To Serve And Protect

You're right. I had to google to make sure because this seems like waaaaaay to much power for a police officer. Probable cause to temporarily take someone's freedom and put someone in handcuffs should be much higher than a minor traffic infraction, IMO. Even in a polite situation like below, I could end up in handcuffs. That's scary s***. Imagine if the cop was aggressive, and I hesitated because I was confused or scared. I could get tazed or forcefully removed, resulting in a resisting arrest charge.

cop "I pulled you over for failure to signal"
me "I understand officer. I apologize."
cop "license and registration please"
me *gives it to him*
cop "i'll need you to get out of your car"
me "I want to cooperate, but i don't feel safe getting out of my car. can you please tell me why you need me to do that?"
cop "the only reason i need is because you broke a law and i told you to, now get out of the car."
me "am i under arrest?"
cop "yes"
me "you can arrest someone for a minor traffic infraction?"
cop "yes, now get out of the car"

 

This is a decently researched article with this little tidbit of very misleading information. A group with the word "fact" in their name ought not do this.

As a demographer and statistician for over 20 years I've seen this type of cherry picking a lot in the press and almost all the time by politicians. The strongest statistical correlations to crime, police interactions and incarcerations is from 3 significant sections of our population and race is not one of them. Parental/familial structure, education level and income. When you remove race from the statistical search on any respected database and search for crime, police incidents and incarceration you will find these 3 key demography criteria surface. Once you have this result then overlay race and you will find no statistically significant variation.

Truth is that criminal behavior is the result of a lot of socio-economic pressures along with certain health (behavioral health) indicators and it really isn't related to any one race over another. A larger % of Black people live in poverty, without traditional familial relationships and have lower levels of education than the the average in this country. That fact is being used to jump to the conclusion that somehow there is a bias against blacks in the criminal justice system.

The events of the last few months by our highest criminal justice system should show exactly the opposite. In Ferguson, without any tangible evidence supporting it, the Justice Department launched a special probe into the Police department. Several key administration members including the President spoke on the behalf of the victim who turned out to not be the victim. Meanwhile we have a lone gunman shoot at Service Men killing 5 white men and the same administration, who by the way is responsible for federal employee safety and wasn't responsible for Ferguson's police, took 48 hours to have the spokesman make a statement after a question in a press conference.

On another similar note... A "drifter" shot people in a theater yesterday. This will spark another round of gun rights debate I'm sure. I would bet my house that the President will leverage this for political purposes. Meanwhile, a family of 5 was killed in Oklahoma by a knife welding man the day before. Anyone know that?

It's politics and when people understand it for what it is (Public manipulation) we will actually be much better off as a people.

 

I love how Doc did his homework... Is there over Zealous cops? Sure, but they are within the confines of the law... Is it too much power? Go cry to the legislators.

Barnstable, I understand you've had a bad experience with police, but this one video made it out to the public, and there is an outcry. First off, she was being a (you know what) the entire time. In Texas, you can be arrested for a traffic violation (it's officer discretion). She began to resist. YOU DON'T RESIST ARREST. JUST DON'T DO IT! It's the stupidest thing to do. Because when that happens, we have to overcome that resistance.

You don't like it? After it's all said and done, go to a lawyer and do it the right way...

And lastly, while it ended tragically, it was not that officer's fault she killed herself. In the end, she ended her own life. How that could be that officer's fault is beyond me.

I have a question for anyone really who is caught up in this Anti-Police/ Police abuse/Police have too much power movement, what is it that you want? Like specifically what is it that you want? Or want done?

I'm just curious.. We've had a lot of that here in Stockton, and there isn't really any constructive criticism when these people come to protest us. All I hear are the same things and "F- the police". So with people who are more civilized, I'd like to hear your concerns and opinions.

 

And just for some extra fun information... The supreme court found it to be constitutional for people to say and treat the police like this... \



But it's still not okay for people to do this in court



just thought that was a bit... well I leave my opinion out of this one.

 

Love this post. Well said. I'm curious about your thoughts on specific parenting practices of many black families, and how those practices may exacerbate the three race-free factors you mentioned. I read an article in response the Adrian Peterson scandal that explained how black parents using very heavy handed corporal punishment to try to steer their children away from trouble has been a practice culturally inherited from generations of slave mothers beating their kids to prevent their master from doing worse. Add a practice like this to your 3 factors, and the black culture/ race has another obstacle to overcome. the other 3 are not unique to race, but this one might be. Other cultures use corporal punishment for sure, but I'm honestly not sure if it's the same.

 

I lived in a really crappy part of Atlanta when I was very young. My mom knew my father for a few weeks. I was raised by her until she died of hepatitis related to drug use when I was pretty young. I hit the streets for a while and finally landed in foster care. THAT is what I know of family life in a poverty stricken "black" area of the country. I've had my life threatened a dozen times and half of them were serious. I've been ripped off a number of times, been beat unconscious for a walkman (look it up if you're under 30) and there wasn't one White person involved. All I've knew of people who looked like me was dysfunction, intimidation, crime and drugs. That's my life before the age of 13. After that I was taken in by my uncle by marriage when my aunt died of cancer. He was the first White adult I had known other than a couple teachers and counselors. Everything I knew was that he the enemy. I ran away, got in a lot of trouble and nearly went to jail. He was the one who finally pulled me out of it along with my cousins. I lost 8 years of my life essentially to my peers. I graduated HS with a full degree (he wouldn't let me do a GED) and I got to college by age 25. Been running ever since to try and catch up. Once out of that environment it took me 10 years to trust anyone other than family. Once my head finally cleared of the "built in" bias against everyone who hadn't been through that kind of life I realized that not only did they not hate me for my skin color but it really didn't matter much at all. Not what I was taught when I was a kid at all.

That long winded explanation is what I know of Black parenting. I didn't have any. I saw kids with fathers get smacked around but then again they were not going to school, dealing drugs, stealing or worse so if they didn't try and correct it the system would do worse eventually. I don't think you can draw a parallel in anyway with how a well functioning (what ever that is) family works to what I saw and still see. In a poor black family you don't have disciplinary actions available like you do in a richer black or white family. No could take away what I didn't have (TV, Stereo, Car, Cell Phone, allowance etc.) so the only way to get your point across was physically. My daughter will do anything to not lose her cell phone... no one where I grew up had anything other than what was on their back between "checks" so that wasn't a parenting option.

I used to fight with my uncle and cousin about their views on the welfare state and affirmative action but as I got older and see more and more "help" and the results getting worse and worse I have come around to that idea. It's more complicated than just that but all of the bad stuff is supported while none of the good is encouraged by these systems aimed to "lift us up". It's time to go in a different direction however so many people don't know anything else... it's 3 generations deep in a lot of places. The idea that we are dedicating page after page to here to a very, very low % of black people being killed by cops while not even addressing the fact that there are a few thousand killed a year in these areas of "help" year after year. Is it the senseless deaths of Black people or is it just deaths of Black people at the hands of White Police officers? The politicians, elitist media, elitist academics and radical political groups that use this for dividing us are winning this it seems while Black people yet again are the losers. We've been tricked again.

I don't really have an answer for the systemic dependence we have in this country. I now know that there are a whole lot white people in the same situation. The pride in the inner city in what they term "black culture" is part of the problem to integrating in my thinking but it's the only identity they know. I got no real answers to that.

 

Great read. Thanks for the glimpse into your life.

In my professional experience, when I can get parents ( poverty, low education, single parents& lack of extended family support) to stop hitting their kids, it's probably the biggest factor for positive change in the kids' behaviors and emotional functioning. Obviously the factors in the parentheses are more important, but much more difficult to change. Black families tend to be the most heavy handed, so I wonder if it's a variable to consider because the 3 variables you point out clearly apply to any and all cultures a nd races

 

I'm not for grouping people by skin color or country of origin and making blanket statements. Now with that said I don't think Black Families I knew could hold a candle to Russian families. I see a lot of Russian immigrants in VA and they are freaking brutal to their kids.

There is a difference in how different groups do it but my guess is that 3 generations out of poverty most Black well adjusted families will act the same as their "white" counterparts. I don't think it's skin color rather environmental.

My Girl and boy are doing well in school, they with work and they are good kids for the most part. We used corporal punishment as a last resort a few times. "Privilege" penalties worked a lot better with my daughter than my son however.

My story is something I use to help the kids I coach. I coach a lot of lower privileged kids in the AAU and sometimes me and the other coaches are the first stable older male figure they have known. I'm not ashamed of it. It's me. I escaped and I am truly lucky to have been shown a path out.

We're way off subject now.

 

Agreed, and you're right. I was just describing a blanket that I happen to work with. I wasn't sure how it extrapolates.

 

It's OK. In this base identity society it's all most anyone every looks at these days. What's different rather than what's the same. I'm glad you do the work you do. I remember the "spreadsheet".

 

Wait, but that Jesse Williams guy said these 4 should be dead for their actions....









Why didn't they kill these people, they are black and should be left in a bloody mess right?

 

jesus. There are literally millions of police contact every day.. You hand pick a couple hundred throughout the country and cause this huge Anti-Police movement... Some of them that are handpicked, the Officer was right in reacting the way he did, a small percentage of those, the officer screws up.