The Escapists faith in the police?

[Jackhorse]

Over the past few days I have seen a lot of discussions involving a controversial incident and/or video to do with possible police misconduct. And I always seem to find a lot of escapists defend to officers and say "they are the law they must have had a reason"

Now while trusting the law to do right is important, it's also important to realise they are still people - people can always do wrong and have different senses of morals.

I personally have an uncle who is in the police and has worked on a misconduct incident within his own precinct to do with sabotage of evidence around a case where an aborted baby was involved. I'm a bit hazy on the details but it was a big incident (look it up, took place around Glasgow). He's also told me of several other incidents as well so I know not to trust all officers.

So escapists what are you thoughts/beliefs on your faith in the police and their actions?

I'll usually give the police the benefit of the doubt, simply because I've got family in that line of work and I know how they have to tippy-toe around with their hands tied behind their backs in order to not get sued for sneezing in uniform.

As to the wheelchair incident, I really do think people should watch the video again and actually see what's going on:

1) Kid's in the middle of the street. No one else is. Stands to reason he's not supposed to be there. In the middle of a street.

2) The cops are trying to wheel him out of the street, probably because he refused to do so himself. He's got the brake on his wheelchair, so it's not moving, but they're still trying. Hey, cops aren't familiar with wheelchairs, big deal.

3) The cop that "drags" the kid is trying to hold him in the chair while they wheel it. And then the kid dove for the ground. You can clearly see the cop being pulled along with him as he "falls."

4) Well, now you've got a crippled kid on the ground in the middle of the street. He's been non-compliant up to this point, and putting him back in the chair won't do any good. For his safety, you do what? That's right--you pull him out of the street, then bring the chair over, then sort it out when you're not in the middle of the damned street.

Kid took a dive on purpose. Cops were 100% in the right to do exactly what they did. Even this "condemning" video shows us exactly what happened, clear as day. It was the kid taking a fall to get some press.

And when he got the press on nothing less the BBC(the beacon of broadcasting for the rest of the world, the arguably most respected news organisation in the world, not merely a socialist far left biased network) the police did not use this as a defense did they? They said he was wheeling towards them, something you can easily make out as he sits in the middle of the street as you say... If it would've been 'for his own safety' they would've used this as their shoddy defense rather than the man attacking them.

OT: I would never really trust police. I respect them etc, but would never trust a police officer. Many are case hardened and presume the worst in people having seen it in others. Some police officers there joined from wanting to serve justice and protect the people but for the majority it's a job not a lifestyle. Innocent untill proven guilty becomes a lot harder to believe after so many years dealing with the guilty. In packs they are far worse than alone, gaining confidence from their mates and near anonymity just as protestors do.

TLDR: I wouldn't personally trust a police officer to make a better decision than the average person as the average person probably wouldn't hold an institutionalised bitterness and contempt for the suspect.

 

[Luftwaffles]

I trust my local cops. I didnt blow on my pie and burnt my upper palate as a result.

 

[Harlemura]

I do have faith in 'em and always have. It annoys me that they make one mistake every now and again and people freak out over how the police are useless.
Yes, they may be big, stupid mistakes, but that doesn't make a force working night and day preventing hundreds of crimes useless.

 

[Shock and Awe]

My father is a Sergeant with the local Police Department, so I know many police officers, and from what I have seen most of them are pretty good guys. Of course you are going to get a few shit heads, but so does any other organization made of humans.

 

[Dastardly]

snip

All I know is when the kid hit the ground no one was pulling or pushing him. No one was tipping the chair. The only cop that had hands on him was being pulled along with the kid on his way down. Hell, it's possible the cop didn't even realize the kid was taking an intentional dive. But that's what the video shows.

I don't know what lead up to the confrontation, but I again direct your attention to the fact that the middle of that street seemed pretty clear. Everyone else seemed to know not to be in the middle of it. The cops are pretty limited in what they're allowed to say on TV or not, and it might be that someone's superiors said, "No way they'll believe the kid threw himself on the ground. We say that, and they'll come after us even more. Make up something else."

But he did throw himself on the ground, and he did try to use his disability as a shield.

 

[Eumersian]

I generally trust the police to do their jobs. I think that's what people take for granted. We expect the police to do their jobs, but the second they do something wrong everybody loses trust. It's understandable, but not justified. The one bad example always speaks more than the other good examples, so people react more to the bad one than the good ones.

 

[Hashime]

My question is:
Would you rather not have someone to call when an gunman comes into your school / place of business / home?

Police have many difficult decisions to make every day. A protester that has been "Unfairly" treated may have been jeopardizing the police's ability to protect the rest. Riots are incredibly dangerous for the police, with that volume of people they could be over run, or some of the protesters could be carrying knives or guns. The police have to assume the worst possible scenario, and as of such each protester defying their instructions is "Dangerous".

A police officer may have to choose between stopping something from happening by doing something illegal or allowing it to continue until the endless red tape is cut through so that the person responsible can be convicted. The officer's life is also on the line, and unlike the games we play, one gunshot or stab wound can mean the end of their life.

 

[manaman]

I have met many officers, and none have been rude toward me.
Though, again, I've never been in a situation that warrants them to be suspicious, or acted in a way that warrants them to be abrupt with me. Even when I got my speeding tickets (Since I was obviously in the wrong), I always treat them with, and speak with, respect.

Makes me wonder if you are a minority. Police like everyone else are susceptible to the same prejudices and racism. It happens, but police have to be held to a higher standard by the very nature of their job. They can't just be normal people while working. They have to forget all that, because there job is to protect people, they can't pick and choose who they protect based on the color of that person skin.

As for the video have to wonder why the police where even involved in the first place. Police usually only deal with animals when there is a threat. As in having to capture a person inside, and having to subdue the animal outside, etc. Even in the highly rural area where I live animal control is carried out by the aptly named Animal Control.

 

[pubbing]

Zero. I have had several run ins with cops who think they know things just because they are cops. I have had a detective personally come into my home to call me and my wife a liar when a serious crime was committed against us. They hold them selves above everybody else just because they are police and when you do their job for them (such as protecting your self) they look at you like you are the scumbag.

The police can not protect you. They can only clean up the mess afterwards. That is why you are responsible for your own protection. But if you do have to protect yourself, becareful because they will look at you like a criminal when an actual scumbag ends up getting hurt.

FYI: Did you know the police are under no legal obligation to come to your aid even when you call them, or to even investigate a crime?

 

[ShaqLevick]

I don't trust the police any more or less than I do any other human being.

Seconded.

 

[silentrob77]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIZigF_zdXw&feature=related

This was a ridiculous time in our city.

This is just...I don't even...wow

And I thought a guy getting arrested for swearing at a radical demonstration was bad...

Yea, and anyone protesting the "new world order" was labeled a "terrorist"... I'm honestly proud of it. Canada is by no means a country with a high population and the Toronto (city not great Toronto area) boast appx 2.5 million people, and you have a crowd of (again appx) 10,000 people showing up to protest the advancement of the banking system running our world, that's pretty damn good.

Over 400 people were arrested in one weekend and the police force is getting sued out the ass for wrongful imprisonment.

Sometimes revolution comes from the most unlikely places!!

 

[realslimshadowen]

I don't trust any branch of government. Ever. For any reason. Now, at a certain point, you have to assume that they will do things properly, because you can't do it yourself (i.e that they will properly file your taxes after you send them in), but the purpose of the populace in a democracy is to keep an eye on government and sing out when they do something wrong.

The reason is simple: they have power over me, or think they do. People who have power over you and know it are almost invariably assholes to you, just because they can be. Police are no different. There are cops out there who see themselves as having authority in limited situations, and these ones can be difficult but are professional, polite, and unlikely to break down the door of the wrong house and shoot you in the face without a damn good reason. Then there are those who see themselves as having power, and these ones tend to harass people because they can, break the law because they see themselves as untouchable, and get a kick out of using the taser on someone five or six times when they're already down.

So they certainly don't deserve *spits* faith. I'm an agnostic, and I don't even have faith in the sun rising, because I know why it rises. I don't need faith on that score, I have knowledge.

 

[Wolfenbarg]

The police have a difficult and tiresome job. Like the military, they are drawn in by false ideas of what the job is like, and in reality they aren't quite patient enough to deal with all of the hassles that come with doing the job. This leads to a lot of dirty and incompetent police officers, but there are enough who do their job adequately. I find police to be aggravating to a fault, but I don't hate them, they are necessary. As long as we don't turn into a full on police state, then we just need to keep on tackling the bad eggs where they pop up and praising the good ones for their hard work.

 

[zHellas]

So escapists what are you thoughts/beliefs on your faith in the police and their actions?

I haven't really had any actual encounters with the police, so they're okay, I guess.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

Innocent until proven guilty, the way I see it. I know several very well meaning police officers, and one officer abusing their authority doesn't derail that for me.

 

[Hman121]

I truly trust the police force and I believe that they could be wrong sometimes, but everyone makes mistakes. I'm fine with police unless I get pulled over.

 

[Baneat]

They serve their government

meaning, check their morality at the door on duty, never their responsibility to tamper.

 

[Brightzide]

20 minutes ago, a guy got stabbed at the bottom of my road ( seriously ). He may have died, but within 5 minutes of my little sister calling it in, the police were all over the block, coning off areas and getting down to some hardcore interveiws with neighbors...Must be inspection time of the year or something...I guess I trust the police department to kick up a fuss about something, but not resolve the issue as hastily as they are to cover their own arses