http://www.cnn.com/interactive...heller-police-video/

I recently re-read this story and watched this video. It has had a profound affect on me and thought its worth sharing. The first time I saw this, I was in the academy. I was young and full of piss and vinegar, looking to make a difference. This story gave me pause and made me contemplate whether or not I was doing the right thing as far as becoming a police officer. I believe I made the right choice back then, but now I wonder how much longer do I stay.

With the BLM movements and police-bashing news media, police are re-evaluating use of force policies like never before. New policies like the consent decree in Baltimore, policy changes coming to Chicago are concerning. These new policies all seem to have a common theme of "De-Escalation". It is an old method that seems to be resurrected with a new name. Police have been using techniques like this for years, but I don't recall of a specific policy ever being written, as it was something you just did. Now as the anti-police crowd is having more input and influence to police policy, it concerns me that more emphasis is being placed on this technique. The city is looking to protect itself from lawsuits and public backlash from police involved shootings, so its no surprise to see this. Cameras recording audio/video are everywhere and are being utilized, which is a good thing for the most part, a lawful arrest or action can be justified and an improper arrest or action can be disciplined. Win-Win right?

Unfortunately, that anti-police agenda is seeping through and into those policies and instead of acting on the facts, opinions are what are what these policy makers are concerned with. Rule of law be damned. If it looks bad, it must be bad. Don't look at the unlawful actions of the criminal or what led up to why the police were called in the first place. Judge the situation solely upon what the officer/s did or didn't do, that is more or less what is currently happening.

Stories are popping up all over the net where officers are questioning everything they do and how they do it. Will I be the next youtube sensation, or will I be the next Sheriff Dinkheller? These simple questions are starting to keep me up at night. Political pressure has no business in LE when it comes to the law, and we are heading into dangerous territory if we allow it to continue. What are your thoughts SF? I am truly honored to be part of such a great community.

quote:

With the BLM movements and police-bashing news media, police are re-evaluating use of force policies like never before. New policies like the consent decree in Baltimore, policy changes coming to Chicago are concerning. These new policies all seem to have a common theme of "De-Escalation".

I feel for you.
I grew up in an area that respected the police. For the most part the police wrote traffic tickets because there wasn't much serious crime. When we got caught with beer, they either took our coolers or made us dump it out... and they usually let us go. Those days seem to be long gone.

I can't imagine policing today in the urban jungles.

Same nonsense here. Between that, us being about 70 sworn vacancies short, low pay, and pay compression (11 year vets making just over a dollar an hour more than new hires), the order of the day is park it and just wait for the next call. Zero proactivity and I can't remember the last time I wrote a ticket.

If, as someone once pointed out, we get the government we deserve, that’s even more true of law enforcement. Politicians gain a degree of freedom from the fickle winds of public opinion once they’re elected, but that’s not true of the police. The taxpayers hire the police, and they expect them, like any other hirelings, to be responsive to their desires. The problem is that the wrong segments of society have a disproportionate effect on police practices, and the rest of us let them get away with it due to ignorance, apathy, diseased thinking, or because the others are outbreeding us.

The great irony, of course, is that people active in movements like BLM tend to be those who contribute the least to the maintenance of effective law enforcement, but that doesn’t matter as long as there is no effective objection to their efforts. Further, of course, is the effect of the fact that the voice or vote of the most harmful parasite carries as much weight as the most productive and beneficial member. The reasons why so few people who actually pay for the police and therefore should have the most influence over their policies and procedures seem to really care about all that are many and varied. The reasons certainly include the fact, however, that they’ve been so well indoctrinated that they accept without real thought the assumption that if members of certain segments of society have a complaint, it must be justified.

Another significant reason for the state of things today is that things are really very good for most of us. The water may be getting hotter, but it’s not hot enough for the frog to jump back out even if suddenly immersed in it. As we see by what people will put up with in other countries, things have to get very bad before most will stand up and say, “Far enough,” and to actually act on that thought. To cite just one example, there are plenty of people who see nothing wrong with blacks’ killing each other so frequently, and although no one will say it in public, a significant portion secretly applaud the fact. If changes in police activities results in the homicide rate among gangs going up but crimes affecting the rest of society lag behind, who’s going to object? Who should object is obvious: All of us, but who actually will?

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Originally posted by chellim1:

I can't imagine policing today in the urban jungles.

I just had to retire from working in a jungle...the crime rate was the same as that of Durham...but our population was 50K

The cops spent almost all the time dealing with the same segment of population...the savages that are supported by the rest of us who pay taxes.

When I started working there, the savages were basically in one portion of town and the good folks of the world were happily unaware of the savage population...then we had a humongous hurricane and portions of the town flooded and the savage population was displaced...

then due to "the rules", the savages could get a room anywhere that a house or apartment was available....(section 8)

now the savages are interspersed amongst the other citizens....and crime is everywhere..

the chief of the local PD has changed 3 times in the last 18 years...getting progressively more progressive

-there pay compression is crazy...
-the cops who have over 15 years are trapped and tied into the retirement system thru the local city
-the department has had a 17% turnover in the last two years...
-they have officers with two to three years experience training new officers....(this never turns out well)

So, YES, in regards to the OP'S question...Politics COMPLETELY affects policies at the PD...and it's going to get worse until the wrong citizen gets killed (not just a regular citizen but a judge's kid, or the city councilman's kid, you get the idea)...and then it might, just might change...

But I'm not holding my breath. I carry all the time I'm up and clothed. Because I know the shit storm that is coming. And frankly I'd prefer it happen sooner than later; I don't want my little kid to have to deal with it.

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The cops spent almost all the time dealing with the same segment of population...the savages that are supported by the rest of us who pay taxes.

We are raising a generation of savages that has no shame about living at the expense of others. They have been told that they are entitled to what you have. When you don't earn it, it has no value. You begin to think you can take whatever you want, and if someone else has something you like you take it. This thinking just breeds violence. It's spreading.

I've worked 2 agencies, both with real crime.

I've watched fellow officers get burned at the stake to pacify the masses.

I've told chiefs, big and small, that if they really thought that the officers they were throwing under the buses were wrong, they had no business leading any of us.

I've testified in my best friend's trial.

I buried another.

I'll come back when I've got more time...

Just started on my 28th year of service. I thank God every day that I am on the back side of my career. I have no idea how the current crop of rookie Officers will manage to complete a full career. Actually the only way is for them to promote to a supervisor position and no longer do the actual hands on policing on the streets. That wasn't for me and I will run my beat until I retire.

I would venture to guess that the crimson kenyan's President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing is having an influence on what we are seeing now (and which has been described in this thread thus far).

I almost threw up when I saw a picture on Linda Sarsour at the top of page 22.

I've skimmed through some of the 116 pages, but that's pretty much an indication that this 'report' is likely nothing but a shit show.
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