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Their shields have our backs.

MaggieD said:
View attachment 67203882As angry as we get at the actions of very few, we should realize we cant have a civilized society without them. How would you like to be a cop this morning? Only thing missing when you get dressed is the target on your back.
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Thank you for posting this.
When I saw the protesters running when the first shots rang out, whom were they looking for to protect them?
While going about town today, I will make a point of thanking every police officer I come across.
 
Crovax said:
Yes and when police start quitting a crime goes up, we will have a Trump-like president and probably another civil war.
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Crime didn't go up in NYC last year when the NYPD suddenly was hit with the blue flu.
 
BrewerBob said:
In my personal view, if cop A looks the other way when cop B abuses his power, then cop A is also a bad cop. He may very well be a good person in all other aspects of his life, but he is a bad cop. And I don't for one second think I would be any better in cop A's position. The system makes it next to impossible for cops to do the right thing without ruining their career or being ostracized by the very people you count on to watch your back. I know the problem. But I have no answers.
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I don't quite go that far, but to be honest I get the reasoning and I can't disagree with it, either.

Do you think it's more the individuals or the system thwarting what might be otherwise good cops.
 
MaggieD said:
I dont know...

I went out to Dunkin Donuts this morning and bought a $70 gift card for my local police. Stopped in at the station and simply said, "This is to let ya'all know there's a whole bunch of people in town wishing you well." I was anonymous. And left. In the parking lot, a cop with brass exited the Police Only door, came trotting over and said, You have no idea what this means to us. Thank you." He was all misty-eyed. OMG, it felt sooo good. A little kindness to cops right now could go a long way.

Okay, sappy to follow... If your town PD has a Facebook page, how much trouble would it be to post some support? No trouble at all.
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I like that. I may have to follow your example.

But donuts? Stereotype much? ;)
 
Crovax said:
Yes and when police start quitting a crime goes up, we will have a Trump-like president and probably another civil war.
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There is certainly a cusp developing there and we cannot be sure, where the developments will land us. Presently the violence is mostly individual and not systematic. But the anger building up has good potential to explode. Socialization in too many child parent relationships is lousy and it is getting worse as our libertarian life style spreads and liberal policies widen. The feel of the situation as a whole is not nice and reminds one of destabilizing social societies in history.
 
BrewerBob said:
I like that. I may have to follow your example.

But donuts? Stereotype much? ;)
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DD has coffee and breakfast items. :)
Thank you for following Maggie's lead. I shall do the same.
 
radcen said:
I don't quite go that far, but to be honest I get the reasoning and I can't disagree with it, either.

Do you think it's more the individuals or the system thwarting what might be otherwise good cops.
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I think it is the system.
 
MaggieD said:
I dont know...

I went out to Dunkin Donuts this morning and bought a $70 gift card for my local police. Stopped in at the station and simply said, "This is to let ya'all know there's a whole bunch of people in town wishing you well." I was anonymous. And left. In the parking lot, a cop with brass exited the Police Only door, came trotting over and said, You have no idea what this means to us. Thank you." He was all misty-eyed. OMG, it felt sooo good. A little kindness to cops right now could go a long way.

Okay, sappy to follow... If your town PD has a Facebook page, how much trouble would it be to post some support? No trouble at all.
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Donuts? I love it.
 
radcen said:
I don't quite go that far, but to be honest I get the reasoning and I can't disagree with it, either.

Do you think it's more the individuals or the system thwarting what might be otherwise good cops.
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A lot of it is human nature. In any job - not just policing - unless you're a complete a-hole you try to take care of your own. If one of my people screws up I defend them to my superiors. I might kick their ass privately, but I'm not going to throw them under the bus with people who can take the bread off their table. Same with cops. In separate conversations with my brother and a close friend who are both retired cops I had asked them what they missed most about the job and number 1 for both was "the guys I worked with." That's got to be a widespread sentiment. It's tough to hurt a guy who's probably like a brother to you even if it's the right thing to do.
 
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BrewerBob said:
I like that. I may have to follow your example.

But donuts? Stereotype much? ;)
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lol. Yeah a lot of the cops I see these days look to be in seriously good shape. The days of the donut munching paunchy cop seem to be over.
 
BrewerBob said:
I think it is the system.
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That's how I lean. And that may be why I'm still not quite willing to go over to the "they're bad cops, too" sentiment fully. They still needs jobs, too, and there isn't much in the world that is honest and pure, just varying degrees of selfishness and dishonesty.

But on the flip side, I'm tired of when a cop does do something clearly wrong, when even the "thin blue line' can't cover for them, they far too often are cleared and get away with it. The system protects them in that regard, and even encourages what you're talking about.
 
radcen said:
That's how I lean. And that may be why I'm still not quite willing to go over to the "they're bad cops, too" sentiment fully. They still needs jobs, too, and there isn't much in the world that is honest and pure, just varying degrees of selfishness and dishonesty.

But on the flip side, I'm tired of when a cop does do something clearly wrong, when even the "thin blue line' can't cover for them, they far too often are cleared and get away with it. The system protects them in that regard, and even encourages what you're talking about.
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I think we have to very publicly educate people that cops arent perfect. They make mistakes. We need to stand by them when they do. They are making split-second decisions. We are armchair quarterbacking. There is a dofference between wanton msconduct and a mistake made by an adrenalin-filled cop who just wants to get home safe. We need to let cops know that, when they're that LAST guy, we.have their backs.
 
joG said:
Whether a terrorist is crazy or not is a good question.
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I think they have demonstrated otherwise with this attack. Crazy is not usually organized like these boys apparently. These were bubbas conducting reprisal.
 
MaggieD said:
I think we have to very publicly educate people that cops arent perfect. They make mistakes. We need to stand by them when they do. They are making split-second decisions. We are armchair quarterbacking. There is a dofference between wanton msconduct and a mistake made by an adrenalin-filled cop who just wants to get home safe. We need to let cops know that, when they're that LAST guy, we.have their backs.
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As a novelty, I bought my wife a scanner that gets the local police frequency when we moved from the suburbs to the "big city" 9 years ago. Listening on occasion morphed into the white noise we have on at every night when we go to bed.

It's hard to describe the activity that is taking place in what to the naked eye at night looks like a quiet city at rest. I've heard it all, in real time. Pursuits, altercations, shootings at, or by, Police, Office needs assistance, Code Reds, etc., etc..

Imagine a profession where almost every contact is with someone who is not remotely happy with such contact. Imagine a profession where you are in contact with a large number of people who are desperate to continue their illegal activity, and are willing to go to any lengths to keep from being caught doing it.

I can't imagine, in today's environment, how loud the call would have to be, to pursue a career in Law Enforcement. Yet, without such people answering that call, we all would be in extreme danger from those who had no respect for the law in the first place.
 
MaggieD said:
View attachment 67203882As angry as we get at the actions of very few, we should realize we cant have a civilized society without them. How would you like to be a cop this morning? Only thing missing when you get dressed is the target on your back.
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Maggie, I've always found you to be a reasonable poster. I absolutely agree that the police are needed and should be respected and that most officers do their jobs fairly and to the best of their ability.

But there is a problem with police forces in the U.S. Here's a case that didn't get a lot of press.. The officers who did this -- kidnapping, violation of civil rights, tampering with evidence -- were never charged. They are still cops.

Just as most priests aren't pedophiles, most cops aren't corrupt. But like with the Catholic Church, there's a culture that protects those who abuse their position and allows that abuse to perpetuate. We need to address this problem. Reasonable people on both sides need to be on the same team -- we need mutual respect. Sadly, we seem to be headed the other direction -- toward animosity and polarization.
 
Crovax said:
That's the problem these morons don't seem to understand math, every single incident becomes national news and people thinks it's happening all the time everywhere. However in reality there are only a tiny number of incidents and they are way out of the norm. And even when they are justified shootings these people still riot and burn down thier own communities.
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The killings are rare. However police mishandling and mistreating people is not. I can personally attest to this. Being violated by those supposed to protect your rights tends to ignite a certain more intense feelings toward those "protectors."
 
ocean515 said:
As a novelty, I bought my wife a scanner that gets the local police frequency when we moved from the suburbs to the "big city" 9 years ago. Listening on occasion morphed into the white noise we have on at every night when we go to bed.

It's hard to describe the activity that is taking place in what to the naked eye at night looks like a quiet city at rest. I've heard it all, in real time. Pursuits, altercations, shootings at, or by, Police, Office needs assistance, Code Reds, etc., etc..

Imagine a profession where almost every contact is with someone who is not remotely happy with such contact. Imagine a profession where you are in contact with a large number of people who are desperate to continue their illegal activity, and are willing to go to any lengths to keep from being caught doing it.

I can't imagine, in today's environment, how loud the call would have to be, to pursue a career in Law Enforcement. Yet, without such people answering that call, we all would be in extreme danger from those who had no respect for the law in the first place.
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:applaud:applaud
 
GhostlyJoe said:
Maggie, I've always found you to be a reasonable poster. I absolutely agree that the police are needed and should be respected and that most officers do their jobs fairly and to the best of their ability.

But there is a problem with police forces in the U.S. Here's a case that didn't get a lot of press.. The officers who did this -- kidnapping, violation of civil rights, tampering with evidence -- were never charged. They are still cops.

Just as most priests aren't pedophiles, most cops aren't corrupt. But like with the Catholic Church, there's a culture that protects those who abuse their position and allows that abuse to perpetuate. We need to address this problem. Reasonable people on both sides need to be on the same team -- we need mutual respect. Sadly, we seem to be headed the other direction -- toward animosity and polarization.
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Your link does say those officers named in the suit no longer work for the department. Seems like the REASON they dont ought to be that they're in jail. That they werent prosecuted would be as much the fault of the Dana as anyone else. Thats a pathetic story. Very sad.
 
MaggieD said:
I think we have to very publicly educate people that cops arent perfect. They make mistakes. We need to stand by them when they do. They are making split-second decisions. We are armchair quarterbacking. There is a dofference between wanton msconduct and a mistake made by an adrenalin-filled cop who just wants to get home safe. We need to let cops know that, when they're that LAST guy, we.have their backs.
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Agreed, but there are times where a cop goes into a situation and exacerbates it with their attitude and/or conduct. Essentially, they created (or made worse) the bad situation before it even got that bad. There are honest mistakes, sure, but that other crap gets glossed over far too often. Now that opinions are being set it would take time to rectify, but as a long term strategy it would be a lot easier for people to accept the honest mistakes and split-second decisions if the pre-emtpive bad actions were actively separated out and legitimately prosecuted.
 
BrewerBob said:
I like that. I may have to follow your example.

But donuts? Stereotype much? ;)
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Really?????????? Police LOVE donuts, and coffee. Its like air and water. Its tradition.

I like Maggies' example too. I am gona steal it. Looks like the night shift blue boys will be getting a delivery from my favorite baker.
 
This is a sad day in America - a sad week. Part of the problem also is that the media finds the officers guilty before any real understanding of what happened is known. I don't know what happened, but what I heard on the video was that the officer was adamant that the person in the car was reaching for something. I don't understand why he pulled the trigger at all and especially more than once, but I also believe that these officers fear for their lives. The problem truly is much larger than just black vs. white. Until we start seeing that and understanding that the root cause of these terrible events is more encompassing than simply race, we will have these types of events continuing.
 
MaggieD said:
Your link does say those officers named in the suit no longer work for the department. Seems like the REASON they dont ought to be that they're in jail. That they werent prosecuted would be as much the fault of the Dana as anyone else. Thats a pathetic story. Very sad.
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It is sad. I live not too far from there. That case really bothered me. At least one of those officers works in a different department now, but he's still a cop. It also bothers me that there are no comments on that story at the link (Plain Dealer's website). Nobody cares.

Anyway, I kind of regret my post now. It's not a good day for this debate -- what happened last night is so tragic and so emotional. I think you're right that, today of all days, our police officers need a pat on the back and some encouraging words.

God bless.
 
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