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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There are definitely bad, racist cops, but the current national anti-cop sentiment reminds me a bit of the anti-vet mood during the Vietnam war and subsequent years. Even though some soldiers were horrible and committed war crimes (eg, Mai Lai massacre), as a group in general, vets deserved more respect and were entitled to the benefit of the doubt. [/quote]

I know several police officers in DC, Baltimore and MoCo...including African American officers. Here's what each of them has told me: it's not a racist thing, it's a fear thing.

Police officers shoot when they are overcome with fear. Those who remain under control often don't even draw their weapons. Fear motivates them. Having said that, they each recognize that racial bias can prompt irrational fear. But they were quick to point out that stereotypes come from somewhere...including decades of working in areas where you know chances are the guy you are dealing with has a gun.

I'm not defending the egregious police shootings we've recently witnessed via media. But I do see the point each of my five police officer friends have made: it's fear, not some purely hillbilly racist act.

Remember the viral video of the white cop who was a recent war veteran and he talked down a white guy with a gun who very clearly wanted the cop to shoot him? That cop was able to control his fear...because he was a young, brave veteran who was used to high stress situations and had been trained in deescalation tactics by the military. And perhaps more importantly, he was a new cop who simply hadn't had the chance to develop a fear or bias related to the job.

Honestly, I think the new training should be if you are scared then get back in your car and leave rather than shoot. Maybe the locals will develop a new appreciation for the security police bring if they dial it down a notch and people realize how out of control things get.[/quote]

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