It was announced today that a coalition of police unions representing a total of 241,000 officers nationwide has officially endorsed the candidacy of a criminal convicted of 34 felonies, found guilty of operating a fraudulent business, and found guilty of sexually abusing a woman.
A police union endorsing a convicted felon, rapist and thug is revolting. It's like they're auditioning to be America's new Gestapo. This is difficult for me because my father was a cop. He joined after WW2 and remained so until his death in 1974. I knew a lot of cops growing up. I know cops now. Unfortunately the reality is for every good cop, and there are many, there is a psychopath with a gun. Worse, the code of Blue silence hurts the public. Police unions are the worst.
If you've not seen the body cam of the minutes leading up to the shooting of Sonya Massey, it is absolutely beyond stunning to seen how quickly and easily someone in a calm and supposedly safe setting can lose their life to a murderer wearing a uniform and a badge. And every unjustified killing like this kills off the respect that the now seemingly few good and decent police officers actually doing an honest and skilled job of law enforcement the best that they can deserve. How the fuck did the barrel get so full of rotten apples? Doesn't matter. Until the hiring practices and training policies of police departments change, and change drastically, this will just keep on happening.
The people responsible for hiring Sean Grayson and setting that son of a bitch loose in that community's streets under the color of authority and with the means of deadly force strapped to his hip should answer for it in a manner commensurate with the dereliction of their duty to help keep the community safe from violent criminals. Not only should heads roll, but more than one jail cell door should be slamming shut behind more than just one cop for a god damned very long time.
Sadly, too many times the rot starts at the top with a chief who harbors a set of racist views or perhaps the "attitude" is a result of a pervasive racist "sub-culture" already in place in any particular police department.
Many problem cops are able to job hop from one police force to another because of the cost of training the police. Some departments just find it more expedient to hire one who's already trained and take the risk associated with a spotty resume'.
I know there are lots and lots and lots of good cops. The problem is that the departments do NOTHING unless forced to weed out the "bad apples." And the pressure from the departments--and the unions--keep the good ones from trying to change things, or even articulate the need for change.
My son, as a maybe 8 year old, was assaulted by the father of another kid. He had bruises on the shape of fingers on his arm for days. We naturally called the cops; a detective came by. And he explained that the department was just about to arrest the guy on drug charges with far more serious consequences than this assault would bring, and could we hold off pressing charges till that happened. And then he called us to tell us that it HAD happened, and the guy was going to jail for a long time.
That I consider good policing. He explained very thoroughly what was at stake, let us see the options we had and what would be most effective at getting the guy off the streets, and followed through to be sure we knew we had made the right choice. That took TIME, both to explain and to get the guy in jail. I appreciate it to this day. I just feel sorry for the guy's poor kid, though I'm betting he was abused himself.
As to your last sentence, you can believe it. I once asked ninth graders in a counseling group what lesson they had learned from their family of origin. The answers were mind boggling. I sometimes ask adults that question. Interesting
Like what, JD? I would be interested in hearing a few examples. The answers might shed light on things pertinent to some of the topics here on these substacks we both subscribe to.
One boy, who the mother had called the police to bring him to school, said he learned “to get out of the way” because his mother’s boyfriend threw his beer bottles. One learned that he could get what he wanted “one way or another.” This was all boys, about 13-14. Two friends went shopping, and came back laughing. One had spent the time encouraging the other to buy what she wanted even more than she needed. The other spent the time saying, oh you can make that so easy. The “spender” was an only child whose dad always gave her what she wanted and more. The other had sibs and a mother who made their clothes and taught them how to sew. They laughed at how those early lessons were still guiding their paths. They asked what I learned. I said I felt that I could take care of myself. My parents and 3 older sibs had managed so not much scared me. Resulted in a “fools rush in where angels fear to tread” approach. I guess we’ve all had to modify our early lessons to some extent. All the boys in that group had trauma of some sort early on. Of the ones I knew as adults, three are MAGAts (as of 2016), one was not (a black, gay boy who had a very rough time) but he was funny and used humor to make friends. One of my favorites. Thanks for asking. Loved those struggling young people. Their parents, not so much…
Thank you for your generous overview, JD. You no doubt made a lasting positive impact on them. I don’t think kids ever forget the adults/teachers in their lives who really cared for them and spoke to them with kindness and intelligence. I haven’t forgotten mine.
Thank you. One student that I didn’t remember posted a comment on daughter’s FB that I seemed to have a soft spot for kids having a hard time. Of course he was middle age when he wrote that but it surprised me. One never knows who is watching.
Add many fire men. I don’t know about departments, but my bros and a nephew who have been volunteer firemen are still friends with current ones, and it’s a MAGAt party, all the way. I know of no problems with incompetence but the things I hear sadden me beyond words. It’s white nationalist heaven.
Truly mixed emotions since I so admire heroic acts but can’t quite get the admiration for chump. Like military people who have been called suckers and losers, and admire chump. Propaganda is powerful.
I’m a retired cop. 18 months corrections, 26.5 years patrol; in retirement I spent 7 years part time courthouse security. I was a Crisis Negotiator, Field Training Officer, and a Survival Skills Instructor (think all use of force except for how to shoot and firearms qualifications). I was our department’s use of force “expert” for 5 years. I wrote policy and delivered in-service training. I spent the better part of 5 years working out of class as a sergeant (first line supervisor) although I was “not what the department is looking for” as a full time sergeant. (The one time I tested I finished #1 but was not promoted).
That said: where law enforcement has gone with training and use of force reporting is, to my way of thinking, irresponsible at best and illegal at worst. Force use is articulated in Graham v. Connor (1989) which moved all police use of force under the 4th Amendment.
As a relatively young deputy (3 years in, 2 on patrol), the case law was presented to me as “worse than Miranda” as far as “doing our job” was concerned. Utter bullshit; Graham gives police the “reasonable officer standard” (would another officer, with a similar level of training and experience, make a similar decision under similar circumstances?) and says that assessment must be “from a reasonable officer at the scene make a similar decision in those tense, rapidly evolving circumstances.”
This has morphed into “I was afraid for my life so I shot them” as a defense for killing the public. I am disgusted and dismayed to see where law enforcement in this country has devolved to.
There is no defense to this kind of extrajudicial execution. None.
my friend Ruth's nephew is an NYPD Sergeant. after 1/6, a LOT of the cops in his precinct with coming in with t-shirts calling for "Justice for Ashli Babbitt (sp?)." he told them she'd gotten her justice and they better not wear that shit again.
There is no excuse, just as you say, but I suspect the ever growing volume of automatic weapons on the street has messed with the heads of the police, resulting in a much higher trigger reliance. Still, many of the police are control freaks, and, let's face it, policing is control.
That is ugly. Nazi police in positions of power, authority, and trust, killing citizens they are hired to serve whenever they feel like it. That means that what MAGA extremists want is here already. If we don’t do something about it it will get worse.
Thank you for the full narrative with richly amplified context… it’s enough to make one’s head explode… and add to the recipe the house GOP just voting to impeach VP Kamala Harris as though she is part of a cover-up… I think you recently used in your subject line something like “Will it never stop???!” But exploding heads must be saved for graphic novels and cartoons. Time to put one’s head down but with antennas up, to channel this energy into a strong, focused grassroots work effort... to WIN!!!!! I fear a chyron of inappropriate vocabulary is streaming through my head right now (side effect of some of the newsletters I’m reading and loving, links to which you’ve pointed us readers, grateful! Expanding horizons, better informed and equipped)! This police thing… something’s gotta give!!!!! We can do better, for sure!
It wasn't a vote to impeach her. It is a vote to condemn her for "failing to take action" on the Southern Border (despite the fact as President Biden noted last night that border crossings are at their lowest point since before the Trump administration) - and six "Democrats" joined in.
I appreciate the correction… I think I’ve been reading too many storylines in too many places… Thanks for this. The House action? So wrongheaded. So much mean spiritedness … Intentionally stirring the pot for distraction and chaos. I’ll go ahead and use the word: evil! Caucasian here, mixed race marriage, 32 years… Still responsible to parent grandson, 18, for whom we were legal guardians, one of four grandkids… Long story. Anyway, this is just too close to home… The police stuff is so awful. J. is headed to Hampshire College near Amherst, never yet been out of California… so proud of him for spreading his wings and taking the risk. Substantial scholarship, but he’ll still face financial issues.
While his focus is performing arts, he’s definitely of activist mindset, LGBTQ+, Black, pop culture, and social media bigtime!… My husband, his dear grandpa, was a calming, guiding light… we still evoke his energy regularly.
This from Brian Tyler Cohen newsletter, this afternoon (7/26)— shows both issues afoot. I don’t know where I saw it before, Ogles accusing Harris of a coverup.
Excerpt:
“Kamala Harris’s ascendant presidential campaign has the Republican Party so panicked that, in a fit of desperation, Congressman Andy Ogles has already introduced articles of impeachment against her in the House. She became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee just days ago and already MAGA is resorting to the nuclear smear option.
There are two articles in total and they give a peek at the messaging that MAGA world will attempt to push in the coming months.
1) The first is a reintroduction of an article that was filed in June of 2023 which focused on the GOP’s perennial bogeyman of immigration. As toothless as it was then, it’s downright laughable now. We all watched as Donald Trump ordered his minions in Congress to torpedo a bipartisan border bill because he didn’t want Biden to score a win on the issue.
~~~~~
2) The second article claims that Harris engaged in a “breach of public trust” by supposedly covering up Biden’s mental well-being. The idea is patently absurd. If the entire Democratic party was aware that there was something wrong with the president, why would his campaign have requested the earliest debate ever in June— to be broadcast in front of 60 million people, no less?
It should come as no surprise that the Republicans have absolutely no evidence to support their allegations. They just know that their base is so conspiracy theory-addled at this point that they can serve up whatever deranged slop they want and conservative voters will swallow it down without so much as a moment of introspection.”
Who were the Democrats? Biden had a bipartisan bill supported by Dems and Republicans. But Trump didn't want it passed so R's shut it down. Any Democrat who went along with this nonsense is Maga in Dem clothing.
Six Democrats voted for the resolution, which was spearheaded by GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York, and no Republicans opposed it. Those Democratic "yea" votes were Reps. Jared Golden (Maine), Yadira Caraveo (Colo.) Don Davis (N.C.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Henry Cuellar (Texas) and Mary Peltola (Alaska).
It's the firefighters, too. Granted, they don't have weapons, but there's a lot of misogyny and racism, here in Florida. Many of our local race candidates have small signs attached to their big campaign signs "Endorsed by firefighters." Almost invariably they are all Republicans, and often reactionary candidates. We come to call the "endorsed by firefighters" signs "the warning labels."
I spent two or so years writing legal briefs for NYC police and firefighter pensions. the difference between the jobs is vast. after a short while spent mastering the culture of the NYPD, a cop will report a paper cut as an injury. firefighters with emphysema seldom report they've had trouble breathing after a bad fire. firefighters are fucking BRAVE. at the time, I tried to friends with a few of the firefighter clients, knowing their accomplishments, but they all seemed like assholes.
I did spend one year taking courses in addiction at John Jay College (a very no-nonsense school, btw, and a very good one), and made friends with a lot of cops and firefighters, and we collaborated on projects and became very close. the year, however was '83-'84 when you could have a perfectly nice time with someone who might've liked Reagan (as long as no one mentioned it).
it's been a BUNCH of political generations since then.
The “method and administration of American policing”:no national database to identify cops who are fired/resigned for misconduct, terrible hiring practices with faulty background checks, and in the case of my Fl county….literally advertising for rogue cops.
One of the first things to do is de- militarize the various police departments. The SWAT departments and their serious military equipment, not to mention those firearms are enough to chill the bones of the most upstanding citizens.
It goes back further than that. The foundation of the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1870s has explicit public statements in newspapers that the purpose of the force was to control the Mexican population. And that is what they have done ever since. When I lived on the East Side, cops were everywhere. I live in the West San Fernando Valley (majority white middle class) and cops are virtually nowhere in Encino, but they're there in Reseda (working class/significant nonwhite population) I wonder why... No I fucking well don't wonder at all.
Yes indeed -- and in other parts of the country "law enforcement" has deep roots in first the slave system and then in Jim Crow. None of this is coincidence. There are more people of color and white women wearing the blue than there used to be, but the whole system has rotten roots and that matters.
First in defense of MOST police officers, there are about 908,000 nationwide, most belong to a union of some sort so 241,000 is 26% - still disgusting but not MOST. Secondly the ones we hear about are the absolute worst, third, I have long held that the ways officers police starts with the attitude at the top. This is especially true in LA and the black cops are as bad as the white and Latino and the Asian Pacific - so it's the characteristic and personality disorders of whom they hire and not the color of their skin,
We need a nationwide law change in who we hire, how they are trained, and the attitude of the Chief, captains, sergeants, and lieutenants. I would even like a name change from law enforcement to peace officers - that alone says we're here to help not harm.
It seems worse in big cities but there are also away more people in big cities and not all of them are law abiding.
It is true however that people with darker skin are singled out for mistreatment by "bad" cops. My son-in-law is an attorney, a wonderful, loving man and African American. If he hears a siren, or sees a police car behind him he pulls over. Why? Because it happens so often and the only "crime" he has ever, in his 60 years of life, is driving while black.
I agree, Tom We Must Change Policing in the United States, but let's be selective and not throw the baby out with the bath water.
Start with recruiting: no one who has ever had anger control issues should ever be hired, No one who is misogynystic, a homophobe, racist, or any other personality disorder should be considered.
Then look to leadership - what message are they giving the officers.
Then training keeping the peace should be stressed.
A police union endorsing a convicted felon, rapist and thug is revolting. It's like they're auditioning to be America's new Gestapo. This is difficult for me because my father was a cop. He joined after WW2 and remained so until his death in 1974. I knew a lot of cops growing up. I know cops now. Unfortunately the reality is for every good cop, and there are many, there is a psychopath with a gun. Worse, the code of Blue silence hurts the public. Police unions are the worst.
Blue silence also hurts the cops - makes it more difficult - and dangerous - for the good ones to do their jobs
Absolutely. Not much has changed since Frank Serpico testified in 1970.
If you've not seen the body cam of the minutes leading up to the shooting of Sonya Massey, it is absolutely beyond stunning to seen how quickly and easily someone in a calm and supposedly safe setting can lose their life to a murderer wearing a uniform and a badge. And every unjustified killing like this kills off the respect that the now seemingly few good and decent police officers actually doing an honest and skilled job of law enforcement the best that they can deserve. How the fuck did the barrel get so full of rotten apples? Doesn't matter. Until the hiring practices and training policies of police departments change, and change drastically, this will just keep on happening.
The people responsible for hiring Sean Grayson and setting that son of a bitch loose in that community's streets under the color of authority and with the means of deadly force strapped to his hip should answer for it in a manner commensurate with the dereliction of their duty to help keep the community safe from violent criminals. Not only should heads roll, but more than one jail cell door should be slamming shut behind more than just one cop for a god damned very long time.
Sadly, too many times the rot starts at the top with a chief who harbors a set of racist views or perhaps the "attitude" is a result of a pervasive racist "sub-culture" already in place in any particular police department.
Louisiana is a prime example.
Many problem cops are able to job hop from one police force to another because of the cost of training the police. Some departments just find it more expedient to hire one who's already trained and take the risk associated with a spotty resume'.
True. And until the real dollar cost of taking that risk exceeds its "benefit", that will not change.
Exactly
I know there are lots and lots and lots of good cops. The problem is that the departments do NOTHING unless forced to weed out the "bad apples." And the pressure from the departments--and the unions--keep the good ones from trying to change things, or even articulate the need for change.
My son, as a maybe 8 year old, was assaulted by the father of another kid. He had bruises on the shape of fingers on his arm for days. We naturally called the cops; a detective came by. And he explained that the department was just about to arrest the guy on drug charges with far more serious consequences than this assault would bring, and could we hold off pressing charges till that happened. And then he called us to tell us that it HAD happened, and the guy was going to jail for a long time.
That I consider good policing. He explained very thoroughly what was at stake, let us see the options we had and what would be most effective at getting the guy off the streets, and followed through to be sure we knew we had made the right choice. That took TIME, both to explain and to get the guy in jail. I appreciate it to this day. I just feel sorry for the guy's poor kid, though I'm betting he was abused himself.
As to your last sentence, you can believe it. I once asked ninth graders in a counseling group what lesson they had learned from their family of origin. The answers were mind boggling. I sometimes ask adults that question. Interesting
Like what, JD? I would be interested in hearing a few examples. The answers might shed light on things pertinent to some of the topics here on these substacks we both subscribe to.
One boy, who the mother had called the police to bring him to school, said he learned “to get out of the way” because his mother’s boyfriend threw his beer bottles. One learned that he could get what he wanted “one way or another.” This was all boys, about 13-14. Two friends went shopping, and came back laughing. One had spent the time encouraging the other to buy what she wanted even more than she needed. The other spent the time saying, oh you can make that so easy. The “spender” was an only child whose dad always gave her what she wanted and more. The other had sibs and a mother who made their clothes and taught them how to sew. They laughed at how those early lessons were still guiding their paths. They asked what I learned. I said I felt that I could take care of myself. My parents and 3 older sibs had managed so not much scared me. Resulted in a “fools rush in where angels fear to tread” approach. I guess we’ve all had to modify our early lessons to some extent. All the boys in that group had trauma of some sort early on. Of the ones I knew as adults, three are MAGAts (as of 2016), one was not (a black, gay boy who had a very rough time) but he was funny and used humor to make friends. One of my favorites. Thanks for asking. Loved those struggling young people. Their parents, not so much…
Thank you for your generous overview, JD. You no doubt made a lasting positive impact on them. I don’t think kids ever forget the adults/teachers in their lives who really cared for them and spoke to them with kindness and intelligence. I haven’t forgotten mine.
Thank you. One student that I didn’t remember posted a comment on daughter’s FB that I seemed to have a soft spot for kids having a hard time. Of course he was middle age when he wrote that but it surprised me. One never knows who is watching.
Feedback is good. You make the world better. That’s what matters.
Add many fire men. I don’t know about departments, but my bros and a nephew who have been volunteer firemen are still friends with current ones, and it’s a MAGAt party, all the way. I know of no problems with incompetence but the things I hear sadden me beyond words. It’s white nationalist heaven.
Not just there - fire departments everywhere
They used to be some of the front line people I respected the most. WTF, all it takes is one MAGAt to rot the whole apple
😰😱😡
Truly mixed emotions since I so admire heroic acts but can’t quite get the admiration for chump. Like military people who have been called suckers and losers, and admire chump. Propaganda is powerful.
So….
I’m a retired cop. 18 months corrections, 26.5 years patrol; in retirement I spent 7 years part time courthouse security. I was a Crisis Negotiator, Field Training Officer, and a Survival Skills Instructor (think all use of force except for how to shoot and firearms qualifications). I was our department’s use of force “expert” for 5 years. I wrote policy and delivered in-service training. I spent the better part of 5 years working out of class as a sergeant (first line supervisor) although I was “not what the department is looking for” as a full time sergeant. (The one time I tested I finished #1 but was not promoted).
That said: where law enforcement has gone with training and use of force reporting is, to my way of thinking, irresponsible at best and illegal at worst. Force use is articulated in Graham v. Connor (1989) which moved all police use of force under the 4th Amendment.
As a relatively young deputy (3 years in, 2 on patrol), the case law was presented to me as “worse than Miranda” as far as “doing our job” was concerned. Utter bullshit; Graham gives police the “reasonable officer standard” (would another officer, with a similar level of training and experience, make a similar decision under similar circumstances?) and says that assessment must be “from a reasonable officer at the scene make a similar decision in those tense, rapidly evolving circumstances.”
This has morphed into “I was afraid for my life so I shot them” as a defense for killing the public. I am disgusted and dismayed to see where law enforcement in this country has devolved to.
There is no defense to this kind of extrajudicial execution. None.
Thanks for this. I hate to say this, but I'm completely unsurprised that you were "not what the department is looking for." Their loss.
exactly!
my friend Ruth's nephew is an NYPD Sergeant. after 1/6, a LOT of the cops in his precinct with coming in with t-shirts calling for "Justice for Ashli Babbitt (sp?)." he told them she'd gotten her justice and they better not wear that shit again.
Why am I not surprised.
Thanks, TC.
There is no excuse, just as you say, but I suspect the ever growing volume of automatic weapons on the street has messed with the heads of the police, resulting in a much higher trigger reliance. Still, many of the police are control freaks, and, let's face it, policing is control.
I like so much to hear of your story and experiences.
That is ugly. Nazi police in positions of power, authority, and trust, killing citizens they are hired to serve whenever they feel like it. That means that what MAGA extremists want is here already. If we don’t do something about it it will get worse.
It. Is here already
Thank you for the full narrative with richly amplified context… it’s enough to make one’s head explode… and add to the recipe the house GOP just voting to impeach VP Kamala Harris as though she is part of a cover-up… I think you recently used in your subject line something like “Will it never stop???!” But exploding heads must be saved for graphic novels and cartoons. Time to put one’s head down but with antennas up, to channel this energy into a strong, focused grassroots work effort... to WIN!!!!! I fear a chyron of inappropriate vocabulary is streaming through my head right now (side effect of some of the newsletters I’m reading and loving, links to which you’ve pointed us readers, grateful! Expanding horizons, better informed and equipped)! This police thing… something’s gotta give!!!!! We can do better, for sure!
It wasn't a vote to impeach her. It is a vote to condemn her for "failing to take action" on the Southern Border (despite the fact as President Biden noted last night that border crossings are at their lowest point since before the Trump administration) - and six "Democrats" joined in.
I appreciate the correction… I think I’ve been reading too many storylines in too many places… Thanks for this. The House action? So wrongheaded. So much mean spiritedness … Intentionally stirring the pot for distraction and chaos. I’ll go ahead and use the word: evil! Caucasian here, mixed race marriage, 32 years… Still responsible to parent grandson, 18, for whom we were legal guardians, one of four grandkids… Long story. Anyway, this is just too close to home… The police stuff is so awful. J. is headed to Hampshire College near Amherst, never yet been out of California… so proud of him for spreading his wings and taking the risk. Substantial scholarship, but he’ll still face financial issues.
While his focus is performing arts, he’s definitely of activist mindset, LGBTQ+, Black, pop culture, and social media bigtime!… My husband, his dear grandpa, was a calming, guiding light… we still evoke his energy regularly.
And they had the biggest bipartisan immigration bill in years but Trump said vote against it, and they did.
This from Brian Tyler Cohen newsletter, this afternoon (7/26)— shows both issues afoot. I don’t know where I saw it before, Ogles accusing Harris of a coverup.
Excerpt:
“Kamala Harris’s ascendant presidential campaign has the Republican Party so panicked that, in a fit of desperation, Congressman Andy Ogles has already introduced articles of impeachment against her in the House. She became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee just days ago and already MAGA is resorting to the nuclear smear option.
There are two articles in total and they give a peek at the messaging that MAGA world will attempt to push in the coming months.
1) The first is a reintroduction of an article that was filed in June of 2023 which focused on the GOP’s perennial bogeyman of immigration. As toothless as it was then, it’s downright laughable now. We all watched as Donald Trump ordered his minions in Congress to torpedo a bipartisan border bill because he didn’t want Biden to score a win on the issue.
~~~~~
2) The second article claims that Harris engaged in a “breach of public trust” by supposedly covering up Biden’s mental well-being. The idea is patently absurd. If the entire Democratic party was aware that there was something wrong with the president, why would his campaign have requested the earliest debate ever in June— to be broadcast in front of 60 million people, no less?
It should come as no surprise that the Republicans have absolutely no evidence to support their allegations. They just know that their base is so conspiracy theory-addled at this point that they can serve up whatever deranged slop they want and conservative voters will swallow it down without so much as a moment of introspection.”
Six “democrats” joined in. Surely you jest…
I wish
Who were the Democrats? Biden had a bipartisan bill supported by Dems and Republicans. But Trump didn't want it passed so R's shut it down. Any Democrat who went along with this nonsense is Maga in Dem clothing.
Six Democrats voted for the resolution, which was spearheaded by GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York, and no Republicans opposed it. Those Democratic "yea" votes were Reps. Jared Golden (Maine), Yadira Caraveo (Colo.) Don Davis (N.C.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Henry Cuellar (Texas) and Mary Peltola (Alaska).
Oh how I am beginning to despise Congressman Golden. He's become an absolute ASS.
Well, a big f-u to all of them. Cuellar is sleeze. He was charged with bribery in May.
Thanks for this, always
good to put names with MAGAt acts
ew
It's the firefighters, too. Granted, they don't have weapons, but there's a lot of misogyny and racism, here in Florida. Many of our local race candidates have small signs attached to their big campaign signs "Endorsed by firefighters." Almost invariably they are all Republicans, and often reactionary candidates. We come to call the "endorsed by firefighters" signs "the warning labels."
It's the same everywhere - I think firefighters are worse than cops.
as for their politics, absolutely.
I spent two or so years writing legal briefs for NYC police and firefighter pensions. the difference between the jobs is vast. after a short while spent mastering the culture of the NYPD, a cop will report a paper cut as an injury. firefighters with emphysema seldom report they've had trouble breathing after a bad fire. firefighters are fucking BRAVE. at the time, I tried to friends with a few of the firefighter clients, knowing their accomplishments, but they all seemed like assholes.
I did spend one year taking courses in addiction at John Jay College (a very no-nonsense school, btw, and a very good one), and made friends with a lot of cops and firefighters, and we collaborated on projects and became very close. the year, however was '83-'84 when you could have a perfectly nice time with someone who might've liked Reagan (as long as no one mentioned it).
it's been a BUNCH of political generations since then.
The “method and administration of American policing”:no national database to identify cops who are fired/resigned for misconduct, terrible hiring practices with faulty background checks, and in the case of my Fl county….literally advertising for rogue cops.
https://www.sfltimes.com/opinion/stop-hiring-and-re-hiring-terrible-police-officers
I knew some in suburb of Houston. The rot spreads like covid
There are a zillion other reasons why people don't trust the police, these are just a few.
One of the first things to do is de- militarize the various police departments. The SWAT departments and their serious military equipment, not to mention those firearms are enough to chill the bones of the most upstanding citizens.
It's another instance where the parallels to Germany in the 30's are far too similar. (and to fascist Italian blackshirts too)
It goes back further than that. The foundation of the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1870s has explicit public statements in newspapers that the purpose of the force was to control the Mexican population. And that is what they have done ever since. When I lived on the East Side, cops were everywhere. I live in the West San Fernando Valley (majority white middle class) and cops are virtually nowhere in Encino, but they're there in Reseda (working class/significant nonwhite population) I wonder why... No I fucking well don't wonder at all.
Yes indeed -- and in other parts of the country "law enforcement" has deep roots in first the slave system and then in Jim Crow. None of this is coincidence. There are more people of color and white women wearing the blue than there used to be, but the whole system has rotten roots and that matters.
Now, do one on AG's, DA's and prosecutorial misconduct.
There's a lot to cover there.
There is indeed. Pernicious, widespread, and virtually ignored.
Absolutely right.
They should really paint "To Protect And Serve" on the *inside* of police cars, where those who need to read it, might.
First in defense of MOST police officers, there are about 908,000 nationwide, most belong to a union of some sort so 241,000 is 26% - still disgusting but not MOST. Secondly the ones we hear about are the absolute worst, third, I have long held that the ways officers police starts with the attitude at the top. This is especially true in LA and the black cops are as bad as the white and Latino and the Asian Pacific - so it's the characteristic and personality disorders of whom they hire and not the color of their skin,
We need a nationwide law change in who we hire, how they are trained, and the attitude of the Chief, captains, sergeants, and lieutenants. I would even like a name change from law enforcement to peace officers - that alone says we're here to help not harm.
It seems worse in big cities but there are also away more people in big cities and not all of them are law abiding.
It is true however that people with darker skin are singled out for mistreatment by "bad" cops. My son-in-law is an attorney, a wonderful, loving man and African American. If he hears a siren, or sees a police car behind him he pulls over. Why? Because it happens so often and the only "crime" he has ever, in his 60 years of life, is driving while black.
I agree, Tom We Must Change Policing in the United States, but let's be selective and not throw the baby out with the bath water.
Start with recruiting: no one who has ever had anger control issues should ever be hired, No one who is misogynystic, a homophobe, racist, or any other personality disorder should be considered.
Then look to leadership - what message are they giving the officers.
Then training keeping the peace should be stressed.
Total agreement.
My husband’s father and grandfather were cops - Dad. In small towns, Grandpa in the Big Apple. The stories…ugh.