Friday
NES Member
Of course, being able to ask and answer is the only way to start building some understanding of what people see as ‘the other side’, when it shouldn’t be viewed that way. I think a lot of cops here just gave up trying to explain things because of the trolls disrupting a decent conversation and it devolves into a shitshow so why bother? They get treated like that at work everyday, they don’t need it here too on their downtime while just trying to learn more about their hobby and shooting sports.
So yes, to your point, being able to weed some of these knuckleheads out at the academy would be a great start.
But that still won’t stop those that are weak minded from all of the temptations put in front of them daily. It’s easy to fall prey to it when you’re acting in a position of authority, you have a lot of freedom during your shift and a lot of power that can be tempting to take advantage of and hide behind a badge. It can easily consume someone or leave them locked into a situation where someone else is now blackmailing them into working for their organization because they took the first easy 100.00 to turn away.
Those that don’t have the right mindset to keep it clean for the sake of all the others will always find a way in and work their way into more trouble for easy money, p*ssy or dope, and it’s hard as hell to know who they are usually until it’s too late.
And the use of force? You’re right, it’s very hard to say, unless it’s blatantly obvious of course, but each violent incident is going to be different, have different actors, different outcomes and different witnesses. So you can’t really nail down one particular problem with it unless it becomes more evident that that tactic is being used incorrectly or in the wrong circumstances, like the chokehold thing we’re seeing more and more of going wrong.
I don’t know how depts ever allowed that to begin with. With all the small bones in and around the neck, plus the airway being crushed so easily, or the oxygen to the brain, man, crazy, if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s a pretty dangerous and maybe stupid thing to attempt.
Yeah, I guess that's the age-old question. Who will guard the guardians? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. And other cliches'. I think the one thing that should stand out for police than other civilians is a higher accountability to the law. Given what we all know and have mentioned here regarding bad actors, knuckleheads and those that eventually become corrupt, I'd say it is unlikely we'll ever achieve that state where *all* police are above reproach. Human nature is what it is.
There are lots of good people who want to serve or continue serving (ex mil) and have the best of intentions. Then there are others who see it as a ticket to lifestyle free of accountability.
There can no doubt be much more done up front to screen people who want to be officers. Question is, will .gov enroll in that process? There are so many moving parts to re-establish the relationship with the public. Better screening and psych evaluations, perhaps a shift in training philosophy, back down the supply of military equipment. It seems to me a lot of things escalated once police started acting like paramilitary forces. An AMRAP to but out beach fires in Plymouth?
There is going to be some tough transitions to make if this occurs as the public mindset will take a long time to change. Of course, if peoples' reaction to a police shooting at a restaurant is to burn down the restaurant, it may be all for naught. I'm convinced half of society have some sort of mental disorder at this point.
I don't envy you guys, you get put into all sorts of situations that reasonable people should be able to solve themselves.