this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2024
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THE POLICE PROBLEM

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    The police problem is that police are policed by the police. Cops are accountable only to other cops, which is no accountability at all.

    99.9999% of police brutality, corruption, and misconduct is never investigated, never punished, never makes the news, so it's not on this page.

    When cops are caught breaking the law, they're investigated by other cops. Details are kept quiet, the officers' names are withheld from public knowledge, and what info is eventually released is only what police choose to release — often nothing at all.

    When police are fired — which is all too rare — they leave with 'law enforcement experience' and can easily find work in another police department nearby. It's called "Wandering Cops."

    When police testify under oath, they lie so frequently that cops themselves have a joking term for it: "testilying." Yet it's almost unheard of for police to be punished or prosecuted for perjury.

    Cops can and do get away with lawlessness, because cops protect other cops. If they don't, they aren't cops for long.

    The legal doctrine of "qualified immunity" renders police officers invulnerable to lawsuits for almost anything they do. In practice, getting past 'qualified immunity' is so unlikely, it makes headlines when it happens.

    All this is a path to a police state.

    In a free society, police must always be under serious and skeptical public oversight, with non-cops and non-cronies in charge, issuing genuine punishment when warranted.

    Police who break the law must be prosecuted like anyone else, promptly fired if guilty, and barred from ever working in law-enforcement again.

    That's the solution.

♦ ♦ ♦

Our definition of ‘cops’ is broad, and includes prison guards, probation officers, shitty DAs and judges, etc — anyone who has the authority to fuck over people’s lives, with minimal or no oversight.

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RULES

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Saying ~~cops~~ ANYONE should be killed lowers the IQ in any conversation. They're about killing people; we're not.

Please don't dox or post calls for harassment, vigilantism, tar & feather attacks, etc.

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It you've been banned but don't know why, check the moderator's log. If you feel you didn't deserve it, hey, I'm new at this and maybe you're right. Send a cordial PM, for a second chance.

♦ ♦ ♦

ALLIES

[email protected]

[email protected]

r/ACAB

r/BadCopNoDonut/

Randy Balko

The Civil Rights Lawyer

The Honest Courtesan

Identity Project

MirandaWarning.org

♦ ♦ ♦

INFO

A demonstrator's guide to understanding riot munitions

Adultification

Cops aren't supposed to be smart

Don't talk to the police.

Killings by law enforcement in Canada

Killings by law enforcement in the United Kingdom

Killings by law enforcement in the United States

Know your rights: Filming the police

Three words. 70 cases. The tragic history of 'I can’t breathe' (as of 2020)

Police aren't primarily about helping you or solving crimes.

Police lie under oath, a lot

Police spin: An object lesson in Copspeak

Police unions and arbitrators keep abusive cops on the street

Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States

So you wanna be a cop?

When the police knock on your door

♦ ♦ ♦

ORGANIZATIONS

Black Lives Matter

Campaign Zero

Innocence Project

The Marshall Project

Movement Law Lab

NAACP

National Police Accountability Project

Say Their Names

Vera: Ending Mass Incarceration

 

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[–] [email protected] 258 points 5 months ago (8 children)

I find that title to be wholly innaccurate.

There were also women on the force, so it was 376 boys and girls in blue sat around and let 19 kids and 2 teachers die.

Well, 375. There was that one asshole who shouted "Do you need our help?" to which a hiding child responded "Yes we need help!" and was subsequently shot by the gunman

That person actively caused a child to die.

[–] [email protected] 126 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Don't forget the one cop that wanted to help but was held back and prevented from entering (I think his wife was a teacher or something)

[–] [email protected] 69 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Oh, and that other cop who was going to try to open the unlocked classroom door but was then told to go patrol the rest of the school

[–] [email protected] 35 points 5 months ago

The only reason they even started evacuating was because one of them opened a classroom and saw it was full

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 5 months ago

Their pronouns are cop/cops (or pig/pigs), so their gender should be irrelevant in this case.

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[–] [email protected] 166 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 136 points 5 months ago (2 children)

376 armed cowards keeping a bunch of parents from rescuing their kids... and what changed? nuthin.

so gross

[–] [email protected] 96 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Nothing changed because Uvalde immediately re-elected the same republiQan slate that put them there. After that tragedy. There should be no more question that it’s a cult.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Uvalde immediately re-elected the same republiQan slate that put them there

Sadly, the kids weren't allowed to vote. Mature enough to get shot at. Not mature enough to select the police who stand idle while it happens.

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[–] [email protected] 125 points 5 months ago (83 children)

Here in Denmark a crazed man attacked the Fields shopping center with a couple of hunting rifles. The first time something like this happened in a very long time.

Danish armed police had a quick response time. Loads of dudes with in full body armour and MP-5s guarding every main exit while other guys went inside to clear out the civilians and hunt the shooter down.

The sniper equipped helicopter circling the shopping center spotted the shooter coming out of a service door and he subsequently got caught.

I think in total only 5 people died, which was from the short period when the guy started shooting.

All the right wing gun addicts from America were chest thumping and table banging, shouting all over social media that this somehow was an example that gun laws don't work. However, considering this happened within a short period after the school shooting in America, all it truly did was make American police look like a bad joke.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 5 months ago (20 children)

As much as ACAB, I can admit that sometimes an armed response is necessary. It sounds like you danes have a well trained force, rather than some 6 week academy psychos with a hard-on for violence.

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[–] [email protected] 108 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

Holy shit, I thought it was double digits. How did they get 376 to show up without any of them roid raging their way into doing something other than dicking around?

[–] [email protected] 121 points 5 months ago (1 children)

How did they get 376 to show up without any of them roid raging their way into doing something other than dicking around?

Some of them tried and were actively prevented from doing it by other Officers. The whole situation is actually worse than most people realize.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 5 months ago (4 children)

There's no way that'd ever be justifiable, but what's their excuse?

[–] [email protected] 35 points 5 months ago (6 children)

Probably something about free school lunches or litter boxes.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (5 children)

From one report, they didn't know who was in charge because there were State and local units. So they did nothing while some in charge waited to hear who should be giving the orders. At least that's how I remember it.

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Because it's a group of narcissists. They were too worried about themselves. None of them had the courage to say "I'm willing to not go home tonight so these kids can."

Actually I'd bet that a bunch said that, but didn't actually do anything about it.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

This is what pisses me off the most. 376, and you can't storm the room? 376? And you refuse to trade one for any of those children who needed protecting? These are supposedly the hard calculations they have to make and they all unilaterally chose themselves? Enforcers will always be useless to anybody but the property owners. They aren't actually here to protect anybody. They should have made the call, and traded 20 of themselves so those kids didn't have to die. Thats the hard call we expect these "hard asses" to make.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 5 months ago

I can't remember the study but basically the bystander effect is a thing. The more people there are in a group, the more likely it is that no one will do anything because everyone will assume that someone else will do something.

This isn't to excuse officers because they are specifically trained that they are that someone. The fact that they were held back from entering is willful, malicious, and negligent.

The fact that the officers actually complied instead of disobeying orders especially when seconds turned to minutes, is cowardice.

And a reminder that I believe the police chief and mayor of the town was reelected by the town.

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[–] [email protected] 85 points 5 months ago (3 children)

I scoff every time a cop on a TV show is like "I joined the force to save lives and make a difference" because it's painfully obvious that this is pretty much never the case in reality.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 5 months ago (4 children)

They joined the force because it has the best job security next to CEOs in the US.

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[–] [email protected] 83 points 5 months ago (10 children)

What's the point of all that military gear they're wasting tax payer money on then? Fascist cosplay?

[–] [email protected] 66 points 5 months ago (2 children)

It’s to use on protesters, not on actual crime.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Yeah. Shooter was not pregnant enough.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 5 months ago

If they are actually fascists then it isn't cosplay though.

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[–] [email protected] 78 points 5 months ago (18 children)

Too bad the shooter wasn't black. The cops weren't trained for this.

This is a cop problem, not a gun problem. All the guns were working, including the shooter's. The cops saw fit to take their lunch hour instead of working.

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[–] [email protected] 64 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I recall a conservative news segment where the "jounalist" and "expert" had discussed that the kids should have rushed the shooter and overwhelmed him. Doesn't matter they were 6-7 they should have stepped up and stopped it all.

Meanwhile, the actual people gained to do that wouldn't, despite overwhelming numbers

[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 months ago (1 children)

"Hey kid, it's up to you to stop another acute manifestation of the US' problem with guns"

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[–] [email protected] 52 points 5 months ago (4 children)

More like it’s yet more proof that you cannot rely on the police to protect you.

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 5 months ago

Cop's first priority is themselves. If it's convenient, they might help others.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Cops refuse to show up on my methhead neighbors - they have weapons. But when my (then) husband wanted to evict my little unarmed 5’3” butt from the house I’d lived in for the past seven years, after physically beating me to the point I wasn’t really cogent, they sent a whole riot squad to pick me up.

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (27 children)

From all my internet lurking I discovered that America is a country almost beyond redemption, or at least some states.

I always wonder if it is really that bad or am I just hearing the usual ‘my country bad’ talk like anyone does but the news point to the first one basically every time. I can only assume it is mostly true and sympathise.

As someone who lives in middle eu capital city and has proverbial 4 houses it is all quite mind blowing. I feel like I live in completely different reality and I am grateful for it every day.

It’s however very painful to hear all you just plain suffering. Maybe that’s why my mind goes ‘it’s probably exaggerated’ it can’t be that bad can it be?

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 5 months ago (1 children)

To protect and serve. *

*terms and conditions apply

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Unironically, if we had 376 armed drag queens and furries instead, not nearly as many children would have died.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Maybe by more guns in school, they meant the kids should carry the guns.

  1. Kids buy gun
  2. Take guns to class with them
  3. Gun industry profits
  4. ??? 🤷‍♀️
  5. World peace
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[–] [email protected] 31 points 5 months ago (6 children)

Good thing cops are not legally required to help you in the US, even if you're about to be killed by a criminal.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Did they still not burn down that police station?

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (2 children)

No, they reelected the sheriff of course.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 months ago (5 children)

"police officers are cowards"

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