Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/08/05/surveillance-camera-shows-off.html
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“just a few bad apples” aka #NotAllPolice
/s
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That total surveillance isn’t quite working the way we figured, is it?
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This just illustrates how deeply rooted racism is in law enforcement. The officer, although black, knows that he will be trusted and protected because his victim is also black and therefore expendable. It’s only when he sees the camera, something that he has become more acutely aware of in recent years, that he changes his tactics.
Unfortunately for him, the racism door swings both ways in this case and any grand jury or internal affairs investigation will be that much less likely to believe whatever bullshit he makes up. They may actually believe video evidence! Can you believe that?
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I don’t know that I would call it racism. More like authority privilege. You are correct in that the off duty cop knew he would be believed over the other guy. It makes the story more about out of control cops.
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The video captures actions that raise serious questions…
Really? Like “why did you shoot that man?” or “why did you put that knife there?”
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The next time a cop asks me why I don’t trust cops this will be yet another example to mention, followed by saying when cops quickly turn in by default the bad ones among them and stop standing up for them and stop abusing their authority, maybe then I’ll stop spitting in their direction, and try trusting them.
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Are you a psychopath? Fancy a life of murder, mayhem, all without any trouble with the authorites? Well then, we have a job for you! Join law enforcement and enjoy fucking over, hell, even slaughtering the little people with zero repercussions! Job openings are available now!
(People with a shred or morals or decency need not apply).
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Just a (jealous?) man murdering another man. I mean look at that knife he drops, it’s a yuge (fixed?) blade. That’s not a normal thing to carry around even for self defense. Nor is it something you would carry around every day to frame someone. It’s something you bring specifically to frame someone and then drop from an rolled up paper / envelope so you don’t leave fingerprints.
That white thing is the knife blade flashing in the light. 20cm?
Though, it’s weird that he shoots only once in the head if it was his intention to kill or that it was personal over a woman. I thought it was standard procedure to shoot (multiple times) to center mass.
(Also he’s late from his 7AM shift, the scoundrel!)
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The systemic, institutional racism of American society in general and law enforcement in particular led the black officer in this case to believe he would be exonerated as is true in almost every similar circumstance.
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I agree; despite being Black himself, he knows that we are historically stereotyped as being violent criminals who “deserve” whatever mistreatment we get. This video shows him actively using and feeding into systemic racism.
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Blake, the New York Daily News reports, was recently suspended from the force after “punching his girlfriend in the face.”
Being a domestic abuser correlates with all sorts of nasty behavior - from rape to mass murder. Traditionally, a cop who smokes pot would be fired, but a domestic abuser wouldn’t. A mental health survey that used to be given to cops had over 40 percent of cops admitting to committing domestic abuse within the previous few months. Which is why the police ignore it in each other and generally do such a poor job of enforcing the laws - this suggests that most police are guilty of it. This doesn’t indicate anything good about who polices our communities.
No sarcasm needed - let’s remember that the saying is: “a few bad apples spoil the barrel.” That’s particularly apt with police forces, where entire departments enable and protect corrupt cops.
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He was probably carrying it around for the same reason he had the gun, to use as a potential weapon.
Really, I think this is being mischaracterized as a police shooting. It’s a dispute over a woman that escalated to attempted murder. It just happens that the perpetrator was a cop, so he’s probably angling for the “I’m a cop who did a bad thing while doing my job” punishment rather than the “I’m a dude who tried to kill someone” punishment.
No where in either article does it mention race. You brought it up in your comments. I read about 2 dudes fighting over a woman or some other domestic issue, one of which happens to be a cop. Why try to make it a racial issue?
Yes, there is reason to fear the police. I have always hated “pigs” when they are being bullies and shitheads, or when they abuse their authority, but trying to make this particular case about race seems off to me.
That might be because the article has a video linked to it that shows the participants. So no need to mention.
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I’m not “trying” to make this about race. That is the calling card of whataboutist denialism. I’m going to assume you’re conversing in earnest, so I’ll say it again in a different way:
Everything in this country is marked with the legacy of human bondage. Everything. It cannot even be separated from things as mundane as the location of grocery stores, approval of credit or school bussing. Law enforcement, because it favors higher education and authoritarianism, naturally lends itself to being predominantly white, even in areas where the population is majority black (or Chinese or Hmong or Native American). Racist action does not have to be conscious to be racist, it simply has to enforce or simply maintain the status of certain people as lower than their equally deserving peers.
In this situation a black officer knows that he will almost certainly get away with planting false evidence simply because his adversary is black. He doesn’t have to hold racist sentiments per se, but he is relying on the racism inherent in our social fabric to assume mal intent on the part of the accused to protect him. That’s racist. It may not be a comfortable use of the term, but unless we reconcile these ideas as a society and stop saying “I just see two guys fighting over a woman”, it will always be with us.
Hell, it will always be with us anyway. Maybe it just won’t be an every goddamn day reality for every POC.
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I’m not going to pretend that I understand your point of view. I hear of cops planting false evidence every day, not just on POC. If you remove the skin color of either or both of the people involved in this incident, I don’t see how you can say - " In this situation a black officer knows that he will almost certainly get away with planting false evidence simply because his adversary is black". How do you know that? It may be a reasonable assumption because that’s what cops do, but as I said, take away their skin color and ask the same question. It may be true that the cop knew he will almost certainly get away with planting false evidence because he is a cop, not because of racism.
BTW - I am not a troll and I don’t remember ever using the “whataboutism” that you assume I am using. I just do not understand your POV. It may be because I come from an older generation that grew up with white privilege and my POV is from the time. My parents tried hard to instill a sense of “all men are created equal” in me and I find I still must struggle to overcome preconceived notions.
Or it may be because I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Either way - peace out.
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I respond to you because I assume that you are not employing disingenuous rhetoric and truly want to understand my point of view. It sounds like we come from very similar backgrounds. It is because I have recognized over the years how I have benefitted from white male privilege while others suffer that I am allowing myself to recognize these truths. The point of discussing these ideas is to share the ideas I have learned by listening to others, especially people of color, women and other oppressed peoples. Thanks for engaging in honest dialogue. It is everything right now.
Peace, indeed. 
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