My Theory on the madness of police

This letter has been sent to my local paper, Foxnews, and the Chicago Suntimes tell me if you agree:

I am writing because I am very upset yet will be civil and I am sure I am not the only one, but the police these days are getting out of hand. It was not too long ago that an encounter with a police officer was a pleasant thing. I remember being stopped by an officer and told good afternoon I stopped you for speeding. I need your license and registration and proof of insurance, and I would comply. You would see them at a gas station and could stop and talk with them and was not a bad experience. But these days things seem to be getting worse, you can’t drive a couple blocks without seeing a police car and the officers are worse and worse as the years go by. And you always here 1 bad cop does not make them all bad. I do understand this. But just driving around or hearing them talk to one another when I am out to eat and they are in uniform too many are being corrupt and shady. I have heard talk myself that proves this to me. There should be no reason at all in these FREE UNITED STATES I should have to explain where I am going to a police officer, being pulled over and asked where I am going is ridiculous I am a free US citizen and an adult of 34 yrs. It’s no one’s business where I am going but me. Or even worse once being warned or given a ticket being told to go home. Again I am not a child and do not appreciate being treated like one especially by someone who is paid through our taxes. The treatment by police officers these days is short of nonsense. Just as the 1 cop doesn’t make them all bad statement is used by police management they should have their officers follow the same line 1 bad citizen does not make us all bad. I am tired of seeing people treated like children and every citizen being treated like a criminal when they encounter an officer. What happened to the days when we were all civil with one another? Are we living in a police state? Why should we fear these officers instead of hoping they are protecting us? Things are not right these officers are not GOD yet they act like it. Most of the cities I have been in and friends agree if the police keep on this track of their treatment of people there will be no one walking the streets and no one driving the roads. There is a difference between a crime being committed and someone just enjoying an evening out. I think these officers need to understand that. I understand that with the economic down turn and the loss of jobs the crime rate is rising and that officers need to control it before it gets out of hand but they need to refocus on what is really going on. Ex. I regularly see police on one stretch of road just sitting there waiting for someone to mess up. My problem with this is that one person they pull over for going 5 miles over the limit a regular working guy who may happen to be running a little late he is not a criminal but will be treated like one when the officer encounters him. Yet two block s over there are apartments that are well known for drug activity by the whole neighborhood they go untouched no one bothers them. So no because of the officers ego the taxpaying American is treated like a criminal and the real criminal gets away another day. City life would be a lot better if the situation was flipped and this happens in every city of every state in America. What will it take for the law abiding citizens to stop being treated as criminals? What will it take for the police to do their jobs and stop the criminals that everyone in any given neighborhood knows about? I applaud the Supreme Court decision to drop citizen hand gun bans. It is our Constitutional right to defend ourselves because you all know that the criminal is not following those laws leaving us to injury or worse while that officer is off harassing another good citizen.

Signed

Gave my name to the post edit from here

reply to post by IndianaOps


Welcome to the end of the world.

Police have had to be meaner, because people are meaner.

For some reason, humanity has lost everything - relating to each other, loving each other - computers and cell phones are to blame.

power corrupts, ever seen a movie where the nazi police ask for your papers?

The world i think deserves all the scum it has, and in the police everywhere, the scum of society that do not want to commit crimes, go into the police to commit those crimes.

Pure animals.

My theory on the police and their brutality is strictly conditioning in part to seek that brutality from anybody who gets in their way. You train someone to kill the bad guys for many years, you work them out the be in fighting shape, you teach them a lot of those fancy Jiu-Jitsu submissions, you sell them all of these brain washed ideals about how the law only applies to the sheep and not the wolves, then give them a "Portable Targeted Electrocution Device" and send them on their way. No granny is safe. And most want to see action.

Once they hit the streets, they are already part of the brotherhood, and you know what happens when you betray the brotherhood. The problem with the rotten ones ruining the bunch is that the bunch, don't tend to throw out the rotten ones too often.

As for the militarization of the police forces and recruiting ex military, I am sure the ones that enjoy the brutality will probably seek it out at home, but the problem is that at home, the intensity of it is not the same, the killing, and torturing is not the same, so they miss it, and crave it like a drug. They are the ones ensuring that the failures of society progress without a halt, and those in control remain unchallenged as the rest of us die off in the brutality.

reply to post by andy1033
Happy days Andy.

A couple of weeks ago, my mate's brother (a Manchester copper) managed to get a mum and her baby out of a car fire. Saved their lives. He's a decent guy with a growing family...coaches U-11s football when he can.

What he didn't do was dance around the car while they burned inside, or send images to his cop friends. He isn't 'murdering scum' and the mum and baby probably didn't deserve to die.

Is it just possible that you've got a mistaken perspective on the world? There's far more good than bad if you open your eyes.

That letter needs more paragraphs.

reply to post by IndianaOps


Indiana,

Please don't take this the wrong way; what is your theory? I read that whole paragraph and I couldn't find your theory that explains why these things happen? I am a Law Enforcement Agent and I have tried to get people to respond in a manner that could actually result in some change. I would like to know what actions you feel should be taken to deal with this problem. And i admit, it is a problem. Anytime you have officers/deputies/agents behave in an unprofessional manner it hinders the rest of us from being able to work effectively with the public.

So, my question to you is this: What do you propose should be done? I will start: People need to understand their rights and take the proper steps to deal with these instances. Get the information and make your complaint. If you are dealing with the "Blue Wall", then go over it. I honestly think that in this day and age of cameras and recorders, most members of management are more concerned about their jobs than covering up.

Now, is that always the case; of course not. I know; we all know it. Local agencies are much more prone to this type of behavior and are more likely to cover these things up. But in this recent era of accountability and media investigations, there is a level that you can go to that will get the results you desire.

I say all of this in reference to real, legitimate complaints about misconduct and abuse. I have been reading these cop-bashing forums for quite awhile now and I see that the most vocal and abusive members are the ones that also most strongly disagree with the laws they were caught breaking. Well, tough. If you don't like the law, get it changed. Otherwise, stop complaining and being a jerk when you get caught. Then I think you'll find that your encounters with law enforcement will magically improve.

I have fought this battle on these forums for awhile. I know there are abuses that go on. I have seen them and I have also dealt with them. I am a supervisor and I DO take complaints seriously and investigate them. Some are frivolous, some are not, but, without getting into specifics, I just participated in an investigation of one of my subordinates that was less than professional off duty. he didn't abuse anyone's personal rights, he just acted like a fool and tried to badge his way around with something that had nothing to do with his job. His actions earned him a few days off. UNPAID. And any future transgressions on his part will cost him his career.

There are methods in place to deal with this sort of thing. Most professional agencies (State and Federal) have zero tolerance for violations of civil rights. The agent and his entire chain of command are held accountable and I have seen agents and their supervisors punished for the actions of the agent.

There is hope. You just need to understand the methods for dealing with these encounters and learn to work the system. I have seen it work on countless occasions.

Sorry for the ramble, but again, I ask you; what is your theory on why this occurs? That is an entire seperate discussion that I will be happy to participate in if posters can prove that they are willing to have a civil discussion.

JW


[edit on 7/4/2010 by JWH44]

[edit on 7/4/2010 by JWH44]

JWH44,

Thank you for your reply. I really did not have a complete theory I was asking questions in the post because I really do not know how to handle this. I know my rights but it seems in Chicago for instance if you are treated in an unfair way and you call the district and ask to file a complaint it goes now where and I have had this happen it would seem that cops take care of cops. East Chicago Indiana is totally corrupt they will pull you over for nothing just driving though the town but I would say 85% of the officers are in leage with the drug dealers. My father is a former officer now retired and he agreed with me that most of East Chicago should be fired. I would say between Chicago, Whiting IN, Hammond IN, East Chicago IN. When I have been pulled over 85% of the time I honestly did nothing wrong they just do random pull overs for quota and half the time I was let go with a warning of some kind and really really treated like crap as in told dont F with me, and where are you going, and you should head home it's rediculous there is no need for all that especially when I'm not even being ticketed for anything I drive the limit radio plays at an acceptable level i stop for signs and lights and I keep my vehicle in repair it just so happens to be a Mustang GT Convertable and has a exhaust that turns heads but that's not my fault it came that way from Ford so I drive by doing the limit but they hear the exhaust and think i'm speeding.

I'm not bashing all cops I know alot of them my dad was and my uncle is butmy questions were what can we do about this and I'm glad an officer replied because my question is How do we handle this? How can it be changed? How can you fairly deal with these officers that should be stopped themselves when you have cops taking car of cops a citizen can't do anything when another officer covers for him saying I am lying.

EX. I was coming home from my dad's I get off the expressway on the way to my house. There is an older model pickup doing 10 mph in a 35, I pass him and get back in my lane i kepp going the limit a block from my house a Hammond officer pulls me over, he comes up to the car asks for license insurance and registration i give it up all the while he is telling me i was speeding cutting people off and driving left of center (which I would never do) I told him i wasn't doing that he walks away to run my info. Another officer comes up asks me to get out of the car and gets in my face asking if I had been drinking ( I never drink I hate alcohol) I told him no i had an icetea in the car. i look past him and see the old pickup parked behind the squad cars it was the guy i passed happened to be an off duty Whiting officer. I was told he called them and sayed i was doing all this stuff but the officers didn't see anything they were going on his word. I was told to get back in the car the other officer came back with my stuff handed it back to me and was told to go home and that i should watch who i was F'ing with. I asked for his badge number because I wanted to make a complaint, he told me i didn't need his badge number and to go home and walked away. Was any of this necessary?

How does a citizen deal with this treatment and it happens everyday in every city.

[edit on 5-7-2010 by IndianaOps]