Not All Cops Are Bad

Since the majority of the time when police officers are discussed here on ATS it is for the purpose of bashing them, I thought it is important to remind everyone that not all cops are bad.

Officer Crawls Under Bus to Comfort Woman Pinned Under Wheel: ‘I’ll Stay Until We Get You Out’

For nearly 10 minutes on Monday, Officer Kevin Peck laid underneath a bus holding the hand of a young woman suffering from severe injuries after being hit by and pinned under the city bus.
...
Peck held her hand and asked her where the pain was, and then talked to her about other things to keep her conscious and keep her mind off the accident. Smith asked about her injuries, but Peck told her not to try to look down.

"She said several times that she was really scared, but she maintained her composure very well. She was pretty calm and asked me not to leave her," Peck said. "I told her I would stay with her until we got her out."
...
"At times, the job can become mundane. Then, every once in a while, something touches you more than the others. It reminds you why you became a police officer," he said.

"All across the country, officers do things like this every day," he added. "It's part of the job."

So for those that think all cops are just power hungry bullies...please remember that there are cops out there that may just be doing the job for the right reasons.

dbl post sorry!

Thats normal human response, nothing to do with being a cop... just because you become a cop don't mean you are not a human, your just an [snip]. He probably didn't leave because it would look bad on him.

Yes, there are, and thank you for that reminder.

I'm glad you posted that, because the people around me are driving me nuts at the minute with their adamant and polarized, black and white views on everything.

I believe that if there weren't good people around in all walks of life, we'd already be destroyed, but that's not the case.

He must have been a great comfort to the injured lady through that ordeal, and good on him for the kindness and common sense he showed..

*Edit* My response was to the OP, not the 2nd poster, who's already prejudged that a whole section of poeple are assholes.

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


Thanks OKS!

Yes, cops do a lot of good things day in and day out, but they rarely make even the local news, and almost never are they taken nationally or uploaded to Youtube.

I posted a thread for Officer Jeremy Henwood's Final Act of Kindness.

He didn't do anything heroic at all, and nobody would have ever known that he bought a kid a cheeseburger, except for the fact that he got gunned down while sitting in his own car eating his own lunch a few minutes later. He was just a decent, good-hearted man doing a job.

The vast majority of all police are like these guys. It is a shame that the slim few exceptions are the ones that make the news.

The problem is far more complex than a simple good cop vs bad cop scenario.

A singular case of doing your job correctly doesn't change not doing it correctly the rest of the time.

When a good cop knows of a bad cop and doesn't report or arrest him, then the good cop isn't doing his job right, and is enabling the bad cop to continue his criminality, becoming a co-conspirator in crime. If a cop reports him and nothing is done, and then fails to report the failure of his superiors to the the next level, and if that fails, failing to report the failure to the public, naming names, dates, and circumstances, then he isn't a good cop.

That is the issue most citizens have with cops in general.

Their informed refusal or moral cowardice that allows bad cops to be bad is the problem, and until and unless a cop is as strict upon his fellow cops as he is upon the public, then no cop has the right to claim he is a "good cop".

So long as bad cops are condoned, there is no such thing as a good cop.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by OutKast Searcher

 

The vast majority of all police are like these guys. It is a shame that the slim few exceptions are the ones that make the news.

It sucks because people are interested in the very good or the very bad, its like that everywhere, you turn on TV about middleeast, you have your crazies "death to america!" where is all the business man with suits and doctors? look at music industry.. you either need to be very good or very bad to get in, decent people in the middle dont get anything, because they are boring to look/listen to.

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


Thanks for an uplifting story about police for a change. The media seems to miss all of these while covering every negative one that crosses the wires. It's good to be reminded that the majority of cops (Okay, majority is my opinion) are good people, doing the job for the right reasons.

not buts this time... just a nice comment to a nice story. I'll bet that is one cop the lady remembers for life.

Originally posted by luciddream
Thats normal human response, nothing to do with being a cop... just because you become a cop don't mean you are not a human, your just an asshole. He probably didn't leave because it would look bad on him.

I just don't understand this way of thinking. If you become a cop...then you are automatically an a-hole?

Are some cops jerks, yes. But are some doctors jerks, yes...there are jerks in every profession.

The problem I think is that most of the time when people interact with cops it is because they have done something wrong, and instead of taking responsibility for their own actions they would rather blame it on the cops. For some people, it is easier for them to think "that dirty cop is after" rather than admitting "I did something wrong, I need to face the consequences".

I may not like the police these days, but OP you do have a point. Not all cops are bad. Why a couple of months ago I had a nice, short conversation with one. There are good cops and there are bad cops. And unfortunately, IMHO, these good cops keeping getting branded with the bad cops. I don't like it and neither do they I would think. I just hope when civil unrest arise(I think this will be soon when Obama signs NDAA) people can tell who's there to help and who isn't. Just my two-cents.

Originally posted by apacheman
The problem is far more complex than a simple good cop vs bad cop scenario.

So long as bad cops are condoned, there is no such thing as a good cop.

Nope...it's actually that simple.

People condone bad acts by others all the time.

Does that mean I should advocate genocide? Those evil Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc...etc...etc.

reply to post by apacheman


I don't understand this thinking either.

You are unable to give credit for a job well done because bad cops exist out in the world

You have no proof that this cop has any knowledge of "bad cops", you have no proof that this cop doesn't do his job diligently all the time. And neither do I.

BUT, he did a good thing here...are you that jaded that you can't even credit him for that? Would you of rather seen him just leave the women under there?

reply to post by luciddream


I have to completely agree with you, i myself have done this exact thing to a 7 year old boy that ran into the road after his football and had a car go straight over the top of him, i was underneath doing exactly the same, whilst my wife kept his hysterical mother away. 45 mins for the ambulance to arrive!.

Just a natural human raction, i never asked for praise or publicity and never got it, never wanted it.But hearing this, this just shows he is a caring human being so good on him for that.

Infact this is the first time i have ever spoken about it outside of my family that were there that day.

And yes, he was ok eventually i believe.

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


No, not jaded.

Just not accepting this as proof that he is either a good cop or that most cops are good.

This is proof only that he did what he signed up to do that day, not that he behaves well most of the time.

Nine cops were recently arrested in my area for demanding and receiving sex from female suspects or for demanding and accepting bribes (but mostly for the sex thing), and each one of them had been cited for bravery, outstanding service, and the like.

This incident only shows that one cop did a good thing (as he's supposed to do) on one day, and shouldn't be stretched to infer that he or the majority are great guys.

After all, Pablo Escobar was a renowned philanthropist in his local area; that didn't make him a good guy, nor imply that drug lords are for the most part nice guys.

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


He is a supporter of OWS and fails to see the hypocrisy of his own post. In his eyes, OWS can do no wrong.

It would be to easy to turn his own words on him.

Not going to do it though as I try to look at the big picture rather than painting with a broad brush.

Originally posted by luciddream
Thats normal human response, nothing to do with being a cop... just because you become a cop don't mean you are not a human, your just an asshole. He probably didn't leave because it would look bad on him.

I disagree entirely with you about why he stayed. He could have left her to assist with the lifting of the bus or directing traffic, which would have been something that was needed for the situation.
And I agree with the OP, not all cops are horrible people (or assholes in your words), just some.
I have met both kinds, and I appreciate the better of the two.

reply to post by TDawgRex


???

second line: ???

Originally posted by Ark005

Originally posted by luciddream
Thats normal human response, nothing to do with being a cop... just because you become a cop don't mean you are not a human, your just an asshole. He probably didn't leave because it would look bad on him.

I disagree entirely with you about why he stayed. He could have left her to assist with the lifting of the bus or directing traffic, which would have been something that was needed for the situation.
And I agree with the OP, not all cops are horrible people (or assholes in your words), just some.
I have met both kinds, and I appreciate the better of the two.

I guess its the experiences we each have with them, never had a fun chat with a cop, its always questioning... even when i was walking, drinking can of pop.. "what are you drinking there?" "its sprite" "sure its not alcohol" i poured it out in front of them .. and i was walking home....not driving or anything, not tumbling or looked drunk, just normal walking...

there has been many others...which are "just checking" questions.

reply to post by apacheman


I've seen your posts and for the most part you do look at the big picture and mainly look at OWS in a for the most part, a positive manner. That's cool and all.

But many Cops and Soldiers originally join to to good...not bad. Some of us stay with that mindset. Others, not so much, but we do try to weed them out. And it usually takes time to get rid of them.

A LEO doing good on a day to day basis does not make news, unless it's exciting. One LEO doing something bad generates loads of crap here for days on end.

Saying all LEOs are bad just shows a personal prejudice and does not do you justice.
Your brush is to broad.

reply to post by TDawgRex


Standards for those who hold power must be set high, and for those who hold the power of life and death, the power to destroy lives with a word, they must be set highest of all, and held to without fail for any reason.

I didn't say that all cops are bad, just that the claim to being a "good cop" doesn't wash if there is tolerance of bad ones, and this incident doesn't prove anything one way or the other.

Not being good cop doesn't necessarily mean being a bad one, just not a good one.

It is difficult to be a good cop, and for those who are, they have my utmost respect.

Unfortunately, my experiences and observations over my lifetime have shown me that the good ones are exceedingly rare, and usually driven out by the bad.

Look around you: are the cops who fired upon peaceful protesters good cops? How about the vandals who sliced up private property with knives because the owners were protesters? Were the cops who set dogs upon civil rights marchers in the 60s good cops?

Pointing out that a singular incident doesn't a good cop make isn't being anti-cop, just that as a citizen I demand better of those who would hold power over us all the time, not just occasionally.