Oh, and for the record, I once got pulled over doing 56 in a 40 without proof of insurance (it was my mom’s car) and with an outstanding bench warrant over owing my ex $, and the guy let me off with a warning. So not all cops are jerks, it’s just that the job seems to attract a large number of people who get off on authority. Add to that the fact that all cops and cop administrators, even the good ones, reflexively defend all cop policies and procedures (”the thin blue line” mentality), plus the above mentioned increased militarization of our police forces, and you end up with people getting abused.

I’m tired of hearing cops complain how crappy their jobs are and using the fact that they have a dangerous job to justify abuse of power. Nobody put a gun to their heads to join the force.

They work for and serve the public. If they don’t like it, they should find other work.

rokemronnie on December 2, 2007 at 2:40 PM

It’s my position that you do what the officer tells you to do.

JetBoy

So if the Detroit police sgt. who was recently indicted for multiple counts of sexual misconduct while on the job had pulled you over and demanded oral sex what would you do?

Prosecutor: Officer Forced Couples To Have Sex:

Claims mount for cop in sex case
Bad day for cops: Three others face charges in unrelated incidents across Metro Detroit.

Woman says cop made her ’sex slave’

rokemronnie on December 2, 2007 at 2:57 PM

Well, in the process of going about his business, the driver was speeding and had no rear plate. He also decided to question the cop instead of just giving him his paperwork. When out of the car, he refused to put his hands on the car.

It’s clear that larger abstract concepts exemplified by the United States Constitution are beyond your grasp. The fact that some people are criminals does not allow the police to act like criminals as well.

What’s the point of having law enforcement if we’re all allowed to disobey it when we feel like it?

What’s the point of having constitutional rights? Law enforcement is the one area where the state can most affect your life because you can be deprived of your liberty and in some cases your life. For that reason, because the power of the state is so great, law enforcement must necessarily be constrained to avoid abuse of power.

As I said…this instance seemed a little quick to taze. But it could have been avoided if the driver just simply did what was asked of him.

It seems as if you are in a distinct minority of people that see the driver as not cooperating.

rokemronnie on December 2, 2007 at 3:26 PM

From the link above:

Several Austin police officers want to apologize to the man who was shocked by another officer’s Taser on Thanksgiving in 2006.

The group includes at least two board members of the Austin Police Association, which in recent years has been criticized by some community groups that say it too quickly defends officers accused of wrongdoing.

“If one person spreads the word that this is how he was treated and got no apology, it is just an infection that would spread,” said Matt Greer, who represents the detective rank on the union board.

New Police Chief Art Acevedo posted on an internal Web site Saturday evening a video in which Cpl. Thomas O’Connor used his Taser on Eugene Snelling, 32, after stopping him along MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) on Thanksgiving Day 2006 for going 5 miles per hour over the speed limit…

Acevedo said he will use the video to help train officers about how to better perform such stops to prevent similar incidents.

Police association Vice President Wuthipong “Tank” Tantaksinanukij said he wants to tell Snelling that “this is an unfortunate incident, and I’m sorry you went through it.”

He said he also wants Snelling to know that the department includes professional, courteous officers.

The officers said they want to meet with Snelling as individual officers, not as representatives of the department or union.

Acevedo said Monday that he is heartened that officers viewing the video understand the corporal’s mistakes.

“The officers who are seeing it get it,” Acevedo said at a media briefing Monday. “Let’s face it: The majority of the cops are good officers. People just need to be told what the expectations are and will rise to them.”

…

Union President George Vanderhule said association representatives also have in recent weeks been reviewing how much it would cost the department to add more modern recording equipment to patrol cars, which would help supervisors more easily review traffic stops, enhance the audio and watch the tapes in slow motion.

In the O’Connor case, Vanderhule said, “Everybody I’ve talked to watches the tape and says the same thing, and that’s they felt like the officer erred … I’ve not heard any person yet say they thought the officer did well,” he said.

So JetBoy and SilverStar, now that the chief of police, the detectives’ rep on the union board, and the police union’s president all say that O’Connor was at fault, are you still going to defend him?

rokemronnie on December 2, 2007 at 3:38 PM

The link Valiant provide (and quoted above) is dated Oct. 2007 and it seems the new chief of police posted the video around that time. It was posted for training, so as to avoid over reaction. So, the new police chief and police union leader agree the officer “erred”.

And since the video was initially posted on an internal department web site, the fact that it made it to the internet means that O’Connor has his critics on the force.

rokemronnie on December 2, 2007 at 3:57 PM