"I am absolutely SICKENED": One police officer's reaction to Oakland/Denver

[kpete]

SUN OCT 30, 2011 AT 09:39 PM PDT
One police officer's reaction to Oakland/Denver
byjtraynorFollow

................


So how do I feel about what I've witnessed?

I am absolutely SICKENED by the images of police assaulting unarmed American civilians simply engaged in exercising their right to freedom of speech and assembly. It makes me sad to the core of my being to see this kind of highly organized violence against non-violent people by police in the United States of America.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

As a university police officer, I am very well versed in dealing with young people who can be loud, boisterous, and non-compliant. I have never attacked a single one of these people for it and I never plan on it. I'm proud that I can nearly always get my way with my voice alone. So why the hell can I do this every day, but a big city police officer can't do it without a Riot Squad and a cache of weapons? Who is making these decisions?!

If I were ever in a situation where I was ordered to fire rubber bullets at unarmed protestors, I would immediately resign. I know jobs are hard to find nowadays, but what is the price of one's conscience? What is the price of honor? Certainly it is not so high as to allow myself to contribute to this type of behavior.

So here's what I, as a police officer, propose to do in reaction to these events in Oakland and Denver. I will speak out and speak up within the venues I'm able to do so. I will talk to my coworkers about this and I will tell them how I feel. I already know how some will react and anticipate most will agree with me. I will continue to be sickened and shocked by police brutality and promise to never be desensitized or intimidated into silence. I will do my job in the most honest and respectable way I know how. And I will quit immediately, should I ever be asked to take up arms against those who pose no threat and those who are simply doing what I consider to be the greatest thing an American citizen can do -- speaking up and making their voices heard!

.................

MORE:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/31/1031686/-One-police-officers-reaction-to-Oakland-Denver?via=siderec

[seabeyond]

1. a person with integrity. i know, dirty word now a days. "what is the price of one's conscience?"

in so many areas of our lives.

no excuses, validations, justifications.

that simple

[drokhole]

27. That phrase stuck out for me, too.

Exactly in so many areas of our lives. Reminded me of this excellent TEDx talk I watched recently from Joel Salatin (an organic farmer - he was featured in the movie Food, Inc.). It's a great talk all the way through, but the pertinent bit starts around 13:00 (but the rest of the talk allows for the context).

TEDxMidAtlantic - Joel Salatin - 11/5/09

[Uben]

2. The miltary teaches soldiers to kill. The police?

I wonder what the police academies actually teach their cadets. Do they try to program them like the military to follow orders first and foremost or do they teach them to have compassion? This is important because the military and the police have two distinctly different roles. The military is charged with defending our country against armed combatants, the police are here to serve and protect the citizens of our country. If cops are programmed to follow orders first and foremost, then we have a problem because that means a rogue cop in a positon of leadership could undermine the very task the police are charged to do.
As we have seen, there are police officers who do have compassion and are doing their job according to the law and there are those who do what they are told without regard to the laws of our land. The latter are the ones who need to be irradicated.

[izquierdista]

3. To beat and to taze

Killing leads to too many wrongful death lawsuits and payouts, so the emphasis is on just maiming, which makes any ensuing litigation less costly.

There really aren't any 'rogue' cops. They recruit authoritarian followers, drill them and expect conformance, and weed out any outliers. The result is that they get a force of thugs who demand compliance from the public, but who hold themselves to a different standard (like the cops in New York incensed about ticket fixing). If they are acting like rampaging rogues, it is because they were trained and asked to do so.

I suspect the OP is one of those outliers, as the expectations for university police forces are much different than for regular city cops.

[justiceischeap]

4. A lot of police officers are former military. That should tell you what you need to know. nt

[cliffordu]

14. Ah, Bullshit.

Gimme some fact and figures.

Gimme some stats.

[timtom]

18. "All seems infected that the infected spy,

As all looks yellow to the jaundiced eye." - Alexander Pope

[rhett o rick]

58. If you disagree, YOU GET SOME FACTS AND FIGURES. nm

[markpkessinger]

39. And on what do you base this claim?

For that matter, on what do you base the underlying, implied claim that being a former member of the military predisposes someone to violent abuse of power? I have been as disgusted by the various reports of police brutality as anyone. But I also have several family members who have served in the military. From what I've seen, both from my family members who are veterans as well the overwhelming of other veterans I have known in my 50 years, in most cases, those who have actually served in combat duty have returned to civilian life with an absolute abhorrence of violence. And it is worth pointing out that there are veterans among the OWS protesters, and that many veterans have been quite outspoken in their criticism of the various recent police actions against the protesters.

I am not a huge fan of many of the things our military has done (and in some cases continues to do), per se, either. But you do a gross injustice to people who have served with this kind of simplistic nonsense.

[Alameda]

51. +1

[kestrel91316]

40. My dad was a career USAF officer, and a less authoritarian, kinder,

more considerate, pro-civil rights person you never met in your life!! He was inviting fellow officers of color into his home back in the very early 1960s and wanted us kids to be sure we knew they were no different from the rest of us. He was a feminist who vigorously defended his daughters' career choices.

Military people aren't all freaks. The ones who are just give the rest of them a bad name.

[janet118]

9. They seemed to be trained to treat people like garbage

I was at an Obama rally in Boston last year. A huge crowd was waiting to get inside a large convention center. We were near the front of the line and had waited in the cold for over 3 hours. People in line were singing and laughing and in good spirits despite the weather and the long wait. The doors "opened" and people were being let into the building in groups. Every one was excited. There were two police officers stationed at the barricade between the crowd and the doors telling people who were bunched about 8 across to form a single line. As people were trying to comply, one of the cops freaked out and started screaming (spittle and all), that if we didn't form a single line immediately he would cancel the rally. After he yelled, everyone was stunned and a bit pissed at the unfairness. Even the cop with him looked surprised, but, of course, he said nothing. There had been no pushing or violence or anger from the good-natured crowd. Everyone who heard this outburst felt unfairly maligned. This "peace" officer had managed to turn an upbeat crowd into a warier, angrier one.

Why would a police officer who is supposed to be looking out for the safety of citizens try to exacerbate the anger level of a friendly crowd of people? Either he is trained to control people with fear and threats or he is a lone asshole who is not afraid of being held accountable for his unwarranted hostility. There is something wrong with how we recruit and train cops. Many of them are unprofessional, arrogant, macho, and disrespectful. This can be corrected with good leadership. Unfortunately, I believe that many of those who get those leadership positions are the worst offenders. This bully culture, whether in policing or the military, is not healthy and, worse, creates a anger and resentment in the civilian population it is supposed to protect.

[chervilant]

21. Please recall

the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971. Zimbardo recruited college students for a sociology experiment wherein twelve students 'became' prisoners and twelve students 'became' guards. The experiment was terminated after less than a week because the 'guards' became controlling and abusive, and the 'prisoners' became passive and tolerant of abuse.

Despite the criticisms leveled at Zimbardo and this experiment, we might consider the fact that twelve ordinary students chosen randomly from the Stanford student body to act as 'prison guards' became controlling authoritarians, and that some were abusive--even sadistic.

I am not surprised when I see this type of behavior among the police who are charged with 'handling' the Occupy protesters. I am quite impressed that the protesters remain committed to non-violence and Satyagraha. Perhaps the Satyagraha will help some of the police officers to throw off the shackles of THEIR oppression.

[laundry_queen]

25. The Milgram experiment

Read about it here at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

Scary shit. A large percentage of your family, your town or city, your state/province would willingly follow depraved people just because they *appear* to be in a position of power. In fact, many already have.

[pscot]

48. Hitler and Goebles figured it out

40 years before Stanley Milgram.

[janet118]

32. I don't know the details but I have heard of this experiment

It only goes to show that intensive training is necessary to prevent those given authority from resorting to bullying behavior as a control measure. Thanks for the reminder.

[csziggy]

50. For those who want to know more about the Stanford Prison Experiment

There is an excellent web site by Philip G. Zimbardo devoted to it: http://www.prisonexp.org/

The slide show is a timeline of the experiment with photos and explanations.

The FAQs and Related Links gives some very good sources for additional research into the subject.

[dotymed]

10. The police prefer to hire ex-military. They are already trained.

[14thColony]

28. But trained in what?

I'm a 20-yr military veteran, and while I am well-trained in pistol & rifle marksmanship and have some reasonably good hand-to-hand combat skills, my job in the military had zip to do with law enforcement. So if the vet in question wasn't a military policeman or the military equivalent of an FBI agent (OSI, CID, NCIS), then aside from a possibly more honed sense of discipline and the ability to figure out how to put on a uniform, I'm not sure what being former military really adds to the equation. Most of us are unglamorous things like administration, finance, civil engineering, IT, legal assistants, medical orderlies and things like that, and know as little about law enforcement as our civilian counterparts.

[janet118]

33. So true. n/t

[dotymed]

62. I agree. But, you have the training with rifle marksmanship,

some (lethal) hand to hand combat and have been trained to take orders unquestioningly, on the most part.

My father was a "lifer" and I took college ROTC (I loved it) until it was time to sign the papers. My Father was a retired Captain in the Army who had started as a private, he was so disappointed when I turned down a guaranteed commission. Looking back, those were the quiet years after Viet Nam, I wish I would have joined. My cousin retired with 30 years in the Army Band, as a Sargent Major. He has since retired, is R/W and is employed by an intelligence agency. That part I would not have done.

[woo me with science]

5. THANK YOU to this officer.

This is *exactly* what's needed right now.

[whathehell]

38. Exactly...Thank you!

and, btw, cops are NOT TRAINED to "beat and taze"

I abhor corrupt cops, but good ones are invaluable...They put their

lives on the line and get paid little for it.

[ZombieHorde]

6. Recommended. I hope more cops follow suit. nt

[immoderate]

7. My dad was a cop. He would understand this guy.

--imm

[seabeyond]

24. i remember your posts. and i appreciate what you are saying.

keep speaking out for the good men and women that serve and protect...

[immoderate]

47. Thanks. It's always nice to agree. I happen to have some good memories.

During the demonstrations, in the 60s and 70s, I was often the liaison spokesman with the cops, because I wasn't afraid to talk to them.

OTH, I also have some bad cop stories. Some from my father. He worked with some assholes.

--imm :hi:

[RegieRocker]

8. Kudos!

[bertman]

11. K & R. nt

[Sportsguy]

12. Wow

Now THAT is what I call a police officer!

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Rumor has it two Denver cops did

[Fumesucker]

15. An all too rare honorable officer, kudos to him.. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended for police integrity.

Kudos to Officer Raynor.:patriot:

Thanks for the thread, kpete.:thumbsup:

[Hissyspit]

17. Portland Posts Images of Occupy Arrestees On Facebook:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2215861

[Fire Walk With Me]

19. It all comes down to those giving the orders (nationwide). And it works against them.

Do you see the glorious Trend whenever #Occupy is attacked?

[BlueIris]

20. Woah, never met one like that before.

Sadly, this officer is the exception, not the rule.

[Shagbark Hickory]

22. If only all kkkops were like university cops.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. The discussion is happening behind that blue wall as well

[Fire Walk With Me]

61. Wait until it becomes visible that this is happening, that some, even many, are refusing to comply

with such illegal, unConstitutional orders!

[redqueen]

26. K&R

[appleannie1]

29. Worked with officers that felt the same way for 15 yrs. Honorable officers doing honorable work.

[MissDeeds]

30. Excellent comments

"Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles." - Emerson

Apparently this officer knows that.


:applause: :patriot: K&R

[Beavker]

31. Well put!

Also, these police officers needs to sign up for the US military, then they can apparently shoot all they want without consequences...oh, except those people will be firing back...sorry, there in lies the rub.

[JoeyT]

34. Speaking of which,

where did all the fucking oath keepers go? You know, the cops, military, etc that took oath after public oath about how they wouldn't follow any unlawful orders to arrest people exercising their constitutional rights while the teabaggers were running around screaming.

Why aren't they out there pitching a fit, since we were repeatedly assured they weren't right wingers, but just people that supported constitutional protections?

Edited to add: Which we all knew was a lie. They were right wing nuts and everyone knew it.

[Marazinia]

35. This does my heart good to read

And in their hearts, there are many more police officers who feel as sickened as this officer does.

[Enthusiast]

36. Kicked and recommended! nt

[allan01]

37. "I am absolutely SICKENED": One police officer's reaction to Oakland/Denver

hello all. been on site for a few years lurking , but now have become radio active. My main point that most police departments that were created early on in the united states were created to protect the rich from the poor . I remember a documentary on this but cant remember exactly. And the protection of the rich and politicans from the poor is showing. Nothing has changed in 2000 years

[me b zola]

41. ^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^

:thumbsup:

[DiverDave]

42. But wait, ALL cops are bad...

thats what a number of 'liberals' here say anyway.

[lunatica]

43. I'm glad this was written. Police officers who object should step up to object

I don't want the police to by our enemy. it's not right. They should also not want us to be their enemy.

[Fire Walk With Me]

44. Good article, that is how a human responds to violence.

And isn't that the root of the story A Clockwork Orange? That some do not respond to violence as do civilized beings? This then would be the problem police, those who do not see (FEEL) that causing harm to innocents is revulsion.

[Marnie]

45. Thanks for tha comment from Campus Cop.

In the late 60's when I was at the University of Texas, all the violence directed at students, both off and on campus came from the Austin PD. The Campus cops did what that had to do without raising any dust.

Some of it was just knowing the students behaviors, but the APD had no excuses as there are Huston Tillotson, UT, St. Stphens, Concordia, Austin Community College and at least on divinity colleges/yniversitys in Austin.
But the APD hated UT, as most of Austin still does, and I guess felt like running riot over the student union, uninvited and unannounced and tear gassing the Capitol building because a few dozen hippies showed up on its door steps one afternoon were appropriate peace keeping activities.

The Campus Cops kept better order and a vastly lower profile on UT's 50K plus staff campus than the much larger better armed APD could on the Capitol grounds.

UT's campus cops even allowed themselves to be hugged by hippies (the real flower children) on Gentle Thursdays.

So I say. Peace Man.

[pasto76]

46. Good on you dude

I've lost more than one job in emergency services for maintaining my integrity. Yes, it is worth it.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

49. As a retired University of California employee who worked

daily with our officers, I found that most held these values.

[defendandprotect]

52. Now if they would all commit themselves to non-violence against OCCUPY, we could

live happily ever after, perhaps?

Good to see at least one of them speaking out against this violence!

[WillyT]

53. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

:bounce:

:kick:

[Deep13]

54. So some cops automatically reject the Nuremberg defense.

"I was only following orders" isn't good enough. We are all responsible for our own actions.

[2banon]

55. it would be interesting to follow-up on this unique individual's efforts..

This is a heartening op, but i fear this Police Officer's sentiments will go unheard by peers and professional collegues. Hope I'm wrong, but I've been around too many decades and have seen the lust for sadistic violence in State Troopers eyes and actions far too often to hold out hope that this mentality will change anytime soon, especially here in the U.S. of Amerika.

[gateley]

56. Wow - impressive. Sometimes I'm just humbled by the GOODNESS in people. nt

[donheld]

57. Kpete there is some sanity left in the world after all.

This is so good to see. I hope it's contagious.

[orbitalman]

59. K & R x 1000 n/t

[Ignis]

60. K&R

:kick:

[EmeraldCityGrl]

63. "Who is making these decisions," indeed. K&R