Callin All Cops!

Was ahving some trouble as a relatively new member trying to figure out where to put this discussion, and then I stumbled across BTS, the perfect place!

So to start out, lets lay down some basic premises that HOPEFULLY most people will agree with.

1. Not all police officers are bad.
2. Some police officers are bad (i.e. they are overly agressive or police brutality etc.).

Simple enough right? so when a story pops up, as they do every few days, aboutt a cop beating someone, or shooting a handcuffed person in the back of the head while they are facedown on the ground, or planting drugs on a person and siccing a dog on them, or tasering a 14 year old girl in the head or... sorry getting off topic!

so when one of these stories pop up you get two types of people that show up to the thread! one group says "kill 'em all," the other says "well they aren't all bad, its just a few that make everyone look bad!" well i think it may be apparent which side i lean towards, but i have a suggestion or at least an argument for the police supporters. I really genuinely feel like it would do good ffor police officers and citizens so please keep an open mind and read what I have to say!

We all know that there have been circumstances of rampant police corruption in the past. the most memorable being the experiences of serpico, a police officer trying to curb police corruption. Hopefully most of this is in the past.

With that being said, why then, are charges not pressed against officers today that take grossly egregious actions. It seems that in most cases this is how it plays out: internal investigation rather than external investigation, reprimand, possible suspension, possible pay cut, in extreme cases you lose your job.

why?! some all-powerful police fraternity? does thhat make you invincible to the law? and the people who support police officers and say that they arent all bad, YOU should be the ones screaming the loudest for punishment to fit the crime! if a police officer does something illegal they should face criminal charges not an internal investigation.

If not then not only are the police who commit the crimes at fault, but EVERY OFFICER WHO DOES NOT RAISE A COMPLAINT is also at fault. My argument is that if there are good officers out there they need to be the ones calling for prosecution of the ones who step over the line, or else they are all part of the elite police fraternity, and they are all guilty of the illegal actions they condone.

Did you know police aren't legally obligated to protect you? That statement right there says wonders about our country... There was a police officer in New Jeresy who got suspend WITH PAID LEAVE. Police officers need to step down from their high horses. I think its BS that if you even TOUCH an officer, you can be charged with a felony... Police that do something illegal need to face charges just like any normal person. Just because they help uphold the law they are above it? NO THEY ARE NOT. An external investigation definately needs to happen. Oh, an internal investigation of all your buddies in your department, or course the results are going to be inconclusive (Officer Y didn't tazer Mr X, even though we have it on camera, we did a "thorough" internal investigation). If you know someone is doing something illegal and you don't report it, your are just as guilty! Because apparently killing yourself qualifies as "illegal" (but the same circumstances apply, ie don't report someone who is going to kill themselves). I KNOW not all cops are bad, but it seems like more & more are turning corrupt.

-aNaRcHiSt ReBeL

[edit on 3-3-2010 by anarchist-rebel]

[edit on 3-3-2010 by anarchist-rebel]

I woukd like to say something to the cops of bts.

DONT TAZE ME BRO.