Clay Bennett for April 13, 2021

Wow.

How very christ-like!

They feel that, on the streets, they can elevate a situation and then apply the death penalty for alleged crimes that do not carry death penalty sentences in court…

Why do I feel so much safer in countries where the police, or at least many of them are not carrying fire arms – and of course the general population isn’t either?

“I’m NOT Judge Judy and Executioner!” (Hot Fuzz)

In a sane country…. unfortunately, this is not a sane country. I keep thinking about how to find ways to eliminate the total insanity of the second amendment. So far nothing…. Except maybe…better mental health advocacy…begining with applications for reproduction permits…why is parenthood such a crap shoot? Perhaps ….maybe the violence in our society is …generic?… Or maybe…is the drive for violence an adrenaline- addiction? Or maybe…a self-destruction mechanism for overloaded societies that can no longer function rationally! Or …..or?. …..

Exactly and their unions, that have forgotten why they were needed originally, encourage it. The only solution is better recruitment, screening and training in conjunction with supervision and management that supports a culture of interacting with the support disciplines.

Then add minimal education requirements beyond high school with degrees (at least associate degrees) in two majors/disciplines: CJ and another. One of the two disciplines can be waived with four years and honorable discharge from military service.

The taxpayers have to improve salaries to meet the requirements or keep paying multi-million dollar lawsuits. Finally, the culture of the thin blue line of silence needs to end. Silence is violence.

Spot on, Clay!

A Fox-NOT-News reporter was trying to deflect criticism of the officer by reading a list of run-ins Wright had with the police. NONE OF THAT has anything to do with the officer grabbing her service pistol AFTER shouting “Taser”. Police protocol is that officers holster their service pistol on their “dominant” (i.e. “strong”) hand side and the taser on their “off” (i.e. weak) hand side. This policy is also espoused by the manufacturer of the taser. Also, the holsters and grips are different between pistols and tasers.

The Fox (so-called) reporter also, apparently, said something about how the incident hurt the officer’s life. The “incident” didn’t do anything positive for Wright’s life either.

Regarding that shocking episode with the Army lieutenant in Windsor, Virginia, a while ago, at least no one was killed, but it was a striking example of Lincoln’s dictum that “if you want to know a man’s real character, give him power”. At least they (fairly quickly) fired the cop.

Potter is another TRAINING officer (like Chauvin) that killed someone. A properly trained officer should be able to recognize which weapon is on what side and how different each weapon feels.

Nailed it!!

Oh Clay, wish I didn’t feel this was so very accurate; sadly so.

Oooh. I know this one. It’s: “Who Is Derek Chauvin?”

Was George Floyd’s drug addiction a capital offense? If so, is a street cop authorized to be judge, jury, and executioner?

All police should have annual screenings for mental stability, anger issues, power madness. Lets face it….there are good cops and there are bad cops….and sometimes good cops become bad cops because of bad experiences.

Judge Dredd was created by a Brit over 40 years ago to look at the absurdity of how cops act in the USA. The parody is very nearly the reality….

There are many, many factors that enable police violence & racism is certainly one of them, but racism is certainly not the sole factor nor is it necessarily the most significant cause. From what I’ve read & experienced, we need to look at the experience of those hired to be police officers, particularly those who cite their military service in the Middle East, e.g., Iraq, Afghanistan, as well as smaller deployments in Africa.

The preponderant military training they received instilled an “us vs. them” mentality. That’s not a mind-set that transfers effectively to policing, where the presumed ethos is “to protect & serve.” The “us vs. them” mentality is often reïnforced in the police locker room & within the day-to-day banter between partners & long-term comrades.

The latest murder in Minneapolis is an example of that “us vs. them” mind-set asserting itself. Whether or not the police officer who murdered Daunte Wright had military experience or not, I believe she & her partner mishandled the incident from the get-go. Yes, there was an outstanding arrest warrant for Wright. The arrest warrant was for a misdemeanor, not a felony. The police officers’ combined handling of Wright was completely out of proportion to the misdemeanor offense on which the outstanding warrant was based.

What right-thinking law-enforcement officer, indeed, what right-thinking untrained civilian, would contend that lethal force is warranted to enforce a misdemeanor arrest warrant? I believe the police officer who murdered Wright did err in thinking she held a Taser rather than an automatic in her hand, but one must ask “why?” did she believe that.

I think the Chauvin trial has rattled police officers nationwide, even more so in Minneapolis, & her “us vs. them” mind-set kicked in. I think she overreäcted & “thought” she had grabbed her Taser, but her muscle memory had already kicked in—prompted by her “us vs. them” mentality—& she grabbed her gun and shot.

@brwydave – And exactly, where do you live??