The police need to be policed.

[Ouch]

I’ve been saying it for 15 years or so. And it is a race issue, because yes more blacks are victims of it than whites, but really everyone is, at some point police thought it was ok to be bullies.

My dads a vietnam combat veteran and not a fan of police. His theory about the more recent police officers being so brutal is that they’re hiring ex combat vets from Iraq /Afghanistan. It’s a fact a lot of them are, and when you quickly come out of a war zone where you’re taught that any of the civilian population is, or could be your enemy.... that is embedded in you mentally. So you come home, quickly get a job as a cop. Because it’s easy to be a cop with a military background, you get preferential treatment. So you become a cop and you treat normal US citizens as your enemy because you’ve not shrugged off your military mind set.

I agree with my dad on that but that’s just a small part of the puzzle I would say.


I’ve personally had the shit beat out of me by police, in a situation that if anyone would have seen it... no one would have agreed with. I don’t think it was because I was black and they were racist. Those people would’ve done it to any ethnicity.

So the almost impossible thing to answer is how do we change a system that is as fucked up as the police force? I don’t know... it’s a good start to put these shining examples of being pieces of shit like Chauvin on blast, make an example of them... and in doing so hope you scare the rest into being decent human beings.

That’s a start I suppose, but what else... make them take a few more ridiculous classes about anger management and public relations or something? Pshhhh that’s a joke. I don’t know... I guess for now just put the worst ones on blast... make an example of them and hope that scares the rest into acting right.

I don’t really see any other viable ideas.

[Answer]

hot take

[Blue Bayou]

This was far too coherent

[Ouch]

Yeah I’m not an idiot.. I’m just usually 15 drinks in and lots of weed when I I post on here so a lot comes out gibberish.

Anyway I guess this was more of a statement than a question... but the question is other than crucifying these specific scum bag police officers that happened to be caught for doing this stuff (which we should).. doing that in hopes that other cops will be scared and mind their P’s and Q’s.

Pragmatically what else is there we can do? Make them take a few extra classes, obviously that’s a joke.

I haven’t heard any real viable option to making them treat people like human beings and protect and serve like we as a society appointed them to do... other then say hey... you shit head you better be acting right because we are watching you.

[Ouch]

You guys think I’m dumb because I’m drunk and high as fuck like 90% of the time I post on here. But I’m not dumb... anyway this isn’t about me, but I think I just asked a question that’s about impossible to answer. Any ideas on it would be welcome though I can’t think of anything.

[Answer]

There isn't one thing that needs to be done, because there are a lot of factors and there needs to be a tremendous overhaul of the justice and societal system

1. People shouldn't be getting locked up if they're not an actual threat to society. For years, many people were arrested for marijuana convictions and now half the country is openly selling it, and everyone from the federal government to wallstreet is reaping the rewards. Meanwhile, people there are still people in jail now for holding or selling marijuana. Weed is just one example of a petty crime that was treated far worse than it is, but there are many others. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world, we shouldn't be so quick to just put people in jail. At the same time, the prison system also has an entire built-in infrastructure to keep people in prison so they can profit off the legal slave-labor from inmates that is an entire issue in itself that needs to be resolved.

When people get locked up, children grow up without parents, and that can lead to lack of authority figures and/or financial struggles due to one or more of their parents being out of the picture, or even struggling to get jobs because of their past convictions. That can often lead to kids turning to the community around them. If the community around them involves gang activities, there's an increased chance of those kids becoming involved in violence and real crimes, whether it be because they simply don't have some older figure informing them of the consequences, or because of necessity due to a lack of financial opportunities.

There's also something to be said about sexual education and the overall mindframe this country has when it comes to families. The fact that it's socially acceptable to have kids at 18 years old or younger, and have multiple kids without having a stable income or even a stable marriage leads to the same issues. There is a combination of people having kids who are not old enough to be mentally mature enough to raise those kids, people just making poor choices and not using protection, as well as people just having kids because that's seen as "the thing to do", and also just not choosing the right partner to commit to a family with. Having kids at a young age gets in the way of building wealth, especially for those of us who don't have family to inherit wealth from.

2. Police should only be involved when it's necessary. Police shouldn't even be dealing with petty marijuana convictions, minor traffic offenses, etc. That should be reserved for a completely different group of law enforcement officers that don't have guns. They can have tasers for self defense, but they don't need guns. Hell, maybe even start police officers OFF in this unit without guns and if they prove that they can do their job efficiently for non-criminal activities, you can promote them to a position where they can have a gun and respond to more dangerous crimes with a much bigger salary. Police officers should be getting fat paychecks, it's a difficult job. It should be a salary big enough to make people actually want to be police officers, because more money tends to attract higher quality candidates.

Police officers are currently a catch-all for too many things. If there's an issue with someone who has a mental illness, we should send out someone trained to deal with people who have mental illnesses, not a police officer. If someone is a user of drugs, they should be getting help from a rehabilitation facility, that's not something police officers need to be dealing with.

3. Police officers shouldn't be knocking down doors to enter peoples homes. That should only be something orchestrated by the FBI after a thorough amount of wiretapping and concrete evidence shows proof of a much larger infrastructure where it may actually be necessary.

4. Police officers need to be held accountable in court. If someone commits murder, they should be charged for murder. There are certain scenarios where it's understandable that a police officer could "lose their training" if they feel their life it at stake. If shots are being fired, then it's reasonable for a police officer to fire back. I understand that if that's the mentality, it's statistically inevitable that someone will get shot that shouldn't have, but police officers are humans, too and deserve the right to live as well. However, there are far too many instances of people getting murdered due to excessive force in conditions where it's very obvious that their lives were not at all being threatened. George Floyd was one example, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, etc. In all of those cases the police officers should be convicted of murder because they committed murder.

5. Bodycams are already in effect, but they should be mandatory for all police officers and they should not have the ability to turn them off. If it doesn't already exist, there should be a department that reviews bodycam footage and officers should get feedback on their interactions on how they respond to certain situations. If the department sees an officer doing something that is even somewhat unnecessary, it should be pointed out. If police officer A sees police officer B doing that unnecessary thing, they should talk to police officer A and tell them that it's their responsibility to communicate with their partner in the field and discourage the behavior.

6. If a police officer has even one incident where they do something reckless that clearly shows that they're not fit to police, even if it doesn't lead to someone dying, then they should lose the ability to work as a police officer. They can go flip burgers at McDonald's or something. Cut their salary and put them in the unit of police that aren't allowed any weapons and put down orange cones at traffic accidents, but they shouldn't be allowed back into the field with a gun ever again. Many of the officers who have committed the high-profile murders had clear signs in their past showing that they were not fit to be police officers, and those murders could have been prevented if action was taken sooner.

7. Race and implicit stereotypes are absolutely factors. You can give people all the sensitivity training in the world, but racial attitudes in this country are so deeply ingrained that watching videos won't do much to fix it. We need more police officers who are minorities, we need police officers who actually live in the communities that they're protecting. The biggest issue is everyone is willing to say "We need more hispanic/black/female/etc. police officers" but there aren't currently enough hispanic/black/female/etc. people who are saying "I'm willing to be a police officer because I want to be the change I wish to see in the world" enough to actually make a change.

People of all races and genders are affected by excessive police force, but the majority of crimes are always going to take place in high-population low-income communities. I lived in Baltimore, and I couldn't walk a block away from my apartment without running into some homeless person asking for money or heroin addict slumped over in the street. I also visited Seattle and it was exactly the same as Baltimore, except all the homeless people and heroin addicts are white.

Part of the reason these communities are predominantly people of color because we as a country have never actually resolved our failure to transition away from slavery and segregation. One day we said "slavery is over" then all of the people who were enslaved had no land or resources to make a living, so we sold them land with unreasonably high interest rates, then took the land back when they died. If they didn't buy the land, they were considered vagrants and could be arrested, at which point it was legal to enslave them again under the rule that prisoners don't actually have rights.

Meanwhile, white people continued to build wealth that they could pass down to their children and put themselves into communities nearby other wealthy white people so their two kids can meet and make babies from two wealthy families. Black children were not given those same opportunities. Then segregation pushed many of the black communities and other minorities into high-population low-income neighborhoods because white people didn't want them in their neighborhoods. Still to this day many of the schools are segregated, in which schools with mostly people of color pay less money for shittier teachers and a lower quality education than predominantly white schools. People of color need to be given the same educational, networking, employment opportunities that many white kids are receiving.

The thing nobody will admittedly fess up to is just the fact that all humans are inherently tribal. It's the reason why in middle/high school jocks hung out with jocks, goth kids hung out with goth kids, cheerleaders hung out with cheerleaders. Evolutionarily, it was beneficial for us to form our own communities, and outsiders to that community were often considered a threat to your resources. People will always find some identifier for themselves and pit themselves against an opposing identifier, whether that be as a democrat that thinks they're better than a republican or christian that thinks they're better than a muslim. They form stereotypes and create a charicature around their opposing identifier, such as "republicans are dumb". Racism is just one form of tribalism.

There was a time when people in the U.S. were racist toward irish immigrants and italian immigrants. Italians and irish people were also all in high-population low-income areas which bred gang activity and violence. But that kind of racism never stuck because it's incredibly difficult for a white person to look at an irish or italian person and know for a fact that they're irish italian. So all of the italian and irish people who were not associated the gang violence could easily continue living their lives without having to carry those incoming stereotypes from police officers and society as a whole. And it's those stereotypes that lead to cops who view having to go in and arrest a black male as more of a threat than arresting a white one.

unfortunately, there are many more factors. Media is a massive one.. but actually solving it takes work that most of us don't want to put in

[Amen]

Police officers with no guns lol.



The ego that hides behind the badge and gun is the problem, race is not.

[UPN Zuch]

Originally Posted by Ouch

I’ve been saying it for 15 years or so. And it is a race issue, because yes more blacks are victims of it than whites, but really everyone is, at some point police thought it was ok to be bullies.

My dads a vietnam combat veteran and not a fan of police. His theory about the more recent police officers being so brutal is that they’re hiring ex combat vets from Iraq /Afghanistan. It’s a fact a lot of them are, and when you quickly come out of a war zone where you’re taught that any of the civilian population is, or could be your enemy.... that is embedded in you mentally. So you come home, quickly get a job as a cop. Because it’s easy to be a cop with a military background, you get preferential treatment. So you become a cop and you treat normal US citizens as your enemy because you’ve not shrugged off your military mind set.

I agree with my dad on that but that’s just a small part of the puzzle I would say.


I’ve personally had the shit beat out of me by police, in a situation that if anyone would have seen it... no one would have agreed with. I don’t think it was because I was black and they were racist. Those people would’ve done it to any ethnicity.

So the almost impossible thing to answer is how do we change a system that is as fucked up as the police force? I don’t know... it’s a good start to put these shining examples of being pieces of shit like Chauvin on blast, make an example of them... and in doing so hope you scare the rest into being decent human beings.

That’s a start I suppose, but what else... make them take a few more ridiculous classes about anger management and public relations or something? Pshhhh that’s a joke. I don’t know... I guess for now just put the worst ones on blast... make an example of them and hope that scares the rest into acting right.

I don’t really see any other viable ideas.

How can you have such an ignorant take on cryptocurrency, then turn around and write something so perfect. Unreal.

[Answer]

Originally Posted by Amen

Police officers with no guns lol.

You think you need a gun to give someone doing 58 in a 55 a speeding ticket?

I’m talking about different divisions of police officers that handle different scenarios rather than having every police officer deal with every scenario.

The football coaches, the cheerleaders, benchwarmers, waterboys, all have a different roles than the players on the field. They don’t need all need helmets

[Amen]

Originally Posted by Answer

You think you need a gun to give someone doing 58 in a 55 a speeding ticket?

I’m talking about different divisions of police officers that handle different scenarios rather than having every police officer deal with every scenario.

The football coaches have a different role than the players on the field. They don’t need a helmets

Ask the officers who’ve been shot and/or killed during traffic stops.

[Answer]

Originally Posted by Amen

Ask the officers who’ve been shot and/or killed during traffic stops.

If they were shot or killed at a traffic stop I guess the gun didn’t help

[Amen]

You’re an idiot.

I encourage you apply at your local police station and see what it’s like to be a member of law enforcement.

Get passed the 90 day probationary period and report back.

In fact, tell them you don’t need a firearm issued to you either.

I’ll wait.

[Sharp]

Answer makes a perfectly fine point that gets misinterpreted smh

Willing to bet amen didn't read it all

Definitely need to move away from police being a blanket call. Something like a quarter of fatal police shootings are people with mental health issues, most of which could probably have been handled by a decent crisis intervention team (not just a cop who had to attend a 4 hour training 5 years ago)

https://www.citinternational.org/page-18452

And just practically, if I need to get someone ticketed for blocking my driveway, I need to call 911. I shouldn't need to explain why that's fucked

End of the day some cops are gonna do whatever they can get away with. Body cams became a thing so now they get turned off whenever is convenient. Gonna take a serious overhaul and no one wants the blame if it doesn't go well

[Lepreshaun]

DEFUND THE POLICE!

[UPN Zuch]

Originally Posted by Answer

If they were shot or killed at a traffic stop I guess the gun didn’t help

If you take away their gun, and they pull someone over that is wanted for murder. The fugitive is more likely to shoot and kill that cop as soon as he approaches his vehicle, yes? Cops have to be armed, because they could come in contact with any one at any given time. Not all crimes run on a schedule.

[UPN Zuch]

Originally Posted by Answer

You think you need a gun to give someone doing 58 in a 55 a speeding ticket?

Do I need to go into detail about how ignorant this is? I don’t even like the police but I can make a list of reasons why they need a gun, even while writing a ticket for someone who is speeding.

You don’t know WHO it is that is actually speeding until you get their license and registration. If you approach, and the person has reason to flee because of a warrant, or maybe they are transporting drugs. Or maybe there’s a kidnapped girl in the trunk. They are going to do what they have to do to escape. And now that you don’t have a gun, they are going to blow your head off and drive away. You don’t take the guns away from police for that exact reason. Also, if they come across a crime involving gunfire, what the help are they going to do? Sit there and call the OTHER cops who have the guns? A very small percentage of police officers have used their guns incorrectly. They need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

[Answer]

Originally Posted by UPN Zuch

Do I need to go into detail about how ignorant this is? I don’t even like the police but I can make a list of reasons why they need a gun, even while writing a ticket for someone who is speeding.

You don’t know WHO it is that is actually speeding until you get their license and registration. If you approach, and the person has reason to flee because of a warrant, or maybe they are transporting drugs. Or maybe there’s a kidnapped girl in the trunk. They are going to do what they have to do to escape. And now that you don’t have a gun, they are going to blow your head off and drive away. You don’t take the guns away from police for that exact reason. Also, if they come across a crime involving gunfire, what the help are they going to do? Sit there and call the OTHER cops who have the guns? A very small percentage of police officers have used their guns incorrectly. They need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

I think your points are valid, and traffic stops was probably a poor example on my part. That said, I still stand by the idea that there are lower-risk situations where it would make sense to have an unarmed division of police in their preliminary years until they've proven themselves responsible enough to carry. The argument having officers without guns who do their job can't be done is dispelled by the fact that it has been done

In nineteen countries, the police do not carry firearms unless the situation is expected to merit it: Botswana, Cook Islands, Fiji, Iceland, Ireland, Kiribati, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Norway, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland excepted), Vanuatu, U.S. Virgin Islands. These countries exhibit gun-homicide rates markedly lower on average than countries with armed police forces. Their police forces commonly adopt a philosophy of policing by consent.[1][2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police..._police_forces

But again, I'm not suggesting we take guns away from all police officers. I'm suggesting police with experience who have proven themselves responsible with guns in high-risk situations and police without experience and who haven't proven themselves responsible without guns in low-risk situations. It's not my job to speculate on what is or isn't a high-risk situation, I would leave that to data scientists and statisticians to determine what makes the most sense

[Mac]

I agree with Answer

[Destroyer]

DEGUN THE POLICE

[Inno]

CANT JUMP WITH THESE KNEES