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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The best hope is opposing blocks that result in something like this.

The “reasonable block”:
- Balcombe
- Sayles
- Katz
- Friedson
- Albornoz

The “worrying block”:
- Stewart
- Mink
- Jawando
- Fani Gonzalez
- Glass

The “tie breaker”:
- Luedtke

[/quote]

I’m definitely concerned about the “worrying block.” Kate Stewart’s website says she wants to work to fully implement the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force recommendations. The police are already so short-staffed, and that report calls for further reductions. Specifically, a 50% reduction in force is suggested for Wheaton and Silver Spring, two districts experiencing an increase in crime. I know she’ll have support on this council, so I worry about how this will affect people living in those districts AND how it will affect remaining officers.[/quote]

Sounds like a disaster.[/quote]
yea, let's reduce the police force in high crime areas. That'll teach those criminals.  Or maybe progressives think that the criminals will feel less threatened so they'll be less likely to commit a crime?  [b]I honestly don't understand how their mind works.[/b][/quote]

I'll explain. I don't want to live in a police state. Society can't be run by police. We need to improve society to take care of the problems causing all this crime. We can't just continue pumping out criminals and pumping out police. That's not a decent, intelligent, thought-out solution, and not the kind of society I want to live in. Also not the kind of society we used to have. Police are not the answer.[/quote]

Where do police fit in? We can provide better mental health services, improve k-12 education, increase access to health care, work toward more affordable housing… we can do all of this, and there will still be crime. It’s very naive to assume otherwise. What then? Who responds? You say police aren’t the answer, but be logical. Sometimes they are the ONLY answer. I assume you live somewhere with low crime. I don’t. I feel better with police in my neighborhood. I’m well aware many of my neighbors do, as well. Supporting police is not equal to calling for a police state. (Who is actually calling for that anyway? That’s simply hyperbole. We just want elected officials to work WITH police instead of making the job so undesirable that we can’t even hire any, which is where we are.) 
[/quote]

We need police who work WITH the community, too. The police are bizarre -- they're like a military force. I do live in a relatively safe neighborhood, and I used to call the police when I saw issues, but now I don't. Now I really have to ask myself if calling the police will make things better or just end in someone being killed.

We need to change the way the police are trained. They're trained to make hair-trigger decisions as if each interaction is a matter of life or death. I get that that is true sometimes, but not all the time. Common sense goes a long way.

We have a societal problem. More police won't solve it.[/quote]

Yes, we have a societal problem. Yes, police are part of the solution. Your viewpoint, which comes dangerously close to "all cops are bad," actually perpetuates much of the problem. The truth is, what you say is not backed up by FACT. Most police interactions result in absolutely no use of force. Let's use MCPD data instead of national data, which pays respect to the fact we have a highly-trained and well-regarded department. (Well, it isn't well-regarded by some council members.) Here's 2021 data:

"In 2021, there were 593 incidents where some type of force was used in response to resistance reported, an increase of 25% from 2020. That means force was used by officers in 0.32 percent of the total dispatched calls for service. In 92 percent of incidents, officers used no protective instruments or weapons. Instead, officers used only their hands while attempting to place a subject in custody or otherwise gain control of them. Similarly, this was the most common type of force used against our officers by subjects, in a year in which the number of assaults on officers increased by 13 percent." It seems as if our police use A LOT of common sense. 
Source: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pol/Resources/Files/Annual-Reports/UseOfForce/2021%20MCPD%20Use%20of%20Force%20Report.pdf

The simple truth is that calling the police, especially MCPD, will NOT "just end in someone being killed." It's this faulty thinking that perpetuates the social media-driven attack on police and it is unfair to the men and women who do the job honorably. There are many, and I recommend you AND the new council should go and meet them. I also recommend you look into how they are trained. Fortunately, MCPD has a Citizen's Academy for which you can apply. It will give you insight into the profession and you can feel more comfortable with the police we have in this county. We need fewer people who are willing to go on the attack. You admit you live in a safe area, so I'm guessing you don't feel the need for them as much as some of us do. We would appreciate more support when it comes to public safety.

[/quote]

LOL, no, my attitude does not perpetuate much of the problem. I live in Montgomery County. Even if police interaction doesn't end in someone being killed, there are plenty of interactions with police that I find disturbing -- like that 19 year old who had his head covered in his own shirt and then banged against the cement repeatedly, while handcuffed, while other officers just stood there looking bored. Frankly, I don't want my society to operate like that. I don't approve of people who behave like that. I certainly don't respect them. No one that dead to others should be a police officer -- and there are obviously plenty like them, otherwise these other police would have been reacting instead of just standing there like, ho hum. I expect more of the police than the type of officers we have. Sorry.[/quote]

You'll need to provide some actual proof, like I did above, for any of this to be credible and convincing. Certainly that anecdote you wrote about would be one of the documented uses of force, so you should be able to find proof for us. Also, there are 1,300 officers in MCPD. (Well, that's not true. We've had a TON of people resign because of working conditions, so we're below that number.) If you are going to hold over 1,000 people accountable for vague beliefs, then there is no helping you. You say there are "plenty of them," but I am willing to bet you've never attended a MCPD ride-along or gone to a MCPD-sponsored event.  You see, MCPD actually does a lot of community policing. People who live within the community (like me) attend them, so we have a different perception of the police than what social media tells us to believe.

You "expect more," yet you don't even know what you have. [/quote]

Here you go. Look at all the other offices milling around, bored. Disgusting.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bF4lPxY0rs[/youtube][/quote]
If I was attacked and robbed by a Black man, should I assume all Black men are violent criminals? You don't want cops to profile black people but you have no problem profiling all cops?[/quote]

I'm not in charge of black men. I am in charge of police in my community. I'm glad we have cell phones now, and can see how they really behave. We need an overhaul.[/quote]
you are not "in charge" of the police, but even so, the same rule applies.. if you don't want people to stereotype and lump black people together, then don't do that to other groups.

I have no problem with making sure that the police are held accountable for their bad actions. But, I'm not going to assume every single cop is bad, just as I don't assume every single black man is bad.[/quote]

No one is saying every single cop is bad. LOL, wouldn't it be great if winning an argument were that easy, PP?

We need reform. The culture of policing is f'ed up. We all know it.[/quote]

No, we don’t “all know it.” I’m all for reform after we take a look at what we already have. We have a good department. You’ve had multiple people on this thread tell you that.

If you want to learn about the culture of policing, take the step to do a ride-along or apply for the Citizen’s Academy.[/quote]

I think we differ on the level of basic decency. I expect more of the police than you and some on this thread do. We can do better. And we will, without your help.[/quote]

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