This is an interesting idea. Lawyers are considered “officers of the court” and they can be suspended or disbarred for violating their ethical responsibilities, effectively removing them from the profession for which they have trained. Yet, aside from a negative review, there is nothing similarly preventing cops from losing their status and being able to do their law-enforcement thing with another agency even if they violate the law or ethical code. There is no review by a third party in most jurisdictions, at least not by one that would have any actual authority over their right to practice “law enforcement.” That should change.
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I like this idea. However, the lawyer analogy offers insight into why this is a problematic idea. Lawyers are disbarred by their state bar association - on a state by state basis. And the state bars are actually a sort of union for lawyers, thus, not surprisingly, not many lawyers get disbarred, and even for those who do, it takes just a little less time than forever, even for lawyers caught red handed (coughPrendacough).
The equivalent to the state bar for cops would be the police union - and right now they are the key obstructionist to getting dirty, lying, criminal cops off the force, let alone prosecuted. That just wouldn’t work.
I still like the idea of law enforcement held to professional standards - but in this country, we rarely hold those responsible to even professional standards. (coughCEOscoughCorporateBoardMemberscoughcoughcoughDHScough)
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Doesn’t pointing your firearm up endanger random people in the area?
Assuming you are outdoors, yes, no and maybe.
[quote]Bullets fired into the air maintain their lethal capability when they eventually fall back down.
busted / plausible / confirmed
In the case of a bullet fired at a precisely vertical angle
(something extremely difficult for a human being to duplicate), the
bullet would tumble, lose its spin, and fall at a much slower speed due
to terminal velocity and is therefore rendered less than lethal on
impact. However, if a bullet is fired upward at a non-vertical angle (a
far more probable possibility), it will maintain its spin and will reach
a high enough speed to be lethal on impact. Because of this
potentiality, firing a gun into the air is illegal in most states, and
even in the states that it is legal, it is not recommended by the
police. Also the MythBusters were able to identify two people who had
been injured by falling bullets, one of them fatally injured.
(This is the only myth to receive all three ratings at the same time.) [/quote]
And unless the area around you for a mile is shoulder to shoulder people, you are not that likely to hit anyone with a falling bullet. So much safer than pointing the gun horizontally.
Pointing a gun down makes it more likely you’ll shoot someone, including yourself, in the foot or leg.
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What I.F. Stone said about governments applies to cops as well, “all governments lie”.
Confiscate these fuckers’ pensions!
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I’m glad this man lived to be have the charges dropped.
I really hope one of these airtight cases goes to trial, all the way up. Problem is you need big money to fight the police union and obstructionist establishment.
This story gives some hope:
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2015/10/30/3717723/nba-player-suing-nypd/
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It’s unclear in that article how much authority these certification boards have, and how effective they are-- it seems some states already have them, so I don’t know if they make much of a difference. But the idea is something that can be pursued further and refined to deal with the problem of officer violence and unprofessional conduct.
I know Black Lives Matter has pushed for police oversight, I’d say getting communities behind police decertification is a lot more constructive than randomly blocking rush hour traffic. The key to getting more police oversight is getting enough of the public to demand the legislature do something, you need the numbers to overwhelm the influence of the police unions, and making commuters late isn’t going to win any allies.
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I think comparing the Bar Associations with police unions isn’t apt. While it’s true that Bar Associations do “advocate” for the profession, there is a strong culture of protecting the profession against those who would give a bad name to lawyering (obviously may vary by state/locality). The police unions don’t have a similar ethic. And imbuing them with that would be difficult at this point.
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If he was black, he’d be dead. And the cops would be promoted.
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Well yeah, but I’m not sure how it relates to my comment. Most cops retire not having fired their gun, but that doesn’t mean guns can’t be misused? Can’t argue with that, I guess. “A juicy red apple is nice, but not every apple is red.”
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What the hell is the cop on the right doing at ~21s: He tries to sweep Faulkenberry’s legs away, but ends up going arse over tit himself.
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Cops don’t have accountability. This is proven by the courts.
12 Angry Men is a warning. To participate in government.
We are a democracy after all.
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If anyone who is pissed off about this isn’t behind Bernie, they’re actually part of the problem.
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I’m really starting to believe that lying is being taught at police academies all over our great nation.
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I remember back in the early Aughts before copwatch, and later others, before finally the MSM, were really around and covering this bullshit; and bad-cop-defenders were always quick to say, “This is an isolated incident!”
They’ve been saying that a lot less, I’ve noticed.
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STOP RESISTING!
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Here’s what I see in this video: the guy seems to be cooperating until they actually start to cuff him. It seems pretty clear the more I watch it that the cops are having trouble getting his hands together. It looks like the one cop gets angry and tries to (totally inappropriately) sweep the guy. Then the guy very clearly tries to run and is taken down by the cops who are still standing. I don’t get why the one cop aggravated the situation by trying to sweep the guy but I also don’t get why the guy didn’t just put his hands behind his back. I think there’s actually a pretty strong case for the guy resisting and although the cops fall seems to be caused by the momentum of his sweep, it very easily could’ve been aggravated by the suspect “pushing” him into the tree so even the cop’s statement doesn’t seem to be so blatant of a lie and could even be the truth. There are many examples of police brutality on video but this one is questionable. I see a guy cooperating just enough to try and win a lawsuit.
…
Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…
*Breathes*
Hahahahahahaha!!!
You’re joking. Right?
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Violence has been institutionalized.
Anecdote alert: My father-in-law was a sheriff’s deputy back in the day and has told me about the many dangerous and stupid accidental discharges he witnessed in the locker room and parking lot at the station. Those occurred without even any imminent or alleged threat. The fallout seemed to be some amount of “annoying” paperwork but no other repercussions w/r/t their ability to carry a firearm.
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