Absolutely brutal. Listen Im not saying cops are bad. My moms a law enforcement officer and she does incredibly good work. But I got beat up by a police office when I was 16 for telling him not to be an asshole by give someone a $500 littering ticket after they threw a biodegradable cigarette butt on the ground. Told him thats what gives cops a bad name and that the guy in particular who threw his butt on the ground was actually one of three teenagers helping clean up after a ravine party got broken up, I was one of the three as well. His response? Hit me in the knee with his night stick and keep smashing my head into a cop cruiser if I tried telling him I was being arrested for nothing. He removed a soft cast and and started wrenching on my wrist which had just come out of surgery not even a month before. He put me into handcuffs so tightly my broken hand was fully numb and purple. When my Dad picked me up at the cop shop, its one the most disappointed hes been in me in my life. The cop told him I was acting drunk and disorderly. I may have been underaged, but I shared a pack of cold shots that night, and the party got broken up before anyone could drink much more than that. I was tipsy at worst. He put on his nicest face and smiled when he told my dad I was lucky not to have been charged with resisting arrest and causing a disturbance. His response to me saying handing out a petty littering to a kid who literally just helped other police officers pick up a bunch of bottles and garbage was something that gives cops a bad name? Beat me up for it and press whatever charges against me to make it seem like that was an appropriate action. On the official police report? Nothing about hitting me with his night stick, nothing about repeatedly hitting my head on the cruiser, nothing about the fact he manipulated my broken hand fresh from surgery. All so he could assert his dominance. He even called my mom a shitty failure of a mom if she was a cop a with a kid who didnt show the proper respect to a police officer. I guess trying to hold a police officer like that to a higher standard of morality and professionalism isnt showing the proper kind of respect. I suppose the proper kind of respect to a police officer like that is shut up, dont question me, Im an officer of the law and that is essentially a licence for me to do what I want. The entire time, the EXACT same officer who I had just spent an hour cleaning up the ravine with, a really cool cop who told me 4 cold shots isnt a big deal man. Thanks so much for helping to clean up down here, youre a good kid. Stood by and did nothing as this officer completely abused his authority. I know my case isnt exactly as extreme as these. In fact, compared to these situations, the cop I dealt with actually seems pretty decent. Thanks for not just shooting me pal. But it embodies what I think is wrong with law enforcement today. First of all, Im obviously not black... So this isnt just about race (however unarmed black men are 80% more likely to be shot dead than unarmed white men, so it is a factor). This is about law enforcement who dont really care about the law - they care about asserting dominance through making hasty decisions that dont reflect the nature of their oath to serve and protect. This is about police officers pressing charges that dont reflect the nature of crimes. I wasnt drunk and disorderly. However, apparently officers need no evidence. They need a story and the correct charge and their word is taken like gold. Apparently the testimony of an office IS irrefutable evidence. And that is wrong, because cops are as capable, if not more motivated than anyone else to lie if it means they can get away with whatever they want. This is about all the good police officers out there, like the one who picked up garbage with me, who do absolutely nothing to hold their brothers in law accountable to the same level of service they provide to the public. What good are good cops if they do nothing to keep the bad ones at bay? This is about a cop who beat up a mouthy, but innocent 16 year old, to assert dominance yet I, the mouthy yet innocent 16 year old, had no accountability system I could pursue to clear my name and see the cop punished for his actions. Every single day, police are abusing their power. They are making fatal mistakes, under the guise of I was scared for my life that cost innocent civilians their lives. They are committing policy brutally, they are planting evidence they are acting illegally. And literally nothing is done to reprimand them. Nothing is done to hold them accountable for their actions. Nothing is done to send the message Cops are not here to assert dominance and enforce their interpretations of the law scrupulously, they are here to serve and protect the innocent civilians and apprehend suspected criminals for the justice system to determine an appropriate sentencing. Nothing that courts, or judges, or police departments have done seen to send the message that this just has to stop. That something has to change. Police officers are becoming an entity above the law, rather than being at one with with. Under the same law. They should be most scrutinized for not fulfilling their duties, yet they are Scott free, because they are cops. I remember a video of 5 officers tasering an old lady multiple times. No badges were revoked, no one got a suspension without pay. They just got away with it. And will continue to. Let me finish by saying I have the utmost respect for the principle of law enforcement. But I am losing respect for how the law enforcement agencies in North America operate. Their spinelessness in holding bad police officers accountable is not something as a people we can tolerate. I hope if any officers out there are reading this, who know they are good cops, who know that law enforcement does more good than bad then I urge you to stop defending yourselves. Stop defending law enforcement. Its time accept its not a perfect system. It is not without fault. That law enforcement is not above the law. Take action, take big action, to root out these bad cops who are giving YOU a bad name. Dont retaliate against the public for being upset with this situation, retaliate against the fellow officers who are instigating these situations.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 14:08:04 +0000
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