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What are your thoughts on Police Brutality?

Is police brutality an actual problem or are we just over using a few cases of unprofessionalism and making them out to be worse than they were?

Even to this day we over play cases like Mike Brown in Ferguson just to find out he was guilty?

However we don’t hear much anymore about the Daniel Shaver case.

I come from a family with deep history in the Police and military. Before my Step Father was an officer / Detective he was in the US Rangers (75th Regiment) he believes a lot of men and women with military service especially combat do extremely well as officer in intense situations and can defuse the scenario before it gets deadly.

It seems a lot of kids get out of high school and want to be officers but when it comes to a tough situation especially dealing in violence they’re more prone to using deadly force.

What are your thoughts? Discuss and be civil.
BlueVeins · 22-25 Best Comment
While all police brutality is bad, I haven't really seen evidence suggesting that the [i]scale[/i] of politce brutality is particularly large. What bothers me far more is... the fact that perpetrators of police violence have a tendency to get off without charges. If you shoot an unarmed person who wasn't attacking you, then your badge shouldn't save you from jail time. We should expect more from the people we trust to uphold law and order, not less.
TakingBackMidgard · 26-30, M
Excellent point. When Cara like these arise I’m curious does it come down to the politics if the town getting involved? Or is it some other form of corruption. @BlueVeins
BlueVeins · 22-25
@TakingBackMidgard Oh, it's a lot of things. It's politics as you say, with judges maybe having become a little too friendly with the police. It's the kind of bias that takes place in a court case between police officers, who have a generally respectable reputation, and impoverished (often black) people, who are disproportionately involved in crime and often just not well put-together. It's very shady.

DragonFruit · 61-69, M
Police brutality is an actual problem.....even if it’s nowhere near as prevalent as some would have you believe. There have been several police officers in my family as well, and they have little respect for those who downplay the actions of those who are acting outside the scope of their duties.
However, there are times when officers act within the scope of their duties and someone still ends up getting shot or killed.
This results in an uproar, even in cases where deadly force was justified.
Each case needs to be viewed on an individual basis, and the facts of the case must be differentiated (despite some people I know making comparisons, there is little reason to treat the Mike Brown case like the Trayvon Martin case).
I also think that lumping veterans (of which I’m one) or kids out of high school together isn’t the answer. Many veterans can do well in intense situations....but others have been scarred by their time in the service. Some high school kids are very conscientious about tricky situations....but others are more likely to use their weapons as an initial reaction.
There needs to be proper training....and this is something which also has been good in some cases and not so good in others, leaving the officers to try to figure it out on their own. Even with the best training, you will sometimes get an officer acting in ways inconsistent with that training.
The system isn’t perfect....but we need police officers to enforce the laws. However, even a few cases of unprofessionalism is still enough to be considered a serious problem.
There’s no easy answer, but there needs to be proper training and accountability....because even one incidence of police brutality is one too many.
Ryannnnnn · 31-35, M
I think it's a very hard job, you're torn between not wanting to die and not wanting to kill somebody. There's also the stress and trauma factor, and the anxiety that goes with it always expecting the worst.

I think some people make bad judgements in stressful situations, some that have devestating consequences, and then some people are almost sociopathic in that they like the power and abuse it. That is rare though, outside of a few cops being a dick sometimes because they're having a bad day.
TakingBackMidgard · 26-30, M
Excellent statement! It’s been said that some officers refuse to patrol crime ridden neighborhoods or take specific calls because if the going gets tough they don’t want to take the possible action that will land them with a false bad reputation. @Ryannnnnn
Ryannnnnn · 31-35, M
@TakingBackMidgard It's lose-lose a lot of the time for them. If somebody shoots a gun in a neighbourhood it's "where are the cops?" If they turn up and have to shoot the person it's "The cops showed up and shot my son". I wouldn't wanna bear the weight of that either.
TinyViolins · 31-35, M
There's lots of video evidence, even besides the headline cases. There are far more anecdotal cases that I've heard in person and seen online.

My theory is that the militarization of police have made it easy for police brutality to become more pervasive. There's bad apples in every bunch, but before, it was commonplace that cops grew up in the same community they served. They'd see their friends and family and neighbors on patrols. There was more engagement, more rapport, more savvy.

When you got a bunch of people out of the military that have been away for a long time, there's a lack of connection to the community. There's the fight or flight mindset that has been nurtured for years that there are enemy forces you need to defeat. This paves the way for the tendency of police to villainize the people in the cases they get called to. Which leads to brutality

It's real, but that isn't to say most cops are terrible. I think most of them are decent people working a shitty job. Heavy is the chest that wears the badge, and not everyone is strong enough to carry it
TakingBackMidgard · 26-30, M
@TinyViolins I know some departments have dropped the entry requirements which doesn’t help. I feel for some of the stress dealt they need to raise them.

And I’m for “militarization” in the concept of equipment. If I’m going in a hostile environment I want to be up armed and up armored as my life is on the line
TinyViolins · 31-35, M
@TakingBackMidgard I get that police want to feel safe, but if you're a member of the community and you see police rolling around with gear and armor like that, you're going to feel a little threatened and less safe. This puts you on edge, which increases your animosity for police, which makes you more defensive when confronting them. This could needlessly escalate situations because it breaks the trust that police are there as a peacekeeping entity.

There's a reason the relationship between police and common people are under such strain
TakingBackMidgard · 26-30, M
@TinyViolins I can see that. Especially during the Boston bombing when the police were patrolling in Humvees. Looks like pictures from the streets of Baghdad. It’s not comforting to see an MRAP roll up the drive way. But on the other side I’d feel safe in my armored plated womb
MarineBob · 56-60, M
Do as you are told, If you have a complaint it can wait
@MarineBob That line of thinking is what preserves police states and dictatorships the world over.
SevIsPamprinYouAlways · 56-60, F
[image deleted]@MarineBob
TakingBackMidgard · 26-30, M
@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow care to further explain your claim?
Budwick · 70-79, M
I think it happens now and then.
Police are people, subject to the same stresses you and I have.
However, they have an unusually stressful occupation.
I recognize their authority, I respect them.
In the unlikely event of a misunderstanding, I would wait for tensions to diminish before bringing it up. No sense fanning the flames.
MarineBob · 56-60, M
@Budwick people want to bitch and moan but you'll never see them at a city or county council meeting
SevIsPamprinYouAlways · 56-60, F
[image]@MarineBob
I did a little research on this a year ago. Depending on how you define “police officer”, there are between 750,000 and 900,000 police officers in the US.

Any police brutality is wrong and must be dealt with - but those numbers tell me there are a LOT of police officers keeping a cool head in circumstances that would be way beyond the average person’s ability to cope.
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
I think it's spot on with the last part of what you wrote, inexperience etc but there are other problems too. The most recent case being a police officer who bragged about killing people. He also was verbally aggressive in which he got a slap on the wrist with a years suspension. In fact that didn't even happen, he went to the gang unit so he's clearly still getting paid.

Most of the problem is that when there is brutality, police are usually given a slap on the wrist with "suspension." It has to draw international moral outrage before they actually fire someone. That's the issue here, the whole police integrity thing kind of starts with.. police.

I can see moral grey areas where the officer felt they had to defend themselves and don't always think it's a case of brutality but there are many cases pointing to corruption but police don't get held accountable and that bothers me.
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Quetzalcoatlus · 46-50, M
There are a ton of ignorant, racist, power hungry cops but the vast majority are honest and dedicated to protect and serve. The issue is that we all now have mini tv studios at our disposal and most interactions that we see online are bad ones..
Police brutality is a real problem but nobody in the west does it like Americans. The US is the only western nation I know of that had a major PD operating their own off book black sites.
TakingBackMidgard · 26-30, M
@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow Care to add some detail?
@TakingBackMidgard It happened a few years ago but the Chicago PD got caught basically operating their own little gitmo. Detaining people and using enhanced interrogation on them. I think it was an abandoned building they were using. A photo journalist I follow who is originally from Chicago and was there when it went down.
raysam363 · 31-35, F
I have no doubt, and neither should any of you, that some people join the police force just to lord authority over people. You can find this in any position that offers said authority. Many are just going about their lives, trying to keep the peace and helping the community (you almost never hear about this though). Police in high crime areas are more prone to shoot, as many have experience on the receiving end of a gun or knife without provocation. There are MANY things that need to change in society. Glorifying crime and unchecked authority are only two factors.
samanthasmokes · 36-40, F
I don't have any facts regarding this opinion but it is my impression that any time any group of people is given power and authority over others there will be some of them who will abuse that power.

I don't care if we are talking about police, the military, the church, prison guards, government bureaucrats, a principal of a public or private school, or a president of a country.

One can find examples of abuse in almost every life situation. All you need is a group of people and one insecure asshole with a strong leaning to being a sociopath or a pervert.
calicuz · 51-55, M
I think it's more widespread than we are led to believe and it needs to be stopped.
TakingBackMidgard · 26-30, M
@calicuz do you think it’s more common in certain areas or evenly spread?
calicuz · 51-55, M
@TakingBackMidgard

More common in high crime areas, because they are less likely to be believed and press charges
HannahSky · F
Day to day there's more good work going on than bad.
TakingBackMidgard · 26-30, M
Exactly that. People in my city especially the community college tend to spout about all cops are evil which is seldom the case. Sure a few bad apples spoil the bunch but when it comes to acts of bravery and heroism that is not the case. @HannahSky

 
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