"I’m a cop. If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t challenge me."

A touching article by an officer, courtesy of the Washington Post.

This is getting surreal. Really, really surreal.

There are no words. You have to read it for yourself.

Source

 

I completely agree with the article and the police officer, and it was very well written. Cooperate, and things will go smoothly, even if you end up being arrested for, say, admitting to the police officer of the existence of drug paraphernalia in the vehicle.

Ask questions later and file a complaint if you felt you were treated unfairly.

 

Jesus ...
Of course things won' t go smoothly if you don' t cooperate or if you insult them, but come on ! In that scenario what he' s supposed to do is arrest you, not shoot you, taze you, pepper spray or strike you. He' s not supposed to use his taser nor his pepper spray unless you' re resisting arrest. As for the gun unless lifes are in danger that' s just a huge no no. What he just described is plain illegal behavior, which isn' t exactly comforting coming from a cop.

I' ve read the full article and that cop isn' t as hot-headed as the quote in the OP would have you believe. He chose a really piss poor way to summarize his thoughts though.

 

You can't file a complaint if you are dead.

 

Family members and friends can, though, in those cases.

If they are compensated with money, it by no means fills in the empty hole in their hearts of their beloved one's death, but the complaint is on record, which would hopefully prevent future incidents.

 

That's one way of looking at it.
Another is that if you are so insensitive or aggressive to resort to violence after being insulted, the power you hold is misplaced.
People do need to cooperate, but so do you.

 

In many cases they are compensated by the local area turning into a fascist state to quell the civil unrest and protests when the officer is acquitted of murder. Meanwhile the officer who shot me gets a paid vacation during the internal affairs "investigation". Then the officer is back on the streets again. The future occurrences get worse because the record is that they were accused, not found guilty, which makes them and the department even more sure of their invincibility. Perhaps the officer will want yet another two weeks paid vacation after another 'excessive force' (they don't call it homicide) accusation and will do it again for the reward, like a couple of other officers have done.

 

Yeah, people keep making the "cops are only human" aargument to me about this, but honestly? if you're a cop, I expect you to be BETTER than the average person, you've been given a lot of power, and you shouldn't be ready and willing to throw said power around
Nobody is using the "only human" argument for the rioters or the kid who got shot, either
whole thing is honestly overwhelming to me, I can only handle is for a short whole before I start shaking

 

He's basically like the Youtube commenter that says "I'll find you and kill you" in response to an insult. It's pure overreaction, and overreaction should not hold a place in the police force. Expressing your discomfort in a potential arrest is not against the law, it's the First Amendment. Violently responding turns the situation into a personal matter, and that should be punishable. A hurt ego should not lead to a hurt family. Taking someone's life is a big commitment and it's absolutely sickening that these officers are so trigger-happy.

 

My counter to this is taken from an open letter by some 300 faith leaders to the city of Ferguson:

Swarce hyar. So yeah Mr. Dutta, let's have this dialogue, but let's recognize that circumstances differ dramatically depending on the area and the people involved. Cali is not Missouri. Missouri cops are not Cali cops. The only common thread is that both sides of a dispute (more so the side with the power if you ask me) are expected to treat each other humanely. This isn't humane, it's barbaric.

 

And what good does that do for you or anyone else? Compensating a few families for unjust killings is barely a dent in the government's funding. It's certainly not going to change anything.

But okay, the next time you get shot and killed by a police officer who doesn't recognize your rights, you can rest in peace knowing that your family will file a complaint that, along with less than ten others, will make a real difference in society.

 

-assuming they acknowledge the complaint at all

 

You know, I' d think the real compensation here would be to know that at least the sorry excuse for a cop who screwed up has been fired, if not incarcerated. But yeah, good luck with that. Maybe it is time for your cops to wear a camera on the job at all times. I mean they have tons of military toys they have no practical use for but can' t wait to show off, clearly money isn' t an issue.