"Just because one cop is bad, it doesn’t mean they all are"

"Just because one cop is bad, it doesn’t mean they all are"

This is the most common argument used to defend cops in cases of blatant police brutality.

And yes it is true to an extent.

But it is in no way relevant; by saying something like that we are ignoring the true context of growing rates of police brutality.

The fact is that our system of policing and the culture inside law enforcement circles is turning perfectly good cops into seemingly mindless soldiers willing to violently oppress their fellow countrymen for small misdemeanors, or in many cases just being outside and walking down the street.

To understand how people act in the police force we need to have a basic understanding of human psychology.

Simple and straightforward psychology experiments such as:
- The Stanley Milgram experiment.
- The Stanford Prison experiment.
- The Asch Conformity experiments
Show us that most people will do whatever it takes to fit into the social group they in and will often disregard their morality to act how they think others want them too.

It only takes one police chief enforcing violence on the public to create a cycle in a district which can last for generations.
If one officer goes up the rank with his higher officials telling him to be aggressive and use force, then when he becomes chief he will tell his lower ranking officers to do the same.

It does not take much for people to see that there is a culture of violence in the police force.
And it is fairly easy to come to the conclusion that as a group they push each other further.



There is no doubt that many (possibly a majority) of our police force have been responsible for police brutality.
This is obviously a bad thing.
But why is it acceptable for people to support this culture?
Would a truly good person really be a part of the police force knowing how corrupt, violent and oppressive it is?

It seems everyday there is a new shocking video of police brutality, with each video I see a bit of the strength and freedom of the people being taken away.

I though i read somewhere that birds of the same feather, flock together.... or something like that, Even the "good" ones will justify and protect the "bad" ones, so......basically good and bad dont occupy the same space.

Originally posted by eazyriderl_l
I though i read somewhere that birds of the same feather, flock together.... or something like that, Even the "good" ones will justify and protect the "bad" ones, so......basically good and bad dont occupy the same space.

Exactly, if you spend a few years in a corrupt system the majority of people will end up corrupt.

The 'good ones' have been responsible for letting the bad ones get away with their brutality in a lot of cases.

The fact is something needs to be done.
Police brutality is getting out of control and we are going to need to stop it soon.

See the thing is, it's not just one bad cop.
get it?

It's also a vicious circle..cops react to the way the "public" treats them....it started with the "pigs" thing of the 60's ...it doesn't take much of that before an " us vs them" mentality sets in

Go here

VERY BAD COPS


This is my home state of NM


The PoPo kills more people there than ANYWHERE in the USA.


Welcome to the wild wild west.

Originally posted by Homedawg
It's also a vicious circle..cops react to the way the "public" treats them....it started with the "pigs" thing of the 60's ...it doesn't take much of that before an " us vs them" mentality sets in

I think the circle inside the police force escalates their hatred to a huge extent, they egg each other on and develop a discontent separate to what the public actually think of them.

Very odd. I have worked in Law Enforcement for 12 years and have never seen fellow officers egging others on to commit police brutality like you all speak of. I can't imagine that I just work for a really good department, and for the record very few other officers are going to cover for another that goes completely overboard and injures or kills somebody that they did not need to. Does it happen? of course it does. Maybe it depends on the city and the department but like I said I work for a very large department and most of the things you guys speak of don't happen here.

Originally posted by XxCanexX
Very odd. I have worked in Law Enforcement for 12 years and have never seen fellow officers egging others on to commit police brutality like you all speak of. I can't imagine that I just work for a really good department, and for the record very few other officers are going to cover for another that goes completely overboard and injures or kills somebody that they did not need to. Does it happen? of course it does. Maybe it depends on the city and the department but like I said I work for a very large department and most of the things you guys speak of don't happen here.

Well your department must be one of the only ones in the country.
It doesn't have to be obvious, the perpetuation in a group situtation can be subtle and even subconscious or a forced behavior.

There are two options here.
1. That violent idiots are just attracted to the job (which is true in some cases)
2. That the job and culture of the job encourages nice people to become violent idiots.

I would like to think that it is number 2, and it gives a bit more credit to the force then number 1.

There is a problem with police brutality, to deny that is ignorant.

We need to look at ways of stopping it and we cannot do that without understanding the basics.

Also its not uncommon for police brutality to go unnoticed, obviously if it is happening they will try and hide it and officers around them will protect them.



ETA:
Which department do you work for?
I would like to investigate your claims seeming as people seem to like your baseless and faceless argument.

Quit spewing he 'one bad apple' plea.
Would you buy a chain with a bad linK? If one is bad they all are.
End of argument.

Originally posted by XxCanexX
Very odd. I have worked in Law Enforcement for 12 years and have never seen fellow officers egging others on to commit police brutality like you all speak of. I can't imagine that I just work for a really good department, and for the record very few other officers are going to cover for another that goes completely overboard and injures or kills somebody that they did not need to. Does it happen? of course it does. Maybe it depends on the city and the department but like I said I work for a very large department and most of the things you guys speak of don't happen here.

It's propaganda and anti police.Usually the ones bitching about the cops are the ones who have problems with them.Meaning they broke the law so they're ticked at every cop.I don't get threads like these.And they're always from people who do not work in law enforcement and have to deal with the # they do.98% of the people here KNOW they will be going home at the end of their work day.They don't get that the police don't know if they will.Keep on bashing ATS posters.You're the problem.Not the police.

Originally posted by nightstalker78

Originally posted by XxCanexX
Very odd. I have worked in Law Enforcement for 12 years and have never seen fellow officers egging others on to commit police brutality like you all speak of. I can't imagine that I just work for a really good department, and for the record very few other officers are going to cover for another that goes completely overboard and injures or kills somebody that they did not need to. Does it happen? of course it does. Maybe it depends on the city and the department but like I said I work for a very large department and most of the things you guys speak of don't happen here.

It's propaganda and anti police.Usually the ones bitching about the cops are the ones who have problems with them.Meaning they broke the law so they're ticked at every cop.I don't get threads like these.And they're always from people who do not work in law enforcement and have to deal with the # they do.98% of the people here KNOW they will be going home at the end of their work day.They don't get that the police don't know if they will.Keep on bashing ATS posters.You're the problem.Not the police.

edit on 7-4-2012 by nightstalker78 because: (no reason given)

It is in no way propaganda to be worried about a growing observable trend of police brutality.
Your statement that “Usually the ones bitching about the cops are the ones who have problems with them” contradicts itself.
There have been thousands of cases of innocent people minding their own business who are brutalized by police, thousands of people against the brutality who have not been arrested police.
Your claims are baseless and fact less.

Of course they are from non-police, part of this thread is about how police have a bias to protect violent behaviour in order to maintain their position in a social group.

Come back with some facts rather than a baseless and fact less rant as to why else police brutality may be on the rise and how else it has spread in the force ok?

reply to post by IgnorantSpecies


I don't think it this day and age it's possible to hide it. Maybe in a back woods agency that could work, but in a decent size city you can't really cover up police brutality. Everybody has at least a cell phone camera now a days, and in most cities when police are around, a crowd will gather so there are always plenty of eyes on us. I would never say that is doesn't happen, but I think alot of the issues that do happen are sensationalized by the media. The thing that disturbes me most about the issue is that people(not saying you specifically) like to claim police brutality when it's not actually the case.

Beating somebody, killing an unarmed person are clear examples of police brutality and nobody would ever argue that, but handcuffing somebody that may turn out to be innocent is not police brutality and you would be amazed at how many times that happens.

Another issue that has been created is that we are all now worried about somebody claiming police brutality when it's not appropriate that alot of us are now scared to do our jobs. The number of police getting killed in the line of duty is at an all time, and yet police brutality gets all the headlines. Why is that? Do we not care about the men and women putting their life on the line everyday that they go to work? In my county alone we have had 3 officers shot and killed in the line of duty in the past year, and have had no instances of excessive use of force by members. What do you suppose we do to change things since police brutality is running rampant like you say?

Originally posted by IgnorantSpecies

Originally posted by nightstalker78

Originally posted by XxCanexX
Very odd. I have worked in Law Enforcement for 12 years and have never seen fellow officers egging others on to commit police brutality like you all speak of. I can't imagine that I just work for a really good department, and for the record very few other officers are going to cover for another that goes completely overboard and injures or kills somebody that they did not need to. Does it happen? of course it does. Maybe it depends on the city and the department but like I said I work for a very large department and most of the things you guys speak of don't happen here.

It's propaganda and anti police.Usually the ones bitching about the cops are the ones who have problems with them.Meaning they broke the law so they're ticked at every cop.I don't get threads like these.And they're always from people who do not work in law enforcement and have to deal with the # they do.98% of the people here KNOW they will be going home at the end of their work day.They don't get that the police don't know if they will.Keep on bashing ATS posters.You're the problem.Not the police.

edit on 7-4-2012 by nightstalker78 because: (no reason given)

It is in no way propaganda to be worried about a growing observable trend of police brutality.
Your statement that “Usually the ones bitching about the cops are the ones who have problems with them” contradicts itself.
There have been thousands of cases of innocent people minding their own business who are brutalized by police, thousands of people against the brutality who have not been arrested police.
Your claims are baseless and fact less.

Of course they are from non-police, part of this thread is about how police have a bias to protect violent behaviour in order to maintain their position in a social group.

Come back with some facts rather than a baseless and fact less rant as to why else police brutality may be on the rise and how else it has spread in the force ok?

In no way does that statement contradict itself if you read it right.The ones who complain about the police are almost ALWAYS people who've been arrested.Meaning they give the classic " I ain't done nothing" excuse.9 times out of 10,they did do something..And they just blame the cops because they cannot follow the law.Those people I have no sympathy for.

I don't need facts.I've had enough expierience with the police to know you don't get a beat down for no reason.And I know this is a conspiracy site..but you really think it's spread through a department to beat people up? Come back to reality man.

ETA: You arguments are based on experiments that happened in 1961?Are you kidding me?I clicked the first two links and had to laugh.How you're tying that to police brutality I'll never know.

Originally posted by VforVendettea
Quit spewing he 'one bad apple' plea.
Would you buy a chain with a bad linK? If one is bad they all are.
End of argument.

So in your logic all Cops are bad? Are all techers then bad becasue a few have sex with their students? Are all pilots bad because a few fly their planes after or while drinking?

reply to post by nightstalker78


I have not broke any laws nor am I in any trouble.
I just value HUMAN RIGHTS!

The thing that separates the police from the average citizen is the fact they're entrusted with power and authority that we,as civilians don't have.

Knowing that power can have a corrupting influence the police should expect and understand that they're held to a higher level of scrutiny, which they should be.

It is always healthy and correct for power to be constrained by checks and balances.

Here's an interesting chart from 2010 showing the crime rate comparisons between law enforcement and the general public.




www.injusticeeverywhere.com...

reply to post by proob4


I value Human Rights as well. The problem I have with alot of the police brutality crowd is that most of them are not aware of police procedure and will see police brutality in every situation. I'm not saying that is your stance, only stating that alot of folks do that. Granted some cases are indefensable. Beating an innocent person, or killing an unarmed person are clear examplaes of police brutality and should never be condoned, but some other instances are not so clear.

For example if a police officer responds to a disturbance he generally has no idea what said disturbance is, and therefore has no idea who is innocent and who is guilty. These are all things he needs to figure out when he gets on scene. Well suppose he gets on scene and there is now a crowd gathered of 10 plus people, and as he begins to question people 1 "innocent" bystander begins to yell and scream at this police officer thereby causing more of a disturbance. Well in order to not let this "innocent" bystander make a bad situation worse and cause an unsafe environment for the officer and other individuals in the area this bystander will need to be removed from the situation. So the bystander is given a lawful order to leave the scene and he refuses to do so. He must now physically be removed from that situation for the safety of the officer and others. If while walking him from the situation he attempts to physically return to the situation(after being ordered to leave) the officer has every right to redirect him to the ground, handcuff him and put him in the back of the car until the situation is resolved.

No many would see that above scenario and scream police brutality because the "innocent" bystander was not the reason the officer was there and had to that point broken no laws, but an officer acting in that capacity will be justified to do what he did 100 percent of the time. That above scenario happens all the time, and is not police brutality, but if viewed by the public on the news I could easily see how it could be spun that way with most people not always knowing the full story or knowing actual police procedure.

Again, I'm not defending blatant acts of police brutality because I know they do happen. All I am saying is that it's not police brutality everytime an officer puts his hands on somebody. Seems like that is the way it is heading lately. Just my observations from the front line, take it for what you will.

Originally posted by XxCanexX
reply to post by proob4

 

I value Human Rights as well. The problem I have with alot of the police brutality crowd is that most of them are not aware of police procedure and will see police brutality in every situation. I'm not saying that is your stance, only stating that alot of folks do that. Granted some cases are indefensable. Beating an innocent person, or killing an unarmed person are clear examplaes of police brutality and should never be condoned, but some other instances are not so clear.

For example if a police officer responds to a disturbance he generally has no idea what said disturbance is, and therefore has no idea who is innocent and who is guilty. These are all things he needs to figure out when he gets on scene. Well suppose he gets on scene and there is now a crowd gathered of 10 plus people, and as he begins to question people 1 "innocent" bystander begins to yell and scream at this police officer thereby causing more of a disturbance. Well in order to not let this "innocent" bystander make a bad situation worse and cause an unsafe environment for the officer and other individuals in the area this bystander will need to be removed from the situation. So the bystander is given a lawful order to leave the scene and he refuses to do so. He must now physically be removed from that situation for the safety of the officer and others. If while walking him from the situation he attempts to physically return to the situation(after being ordered to leave) the officer has every right to redirect him to the ground, handcuff him and put him in the back of the car until the situation is resolved.

No many would see that above scenario and scream police brutality because the "innocent" bystander was not the reason the officer was there and had to that point broken no laws, but an officer acting in that capacity will be justified to do what he did 100 percent of the time. That above scenario happens all the time, and is not police brutality, but if viewed by the public on the news I could easily see how it could be spun that way with most people not always knowing the full story or knowing actual police procedure.

Again, I'm not defending blatant acts of police brutality because I know they do happen. All I am saying is that it's not police brutality everytime an officer puts his hands on somebody. Seems like that is the way it is heading lately. Just my observations from the front line, take it for what you will.

How is it justified to detain an innocent bystander? because they make a "bad situation worse?" Try that one in a court of law. "He's not guilty, but he made a bad situation worse."

Brutality no. Illegal detainment, yes. Hope your precinct has a good team of lawyers, or deep pockets.

The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause

en.wikipedia.org...

Yes that is a common defense. However how often do you see cops enforcing the very same rules and laws onto their colleagues than they do for the general public? Thing is if you're standing behind the blue line and not stopping the ones who are "bad cops" you're just as "bad". Hence 99.9% are bad, we can round that up to all.