Guy Who Shadowed A Cop For A Night Tells How It Completely Changed His Opinion On Police In This Viral Twitter Thread
Interview
In the midst of the George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter movement, more and more people are speaking out against injustice. And Sean Trainor, a writing professor at the University Of Florida, had a lot to say about this matter.
When Sean was “younger and dumber,” he spent a night shadowing a police officer classmate in what he called “one of the most chilling and radicalizing nights of my life.” He detailed everything that happened during the distressing ride-along in this now-viral Twitter thread. “His entire shift had been devoted to profiling, harassing, and intimidating people,” concluded Sean in a series of tweets that ripped many people’s hearts out of their chests.
Sean recalled his distressing ride-along with a police officer friend in this viral Twitter thread
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
In an interview with Bored Panda, Sean said that the whole experience of that ride-along shaped his personal belief that the problem of policing is systematic and institutional. “I haven’t talked to the person I did the ride-along with in years, but, at that time, we were close, and I remember him during those years as an incredibly kind person and caring friend.”
Unfortunately, according to Sean, his former friend “was embedded in this system that trained him and incentivized him to do harmful stuff.” It suggests that “even if police forces were staffed entirely with people like my classmate, they’d still be destructive because,” continued Sean, “cruelty is baked into their metrics, their goals, their history and institutional purpose.”
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Sean said that when he did the ride-along, he was a pretty ignorant kid. “If I had written up the experience the night after it happened, my report would have looked different than what I posted last Sunday.” But in the years that followed, the things he saw kept resonating with “scenes described by both scholars of racism and policing, especially people of color.” These perspectives have changed his understanding of the night’s events forever.
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Sean concluded that “I genuinely believe that policing in the US is a dangerous, dysfunctional institution; that it provides critical support to white supremacy and class domination; and that it needs to be radically reconceived.”
But it’s not only the police system that’s inherently flawed. Sean argues that “every institution in the US is intertwined with both white supremacy and class domination—including my own institution of academia. “If we’re serious about building a better world, we need to change a lot more than policing.” It comes down to changing both institutions and individual attitudes.
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Image credits: ess_trainor
Sean Trainor is a writer and historian currently teaching undergraduate and graduate classes on professional writing at the University of Florida’s Management Communication Center. As a writer and historian, Sean “uses the communication skills to teach students to translate historical scholarship into public insights.”
He also hosts the podcast Impolitic, which is dedicated to “friendly arguments between a libertarian and a socialist on politics, culture, and history.” Together with co-host Paul Matzko, Sean discusses hot social and political topics like the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement.
In a recent episode titled “No Justice, No Peace,” Sean discussed the protests and urban rebellions sweeping the US after George Floyd’s murder, with detours on ’60s radicalism and reaction, social movement theory, and the rise of the Soviet bureaucracy.
A lot of people joined the thread to comment
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Meanwhile, police have never showed up to any of my or my mother's emergency calls. Maybe there'd be less dead people of police stopped picking fights on the streets and actually responded to the people screaming for actual help.
Yes. I tried to call for help once. Eventually the cop showed up, told me to stop calling about an argument with my lover, and generally told me that the guy breaking into my house at midnight was somehow MY fault/problem/etc. When I told the cop, "I'm married, I don't have a boyfriend!" he just leered like, "Sure, yeah, uh-huh, whatever". And those are the cops who trained the cops we have NOW.... It's been over 20 years and I still remember how the cop left me more scared than the guy breaking into my home did.
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A few weeks of education as typical for a cop in the US may be enough to learn to fire a gun but undoubtedly not to de-escalate a situation under stress. I prefer the years of training police officers get over here. It stops them from destroying lifes (including their own) and rather, well, to serve and protect.
There is now a push to defund police depts here. You'd think there would be a push for funding for more and better police education.some countries, cop school is 2-3 years. In some areas of the U.S., training is on the job. At least one of the cops with George Floyd was actually being trained by the idiot on his neck. No wonder we have problems
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We fear even off-duty cops in my area, and even if we're not POC. One was so whacked out on power/PTSD/whatever (he'd done a stint in Afghanistan, came home uber-conservative and angry)... he threatened to use hsi badge against someone if they didn't cut down a perfectly health tree b/c, no joke, "it obscures my line of fire from my front door". Down came the tree. Did he need help? Yes. Did he become a cop to cope with his issues? Apparently, yes. Did he eventually move away? Yes. And another cop lives down the road now. And we all have to be careful of not offending him, his wife, his kid, his dog... *sigh*
I've had quite the opposite experience. I've been helped by the police and was shown kindness. I've seen police help people of different skin colour. I've even heard police defend people of other skin colours. I don't think ALL police are bad at all. I think bad people are bad peoples whatever their colour or job. Please don't generalise about people, that's what people who are racist do and look where that gets people...
The problem is that the "good" cops will never, ever, report the bad cops, or even intervene to stop them (and on the occasions that they do, they get fired.) That's the "blue wall of silence." So if the "good" cops won't take action to stop the "bad" cops, are the "good" cops actually good?
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When I worked with people with disabilities we had what we called 'behavior houses' where the residents were combative or otherwise agressive. As staff, we were very limited in what we could do, physically, to neutralize a situation. While they might have been agressive, or even dangerous, we recognized that the people we cared for had rights that must be respected. So we had specialized training that focused on empathetic methods of verbal deescalazation. Why the hell aren't cops trained the same way? Seriously. It's one of the very first lessons we learn as children. 'Use your WORDS and not your HANDS.' And the words they use need to be focused on keeping the energy level as low as possible. Instead I keep seeing examples of police culture that likes to poke the wasp nest with a stick just to have an excuse to mace it.
This just makes me to my stomach. These people are supposed to protect us and make us feel safe. Resolve any dispute we have with each other. Be strict but just. Exactly like a parent. But this... this is beyond sickening. Harassing people for no reason, killing people for no reason, destroying lives for no reason. It has to stop. Now.
Nobody was killed or harassed in this example, and it sounds like you're saying this example is proof of both of those things.
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Police should be trained, screened and hired like public servants, social workers, and hospital staff. Police should also lose immunity to prosecution, and when they do commit a crime on duty, and get convicted, they should get the maximum sentence. There should be zero tolerance for bigotry and harassment, like any other job. Fire them; no excuses. When the very job changes to one of protecting and serving instead of bullying and militarized "use vs. them" BS, you'll also see less authoritarian fascist types even apply.
I understand your point and it is valid. The guy driving around with no license would have been a problem if he had been involved in an accident with no license and no insurance. But police are trained to look for beat up or out or place cars. I had an encounter with a policeman on my way home from work at 2 am. Stopping me because "people out at that time of night are up to no good." I pointed out that he was out at that time of night. Some are very over zealous and judgemental.
This sounds terrible, completely unnecessary and I can't even imagine (don't want to but I should) how different and worse it must be when the "suspect" is a person of colour. Especially if they just got out of prison and that's the reason they haven't renewed their license yet.
The movement to defund the police seems like something worth supporting. Defunding the police means funding other departments to function better, not simply to cut down on police funding but to replace the cop with someone who is trained to respond to a mental health emergency, for example. I find the follow article downright excellent: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/10/be-the-change-20-positive-ways-to-fight-for-a-fairer-world
This kind of situation pisses me off. Why do 2533 cops need to show up for a nonviolent crime? This is the kind of abuse that needs to stop. This is also why George Floyd is dead, 4 cops to handle an alleged fake $20 bill?!? A man’s life was worth less than fake money. It’s just disgusting
He makes some good observations, however, he just went on just one ride-along. I would be more interested if he went on several and with a variety of cops.
Sounds like run-away over-budgeting. I'd love to hear a rebuttal for this.
Quotas. If they're not giving tickets or making arrests, it's not that things are okay, it's that they're bad cops, is my guess based on our local PD. And poor people are unable to afford lawyers. Where there's no POC, the poor whties get the flak. Instead of being part of the community in a trusted way, cops invent excitement instead of accepting that it's *good* to have not much going on 90% of the time!
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So one bad ride along several years ago with one department automatically makes every cop in the nation terrible? I don't think I understand. If 10 years ago a doctor I shadowed refused to treat a patient of color, would I be justified in hating all doctors ever, even to this day? Not trying to hate, I just don't get how the action of a few, suddenly makes everyone else look bad.
Sounds like the person Riding didnt bother to ask either for why things are done. Like people think that running plates is wrong? Are you serious?
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Too many ex-military that have not yet decompressed from service have been added to many depts around the country. Time to change the requirements for a Peace Officers License to include a college degree that includes courses specific to the job like De-escalation, Earning trust and respect, Serve and protect vs Manage and kill just to name a few and also a 1 year internship without the power of arrest but the ability to assist. We also need to break the "brotherhood" mentality.
It bothers me immensely that cops don't realize that, sometimes, when they pull someone over, or respond to a call, it's usually the worst day of THAT person's life. To treat THAT person with no respect, to not have pity in the fact that we are all human..THAT"S what's messed up. They don't realize that giving someone...anyone a ticket...can ruin someone's life..and NOT help their situation at all (like we've seen in this essay here). Meanwhile, the more extreme-causes...murder/spousal abuse..the stuff you see on T.V's its THAT BAD...the most likely killers are...cops or ex-cops.
I was a victim of this s**t last night. Some bored cop in my lackluster town ran my plate for no good reason & saw that my registration had expired. I had no idea. He pulled me over and handed me a $200 ticket with no compromise. Guilty as charged there. The fact that I was driving a normal SUV in good shape, not speeding, not running lights or anything out of the ordinary. He simply stated he pulled me over for expired registration. In PA they did away with registration stickers a couple years ago. Only the random running of a license plate would indicate this. So bored cop got lucky on me. Then he asks me, a 60 year old very tired white woman on her way home from work if I had any weapons in the car. "Oh year officer, there's an AK in the back seat next to my rocket launcher. Want to confiscate my box of donuts while you're at it?"
I got a ticket for the same reason. So did my sister. Both driving nice cars. That's an entirely you problem. Jesus Christ what an idiot. You do it the same month. Every year. God damn, how were you able to hold down a job with that kind of stupidity? There is no compromise. You were in the wrong. I'm not a cop. I'm not married to one. Just tired of stupid s**t like this. I get caught speeding and I get a ticket. There's no compromise.
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Irresponsible to print a story not only on here say, but if true? This is one bad experience. But millions will read this. Fuel is added to a fire.
One night I was at work late, which is not unusual. My car was parked next to the main entrance, and as I was getting ready to leave, a cop pulled up to ask what I was doing there. I'm still confused.
I know that some cops act like this and worse and those cops should be punished. But I don’t get the hole get ride of police thing because then who will be there if the house is broken into or if your In danger. And at the risk of being downvoted my uncle is a cop and he always talks about the stuff he confiscated like knifes and guns and tasers when he is at the state capital. I know if is not about me but it scares me.
I've been on ride alongs. It was nothing like this. It was all people committing serious crimes and the cops I was with were trying to keep the community safe. There were those that wanted the police to help them and those that resisted the police because they were trying to hurt other people.
IMO, "training" of any kind is useless when it comes to dealing with what could be stressful situations. Cops are human just like the rest of us who react, sometimes unreasonably to any given situation, out of anger, & or frustration. Police work is an underpaid thankless job that I certainly wouldn't want because I don't have the temperment for it & highly doubt training would correct it. It seems that cops are especially prone to this issue, but why it always seems to be involving blacks can't be a coincidence. Bias training, as it's now called, just doesn't register when cops are making an arrest because in many cases they don't have time to think about what they should do; they just react to the situation in front of them. If cops are prone to racist acts, they should be removed from the force or reassigned rather than protected by superiors who consider the overall record of the officer rather than 1 racial one. The 1st racial issue can be an indicator of more to follow.
My son wanted to be a cop. He joined the police cadet program with the Oakland PD (Calif). After a very short time, he became so disillusioned by the actions of the cops he was working with that he quit the cadets completely. He wanted to be a cop to help people and soon learned that the cops were doing way more harm than good in the community. Very, very, sad! He has a whole new lack of respect for them and it's probably an experience that will stick with him for the rest of his life. :(
Respect is something earned, not forced with a badge. Very seldom are interfaces with police positive. I expect to get a ticket if I commit an infraction, but not punished twice by angry cops. (I'm white) Read James Baldwin's books to get a glimpse of what Black folks go through. An eye opener.. I don't blame them for rioting.
I'm Brown, but "Black enough" for lots of cops. I landed a carriage house in a predominantly white suburb of Denver and numerous times when I pulled into the alley to access the parking space next to my place, I was followed by police, who didn't have a problem shining a spotlight on me, telling me to put my hands on top of the car, then asking what I was doing back there: "I live here." Finally, a friend recommend I put in a motion-sensor flood light so when I pulled in, the scene would be well lit -- so I wouldn't be shot for getting groceries out of my back seat. Of twenty friends I've asked, only one has ever had to put his hands on the roof of his car and spread his legs for a frisk.
I have no idea where this took place, but I did a ride along for three days in San Diego. A man rolled through a stop sign and was pulled over. Due to a BOLO for him, he was brought in without incident. Turns out he was wanted for the abduction and murder of several children. Later on, I personally stopped a sex offender from entering school property to "paint". And his offense was legit - violent rape of his girlfriend's 13 year old. I guess with this whole new "BCAB" thing we can just offer up innocent children and the vulnerable members of the population to the vile and evil population? I am 100% in agreement that nobody should die in an interaction with police but making villains out of everyone who wears a badge is dangerous and counter productive. There are horrible people out there sitting and watching all this going down, licking their lips whilst they plot their next unspeakable act. God help us all.
In a neighboring town the cops do not go after red light runners. I am two car lengths into the intersection and this bimbo runs a red light from my right, and has to swerve to miss hitting me. The cop was opposite me and did nothing,.
Isn't denouncing ethnic white europeans as "white supremacists, neo-Nazis Racism ?
I guess you guys need new approach to police work. And trust me, it is hard thing to do. How are police supposed to be paid? Shall they got bonuses for giving fines/taking people from streets? If yes, they will look for easy catches, because they are people and do not want to get in dangerous situation, if not, they are not motivated to do anything. Shall they be allowed to strike a deal with someone? Shall they be allowed to lie? And how about talking with ex-prisones? They can be great source of information, but also they can try to get intel from cops. I'm affraid that it is so hard, because there is no universal solution. But it might be good idea to test various solutions in multiple places, rotate those solutions and see how it works. Or maybe take former officers and some ex-prisoners together and try some kind of "war gaming" with them to see, what happens. Hey, that might be my best idea in this whole week!
and again...one story, one cop's power issue will now label the entire worlds police forces as racist bigots with a bone to pick. I wonder what would happen in everyone took responsibility for their own actions. or better yet use the energy being used to generate a false sense of injustice and maybe use it to help the hungry children, or get drugs off the streets, or volunteer at a local shelter ? Oh that's right once a hashtag is used in front of the newest movement, your work is done.Everyone always wants to run their gums about what should be done instead of actually stepping up and doing it.
So, just a thought. Maybe they don't get to run plates unless they actually have a reason? This almost sounds like illegal search and seizure area. No doubt changes need to be made everywhere in policing. Do they even have to have psychological evaluations before becoming cops? And who is doing the evaluating?
Karen. They do have a reason. Plates are ran to see if cars are registered with the plate that is attached. If the registration has expired, and if the persons driving record is clear.
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Not just american sadly. I just made a submission on another panda thread re: something funny that's happened to you, mine was a police response gone awry. It had funny moments (my infant being constipated, and them accusing me of impersonating a man) but it was in New Zealand and a blatant case of overzealous cops excited to bust someone but didn't get the right person
Load More Replies... Why couldn't his wife drive? Why risk everything to drive when it's seems like the wife may have been capable to drive (she and the kids got around while he was jailed most likely). Doesn't seem like the smart choice. Why is racial? It clearly says the man was white. Although I do think police force are trained to prey on certain type of people/vehicles etc., there are too many unknown factors in this case to judge without the whole truth.
Shut up you idiot. Even Biden and Bernie know how dumb that is.
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My issue with this story is the way it is told. One night, one cop. There are a lot of opinions, not much fact. I don't think he's necessarily wrong, but the story isn't very convincing, especially to those with an opposing view.
Sadly, this is the way "journalism" is these days. I see it all the time in the mainstream media. They will only tell one side of the story, and leave out a lot of details in order to make a story fit their narrative. Real Journalism has been dead for at least 10 years now.
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Can you explain the advantage of interviewing a cop over shadowing one and reporting on their actions? Is observation a bad practice in journalism?
Load More Replies... Meanwhile, police have never showed up to any of my or my mother's emergency calls. Maybe there'd be less dead people of police stopped picking fights on the streets and actually responded to the people screaming for actual help.
Yes. I tried to call for help once. Eventually the cop showed up, told me to stop calling about an argument with my lover, and generally told me that the guy breaking into my house at midnight was somehow MY fault/problem/etc. When I told the cop, "I'm married, I don't have a boyfriend!" he just leered like, "Sure, yeah, uh-huh, whatever". And those are the cops who trained the cops we have NOW.... It's been over 20 years and I still remember how the cop left me more scared than the guy breaking into my home did.
Load More Replies... A few weeks of education as typical for a cop in the US may be enough to learn to fire a gun but undoubtedly not to de-escalate a situation under stress. I prefer the years of training police officers get over here. It stops them from destroying lifes (including their own) and rather, well, to serve and protect.
There is now a push to defund police depts here. You'd think there would be a push for funding for more and better police education.some countries, cop school is 2-3 years. In some areas of the U.S., training is on the job. At least one of the cops with George Floyd was actually being trained by the idiot on his neck. No wonder we have problems
Load More Replies... We fear even off-duty cops in my area, and even if we're not POC. One was so whacked out on power/PTSD/whatever (he'd done a stint in Afghanistan, came home uber-conservative and angry)... he threatened to use hsi badge against someone if they didn't cut down a perfectly health tree b/c, no joke, "it obscures my line of fire from my front door". Down came the tree. Did he need help? Yes. Did he become a cop to cope with his issues? Apparently, yes. Did he eventually move away? Yes. And another cop lives down the road now. And we all have to be careful of not offending him, his wife, his kid, his dog... *sigh*
I've had quite the opposite experience. I've been helped by the police and was shown kindness. I've seen police help people of different skin colour. I've even heard police defend people of other skin colours. I don't think ALL police are bad at all. I think bad people are bad peoples whatever their colour or job. Please don't generalise about people, that's what people who are racist do and look where that gets people...
The problem is that the "good" cops will never, ever, report the bad cops, or even intervene to stop them (and on the occasions that they do, they get fired.) That's the "blue wall of silence." So if the "good" cops won't take action to stop the "bad" cops, are the "good" cops actually good?
Load More Replies... When I worked with people with disabilities we had what we called 'behavior houses' where the residents were combative or otherwise agressive. As staff, we were very limited in what we could do, physically, to neutralize a situation. While they might have been agressive, or even dangerous, we recognized that the people we cared for had rights that must be respected. So we had specialized training that focused on empathetic methods of verbal deescalazation. Why the hell aren't cops trained the same way? Seriously. It's one of the very first lessons we learn as children. 'Use your WORDS and not your HANDS.' And the words they use need to be focused on keeping the energy level as low as possible. Instead I keep seeing examples of police culture that likes to poke the wasp nest with a stick just to have an excuse to mace it.
This just makes me to my stomach. These people are supposed to protect us and make us feel safe. Resolve any dispute we have with each other. Be strict but just. Exactly like a parent. But this... this is beyond sickening. Harassing people for no reason, killing people for no reason, destroying lives for no reason. It has to stop. Now.
Nobody was killed or harassed in this example, and it sounds like you're saying this example is proof of both of those things.
Load More Replies... Police should be trained, screened and hired like public servants, social workers, and hospital staff. Police should also lose immunity to prosecution, and when they do commit a crime on duty, and get convicted, they should get the maximum sentence. There should be zero tolerance for bigotry and harassment, like any other job. Fire them; no excuses. When the very job changes to one of protecting and serving instead of bullying and militarized "use vs. them" BS, you'll also see less authoritarian fascist types even apply.
I understand your point and it is valid. The guy driving around with no license would have been a problem if he had been involved in an accident with no license and no insurance. But police are trained to look for beat up or out or place cars. I had an encounter with a policeman on my way home from work at 2 am. Stopping me because "people out at that time of night are up to no good." I pointed out that he was out at that time of night. Some are very over zealous and judgemental.
This sounds terrible, completely unnecessary and I can't even imagine (don't want to but I should) how different and worse it must be when the "suspect" is a person of colour. Especially if they just got out of prison and that's the reason they haven't renewed their license yet.
The movement to defund the police seems like something worth supporting. Defunding the police means funding other departments to function better, not simply to cut down on police funding but to replace the cop with someone who is trained to respond to a mental health emergency, for example. I find the follow article downright excellent: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/10/be-the-change-20-positive-ways-to-fight-for-a-fairer-world
This kind of situation pisses me off. Why do 2533 cops need to show up for a nonviolent crime? This is the kind of abuse that needs to stop. This is also why George Floyd is dead, 4 cops to handle an alleged fake $20 bill?!? A man’s life was worth less than fake money. It’s just disgusting
He makes some good observations, however, he just went on just one ride-along. I would be more interested if he went on several and with a variety of cops.
Sounds like run-away over-budgeting. I'd love to hear a rebuttal for this.
Quotas. If they're not giving tickets or making arrests, it's not that things are okay, it's that they're bad cops, is my guess based on our local PD. And poor people are unable to afford lawyers. Where there's no POC, the poor whties get the flak. Instead of being part of the community in a trusted way, cops invent excitement instead of accepting that it's *good* to have not much going on 90% of the time!
Load More Replies... So one bad ride along several years ago with one department automatically makes every cop in the nation terrible? I don't think I understand. If 10 years ago a doctor I shadowed refused to treat a patient of color, would I be justified in hating all doctors ever, even to this day? Not trying to hate, I just don't get how the action of a few, suddenly makes everyone else look bad.
Sounds like the person Riding didnt bother to ask either for why things are done. Like people think that running plates is wrong? Are you serious?
Load More Replies... Too many ex-military that have not yet decompressed from service have been added to many depts around the country. Time to change the requirements for a Peace Officers License to include a college degree that includes courses specific to the job like De-escalation, Earning trust and respect, Serve and protect vs Manage and kill just to name a few and also a 1 year internship without the power of arrest but the ability to assist. We also need to break the "brotherhood" mentality.
It bothers me immensely that cops don't realize that, sometimes, when they pull someone over, or respond to a call, it's usually the worst day of THAT person's life. To treat THAT person with no respect, to not have pity in the fact that we are all human..THAT"S what's messed up. They don't realize that giving someone...anyone a ticket...can ruin someone's life..and NOT help their situation at all (like we've seen in this essay here). Meanwhile, the more extreme-causes...murder/spousal abuse..the stuff you see on T.V's its THAT BAD...the most likely killers are...cops or ex-cops.
I was a victim of this s**t last night. Some bored cop in my lackluster town ran my plate for no good reason & saw that my registration had expired. I had no idea. He pulled me over and handed me a $200 ticket with no compromise. Guilty as charged there. The fact that I was driving a normal SUV in good shape, not speeding, not running lights or anything out of the ordinary. He simply stated he pulled me over for expired registration. In PA they did away with registration stickers a couple years ago. Only the random running of a license plate would indicate this. So bored cop got lucky on me. Then he asks me, a 60 year old very tired white woman on her way home from work if I had any weapons in the car. "Oh year officer, there's an AK in the back seat next to my rocket launcher. Want to confiscate my box of donuts while you're at it?"
I got a ticket for the same reason. So did my sister. Both driving nice cars. That's an entirely you problem. Jesus Christ what an idiot. You do it the same month. Every year. God damn, how were you able to hold down a job with that kind of stupidity? There is no compromise. You were in the wrong. I'm not a cop. I'm not married to one. Just tired of stupid s**t like this. I get caught speeding and I get a ticket. There's no compromise.
Load More Replies... Irresponsible to print a story not only on here say, but if true? This is one bad experience. But millions will read this. Fuel is added to a fire.
One night I was at work late, which is not unusual. My car was parked next to the main entrance, and as I was getting ready to leave, a cop pulled up to ask what I was doing there. I'm still confused.
I know that some cops act like this and worse and those cops should be punished. But I don’t get the hole get ride of police thing because then who will be there if the house is broken into or if your In danger. And at the risk of being downvoted my uncle is a cop and he always talks about the stuff he confiscated like knifes and guns and tasers when he is at the state capital. I know if is not about me but it scares me.
I've been on ride alongs. It was nothing like this. It was all people committing serious crimes and the cops I was with were trying to keep the community safe. There were those that wanted the police to help them and those that resisted the police because they were trying to hurt other people.
IMO, "training" of any kind is useless when it comes to dealing with what could be stressful situations. Cops are human just like the rest of us who react, sometimes unreasonably to any given situation, out of anger, & or frustration. Police work is an underpaid thankless job that I certainly wouldn't want because I don't have the temperment for it & highly doubt training would correct it. It seems that cops are especially prone to this issue, but why it always seems to be involving blacks can't be a coincidence. Bias training, as it's now called, just doesn't register when cops are making an arrest because in many cases they don't have time to think about what they should do; they just react to the situation in front of them. If cops are prone to racist acts, they should be removed from the force or reassigned rather than protected by superiors who consider the overall record of the officer rather than 1 racial one. The 1st racial issue can be an indicator of more to follow.
My son wanted to be a cop. He joined the police cadet program with the Oakland PD (Calif). After a very short time, he became so disillusioned by the actions of the cops he was working with that he quit the cadets completely. He wanted to be a cop to help people and soon learned that the cops were doing way more harm than good in the community. Very, very, sad! He has a whole new lack of respect for them and it's probably an experience that will stick with him for the rest of his life. :(
Respect is something earned, not forced with a badge. Very seldom are interfaces with police positive. I expect to get a ticket if I commit an infraction, but not punished twice by angry cops. (I'm white) Read James Baldwin's books to get a glimpse of what Black folks go through. An eye opener.. I don't blame them for rioting.
I'm Brown, but "Black enough" for lots of cops. I landed a carriage house in a predominantly white suburb of Denver and numerous times when I pulled into the alley to access the parking space next to my place, I was followed by police, who didn't have a problem shining a spotlight on me, telling me to put my hands on top of the car, then asking what I was doing back there: "I live here." Finally, a friend recommend I put in a motion-sensor flood light so when I pulled in, the scene would be well lit -- so I wouldn't be shot for getting groceries out of my back seat. Of twenty friends I've asked, only one has ever had to put his hands on the roof of his car and spread his legs for a frisk.
I have no idea where this took place, but I did a ride along for three days in San Diego. A man rolled through a stop sign and was pulled over. Due to a BOLO for him, he was brought in without incident. Turns out he was wanted for the abduction and murder of several children. Later on, I personally stopped a sex offender from entering school property to "paint". And his offense was legit - violent rape of his girlfriend's 13 year old. I guess with this whole new "BCAB" thing we can just offer up innocent children and the vulnerable members of the population to the vile and evil population? I am 100% in agreement that nobody should die in an interaction with police but making villains out of everyone who wears a badge is dangerous and counter productive. There are horrible people out there sitting and watching all this going down, licking their lips whilst they plot their next unspeakable act. God help us all.
In a neighboring town the cops do not go after red light runners. I am two car lengths into the intersection and this bimbo runs a red light from my right, and has to swerve to miss hitting me. The cop was opposite me and did nothing,.
Isn't denouncing ethnic white europeans as "white supremacists, neo-Nazis Racism ?
I guess you guys need new approach to police work. And trust me, it is hard thing to do. How are police supposed to be paid? Shall they got bonuses for giving fines/taking people from streets? If yes, they will look for easy catches, because they are people and do not want to get in dangerous situation, if not, they are not motivated to do anything. Shall they be allowed to strike a deal with someone? Shall they be allowed to lie? And how about talking with ex-prisones? They can be great source of information, but also they can try to get intel from cops. I'm affraid that it is so hard, because there is no universal solution. But it might be good idea to test various solutions in multiple places, rotate those solutions and see how it works. Or maybe take former officers and some ex-prisoners together and try some kind of "war gaming" with them to see, what happens. Hey, that might be my best idea in this whole week!
and again...one story, one cop's power issue will now label the entire worlds police forces as racist bigots with a bone to pick. I wonder what would happen in everyone took responsibility for their own actions. or better yet use the energy being used to generate a false sense of injustice and maybe use it to help the hungry children, or get drugs off the streets, or volunteer at a local shelter ? Oh that's right once a hashtag is used in front of the newest movement, your work is done.Everyone always wants to run their gums about what should be done instead of actually stepping up and doing it.
So, just a thought. Maybe they don't get to run plates unless they actually have a reason? This almost sounds like illegal search and seizure area. No doubt changes need to be made everywhere in policing. Do they even have to have psychological evaluations before becoming cops? And who is doing the evaluating?
Karen. They do have a reason. Plates are ran to see if cars are registered with the plate that is attached. If the registration has expired, and if the persons driving record is clear.
Load More Replies... Not just american sadly. I just made a submission on another panda thread re: something funny that's happened to you, mine was a police response gone awry. It had funny moments (my infant being constipated, and them accusing me of impersonating a man) but it was in New Zealand and a blatant case of overzealous cops excited to bust someone but didn't get the right person
Load More Replies... Why couldn't his wife drive? Why risk everything to drive when it's seems like the wife may have been capable to drive (she and the kids got around while he was jailed most likely). Doesn't seem like the smart choice. Why is racial? It clearly says the man was white. Although I do think police force are trained to prey on certain type of people/vehicles etc., there are too many unknown factors in this case to judge without the whole truth.
Shut up you idiot. Even Biden and Bernie know how dumb that is.
Load More Replies... My issue with this story is the way it is told. One night, one cop. There are a lot of opinions, not much fact. I don't think he's necessarily wrong, but the story isn't very convincing, especially to those with an opposing view.
Sadly, this is the way "journalism" is these days. I see it all the time in the mainstream media. They will only tell one side of the story, and leave out a lot of details in order to make a story fit their narrative. Real Journalism has been dead for at least 10 years now.
Load More Replies... Can you explain the advantage of interviewing a cop over shadowing one and reporting on their actions? Is observation a bad practice in journalism?
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