dagblog - Comments for "Do We Have a Constitution, Officer?"

Baltimore police to black

Resistance — Thu, 28 May 2015 18:34:23 +0000

Baltimore police to black citizens, "You want to claim persecution and sainthood, go ahead and police yourselves" "Protecting your communities. isn't worth the risk".

The perception: Whether you're a citizen or a cop, you're more likely to suffer a violent crime at the hands of a black offender.

"Let Ms Mosby keep you safe."

It's a lot less risk to investigate a murder, than to proactively intervene in communities, who hate the police and spread mistrust

To the police, it will no longer be "damned if they do and dammed if they don't".

It'll be a lot safer for the officers, just to clean up after the crimes

Message to the citizens: Better start carrying your own self protection; as granted by the Second Amendment.

DOJ to Cleveland PD: "We

NCD — Thu, 28 May 2015 17:32:03 +0000

In reply to Do We Have a Constitution, Officer?

DOJ to Cleveland PD:"We double-dog dare you to beat up shackled suspects! "

Waiting to hear what happens to the Cleveland cop who murdered the 12 year old in a 2 second one sided shoot-out, then cuffed the sister as the kid expired.

For years, the line has been

Michael Maiello — Thu, 28 May 2015 14:20:28 +0000

In reply to Do We Have a Constitution, Officer?

For years, the line has been exactly as you say -- if the police confront you, you obey. If you are falsely accused, falsely arrested, inconvenienced, detained or insulted, you just put up with it. If you feel strongly about it later, you can complain to a civilian review board or hire a lawyer to pursue justice. Of course, that only works if you're not dead.

It also doesn't really work. Winning a case against an officer who will claim to have acted with the best of intentions is nearly impossible. Any award you get will be paid from public coffers. In NYC and elsewhere, officers who face civil suits that are settled do not lose their jobs. Even if the city admits liability, the officer goes on thinking they are righteous and were let down by a corrupt or fearful local government.

Of course, most people hassled by the police will never get to court. These are people who cannot miss work to pursue legal action and lawyers are rarely free and rarely willing to take on cases that seem unwinnable.

A lot of the solution is more and better training, more accountability and easier access to justice for those wrongly accused, confronted or arrested. I think a bigger part of the solution would be for us to examine our laws and to recognize that every encounter between the police and citizens is a potential tragedy. Perhaps we can reduce the number of encounters by reducing the number of petty offenses out there and narrowing the scope of when an officer can confront a citizen, Maybe "furtive movements" is just too broad category of potentially instigating events.

The reason most of the black

rmrd0000 — Thu, 28 May 2015 12:51:10 +0000

In reply to Thanks for this. The

The reason most of the black community gets upset when mostly inner city blacks are abused by police is that we are all the same to the police. You don't belong in that car and that neighborhood, they enjoy harassing you. It does not matter if the officer is white, black, or polka dot, they enjoy getting in your face because they know they can. They will break the spine of a suspect. They will pull a Harvard Professor off of his porch. They are an occupying army. When they feel the desire, they provide protection. You are their subject. If you object to police abuse, you are called a supporter of criminals. Question their actions, and they will do a job slowdown. They lie on their police reports and generally face no repercussions. If they have been found to have abused their power, the police union fights to put them back on the street.

We have never heard of a case when a so-called good cop intervened when a bad cop got out of control. We have seen a black cop support a white cop who shot an unarmed man in the back and remain silent when the white officer planted evidence next to the dead man. We have seen police offer no help as Eric Garner lay dying. The police have lost my trust.

Thanks for this. The

rmrd0000 — Thu, 28 May 2015 04:50:55 +0000

In reply to Do We Have a Constitution, Officer?

Thanks for this. The Cleveland PD hired an officer felt incompetent in handling firearms by a smaller police force. Part of the DOJ agreement says Cleveland PD has to read the resumes of officers they hire. Common sense is lacking at Cleveland PD. That hired officer killed 12-year old Tamir Rice within seconds of arriving on the scene. Months after the homicide, there has been no decision made as to whether the child's death is considered part of the accepted actions of a Cleveland police officer. Will they find that the officers did nothing wrong.

We have seen evidence of police lying about events in their official police reports. Carry a toy gun sold by Walmart in the Walmart and you can legally be shot dead by police. We told him to put the gun down as we started shooting. No harm, no foul. Be suspected of selling loose cigarettes in NYC and you can have your death at the hands of police recorded on video. Your death will be considered legal. You can be forced to live with a legal system rigged to target your community to fill the city's coffers as in Ferguson.

If you object to police abuse, police will respond by telling you that they will no longer protect your community. You are told by police that you have to give up some of your rights to gain a little security. The Mafia offers the same deal.

The courts are addressing massive data collection. The courts have failed to act in most cases when it comes to police abuse.