Patrolling cops jump out and join football game

originally posted by: IvanAstikov
a reply to: FraggleRock

Sorry, but I'm not giving anybody a pat on the back for doing their well-paid job, unless their efforts are above and beyond the call of duty to a greater extent than having a kickabout with some youngsters.

What about when they shoot someone who was attacking them after that same individual also robbed a gas station for cigars?

originally posted by: IvanAstikov

Sorry, but I'm not giving anybody a pat on the back for doing their well-paid job, unless their efforts are above and beyond the call of duty to a greater extent than having a kickabout with some youngsters.

More power to ya. I understand that people who frown upon complimenting people for doing their job exist. I've worked at places where that was reality. Though I've also worked at places where positive reinforcement was common place. The difference between the two work environments was night and day.

originally posted by: IvanAstikov
Agreed. If the good cops want the respect of the people they serve, they need to be as critical of the bad actors among them as ordinary civilians are.

I would say they should be far more critical since the bad cops are making the job more dangerous...... And probubally making them miss out on a sizeable chunk of booty! :p

originally posted by: FraggleRock

originally posted by: IvanAstikov

Sorry, but I'm not giving anybody a pat on the back for doing their well-paid job, unless their efforts are above and beyond the call of duty to a greater extent than having a kickabout with some youngsters.

More power to ya. I understand that people who frown upon complimenting people for doing their job exist. I've worked at places where that was reality. Though I've also worked at places where positive reinforcement was common place. The difference between to two work environments was night and day.

I think this is where we go wrong!!! We should be patting people on the back for doing what they should. Positive reinforcements incredibly powerful.

a reply to: FraggleRock

S&F, OP.

Thanks for posting.
_________
_________

In response to some of the negative comments being made:

The only reason people fear police is because of their own insecurities.

It's natural for people to become a little anxious when approached by an officer. Regardless.

However, the human brain can react negatively in stressful situations - especially if there is a valid cause for concern.
Unfortunately, for the most part, this is unpredictable.

God forbid the women did 'run' down and 'investigate'...
Everything could have went south REAL fast.

Officers need to stay alert for things like this.^

Because impulsive reactions can lead to irrational decisions.
and so on...
_________

Very cool story though,
and a positive outcome.

High fives all around.
Lol.

Good story. If more cops were like this there wouldn't be a problem.

a reply to: FraggleRock

I'm guessing those cops got beat up in the locker room after their shift.

Seriously... why can't these guys just be cloned, badged, and sworn in?

We need more like them.

In the small town I grew up in here in the UK, it wasn't uncommon at all for local cops to join a quick soccer game in the park, or to bowl a few cricket balls on their break.

In fact, most summer sports clubs were run by cops in my town. Kayaking, cricket, judo - all sports taught to me personally by off-duty cops.

Needless to say, I grew up seeing them in a positive light.

a reply to: Cuervo



You label all cops, let's label all transgendered folks. Does that image represent you?

a reply to: doompornjunkie
Sorry, but that guy is getting no back pats either. His stupid attempt at detaining these two suspects created the entire situation where he was either panicked into killing an unarmed person, or did it cold-bloodedly and deliberately. It's not like he was still fighting to retain his gun when a shot was fired and his suspect died.

a reply to: Domo1

Wow. I was saying we should clone those two cops because they are awesome. I wasn't labeling them at all (unless awesome is some label I'm not aware of).

But... thanks for taking a swing at people with a physiological birth condition. Very classy.

a reply to: Cuervo

No, what you did with your statement was surreptitiously suggest that most cops are bad.

You showed your hand by saying that these two "good cops" must have been beaten up in the locker room because the other (bad) cops wouldn't like what they did.

You know exactly what you meant when you said what you said. Then again, maybe it was implicit bias on your part.

I see it, and Domo sees it.

Newsflash.

The police positively interact with their communities and the youth that live in them on a DAILY basis.

You gotta admit it's a pretty sad state when a mother is aghast at the arrival of police though, wondering if they will assault or murder some kids playing sports.

Pretty cool story though.

originally posted by: TorqueyThePig
a reply to: Cuervo

No, what you did with your statement was surreptitiously suggest that most cops are bad.

You showed your hand by saying that these two "good cops" must have been beaten up in the locker room because the other (bad) cops wouldn't like what they did.

You know exactly what you meant when you said what you said. Then again, maybe it was implicit bias on your part.

I see it, and Domo sees it.

Newsflash.

The police positively interact with their communities and the youth that live in them on a DAILY basis.

I honestly thought he was confused about my cloning statement, thinking I was just saying that cops are like clones when I was saying I wish we should clone those two cops in question.

As far as the locker room comment, I meant that as it sounds. I was absolutely implying that there would be cops in their department who would frown upon what they did. That's the general feeling most people have. If that wasn't true, why was this story so significant?

You've participated in my thread about helping police image so you know it's something I care about. I would like to see more positive coverage for these sorts of things. When a person keeps getting yelled at for what their bad friends do, they start to behave poorly like their bad friends. But if those bad friends saw the good friend get praise after praise for not acting like them, they may change their behavior as well.

There's little being done to convince people that the good cops are the norm instead of the exception. Regular law-abiding citizens shouldn't tense up and be fearful every time they see a cop. Even in my town, with an awesome police force that has a decent reputation, I still get a little frightened when their around. A lot of work will need to be done to change that public perception.

a reply to: Cuervo

As I said, the police (including myself) do stuff like this on a daily basis. I never say never, however, I would find it hard pressed to find an officer that disapproved of what the officers in the OP did. Your presumptive, negative comments about law enforcement are only contributing to further driving the wedge between the police and the citizens.

For you to suggest that because there are some officers that behave badly, other good officers will follow in their footsteps is absolutely INSULTING to me.

Here are some examples of what the police across the country do on a regular basis. Sadly, the media does not like to cover stories like the given examples. If it doesn't bleed it doesn't lead.

copshelpingkidsflorida.com...

myfox8.com...

www.specialolympics.org...

nationalpal.org...

211brevard.bowmansystems.com...

thereachfoundation.org...

crittersavers.com...

What do you do for your community?

As you can see, the police do our part to help the communities of this country on a regular basis. We have no control over what the media decides to cover.

We are not the only ones responsible for maintaining a positive relationship, the citizens are as well. It seems like many think that only the police are responsible for maintaining a positive rapport.

What are you doing to help maintain a positive rapport with your local police agencies?

Furthermore, there will always be some number of bad cops, because cops are human. Like other criminals some will get caught and others won't. I am not quite sure why people can't understand that.

originally posted by: TorqueyThePig
a reply to: Cuervo
As I said, the police (including myself) do stuff like this on a daily basis. I never say never, however, I would find it hard pressed to find an officer that disapproved of what the officers in the OP did. Your presumptive, negative comments about law enforcement are only contributing to further driving the wedge between the police and the citizens.

It sounds like you work in an area like where I live. The police here are pretty respected and they seem to respect us. If comments of dissent are driving the wedge, why aren't you also blaming the actions that are being commented about? Something needs to be done on both sides. An angry and critical populace is only the symptom of the actual problem.

originally posted by: TorqueyThePig
For you to suggest that because there are some officers that behave badly, other good officers will follow in their footsteps is absolutely INSULTING to me.

I am suggesting exactly that. Not because they are cops but because they are people. We all do that to some degree. I also think the opposite is true, as I said. It's nothing abnormal or exclusive to police officers; it's just how humans often are in groups.

originally posted by: TorqueyThePig
Here are some examples of what the police across the country do on a regular basis. Sadly, the media does not like to cover stories like the given examples. If it doesn't bleed it doesn't lead.

I admit, that's an impressive list. I'm a bit humbled by that.

originally posted by: TorqueyThePig
What do you do for your community?

I've never really talked about it on here but, since you asked: I run a non-profit that brings together various providers in low/no cost events and seminars. Soon, it will be a large directory service for the region. I also do witchy stuffs for those who need it. Before that, I sat on the board of another non-profit that purchased abandoned houses for homeless people. Before that, I volunteered, before that... etc. I don't do nearly as much as I would like. The kindness shown to me by various people has so far always overshadowed my own efforts but I hope to catch up someday when I'm violently wealthy and can blow money on whatever charities I want.

I think the distinction is that I have the privilege of doing these things without getting shot at. When a police officer does something for the community, it's a bit more impressive because, well... the officer is already doing stuff for the community. Ideally, anyway. This is why it needs more attention, as I said.

originally posted by: TorqueyThePig
As you can see, the police do our part to help the communities of this country on a regular basis. We have no control over what the media decides to cover.

We are not the only ones responsible for maintaining a positive relationship, the citizens are as well. It seems like many think that only the police are responsible for maintaining a positive rapport.

What is a citizen supposed to do to accomplish this? In your ideal world, what would they be doing differently?

originally posted by: TorqueyThePig
What are you doing to help maintain a positive rapport with your local police agencies?

Nothing. Nobody's ever asked me that before. Again, what should I be doing?

originally posted by: TorqueyThePig
Furthermore, there will always be some number of bad cops, because cops are human. Like other criminals some will get caught and others won't. I am not quite sure why people can't understand that.

We do. That's why many of us are frightened. And like every other person, we are either frightened or at ease with somebody based on our opinion of them. I know most people with guns can shoot people and I also grew up thinking that police are the ones that I can trust with them. When that trust seems to be violated by the constant news reports, what are we supposed to be thinking?

How can you blame the average person for being influenced by news reports? How can you expect that not to damage the reputation of police in general? Like you said, "if it bleeds, it leads". I don't know what the solution is other than to increase the positive coverage.

And, seriously Torquey, if you feel insulted by my words, I'm truly sorry. I feel the bad cops are just as much an enemy to you as they are to the rest of us.

Sounds like you do a lot for your community too. That is wonderful.

I wish more citizens would volunteer with police departments. Perhaps go on ride alongs as well. Get to know the officers in the area.

I think it is important for people to understand and learn why we do things the way we do.

I also wish people would realize that police work is at times, not pretty.

I would also like people to realize that just because someone claims violence or corruption doesn't mean it is true.

I would also like people to realize that just because a short video on Youtube makes it look like a cop did something wrong, it doesn't necessarily mean they did.

I also wish people would not paint all (or the majority) of police as being bad because of the actions of some. That is no different than blaming all blacks for high crime stats.

I have seen so many stories covered in the media about law enforcement that had incorrect or insufficient information that made the officer look like they did something wrong when they in fact didn't. I would advise people to not just automatically assume what the media puts out is correct. I would like to see them do their own investigations and come to their own conclusions.

That said, people are free to believe what they want.

I have no issue calling out a bad cop when I see one. I have shared my opinion on many cases throughout the years on ATS. That said, I as an officer in Florida have no control over what happens outside my jurisidiction. I cannot go to a neighboring city, let alone another state, to arrest a bad officer.

That leads me to another pet peeve of mine. I am always told "when (you) the good officer does nothing about the bad ones, you are just as bad. Well, what if I don't personally witness any corruption or violations of rights? What am I supposed to do? Like I said I cannot arrest anyone outside of my jurisidiction.

You speak of people not trusting officers becase of their experiences or what they see on TV. Okay, well is it okay for me to judge everyone as criminals because a majority of my interactions are with criminals? No it's not, and as such I don't. However, those same people that say I shouldn't be able to assume everyone, or most people are criminals are okay with assuming that all, or most cops are bad. A little hypocritical don't you think?

I get there are bad cops and it sucks. That said, I can show numerous examples of cops being arrested and convicted. They were obviously arrested by other law enforcement officers. Is that not evidence that things are being done to weed out the bad ones?

Again we are human and as such will have are flaws and bad apples. I just get frustrated when people think we have a "police problem" when in fact we have a problem with our entire culture. I think it is just easy to place the entire blame on the police.

a reply to: TorqueyThePig

Well said and a great way to close out our back-and-forth saga.

One bad apple will spoil the perception of the whole barrel just like one of the many good apples can make that barrel look a bit better again. You've certainly shifted mine a bit. Thank you.

a reply to: FraggleRock

Two cops that are more than likely sick to death of how the
job they love is being plundered by some bad cops, the media and
all around bad people everywhere. And when they think of the
slightest unscripted way of making a difference spontaneously.
There are people who find a problem with that also. I imagine
it took the same kind of people to put Jesus on the cross.
UNBELIEVABLE!