How are the Cops like where you live?

[Edwardo Piet]

I'm sorry you had to go through that, Shell.

[TheRealJoeFish]

How are the cops where I am? I'm not sure, I don't know any.

I imagine some are really upstanding fellows, some are sleazy mofos, and most are normal folks.

I generally try to resist making any pronouncements about groups of people based on what we think are general attributes that belong to that group. I won't say "all cops are heroes" because there's a small chance they may have to make a decision about sacrificing themselves in a violent situation, and I won't say "all cops are dicks" because there's a small chance they may shoot a black dude in the back for reaching into his pocket for a cell phone. Show me a cop, tell me what he did, and I'll tell you if I think his actions are heroic, deplorable, or - as in the vast majority of cases - neutral.

That being said, when you sign up for a job that allows you to exercise governmental power in any form (police officer, military, firefighter, judge, lawyer, lawmaker), you're voluntarily signing up for a higher code of behavior than in the average job.

[J a c k]

The police officers I know are all good people putting their lives on the line for ungrateful little shits.

Bold mine.

I've dealt with good cops and bad cops. A really kind and sweet cop has been very helpful to me when I've needed assistance at my apartment due to stuff and things. He even came back once to make sure I was ok and gave me numbers to call for more help. He was very nice.

Then there are the arrogant, pieces of shit cops. I worked with kids who have been taken from their homes and placed on foster care. Some of these kids had severe trauma. We had to call the cops sometimes to put order into situations where minors (teens) needed protection (some with mental illnesses). These cops would show up, act like pricks about the kids' hats or the way they talk, argue about stupid things like why aren't they looking at them when they're speaking, and end up handcuffing the people that needed protection. I had one offer me an interpreter once, as if my accent was so strong you can't understand what I'm saying. These kids have been raped, beaten, abandoned, sold, traded, you name it. We offer help and protection, and cops show up to treat them like shit, just like everyone else in their lives have done. Just remembering makes my blood boil.

There are good cops and bad cops. Just because the ones you know are nice, doesn't mean all the other stories are wrong.

[Shell B]

I'm sorry you had to go through that, Shell.

Oh, I wasn't innocent. I've had worse experiences with random strangers than with that guy. He was just dickish.

[Aegon]

They'll pull you over for doing 30 in a 25 though.

Do you know how much the chances of a person dying goes down between 30 and 20mph?

If someone is hit by a car at 40 mph they are 90% likely to be killed.

If someone is hit by a car at 30 mph they are 50% likely to be killed.

If someone is hit by a car at 20 mph they are 10% likely to be killed.

If it is posted as 25 but you go 30 you are putting someone's life in danger. The reason it's posted that low is because they take into consideration how many pedestrians are usually around and how safely someone can drive. Heaven forbid they might have researched it a bit before throwing up a random number.

Wow, you are so not a New Yorker.

[J a c k]

"putting their lives on the line" 
hahaha give me fucking break. 

drivers put their lives on the line too and road accidents are much MUCH more likely to happen. fucking icecream truck drivers are more courageous than your precious cops. let that sink in.

"ungrateful little shits"

oh for god's sake they're just doing their fuckin job. like everybody else in the whole fucking world. and not even a good one for that matter. you're naive if you think they're doing you some sort of sacrificial service

Woooow Hammy was right about you. The difference between everyone else's job and those that serve the public such as cops, fire fighters, EMS, and military is that they choose to go into the fields that could get them killed. There is nothing dangerous about my job behind a desk. The ones that hate the police are the ones breaking the laws. You don't break the law you have no reason to even associate with the police. You think they are doing a bad job then how about if they all just went on strike and just left people to do as they please. The police aren't the problem- people like you are the problem.

What? I'm sorry, but no. This is not always the case. I think you might be seeing things through a filter of never having experienced injustice. I don't hate ALL cops, but I do hate some, and I say this as someone who was not breaking the law. I just needed them to protect INNOCENT people, and instead they treated them with no respect. My dad was Mexican while walking and was held for more than 40 minutes even though he kept offering to show his legal status documents, all the while taunting him and trying to provoke him. These weren't border patrol, they were cops. Guess he looked suspicious in his polo shirt and khaki pants. He was fucking walking. All he had was grocery bags in his hands. But this is Arizona and you can't be Mexican while walking, right? Filters, mooney.

[Shell B]

I think the word you're looking for is blinders, not filters.

This is all the same rhetoric:

Don't cricitize people who "risk their lives" for "you."

Only criminals have bad experiences with cops.

People who don't like cops are ungrateful jerks.

Hey, all of this stuff has been true, so it must always be true. I'm sure people who have been raped by on-duty cops were just criminals. Oh, had your property stolen by a cop? You had to have been breaking the law. Not convicted? They went easy on you.

[LastPoet]

The cops here are a bunch of newbie republican guards, sent here to gain experience. Cool dudes and I am happy they are more educated, as per requirement. I have been in the can plenty of times. Except for that one time I went out of my mind as I saw a friend die of OD in front of me, they always took me without handcuffs. Very professional IMO.

[CapnAwesome]

Well I am a full time nomad, so I experience police all over. I've had LE rangers (just another type of cop) straight up steal my private property. Rarely are they good experiences. Mostly they are trying to bust you for little or no reason and not stopping real crime. I'd say 8/10 experiences I have with police are negative ones and the 'positive ones' still involve police harassment, it's just polite. America is over-policed for sure. I think the most frustrating thing is when you are in a meth addled area and some dickwad cop is harassing you over nothing when he's too much of a pussy to stop real crime.

The idea that the police are stopping crime or keeping you safe is bullshit. They don't stop crime, they just investigate afterwards and most of the time don't even do that. From my experience people who support the police are white, middle class, live in the suburbs, go on vacation like tourists. Everybody else gets harassed.

[LastPoet]

Well I am a full time nomad, so I experience police all over. I've had LE rangers (just another type of cop) straight up steal my private property. Rarely are they good experiences. Mostly they are trying to bust you for little or no reason and not stopping real crime. I'd say 8/10 experiences I have with police are negative ones and the 'positive ones' still involve police harassment, it's just polite. America is over-policed for sure. I think the most frustrating thing is when you are in a meth addled area and some dickwad cop is harassing you over nothing when he's too much of a pussy to stop real crime.

The idea that the police are stopping crime or keeping you safe is bullshit. They don't stop crime, they just investigate afterwards and most of the time don't even do that. From my experience people who support the police are white, middle class, live in the suburbs, go on vacation like tourists. Everybody else gets harassed.

I believe that, in the US, just by watching cop programmes that might be true. Not around here. Portuguese cops tend to be more... humane. They do still fine you and arrest if needed, but they do ask first "sir, you are detained, care to go with us to the station?"