We do NOT live in a police state! Please move on.

sirric
As a retired 30+ year Government LEO, I can truly tell you we have now moved the peg towards a libertarian state, in which I welcome.

Why, Because corruption in LE has ALWAYS been there and now with the personal camera, we can document the police like never before and that truly scares them. It only seems that it is getting worse because light, now more than ever, is being shown on them and their lack of training towards the laws they get paid to enforce.

It was bad in the 70's through the 00's thanks to the War on Drugs and the scary terrorist behind every tree but now liberty is winning more than ever.

Yes, we must keep a vigilant eye on the police and Americans are now doing that more than ever with a "Contempt of Cop" attitude. Even when this is perfectly legal it is no less frustrating toward good LEO since now even they need to be perfect on camera.

The problem is this:
All COPS are ALPHAs! They are trained and required to maintain control of all encounters with the public. So naturally most encounters will not be in your advantage if you are skirting the law or if you happen to cross a cop that is missing on their quota for the month. It happens small towns and in the big cities and it happens to those that are less fortunate in status.

Sirric

edit on 19/1/14 by sirric because: (no reason given)

Good to have you hear at this discussion. 30 year service. Congrats, my hat off to you. I would very much like to discuss with you your personal experiences. I have a differing view from you (which is perfectly fine) I am currently 13 years into serving my PD and great city and I have a completely differing outlook to many on this site and thread.

Don't get me wrong, I can fully understand why some people are disenchanted and how communication between the police and communities has not been what it could be. There is a great amount of distrust and I have noticed a change in attitude within the PD since joining back in 00. Anything you wish to offer on here would be greatly appreciated.

I must say that I am not in any way a libertarian or do I hold those political views at all!!

reply to post by projectbane


Read the damn posts, everybody is pointing out everything that you say you don't see. it's all there for you to SEE.
Its pretty obvious that even if it does happen to you or someone you know, you would still be saying, what police state?

reply to post by projectbane


So I see you still never addressed my concerns about the NDAA act, America being declared a battlefield and the constitution free zone.

These are all major characteristics of a police state, simply because they have not yet enforced them does not mean they wont.

I mean... why would they pass the laws if they didn't intend to use them? They have set traps all around us and just because they haven't sprung them yet, you think they're still good guys? (by the way I am not talking about the everyday cop on the street, I'm talking about the gangsters calling the shots in the big house)

I would very much like your views on these three realities in America,

Mettā ~

projectbane

Good to have you hear at this discussion. 30 year service. Congrats, my hat off to you. I would very much like to discuss with you your personal experiences. I have a differing view from you (which is perfectly fine) I am currently 13 years into serving my PD and great city and I have a completely differing outlook to many on this site and thread.

Don't get me wrong, I can fully understand why some people are disenchanted and how communication between the police and communities has not been what it could be. There is a great amount of distrust and I have noticed a change in attitude within the PD since joining back in 00. Anything you wish to offer on here would be greatly appreciated.

I must say that I am not in any way a libertarian or do I hold those political views at all!!

Thanks for the welcome.

My tenure as a Federal LEO taught me a lot about the laws we are paid to uphold and how it is selectively enforced on the common person. I am looking into writing a detailed book on this very subject so I won't go into details but suffice to say that we as a nation have given up to much power to the Federal Government and not in the best way.

I ask you this, are you being taught about the law and what the requirement (Elements) that need to be met to convict someone of a criminal charge, or are you left to decide this for yourself? I'm sure you are given just enough training to arrest but not the whole law requirement as that would hamstring you.

For most rookie LEO they are left to the devise of their Field Trainer (FT). If the FT is corrupt or ignorant of the laws, then so will the new recruit. Also hiring practices have brought about less thinking and more reactionary type LEO.

Were there corrupt Officers where I worked? Yes. Did I stand up to them, yes as I was a FT, shift LT and then Chief. I cleaned house and made sure that all were knowledgeable about the rights of all the people under our protection. It was hard to do but worthwhile. I'd say the hardest thing to do is to keep up moral. When moral goes down, corruption goes up. Same with Pay, benefits and Training.

Thank you for your service, may you continue to be safe in your activities. I know the job is hard and thankless but always remember, you are a servant of the public trust and not a tool to create revenue for your city.

Sirric

reply to post by sirric

Were there corrupt Officers where I worked? Yes. Did I stand up to them, yes as I was a FT, shift LT and then Chief. I cleaned house and made sure that all were knowledgeable about the rights of all the people under our protection. It was hard to do but worthwhile.

Good on you. The public needs more people like you to be in the position that you held.

I am not a cop hater. Nor am I a criminal. The OP is throwing it out there that the people that believe that we have a police state budding in our country are one of the two.

I grew up in close proximity to County and State Police forces (family). I was in the position to be a 'fly on the wall' many times in childhood and adolescence. I know what I have seen and heard many times.

When I see a drunken cop leaving a party and his cop friends let him drive and even make mention of the fact that he would be driving drunk, without stopping him.... they fall into the category of 'bad cop' in my opinion.
When a cop finds marijuana in a kids car, takes it from them, gives them a warning....then takes the pot home and smokes it,,, he is a bad cop in my opinion.
When a lifelong friend wrecks his car in a DUI accident, and the cop hushes everything up.... no charges at all, that cop is a bad cop in my opinion.
Warrantless searches, serving no-knock warrants and killing family pets are things that we see far too much of today.