Quote:
Originally posted by elliotness
Doesn't sound like a very good process for screening applicants.
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I posted that 1999 Associated Press wire story only because you questioned Unit 5302's veracity. He wasn't lying - was he? Your acknowledgment that he was correct in his original statement that alluded to that case (and that you dismissed out of hand) would be welcomed, I'm sure.
As for hiring processes, it's probably as useful as any other but it made the New London Police Department look rather foolish by rejecting 'too smart' applicants.
I take the position that there are good cops and bad cops and unlike TV, a lot of the lower-rung local cops are on
traffic duty and are the ones the public deals with. As far as 'The Law', well, it's not the law that's the problem but
how the law is administered.
The cop pulling you over has many options and can harrass you or simply let you go with a verbal warning - if that. Unfortunately, some cops abuse the power we willingly give them. Most don't, but the average citizen doesn't meet high-ranking officers or detectives, just the patrolman in the squad car. Most cops don't have highly-developed people skills either, and it shows.
Of course, most rich and influential people don't go to jail or even get many traffic tickets that aren't quashed. That's just reality but it grates on the working stiff who may have to lose a valuable day's pay to fight a bogus traffic ticket that the same cop wouldn't give to the local big shot driving a Mercedes-Benz and doing exactly what Joe Sixpack did, like having too much window tint. Folks see this as just the police abusing their authority where they can get away with it. It doesn't sit well.
Another problem a lot of folks have with the local police is that, as Unit mentioned, they don't care much about vandalism to your car, petty thefts from your home or car or other frustrating crimes that the average person encounters, but yet, they can get all excited over tinted glass and exhaust decibles.
Yet the defense is that
'Police can't be everywhere' and
'They have to prioritize crimes to use resources effectively' so pulling over a motorist and issuing tickets for mufflers and tinted glass is a 'priority' but catching thieves who steal your car is hardly looked into, unless they happen to see the stolen car in front of them? Who's kidding whom?
Look, we need laws - including traffic laws - and we certainly need police to enforce those laws, fairly. Not all police do that and the attitude of some is offensive to many.
Personally, I don't have a problem with cops. I don't do dumb things and as I'm white, not a kid, middle-class (no nose-rings or freaky hair) and I treat police with respect when I'm stopped (rare) I don't get into trouble. Granted, if you
'cop a 'tude' with a cop at a traffic stop, you're begging for tickets and worse. That's stupid. Fight the ticket in court if you feel it's bogus but don't try to argue with the cop as you'll lose.
Finally, although I respect a police officer mostly because of the potential power he holds over me, I understand that he may put his life on the line at any time. I do respect that but it doesn't excuse a lot of the harassing things some cops engage in. It doesn't make any police officer immune from criticism, either.
Doctors save lives every day, researchers find cures for disease, mothers love their children and ministers help save souls. So what? They're all subject to criticism.
Being in a dangerous job you volunteered for is admirable but not enough to make you above everyone else. Cops are human, they make mistakes. Unfortunately, a cop that makes a mistake can put you in jail and possibly ruin your life. That is a powerful position to be in and one that we have to respect but also watch the possessors of such power carefully and subject them to criticism when warranted. This thread is doing just that, while understanding that it's all just opinion and of course, we can't arrest you if you disagree.
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