NSFW Policing in the US.

[Sweets]

What do you guys think when you look through this list?

Killed By Police - 2015

From my outside perspective there is a problem with police use of force in the US 1035 people killed by police this year up to yesterday is not right.

What's happening? What causes all of this?

 

[Qat]

Is that number so much higher than the years before?

 

[Sweets]

Is that number so much higher than the years before?

I'd say it's high for any year. It's way out of line with most comparable nations. I just want an inside view on why you guys think it goes on.

 

[Qat]

Yeah, I'm not American and obviously cannot have a sophisticated view on the situation.
But the first thing that comes to my mind is: if everybody has guns, the police has to be much more aggressive / trigger-happy as opposed to an unarmed society.

Edit: or shall I say cautious. I guess both comes down to the same thing. If the potential threat is greater, you have to act differently.

 

[Sweets]

That would be true, were it not for the many examples of police killing unarmed civilians, who never presented a threat level that could justify their killing. It is a much wider issue than simply they could of had a gun...

 

[Qat]

I think so too. However, you can only be sure the person is unarmed after you have been close, right? I don't think its easy to determine. So some of those unarmed victims, and victims they are, might be due to that.
One the other issues which are mostly social I guess, we have to wait for dem 'muricans to put the knowledge upon us.

Or I could post some gifs from The Wire.

 

[member 3289]

I am American. I've absolutely never, ever had a problem with police violence. Nearly every police officer I've encountered has been a shining example of professionalism.

I don't know why this crazy shit happens in the places it does, but it's sad.

Most police here are good. I truly believe that. But yeah there are some bad ones. Some who joined the police force for the wrong reasons.

Maybe police forces need to be more selective with who they take in. Or maybe do some regular psychological evaluations of some sort.

 

[Hwoarang]

America is merely transitioning into a repressive government, militarizing the police to work for corporations and turning populace into little more than pussified worker drones.
A few more years of the population seeing how inhumanly people get treated if they stand up against the police state for their own, or their fellow citizens rights, and no one will be willing to do it.
And before you know it americans will no longer care that all the tax payer money is filtered to the select few corrupt hands, they're happy to put their heads down just to safely get to and from work not caring about the injustices pushed on them, happy to work for 25c on the dollar not realizing that soon, they will be living just like Palestinians.

Obama promised change, it's the one election promise he kept.

 

[check it]

mighty big topic..
when i clicked open your link..the first random case i looked at was this guy. he called 911 when police arrived, he came out with his gun aimed at them.i can easily understand why that guy was killed by the police. TBI: Gibson Co. deputies fatally shoot man

but Americans..and i guess the world knows it's not always the case. we've seen videos..we know michael brown from ferguson.
police killing unarmed people ..it's happening.

i wouldn't take it to the level of an oppressive govt militarizing the police and turning american society into worker drones like hwoarang did .
not saying he's wrong..i just think differently.
i'm not gonna blame obama for police brutality because i think it's usually city/county gov't law enforcement who are responsible..not the feds.

ya'd have to delve deeper and figure out the income levels and demographics of those unarmed people getting killed by the police. I think it would have to do more with power trippin' cops working with people who they think don't matter..
whatever the reason is..it's a sad situation.

i get what ndnh was saying. my only encounter with the cops ever was an underage drinking thing.. cop said pour it out. i said pouring it out now, sir. that was the end of that..he sent me on my way. other than that...as a white person in a middle class neighborhood..i'm flying under the radar and have had zero bad experience with the police/sheriff/state troopers.
but people in lower income neighborhoods feel very differently about the police. rightfully so.

other guy in the other thread who was a cop made great points on training..maybe that's the solution.

 

[sparkuri]

America is merely transitioning into a repressive government, militarizing the police to work for corporations and turning populace into little more than pussified worker drones.
A few more years of the population seeing how inhumanly people get treated if they stand up against the police state for their own, or their fellow citizens rights, and no one will be willing to do it.
And before you know it americans will no longer care that all the tax payer money is filtered to the select few corrupt hands, they're happy to put their heads down just to safely get to and from work not caring about the injustices pushed on them, happy to work for 25c on the dollar not realizing that soon, they will be living just like Palestinians.

Obama promised change, it's the one election promise he kept.

All this

 

[Greenbean]

And before you know it americans will no longer care that all the tax payer money is filtered to the select few corrupt hands, they're happy to put their heads down just to safely get to and from work not caring about the injustices pushed on them

We're already to that point unfortunately. Been for a while. No one bats an eye at wage garnishment by the irs and people actually side with the government when it comes to tax evasion. Wesley snipes will forever have an asterisk for wanting to keep his hard earned money....

"God forbid we should ever be 20. years without such a rebellion.[1] The people can not be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. We have had 13. states independant 11. years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half for each state. What country ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it's liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it's natural manure. Our Convention has been too much impressed by the insurrection of Massachusets: and in the spur of the moment they are setting up a kite to keep the hen yard in order. I hope in god this article will be rectified before the new constitution is accepted." - Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, Paris, 13 Nov. 1787[2]

 

[girlandcoconut]

Oh lawd, here we go.

 

[girlandcoconut]

What do you guys think when you look through this list?

Killed By Police - 2015

From my outside perspective there is a problem with police use of force in the US 1035 people killed by police this year up to yesterday is not right.

What's happening? What causes all of this?

I think it's a combination of several things...and then doing what we Americans love to do, react instead of diving into the root causes and trying to drive some real change. Key drivers are mental health issues and lack of experience in the police force to handle the myriad of situations they could possibly be presented with. I said this in another thread but unless an officer has had a significant amount of hands on experience, nothing can prepare them for how they'll react in the heat of the moment, add a weapon to that and there you go. I also think (based on what I've read the past year since shit seemed to get extra cray) that the majority of police training doesn't involve enough non-force tactical training. Cops need to be one part MMA fighter, one part negotiator, one part weapons expert, one part human, etc.

They should spend some time training with nurses in high volume ER departments, those folks know how to handle some crazy shit and they do it without needing/utilizing a weapon.

Most people don't want to deal, and certainly don't want to be part of the solution. It's like with diseases, no one seems to care until they or someone they love are directly impacted. Nothing will change until enough stand up and demand better, most won't because they are content playing into the tried and true American sheeple system.

 

[Zeph]

Systematic problems with training. Little mental health care. Insufficient social welfare creating large disparities in wealth. Corporations massively influencing politics to protect their interests. Punishment over rehabilitation as a goal of the penal system. Third strike rule creating situations where criminals have little to lose.

 

[Deleted member 1]

What's happening? What causes all of this?

The core of it is that police are expected to clean up society's ills.

I'm a solid middle class white male. My demographic crime rate and life expectancy is identical or greater than that of western Europe. Even with my access to guns, increased risk for alcoholism, etc. I am likely safe and gonna live a long healthy life.

Poor american, which is largely black, doesn't have the same.

Poverty begets poverty. And with it comes obesity, mental health problems, crime, etc.

So we start with expecting to criminalize everything and send police out to jail everything in response. That sucks for everyone. That can't be fixed with training. The training for what? On how to better deal with being perpetually short staffed and endangered due to societies foundational problems?


We have then magnified that problem. We have instituted mandatory sentencing, militarized the police forces, used federal terrorism laws for domestic drug issues (80,000 patriot act taps via Sprint one year for drugs...none for terrorism), etc. We have created a "us vs the populace" mindset for police. That officer is stuck thinking, "If I don't use 'command presence' I don't get to go home to my family tonight".

Police departments definitely have their own issues regarding militarization, etc. But they are mostly just emblematic of using the wrong tool as a solution to the problem of the symptoms of poverty.

 

[maurice]

Some police forces have implementing psych screening and mental health training, but a large majority of current LEOs were not subject to this.

Here in Chicago, psych screening was imposed because the city got sick of being forced to settle multi-million-dollar lawsuits every time that a cop went off the reservation and shot or railroaded an innocent person.

 

[Ted Williams' head]

You have to look at it on a case by case basis. People don't want to acknowledge this, but there are a lot of thugs out there who pose a risk to cops, and there are times when a cop has to take a guy out.

People want to talk about militarization of the police force, brutality, racism, oppression, ect, but in general I sympathize with the police. It's a shitty job, you're life is at risk every day you walk out the door, and you have to deal with the absolute worst society has to offer on a daily basis. No wonder the suicide rates for cops are off the charts compared to the national average. The stress of having to go out and risk your health to protect a populace that hates and/or distrusts you because they got a ticket one time and the cop was rude to them. Everyone wants to stick a camera in your face and try to catch you making a mistake. The media and "social justice" groups/leaders have an agenda to perpetuate this narrative of systematic racism, where we supposedly have all these cops running around itching to kill a black guy.

I'm not doubting there are assholes of the force, and I'm not doubting there are guys on the force who don't have the cognitive capacity and/or the personality to be on the force. I'm not doubting there are complete scumbags on the force. But the world has gotten way too anti-police IMO. We all want to talk about this police state and what the police have to do. How about we start teaching these kids not to resist arrest and assault police officers? How about when an officer tells you to get your hands out of your pockets because he's worried you might pull a gun on him, you take your hands out of your pockets? And how about if an officer tells you to drop your weapon, you drop your fucking weapon?

 

[maurice]

The biggest risks to police officers are suicide and car accidents. Incidents of violence directed at cops have been dropping for years. For every cop patrolling the ghetto, there are 50 writing speeding tickets. The false mentality that they are in constant danger contributes to trigger-happy responses and an overwillingness to justify unjustifiable behavior.

These things absolutely need to be judged on a case-by-case basis, with both pro-cop and anti-cop bias removed from the analysis.

 

[Team Bisping]

 

[BJTT_Pella]

Everytime i cross pathes with a cop im polite and take the beta role. Im ok with that if i get to go home after. It has worked so far.

I have seen numerous times the end result of not doing what the police tell you to do. Its not worth it.

I dont know what the answer is, im not sure there is one. It is kind of in our DNA as Muricans to say "fuck the police" and rebel. So as things continue the way they are. Im going to raise my kids to just do what the police say and keep doing it myself.

 

[ThatOneDude]

You have to look at it on a case by case basis. People don't want to acknowledge this, but there are a lot of thugs out there who pose a risk to cops, and there are times when a cop has to take a guy out.

People want to talk about militarization of the police force, brutality, racism, oppression, ect, but in general I sympathize with the police. It's a shitty job, you're life is at risk every day you walk out the door, and you have to deal with the absolute worst society has to offer on a daily basis. No wonder the suicide rates for cops are off the charts compared to the national average. The stress of having to go out and risk your health to protect a populace that hates and/or distrusts you because they got a ticket one time and the cop was rude to them. Everyone wants to stick a camera in your face and try to catch you making a mistake. The media and "social justice" groups/leaders have an agenda to perpetuate this narrative of systematic racism, where we supposedly have all these cops running around itching to kill a black guy.

I'm not doubting there are assholes of the force, and I'm not doubting there are guys on the force who don't have the cognitive capacity and/or the personality to be on the force. I'm not doubting there are complete scumbags on the force. But the world has gotten way too anti-police IMO. We all want to talk about this police state and what the police have to do. How about we start teaching these kids not to resist arrest and assault police officers? How about when an officer tells you to get your hands out of your pockets because he's worried you might pull a gun on him, you take your hands out of your pockets? And how about if an officer tells you to drop your weapon, you drop your fucking weapon?

The world has gotten so anti police because they are getting sick of it. Remember they aren't there to serve and protect you.

 

[ThatOneDude]

Everytime i cross pathes with a cop im polite and take the beta role. Im ok with that if i get to go home after. It has worked so far.

I have seen numerous times the end result of not doing what the police tell you to do. Its not worth it.

I dont know what the answer is, im not sure there is one. It is kind of in our DNA as Muricans to say "fuck the police" and rebel. So as things continue the way they are. Im going to raise my kids to just do what the police say and keep doing it myself.

I think the answer is don't talk to or associate with cops.