The use of profanity and name calling by the officers almost immediately is a pretty big indicator of a complete lack of professionalism and antagonistic emotions against this citizen. That fact gets at the real root of the problem that the public have with the police, you can't offer exceptional freedom and privilege without a commensurate increase in expectation of behavior. If you give someone a gun you would properly be alarmed when they start waving it around recklessly even if they don't pull the trigger.
The Slashdot post about this latest Baltimore incident...
This is happening so often in Baltimore that in 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the police reminding them that they cannot stop recordings, and most certainly cannot delete them.
I'd check his district first before you make that promise because well PA is gerrymandered to fuckall so he might be somewhere it's a safe bet he'll be elected :-p
Yes. 1. Lower the level of weaponization of the police. 2. Write new/better laws to more strictly enforce and punish misuse of police power. When chokeholds are a banned maneuver by the police, and using one to commit homicide against a black man is not punished in any way, the laws need to be rewritten. 3. Provide more power and means for people to seek defense against police actions, and remove police ability to successfully defend themselves by doing nothing. An officer can give a ticket, and if they don't show up when someone tries to dispute it in court, the dispute just automatically fails. Pretty much take any way in which police power is shown and known to be abused and find ways to prevent it. 4. Body cams on every cop, dashcams on every car, laws that ensure that all footage of an event be valid evidence in a court of law, regardless of source. This is a large and complex problem, but simple steps can be to ensure that things like this become harder and harder for the police to cover up. We've given officers a hell of a lot of power to put themselves into these positions, we need to take it back.
Third party investigations of police actions when possible comes have been committed. Appoint special investigators in place of district attorneys when prospecting police officers.
I can't remember the interview, but Officer Wilson was saying that his department didn't have enough enough tazers for every cop and that they are "uncomfortable to wear" on your belt. I can't imagine anyone who'd need them more than an officer on patrol. And I'm sure he wouldn't stop wearing a bullet proof vest because it's uncomfortable.
While a crap excuse, It might be an idea to have a federally funded mandate for one tazer for every cop in America and research for new non-lethal options.
I can't remember the interview, but Officer Wilson was saying that his department didn't have enough enough tazers for every cop and that they are "uncomfortable to wear" on your belt. I can't imagine anyone who'd need them more than an officer on patrol. And I'm sure he wouldn't stop wearing a bullet proof vest because it's uncomfortable.
While a crap excuse, It might be an idea to have a federally funded mandate for one tazer for every cop in America and research for new non-lethal options.
There should be a federally funded mandate to TAZE every cop in america. Then they might not be so quick to use them on anyone.
Lots of places require police and similar professionals to be tazed as part of their training. Both to be able to understand the effects when they use a taser, AND to be able to react as effectively as possible in the event that they are tazed in the line of duty.
Lots of places require police and similar professionals to be tazed as part of their training. Both to be able to understand the effects when they use a taser, AND to be able to react as effectively as possible in the event that they are tazed in the line of duty.
See also: the tear gas drills in the military.
I've seen some tazer trainings. Usually one or two people volunteer to be tazed. We gotta taze everyone. Maybe even have them all multi-tazed. Maybe let victims of police abuse do the tazing.
Lots of places require police and similar professionals to be tazed as part of their training. Both to be able to understand the effects when they use a taser, AND to be able to react as effectively as possible in the event that they are tazed in the line of duty.
See also: the tear gas drills in the military.
I've seen some tazer trainings. Usually one or two people volunteer to be tazed. We gotta taze everyone. Maybe even have them all multi-tazed. Maybe let victims of police abuse do the tazing.
When our town got tazers, any officer who was going to be licensed to use one got tazed. Our chief was on the front page of the local newspaper post-tazing.
Lots of places require police and similar professionals to be tazed as part of their training. Both to be able to understand the effects when they use a taser, AND to be able to react as effectively as possible in the event that they are tazed in the line of duty.
See also: the tear gas drills in the military.
I've seen some tazer trainings. Usually one or two people volunteer to be tazed. We gotta taze everyone. Maybe even have them all multi-tazed. Maybe let victims of police abuse do the tazing.
When our town got tazers, any officer who was going to be licensed to use one got tazed. Our chief was on the front page of the local newspaper post-tazing.
Have there been any major incidents of the police in your town abusing the tazers or using them inappropriately?
I've seen some tazer trainings. Usually one or two people volunteer to be tazed. We gotta taze everyone. Maybe even have them all multi-tazed. Maybe let victims of police abuse do the tazing.
No, Rym's right on this one - There's some places in the US where cops may not carry tasers without getting tazed themselves, Even in re-cert training. Washington, for example.
A lot of places, you've also got to take a hit of OC spray, too.
I've seen some tazer trainings. Usually one or two people volunteer to be tazed. We gotta taze everyone. Maybe even have them all multi-tazed. Maybe let victims of police abuse do the tazing.
No, Rym's right on this one - There's some places in the US where cops may not carry tasers without getting tazed themselves, Even in re-cert training. Washington, for example.
A lot of places, you've also got to take a hit of OC spray, too.
If someone who tazes someone inappropriately and has also been tazed themselves, that's a truly sick person.
Yes. 1. Lower the level of weaponization of the police. 2. Write new/better laws to more strictly enforce and punish misuse of police power. When chokeholds are a banned maneuver by the police, and using one to commit homicide against a black man is not punished in any way, the laws need to be rewritten. 3. Provide more power and means for people to seek defense against police actions, and remove police ability to successfully defend themselves by doing nothing. An officer can give a ticket, and if they don't show up when someone tries to dispute it in court, the dispute just automatically fails. Pretty much take any way in which police power is shown and known to be abused and find ways to prevent it. 4. Body cams on every cop, dashcams on every car, laws that ensure that all footage of an event be valid evidence in a court of law, regardless of source. This is a large and complex problem, but simple steps can be to ensure that things like this become harder and harder for the police to cover up. We've given officers a hell of a lot of power to put themselves into these positions, we need to take it back.
And in addition to all that we need to instill a sense of professionalism and accountability in the police force. All these things are aimed at forcing accountability, but if an officer acts unprofessionally and doesn't face consequences then they'll continue to act unprofessionally. They need to remember they're serving us not the other way around. My current partner at work as a civilian security officer told me straight up he got out of the force because the new guys coming in had the wrong attitudes.
Yes. 1. Lower the level of weaponization of the police. 2. Write new/better laws to more strictly enforce and punish misuse of police power. When chokeholds are a banned maneuver by the police, and using one to commit homicide against a black man is not punished in any way, the laws need to be rewritten. 3. Provide more power and means for people to seek defense against police actions, and remove police ability to successfully defend themselves by doing nothing. An officer can give a ticket, and if they don't show up when someone tries to dispute it in court, the dispute just automatically fails. Pretty much take any way in which police power is shown and known to be abused and find ways to prevent it. 4. Body cams on every cop, dashcams on every car, laws that ensure that all footage of an event be valid evidence in a court of law, regardless of source. This is a large and complex problem, but simple steps can be to ensure that things like this become harder and harder for the police to cover up. We've given officers a hell of a lot of power to put themselves into these positions, we need to take it back.
And in addition to all that we need to instill a sense of professionalism and accountability in the police force. All these things are aimed at forcing accountability, but if an officer acts unprofessionally and doesn't face consequences then they'll continue to act unprofessionally. They need to remember they're serving us not the other way around. My current partner at work as a civilian security officer told me straight up he got out of the force because the new guys coming in had the wrong attitudes.
Absolutely. "To protect and serve" is a far stretch from what we see in officers nowadays. The system needs to be remembered that government systems and rules are all a part of a contract. Both sides make concessions to the other in order to form the contract. We as citizens agree to pay taxes and follow laws, and in exchange we receive protection and guaranteed liberties and amenities from the government. We are not beholden to the government, the police, or any tax-funded organization as subjects. We are citizens of a country paying for our rights.
No argument there. Sadly, there's a lotta real sick people out there, and some of them have uniforms and badges.
I have a buddy who got tazed back in '07. Down south. This was after he was on the ground, in cuffs, with a knee in his back. The bad cops just see these things as fun little stress-relief punishment devices.
A little more to the story, which makes it that much worse: he had been drinking and had fallen off of a balcony. He had a concussion from the fall and was stumbling around outside, disoriented. Somebody called the cops because, hey, there's a big dude stumbling around outside (he's a big guy). He didn't resist, but they must have felt real intimidated by him, because they tackled him, roughed him up real good, cuffed, tazed.
Comments
The Slashdot post about this latest Baltimore incident...
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/14/12/12/144238/once-again-baltimore-police-arrest-a-person-for-recording-them
Sigh.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/27645689/ft-bend-police-prosecutors-accused-of-abuse-in-swat-incident
http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/12/11/john-mcnesby-bucks-county-cartoon-hell-bankruptcy/
1. Lower the level of weaponization of the police.
2. Write new/better laws to more strictly enforce and punish misuse of police power. When chokeholds are a banned maneuver by the police, and using one to commit homicide against a black man is not punished in any way, the laws need to be rewritten.
3. Provide more power and means for people to seek defense against police actions, and remove police ability to successfully defend themselves by doing nothing. An officer can give a ticket, and if they don't show up when someone tries to dispute it in court, the dispute just automatically fails.
Pretty much take any way in which police power is shown and known to be abused and find ways to prevent it.
4. Body cams on every cop, dashcams on every car, laws that ensure that all footage of an event be valid evidence in a court of law, regardless of source.
This is a large and complex problem, but simple steps can be to ensure that things like this become harder and harder for the police to cover up. We've given officers a hell of a lot of power to put themselves into these positions, we need to take it back.
While a crap excuse, It might be an idea to have a federally funded mandate for one tazer for every cop in America and research for new non-lethal options.
See also: the tear gas drills in the military.
A lot of places, you've also got to take a hit of OC spray, too.
A little more to the story, which makes it that much worse: he had been drinking and had fallen off of a balcony. He had a concussion from the fall and was stumbling around outside, disoriented. Somebody called the cops because, hey, there's a big dude stumbling around outside (he's a big guy). He didn't resist, but they must have felt real intimidated by him, because they tackled him, roughed him up real good, cuffed, tazed.