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dogma wrote:I have a long list of incidents on which my hatred of the police is based. In my experience they are almost universally cowardly; only willing to exercise force on those they believe to be willing to go without incident.

I have had a very bad experience with a police officer, and in spite of the fact that intellectually I know that experience is anecdotal, it has colored my outlook ever since. I generally can't help but feel that the job attracts people that want an excuse to impose their will on others.

A less bad experience but still nasty happened at dragon con one year. My wife and I were in line when some guy runs past this police officer and up into a rear entrance to the hotel. My wife, being far too helpful, merely points this individual out to the police officer, since it was somewhat out of the ordinary. It looked like the cop's back was turned anyhow so its entirely possible he could have not noticed. Well, this charming individual responds with " I knew he was there, do you not think I could have caught him?", in that I'm a bad ass tone we all know and love. Well, my wife just sort of drops her head and looks at the ground, and I just completely saw red, litterally. It was all I could do to keep in control. I got right up in this fascists face and told him that " She was just trying to be helpful, you don't have to insult her". This went on for a couple of exchanges before he finally just said " We're cool, we're cool" and I just decided not to pursue it farther because my point was made. There were probably too many witnesses around for him to push it himself.

I didn't care. He could throw me down against the concrete or bust my chops with a nightstick, but I'll be damned by God before I stand by and let this fascist pig insult my wife or cost me face in front of other people. I'll just pay the legal bills for that one if it comes to it.

This bothers me because I also had a police officer, in all probability, save my father's life. You tend to see the negatives though.

The other two officers would have avoided prosecution on the grounds that they had a valid reason to hold the guy down, as he was being aggressive. It was "not their fault" that the other guy threw a few punches whilst they did their job. Whether that is the truth or not is irrelevant to the court as it so easily could have been that way.

If two civvies held down a copper while their mate punched him, they would be prosecuted as they would have had no alternative valid reason for why they were holding a copper down.

Albatross wrote:I like coppers.

How often have you dealt with them mate?

Ive done it maybe.. 10 times?

Id say they were professional about twice, acceptable 3 times, and absolute fething pricks the other 5.

Thats 50% of the time they acted like knobbers, so i say i heartily dislike the rozzers!

mattyrm wrote:

Albatross wrote:I like coppers.

How often have you dealt with them mate?

Ive done it maybe.. 10 times?

Id say they were professional about twice, acceptable 3 times, and absolute fething pricks the other 5.

Thats 50% of the time they acted like knobbers, so i say i heartily dislike the rozzers!

...and when I've dealt with them they've been polite and respectful. Every time. I'm wondering if the 'other 5 times' were times you got pulled for fighting on the cobblestones like an absolute chimp...

I have the wherewithal to effect a swift withdrawal whenever the party van rocks up, hence I've never been nicked. And I've broken the law MANY times.

The majority of my family is in law enforcement, and I think that most people's problems with the cops stem from two main issues.

The first is that police face a difficult conundrum. People often say "This cop was a jerk to me, I didn't deserve to be treated like that." The people they are REALLY meant to corral, the thugs and drug dealers and lawless heathens, don't behave like regular people. They don't respect authority. They only thing they will respect or obey is a stronger person who makes them behave, either through force or the threat of force. Since these reprobates aren't courteous enough to tattoo "CRIMINAL" on their forehead, the police must approach every situation as if it were one involving the afforementioned lowlifes. Does this mean that they will incidentally be jerks to the innocent? Probably, sure. But I would rather have my feelings hurt than my car stolen.

The second conundrum is one that I find when dealing with many of my friends (who are, shall we say, on opposite sides of the spectrum from my family). A criminal, or at least someone who thinks like a criminal, will always find a reason to cast the police in a bad light. Any time they get pulled over, it's somehow the cop's fault even when they were breaking the law. I have to take all these stories with a grain of salt. Usually, because that's what they need.

Have I been given the short end of the stick by cops? Yes. I have had my car broken into, and been able to concretely TELL them who did it. Was anything done? No. I am not complaining. They have murderers, arsonists, and rapists to catch. My car window got smashed by a drunk who didn't even bother to steal anything. Not a high priority.

I have been harassed by cops as well. It happens. That attitude they have to adopt as a defense mechanism? Sometimes goes to their heads. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need police. Tragically, it isn't a perfect world, and we DO need police. Sure, some of them are rotters. (Just like some teachers are pedophiles, some doctors are drug addicts, and some politicians like to snort cocaine out of the cleavages of underage illegal immigrant prostitutes.)

If a cop does something illegal, then do what he says, and report him when you are safe. The system works for you too, and police receive a degree of scrutiny that most people would find astounding if they knew the actual extent of it.

On the other hand, if a cop does something that just hurts your feelings, then suck it up, buttercup.