The ongoing litany of police abuses

[Mr. E]

Mr. E,

Alright how about not rejecting people for position because they've scored too highly on an IQ test.

That's more manageable.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

I afford police a great deal of respect. They do a dangerous and difficult job. That respect in no way deminishes my anger when an officer abuses their authority.

[Sturn]

Well yes, that's exactly right. It's a particular problem in the 'elite' tactical units. Staffed with roided out special ops wannabes. Prancing around in body armor and Kevlar helmets, as if they where in the Pashtun badlands hunting down Osama. Then there are your common or garden hogs, who will serve up a smack down if you dare disrespect their 'authoritah'. They see themselves as a breed apart, and that attitude is far more widespread than when I was growing up. I afford cops no more respect than any other citizen, because that's ALL they are.

You disrespect all citizens?

We try to discuss things with sensibilities here, not just spew illogical hatred.

[The Iceman of the North]

All of those are disgraceful, but tbh most of them are an example of outrageous laws or attitudes from schools, not the police. And many of the worst abuses are by School Security Officers, which doesn't sound like it's actual police to me? Correct me if I'm wrong.

The attitudes of the schools are rather irrelevant. If I call the police and ask them to arrest the 5 year old next door becasue he's bouncing his ball too loudly, and they actually do it, it's certainly the police who act disgraceful (too). I didn't check all the stories, but in those I did check, the kids were actually arrested by actual police. You can blame outrageous laws if you like, but it's the police that choose to uphold them.

[Sturn]

When you're putting out a message to the public through a reporter, yeah, you have time to use something other than civilian.

So what term do you wish police to use when referring to non-police, in the public eye or not?

(Also, you appear to misunderstand Simon, he's not opposed to citizen, just civilian), for decent reasons, I think.

I completely understood his reasoning. I was pointing out that citizen has some of the same problems that civilian does.

So, when I'm in a squad brief, I'm supposed to say things like, "A witness who is a naturalized non-law enforcement citizen, reported he saw...."

[Sturn]

You can blame outrageous laws if you like, but it's the police that choose to uphold them.

By choosing unemployment? We often don't have a choice to not enforce a law. Sometimes we are allowed discretion, other times we are not. If there is a complainant and there is PC a law was actually broken, I really don't have much choice. I should just refuse to do my job? That leads to me being fired eventually. There are of course incidents where a police officer did have discretion not to arrest in a bullshit incidnet. That's wrong. But, it can also be the law or complainant causing the bullshit.

[polishgenius]

but it's the police that choose to uphold them.

Did you really just suggest that the police should be free not to uphold the law if they don't want to?

[Borsabil]

You disrespect all citizens?

We try to discuss things with sensibilities here, not just spew illogical hatred.

You disrespect all citizens?

We try to discuss things with sensibilities here, not just spew illogical hatred.

If someone on the street walked up to me and demanded to show my ID and where I was going I'd tell them to f.ck off. If a cop came up to me demanding the same, I would ask if they were detaining me, if so why I was under arrest, and after that I would say precisely nothing. So you're wrong, I'd show cops way more respect than any other citizen as I understand that many of them are sociopathic bullies who, if they felt like it, would happily beat the loving crap out of me, plant drugs on me and generally ruin my life, with absolutely no comeback on them.

[polishgenius]

If someone on the street walked up to me and demanded to show my ID and where I was going I'd tell them to f.ck off. If a cop came up to me demanding the same, I would ask if they were detaining me, if so why I was under arrest, and after that I would say precisely nothing. So you're wrong, I'd show cops way more respect than any other citizen as I understand that many of them are sociopathic bullies who, if they felt like it, would happily beat the loving crap out of me, plant drugs on me and generally ruin my life, with absolutely no comeback on them.

You're not very good at this 'don't spew illogical hatred' thing, are you?

[The Iceman of the North]

Did you really just suggest that the police should be free not to uphold the law if they don't want to?

I expect the police to prioritize what they spend their resources on, or "show discretion" as Strun put it.

There are laws against using narcotics (in most jurisdictions), but we don't see the police sweep through crack houses on a daily basis rounding up everyone they find using narcotics.

[Sturn]

So you're wrong, I'd show cops way more respect than any other citizen

I afford cops no more respect than any other citizen, because that's ALL they are.

So, which is it?

Folks Borsabil showed the same sort of tendencies he's showing here at another recent thread. I'm not going to go full out and disrespect him by using the "T" word, but I think I'm just going to try to ignore him myself from here out.