American Cops Doing What They Do Best

Is it normal for a headline to read "Black man's murder"? Why not just "officer charged with murder" without reference to the victim's skin colour?

Race-baiting. The US media is big on sensationalizing everything it can. As someone above pointed out, it will draw web hits and views.

However, there does exist a racial dilemma in the US and cops are a big part of it. I understand how each side (white, black, brown, etc.) perceives justice, racial issues, etc. so as not to give the impression I'm supporting the white cop and demonizing the media.
 
It's scary how casual the officer acts throughout the whole situation. It looks like he's done it all before.

There's no "Oh shit what have I done, what can I do?" before he picks up the taser and puts it next to the body... he just picks it up casually, drops it by the body without barely a thought. Even Mackey from the Shield isn't that calm.

Scenes from the movie 'Copland' come to mind.
 
The cop moved his taser closer to the body. What a fcuking piece of shit. I hope he rots for many years in jail. He'll most likely get a paid suspension, I mean, it's only a black person.

Nah, he's done. Was fired today and is facing murder charges by the local DA. And the media exposure will guarantee he's convicted.
 
I was listening to a podcast recently and they implied that alot of studies find Black cops also discriminate against black people at a similar level to white cop - it's a complex issue.

Well, not this case. This was murder.

I imagine black and brown police officers get the "let me off, brother/holmes" and then "mark ass bitch/pinche puta" when doing their job. It cannot be easy being a minority police officer. Possibly more difficult especially when their own kindred don't respect/trust them and/or see them as traitors working for the man.
 
What disturbs me most is the mindest of this officer in that he sees the action of repeatedly shooting a man in the back as being nothing much at all. He knows that the guy is wanted on some minor violations and not a hardened criminal at all, yet has no hesitation to just shoot him down like a dog when he flees. He doesn't seem capable of seeing the victim as a fellow human being and knows that he can just make up some shit and go about his work with no repurcussions.

This country is crying out for a new way of policing. Less 'them versus us' and more community policing. Oh, and get rid of a few guns.

I agree but missing child support payments is a felony charge in every state. Let's be honest here. Certainly not worthy of a death penalty obviously.
 
This incident in North Carolina, at least from the information that is available to us now, appears heinous. I wish we could see what led up to the shooting to have a more complete picture.

Still, it's hard to imagine anything leading up to the video that would would show the shooting was justified. That ex-policeman is not fit to carry a weapon, and he did not appear to come to the man's aid after he shot him down.

I am not saying that he caused his own death, or that he deserved to die, but if he had just stayed in his car and let himself be peacefully arrested he would still be alive today.
 
Can't really say much for the officer (which I'm disgusted to even really call him that) Watched the video a few times, and while it's strange how the cameraman wasn't seen...that's far from the most troubling thing about this.

The saddest part is obviously a man lost his life. The fall out from this is what makes it more dangerous for every other officer out there trying to actually do his job and help people. A local officer here was recently shot and killed when responding to do a welfare check on a reported suicidal subject. The subject opened fire with a rifle and the officer never had a chance.

Incidents like this, with senseless murders (really no other word for it) just makes people more skeptical of any law enforcement, and makes a dangerous job even more dangerous one because of people looking for retribution, or just having a general mistrust and not following commands, which will lead to more escalations.
 
Can't really say much for the officer (which I'm disgusted to even really call him that) Watched the video a few times, and while it's strange how the cameraman wasn't seen...that's far from the most troubling thing about this.

The saddest part is obviously a man lost his life. The fall out from this is what makes it more dangerous for every other officer out there trying to actually do his job and help people. A local officer here was recently shot and killed when responding to do a welfare check on a reported suicidal subject. The subject opened fire with a rifle and the officer never had a chance.

Incidents like this, with senseless murders (really no other word for it) just makes people more skeptical of any law enforcement, and makes a dangerous job even more dangerous one because of people looking for retribution, or just having a general mistrust and not following commands, which will lead to more escalations.

That's the vicious circle which is established in America and means this sort of thing is going to continue. We've got to a situation where a lot of people in poor areas (especially black people) are genuinely scared of the police and don't trust them at all. All very well saying "none of this would happen if everyone obeyed orders" but that won't happen while people are scared for their life from the moment a cop pulls them over. Hence they won't behave rationally and the cycle continues.
 
That's the vicious circle which is established in America and means this sort of thing is going to continue. We've got to a situation where a lot of people in poor areas (especially black people) are genuinely scared of the police and don't trust them at all. All very well saying "none of this would happen if everyone obeyed orders" but that won't happen while people are scared for their life from the moment a cop pulls them over. Hence they won't behave rationally and the cycle continues.
Exactly my thoughts. Changing such a mindset takes a lot of time. And it seems unreasonable to think the change can start with the civilians. As I see it you really need a prolonged period of time where the cops are at their very best behaviour which in turn would hopefully make the civilians behave better when pulled over/whatever.
 
This incident in North Carolina, at least from the information that is available to us now, appears heinous. I wish we could see what led up to the shooting to have a more complete picture.

Still, it's hard to imagine anything leading up to the video that would would show the shooting was justified. That ex-policeman is not fit to carry a weapon, and he did not appear to come to the man's aid after he shot him down.

I am not saying that he caused his own death, or that he deserved to die, but if he had just stayed in his car and let himself be peacefully arrested he would still be alive today.

He would also still be alive today if the cop didn't murder him by shooting him in the back, then attempt to tamper with the crime scene to cover up his murder.
 
He would also still be alive today if the cop didn't murder him by shooting him in the back

I think that's obvious to everyone.

I still maintain that the worst choice you can possibly make is to have a physical confrontation with an armed officer of the law. When this guy decided to tussle with a cop, he opened up the possibility that his life could be ended swiftly. We would not expect that to happen, we expect the police to act within the confines of the law. Unfortunately, this ex-officer escalated the use of force out of all proportion to what was happening and killed him.

Who runs from the police? Criminals. Don't act like a criminal, because you just might give some asshole the opportunity to use his gun.
 
I think that's obvious to everyone.

I still maintain that the worst choice you can possibly make is to have a physical confrontation with an armed officer of the law. When this guy decided to tussle with a cop, he opened up the possibility that his life could be ended swiftly. We would not expect that to happen, we expect the police to act within the confines of the law. Unfortunately, this ex-officer escalated the use of force out of all proportion to what was happening and killed him.

Who runs from the police? Criminals. Don't act like a criminal, because you just might give some asshole the opportunity to use his gun.
Or dont let people have firearms? - Then every police officer wont need firearms and people will get shot far less... it seems to work over here
 
I think that's obvious to everyone.

I still maintain that the worst choice you can possibly make is to have a physical confrontation with an armed officer of the law. When this guy decided to tussle with a cop, he opened up the possibility that his life could be ended swiftly. We would not expect that to happen, we expect the police to act within the confines of the law. Unfortunately, this ex-officer escalated the use of force out of all proportion to what was happening and killed him.

Who runs from the police? Criminals. Don't act like a criminal, because you just might give some asshole the opportunity to use his gun.

That's not a particularly compelling argument. A person whether a criminal or a citizen should be able to run away from a cop without being shot - the onus is on the cop to use his judicial discretion to not murder a citizen he is tasked with protecting. Good thing the authorities saw this situation for what it was - a cold blooded murder, and make the appropriate arrest.
 
That's not a particularly compelling argument. A person whether a criminal or a citizen should be able to run away from a cop without being shot - the onus is on the cop to use his judicial discretion to not murder a citizen he is tasked with protecting. Good thing the authorities saw this situation for what it was - a cold blooded murder, and make the appropriate arrest.

It's an intelligence test. But you're right, and we agree on this, that you should be able to run without fear of being shot in the back.

But let's include the events leading up to the shooting - physical confrontation/wrestling on the ground/shot with a taser. Why escalate the situation that way? There is no good reason to do so, unless you like putting your life in the hands of someone who may not respect it.
 
It's an intelligence test. But you're right, and we agree on this, that you should be able to run without fear of being shot in the back.

But let's include the events leading up to the shooting - physical confrontation/wrestling on the ground/shot with a taser. Why escalate the situation that way? There is no good reason to do so, unless you like putting your life in the hands of someone who may not respect it.

I've not seen the video of the physical confrontation/wrestling? Did that actually happen then or was that in the officer/murderer's statement?

If it did, that kind of reaction to a broken tail light/late child support payments seems overly aggressive too actually!
 
I've not seen the video of the physical confrontation/wrestling? Did that actually happen then or was that in the officer/murderer's statement?
Indeed - based on what we have seen I'd not put much faith in what he said happened?
I believe the person who shot the video is talking with the police and one presumes that something made them start recording so they should be able to cast a bit more light on what happened to make them pick the phone up and what happened prior to getting it in focus.
 
It's an intelligence test. But you're right, and we agree on this, that you should be able to run without fear of being shot in the back.

But let's include the events leading up to the shooting - physical confrontation/wrestling on the ground/shot with a taser. Why escalate the situation that way? There is no good reason to do so, unless you like putting your life in the hands of someone who may not respect it.

I don't understand why people rationalise the actions of cops who kill people purely because they weren't able to handle the situation in a non violent manner.
Scott was running away with his back turned, clearly unarmed and of no threat to anyone - the police officer could have chased him and restrained him at that point.
Scott shouldn't have to fear for his life, no one should have to fear for their life in the presence of the police even if they aren't co-operating with them, they don't get to decide if people live or die just because they aren't respecting their authority.
 
I've not seen the video of the physical confrontation/wrestling? Did that actually happen then or was that in the officer/murderer's statement?

If it did, that kind of reaction to a broken tail light/late child support payments seems overly aggressive too actually!

Indeed - based on what we have seen I'd not put much faith in what he said happened?
I believe the person who shot the video is talking with the police and one presumes that something made them start recording so they should be able to cast a bit more light on what happened to make them pick the phone up and what happened prior to getting it in focus.

It was in an interview with the guy who shot the video and he said that he saw the two of them wrestling, and interestingly at one point the police officer had control of the situation.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...officer-michael-slager-arrested-10164085.html
 
It's an intelligence test. But you're right, and we agree on this, that you should be able to run without fear of being shot in the back.

But let's include the events leading up to the shooting - physical confrontation/wrestling on the ground/shot with a taser. Why escalate the situation that way? There is no good reason to do so, unless you like putting your life in the hands of someone who may not respect it.

The overwhelming evidence will be on the video and the fact that the cop shot an unarmed citizen who was not attacking him, but running away - as well as the cop attempting to cover up his crime by planting his taser near the victim in an attempt to corroborate his account that the victim tried to grab his taser. When in fact the person shooting the video said the victim was merely trying to get away from the taser in the first place.

All signs (including a friggin video) point to this being a case of a rogue cop attempting to use a taser on an individual, who ran away because he didn't want to be subjected to repeated shocks, and was then promptly murdered by a volley of 8 shots aimed at his back. This is as open and shut as it gets, as evidenced by the fact that even police brutality apologists are appalled by this.
 
It's an intelligence test. But you're right, and we agree on this, that you should be able to run without fear of being shot in the back.

But let's include the events leading up to the shooting - physical confrontation/wrestling on the ground/shot with a taser. Why escalate the situation that way? There is no good reason to do so, unless you like putting your life in the hands of someone who may not respect it.

That is how I act when I'm with police, because I'm risk averse and I'd rather live to see another day than become another hashtag. That said, I shouldn't fear the police, and the current setup needs to change.
 
Americano absolutely turns my stomach. That's all I can say due to not wanting to be banned. Disgusting behavior in this thread.
 
I don't understand why people rationalise the actions of cops who kill people purely because they weren't able to handle the situation in a non violent manner.

I agree with you and I am not trying to rationalize the ex-officer's behavior. From what I can see, as I have said multiple times, it appears that he shot the man illegally.

The overwhelming evidence will be on the video and the fact that the cop shot an unarmed citizen who was not attacking him, but running away

Raoul, my brother, I agree with you. There is nothing that you are saying that doesn't make complete sense. My position remains, that if I had kids, I would teach them to passively and politely comply with the police: do not resist arrest, do not run, do not talk back, do not fight. That man has a gun and he may decide to use it, even unfairly. Make the smart choice and STFU and get on the ground.

The video actually shows, not very clearly, and a witness describes, a physical confrontation and wrestling match on the ground where the man was subdued. I AM NOT SAYING HE DESERVES TO DIE BECAUSE OF THIS. I am saying that it is a huge mistake to lay your hands on a cop because rightly or wrongly, he has the ability to kill you. The chances that you may get killed start going up from zero when you decide to get out of the car, resist arrest, fight with a cop, and run. So why increase the odds of a potentially lethal confrontation? You can't control the actions of the police, but you can control your own choices. So make the right ones. That's what I mean by "intelligence test".
 
Or dont let people have firearms? - Then every police officer wont need firearms and people will get shot far less... it seems to work over here
ITs not an option for two reasons. One, 2nd ammendment is impossible to repeal. Two, Geographic considerations mean self protection is needed to supplement law enforcement.
 
I agree with you and I am not trying to rationalize the ex-officer's behavior. From what I can see, as I have said multiple times, it appears that he shot the man illegally.



Raoul, my brother, I agree with you. There is nothing that you are saying that doesn't make complete sense. My position remains, that if I had kids, I would teach them to passively and politely comply with the police: do not resist arrest, do not run, do not talk back, do not fight. That man has a gun and he may decide to use it, even unfairly. Make the smart choice and STFU and get on the ground.

The video actually shows, not very clearly, and a witness describes, a physical confrontation and wrestling match on the ground where the man was subdued. I AM NOT SAYING HE DESERVES TO DIE BECAUSE OF THIS. I am saying that it is a huge mistake to lay your hands on a cop because rightly or wrongly, he has the ability to kill you. The chances that you may get killed start going up from zero when you decide to get out of the car, resist arrest, fight with a cop, and run. So why increase the odds of a potentially lethal confrontation? You can't control the actions of the police, but you can control your own choices. So make the right ones. That's what I mean by "intelligence test".

You went on a rant that Michael Brown was a thief and should be expected to get shot if he was a criminal and he resisted arrest. You made no comment on Eric Garner who was put on a chokehold and you threw a pissy rant at the protests which occured nationwide but turned violent in a few places. If you can extend your frankly ridiculous and stupid understanding of 'Why behave badly because cops can kill you', why won't you extend that to a group of people who have been discriminated against for years and protesting for a common cause? You should be thinking 'Why let these guys protest by unnecessarily killing, because a feckton of people can cause a riot'?

What you don't understand and have never shown any indication is that 'Polite and passive cooperation with police just doesn't happen when you have a distrust on the establishment based on tangible evidence'. People throw many examples at you not because they want to point out individual mistakes in each case, but to show you the general trend.
 
You also have writtem, legal rights concerning your interactions with the police. You are allowed to exercise them and should expect that police know them too and will follow them. You don't have to be passive, submissive, arselicking at all.
 
Raoul, my brother, I agree with you. There is nothing that you are saying that doesn't make complete sense. My position remains, that if I had kids, I would teach them to passively and politely comply with the police: do not resist arrest, do not run, do not talk back, do not fight. That man has a gun and he may decide to use it, even unfairly. Make the smart choice and STFU and get on the ground.

The video actually shows, not very clearly, and a witness describes, a physical confrontation and wrestling match on the ground where the man was subdued. I AM NOT SAYING HE DESERVES TO DIE BECAUSE OF THIS. I am saying that it is a huge mistake to lay your hands on a cop because rightly or wrongly, he has the ability to kill you. The chances that you may get killed start going up from zero when you decide to get out of the car, resist arrest, fight with a cop, and run. So why increase the odds of a potentially lethal confrontation? You can't control the actions of the police, but you can control your own choices. So make the right ones. That's what I mean by "intelligence test".

That is something I drum into the heads of my younger brothers, and I intend to do that with any kids I have in the future. That being said, such rhetoric eerily mirrors suggestions that women be wary of excessive drinking, walking in dark alleys... such talk is anathema in this climate that vigorously condemns anything that sounds like "victim-blaming". I personally think there are things we all can do to mitigate risk from external sources, and you're always going to have bad cops and rapists out there, so why not do something to help the situation? At the same time, that doesn't absolve the police/rapist of responsibility for their actions reinforced with power. Not saying you're doing this, but that is how it comes off, and any hint of that is met with a tempest on the internets nowadays.
 
What you don't understand and have never shown any indication is that 'Polite and passive cooperation with police just doesn't happen when you have a distrust on the establishment based on tangible evidence'. People throw many examples at you not because they want to point out individual mistakes in each case, but to show you the general trend.

I think everyone should follow the law. Citizens should be compliant and not resist arrest and police should be judicious in their use of force. Those who don't follow those simple ideas deserve the appropriate punishment (which doesn't always happen) and risk their life and liberty. Precious things can be taken from you unfairly and instanteously in this life. I was surprised at the lack of indictment in Eric Garner's case.

You also have writtem, legal rights concerning your interactions with the police. You are allowed to exercise them and should expect that police know them too and will follow them. You don't have to be passive, submissive, arselicking at all.

I know that. But you don't always have your lawyer with you when attract the attention of the police to advocate for your rights. I am just telling you what I would teach my kids, and the example I would set, about dealing with the police. For best results, be nice. If after seeing what could happen to you if a situation escalates, and you still want to take your chaces with a cop, go ahead and antagonize them. It's your right to be a dumbass.
 
I think everyone should follow the law. Citizens should be compliant and not resist arrest and police should be judicious in their use of force. Those who don't follow those simple ideas deserve the appropriate punishment (which doesn't always happen) and risk their life and liberty. Precious things can be taken from you unfairly and instanteously in this life. I was surprised at the lack of indictment in Eric Garner's case.



I know that. But you don't always have your lawyer with you when attract the attention of the police to advocate for your rights. I am just telling you what I would teach my kids, and the example I would set, about dealing with the police. For best results, be nice. If after seeing what could happen to you if a situation escalates, and you still want to take your chaces with a cop, go ahead and antagonize them. It's your right to be a dumbass.

Then I feel sorry for your kids that you are teaching them to be sheep. Pathetic.
 
That is something I drum into the heads of my younger brothers, and I intend to do that with any kids I have in the future. That being said, such rhetoric eerily mirrors suggestions that women be wary of excessive drinking, walking in dark alleys... such talk is anathema in this climate that vigorously condemns anything that sounds like "victim-blaming". I personally think there are things we all can do to mitigate risk from external sources, but at the same time, that doesn't absolve the police/rapist of responsibility for their actions reinforced with power. Not saying you're doing this, but that is how it comes off, and any hint of that is met with a tempest on the internets nowadays.

The South Carolina incident is clear as day, I'm not defending the cops nor trying to find a justification to try to justify them.

Both of them are in the wrong, obviously the biggest issue is the cop shooting a harmless running man or this would not even make the news. All I did was raising the issue of why people are running away from the cops. I should have made a separate thread as it could have been misunderstood as being inconsiderate in this thread, but who would have thought about it. There's too many people jumping on conclusions too fast without giving any benefits of doubt.
 
I think everyone should follow the law.
Absolutely but since not everyone does we created law enforcement and to ensure fairness we set about giving them strict guidelines of what they can and can't do.

Running from the police is inadvisable at the best of times and had the situation played out lawfully then Scott may well have ended up serving time in jail for assault (over the alleged scuffle at the car) and resisting arrest. But there was no risk to life and the cop had no fair reason to use lethal force here.
 
The South Carolina incident is clear as day, I'm not defending the cops nor trying to find a justification to try to justify them.

Both of them are in the wrong, obviously the biggest issue is the cop shooting a harmless running man or this would not even make the news. All I did was raising the issue of why people are running away from the cops. I should have made a separate thread as it could have been misunderstood as being inconsiderate in this thread, but who would have thought about it. There's too many people jumping on conclusions too fast without giving any benefits of doubt.

It's a fair question. I have no idea why this particular person ran away from the cops. That is a crime, with a probable punishment of a few days in jail. Fair fecks right? Instead he is killed.

Another issue with questioning why people run from the cops is that there is documented history of civilians getting killed by police while following orders. So it's kind of a catch 22. You're a minority, you're in danger, no matter what you do.
 
It's a fair question. I have no idea why this particular person ran away from the cops. That is a crime, with a probable punishment of a few days in jail. Fair fecks right? Instead he is killed.

Another issue with questioning why people run from the cops is that there is documented history of civilians getting killed by police while following orders. So it's kind of a catch 22. You're a minority, you're in danger, no matter what you do.

Two wrong doesn't make right, at the end of the day they are the one tasked with maintaining law and order. They are innocents until proven guilty, the same as the object they're trying to protect and serve. If people starts running from the cop, wouldn't they be morally wrong by being biased and racist towards the cop in the first place?

Again, separate issue from this incident.
 
"It's different for a white child. That's just the reality in this country," de Blasio said. "And with Dante, very early on with my son, we said, 'Look, if a police officer stops you, do everything he tells you to do. Don't move suddenly, don't reach for your cellphone,' because we knew, sadly, there's a greater chance it might be misinterpreted if it was a young man of color."

De Blasio noted that he didn't believe that he was any different from any father who has children of color. "I'm just saying what people are actually experiencing and have been for decades," he said Sunday. "I've talked to a lot of families of color, well before this time, because I've said things like this before. And they've said to me over and over and over again that they appreciate someone finally acknowledging that they have that conversation with their sons. It's a painful conversation. You can sense there's a contradiction in that conversation."
 
Then I feel sorry for your kids that you are teaching them to be sheep. Pathetic.

I'm not teaching them to be sheep. I am teaching them survival. If you want to fight the police, you do it with a lawyer, not with your fists. Only a fool would choose trial by combat.

If you don't trust the police, recent events show that it make less sense than ever to run or fight back.

It's not pathetic. It's reality. It's a talk given to millions of kids across the country. Shut the feck up and live to fight another day, in court hopefully.

That's exactly what I'm saying. And I agree with you as well that it's not meant to blame the victim, or excuse his death in this case, or rationalize the shooting. It's just a simple thing to remember if you find yourself in trouble, live to fight another day.