You hit on good points, Steve. I really like how you articulated point #4 because I think it describes exactly what lead to the "us vs them" mentality that has stopped any progress on this issue. I think it is going to have to be the police that start breaking the cycle by punishing the individuals officers who break the law. This will hopefully start to rebuild trust and send a message to other officers that it won't be tolerated. One can dream. I will admit, it took me awhile for this problem to sink in. I live out in the country side and was pretty much raised to put police up on a pedestal. This is where awareness is needed to help people break out of that mentality. What finally woke me up was an incident last year in PA where an officer was shot and they devoted an insane amount of resources trying to find the guy where if it had been one of us who got shot, I doubt there would have been more than 2 officers on the case.
I have a suggestion for places suffering from police brutality: just put wanted posters up. Police feel the need to pursue a suspect, not realizing they can leave that to residents.
David Wong's brilliant article this week was about how we're all not a person. We're leaves on a tree that is fed by the roots that were engorged or starved due to highly racial and sexist practices. Billy Joel is right, we didn't start the fire, but if we all don't band together and help the whole world is going to burn. History did not start with the date of our birth. Only in childhood are you only ever responsible only just for the mess *you* made yourself. I spent much of a day arguing with a very young man who didn't believe that racism was a thing. He only saw "class" privilege, as though Chris Rock being pulled over by the cops was a completely random event that defies all logic. The worst part is, the reason why "white" and "middle-to-upper class" were synonymous in that young man's thinking was only because of the systematic structures in place that gave mortgages away with tax deductible interest rates, costing millions and millions and millions of dollars and turning every single house owned by the "approved" kind of person into practically public housing, paid for, in part, on the back of tax payers.
I would say part of the problem, as far as the police shootings are concerned, is America's gun culture and vigilante attitude where "good guys" are applauded for shooting the "bad guys" whether it's justified or not. When arguing with people online about this topic I can't tell you how many times I've heard people tell me that it's okay to shoot an unarmed person if he's running away because what else are they supposed to do, let him go?
Brandon Davis They could do this crazy thing called run after them. Then again Americans are too fat and lazy to run unless it's to buy a new phone or rushing home to watch reality tv or the NFL
Brandon Davis Why do they run ? Are they taught to do that ? I was taught to respect the badge & uniform even if the cop himself is an asshole. To me, trying to run or resist arrest is not an option. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
hhoinfo "Why do they run ?" Prior to an investigation, nobody knows, but if they are not posing a threat to the police or others there is no justified reason for using deadly force in that situation. "I was taught to respect the badge & uniform even if the cop himself is an asshole." and I was taught that respect is earned and not just given to someone simply because they hold a position of power. By placing people on pedestals, we feed into their ego and aid in their belief that they better than others and above the law.
Brandon Davis " if they are not posing a threat to the police or others there is no justified reason for using deadly force in that situation." So you think the cops should just let them run away ? That would cut down on the number of speeding tickets. And put out the message if you don't want a ticket, just drive off. "I was taught that respect is earned". Then you was taught wrong. Showing respect could save your life.
rationalwarrior No surprise rationalwarrior, your music is intelligent and you have a hell of a talent combined with an well informed mind. Respect isn't simply due, its owed!
"Cops feeling unappreciated for their dangerous and stressful jobs" Steve, they are people who have made law enforcement their choice for a career. And to correct you, they are far from unappreciated especially in the United States of America! Teachers have no respect in the US, and it pisses me off when someone tries to tell me how someone with a gun is the victim of thumb-nosing. You have even made videos on how America is the land of an enriched gun culture! Steve, I am one person who WILL NOT build a statue, post a meme, stop you in the street and point a finger in your face, or lose sleep at night because another cop died doing his/her job. There are people dying every day in this country because they chose to make money doing something life threatening or dangerous. That's their choice! Not mine! I typically agree with your commentary but I'm not about to sit here and be told that one person's occupation is above another person's!! We all have jobs that stress us out!
[sigh] I look at this in the wake of the Michael Brelo trial and the national attention Cleveland has gotten in the wake of that verdict and about all I can think is: "Here we go again." This will be in the news for maybe a week at best, Mayor Jackson will come out and say this and that, and it will all fade into the background ... until the next black kid gets shot. What's even screwier is that Brelo really amounted to being (almost) a scapegoat. I mean, dozens of cop cars responding to a high-speed pursuit, over 130 rounds fired at the suspect car once it was stopped, and Brelo is the only one charged? *What's Wrong With This Picture?!?*
#6, the people who aren't so much affected by brutality (upper middle class white folks, like myself and especially my family) determinedly turning a blind eye to the problem because it doesn't affect them.
3:09 , you pick something about the main problem. I grown up in the poor suburb near Paris and even if I'm white, I've been bullied by the police in a month basis at least. I live today in the poor districts of Paris (10th, 20th, 18th) and it's obvious for me that police is an occupation army. The rich districts in the west (16th, 8th, 7th) have dramatically less cops in the street, whereas there are more population. I concluded from those experiences that the police is the upper class army. They are not here to serve us. The cops come often far from where they are in duty, because they have to see us as beast and they are our zookeepers. And police brutality is just a way to train us.
This video is nine years old and yet everything said here has been said hundreds of times over the past decade... and nothing has changed. It is frustrating to see that this is something that we have all been aware of, but we have been able to do nothing about.
9 лет назад
There are a couple of requirements from the cops to ensure the legality of their job. For example they have to read the Miranda rights even if the arrested person probably knows them, rather to be safe than sorry. Why couldn't there be a similar requirement to prove that they are working legally all the time. Let's say the courts would require to have a video footage of every police action. Would it be a pain in the ass? Yes. Would it cost some money? Yes. Just like all the other things they have to do to ensure the rights of the citizens. But with today's technology is feasable. Camera and microphone on the car, camera and microphone on the person, camera and microphone in institutes where policemen handle prisoners.
We have the same problem over here (U.K). Theres not as many shootings though, but they make up for it in other ways. Most riots in the past 40 years hve been caused, at least in part, by police brutality
An isolated and possibly silly voice from the UK. "Steve, with respect I disagree. Law Enforcement Officers are a key resource for any progressive movement to capture. However I fear being brutish to the brutal only makes matters worse. Forgiveness and a blanket of security for individual officers succumbing to pressure. A 'no blame' learning culture. All these will encourage openness. I is not cops fault that they are in uniform and asked to bridge the gap between law and justice, The criminal law in the US is largely statute. so,this scalp hunting mentality is hard. for LEO and relevant others to manage. I believe.
TheKeyser94 There is nothing in the world, not the bacteria in the slime on the bottom of three day old turd in a sewer, NOTHING lower than a copper who is bent. And ALL coppers are bent. (bent = crooked, on the make, bearing false witness, intimidating witnesses, turning blind eyes, collusion, conspiracy to pervert the cause of justice, battering suspects, badgering suspects, strike breaking, riot breaking, mis-use of authority for personal gain, thievery knavery, secrecy, losing your temper and really letting some poor sod on the street who's been cheeky to the wrong cop 'have it' with truncheon, boot and fist.) Cable Street Brick Lane Blair Peach My marginal contact with regular and special branch on the 'political' suspect end Brixton '81 I was there Miner's strike 1984-5 I shared a house with a cop, and supported (much too weakly) the miners 1988 I was nearly trampled by police horses sent in against a 'mass trespass' of peaceful protesters and thats when I stopped but I forget nothing, and I think 2007? Stockwell Tube shooting: if you have scared people carrying guns, it happens. Recommendation - don't carry guns 2013? riots : the coppers stepped back let the buildings burn, and used intelligence (and mobile phone records) to punish more miscreants and restore public confidence: recommendation. Applause. Well played sirs. Lives matter, property carries insurance. Communities are resilient. Cops are what we use to plug the gap between what law can do and the people's hunger for revenge against deal breakers and free loaders, and the more mature yearning for justice (which for me is a state where everyone does as everyone else thinks they should - out of love) It wasn't just professionalism or Scarman or intelligence led policing, or reforms to the pension system, or squad cars or Community Support Officers or CCtV. It has taken 150 years of walking the streets, coppering -unarmed. When armed hoodlum faces unarmed cop and hears 'sorry son, I'm taking you in, put the gun on ground carefully and step back' there is absolutely no doubt where the moral authority lies. And I don't forget, Anything.
I've always believed in an officer's right to protect him/herself. Even if the suspect has done nothing wrong, have your day in court because if you're innocent the you won't go to jail. If the suspect doesn't do anything to provoke action and the officer proceeds to act inappropriately then I have a problem. But if you cooperate, then you should not have a problem.
There is a difference between harming a child because they resist going to bed and physically resisting arrest and possibly doing something that could cause great harm to those who serve and protect. Don't get me wrong, police officers do go to far at times but resisting arrest never should be your solution .
