Police Officers Are Mostly Parasites

[Sour Masher]

I also want to point out that I face higher odds of receiving physical harm or loss of life than the average police officer. I understand the danger of being murdered is different than the danger of being killed in other professions, but police still use that perceived added threat of loss of life to justify their own cowardly actions, nearly every murder of an unarmed black person dismissed because of this perception. It's not innocuous, it allows officers to avoid accountability across the board.

I agree that the public perception of the danger of the job plays a role in public sentiment in relation to excessive police force, and my impede solutions. It is an uncomfortable issue to address, because if you do so, you are quickly labeled as anti-police. But yeah, the actual vs perceived danger of being an officer is often very different. It doesn't help that so many police shows make it seem like cops are dodging bullets basically every day. Part of the problem, I think, is that the police are trained to see danger everywhere, so it adds to the stress of their job. 99 out of 100 times, they are in no danger, but every time, they are trained to feel like they could be. That has to be incredibly stressful for them, but if they are not trained to see danger everywhere, it could increase the rate of harm they face, so that is a tough problem.

Also, it should be noted that while, on average, the amount of danger police face is less than portrayed in popular media, there are areas that are much more dangerous to be an officer than others. There are cops that face way more danger than I'd want to on the daily, but it just isn't most cops like most people seem to think. There are many jobs, on average, much more dangerous than being a police officer, on average. But we don't seem to give passes to truck drivers, farmers, maintenance workers (including landscape workers like TW), construction workers, roofers, loggers, pilots, garbage collectors, and fisherman, among others (being a fishermen, btw, is about 8 times more deadly a profession than being a police officer). None of this is to say they don't have a hard job, of course. But I do agree, the danger of the job is not an excuse to not do the job with the proper temperament and constraint.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/the-...-they-pay.html

[Gregg]

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There are many jobs, on average, much more dangerous than being a police officer, on average. But we don't seem to give passes to truck drivers, farmers, maintenance workers (including landscape workers like TW), construction workers, roofers, loggers, pilots, garbage collectors, and fisherman, among others (being a fishermen, btw, is about 8 times more deadly a profession than being a police officer). None of this is to say they don't have a hard job, of course. But I do agree, the danger of the job is not an excuse to not do the job with the proper temperament and constraint.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/the-...-they-pay.html

What do you mean we don't seem to give passes to?

[Sour Masher]

What do you mean we don't seem to give passes to?

I mean when excessive force is used by police, including firing at unarmed citizens, one argument defending such actions is the extreme danger and stress of the job. The job is sometimes portrayed as kill or be killed, and that perception I think makes many cautious in criticizing those in uniform, giving them either the benefit of doubt or a pass in ways that those in other dangerous jobs do not get.

For instance, truck drivers have, statistically a more dangerous job than police officers, on average. But if a sleepy truck driver runs a citizen off the road, killing him, the response is typically universal in blaming the driver and/or the system that allows or forces drivers to drive so much. No one questions the reporting of facts or character of the other drivers or claims a liberal media bias hiding the truth that the other driver acted aggressively toward the truck.

ETA: I should add, I think the profession is both lionized and villianized excessively. It is an important job that should be respected in our society. But it is often both made overly glamorous and overly corrupt by the media. Those doing the work should be respected but not be above reproach, and excuses related to the danger of the job are weak imo. The protect the shield mentality in the profession is toxic, and seems based on the belief that it is them vs the world. Maybe that is fueled by them seeing the worst of the world so often, but it does not have to be that way. I would bet most cops wish it were not that way. It must suck, for the non power tripping cops, walking around wondering which people hate or fear you because of how some of your peers act.

[Gregg]

I mean when excessive force is used by police, including firing at unarmed citizens, one argument defending such actions is the extreme danger and stress of the job. The job is sometimes portrayed as kill or be killed, and that perception I think makes many cautious in criticizing those in uniform, giving them either the benefit of doubt or a pass in ways that those in other dangerous jobs do not get.

For instance, truck drivers have, statistically a more dangerous job than police officers, on average. But if a sleepy truck driver runs a citizen off the road, killing him, the response is typically universal in blaming the driver and/or the system that allows or forces drivers to drive so much. No one questions the reporting of facts or character of the other drivers or claims a liberal media bias hiding the truth that the other driver acted aggressively toward the truck.

ETA: I should add, I think the profession is both lionized and villianized excessively. It is an important job that should be respected in our society. But it is often both made overly glamorous and overly corrupt by the media. Those doing the work should be respected but not be above reproach, and excuses related to the danger of the job are weak imo. The protect the shield mentality in the profession is toxic, and seems based on the belief that it is them vs the world. Maybe that is fueled by them seeing the worst of the world so often, but it does not have to be that way. I would bet most cops wish it were not that way. It must suck, for the non power tripping cops, walking around wondering which people hate or fear you because of how some of your peers act.

Thank you for the explanation. A lot of good stuff in there.

When innocents get killed in any of those professions it is tragic and mostly accidental. When the professional gets killed it still is mostly accidental and tragic. We can almost always look back and see what could have been done to avoid the accidents and tragedies.

The big difference is that when an officer is killed it is mostly intentional. Fishermen, truck drivers, landscapers have no target on their backs to worry about. This is a huge difference in what a dangerous job looks like or feels like.

I cannot imagine the stress of what it must look like to have to make a split second decision on whether or not to shoot to kill someone.

[Sour Masher]

Thank you for the explanation. A lot of good stuff in there.

When innocents get killed in any of those professions it is tragic and mostly accidental. When the professional gets killed it still is mostly accidental and tragic. We can almost always look back and see what could have been done to avoid the accidents and tragedies.

The big difference is that when an officer is killed it is mostly intentional. Fishermen, truck drivers, landscapers have no target on their backs to worry about. This is a huge difference in what a dangerous job looks like or feels like.

I cannot imagine the stress of what it must look like to have to make a split second decision on whether or not to shoot to kill someone.

Yes, I agree. I addressed some of this earlier--even if the actual rate of harm for the profession is not as high as others, the perceived threat of harm and the stress it causes is incredibly high. Some of that cannot be avoided, because the police are often tasked with coming into contact with those who may be motivated to do them harm. But I do wonder if some of this stress, and the resulting civilian deaths it sometimes causes, could be mitigated by better/different training and procedures. Doing so would be better for the community and those in the profession.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Yes, I agree. I addressed some of this earlier--even if the actual rate of harm for the profession is not as high as others, the perceived threat of harm and the stress it causes is incredibly high. Some of that cannot be avoided, because the police are often tasked with coming into contact with those who may be motivated to do them harm. But I do wonder if some of this stress, and the resulting civilian deaths it sometimes causes, could be mitigated by better/different training and procedures. Doing so would be better for the community and those in the profession.

I would add this caveat--Anyone in law enforcement seeks out and accepts the job KNOWING that risk--If they're not able to handle that stress, they should refrain from applying for/accepting the job.

[Gregg]

I would add this caveat--Anyone in law enforcement seeks out and accepts the job KNOWING that risk--If they're not able to handle that stress, they should refrain from applying for/accepting the job.

Absolutely agree with this.

That statement could also be made of all the other dangerous professions.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Absolutely agree with this.

That statement could also be made of all the other dangerous professions.

Same Page----------This could pretty much apply to every profession, if you're not prepared to do the job in the manner it requires to do it well, why put yourself in that position?

[Gregg]

The deadliest day in law enforcement history was September 11, 2001, when 72 officers were killed while responding to the terrorist attacks on America.

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report 2017 LEOKA report:
There have been 60,211 assaults against law enforcement officers in 2017, resulting in 17,476 injuries.

According to the Washington Post there were 986 people shot and killed by policemen in 2017. It would be amazing restraint if this was just shot vs injuries. But you have to factor in all assaults. This number does not factor in policemen defending people in the line of duty either.

All these circumstances are tragic on so many levels. I am not excusing police brutality or anything else. I am also not buying that a large percentage of our 900,000 officers are parasites either.

[Sour Masher]

I am also not buying that a large percentage of our 900,000 officers are parasites either.

I agree with this, which is why I pushed back on TW in this thread. I think the cause of that perception is twofold.

On the one hand, there is much greater transparency in law enforcement than there used to be, which is exposing some of the ugly, dark aspects of what some officers have long done. We still have a long way to go on this, but body cams and everyone having video and audio recording devices on hand these days are bringing to light bad practices that used to be in the dark. This gives the impression that things are worse, when I think they are a sign things are getting better.

Even though I know, this, seeing videos like that low-life scumbag who happens to have a police uniform on ruining people's lives by planting drugs on them...it highlights how scary it can be when someone with the power police officers have goes bad. Very scary stuff and it is why we must be very careful about vetting and training and overseeing anyone in such a powerful profession.

On the other hand, there is how the media portrays police. In the news, we often hear about what these new videos are catching cops doing, and while these incidences may only represent a small number of officers, our perception is skewed by how often we see these things (I am blanking on the name of this effect--can anyone help me out?). In tv dramas, cops are either shown facing ridiculous, daily dangers, which I already addressed, or on the other side, they are often show as corrupt or incompetent/background fodder. Basically, their profession gets a lot of attention, good and bad, and it skews reality and creates polarization of opinions depending on what things you focus on.

As I have said, it is an important job and I respect and admire those who do with with professionalism. It also scares me how dangerous and damaging a bad cop can be.

[Gregg]

I agree with this, which is why I pushed back on TW in this thread. I think the cause of that perception is twofold.

On the one hand, there is much greater transparency in law enforcement than there used to be, which is exposing some of the ugly, dark aspects of what some officers have long done. We still have a long way to go on this, but body cams and everyone having video and audio recording devices on hand these days are bringing to light bad practices that used to be in the dark. This gives the impression that things are worse, when I think they are a sign things are getting better.

Even though I know, this, seeing videos like that low-life scumbag who happens to have a police uniform on ruining people's lives by planting drugs on them...it highlights how scary it can be when someone with the power police officers have goes bad. Very scary stuff and it is why we must be very careful about vetting and training and overseeing anyone in such a powerful profession.

On the other hand, there is how the media portrays police. In the news, we often hear about what these new videos are catching cops doing, and while these incidences may only represent a small number of officers, our perception is skewed by how often we see these things (I am blanking on the name of this effect--can anyone help me out?). In tv dramas, cops are either shown facing ridiculous, daily dangers, which I already addressed, or on the other side, they are often show as corrupt or incompetent/background fodder. Basically, their profession gets a lot of attention, good and bad, and it skews reality and creates polarization of opinions depending on what things you focus on.

As I have said, it is an important job and I respect and admire those who do with with professionalism. It also scares me how dangerous and damaging a bad cop can be.

Why do you think that videos showing policemen doing good things are almost never shown?

[DMT]

Why do you think that videos showing policemen doing good things are almost never shown?

Because the demand for bad news is much higher.

[Sour Masher]

Why do you think that videos showing policemen doing good things are almost never shown?

It is, sometimes, mostly on local news around here. But news media is generally amoral, so whatever gets clicks gets highlighted. Nationally, I think it is about feeding the outrage engine. Nothing gets clicks like an outrageous headline.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Why do you think that videos showing policemen doing good things are almost never shown?

I'd say, just like in any other instance, you only get notices when you fail or exceed expectation. Those in law enforcement get noticed when they do bad or very good, just doing their job, though beneficial to the community, isn't noteworthy--It's expected.

[Teenwolf]

The key witness from the Amber Guyger trial was just murdered. He had no criminal background, his only sin was being witness to a police murder.

Botham Jean Neighbor Killed

Police in this case had previously protected the scumbag murderous cop, Guyger. On the night of the murder, the head of the Dallas Police Association told an officer to shut off dash cameras so he could question Guyger privately.

In the hour or so after Amber Guyger shot Botham Jean in his home, she got a visit from the president of Dallas' biggest police union.

Testimony in Guyger's murder trial Tuesday also revealed that Mike Mata, head of the Dallas Police Association, told his subordinate that night last September to shut off her in-car camera system so he and Guyger could speak in private. [...]

Sgt. Breanna Valentine, who also testified Tuesday, said that once she learned Guyger was responsible for the shooting, it was her responsibility to take Guyger to her patrol car and isolate her from the situation.

But that wasn't what happened, prosecutors said.

With the jury out of the room, Hermus showed footage of several people interacting with Guyger before and after Valentine placed her in the squad car. Some of them are Guyger's friends and fellow officers, Hermus said, and Guyger can be seen hugging one of them.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2019/09/24/police treated amber guyger special on night of shooting prosecutor argues

Guyger's case shows exactly how ALL officers are trained to protect other officers, to interfere with evidence if it protects an officer that just murdered someone... oh, and after she's found guilty and given a bullshit 10 year slap on the wrist, out on the streets in 4 years... after all of that bullshit, the cops go and murder the only witness.

What percentage of the officers in this case are "parasites"? 100%? How do you watch as your fellow officers hug and console a murderer and tamper with evidence? How is this all okay? Is the head of the Dallas Police Union going to face any repercussions whatsoever for telling an arriving officer to shut off their camera? NO. They will not face ANY repurcussions. That's why the entire system is a sick joke filled with parasites.