Ted Rall for April 17, 2015

Been in law enforcement, I like the idea of the body cameras. Like dash cams have proven, it’s far more a matter of documenting the offender actions, not the police. But, I also can’t condone bad cops- too bad they too often represent their “community standards” as was the case in Ferguson.

Not been in law enforcement. But body cams are a good first step. They should be followed by a citizens review board to review every use of deadly force. Plus we need to reform or disband police unions. They foster the toxicity of the cop-civilian relationship by tirelessly protecting bad cops.

When I was young, oh so many years ago, I was hassled repeatedly by police. One time I was sitting in a park in Saranac, upstate New York, about ten at night, with two friends. We were visiting a friend who lived there. We were peacefully minding our own business, and suddenly there were two police cars with their search lights on us. We didn’t move. The cops came out and asked to see our ID and asked us what we were doing. We explained that we were visiting and we told them where we were staying. They weren’t satisfied and continued to question us. It turns out that a while before someone had broken into a soft-ice-cream stand in the park. Now if we had done that, why would we be sitting in the park? Eventually they let us go. We went back to our friend’s house and we were getting ready to go to sleep and suddenly there was a cop car at the door. They had come to get us to take us down to the station. It was probably about midnight. So they took us down to the station and grilled us, one by one. Finally after about an hour of this, they let us go back to our friend’s house. I figure the night officer was bored, so he decided to use us to pass the empty hours of the the night. It was just a completely useless harassment of peaceful young people.I’ve got a bunch of these stories. I’ve seen much worse than I’ve had to endure myself. I remember watching a couple of cops in the New York subway rough up a harmless drunk. He was in no shape to cause any trouble, and I can see that he should have been taken in, if only for his own protection, but one cop in particular seemed to feel that this was a great opportunity to practice beating up someone who was helpless. This was in the days before cell phones, so there was nothing to do about it.Clearly we need police and I have no doubt that most police are decent people who do a good job. But there are too many who let the power go to their heads.

I think the cops who are in favor of cameras know that they will certainly help both “sides” of a confrontation. The cop will be somewhat protected against false claims of excessive force, and the citizen will be equally protected from that force. The cops who are against it? Makes me wonder…

@John LockeIf you were a white male with long hair in the ‘60s &’70s you didn’t have to be “… on hand for mischief.” to have a lot of police encounters. If you were/are black,well…@jrmermClearly unconstitutional and a little pricey. I don’t believe you mean it but there are people who think that’s a good idea.

There’s been a bill introduced in the CA Assembly that would mandate that police write reports and take statements before footage is reviewed. That seems like a very good idea to me.

It’s about police killing suspects..CCTV did a documentary on this.http://english.cntv.cn/2015/04/16/VIDE1429142520773628.shtml.Much of Russia TV is about things the US has done presented in the most negative light. But now CCTV is getting into the act..One problem is like the problem of thieves. If you are in a room with 499 honest people and one thief and you go off to the porcelain convenience and leave your wallet or purse on the table, your money will be gone when you get back, even though 99.8% of the people are honest. And if 99999 cops only protect and serve, but one shoots you with minimal provocation, you’re just as dead..As someone who was in arrears from the day my ex filed and the judge ordered me to give her 105% of my income and assets, and my lawyers all told me I was definitely going to the Workhouse for life at hard labour without the possibility of parole, since I would stay in the Workhouse until I had paid the last penny (and it’s hard to get 105 pennies out of every dollar), I can see why the man ran. I certainly did..In Texas, if a suspect is running away, the cop has every right to shoot him. But not in South Carolina. Or, at least, if the cop has the right to shoot him, he does NOT have the right to plant evidence when someone is filming with his phone..Some of the rwnj comments are that it’s been PROVED that the cop did not plant any evidence, that the felon was resisting arrest and the cop should never have been arrested, but commended for stopping a heinous felon who was about to get away..Or as we used to say: The Feds distributed a front and two side photos of a wanted man, and our Southern sheriff apprehended the three suspects but they were all killed resisting arrest.

Or to stay off the subway so I won’t see other people being hassled. That’s what happened in the story I told. Or stay out of a public park in Saranac New York. Or don’t come home from work at 2 in the morning (should I sleep in the bar?). If I were inclined to profile, I might say that high school principals in general are narrow-minded, half-education, and authoritarian. But that would be unfair.

I will just repeat what I said at the end of my first post on this thread: “Clearly we need police and I have no doubt that most police are decent people who do a good job. But there are too many who let the power go to their heads.”

@churchillwasrightTry reading the DOJ report on Ferguson as a start, if you are willing to entertain any facts which may disabuse you of your prejudices. Please refer me to a news story about any protest that paints all police as dirty. Why are people who want to improve society trying to tear it down in your eyes?

So, twclix you realize the very same argument could be used to disband teacher’s unions? They protect the bad ones too.

Placate what masses? What cooked statistics? You are cherry picking with the cop was innocent comment.Once again, please refer me to a news story about any protest that paints all police as dirty. Al Sharpton represents the entirety of protests against police prejudice and brutality? That’s ridiculous. For that matter, please provide me with a quote from Al Sharpton that states that all police are dirty.Your middle paragraph in your first post implies claims of reverse racism and implies that racial prejudice against non-whites no longer exists. Nonsense! Your comment about the others whose goal is to tear down society. People with whom you disagree are the ‘others’, some sort of subversives or anarchists who want to destroy your orderly little world. That sounds mildly fascistic to me.