I think I have to stop watching videos of cops shooting people.

[Jenny Red Eye]

Because and this point, there are precious few things that I would call the cops to my home for.

Someone steals my car stereo? I'll take the loss.

Someone burglarizes my home? I don't have much worth stealing. I'd take the loss.

Someone threatens me in an argument? I'd weigh the risk of getting law enforcement involved vs. the risk of somehow handling the situation myself.

It's too bad...I'm old enough to remember when I wasn't afraid of the police.

[Travis_0004]

1. 99.99 percent of interactions with police go smoothly.

Police have a lot to improve on but Im not afraid of them.

I would much rather have the police come to my house than do do nothing and let burglers roam free.

[Savannahmann]

3. Indeed. 99.99% of the interactions go smoothly. For whom?

Just yesterday this thread was posted where the police accused an 11 year old girl of acting promiscuously. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026376376

I'd say that things didn't go smoothly for her. But here is the thing that makes you wonder. How many other victims of rape were told that they were acting promiscuously?

One police officer in Denver was finally pulled off the streets after he received more than 40 citizen complaints which have already cost the city a million dollars to settle just two lawsuits. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026310198

In the linked story on that thread, the police say that the citizens don't want to cooperate with the police who are investigating police misconduct. You think?

I would agree that a majority of interactions do not result in abuse, or misconduct by the police. I would not agree that it is 90%, or higher. The Police in Dade County were cheating on traffic tickets. http://www.wsvn.com/story/23070302/ticket-talk

So the traffic police in the county were cheating on traffic stops. Communicating with the Judge inappropriately. Apparently neither the judges, nor the police had been informed that the accused has the right to see any and all information that is used against them.

So in that county alone, most of the stops for traffic offenses resulted in things going smoothly, for the police, not so much for the citizenry.

You are free to call the cops. Enjoy yourself doing so. But the wise ones are wary. The wise ones know that the Police will lie, cheat, steal, or plant evidence and get awards for doing so. If the police do get caught, well it's a minor thing that may result in the officer having to get a job at another department.

Things went very bad very quickly. Yet what is interesting is that the police had a hand signal to plant the evidence. It was such a common event that the cops had a signal to indicate the time to do it.

Now this would have gone a lot more smoothly if the defendant had not noticed the cop rummaging around in the Defense Attorney's briefcase and taking a document.

These are just a handful of the abuses we know about. Imagine how much we don't know about. Imagine how many lies we're told every day in court by these members of the Thin Blue Li(n)e. But you have to live your life, and you have to take your chances. Me, I never trust the cops, because I don't know when I'll be the poor bastard who gets drugs planted on me.

The way you know it happens so often, is that the cops are so casual about doing it. They've had way too much practice in other words.

[MohRokTah]

5. Bulshit. eom

[Rex]

2. Well for sure you don't want to call the cops for help with your kids.

It might be the last time you see them alive. Call a relative or friend or neighbor to help, anyone but the cops.

[Savannahmann]

4. I've felt the same way. More than once in fact.

But the only way to bring this sort of abuse to an end is with information, and education. We must know what the police are capable of. We must be aware of the trends on our streets, and happening to our fellow citizens. Not just so we are aware of the dangers of calling the police, but when we are selected for Jury Duty, we must filter the testimony of the police through that prism of our knowledge.

When the officer says he found the drugs in the pocket of the suspect, we should be educated enough to know it is possible, not definite, but possible that the officer planted the evidence.

When the officer says that the accused swung a blow at them, we have to know that it may be a lie. When the defendant says that he was beaten mercilessly by the police, we have to know that it is possible.

When a number of police all swear the same thing, we have to know that they may all be lying. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/rare_perry_mason_moment_at_trial_wins_acquittal_for_defendant_desk_duty_for/

We owe it to our fellow citizens, to learn the truth, and I know it's disturbing. I know it's disgusting, and I know how horrifying it is to watch, and see the senseless loss of life. However, one day you may be asked to sit in the jury box, and pass judgement on a peer. How much you know about the Police may make the difference between an innocent individual going to prison for years, or a guilty individual going free.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/police-dash-cam-video-exonerates-nj-man-implicates-cops-article-1.1701763

I owe it to the victims of police abuse to learn the truth. I have a duty as a citizen to know the truth, and to be aware of as many lies as possible. When people speak to me about a case in the news, even if they are still gathering evidence, I have enough knowledge to show the people videos where the police commit horrific abuses. I figure that each time I speak to three people, I manage to convince one of them to be more distrustful of the police, I'm making progress.

And I know I'm not alone in spreading the truth. It wasn't long ago that people would bob their heads and say sure the cops have to have all that military stuff. Now, the story is changing. Now, majorities of the people oppose the military crap the cops have. Painting rescue on a tank does not mean it is a rescue vehicle. It is still an assault vehicle. The only person it might rescue is other cops. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/21/police-militarization-poll_n_5697852.html

You do what you think you must, for your own peace of mind. I know how disturbing it is. However, I can't imagine how disturbing it is for the families, and friends, of people who are beaten, raped, and murdered by the police. I can't imagine the sense of fury that there will never be any justice for the life that was taken. I can't imagine the anger that the young woman endures knowing that she was raped at eleven, and blamed for the crime that was committed against her by the law. As difficult as it is to read, I can't imagine how impossible it is to endure.

For any of the victims. I can't turn my back on them. I just can't. It sickens me, and it makes me want to vomit at times. Often I have to get up and walk away from the computer. Many times I just can't trust myself to type a response for a very long time, if ever. But that story needs to be told, and the victims deserve justice. Ignorance and our silence works to the advantage of the abusers. Ignorance doesn't end it, it enables it.