First four notes of my favorite song
Tennessee v. Garner has been expanded beyond all recognition, but only for the Filth.
Probably the former, in many places. Here in Germany, police officers are generally armed but – the impression given by cop shows notwithstanding – the total annual number of rounds of ammunition fired on active police duty (not marksmanship training) throughout the whole of the country is usually in the low three digits, with the majority of shots fired not at humans but at obviously rabid animals etc. If a German cop does discharge their firearm on duty, there is usually considerable administrative followup.
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American cops kill about a thousand people per year.
In Australia:
This is what passes for a use-of-force scandal in Australia:
Nobody killed, no shots fired, the victim was committing a crime, and yet the officer involved was in deep, deep shit. Rightfully so.
A common feature of non-US policing is that firearms are not drawn unless there is a clear and immediate threat of lethal danger. Not “a Black guy moved his hands when I shouted at him”, but “he was brandishing a weapon and was actively trying to kill me with it”.
The constant use by US police of firearms as first-option compliance tools is highly unusual and blatantly destructive.
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I was once pulled over for (allegedly) speeding. He asked “are you aware you were speeding?” I replied “I wasnt”. He retorted, “you’re saying you weren’t speeding” to which I simply responded “I wasnt aware”.
I got a warning.
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After spending a week up in the NT, I’m surprised the number of shootings was zero. But I expect that the police have just come up with alternative methods to ensure their victims dont live.
Prison “suicides” are regrettably common.
Oz cops aren’t as trigger-happy as US cops, but they’re still cops. ACAB.
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I think you misunderstood my point. Without any other charge, resisting arrest and failure to comply are the kinds of charges that cops routinely employ to just fuck with people. Yes resisting arrest is a serious charge, but if you’re only resisting arrest and there’s no other underlying charge, it’s probably a bullshit case. They know that the charges will likely be dismissed by a prosecutor or a judge within the 24 hour period that a person can be held pending a charge before being brought before a court. So it’s not a 24 hour penalty, it’s a 24 hour just-to-fuck-with-you charge.
I used to work for the Public Defender and we’d see this kind of thing all the time.
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The cops have the jurors’ contact information. Someone not on the force warns the jurors that their lives will be fscked forever if the have the gall to convict a cop.
These aren’t hung juries. These are unanimous acquittals.
And then they fail to present their best evidence, so the jury concludes that the state hasn’t proven its case.
By making a mountain of administrative trouble for any cop that even draws and presents, much less fires, a weapon. Most developed countries don’t worship cops the way we do, or tolerate soldiers (which our cops are fast becoming) engaging their own citizenry.
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Also, most developed countries don’t worship firearms the way you do. Here in Germany, if the cops pull somebody over, say for speeding, the chances that that person will immediately reach for some sort of handgun are slim simply because, comparatively, very very few people are legally entitled to have a handgun easily accessible in their car in the first place. Most of these people would be other cops, or armored-car drivers who deliver money and valuables (if you’re a member of a gun club and are driving from home to the shooting range with your gun, that gun goes into a locked container in the boot of your car). IOW, it’s not that hard here to be allowed to own a gun, but being allowed to have that gun on or near your person, ready to use at a moment’s notice, is quite difficult indeed. Even at home, guns must generally be locked away securely. (Which is not to say that there aren’t criminals with guns that they own illegally and can store and use however they please, but since there are way fewer guns around to begin with and they tend to be fairly tightly controlled, actually procuring an unregistered gun isn’t completely trivial or cheap, either.)
I assume German cops will be reasonably cautious when approaching the driver of a car they’ve just pulled over, but usually not to the point of pulling their own gun and pointing it at them on the off-chance.
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Why would you want to scrape off that white privilege?
Because it’s not earned, and a more equitable society that treats everyone fairly is good for everyone.
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Because being a greedy gut about privilege is ultimately as unsustainable as being a greedy gut about money or food or alcohol or anything else.
Also because if the cops start treating PoC like they treat me then I lose absolutely nothing (in contrast, continue to normalise and exacerbate the situation and eventually the cops will feel free to treat me like they currently treat PoC, at least if I continue to express these thoughts).
It’s not rocket science. It only seems that way to the ignorant and entitled and callow.
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If the cops treated everyone the way they treat middle aged suburban little league dads, I’d be okay with it.
Unfortunately, they are taught to treat certain sizable segments of the population as enemies that they are keeping under control, so those white suburbanites can sleep cozy in their beds at night. So, if the oppressed groups get absolutely dorked over while the (equally criminal) white people get a free pass, it’s all in a day’s work.
Saying it’s a matter of police training is like saying the Hamster Dance is a good song except for that repetitive annoying part. No, you just can’t slap training on the problem and hope it goes away. You have to gut it and rebuild it from the foundation up.
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A demonstration of how to spend privilege. Watch what the White protestors do here:
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If I were religious, I’d say Amen. And did you realy have to bring up Hamster Dance? To hell you you for that ear worm.
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Stuff like this is scary, no doubt about it, so I’m not trying to minimize/rationalize the danger here, BUT…
Some of these “cop with an attitude” videos could benefit from some “exploitation movie” dubbing.
“SUCH INSOLENCE! You will pay for what you have done! Now kneel before my awesome power!”
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Been watching too many Shaw brothers movies lately? 
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NO… SUCH… THING… as too many Shaw Brothers movies.
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