Cato Institute Presentation on US Citizens Rights to Record Police...

[tom502]

Obama's Peace Officers at work.

[RobsanX]

The police chief of Wister, Oklahoma was caught on video slamming a 50-year-old woman into a wall then using a leg-sweep takedown on her, slamming her face onto the floor giving her a black eye, bruising her ribs, and dislocating her knee.

Another cop returning from foreign war, and waging his own little domestic war.

[sgreger1]

Another cop returning from foreign war, and waging his own little domestic war.

I think this is going to be a major issue in the future. one of the bad side effects of a prolonged 10 year war is that there are a lot of people (millions) who have been on 1 or more tours in Iraq/Afghanistan and will be coming back with PTSD. They tend to be attracted to jobs like police because of the financial incentive and because they already have some training in that field. This is going to lead to an army of cops with PTSD and who aren't afraid to pull the trigger. We are already starting to see the beginning of this, but we won't see it full scale untill the wars end and everyone eventually gets sent home.

[NonServiam]

Ask nonserviam, he is a cop. .

It's really not a police problem. It's a problem with just being a human. Of course not all people in an authoritarian position abuse that authority, but a few bad apples ruin it for the rest.
.

Very true. If all you ever saw from the media on a nightly basis was dentist after dentist raping patients while they were under anaesthetic, I too would become an anti-dentite. For every cop that abuses his authority, there are a hundred more that do not.

I have no problem with being videotaped, and I don't feel it should be punishable by law. Do I like being videotaped? No. But I also don't like having my picture taken around christmas time or birthday parties. I just don't like being on film. And in today's age of technology, I'm always a little paranoid of how my captured image could be manipulated (nude except for a gun belt!) or taken out of context.

But as someone said earlier, I am in the public eye, and with that comes the consequence of possibly being caught on film. I understand that people break out their cameras due to one of two reasons...either they have become extremely afraid of police encounters due to the media or they have had bad experiences in the past. I cannot fault them for that.

I would say that 90% of the time, the person doing the filming is uncooperative or aggressive because they have formed a predisposed notion of who I am and what I do. But that is fine. Film all you want, but I doubt you will find anything of value from me to help your case of brutality.

And yes RobsanX, as Sgreger mentioned, people do break out the camera phones on occasion and begin to narrate events which have not occurred, or exaggerate their circumstances. Some people are just looking to file a lawsuit and make a quick buck.

In all my years of service, I have yet to be complained on once. It's a job that changes your perspective on humanity when all you ever see is the worst of people. It is very difficult to not acquire the "Us Vs. Them" mentality because of the under-appreciation, prejudices, and snap-to critical judgements of the public.

If you're not out enforcing traffic laws...you're lazy. If you write tickets all day...you should be fighting "real crime". If you cut a break to a group of underaged kids drinking beer and smoking cigarettes...you're not doing what our tax dollars pay for. If you arrest them...you're just being a bully and harassing kids. You truly are damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I do not want a police state, and perhaps things are tending to gravitate that direction. I hope it does not in my time. Police of some establishment is a must. Mediators and those who restore order have been present throughout all of history. If you abolish police departments and become an anarchy, it is only natural that certain individuals within communities will assume the role of peacekeeper. Maybe that's the problem today, we have forgotten the meaning of "Peace Officer". Below is a short commentary by the late Paul Harvey. Whether you support cops, are anti-cop, or indifferent, I think you will still find truth in his words.

[sgreger1]

Thanks NonServiam. And Paul Harvey is the man, I used to listen to him when I was young before he died. I liked how he said "..Good day" at the end in that weird tone lol.

[lxskllr]

While the greater message is worth hearing, I take issue with Harvey's .5% bad figure. My empirical evidence is in the double digit percentage.

On the subject of the drug war. Here's where our tax dollars are going...

http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/drug-war-victim/

[NonServiam]

While the greater message is worth hearing, I take issue with Harvey's .5% bad figure. My empirical evidence is in the double digit percentage.

On the subject of the drug war. Here's where our tax dollars are going...

http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/drug-war-victim/

As far as Harvey's "less than 1/2 of 1%" statistic. I don't know if that was accurate at the time he wrote this. I just interpret it as meaning that for the most part cops are professional, law abiding, and policy abiding. That there is bad apples in every profession, and comparatively speaking to other positions of trust (doctors, teachers, clergy, etc...).

I don't dispute the negative impacts of the drug war. Hence my LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) signature.

[sgreger1]

While the greater message is worth hearing, I take issue with Harvey's .5% bad figure. My empirical evidence is in the double digit percentage.

On the subject of the drug war. Here's where our tax dollars are going...

http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/drug-war-victim/

Man, that page should be printed out as flyers and tossd around washington. 1 for every death.

[justintempler]

Obama's Peace Officers at work.

tom you mean your Kentucky boys are working for Obama?
Who woulda thunk it.

About the Kentucky Peace Officers' Association, Inc.
Having been organized in 1935 and incorporated in 1941 as a non-profit corporation, the Kentucky Peace Officers' Association, Inc. is the Commonwealth's oldest professional organization for law enforcement officers. Full-time, sworn peace officers in Kentucky from all walks are eligible for active membership. Those who are employed full time as law enforcement administrators or instructors are eligible for active membership provided they have been sworn peace officers prior to becoming an administrator and/or instructor. Retired peace officers are also eligible for active membership.

http://www.kpoa.info/

[bipolarbear1968]

What's up with that Tom? (lol)

[justintempler]

3:25 Pa. cop telling this guy he is violating wiretap law...

[sgreger1]

3:25 Pa. cop telling this guy he is violating wiretap law...

This guy is exactly the kind of deuche i would hate dealing with if i was a cop. This is what i was talking about earlier, when people do shit on purpose to try and get noticed by cops and then go on and on about their rights and play the whole armchair lawyer thing.

The guy is of course completely correct in everything he said, but it doesnt change the fact that i hate smug bastards like him. Funny sign though lol. Hes right, how is what he doing any less protected than when christians hold "kill the fags" rallies?


But god i hate aclu types. They are very selective in whos american civil liberties they are willing to defend.

[raptor]

This guy is exactly the kind of deuche i would hate dealing with if i was a cop. This is what i was talking about earlier, when people do shit on purpose to try and get noticed by cops and then go on and on about their rights and play the whole armchair lawyer thing.

This is why you're not a cop.

But god i hate aclu types. They are very selective in whos american civil liberties they are willing to defend.

Selective enough to even defend fundamentalist (polygamist) mormons.

[justintempler]

This guy is exactly the kind of deuche i would hate dealing with if i was a cop. This is what i was talking about earlier, when people do shit on purpose to try and get noticed by cops and then go on and on about their rights and play the whole armchair lawyer thing.

The guy is of course completely correct in everything he said, but it doesnt change the fact that i hate smug bastards like him. Funny sign though lol. Hes right, how is what he doing any less protected than when christians hold "kill the fags" rallies?


But god i hate aclu types. They are very selective in whos american civil liberties they are willing to defend.

He is being a douche on purpose, he is trying to make a point. He just wants the same right to be offensive as ummm... let's say, Christians picketing outside an abortion clinic.

I don't like the guy either, but the cop is wrong.

[sgreger1]

He is being a douche on purpose, he is trying to make a point. He just wants the same right to be offensive as ummm... let's say, Christians picketing outside an abortion clinic.

I don't like the guy either, but the cop is wrong.

And i said the cop was obviously wrong too. Im just saying people like that have no life and just want to draw attention to themselves. He is no better than the idiots who take off work to walk around with "god hates fags" signs. They are all just a bunch of attention whores.