Why people hate cops

[undergroundpanther]

I admit it.. I too am wary and not fond of cops myself, and what they represent.
Why people hate cops
Derrick Jensen

Pretend you see a cop. Pretend you’re doing nothing illegal. Pretend you don’t need police protection. You’re minding your own business, and BAM, you see a cop. What do you feel? Right then. In your gut. On a scale from minus five (fear or loathing) to zero (nothing) to plus five (warmth, comfort, safety).

For more than a decade I’ve asked hundreds or even thousands of people this question, and the long-term average is about minus three. The only profession I know that consistently rates worse is parking patrol, at a near unanimous minus five. Politicians and CEOs rate about the same as police. In the cases of politicians, CEOS, and parking patrol, the hostility is almost entirely loathing, and not much fear. In the case of police, it’s both loathing and fear, in roughly equal measures.

This average doesn’t come about merely because my friends are anti-authoritarian. I’ve asked people of all ages, all economic classes, all political and religious beliefs. Even many of the police I’ve asked don’t have good feelings when they see police they don’t know. Nearly all of the police I’ve talked to feel the same about FBI agents as normal people do about police officers.

...
Cop shows, politicians, corporate media, and many cops tell us more or less incessantly that the police are heroes here to protect us. We hear also that hatred or fear of police is misplaced, and that police are an easy target onto whom otherwise powerless people too often blame their misery. I just got a very intelligent email from a cop commenting on a sentence from my book Endgame. The sentence was “A primary purpose of the police is to enforce the delusions of those with lots of pieces of green paper.” He wrote, “I agree for the most part. Yes, police are protecting the status quo, but they also protect poor people from gangs, thugs, and sociopaths who prey on people in lower socio-economic situations.”

http://www.insurgentamerican.net/2007/05/28/why-people-hate-cops/

[Le Taz Hot]

1. I don't hate cops.

As a matter of fact they've come to my rescue a few times. They have a difficult job to do and I, for one, am glad they're there.

[LeighAnn]

2. I Like Cops. They're Sexy ;)

Depends on the cop. If it's a cop I like, I think, "Cool! It's ocifer such-and-such". And if it's a cop I don't like, I think, "Oh, now what??"

Get a scanner, you'll learn to like cops a lot more.

[undergroundpanther]

22. My mom has one

The thing drove me nuts. All would be calm and all of a sudden static and a mumbled voice saying stuff.I would jump outta my skin.
I respect firefighters EMT's and people that help people because they like to help more than cops who are paid do as they are told follow quotas for propping up politicians who want to appear tough on crime unquestioningly, and hand out tickets over stupid shit until the quota is met..

[LeighAnn]

30. Seems like they arrest the same guy every night

They arrest the same guy over and over again...

He's drunk, on probation, driving on a suspended or a revoked license, with warrants out for his arrest, often for domestic assault charges. Sometimes it's a woman. And this sort of case is an easy one compared to the car wrecks and domestic violence calls.

It didn't take me long to understand why a lot of law enforcement officers seem to hate people.

I had to get rid of the scanner because it bummed me out and it made a lot of racket, like you say.

[TX-RAT]

32. They arrest the same guy over and over again...

Sad but true, seems like we were always dealing with the same people over and over, these were known to us as 911 regulars. Every weekend we'd be responding to the same houses, husband and wife get drunk and start fighting. Same old drunks causing the same old problems.

"It didn't take me long to understand why a lot of law enforcement officers seem to hate people."

It's not a hate, it's a distrust. If you've been lied to and cussed at as much as we have, you'd be the same way.

I was a Peace Officer for 22 years, and a County Judge for 8 years.

[MichaelHarris]

3. I don't hate them either

just doing a job just like anyone else.

[LeighAnn]

5. Of course, some of them are dickheads

I don't want to mention any names...

[tblue]

28. I hate dickheads

[undergroundpanther]

24. I have heard that excuse before..

Lemme see

"What's the 'Nuremberg Defense'?" you may be wondering. Well, when the U.S. decided to try the Nazis for war crimes after WWII, they realized many Germans would plead innocent because "they were just following orders" -- just doing their job -- and that excused them for any atrocities they may have committed. This was an argument often used in similar cases. But the claim was so wide spread in these Nazi trials that the "I was just following orders" defense was subsequently named for the city where the trials were held. Nuremberg, Germany. And the "Nuremberg Defense" itself was outlawed.


http://www.hrw.org/reports98/police/
http://blogher.org/node/15222

Sometimes you have to question the purpose of the job you do.And the legitimacy of the authority commanding you and the assignments and tactics.. So few people ever do this. They just leave it or lump it but never seem to try to STOP it.

[11 Bravo]

52. Are you really equating cops with Nazis?

What simplistic, historically ignorant, bullshit.

[RB TexLa]

4. I haven't met enough of them to know what I think of them

I'm sure they are like everyone else.

[caligirl]

6. some have taken the Bush mantra to new heights in civil rights and abuse of power. diminished trust.

[LeighAnn]

8. A lot of them are in Iraq n/t

[krispos42]

27. And some of them show remarkable restraint

I watch "Cops" and such on TV regularly. Some of it is by Fox camera crews, so I assume they are mostly on their best behavior, but a lot of it comes from dashboard cameras, helicopters, citizens with video cameras, or news cameras.

The one with the Maine state trooper holding himself in chech while dealing with a very abusive, very angry speeder is classic. :-)

[caligirl]

33. I read the paper- one manhandled an assistant to a city supervisor

and has a long history of excessive force, he's been suspended from the force while they investigate.

then there is the NY city police during the RNConvention who pulled anyone and everyone off the sidewalk and put them in jail. Judges have been harsh on the police actions.

Many may well be good but oif the topic is about harsher trreatment of the public_ sincde bush has been in office overall many policde forces have been. And why not they know its sanctioned by Abu Gonzales.

There will always be good and bad apples in any dept, but under Bush it has been made clear its ok to arrest first and ask questions later.

[krispos42]

48. I can't argue much with that n/t

[Scurrilous]

7. I don't hate cops...

...I just hate paying the tickets they give me.

@#$% cops!

[DJ MEW]

9. I am definately a minus five

Just like tonight I rode my bike from my apartment to my favorite coffee shoppe, 3 blocks away, and cop rode past in the other lane and jammed on the brakes as he came up to me like he was checking me out to find some reason why he could pull me over. I have also noticed that every time I am driving and I pass a cop heading in the other way or at an intersection I will immediately look in my rear view to see what the cop is doing, if they are pulling out, turning on their lights, or what have you.

I think part of this fear, at least where I live, comes from the fact that it is pretty much common knowledge in my city that the cops have ticket quotas that they have to meet. (Although offically they are called goals.)

I would also like to mention that I say this one day after having two cops come to my aid when I did a crash and burn on a busy road on my bicycle. I hit a huge hole just off the crub that I could not see and was flung from the bike by the force of it and two cop cars, all-be-it University Campus Cops help me to clean up my wounds and get me headed back to my apartment.

[undergroundpanther]

10. I do I hate them

Did you READ the link? To the END?

And that’s why I got so pissed off. Because the truth is that unless you’re really paranoid and hostile and abusive, the situation at customs looked like what it was: someone who had spent 48 of the last 90 hours in airports; someone who was sleep-deprived; someone with an incurable, progressive disease who has to take more pills than he can keep straight; someone who simply got confused.
The truth is that the perspective the police wanted me to take on—the perspective they themselves evidently had—is really fucked up. Combine their paranoid, hostile perspective with the fact that they do not mind intentionally, consciously manipulating those with whom they come into contact—indeed, they are trained to intentionally, consciously manipulate those with whom they come into contact—and combine all of that with the fact that they have guns and we generally do not, and combine that with the fact that they have the full power of the state behind them to use those guns in ways that would cause the rest of us to be killed or imprisoned forever, and it becomes pretty damn clear why so many people hate cops: it’s not very fun to have someone hold power over you, especially when that person quite possibly does not have your best interests at heart, when that person has been trained to manipulate you, when that person can detain you or worse over misunderstandings, when that person, in larger cases, can destroy your life....

...“Think about the stories you just told me. Think about how the cops treated you. Think about their perspective on you that they kept trying to get you to see? What is it about that perspective? What are they feeling toward you? Think about all the cop shows you see. What do the cops feel toward those they encounter? Contempt, at best. More likely hatred. Think about the looks on cops’ faces when they walk up to give you a ticket. Think about all the stories you have ever heard about the police. Yes, we all have a good story here or there involving police treating us well, but think about your experience and the experiences of those you know. What do all of those stories have in common? Think about the question you asked: why do so many people hate the police? I think the answer is staring us in the face, especially when it is cops who are doing the staring. I think a lot of people hate the police because the police hate us first.”

I think a moment, and sadly, find I cannot disagree.
***************************************************************

Here is one of my "cop stories"...
I was screamed at for hours, triggered all to hell, manipulated, detained, harassed and threatened until I burst out crying , I was repeating the same THING over and over, I was never told I was there because I was a suspect,in an arson.I had no clue why I was there. They threatened ,humiliated,searched,and bullied me. They played good cop bad cop.I was abreacting. I would find out later ll this abuse was because some yahoo in the day program made a fire in a trashcan in the bathroom in a day program's building.

The fire happened after I left that bathroom hours
before the fire happened. I was in a totally different place drawing, all my pencils out on the table when the fire happened. I wasn't even aware there was any fire.Then I put up my pencils we had "wrap up" and we all went home. The next day at the crack of dawn, the cops came to the halfway house and took me to the station in an unmarked car.

I had no clue why. I spent all day there until it was very dark like 10pm being yelled at.
All over what was I found out later at most $150.00 bucks worth of"damage" I never did..They never found who set the fire.But they tried every trick question and manipulation and sadism to twist me into confessing to something I did not do.

So I hate them. I hate what cops stand for.And most of all I hate the way they think they are entitled to abuse people.

[qdemn7]

14. I hate to say this...

But ANYONE who carries any pills around in anything but the prescription bottle they were dispensed in, or the original OTC bottle they came in... is well...an utter and complete fool. I feel little sympathy or empathy for you.

OK, so you have Crohn's and other problems. Do you ever have your own scrips? Because they could have busted you simply on the grounds of taking other people's 'scrips, doesn't matter if it was your mother, father or spouse.

And with the paranoia and the "War on Drugs" the way it is worldwide these day, there is no excuse for putting yourself in a position to be thought of as a person engaging in simple possession or possession with intent to distribute.

I take meds. I used to take sulfasalazine for ulcerative colitis, so I know about Crohn's. I take meds for high blood pressure, and other medical problems. If I were traveling I would take a fresh prescription from my doc for each of my meds, and a new bottle of anything OTC. And yes this costs money, but it's a form of insurance. Do you drive without a seatbelt? I sure as hell don't.

Now granted, if we didn't have the WOD, you wouldn't have been in the situation you were in. But, unfortunately, the WOD isn't going away.

The best thing I can say about this is you DID NOT go to jail. I have been to jail and it's not fun. And I was there because of my own stupidity.

The cops didn't know a thing about your trip or how much time you spent in airports with or without sleep. And frankly that isn't relevant to anyone but you. Take this as the a lesson in life. Don't put yourself in legal jeopardy unless you absolutely have to.

Because plain and simple you fucked up. Big time. And you have no one to blame but yourself.

[undergroundpanther]

18. What??!!

First of all I am not the writer of the article.
Second of all you are pretty damn arrogant about the story. Third you may have been in jail but guess what I have NEVER been in jail.
I have been wrongfully arrested. And Let go.I was in the wrong place wrong time. Innocent but harassed yelled at, manipulated and I hated it.
And when I travel sometimes I do not take the HUGE ass bottle some of my scrips come in.Especially for a one day trip because suitcases have limited space .I would prefer an extra pair of socks. I label it and I got my pharmacy number and my doctors numbers And they will verify it's mine and prescribed.

And If you think you are so perfect,and that you know every twist and turn on the rules of air travel you are fooling yourself.One lady recently was harassed by airport security cops because her two year old terrorist was armed with a SIPPY CUP with WATER in it.Maybe your eagerness to overlook cop abuses and bad attitudes is because you believe you were stupid enough to get your ass in jail and would rather identify with the oppressor? You see it from their twisted point of view.

Alot of people victimized by authoritarians and tend to blame themselves first.Kids blame themselves when parents beat them up too you know.
Maybe you were manipulated into it.Maybe you were stupid I don't know. But responding to me Like I am Derrick Jensen does say volumes about your reacting.

[qdemn7]

21. Sorry ....

I apologize for confusing you with Derrick Jensen. That's all I will apologize for. I stand by the rest of what I said.

[LeighAnn]

38. Did you ask for an attorney?

I've heard that will put a stop to that kind of questioning, but haven't been in that situation and don't know if it works

Sorry for your troubles :(

[undergroundpanther]

65. No

I didn't know how to ask for one, Like I said, I had NEVER been took into a police station before when that happened so I had no clue how to handle that situation.I was nieve.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

62. That's An Incredibly Narrow Minded Declaration. I Hope You Realize That.

Hating a huge group based on your experiences with a few is incredibly narrow minded and leads to bigotry in a sense, same as any other bigotry rooted in ignorance.

So you had some bad experiences with cops. That gives you justification to hate them all? Do you not have the intuitive ability to see all the good things cops have done for people, even though you weren't there yourself or helped directly by them? Is the only exposure you've had to cops been based ONLY on your direct interaction with them? You don't have the ability to learn and deduce all of the millions of other ways cops have been monumentally beneficial, helpful and heroic, in order to take that into consideration with your own direct experiences, when making a wholesale deduction about them?

I find that to be incredibly sad. So what; ya had some cops treat you badly. That's no excuse to hold a narrow minded and bigoted hatred towards all cops. The premise above is one of which to be ashamed, as should all displays of ignorant hatred towards entire groups of people. Really sad to see something like that here.

[Mythsaje]

11. Well, let's see...

I was nineteen and walking home from the closing shift at the Pizza Hut, making my way up the MAIN drag, which was well-lit, when a K-9 unit pulled up in front of me. The two cops got out and began questioning me. I told them the truth, which was that I'd just got off work and was walking home (it was about 3 AM--I think I'd stopped at Denny's along the way for a cup of coffee or two to kick up my energy level for the walk ahead).

I was dressed in an army field jacket and blue jeans, pretty much the same thing I wore all the time.

They told me that if they ever saw me out that late in those clothes again, they'd sick their dog on me.

Oh, I seriously don't like those two motherfuckers, even now. Power-tripping scum with badges and guns.

I've an acquaintance, acquired over the 'net, who despises cops. Period. In his view, they're the shock troops in the war declared against the American people that's the cause of our incredible incarceration rate. He doesn't consider them any different than Nazi stormtroopers and cheers when one is killed.

I don't trust them as a matter of course, but I don't hate them as a group. They're people, the same as the rest of them, and many took the job thinking they were doing a good thing. But over time, with day to day contact with some of the worst examples of humanity, they are bound to start regarding everyone unlike themselves to be somehow twisted. It's inevitable. We're ALL potential suspects, most notably because of the drug war.

I spent some time posting on a police message board, which was an education in itself. There were a lot of decent people there. But even decent people can be used in the service of--if not evil, at least "wrongness"-- if they're convinced of something that isn't necessarily true.

And the government has gone to a great deal of trouble over the past several decades to convince its domestic foot soldiers, as well as the general public, that there's no significant difference between cannabis and, say, cocaine or meth. And a lot of them believe it. Their training falls just short of indoctrination, and given the wrong set of circumstances in their early years on the job, they lose the ability to judge people fairly.

Or so it seems to me.

[nosmokes]

12. "they also protect poor people from gangs, thugs, and sociopaths who prey "

so , which cops is it that do this protecting the poor? and do they do it before or after they bust the kids for selling nickle bags of dope and is it before or after they bust the kid's mothers for hooking so they can afford a place to sleep and food to eat and clothes to wear? and does this protecting the poor happen before or after they pound the minority kid's head against the curb for not showing the uniform the proper respect? I'm really curious to know. Because the years I spent living in and next to the barrio I saw a whole lot of one and very fucking little of the other. But then I wasn't out on the street very much at 7:30am so maybe there's a shit load of poor people protecting going on then?

[BlooInBloo]

13. In the immortal words of Grandmaster Flash....

A street kid gets arrested
gonna do some time.
He got out,
3 years from now,
just to commit more crime.

A business man is caught
with 24 kilos.
He's out on bail,
and out of jail,
and that's the way it goes!

[undergroundpanther]

16. Umm I beg to differ

Cops respond fast to well off neighborhood calls. And they drag ass to poor neighborhood calls. Sometimes if the neighborhood is really poor and alot of blacks live there they fail to arrive.
Cops harass freak teens but they leave biff and buffy con-servo looking clean cut types alone even IF they ARE breaking the law right in front of the cops,and the freaks are not doing anything but being there,seen it happen for myself.

Seems the cops are fine with sociopaths ,gangs and thugs killing off poor people , homeless people,freaks,or other races.But if any thug kill a white wealthy make or a white well off female then the cops are out like baying bloodhounds to find the culprit.

Why do you think that is? Our culture is stratified based on wealth ,race and 'connections'.You got none of these , well the cops won't help you.They'll harass you.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Hate to tell you this

but I don't hate them either....

In fact, cops can be very nice.

They can be dickheads but they can be very nice.

And like all groups some should have never been cops to begin with... but I don't hate them

[The Straight Story]

17. I used to be a cop - and this came up in our training

On the one hand, people want you to enforce the laws, on the other hand when you do and it involves them they hate you.

They complain about speeders in their hood, and then you pull them over for speeding and they are mad you did not catch someone else that was going faster a week ago.

You do what you are paid to do, arrest people (even when you don't like it) and someone will hate you for it.

If you don't do it and rebel, you are out of a job. Either way you lose.

I have seen people arrested for fishing without a license, and the poor guy simply forgot to pay the fine. He was pulled over on some minor traffic thing, but since there was a warrant the cop had to bring him in. He hated it, they guy he was bringing in hated it, but if he had not done it several things would have went on:

1. It was white guy he arrested, had he let him off...(and the cop was white too)
2. Internal Affairs (IA) would have pulled him in, put him on a lie detector, and grilled his ass as to why he did not arrest someone who had a warrant.
3. The public, like here on the net, would have pitched a bitch that the cop did not do what he was paid to do. He was a public servant and should have done what he was hired to do - in this case arrest someone who had a warrant.

Can cops be dicks? Hell yeah, that is why I left em :) But many of them just want to do their job and go home. Which ain't always easy. I still remember the time some guy followed me home to get revenge on me simply because I was the deputy on shift the night he came in and I put him in the cell.

You live day in and out with people hating you, no matter what ya do - and over time it gets to you :) Ya can't win.

[undergroundpanther]

20. They may not hate you personally

They hate the dehumanizing. The games.the uniformed symbol "cop" that you become when you act as a enforcer of the status quo,class stratification enforcer, protector of wealthy people's stuff over everything else and harasser because you can..

>You do what you are paid to do, arrest people
> *(even when you don't like it)*
>and someone will hate you for it.
>If you don't do it and rebel,
>you are out of a job. Either way you lose.

Sad this chain of systemic oppression isn't it? How it traps and controls.

As a person you very well might be a cool guy.Likable even. But when you are in a uniform following orders(even orders you don't like)
Tell me what does that rationale of yours sound like?

Do,Nuremberg excuses comes to mind?

Uniforms, role playing and authority have a strange effect on the human conscience.
http://www.prisonexp.org/

[The Straight Story]

23. Yeah, they do have a strange affect - which is why I am not there anymore

or, one of the reasons anyway.

I was 'too nice' to be a cop.

But I still understand what a lot of the 'good' cops go through day to day.

we hire them to enforce the laws we pass, then we hate em when they do.

Hell I hate it when I am pulled over, and I have been 3 times since those days.

We fear what cops can do, how they can fuck up our lives by arresting us (we can lose jobs, etc, even if in jail one night and innocent).

To me, it is less the cops - and more the people who give them the power and pass the laws.

And yet people here on DU want to make more and more laws and give them more reasons to pull people over, like smoking in your car, talking on a cell phone, etc. We want more laws, then bitch about the power of the people we pay to enforce them.

Seat belt laws are a prime example of this. I still remember to this day how we were told in Ohio that it would never be a primary offense, and yet years later it was. Try being a cop with someone speeding by and being able to tell if they are wearing a belt. It is hard to do. So they can pull someone over because they 'thought' they were not wearing their belt (but they could tell your race or type of car you were driving).

Same will happen with cell phones and smoking in the car with a kid. You can have the windows all down, having a smoke, and the cop will pull you over - even though he cannot see if there is a kid in the car. Or maybe he will think he/she saw you talking on a phone as you whizzed by and pull you over for that.

We keep giving them new laws to enforce, to make us 'more safe', and all we are really doing is giving them more power over us.

They are not the gestapo - those making more and more laws are.

And they are both repub and dems. And we keep electing them and helping them to pass new laws, in the interest of 'public safety'.

They are not out stopping murders and rapes, because they are too busy busting smokers in bars when people call the hotlines to report such evil things.

[undergroundpanther]

25. Oh I agree

>We keep giving them new laws to enforce, to make us 'more safe', >and all we are really doing is giving them more power over us.

And how many cops have protested such pointlessness? and abuse of power from above really? Do they grumble amongst each other more or attack the higher ups? And do they ever keep biting asses over them until the top is forced to STOP this shit? Why do people go along with authority when that authority is corrupt wrong or banal?

>They are not the gestapo - those making more and more laws are.

Agree with you there 100%
I think it is the "cult" of the cops way," that makes nice guys go bad or leave.

>And they are both repub and dems. And we keep electing them
>and helping them to pass new laws, in the interest of 'public >safety'.


Yep a Nanny state,lifestyle laws and vice patrol.A nanny Nazi state in the name of public safety comes to life stupid law by petty law.

>They are not out stopping murders and rapes, because they are >too busy busting smokers in bars when people call the hotlines >to report such evil things.

Yes too many people confused their own offedendedness with real danger. They do it because they can AFFORD to be that petty.
A person too scared to police himself and to even ASK a smoker to put it out but instead runs to the hot lines to call the cops is a true dysfunctional social coward and pretty damn narcissistic if you ask me.A bully by proxy. And our culture has too many people like this.IMHO

BTW good for you for choosing to listen to your conscience over keeping a job.Takes guts to do that.
Take care ok?

[raccoon]

31. You said that right,

" On the one hand, people want you to enforce the laws, on the other hand when you do and it involves them they hate you."

Police and teachers--two thankless jobs, but somebody has to do it.

[ellisonz]

19. ...

[Goat or Panic]

26. I don't like bad cops

they make the world more dangerous for good cops and for the rest of us. They abuse the trust we are supposed to associate with the job and uniform.

I have three cops in my family (NYPD, one retired) and all off them have had things thrown at them, dropped on them or have been flat out physically assaulted. Not one of them have ever (knock on wood) had to fire their weapon. Bad cops obviously give good cops a bad name and unfortunately define police in general for many of us.

That's a shame.

I could tell you that my brother is an environmentalist who voted for Kerry, hates Gulliani and spent his hard-earned two week vacation helping his wife track polar bears in Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada and you might think you could actually like him. However, if I told you he was a cop your opinion would immediately change.
I could tell you that his doctor has flat out told him that a few years have been shaved off his life because he spent so much time at ground zero trying to save people and breathing the toxic crap in the air because Bush's EPA wanted to pretend everything was under control. And if you saw him on the street in his uniform you would loath him.

When he was single and we would go bar hopping, he would always have to come up with some other occupation to tell people he did for a living, because people just don't like cops. It's a self-fulfilling prejudice.

And just to toss a nasty little turd into your punchbowl, take this paragraph:

"Pretend you see a XXXXX. You’re minding your own business, and BAM, you see a XXXXX. What do you feel? Right then. In your gut. On a scale from minus five (fear or loathing) to zero (nothing) to plus five (warmth, comfort, safety)."

and fill in the blank with say, a certain minority or maybe a person of an obvious religious faith (getting onto a plane with you perhaps) and grade yourself on THAT. Your honest "In your gut" response may (or may not) surprise you.

I'm not trying to personally attack anyone, I just really REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY think that these knee-jerk prejudices are going to fu%$ing end this planet.

And yes, I have already reported myself to the run-on sentence police (grammar division)

[DrBloodmoney]

29. The Thin Blue Line

Fuck them -- I'm at about minus five.

If the good, decent and moral cops want to improve their reputation with the citizens they 'protect' then they should not protect the other cops who perpetrate terrible crimes/indecency on other human beings.

I've seen too much senseless violence carried out by psychopaths hiding behind a badge to ever hold a generous opinion of American police.

[Joe Fields]

34. I haven't met a cop I liked. And some of them have harassed me...

for no reason.

[TX-RAT]

49. Heard that story before.

Then we find out there was a reason.

[Joe Fields]

54. You're goddamned right there's a reason I don't like cops.

And insinuations by people such as yourself are one of the reasons I usually stay out of GD anymore. A person can't even make a comment without being challenged by someone who hasn't a fucking clue.

[TX-RAT]

59. Maybe a person should have a clue, before making a comment.

[wildhorses]

55. yeah, cos you planted THE REASON

sheesh:eyes:

[TX-RAT]

60. LOL

[Solo_in_MD]

35. Sort of depends,,,city cops seem to have a lot more issues than small town cops in outlying areas

At least that is my experience.

In a small town the people they serve really are their neighbors, and there is a lot more civility and discretion. In LA for example, police often live far away from their patrol areas and have zero empathy for the populace

[uppityperson]

46. Problem for we small towners is when we get gung ho cops that've watched too many movies/tv shows

Some of our police have zero empathy. They usually don't stay for long, but a couple yrs is enough to ruin a lot of good will.

[Lil Missy]

I don't hate cops

[DS1]

36. I'm a 0 when it comes to one of two cops just out on the beat

or cruising/speed trapping.

When I see police show up en masse in full riot-gear I get wary because they're just as likely to get a mob mentality and go fucking nuts on people.

[Rosemary2205]

37. I fear police but need them in my growing crime neighborhood.

I've had to call them over gunshots in the middle of the night 3 times over the last 5 years. I'm always fearful they will somehow decide to throw me in jail for being a concerned citizen.

I was arrested in 1983 for reporting a man beating up a little kid and hanging around until the police got there. I was trying to talk to the man to stop him from hitting the child and trying to get other people to step in and help stop it. I was held for 19 hours and never told why I was arrested in the first place. Never was charged with anything. My car was towed away with my purse still in it. My car was ransacked, tore up, seats all cut up, my wallet stolen. 2 different lawyers told me I really don't want to demand the police dept fix my car and refund the impound fees. When they let me out of jail I didn't have a penny on me. They would not take me home, would not take me to my car. Told me a pay phone was down the hall and I could call a cab. I had to walk 17 miles to get home as I was new to Atlanta, didn't know anyone, and my husband was out of town for then next 4 days. It was a total nightmare.

Thus far, while the police who have come have been cocky but more concerned about the gun shots then me. I dunno, maybe the wheelchair makes them not think I am just another criminal living in a less affluent part of town??

[mainegreen]

39. I've always found the police to be a generally nice and helpful lot.

Some of that is probably because I'm a white male that wears button up shirts but even back in my unshaven, disheveled dreadlock hair days I found that if you were respectful and didn't sass them and make their jobs any harder than it already is the most they would ever do is give you a stern verbal reprimand. Maybe I've only ever encountered good cops, but I swear some people seem to have a knack for saying the wrong things to the police. If they want to search your car say 'sure thing' and be helpful: they'll probably only shine the flashlight in the back window. Say 'no' they'll get a warrant and tear your car apart.

If they want to ask you questions then answer them. That makes the police go away very fast indeed. Keep you hands in view and never EVER run! Once when walking down the streets of Baltimore with some buddies somed police yelled at us. My buddies, being the paranoid idiots they were, ran, and I stood and waited. They were chased down, beat around a bit and hauled off to holding. The one cop who approached me asked if I had seen some guy fitting such and such description. I said no. He asked my why my friends ran and I said something to the effect that they were idiots and that was why. He laughed and I was on my way, without my friends who were not having as much luck as me.

:shrug:

[martymar64]

57. I can't believe what you just said.

You said that if a cop asks to search your car, that you should just let them? Their's a little thing called the FOURTH AMENDMENT that explicitly prohibits them from searching without a warrant.

I'm shocked that you would so easily give up your constitutional rights. To paraphrase Ben Franklin, those who giveu p their liberty for security deserve neither.

[mainegreen]

58. Here's the problem with that: without a warrant.

Say 'no' and they get a warrant. Probable cause: saying no.
It sucks but that's reality. Until we somehow get codified in a way that the police and the courts respect that saying 'no' isn't probably cause you, as the citizen, are fucked.

[LeighAnn]

68. Saying No is not Probable Cause

I've been in that situation, and they will go away. They can't go to a judge and say, "He wouldn't let me search him" and expect the judge to consider that probable cause. The judge would tell him to take a hike. Also, if he says to a judge, "I smelled pot smoke" in order to obtain a warrant, and then none was found, he could be liable for lying to get a warrant. Never, ever give up your right to be free from warrantless search and seizure.

[ecstatic]

64. not only that, but casually noted how his friends were beat up by the police

THAT might be why some people fear the police. :shrug:

[LanternWaste]

40. Well, since we're generalizing...

Well, since we're generalizing...

I hate stenographers and typesetters. Bunch of high-and-mighty's on an ego-based power trip. Sure, you may find one or two decent and kind stenographers, but for the most part they're crooked as a dogs hind leg.

:sarcasm: (just in case)

[Jim Warren]

41. Hate'm

Must be in the genes. Sheriff on Nottingham at the door stuff from long ago.

To me it operational that cops are never around when you need them and always lurking when you don't.

Of course living in MA the "staties" here are pretty storm trooperish. Almost as bad as New Jersey.

[NeedleCast]

42. I'm a zero on that scale

They don't scare me or worry me nor do I feel warm and fuzzy when I see them. My infrequent dealing with police has been pretty much what I would expect. They have written me tickets when I have been guilty and hey, i was guilty. Sucked to be out 75 bucks, but I broke the law. I was arrested once for a traffic warrent and it sucked to spend a night in jail but I was the lazy guy who didn't pay my ticket.

This past weekend I was driving in Newark, a city I don't know very well and when getting off the freeway to go to my hotel I made an illegal right turn...right in front of a cop, who hit his lights and pulled me over. He informed me that I made an illegal turn asked for my license and registration, which I gave him. I mentioned I was following directions off of Google Maps, was not from the area and hadn't seen the no right turns sign. He said it was there and I asked him to show it to me. He walked around the corner with me and showed me the sign....which was completely obscured by over-grown brush. He laughed and said "Well, I guess I can't blame you for missing that, have a good night."

My point is, that, in any occupation, you have assholes. Maybe a higher percentage in the police force, but less than I think people imagine. When you say "I hate police" it sounds just as ignorant to me as someone who hates all catholic clergy because a handful molest kids or won't eat at Applebee's because he heard of an Applebee's cook that spit in someone's food once.

With the police, much like any other organization in the public spotlight, you rarely hear about the good guys. It's the bad ones that stand out.

[Fire Walk With Me]

43. You can't blame the police force for "Cop Rock". You can want to all you like, but don't.

Let go of it. Just let go.

[nosmokes]

51. Hey! I liked Cop Rock.

It was better than most of the crap that's on. What's wrong with a little surrealism in our crime dramas?

[lumberjack_jeff]

44. I'm a plus 2.

but it's probably because some of my best friends are cops.

Does it occur to cop haters that they're in a reciprocal relationship?

[uppityperson]

45. Used to be +2 until I got harassed last yr by local cop

The reason it was not higher is because I have known police officers who were power-mad jerks, as well as some really nice ones. It now is at least -1 or -2 since I got harassed by one last yr. Had a cop pull up behind where I parked and yell "hey, can we talk?" Of course I said yes and went over since I live in a small town and am generally happy to talk with police, being the respectable middle aged woman I am in real life (unlike DU). He started scolding me for pulling out too fast in front of someone, went on to accuse me of lying when I didn't remember where or didn't know the name of the streets at the intersection he said. After numerous apologies, and numerous repetitions of "you did this" "I am sorry, I will be more careful in the future, I have a child and try to be a good driving role model, I am sorry" "you are bad, scowl" "I am sorry...", he finally growled "your brake light is out". I thanked him nicely, asked which so I could make sure to change the right one, and wrote (R) on my hand to remember, told him I'd stop at the autoparts store next at which he glared more and let me go. Probably took 5 minutes. I didn't walk away from him because some of our local cops have tasers and have used them inappropriately.

UpJr said "see! we hate these guys."


The guy was trying to pick a fight and it really pissed me off and scared me that I had to stand and get verbally harassed or else I could walk away and either get tasered or ticketed.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

47. Frankly, I started to dislike cops when a friend of mine and others were

deliberately beaten up by the NYC cops during an anti-war demonstration during the Vietnam war. This was Unprovoked. The marchers were led by the police into an ambush. I was luckily at the very end of the march (with The Dr. Spock).

They are continuing in their fascism. Look at what happened in NYC during the GOP convention. Look what happened in LA recently and Miami a couple of years ago. They are prepared and do attack citizens for demonstrating their Constitutional rights.

On another note. I live in a suburb of NYC and the cops here stop cars all the time without probable cause. The kids up here hate them.

[Forkboy]

50. Don't trust them but I don't hate them.

I've actually dealt with some very cool State Troopers in my time.It's the town cops that tend to suck the most,like they live in their own little kingdom and we're just serfs.But even then I can't bring myself to the hate level,even though I know some who were absolute scum.

[maveric]

53. I have no problem with "good" cops. Not many on SDPD.

I've seen homeless people get beaten up, illegally searched and arrested on phony charges on a regular basis down here in Ocean Beach, San Diego. This a "Hippie" area, very blue. Many free-spirited souls flock here to enjoy the beach and the progressive spirit. Routinely the SDPD ride up and just search people on a whim. 5-10 at a time made to sit on the sidewalk while their bags/pursed/wallets/pockets are being searched. For no damn reason either. If you talk back to them, not even using profanity, they drag you into the cruiser and haul your ass downtown for "disturbing the peace".
I've seen a disabled Viet Nam Vet, an acquaintance, tossed out of his wheelchair to the sidewalk for sticking up for a young man who was being hassled for playing his harmonica too loud on the boardwalk.
They also shake down some of the hippie-types, take their weed away and let them go.
Wonder what they do with the dope?

I'm sure that their are good cops on the SDPD but in the areas I frequent all that I've seen is thuggery.

[Breeze54]

56. I can't totally say I hate cops, just the

one's that beat me up once. But the one's that saved my son and me, from a car accident, are very cool!
The one who gave me a ticket for running a yellow/ then red light, when it just was yellow, suck!! :rofl:
Mostly though, many have been kind to me, even when I was being a bitch! Which of course, wasn't often! :P
I forgot the state cop that guarded my house when I was being stalked by a stranger. He was very nice and
a gentleman! He made me feel safe. And parked outside my house with his state cruiser. I think he knew
more than I did, at the time. Turns out? I was right! He DID know more than I did! He just didn't want to scare me!
Nice man!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

61. Most People Don't Hate Cops. Not Sure Of What Your Point Is Here. Are You Trying To Demonize Them?

Though undoubtedly there are some that are abusive and not to be respected, overall cops absolutely are brave heroes who are doing their best to protect society and uphold the law. I'm not really sure what your purpose is for posting this. Are you trying to convince people that they shouldn't be respected and honored? I hope not, cause I'd find that to be a bit shameful and misguided.

God bless those that put their lives on the line each day to protect us all and help us when called upon.

[Evoman]

67. Why should they be "honoured and respected"

I mean, its not a bad thing to give people the benefit of the doubt (treat them with dignity), and treat them with respect until they wrong you, but honour? Seriously? Why should they be honoured?

[ecstatic]

63. When a cop is right next to you (next lane) at a stop, do you make eye contact?

I do feel a little anxiety when they're near me and I try to avoid eye contact because I don't know if they'd view that as some sort of challenge. If one is directing traffic I might nod, as if to say thank you, but that's it. My last close encounter with a cop was when I was pulled over for a seatbelt violation. I was just going down the street and my speed would have never exceeded 25 to 30mph. A total waste of my time but I hope they enjoyed the $25. I must admit--I don't like cops very much.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

66. I have disliked nearly all cops that I've met.

Most (not all) of them seem like fascists to me. I've also heard wayyyy too many stories from my black friends of severe abuse and harassment.