Cops

The recent H L Gates event notwithstanding, we sometimes forget what a crap job it is being a cop. They also are incorrectly profiled by TV shows and movies who exaggerate both the bad and good. The truth is probably somewhere in the murky, depressing middle as the janitor and diplomat for our problems and accidents.

Like teachers and firemen, they are generally underpaid, driven by large bureaucratic organizations and have to deal in many cases, with a cross section of our worse elements every day. Although I think the very nature of being a cop breeds a macho, hard, heavily encircled, protective group, it is easy to see why. These are the people who get to see our worse every day - not many calls to come by and see some nice folks and have a swim in their pool. Those calls are to break up a fight between a couple, extract broken bodies from twisted cars and ride in a car all day eating fast food, working unpleasant shifts and wearing vests and heavy gear. I do not know how my attitude would be each day if I spent it picking up the trash from us all day. This in no way an excuse for racial profiling or the many documented cases of police violence and corruption. But we pay these workers a crap wage and expect them to be ambassadors to all while sweeping up our ugliness everyday and trying to determine which person is a nice guy and which one may take their life in a split second. Seems like our worse jobs pay the least and our expectations are sometimes the highest.

We recognize that Crowley was either having a bad day or has a deeper problem. I assume that most cops would not have escalated the problem.

Tip of the hat to those who routinely risk their lives for an unappreciative public.

and appreciate them but as in any field..there are good ones and those who are power trippin'.

Buy, you're right, most are good people just trying to make a living. I come from a family that has a lot of law enforcement officers in it. Everything from local cops, to state troopers, to federal deputy marshals. Some are very good cops, a couple are not my idea of cop material.....too much ego, lazy, and lacking in reason. I know a lot of cops, and I like and respect most of them. I always treat officers with the utmost in respect because I know they have a shitty job and are there for my benefit. Even if they write me a citation, they're just doing their job.

The next time a cop pulls you over for speeding or not wearing your seatbelt, remember, he may have just left the scene of an accident where someone was injured or killed because someone was speeding or not wearing their seatbelt. They are human and it affects them, too. If they seem a little edgy, they may have good reason to be that way. So, why not just assume this is the case and give them the respect they deserve?

anyone here after deal with a rude co-worker, a bullying teacher, a driver who cuts you off - why not be consistent and demonize these workers on the basis of a few bad apples as well.

"You don't know who (sic) you're dealing with!" were the words from his mouth. Somehow, as a professor as well as a minority, he felt above having to obey the same orders from police officers that the rest of us do. We hear repeatedly the agreement that policing is a stressful job, but there's seemingly no causal awareness that it's not particularly smart to heap more stress on them; the response is that they should be able to take infinite amounts and behave with sweet pleasantries.

People have prejudices, and there really aren't any "good" prejudices. I have a bit of dislike for asshole academics, having seen many suffer at their hands and having had a few run ins with them myself. When I hear that a world renowned professor goes into a derisive rage and won't let it drop, even when warned, even when the issue of his residency and identity were solved, even when the cop was leaving his premises. He wanted some kind of dominance and satisfaction, and he didn't give a damn how many passers by were annoyed by the hoopla.

This is privilege, and I don't like privilege. In the eyes of the law, we should be equal, and progressives should want this more than anyone, yet we're hearing knee-jerk certainty that the cop was a racist and deserving of having that screamed at him repeatedly.

So much for the respect for the working guy; the celebrity is much more important.

A black man opens the door to his own house and the cop treats him like a criminal because he couldn't possibly LIVE there. People like him don't live there. And then when put in his place with evidence that the man in question did actually live there the cop got mad because this black man dared question him by asking for badge and ID and decided to arrest him on bullshit charges because he wanted to spite him.

But I guess it's more important to stand up for police abuse and blame the black guy for his own victimization.

A cop answers a call that two black men are possibly breaking into this home, he confronts the person WHO FITS THE DESCRIPTION and gets raged at for being a racist. After the professor shows his ID and clears up the matter, he has to pursue the cop outside yelling at him and refusing to back down. It's quite different when screaming at a cop in public with bystanders watching.

What kind of redress would have satisfied this man? What kind did he DESERVE?

People who point out how horrible racism is should be a bit more sensitive about calling people that themselves; perhaps the assumption is merely that anyone questioning one's actions is obviously doing it just based on race, but that's bigotry itself. Where's the empathy? Raging at a cop isn't particularly smart, either; perhaps that was going through the cop's head at the time. Perhaps he didn't want to have a big ugly grandstanding complaint made against him in a foolishly escalating situation; when one backs down in the face of someone threatening you that he's of a superior social caste, a sensible person would think twice about just dropping it. Dropping it often invites further aggression from a combative person, and public complaints about cops ARE taken seriously.

Through my prejudice of having dealt extensively with celebrities and academics, it reeks of high dudgeon at being treated like a mere peasant. The "you don't know who you're dealing with" line is infantile self-importance, and bespeaks an expectation for special treatment.

Let's look at Professor Gates' words:

"Often we’re chosen for events for larger reasons, and I think I was chosen to be arrested in my own home so that I would start to devote my considerable resources toward a problem that plagues American society and plagues the criminal justice system – and that is both racial profiling and arbitrary and capricious actions by rogue cops," he said, adding later that he planned to produce a documentary on the subject.

What sheer pomposity. This is self-aggrandizement of gargantuan vulgarity. By whom was this man of considerable resources "chosen"? How about the bald-faced lie that he was arrested in his own home. He wasn't. He followed the cop outside onto a public street to rage at him more. That's why it's a public disturbance.

"Chosen for larger reasons". He's been called by some higher power to take the mantle of all the inferiors that only HE can lead to the promised land.

It sounds like the real problem with the door was that his ego couldn't fit through it.

Yaaay; book deal! Yaaay; documentary about ME being more important than importance itself.

What I'd like to know is what Crowley did after confirming the IDs. He probably should have politely apologized for the incident and left it at that. It doesn't sound like he did, but we don't know yet.

People are very free and loose with the facts, and we forget that we're dealing with fallible people in a charged and potentially dangerous situation. Grownups should not accuse people of racism repeatedly in situations like this. If the intent is to point out to the person that he's a bigoted cop, it's better done by pointing it out without yelling and pulling rank on the person. That's what someone does who wants to right a wrong or change someone's mind. Raging and calling a person a racist is what one does when one wants publicity, martyrdom, sympathy or revenge. It's not constructive; it's retaliatory.

But arresting a man on his own property (since when is someone's stoop public property) because you don't like what he's saying or yelling at you is the height of abuse of authority and that is not something which I expect to hear excuses for on a so-called progressive board. You seem to be more put off by his so called ego while not saying a damn thing about the person in power who abused his power due to his bruised ego.

The man is entitled to yell any damn thing he wants in his house which should include his porch as it's not really public the stretch used by law enforcement to say otherwise not withstanding. Nothing no matter how odious you find Prof. Gates' behavior warrants an arrest. None of it. But you insist on twisting all kinds of logic in order to make excuses for this abusive cop and make it Prof. Gates' fault when the responsibility lies with the cop who arrested him in the first place as the so called professional. (Although it would be a hell of a lot more apt to call him a thug with a badge whose no better than the criminals he's supposed to be arresting.)

This ass teaches at the police academy. Is this the kind of crap he teaches? If it is it's no wonder the cops are out of control!

Yeah you've been quite open with your prejudices and it says a hell of a lot about your line of thinking. It's a line I find both disturbing and revolting.

We all have a right to ask for a name and badge number. If you think I don't know I have that right, you don't know who you're dealing with.

Gates told Crowley that he was not the boss of him and Crowley told Gates that he was the boss of him and told him he was under arrest. That's clearly a power struggle with racial overtones.

"You don't know who (sic) you're dealing with!" were the words from his mouth. Somehow, as a professor as well as a minority, he felt above having to obey the same orders from police officers that the rest of us do. We hear repeatedly the agreement that policing is a stressful job, but there's seemingly no causal awareness that it's not particularly smart to heap more stress on them; the response is that they should be able to take infinite amounts and behave with sweet pleasantries.

People have prejudices, and there really aren't any "good" prejudices. I have a bit of dislike for asshole academics, having seen many suffer at their hands and having had a few run ins with them myself. When I hear that a world renowned professor goes into a derisive rage and won't let it drop, even when warned, even when the issue of his residency and identity were solved, even when the cop was leaving his premises. He wanted some kind of dominance and satisfaction, and he didn't give a damn how many passers by were annoyed by the hoopla.

This is privilege, and I don't like privilege. In the eyes of the law, we should be equal, and progressives should want this more than anyone, yet we're hearing knee-jerk certainty that the cop was a racist and deserving of having that screamed at him repeatedly.

So much for the respect for the working guy; the celebrity is much more important.

excuse me but your bias is showing.

That's when he was arrested.

He was NOT arrested in his house.

We're supposed to fully understand the outrage of Gates, yet after he repeatedly calls Crowley a racist and insults him for not knowing who he's dealing with, we're supposed to think that this is to simply roll off a cop's back. Not satisfied with informing the cop what an inferior he is (both for being a racist and a social inferior) and how much trouble he's going to be in, he follows him outside AFTER THE SITUATION HAS BEEN RESOLVED to humiliate the cop in public. Even THAT'S not enough; he has to continue after being warned.

Bad form. Bad manners.

I fully concede that the cop should have "taken it" and it sounds like he could have defused the situation more, but when repeatedly being called a racist, it doesn't make one really want to go out of one's way too much.

Why is it so hard for people to understand that if they have a problem with racism, many other people may too? It's not fun being accused of racism. You just did it to me, and it was uncalled for. I just happen to have a bit of trouble with celebrities and academics, and this incident simply reeks of experiences I've had with them. I do not "excuse" you, as you "request" (demand), I'm admitting a bit of bias on the subject of privileged arrogance, and I don't think that warrants being passive-aggressively called a racist with the word "bias".

There are plenty of worthy examples of racial profiling and unfair treatment based on race, but this one is much more complex and the "innocent victim" here doesn't come off so well.

If this had been someone without the resources of Prof. Gates, we never would have heard about it -- it would have been just another case of injustice ignored. No, the officer didn't know who he was messing with. I'm glad the covers have been pulled off of this issue. It seems that you are the one with the class issue.

Dang I must have missed that law.

your essence is not pure enough.

It has been my experience though that people that make statements like that..need to work on their own essence first. sheesh

And as long as the "good" cops maintain that blue wall of silence and do nothing about the known bad cops in their midst it will always be seen as a systemic problem.

If I see a group of male "skinheads" with tattoos while I'm walking after dark - I may cross the street (ie racial profiling). Who hasn't. Steroetypes may be wrong but we have learned around what stereotypes we may have problems.

there is something wrong when statistics have constantly shown that the police force
are consistently targeting African Americans and Hispanics, the duty of carrying out
the law is somewhat bias when it comes to these communities, attitudes have got to change.

There is nothing wrong with being a professional no matter what the circumstances, you
don't lose your temper and put a cuff on someone because you don't like the tone of their
voice when talking to you, especially from an African American or Hispanic. The point I'm
trying to make is this, when its consistent then its a problem, when the mistakes are
limited you can work toward making the system better, then you can use the scenario you
have used as an example, which is bad cop good cop.

Have you heard of the saying, "One bad apple spoils the broth"




:think:

i've had bad experiences with police, and i've had some good experiences. i agree that targeting certain groups is a big problem that needs to be addressed, but i also believe cops. like teachers, should be paid more.

is not going to change anyones opinion or attitude, some of these guys are deep down
bigots who uses the police force to express that bigotry, they know the unions will
always support them no matter what the circumstances.

More money is not the key, but change of attitude should be the defining factor.

Where is the passion????

also better training and education. i agree with you...there needs to be a concerted effort to change the police culture also. plus a concerted effort to remove bad officers.

but something has to be done. and let's face it: cops have to deal with a lot of shit, and often do see the worst in people. along with making police more professional and better trained, we also need to restore some of the rights that have been eroded during 30 years of rw rule.

'restoring some of the rights been eroded during 30 years rw rule' should be a place to start.

continuing the dialogue about the centuries-long problem of police abuse of african-americans, in particular. one of the problems with that dialogue is that having racist thoughts and feelings is so taboo that people can't voice them and work through them. i am not talking about people who are happy being stuck, i am talking about people who want to change. i am often struck by patterns that continue, in the workforce, for example, even though the people who perpetuate those patterns are women or people of color. for example, the company i work for always hires a male for the cfo position. surely there are qualified females who likely applied, but there is something in the culture of the company (which is reflective of the culture we live in) that dictates a male must hold that position...even an incompetent male, like the idiot we have now :argh:
until we, as a society, begin to examine these unconscious (and perhaps, conscious) patterns, we cannot move beyond them. people who learn to hate black people need a space where they can unlearn that hatred. likewise with people who learn to be resentful of white people. we will not evolve until we can talk about issues, e.g., race, without being resentful and taking it personally. i think its totally understandable that some people are racist...why wouldn't they be? i think it's totally understandable that some people are resentful...again, why wouldn't they be? AG Holder was right...we need to stop being cowards and confront our racial problems.

They can change their job (although I doubt they will since there's not as much power in other jobs)

And I don't think it's too much to ask to not have cops trump up charges on which to arrest someone just because someone pissed them off. In other words I don't think it's too much to expect the police to act like bloody professionals since that's what we pay them to do.

there! I question the mental stability of ANYBODY willing to put their lives on the line everyday for bullshit pay.

criminals on the street was the badge.

And there are a few jobs out there which are more stressful and more dangerous than being a cop. If people in those lines of work ever took out their grief on another person the way cops routinely do, they would be arrested and jailed. You would never get an endless stream of people excusing such behavior.

Police officers do have a difficult job, though I don't think I would call it a crap job, at least not universally. It can be. It depends in part on the conditions where they are working - urban vs. rural, for instance, or the type of assignment. While the level of danger is quite high, I would compare much of the job to working with adults with mental disabilities, teaching special education, or jobs in medicine where there is a difficult human side to the equation: trying to manage anger in other people, tolerating physical or verbal abuse, or doing a job where there is risk of injury or death if the job isn't done right. One differences is this - I don't think we'd be very tolerant if people working in a group home capacity assaulted mentally ill patients or if teachers assault their students, but at times we are more tolerant of when an officer abuses power (as in the Gates case). And we don't often recognize the heroism or dedication of people who work in group homes or special education teachers - we as the public often do not hesitate to expect more effectiveness and patience from those occupations. As difficult as it is to be a police officer, I think we should be fair and understanding in how we regard performance, but we must not tolerate flagrant abuses of power or escalation of situations due to anger. I think some of this certainly came into play in the Gates case.

that power breeds corruption, and a certain segment of the population is attracted to law enforcement because of their desire to be in a position of power over others, as opposed to becoming an officer in order to serve the public. That segment is what ends up giving cops a bad name and skewing the stats due to profiling, etc. I do not believe all cops are bad, but unfortunately there are too many who either are bad, or are there for the wrong reasons and can easily cross that line.

rather than themselves.