Police Reform Thread

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Police Reform Thread

#1

Post by Allentown » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:32 am

Might as well get this one started:

http://fox17online.com/2017/09/14/attor ... tor-crash/

Haha didn't read the link: FOIA release of transcripts of police chatter trying to cover up the incident after ex-prosecutor hit someone and was detained for driving drunk.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#2

Post by mikeylikey » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:36 am

Sorta feels a little hollow without MEH and Strega in here.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#3

Post by Murelli » Fri Sep 15, 2017 9:41 am

What about using illegal chokes?

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#4

Post by Allentown » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:09 am

mikeylikey wrote:Sorta feels a little hollow without MEH and Strega in here.
Yeah, I know.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#5

Post by aurelius » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:20 am

Were the cops following a set of byzantine protocols and laws that gives them the latitude to use lethal force in any situation that arises to the threat level of a toddler pointing a spoon at them?

I don't really know what you expect. You want them to do their job and keep all of us safe or not?!

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#6

Post by cwd » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:27 am

mikeylikey wrote:Sorta feels a little hollow without MEH and Strega in here.
This forum won't really take off unless a few authoritarian conservatives are recruited.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#7

Post by Allentown » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:28 am

aurelius wrote:Were the cops following a set of byzantine protocols and laws that gives them the latitude to use lethal force in any situation that arises to the threat level of a toddler pointing a spoon at them?

I don't really know what you expect. You want them to do their job and keep all of us safe or not?!
The "We only shoot black people" and the link I posted are distinct. I thought referencing the recent dashcam video where a cop told a white woman who was very nervous during a traffic stop to calm down, because cops only shoot black people. Note- that cop got fired. So:
Joking about shooting black people- fired
Actually shooting black people- you're good, keep working

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#8

Post by fishwife » Fri Sep 15, 2017 12:27 pm

mikeylikey wrote:Sorta feels a little hollow without MEH and Strega in here.
Hurling would 100% narc on this place in under a day.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#9

Post by Allentown » Fri Sep 15, 2017 12:35 pm

fishwife wrote: Hurling would 100% narc on this place in under a day.
To who? Rip? "Hey, all those people you banned went to a new forum! Want me to choke them, or perhaps threaten to drown them?"

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#10

Post by ithryn » Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:00 pm

cwd wrote:This forum won't really take off unless a few authoritarian conservatives are recruited.
I'll give it a shot.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#11

Post by aurelius » Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:16 pm

ithryn wrote:I'll give it a shot.
But your heart won't be into it. Not the same.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#12

Post by ColoWayno » Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:41 pm

The cop picked a poor way to lighten the mood and ease a tense situation. But you could argue, assuming he was joking, that in doing so he showed a higher level of self awareness of public perceptions than some cops. All in all I don't think it was a firing offense unless there's more to the story.

(How was that?)

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#13

Post by bugbomb » Fri Sep 15, 2017 2:24 pm

ithryn wrote:I'll give it a shot.
Image

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#14

Post by bugbomb » Fri Sep 15, 2017 2:26 pm

ColoWayno wrote:The cop picked a poor way to lighten the mood and ease a tense situation. But you could argue, assuming he was joking, that in doing so he showed a higher level of self awareness of public perceptions than some cops. All in all I don't think it was a firing offense unless there's more to the story.

(How was that?)
I'm 100% with Wayno on this one. I mean, it was an insensitive joke, but actually a pretty funny and sly one. This is being seized upon by people who need a sarcasm font in real life, I'm afraid.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#15

Post by tersh » Fri Sep 15, 2017 2:39 pm

ColoWayno wrote:The cop picked a poor way to lighten the mood and ease a tense situation. But you could argue, assuming he was joking, that in doing so he showed a higher level of self awareness of public perceptions than some cops. All in all I don't think it was a firing offense unless there's more to the story.

(How was that?)
I tend to agree. Ten bucks say the reason this guy got fired is because his humor was at the expense of other cops, as much as anything.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#16

Post by fishwife » Fri Sep 15, 2017 3:09 pm

bugbomb wrote: I'm 100% with Wayno on this one. I mean, it was an insensitive joke, but actually a pretty funny and sly one. This is being seized upon by people who need a sarcasm font in real life, I'm afraid.
Mm... I think it's a joke that shows serious contempt for black people and utter trivialization of their concerns WRT racist policing. I wouldn't tell a black person who was upset about this joke that they needed to chill and learn to read sarcasm.
tersh wrote:Ten bucks say the reason this guy got fired is because his humor was at the expense of other cops, as much as anything.
I don't agree that his humor was only at the expense of other cops. But I do agree he was probably fired because he spoke a truth that the police department absolutely doesn't want acknowledged, even in jest.

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#17

Post by ithryn » Fri Sep 15, 2017 4:37 pm

Lol I'm 96% positive it was self-deprecating and ironic. I could be wrong. I come from a profession where I hear doctors and nurses joke about accidentally killing people all the time. (Maybe I'm not supposed to say that out loud)

If the national news consistently announced that black people had the impression doctors intentionally harm or kill black people (spoiler: many do have such an impression, but it's not a national controversy) and you've got a doctor who's never intentionally harmed anyone, you can't see him or her having some gallows humor about the public perception of their profession?

I don't think most cops are callous racists. I think many cops sadly aren't equipped to handle the whole range of confrontation they face in the context of universal viewership and the court of public opinion.

Re: racist cops in general, people who don't work with the public have no idea lol. Poor people can be tough to love if you're trying to maintain order around them, I know that much just from trying to maintain a hospital environment without having fights break out. Whether they're white, black, Romani, Mexican, anything. Combine that with racially and economically segregated populaces and you've got cops who have high daily exposure to the worst behaved members of a race and class. The racist cop in 2017 is a symptom of a social disease, not a cause of it.

There, is that good?

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#18

Post by chromoly » Fri Sep 15, 2017 4:53 pm

ithryn wrote:There, is that good?
What, do you want a pat on the back and a gold star for that?

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Re: "It's fine, we only shoot black people" The cop thread

#19

Post by bugbomb » Fri Sep 15, 2017 5:09 pm

fishwife wrote:Mm... I think it's a joke that shows serious contempt for black people and utter trivialization of their concerns WRT racist policing. I wouldn't tell a black person who was upset about this joke that they needed to chill and learn to read sarcasm.

I don't agree that his humor was only at the expense of other cops. But I do agree he was probably fired because he spoke a truth that the police department absolutely doesn't want acknowledged, even in jest.
This makes me think about the Louis CK "But MAYBE..." bit.

Re: my sarcasm comment wasn't directed at black people. I was referring to the white people on my FB feed who insist on (selectively) taking things literally. Not to go all Scott Adamsy, but with Trump in charge it's a bit of an epidemic.

It also occur to me that I have a couple of friends who I would absolutely make that joke to ("don't worry J & L, cops only kill black people"). It's not that different a joke from Justine Sacco's tweet. I'm not trying to ascribe deep social meaning to the cop's comment. I just don't think it meant what people are acting like they believe it meant.

On the other hand, it was tone deaf enough that maybe it calls into question his ability to effectively communicate with the public. That'd be a fair criticism IMO.

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#20

Post by Allentown » Fri Sep 15, 2017 5:21 pm

Jesus, it's like no one read my link and everyone just wants to argue about the story I thought would make a clever title for a cop thread.

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