Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not saying what the officer in this case did is right (though give him a hearing) but I do give police in general support. They are public servants, but the job they do merits support and respect. We will continue to see individual acts forever. Its not the goal, its reality. The only change will be institutional and that is not up to individual police to implement systemic changes so put the pressure on politicians and give the police support for the difficult, brave job most do every day.

If police officers were EVER held liable for their actions, these "individual acts" would dry up in a hot second. The individual acts are just symptoms of a system that values Black lives so low, that we don't hold police officers accountable for snuffing them out.

I disagree with you. Sorry. For one, they are held liable, They go in front of a judge or jury. Some are found guilty, some are not. That's being held liable.
As to valuing lives so low--yes, one incident in a country of 350million makes it look that way. Even 10 incidents. But if you look at the big picture I am not sure you can statistically make the case.

Good policing is good policing--and will impact all lives. I would start with the institution (there was a great op ed on this in the Post today; I disagree with parts of it--but the approach seems sound) and work backwards.

In the meantime, I need police in my life more than I don't need them. Sorry, that's a fact. It's like the argument people make about illegal immigrants--what if they all disappeared? What if the police all disappeared? Sorry. Not good.

I am very sorry for this man; I am So thankful he survived. I think there is clearly systemic change and supports (note that word--support) that should be added in. I will not blame all police.

nobody blamed all police. I agree with the PP who called you a halfwit

awesome. way to productively move the conversation forward. My orginal point, which caused so much consternation, and which I think is valid, is that each of these incidents is shocking horrid horrid.. But overall police do fantastic work and deserve our support. Last, there are valid reasons to ask for systemic change. Screaming fry em like bacon is not the way to get it. It may feel good, but it won't accomplish much. Smart advocacy, being empathetic to the risky job police do, and thoughtful suggestions (I've heard a few here) will help. BLM wants revolution. I am advocating transformation. But go ahead, be all Micheel Rhee about it. All the police will quit and where will we be?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not saying what the officer in this case did is right (though give him a hearing) but I do give police in general support. They are public servants, but the job they do merits support and respect. We will continue to see individual acts forever. Its not the goal, its reality. The only change will be institutional and that is not up to individual police to implement systemic changes so put the pressure on politicians and give the police support for the difficult, brave job most do every day.

If police officers were EVER held liable for their actions, these "individual acts" would dry up in a hot second. The individual acts are just symptoms of a system that values Black lives so low, that we don't hold police officers accountable for snuffing them out.

I disagree with you. Sorry. For one, they are held liable, They go in front of a judge or jury. Some are found guilty, some are not. That's being held liable.
As to valuing lives so low--yes, one incident in a country of 350million makes it look that way. Even 10 incidents. But if you look at the big picture I am not sure you can statistically make the case.

Good policing is good policing--and will impact all lives. I would start with the institution (there was a great op ed on this in the Post today; I disagree with parts of it--but the approach seems sound) and work backwards.

In the meantime, I need police in my life more than I don't need them. Sorry, that's a fact. It's like the argument people make about illegal immigrants--what if they all disappeared? What if the police all disappeared? Sorry. Not good.

I am very sorry for this man; I am So thankful he survived. I think there is clearly systemic change and supports (note that word--support) that should be added in. I will not blame all police.

nobody blamed all police. I agree with the PP who called you a halfwit

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not saying what the officer in this case did is right (though give him a hearing) but I do give police in general support. They are public servants, but the job they do merits support and respect. We will continue to see individual acts forever. Its not the goal, its reality. The only change will be institutional and that is not up to individual police to implement systemic changes so put the pressure on politicians and give the police support for the difficult, brave job most do every day.

If police officers were EVER held liable for their actions, these "individual acts" would dry up in a hot second. The individual acts are just symptoms of a system that values Black lives so low, that we don't hold police officers accountable for snuffing them out.

I disagree with you. Sorry. For one, they are held liable, They go in front of a judge or jury. Some are found guilty, some are not. That's being held liable.
As to valuing lives so low--yes, one incident in a country of 350million makes it look that way. Even 10 incidents. But if you look at the big picture I am not sure you can statistically make the case.

Good policing is good policing--and will impact all lives. I would start with the institution (there was a great op ed on this in the Post today; I disagree with parts of it--but the approach seems sound) and work backwards.

In the meantime, I need police in my life more than I don't need them. Sorry, that's a fact. It's like the argument people make about illegal immigrants--what if they all disappeared? What if the police all disappeared? Sorry. Not good.

I am very sorry for this man; I am So thankful he survived. I think there is clearly systemic change and supports (note that word--support) that should be added in. I will not blame all police.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not saying what the officer in this case did is right (though give him a hearing) but I do give police in general support. They are public servants, but the job they do merits support and respect. We will continue to see individual acts forever. Its not the goal, its reality. The only change will be institutional and that is not up to individual police to implement systemic changes so put the pressure on politicians and give the police support for the difficult, brave job most do every day.

If police officers were EVER held liable for their actions, these "individual acts" would dry up in a hot second. The individual acts are just symptoms of a system that values Black lives so low, that we don't hold police officers accountable for snuffing them out.

I disagree with you. Sorry. For one, they are held liable, They go in front of a judge or jury. Some are found guilty, some are not. That's being held liable.
As to valuing lives so low--yes, one incident in a country of 350million makes it look that way. Even 10 incidents. But if you look at the big picture I am not sure you can statistically make the case.

Good policing is good policing--and will impact all lives. I would start with the institution (there was a great op ed on this in the Post today; I disagree with parts of it--but the approach seems sound) and work backwards.

In the meantime, I need police in my life more than I don't need them. Sorry, that's a fact. It's like the argument people make about illegal immigrants--what if they all disappeared? What if the police all disappeared? Sorry. Not good.

I am very sorry for this man; I am So thankful he survived. I think there is clearly systemic change and supports (note that word--support) that should be added in. I will not blame all police.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For every egregious police act, can we also post every single good police act that occurred at that very same moment in time across our fifty states? Just for proportionality? I'm guessing if this is criminal--it's on video, will be investigated, and justice will be done. Will all the good police who were doing good work at the same time get commendations? Doubtful.

And what do you think was happening before we had cell phone videos and body cameras? Do you think these things were being investigated and wrongs being righted? In too many cases, I think police reports were adjusted to suit the officers involved. So karma is catching up with some officers - do you think it shouldn't?

In the meantime, we've all been appreciating the good acts the police do for as long as I can remember. It's only recently that we've learned that not every cop can be assumed to be a "good guy with a gun." Sooooo, it seems to me that we are only catching up with the reality as it has existed lo this many years but we just didn't know it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not saying what the officer in this case did is right (though give him a hearing) but I do give police in general support. They are public servants, but the job they do merits support and respect. We will continue to see individual acts forever. Its not the goal, its reality. The only change will be institutional and that is not up to individual police to implement systemic changes so put the pressure on politicians and give the police support for the difficult, brave job most do every day.

If police officers were EVER held liable for their actions, these "individual acts" would dry up in a hot second. The individual acts are just symptoms of a system that values Black lives so low, that we don't hold police officers accountable for snuffing them out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It appears that THIS cop was in the wrong-that does not make all cops bad!

+1. Pretty simple, and we can all recognize that, regardless of skin color.

Now let's hear from the BLM folks recognize that Mike Brown attacked the police guy and stole his gun, so all those riots and protests (remember the hands up dont shoot...) were pure BS.

Anonymous wrote:It appears that THIS cop was in the wrong-that does not make all cops bad!

Anonymous wrote:It appears that THIS cop was in the wrong-that does not make all cops bad!

Anonymous wrote:For every egregious police act, can we also post every single good police act that occurred at that very same moment in time across our fifty states? Just for proportionality? I'm guessing if this is criminal--it's on video, will be investigated, and justice will be done. Will all the good police who were doing good work at the same time get commendations? Doubtful.

Anonymous wrote:It appears that THIS cop was in the wrong-that does not make all cops bad!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For every egregious police act, can we also post every single good police act that occurred at that very same moment in time across our fifty states? Just for proportionality? I'm guessing if this is criminal--it's on video, will be investigated, and justice will be done. Will all the good police who were doing good work at the same time get commendations? Doubtful.

But police are supposed to do good things and act appropriately. It shouldn't be newsworthy.

+1 . I've never seen such a profession where people constantly feel the need to preface apologies for costly and lousy behavior with ' there are good cops out there' , 'not at all cops are bad' and blah blah . Fucking disgusting

Well, let's see. As a teacher, I can fully sympathize. We don't need medals in our field (sometimes body armor -but that's a different story), but I would like the attacks from the public to stop.

the problem? We've lost our need to "police" ourselves - no self-responsibility - and expect public servants to step in. But when a public servant makes a mistake, it's a Salem Witch Hunt. When Johnny comes to us hungry and dirty and we can't get him to read at grade level, it's our fault.

Police see repeat offenders and deal with dangerous situations on a daily basis. MOST of them want to help society, as do teachers. But if you're assigned a beat that's not exactly Mayberry, that beat will harden you and shape your views - sometimes in dangerous ways.

So yes, the public wants accountability, but it goes both ways. Let's say school is trying hard to get a 9th grader to jump to three reading levels and gives her a special class for support, a reading specialist, and extra time spent with teachers at lunch and after school. great, right? But when she goes home, there's no food on the table and she faces abuse each night. We can call CPS and involve the school psychologist, but we CANNOT undo the damage done at home. She cannot learn when she's emotionally and physically at risk.

Imagine how that affects the teachers emotionally and mentally. And then, multiply that 1 by 50 - b/c in schools where most kids live in poverty, MOST will be reading below grade level.

Yes, we are in it to help, but when societal ills are crammed down our throats, we are helpless. So we either burn out and leave (Look at the attrition rate of new teachers.) or look for "greener pastures."

Put a cop in a beat where all s/he sees are the worst case scenarios day after day, and what do you expect?