticed, gets categorized as being crooked and dirty because of the wrongdoing of one cop or a few cops who makes the news.

I often wonder if some people ever see how discriminate they really are. These people that would talk trash about the cops and categorize them as all crooked or dirty, as though that one or a few bad cops doing something wrong represent every single cop there is. And then these same people get upset when others would talk trash about the gun owners and categorize them as all gun nuts or a menace to society, as though that one or a few bad person with a gun doing something wrong represent every single gun owner there is.

So why am I still a cop? A lot of reasons, but mainly because I believe that the good people, and the occasional bad ones, really do understand the necessity of having cops and appreciate what cops do, even when they forget sometimes.
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby Heffay on Tue May 07, 2013 9:57 am

It's tough being a cop. Even 12 year olds hassle you for breaking the law.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... othie.html

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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby -=VILLY=- on Tue May 07, 2013 10:20 am

Heffay, I can always count on you to make me laugh.

One of these days, I have to meet you in person if I haven't already. You sound like fun to be with, I think.
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby JustPlainT on Tue May 07, 2013 10:42 am

-=VILLY=- wrote:I often wonder if some people ever see how discriminate they really are. These people that would talk trash about the cops and categorize them as all crooked or dirty, as though that one or a few bad cops doing something wrong represent every single cop there is. And then these same people get upset when others would talk trash about the gun owners and categorize them as all gun nuts or a menace to society, as though that one or a few bad person with a gun doing something wrong represent every single gun owner there is.



One of my big problems has nothing to do with the specific actions of the "bad cops," but the readiness and willingness of all the other cops (and chiefs, and captains, and what not) to cover for, cover up, or downplay the actions of the bad ones. All too often across the country, video tapes "go missing" or are damaged. Officers do not blow the whistle until it has already managed to escape the department. Whether or not it is fear of retaliation or just looking out for their "brother", they do it. And there are plenty of documented cases of whistle blowers being punished for it.

And bad cops, all too often, get minimal punishment unless it gets a lot of press from outside-the-department sources (such as a video making it viral on youtube).

If you are not speaking out against the bad ones, then in my opinion you are just as guilty as them.

Am I saying every single officer and department is this way? No. But a majority of them are, even if you or they are unwilling to admit that.
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby White Horseradish on Tue May 07, 2013 11:02 am

-=VILLY=- wrote: Nobody wants a cop to be around. The bad guys certainly don't, and neither do some of the good guys until something bad happens. And then after the bad happens do they then get blamed for not being around to stop or prevent it to begin with.


I don't blame cops for not being there. Until we develop teleportation it ain't gonna happen. What I do blame them for is being very unhelpful after the fact. Like that NYPD officer who was kind enough to wake me at 4am to tell me that the neighbors complained about my car alarm going off, but completely neglected to mention that the reason for the alarm going off was that all four doors of the car were wide open and the ignition was broken. Didn't even stick around to take a report.
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby Heffay on Tue May 07, 2013 11:14 am

White Horseradish wrote:I don't blame cops for not being there. Until we develop teleportation it ain't gonna happen. What I do blame them for is being very unhelpful after the fact. Like that NYPD officer who was kind enough to wake me at 4am to tell me that the neighbors complained about my car alarm going off, but completely neglected to mention that the reason for the alarm going off was that all four doors of the car were wide open and the ignition was broken. Didn't even stick around to take a report.


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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby Heffay on Tue May 07, 2013 11:18 am

At least our cops are still exhibiting some restraint occasionally, unlike what's happning down in Rio.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/7/430779 ... pter-video

I mean... as long as the streets are *mostly* filled with traffickers, then I guess the response was ok. At least we know where the GTA series gets their material from now!
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby Collector1337420 on Tue May 07, 2013 2:51 pm

I'm sure it's only a matter of time before police rationalize opening fire from a moving helicopter.
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby Hmac on Wed May 08, 2013 12:25 pm

Here's an interesting radio call-in interview with Officer Erin Thomas, the police officer that was wounded in the hand. Officer Thomas sounds pretty composed about the whole situation, aftermath, and wounds. Impressive.

http://www.roverradio.com/videos/offici ... -tells-all

a) I wonder if an interview like that is authorized. It seems at least mildly imprudent in association with an ongoing investigation.

b) A shame to waste an interview like that on a Howard Stern wannabe douchebag and his crew.
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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby connsolo on Wed May 08, 2013 12:35 pm

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Re: So, you think you wanna be a cop?

Postby Hmac on Wed May 08, 2013 12:54 pm

connsolo wrote:then there's this…

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=126_1367960229


Officer Lappegaard was fired for that 2009 incident. The city declined to defend him at their expense.
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