After Seeing How The U.S. Deals With Protesters, Scotland Votes To Stop The Supply Of Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets, And Riot Gear To The U.S.
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In light of recent events, the Scottish parliament took a stance against institutionalized racism and showed support to the BLM movement. The parliament has voted to end the export of rubber bullets, tear gas, and riot gear to the United States in order to help maintain the citizens’ right to peaceful protests, which have been met with police force in many cities throughout the USA.
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Last Thursday, the motion was put into place with the overwhelming support of 52 to 0 voting in favor and 11 abstentions. The motion says that the parliament “stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and considers that the UK government must immediately suspend all export licences for tear gas, rubber bullets and riot gear to the US.”
Image credits: Geoff Livingston
The parliament also took the opportunity to address the country’s historic links to the slave trade. The same amendment also called for the creation of a slavery museum in Scotland.
Image credits: quinn norton
Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Scottish Green Party, who proposed the successful amendment, called the police brutality happening in the US “appalling” and said that the Black Lives Matter movement is an inspiration for the whole world.
Image credits: tamaradhia
“In the weeks since George Floyd’s brutal murder the world has been watching the appalling systematically racist police brutality and the systematically racist political establishment in the US that underpins that inequality. The Black Lives Matter movement has been inspiring and it needs to be heard right around the world: that racism exists in this country as well,” he said.
Image credits: quinn norton
“I’m delighted that today the Scottish Parliament agreed a Green amendment in an anti-racism debate calling for an establishment of a Museum of Slavery to really shine a light on this country’s grim past connections with slavery and how the inequality of that history perpetuates even now.”
Image credits: ep_jhu
“But our amendment also called for an immediate halt of UK exports of tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot gear to the US. Those weapons of oppression are being used by a racist state and it is unacceptable for us to be exporting them, putting those weapons into the hands of people who will brutalise marginalised communities. It’s important that we stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement.”
Image credits: Geoff Livingston
According to Insider, since 2010, the UK has supplied roughly $7.53 billion worth of munitions to the United States, including over $1 billion in firearms, $22 million in less-lethal rounds like tear gas and rubber bullets, and more than $2.5 million in riot shields.
Image credits: Adam Cohn
However, the UK’s licensing criteria states that material can’t be sold if there is a “clear risk that items might be used for internal repression.”
Image credits: Geoff Livingston
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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! I truly hope this goes through our joke of a police force whose sole job is to 'protect and serve' is a nightmare of a joke and they don't need further ammunition to abuse their title and hurt/kill innocent people.
Pseudo Puppy, there was a supreme court decision very recently that literally stated that the police are under no legal obligation to save you. None. That sounds bad enough but from a legal precedent it is downright devastating and a terrifying foreshadowing of what they can use that defense for. Selecting who to save based on race or religion, advancing that precedent with a conservative majority to say they are at no legal obligation to save civilians from other cops, the list goes on. It shook the legal world and anyone who was paying attention. This country's original slogans like "serve and protect" and "give me your tired, your poor," are now just false advertisements.
They are under an obligation as hired job holders to fulfill the terms of their employment. It will be necessary to clarify what those terms are since most police departments obviously have been operating without clear guidelines, but once those terms are establish, then they must fulfill them or lose their employment. Of course, no term of employment can be made based on the vague "serve and protect", but the possibility for improving on what is happening now exists. The legal scholars will have to debate on things for awhile, but in the meantime, the police departments need to get moving on working up some guidelines that eliminate human prejudice from a role in judgment making. And if a person cannot fit into those guidelines, they need to find a different kind of job.
it was in 2005 not very recently
No your wrong in your assumption. That same protection is afforded fire fighters. They arent obligated to run into every burning building. Their safety and lives are more important than yours. Yet we dont label them as racist. A cop isnt requirred to engage anyone if they fear for their own life in that situation
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NOT AT ALL - Who should protect us against the looters, rioters, arsonists, drive by shootings in urban neighborhoods etc?? WHy do people still emigrate here in droves???
Protect and serve is their motto, not their job.
ChelleShock... wow, I am dumbfounded to learn that information. They have no legal obligation to help or protect anybody? That makes me so mad, for the sheer stupidity of it all. WTF are they actually employed to do then? Be bigots, create snuff films in public for fun, and go home and get drunk? Within countries like Australia, by law, its the police force's job to uphold / enact the law. eg arrest people on the charges of murder. They don't create the law - but they do have to uphold it. What on earth is the "job" of the US police force then? The whole thing is illogical, insane, and just heartbreaking.
Sadly Nathan, you're right... and that's the loophole they clearly are taking advantage of. :( Hopefully things will start to improve ... hopefully.
I don't know why y'all are downvoting him. That is literally the law, as ruled on by the Supreme Court. It is not their job to protect and serve, they are under no legal obligation to help or protect anybody.
Oh well, in that case they can continue with the racism and brutality. So long as it's only their motto they are contradicting, there's no problem!
Then they have no reason to exist.
Horrible!
Burn!
Now they will just use real bullets.
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The ONLY people that don’t like the police are people breaking laws
*facepalm*
Absolutely not true. I have many police horror stories, and I have been there helping the VICTIMS of crime.
Careful you don’t choke on that boot. Lick, don’t swallow.
Hank you, Scotland. I hope the rest of the UK follows their example!
Given that Westminster happily supply Saudi Arabia with weapons and 'interrogation training', just forget it. On a global scale, you're safer in the US than in dozens of other countries; they're just not in the first-world tier of countries. Never been for their black population, used to be for their white population.
Yeah but...look, I agree the cops have been handling this all wrong and their behavior as a whole needs a serious overhaul. But if the bad ones don't have rubber bullets they're gonna use real ones. Maybe we should be like the UK and not give the patrol cops guns. But with a country this size, that'd be difficult especially with the illegal weapons trade and all the bad guys with automatic guns. We need more regulations, maybe more specialized units. I don't know. But every single cop needs a body can and if they turn it off while on duty they get in trouble. But every cop can't get a body can if departments get defunded. If the police are disbanded, who the hell is going to enforce the laws? Do you think criminals are just gonna stop committing crimes because there are no cops on the streets? Sorry, people in my town are calling for the defunding of the police. Good cops need to speak the fuck up. Also, we should take politics out of police and county sheriffs.
If you want to understand how society would look with a defunded police system, here is a great response by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez: "It looks like a suburb. Affluent white communities already live in a world where they choose to fund youth, health, housing etc more than they fund police. These communities have lower crime rates not because they have more police but bc they have more resources to support healthy society in a way that reduces crime." Here is a link to her full statement: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.indy100.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-deund-police-black-lives-matter-aoc-9562736%3famp Defunding the police is necessary to creating a safer and more equitable society for ALL of us.
The US Republican party, is twisting the term and ideal of "defund" the police, into the Libs want to "do away with" the Police altogether! The US is literally tearing itself apart under Trump! If he gets 4 more, I fear the US will devolve into civil war, right down party lines. This is no joke, I seriously fear for my southern neighbours if the Divider in Chief gets another term!
There was a time when America defunded their police departments nationwide, after riots protesting the treatment of Black people. It was in the 1960s. And it worked. Look at some history.
I hope every supplier of these things refuses to sell to our police. There is a real sickness in our country right now and we could use all the help we can get to eradicate it.
Good on them!
This is a weird question, but why is the US buying those things from Scotland? You know, a few years ago, there was a massive controversy around the chemical for lethal injection, too, because the US is importing materials that are technically banned in the US. There's something really screwed up about so many things.
Not a weird question, a good question. Please, more questions more conversations more listening and learning and less less less force.
So sad that the US now needs to be babysat and reprimanded by other countrys because some of us can't seem to accept that all humans are equal.
How are we expected to report racist scumbag comments here on this site? I see no reporting tool at all.
Keep looking for your tool, Jace. It's down there somewhere.
rubber bullets are better than the real ones. They can't just let people run amok in the streets
They’re not for quelling protests. Protest is protected speech.
Protests, yes. Property destruction, no. Violence, no. Blocking public access and closing down businesses, no. Shitting in the streets, no. Come on Jace.....you can do better. Think buddy, think.
It meant nothing, they don't manufacture those things, so there is no way they would ship them even if they agreed. It's like someone in the Sahara Africa saying they refuse to ship bottled water to the US.
And last year, after seeing that an American company was producing and supplying Hong Kong police with tear gas to use against protestors, a law was signed that no American company could sell/export tear gas, riot gear, rubber bullets, etc... to the Hong Kong police. Go figure.
Beks Czar ?
Thank you from an American.
Thank you, Scotland!
Scotland now needs the worlds help, we need to remove ourselves from the UK, so many reasons. so so many. the gist of it is, we are being robbed blind, Scotland, the only country to hit oil and become poorer for it. our democracy is being destroyed, we have no voice. history buffs, look up a film called Nae Pasaran, its about workers actions in Scotland against the Chiles Pinochet. HELP SCOTLAND BREAT FREE FROM THE CORRUPT BRITS !!!
Thank you Scotland!
America is a laughing stock of the world right now and Trump is leading the way as the number 1 buffoon leading it! Everyoe needs to go about their protesting peacefully so you don't give them any reason to use tear gas, rubber bullets and riot gear. PLEASE calm down and do this right so no one else gets hurt! ALL LIVES MATTER! NOT JUST BLACK LIVES! YELLOW, BROWN, BLACK, RED AND WHITE!! WE ALL MATTER-!!-
Carol Roeder lol
Carol Roeder what
Guess they can borrow guns from animal control.
It’s only cool when we use tear gas...
Sooo, Scotland sells ANTI RIOT supplies to the US and than sees how its used and decides its bad? You dont fucking use rubber bullets on enemy combatants.
i am from Scotland and I wish my government would ban peat excavation, the destruction of peat bogs puts billions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year, and cause more CO2 emissions than air travel. Almost 90% of peat is sold as compost to amateur gardeners growing tomatoes. Also I have the great misfortune of living in Edinburgh where almost every scrap of the green belt is being turned into housing estates. Every single bill this parliament passes to protect animals and the environment are so full of loop holes that they are just not worth the paper they are written on, unless of course you run out of toilet paper. Birds of prey, such as eagles are regularly shot and poisoned all over Scotland, I hate to quote Trainspotting but "It is shite being Scottish"
That's some nice whataboutism you got there
Im sorry but why are we getting these things from the uk? US companies could easily make these items. Not sure why the uk thinks this will have any influence on our police
Not sure why you think that's the point. We can't stop you but we can sure as shit refuse to participate.
It is not ok to loot stores and trains and burn buildings down and beat on random white people. I'm not jumping on the bandwagon
Hopefully someone else in the uk will supply the USA. It’s a good money earner and provides jobs. So that’s Scots losing jobs. These are non lethal ways of stopping criminals. Without these methods the police will simply use something more harmful or deadlier or simply buy from elsewhere. The police are brutal because they need to be, only a small proportion of police are killers. I’d sooner live with the police in control than rioters
Well, when "protesters" start throwing objects, police has no choice but to respond. It's a shame that a few bad apples spoil the bunch, same principle applies to police.
In all of the protests across the country: it was the police who fired first into peaceful protestors. Today's police is a direct descendant of slave patrols that were created to round up runaway slaves. They're still doing it. In 2007 the FBI warned that white supremast groups were planning on infiltrating our police forces. Nothing was done to stop it. So, your arguement that it was a "few bad apples" is patently false as proven by all the officers who stand around and did not stop the murder of George Floyd and hundreds of other black men.
Scotland has no right to judge how we use products they sell. They need to judge themselves and stop selling it to anyone . What did they think they were used for?
Less-lethal ammunition is useful to quell riots without murdering your populous. The problem with the USA is that our police forces are using these weapons to enable themselves to be overpowered counter-protestors. That’s not what the tools are for. Protest is protected speech in the USA and the authoritarians (typically Republicans and other conservative, comfortably privileged white people) want to quell it.
They stopped selling it, but they didnt stop making it. Key omission there hmmm.
Well you’re not going to see capitalists willingly stop making money, even when they have enough... because there’s never enough... And no, it’s not because of care for their working employees.
Precisely why I added the "hmmmm".
If you want to live in a socialist country, you're free to move to one... This attitude started with the refusal of the left to accept the results of the 2016 election, the protests, riots and looting were present during the previous administration also - it's just the reaction to them that has changed. Nobody blamed Obama for anything, but everyone blames Trump for everything.
This should say something to the idiots in Washington DC. The other countries of the world look upon America today and are totally disgusted. It is time that America gets itself together and starts to mature if it wants a future. Otherwise, it will become an example of WHAT NOT TO DO with your society.
The authoritarians responsible for this shitshow in the USA don’t CARE what the rest of the world thinks or says. That’s part of the problem here: blind nationalism and bootlicking.
The Unicorn has a set of big balls if you ask me. Finally a government willing to take a stance.
Perfect. Leave the streets to those that want to riot and sack the cities and capture pacific protests, because that's what ends up happening.
GOOD CHOICE!!! This will only stop the police for a while though; they'll find a way.
Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. WHY ARE BLACKS ALWAYS HAVING POLICE ENCOUNTERS!? Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. COPS HATE BLACKS! Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. BLACKS ARE JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE OUT THERE! Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. WHEN WILL THIS INJUSTICE END!? Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. Wake up America. Sigh.
Oh look, another cozy privileged white man racist who believes in whatever bullshit he thinks supports the racism he wants to believe in.
You are a Racist and I am sad that you feel this way!
I can just picture someone saying in a comment section as brutal as this something like "Oh I like apples" "Statistics show that apple's can drop your IQ and since some of them are red you must be from a bad neighborhood. Educate yourself" People shut the laptop grab some chips and chill out
Man they're idiots. Stopping supplies of rubber bullets does nothing. Obviously you don't need them to kill. Reform needs to be done on police training. Thats how they were trained. This whole world is full of idiots! P.S. don't bother replying i never check.
I am sad and ashamed for my country. But I am glad that our allies are no longer willing to be party to our brutality.
Statistics from the Department Of Justice. In 2019 police officers fatally shot 1,004 people, most of whom were armed or otherwise dangerous. African-Americans were about a quarter of those killed by cops last year (235), a ratio that has remained stable since 2015. That share of black victims is less than what the black crime rate would predict, since police shootings are a function of how often officers encounter armed and violent suspects. In 2018, the latest year for which such data have been published, African-Americans made up 53% of known homicide offenders in the U.S. and commit about 60% of robberies, though they are 13% of the population. The police fatally shot nine unarmed blacks and 19 unarmed whites in 2019, according to a Washington Post database, down from 38 and 32, respectively, in 2015. In 2018 there were 7,407 black homicide victims. Assuming a comparable number of victims last year, those nine unarmed black victims of police shootings represent 0.1% of all African-Americans killed in 2019. By contrast, a police officer is 18½ times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is to be killed by a police officer. A cop is 18½ times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is to be killed by a cop. #BlueLivesMatter #FactsMatter
I wish Bored Panda wasn't mainly a platform for leftists because I like the other content on this site. I wish there were more people who actually knew what was going on
This isn't a platform for leftists and Democrats, its a Lithuanian site for lite news. Not everyone who reads it is from the USA, I wish people like you would stop moaning about the comments and just not read them if they're so offensive to you. Why not educate people instead of just whining like a child? Just a thought, perhaps black men commit so many more crimes per capita than white men is because they've been marginalised their whole life, they don't get to lift themselves up higher because the 'system' from school up is weighted against them. Maybe. Stop complaining and move on, or say something important.
Sadly the media and the Dems don't care about the actual stats reality.....they've got the black victimization narrative to push and that's their job now, 24/7.
I agree. It isn’t about the colour of someone’s skin. If the police are more wary of black men, there is a reason. All you guys who support the Dems need to think this through. I’m from Canada and we have a big problem with our native Canadians. So much addiction and violence. And it’s so hard to fix because so many of our native population have grown up with addicted parents and role models. They are used to handouts and most don’t want to work. It’s a recipe for continued disaster. Attempts are made to help, there are agencies that create work situations that are very easy and understanding even if the person misses a day or whatever. But very few want to take advantage of these situations. I think there is no easy answer. Human nature is such that handouts are destructive and create a cycle of laziness and low self esteem. I could go on and on. I think the black situation in the States is comparable in some aspects. People are stuck in a vicious cycle that’s very hard to break.
The rubber bullet is large to increase surface area impact and NOT concentrate all force at just one point. The situation is horrible, not the size of the bullets.
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And yet people have died being shot by "safe" rubber bullets. STFU with your excuses.
This is not an excuse I'm just explaining that if the bullets were smaller there would be more deaths. The size of the bullet is not the atrocity, it is the fact that they are used at all. The focus shouldn't be the size as that might deflect from the real problem here.
Zophra is correct. Basic physics explains why "non-lethal bullets" have to be so large. Pressure = Force / Area. If it was small then the force at which they are fired would cause the bullet to puncture the skin. A larger surface spreads out the force so it hits with less pressure. It's the same reason it hurts so much more if someone steps on your toe wearing stilettos than wearing flats. I don't think they should be shot at protesters, any more than regular bullets should be, but you can't just tell physics to STFU!
Thank you Charlotte, Aunt Messy is missing my point (regardless of the surface area)
Maybe. But a lot more would die from being shot by regular bullets. 😅
Cry me a river. And smart move, Scotland, you economic powerhouse, walking away from a source of revenue. Was this decision made under the influence? The left destroys all it touches.
Has absolutely NOTHING to DO with Racism! It is the goal of George Soros to bring down America by any means possible. BLM Protesters were , for the most part, not the violent arsonists, but Antifa, employees of Soros
Dude, take your Fox News racist conspiracy theory bullshit and fuck right off with it.
1 guy bring down the whole US? Yeah nah
Have you seen Trump. Yes 1 man can. But we have facts and truth to back it up. This George Soros BS is backed by conspiracy theorists who don't realize fascism is starting literally before their eyes. But Trump told them, don't believe your eyes and ears, believe me.
Oh my! This is ridiculous! If people are out looting and burning, the police need to intervene. You can’t lump a whole nation together and say it’s racist. That’s just not the case! It’s the same as saying all blacks are criminals or all Germans are Nazis. Are we not noticing how many police have been shot and injured over this? If we don’t have police, think about it, what will happen. 🙄 They need to do their job.
Cathryn Williams, most people are not out there "looting and burning." The protests are over the thousands of bad police who are NOT "doing their jobs." And there's enough of them that the protests have spread all over the United States and the rest of the world in support of Black Lives Matter. Police brutality must be stopped and no longer excused, as your post seems to do.
Whoever gave you a negative comment, don’t worry, I corrected the situation and gave u a positive one.
Are you for real? You're trolling, right? People aren't that stupid.
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I was looking for a comment like this! Thank you❤
How funny that this fuels the false narrative. This is tokenism at it's best and will have no effect on the US. The hypocrites in the UK including the Scots are the very inventors of white supremacy and their involvement in the slave trade through out history is 2nd to none. They set the standards on white supremacy and slavery. Now only to the determent to their own economy they try to hide their shame and shift focus to the USA. I'm sure the BLM can find better friends in the world community than these frauds.
Slave trade is long over, buddy. What shame are you talking about, people do not live for hundreds of years. But I agree that this is just virtue signalling.
So right!
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Scotland last year exported £1billion of whiskey to the USA. How many Americans do you think died as a result of alcoholism. How many people were killed by someone drunk on Scotch Whiskey? How many American women were raped, children neglected and abused by someone drunk on Scotch Whiskey? How many American people were maimed or assaulted? No, I don’t know either but I can guarantee that it is at least 1000 times more than people killed or injured by Scottish tear gas or bullets. Even countries are virtue signaling now, when will this madness end?
Replace "someone drunk on Scotch Whiskey" with "a police officer on or off duty". Fixed your narrative, you're welcome
Exactly!
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When is this anti-police hysteria going to end. What a pathetic woke empty gesture. The Police will just source m from somewhere else. Also the police need less lethal weapons to preserve peace. The law allows them to use rubber bullets etc.. you can’t expect police officers to have to stand and be attacked, particularly by left wing agitators, funded from Moscow. We are in a Cold War.
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America would be safer without a police force
Dumbest comment of the day.
No kidding! It would be total mayhem! 😂
That's a paradox right there
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What a stupid decision. If they have other options then it's not stupid but non lethal forms should be allowed especially since there is an increase in assault rifles at the protest by protesters
They are not non-lethal forms. They are less lethal forms. They can still kill. Get yourself educated. At least one protester was killed by a rubber bullet to the face. Why don't you honor his memory?
I kind of agree. While the peaceful protests should never be violently interrupted, the shortage of non lethal supplies may only increase the chance of Officer Dingus and his men using lethal weapons on them.
Having ethics is never stupid. Policing is by consent. If the police abuse their powers those powers can be taken away. Also, where have BLM protesters carried assault rifles? Do you have sources? Has anyone actually opened fire of the police? Because the police have sure as hell been attacking peaceful protesters and journalists - there is a wealth of evidence that has led to this decision.
Have you ever heard about CHAZ in Seattle?
People on Bored Panda like to downvote the truth
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So Scotland doesn't want police to be able to protect themselves from rioters throwing bottles, rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, attacking them? Will Scotland ban their own police from using shields and body armor?
I guess its enough if they ban them from using excessive force?
Well, if they're using it their body armour to attack, maim and kill innocent, peaceful protesters and journalists, then arguably, yes, that should be taken away too. But nobody is actually suggesting that, are they? this is just your typical quasi-logical whataboutist response.
The UK is policed by consent. We consent to some officers being armed and them using those arms responsibly and proportionately. If they cease to do so, we can retracted that consent. There are more citizens than police. There are more people than government. Never forget that. Power to the people!
Ahhh yes! The white-guy-whine! William worries about the armed police, poor poor police!
Oh were you triggered by his comment?
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Eat my balloon-knot.
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Time to stop using rubber bullets, and use real ones.
ARE CALLS TO DEADLY VIOLENCE JUST OKAY DOOKY ON PANDA?!
Yeah maybe that'll stop the rioting once and for all. I wish it wouldn't have to reach that point
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Fuck Scotland. The US needs Scotland like we need Haggus.
Racist
You can't be racist against Haggus. Duh.
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Nah,thats barely anti-ginger...
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! I truly hope this goes through our joke of a police force whose sole job is to 'protect and serve' is a nightmare of a joke and they don't need further ammunition to abuse their title and hurt/kill innocent people.
Pseudo Puppy, there was a supreme court decision very recently that literally stated that the police are under no legal obligation to save you. None. That sounds bad enough but from a legal precedent it is downright devastating and a terrifying foreshadowing of what they can use that defense for. Selecting who to save based on race or religion, advancing that precedent with a conservative majority to say they are at no legal obligation to save civilians from other cops, the list goes on. It shook the legal world and anyone who was paying attention. This country's original slogans like "serve and protect" and "give me your tired, your poor," are now just false advertisements.
They are under an obligation as hired job holders to fulfill the terms of their employment. It will be necessary to clarify what those terms are since most police departments obviously have been operating without clear guidelines, but once those terms are establish, then they must fulfill them or lose their employment. Of course, no term of employment can be made based on the vague "serve and protect", but the possibility for improving on what is happening now exists. The legal scholars will have to debate on things for awhile, but in the meantime, the police departments need to get moving on working up some guidelines that eliminate human prejudice from a role in judgment making. And if a person cannot fit into those guidelines, they need to find a different kind of job.
it was in 2005 not very recently
No your wrong in your assumption. That same protection is afforded fire fighters. They arent obligated to run into every burning building. Their safety and lives are more important than yours. Yet we dont label them as racist. A cop isnt requirred to engage anyone if they fear for their own life in that situation
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NOT AT ALL - Who should protect us against the looters, rioters, arsonists, drive by shootings in urban neighborhoods etc?? WHy do people still emigrate here in droves???
Protect and serve is their motto, not their job.
ChelleShock... wow, I am dumbfounded to learn that information. They have no legal obligation to help or protect anybody? That makes me so mad, for the sheer stupidity of it all. WTF are they actually employed to do then? Be bigots, create snuff films in public for fun, and go home and get drunk? Within countries like Australia, by law, its the police force's job to uphold / enact the law. eg arrest people on the charges of murder. They don't create the law - but they do have to uphold it. What on earth is the "job" of the US police force then? The whole thing is illogical, insane, and just heartbreaking.
Sadly Nathan, you're right... and that's the loophole they clearly are taking advantage of. :( Hopefully things will start to improve ... hopefully.
I don't know why y'all are downvoting him. That is literally the law, as ruled on by the Supreme Court. It is not their job to protect and serve, they are under no legal obligation to help or protect anybody.
Oh well, in that case they can continue with the racism and brutality. So long as it's only their motto they are contradicting, there's no problem!
Then they have no reason to exist.
Horrible!
Burn!
Now they will just use real bullets.
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The ONLY people that don’t like the police are people breaking laws
*facepalm*
Absolutely not true. I have many police horror stories, and I have been there helping the VICTIMS of crime.
Careful you don’t choke on that boot. Lick, don’t swallow.
Hank you, Scotland. I hope the rest of the UK follows their example!
Given that Westminster happily supply Saudi Arabia with weapons and 'interrogation training', just forget it. On a global scale, you're safer in the US than in dozens of other countries; they're just not in the first-world tier of countries. Never been for their black population, used to be for their white population.
Yeah but...look, I agree the cops have been handling this all wrong and their behavior as a whole needs a serious overhaul. But if the bad ones don't have rubber bullets they're gonna use real ones. Maybe we should be like the UK and not give the patrol cops guns. But with a country this size, that'd be difficult especially with the illegal weapons trade and all the bad guys with automatic guns. We need more regulations, maybe more specialized units. I don't know. But every single cop needs a body can and if they turn it off while on duty they get in trouble. But every cop can't get a body can if departments get defunded. If the police are disbanded, who the hell is going to enforce the laws? Do you think criminals are just gonna stop committing crimes because there are no cops on the streets? Sorry, people in my town are calling for the defunding of the police. Good cops need to speak the fuck up. Also, we should take politics out of police and county sheriffs.
If you want to understand how society would look with a defunded police system, here is a great response by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez: "It looks like a suburb. Affluent white communities already live in a world where they choose to fund youth, health, housing etc more than they fund police. These communities have lower crime rates not because they have more police but bc they have more resources to support healthy society in a way that reduces crime." Here is a link to her full statement: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.indy100.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-deund-police-black-lives-matter-aoc-9562736%3famp Defunding the police is necessary to creating a safer and more equitable society for ALL of us.
The US Republican party, is twisting the term and ideal of "defund" the police, into the Libs want to "do away with" the Police altogether! The US is literally tearing itself apart under Trump! If he gets 4 more, I fear the US will devolve into civil war, right down party lines. This is no joke, I seriously fear for my southern neighbours if the Divider in Chief gets another term!
There was a time when America defunded their police departments nationwide, after riots protesting the treatment of Black people. It was in the 1960s. And it worked. Look at some history.
I hope every supplier of these things refuses to sell to our police. There is a real sickness in our country right now and we could use all the help we can get to eradicate it.
Good on them!
This is a weird question, but why is the US buying those things from Scotland? You know, a few years ago, there was a massive controversy around the chemical for lethal injection, too, because the US is importing materials that are technically banned in the US. There's something really screwed up about so many things.
Not a weird question, a good question. Please, more questions more conversations more listening and learning and less less less force.
So sad that the US now needs to be babysat and reprimanded by other countrys because some of us can't seem to accept that all humans are equal.
How are we expected to report racist scumbag comments here on this site? I see no reporting tool at all.
Keep looking for your tool, Jace. It's down there somewhere.
rubber bullets are better than the real ones. They can't just let people run amok in the streets
They’re not for quelling protests. Protest is protected speech.
Protests, yes. Property destruction, no. Violence, no. Blocking public access and closing down businesses, no. Shitting in the streets, no. Come on Jace.....you can do better. Think buddy, think.
It meant nothing, they don't manufacture those things, so there is no way they would ship them even if they agreed. It's like someone in the Sahara Africa saying they refuse to ship bottled water to the US.
And last year, after seeing that an American company was producing and supplying Hong Kong police with tear gas to use against protestors, a law was signed that no American company could sell/export tear gas, riot gear, rubber bullets, etc... to the Hong Kong police. Go figure.
Beks Czar ?
Thank you from an American.
Thank you, Scotland!
Scotland now needs the worlds help, we need to remove ourselves from the UK, so many reasons. so so many. the gist of it is, we are being robbed blind, Scotland, the only country to hit oil and become poorer for it. our democracy is being destroyed, we have no voice. history buffs, look up a film called Nae Pasaran, its about workers actions in Scotland against the Chiles Pinochet. HELP SCOTLAND BREAT FREE FROM THE CORRUPT BRITS !!!
Thank you Scotland!
America is a laughing stock of the world right now and Trump is leading the way as the number 1 buffoon leading it! Everyoe needs to go about their protesting peacefully so you don't give them any reason to use tear gas, rubber bullets and riot gear. PLEASE calm down and do this right so no one else gets hurt! ALL LIVES MATTER! NOT JUST BLACK LIVES! YELLOW, BROWN, BLACK, RED AND WHITE!! WE ALL MATTER-!!-
Carol Roeder lol
Carol Roeder what
Guess they can borrow guns from animal control.
It’s only cool when we use tear gas...
Sooo, Scotland sells ANTI RIOT supplies to the US and than sees how its used and decides its bad? You dont fucking use rubber bullets on enemy combatants.
i am from Scotland and I wish my government would ban peat excavation, the destruction of peat bogs puts billions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year, and cause more CO2 emissions than air travel. Almost 90% of peat is sold as compost to amateur gardeners growing tomatoes. Also I have the great misfortune of living in Edinburgh where almost every scrap of the green belt is being turned into housing estates. Every single bill this parliament passes to protect animals and the environment are so full of loop holes that they are just not worth the paper they are written on, unless of course you run out of toilet paper. Birds of prey, such as eagles are regularly shot and poisoned all over Scotland, I hate to quote Trainspotting but "It is shite being Scottish"
That's some nice whataboutism you got there
Im sorry but why are we getting these things from the uk? US companies could easily make these items. Not sure why the uk thinks this will have any influence on our police
Not sure why you think that's the point. We can't stop you but we can sure as shit refuse to participate.
It is not ok to loot stores and trains and burn buildings down and beat on random white people. I'm not jumping on the bandwagon
Hopefully someone else in the uk will supply the USA. It’s a good money earner and provides jobs. So that’s Scots losing jobs. These are non lethal ways of stopping criminals. Without these methods the police will simply use something more harmful or deadlier or simply buy from elsewhere. The police are brutal because they need to be, only a small proportion of police are killers. I’d sooner live with the police in control than rioters
Well, when "protesters" start throwing objects, police has no choice but to respond. It's a shame that a few bad apples spoil the bunch, same principle applies to police.
In all of the protests across the country: it was the police who fired first into peaceful protestors. Today's police is a direct descendant of slave patrols that were created to round up runaway slaves. They're still doing it. In 2007 the FBI warned that white supremast groups were planning on infiltrating our police forces. Nothing was done to stop it. So, your arguement that it was a "few bad apples" is patently false as proven by all the officers who stand around and did not stop the murder of George Floyd and hundreds of other black men.
Scotland has no right to judge how we use products they sell. They need to judge themselves and stop selling it to anyone . What did they think they were used for?
Less-lethal ammunition is useful to quell riots without murdering your populous. The problem with the USA is that our police forces are using these weapons to enable themselves to be overpowered counter-protestors. That’s not what the tools are for. Protest is protected speech in the USA and the authoritarians (typically Republicans and other conservative, comfortably privileged white people) want to quell it.
They stopped selling it, but they didnt stop making it. Key omission there hmmm.
Well you’re not going to see capitalists willingly stop making money, even when they have enough... because there’s never enough... And no, it’s not because of care for their working employees.
Precisely why I added the "hmmmm".
If you want to live in a socialist country, you're free to move to one... This attitude started with the refusal of the left to accept the results of the 2016 election, the protests, riots and looting were present during the previous administration also - it's just the reaction to them that has changed. Nobody blamed Obama for anything, but everyone blames Trump for everything.
This should say something to the idiots in Washington DC. The other countries of the world look upon America today and are totally disgusted. It is time that America gets itself together and starts to mature if it wants a future. Otherwise, it will become an example of WHAT NOT TO DO with your society.
The authoritarians responsible for this shitshow in the USA don’t CARE what the rest of the world thinks or says. That’s part of the problem here: blind nationalism and bootlicking.
The Unicorn has a set of big balls if you ask me. Finally a government willing to take a stance.
Perfect. Leave the streets to those that want to riot and sack the cities and capture pacific protests, because that's what ends up happening.
GOOD CHOICE!!! This will only stop the police for a while though; they'll find a way.
Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. WHY ARE BLACKS ALWAYS HAVING POLICE ENCOUNTERS!? Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. COPS HATE BLACKS! Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. BLACKS ARE JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE OUT THERE! Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. WHEN WILL THIS INJUSTICE END!? Blacks continue to commit massively disproportionate amounts of violent crime. Wake up America. Sigh.
Oh look, another cozy privileged white man racist who believes in whatever bullshit he thinks supports the racism he wants to believe in.
You are a Racist and I am sad that you feel this way!
I can just picture someone saying in a comment section as brutal as this something like "Oh I like apples" "Statistics show that apple's can drop your IQ and since some of them are red you must be from a bad neighborhood. Educate yourself" People shut the laptop grab some chips and chill out
Man they're idiots. Stopping supplies of rubber bullets does nothing. Obviously you don't need them to kill. Reform needs to be done on police training. Thats how they were trained. This whole world is full of idiots! P.S. don't bother replying i never check.
I am sad and ashamed for my country. But I am glad that our allies are no longer willing to be party to our brutality.
Statistics from the Department Of Justice. In 2019 police officers fatally shot 1,004 people, most of whom were armed or otherwise dangerous. African-Americans were about a quarter of those killed by cops last year (235), a ratio that has remained stable since 2015. That share of black victims is less than what the black crime rate would predict, since police shootings are a function of how often officers encounter armed and violent suspects. In 2018, the latest year for which such data have been published, African-Americans made up 53% of known homicide offenders in the U.S. and commit about 60% of robberies, though they are 13% of the population. The police fatally shot nine unarmed blacks and 19 unarmed whites in 2019, according to a Washington Post database, down from 38 and 32, respectively, in 2015. In 2018 there were 7,407 black homicide victims. Assuming a comparable number of victims last year, those nine unarmed black victims of police shootings represent 0.1% of all African-Americans killed in 2019. By contrast, a police officer is 18½ times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is to be killed by a police officer. A cop is 18½ times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is to be killed by a cop. #BlueLivesMatter #FactsMatter
I wish Bored Panda wasn't mainly a platform for leftists because I like the other content on this site. I wish there were more people who actually knew what was going on
This isn't a platform for leftists and Democrats, its a Lithuanian site for lite news. Not everyone who reads it is from the USA, I wish people like you would stop moaning about the comments and just not read them if they're so offensive to you. Why not educate people instead of just whining like a child? Just a thought, perhaps black men commit so many more crimes per capita than white men is because they've been marginalised their whole life, they don't get to lift themselves up higher because the 'system' from school up is weighted against them. Maybe. Stop complaining and move on, or say something important.
Sadly the media and the Dems don't care about the actual stats reality.....they've got the black victimization narrative to push and that's their job now, 24/7.
I agree. It isn’t about the colour of someone’s skin. If the police are more wary of black men, there is a reason. All you guys who support the Dems need to think this through. I’m from Canada and we have a big problem with our native Canadians. So much addiction and violence. And it’s so hard to fix because so many of our native population have grown up with addicted parents and role models. They are used to handouts and most don’t want to work. It’s a recipe for continued disaster. Attempts are made to help, there are agencies that create work situations that are very easy and understanding even if the person misses a day or whatever. But very few want to take advantage of these situations. I think there is no easy answer. Human nature is such that handouts are destructive and create a cycle of laziness and low self esteem. I could go on and on. I think the black situation in the States is comparable in some aspects. People are stuck in a vicious cycle that’s very hard to break.
The rubber bullet is large to increase surface area impact and NOT concentrate all force at just one point. The situation is horrible, not the size of the bullets.
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And yet people have died being shot by "safe" rubber bullets. STFU with your excuses.
This is not an excuse I'm just explaining that if the bullets were smaller there would be more deaths. The size of the bullet is not the atrocity, it is the fact that they are used at all. The focus shouldn't be the size as that might deflect from the real problem here.
Zophra is correct. Basic physics explains why "non-lethal bullets" have to be so large. Pressure = Force / Area. If it was small then the force at which they are fired would cause the bullet to puncture the skin. A larger surface spreads out the force so it hits with less pressure. It's the same reason it hurts so much more if someone steps on your toe wearing stilettos than wearing flats. I don't think they should be shot at protesters, any more than regular bullets should be, but you can't just tell physics to STFU!
Thank you Charlotte, Aunt Messy is missing my point (regardless of the surface area)
Maybe. But a lot more would die from being shot by regular bullets. 😅
Cry me a river. And smart move, Scotland, you economic powerhouse, walking away from a source of revenue. Was this decision made under the influence? The left destroys all it touches.
Has absolutely NOTHING to DO with Racism! It is the goal of George Soros to bring down America by any means possible. BLM Protesters were , for the most part, not the violent arsonists, but Antifa, employees of Soros
Dude, take your Fox News racist conspiracy theory bullshit and fuck right off with it.
1 guy bring down the whole US? Yeah nah
Have you seen Trump. Yes 1 man can. But we have facts and truth to back it up. This George Soros BS is backed by conspiracy theorists who don't realize fascism is starting literally before their eyes. But Trump told them, don't believe your eyes and ears, believe me.
Oh my! This is ridiculous! If people are out looting and burning, the police need to intervene. You can’t lump a whole nation together and say it’s racist. That’s just not the case! It’s the same as saying all blacks are criminals or all Germans are Nazis. Are we not noticing how many police have been shot and injured over this? If we don’t have police, think about it, what will happen. 🙄 They need to do their job.
Cathryn Williams, most people are not out there "looting and burning." The protests are over the thousands of bad police who are NOT "doing their jobs." And there's enough of them that the protests have spread all over the United States and the rest of the world in support of Black Lives Matter. Police brutality must be stopped and no longer excused, as your post seems to do.
Whoever gave you a negative comment, don’t worry, I corrected the situation and gave u a positive one.
Are you for real? You're trolling, right? People aren't that stupid.
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I was looking for a comment like this! Thank you❤
How funny that this fuels the false narrative. This is tokenism at it's best and will have no effect on the US. The hypocrites in the UK including the Scots are the very inventors of white supremacy and their involvement in the slave trade through out history is 2nd to none. They set the standards on white supremacy and slavery. Now only to the determent to their own economy they try to hide their shame and shift focus to the USA. I'm sure the BLM can find better friends in the world community than these frauds.
Slave trade is long over, buddy. What shame are you talking about, people do not live for hundreds of years. But I agree that this is just virtue signalling.
So right!
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Scotland last year exported £1billion of whiskey to the USA. How many Americans do you think died as a result of alcoholism. How many people were killed by someone drunk on Scotch Whiskey? How many American women were raped, children neglected and abused by someone drunk on Scotch Whiskey? How many American people were maimed or assaulted? No, I don’t know either but I can guarantee that it is at least 1000 times more than people killed or injured by Scottish tear gas or bullets. Even countries are virtue signaling now, when will this madness end?
Replace "someone drunk on Scotch Whiskey" with "a police officer on or off duty". Fixed your narrative, you're welcome
Exactly!
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When is this anti-police hysteria going to end. What a pathetic woke empty gesture. The Police will just source m from somewhere else. Also the police need less lethal weapons to preserve peace. The law allows them to use rubber bullets etc.. you can’t expect police officers to have to stand and be attacked, particularly by left wing agitators, funded from Moscow. We are in a Cold War.
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earn gift card visa paypal amazon netplex at https://sites.google.com/view/amazonpaypalvisagiftcards/home getimage-4...d46fc3.jpg
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America would be safer without a police force
Dumbest comment of the day.
No kidding! It would be total mayhem! 😂
That's a paradox right there
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What a stupid decision. If they have other options then it's not stupid but non lethal forms should be allowed especially since there is an increase in assault rifles at the protest by protesters
They are not non-lethal forms. They are less lethal forms. They can still kill. Get yourself educated. At least one protester was killed by a rubber bullet to the face. Why don't you honor his memory?
I kind of agree. While the peaceful protests should never be violently interrupted, the shortage of non lethal supplies may only increase the chance of Officer Dingus and his men using lethal weapons on them.
Having ethics is never stupid. Policing is by consent. If the police abuse their powers those powers can be taken away. Also, where have BLM protesters carried assault rifles? Do you have sources? Has anyone actually opened fire of the police? Because the police have sure as hell been attacking peaceful protesters and journalists - there is a wealth of evidence that has led to this decision.
Have you ever heard about CHAZ in Seattle?
People on Bored Panda like to downvote the truth
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So Scotland doesn't want police to be able to protect themselves from rioters throwing bottles, rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, attacking them? Will Scotland ban their own police from using shields and body armor?
I guess its enough if they ban them from using excessive force?
Well, if they're using it their body armour to attack, maim and kill innocent, peaceful protesters and journalists, then arguably, yes, that should be taken away too. But nobody is actually suggesting that, are they? this is just your typical quasi-logical whataboutist response.
The UK is policed by consent. We consent to some officers being armed and them using those arms responsibly and proportionately. If they cease to do so, we can retracted that consent. There are more citizens than police. There are more people than government. Never forget that. Power to the people!
Ahhh yes! The white-guy-whine! William worries about the armed police, poor poor police!
Oh were you triggered by his comment?
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Eat my balloon-knot.
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Time to stop using rubber bullets, and use real ones.
ARE CALLS TO DEADLY VIOLENCE JUST OKAY DOOKY ON PANDA?!
Yeah maybe that'll stop the rioting once and for all. I wish it wouldn't have to reach that point
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Fuck Scotland. The US needs Scotland like we need Haggus.
Racist
You can't be racist against Haggus. Duh.
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Nah,thats barely anti-ginger...