I know many fine cops, these two aren't any of them

1fastdog.

Posted to Diary on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 02:26:57 PM EST. RSS.

I do happen to know quite a few police officers and almost all of them are fine individuals. I also happen to believe that the majority of cops generally manage to perform their duties in a manner befitting their uniforms. There are, however, exceptions, and maybe it's due to the ubiquitous nature of video cameras these days which end up capturing Cops Behaving Badly, but it sure seems like there's been a substantial increase in overall cop asshattery than in the past. Cases in point:

Cop dumps quadriplegic out of his wheelchair. Footage of this event was shot by the police dept's own security cams and surfaced after the man called a television reporter and asked the reporter to look into it. You can read the whole sorry story here.

Cop bullies, berates, and shoves a mumbly 14 year-old onto the concrete for the apparently major offense of calling him "dude." The cop also threatens the kid with references to jail time and physical assault:
"Don't get defensive with me, son, because you'll spend some time in juvenile," Rivieri said.

"You give that attitude to your father. If you give it to me, I'll smack you upside the head. ... Shut your mouth! I'm talking!"

This footage was apparently shot by one of the kid's friends and posted to YouTube.
Cops are increasingly in the camera's eye these days and aren't liking it:

Citizens armed with cameras - even in their cell phones - are filming officers in action, sometimes with unflattering results.
Officer Salvatore Rivieri found that out this week when a video of the 17-year veteran berating a skateboarder at the Inner Harbor was posted on the Internet site YouTube. The officer was suspended, pending an internal investigation.
Some police officers don't like the new reality that they can be under surveillance by the citizenry.
"I think that cops are terrified of video cameras," said Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore police officer who is now a sociologist at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "I think the end result is cops will police a little more carefully."
Baltimore police officers are supposed to behave exactly the same whether or not a video is running, said Sterling Clifford, a police spokesman. "Ideally, it would not mean anything," if a video camera were running, Clifford said

Cameras on cops? What's film for the goose is film for the gander?

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4	Its not the people, its the culture wetkarma. Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 03:52:40 AM EST 5.00 (interesting)

Charles Darwin once said that its not the strongest of the species which survives, its the one most responsive to change. I propose a cop corollary: its not the honest, dedicated cop which is prevalent in society, but the one most willing to join ranks in defense of other cops.

Cop culture self-selects for power-tripping authoritarians. No one becomes a cop if they don't like telling people what to do - yes there are cases where such direction is helpful, but the core cultural requirement feeds an authoritarian personality.

This is not necessarily a bad thing - the problem however (and it has always been so) is lack of constant accountability. The prevalence of both cameras AND youtube provides a powerful check to those psychologically inclined to abuse.

As such, I'm inclined to believe that it'll make cops more violent/abusive - essentially acting as a supressant until you have some sort of break.

eg. guy runs from cop and gets shot instead of chased.

Memory is a strange bell, jubilee and knell.

5 4	Re: Its not the people, its the culture keta. Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 11:07:07 AM EST none

Sad but true. It seems power-tripping cops are on the rise here in Canada, as well. I don't remember police being so aggressively authoritarian in the past, but I've seen this uncomfortable shift more and more lately, especially in greater Vancouver.

On a side note, this website wherein police can bitch and moan about being treated just like everyone else at the hands of other cops is indicative of the mindset that "rules are for other people." It's actually often unintentionally fucking hilarious, especially this bit from the FAQ:

Should we be given breaks on tickets that normal people would be given a break?
Yes. Best Buy employees get an employee price (which is awesome), Subway employees get free subs, military people get free hops on planes, airline employees get the jet around the world for free ($50 is free). Every profession gets some kind of 'perk'.

I just love the disconnect in this logic.

6 5	Jeez Lou. Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 11:58:15 AM EST none

It seems like cops already get a break on murder and brutal beatings...now they want a pass on speeding tickets too?

That's balls.

I can't argue with your logic...but I can recommend a good therapist

7 6	Re: Jeez keta. Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 02:00:17 PM EST none

My favourite bit is why they deserve a break.

It's my understanding that there are laws about operating a motor vehicle because certain things (speeding, passing on blind corners, driving in the oncoming lane, etc.) put a lot of people at risk.

But these fucking clowns think they should get a break from these rules because Holy Fuck! employees at Best Buy get a employee discount!

The mind boggles.

8 7	Cops make out alright discount-wise. MayorBob. Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 02:19:43 PM EST none

From my relationship with them I learned about their deep discounts on meals at diners and donuts and coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. It seems the owners liked having the cops sitting at the counter or in a booth -- it tended to cut down on the number of meth head armed robbers they had to face. They also do quite well with part-time security work at events.

Illegitimi non carborundum.

1	It's been going on forever. MayorBob. Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 04:30:29 PM EST 4.00 (interesting)

The ubiquity of video cameras is just making it possible for the public to see that sometimes Officer Friendly isn't really so friendly. As you say, the majority of cops are decent human beings trying to do a tough job as well as they can do it. But, if you give an asshole a badge and a gun what you have is an asshole cop who will likely abuse his authority sooner or later. In the meantime, whenever I cross paths with the cops I generally opt for ready compliance with whatever they are asking me to do. 99.99 percent of the time, it's all good and within the bounds of the law.

Illegitimi non carborundum.

2 1	Re: It's been going on forever. thefadd. Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 06:00:45 PM EST 4.00 (interesting)

In my experience, cops believe they are the law embodied. For the general public, this has its upsides and its down sides. For example, I once almost ran three kids over in a cross walk (a bigger no-no here in CA than on the west coast). The cop didn't even bother to pull me over, he just made me apologize to him through the window. Another time, I didn't really stop at the stop sign. Again, the cop demanded only an apology which I happily gave. If you cooperate, are white, and comply/apologize, the cop generally feels like they've done their job and needn't bother getting out of their air conditioned cruiser. BTW, neither of those cops in my stories was white.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

3	Move this to the front page delete me. Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 12:52:39 AM EST none

Lessee... Cops didn't make me nervous until this one time when the cop commented on my name, asked me about my ethnicity, and checked off "Caucasian" on my warning.

Didn't believe much about profiling accusations until then.

- derumi (del-me)
"Bobby Fischer? Man, that guy is crazy!" - Mike Tyson

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I know many fine cops, these two aren't any of them

1fastdog.

Posted to Diary on Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 02:26:57 PM EST. RSS.

Its not the people, its the culture

wetkarma.

Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 03:52:40 AM EST

5.00 (interesting)

4

Re: Its not the people, its the culture

keta.

Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 11:07:07 AM EST

none

5

Jeez

Lou.

Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 11:58:15 AM EST

none

6

Re: Jeez

keta.

Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 02:00:17 PM EST

none

7

Cops make out alright discount-wise.

MayorBob.

Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 02:19:43 PM EST

none

It's been going on forever.

MayorBob.

Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 04:30:29 PM EST

4.00 (interesting)

1

Re: It's been going on forever.

thefadd.

Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 06:00:45 PM EST

4.00 (interesting)

Move this to the front page

delete me.

Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 12:52:39 AM EST

none