Attitude Towards Police

[Jason Tandro]

I've got a rule of thumb. If you're going to say "F/ck the Police" then don't ever say "F/ck, call the police!"

Yes, I am aware that there are idiots who abuse there power. Yes, I am aware that corruption runs relatively rampant in several bureaus. Nobody said these men and women are perfect and expecting them to be is a really bad double-standard.

I have no problem with the police as an institution, because (regardless what some well-meaning folks might think) without a police presence we would descend into anarchy.

[Freedan]

I wouldn't have such a problem with cops if they didn't get away with doing whatever they want.

A cop can abuse their power, use excessive force, flout the law themselves, etc., and the vast, vast majority of the time, there are no repercussions. A week or two "suspension" (with pay) at the most, if that. But usually, the department rallies around their boys to defend whatever questionable actions they've taken. Hell, not long ago, there was a case in Canada where a cop shoved a woman to the ground (she had some muscular disorder, and was trying to move out of their way), while his two partners looked on. Discipline? Of course not.

And as mentioned in another thread, in many places, any evidence of their wrongdoing can't be used against them, because video evidence is against the law (because a cop being outside counts as a 'private' setting).

There's also the little bit about how they don't actually need evidence to charge you with something.

Yes, I know that asshole cops are the minority, and that in any profession, there will be those who stand out as pricks. The difference is that cops are a public institution, "to serve and protect". Every time one of them unnecessarily breaks out the taser, it reflects poorly on the department, and even worse when they not only don't do anything about it, but support them. If they can't be counted on to hold their own to a higher standard than that, how can they be trusted when they're needed?

[Jason Tandro]

Out of curiosity how bad are cops up in Canada? Worse than US?

[Freedan]

I can't really speak for all of Canada, but the cops in the surrounding cities here seem more interested in handing out speeding tickets than dirtying their hands with that whole 'crime' thing. The local police have also been talking about spending a few hundred thousand dollars on horses, so we can have officers on horseback. Which makes perfect sense in the middle of the city. But all that speeding ticket revenue needs to be spent on something.

The RCMP (our national-level police) have found themselves in hot water a few times in recent years. The biggest case lately was at an airport in Vancouver, where a polish immigrant (who didn't speak English) was tasered 5 times after he became agitated from being left in a room for several hours (the person picking him up hadn't arrived). The man started tossing some furniture around, so the four officers shocked him several times. He wound up dying.

The officers faced considerable criticism, but wound up not being charged. Three of them are working elsewhere in the country, one was suspended with pay after an unrelated impaired-driving incident. Though recently, there was mention of re-opening the investigation, with some powers-that-be saying that not charging them was a mistake.

Until there's a final conclusion though, it boils down to them saying "whoops, our guys shouldn't have done that", with no punishment. Though they did apologize to the man's mother (2 and a half years later).

[psychokind]

thank god for the german police (except your a fan of soccer ), but I wish they would be more physically strong and strike down all the immigrant youth criminality with terrible brute force.

best attitude towards the police is polite but strait. always lie, ask for a lawyer, sign nothing and call for your lawyer. never cooperate!

[Ratty Randnums]

They can be nice people who genuinely want to help their fellow man, or they can be assholes who relish having powers over others, never really met many inbetween. But whether they're cops because they want to help people or because of a power trip, in the end they're hired muscle. And you forget or disrespect that at your peril.