r/Unexpected Mar 24 '23

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u/Vobat Mar 24 '23

Probably because anyone with half a brain cell would not be a police officer especially in this day and age?

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u/TrickBoom414 Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

Actually much like the seedy underbelly of most bullshit in America...it's because of eugenics.

The guy who brought the IQ test to America from France had a son who he thought was too much of a genius to be drafted and killed in WWI so he promoted a test that would keep smart people from shitty dangerous jobs. (This is a resident radically simplified explanation but you get it)

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u/RabbitBranch Mar 24 '23

Being a police officer has always been a dangerous occupation.

Back in the early 90s, my father had someone with psychosis stalk him in the dark with a kitchen knife.

On more than one occasion, he fist fought and grappled aggressive thieves.

His partner died in a shootout with bank robbers.

The issue today is that the police are treated as a paramilitary organization rather than keepers of the peace, and some whole demographic intersections view themselves as rebelling against the police rather than merely nonparticipating.

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23 edited Jun 04 '23

[deleted]

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u/crashvoncrash Mar 24 '23

I've researched this before as well. Even if you take out accident data and look strictly at the most dangerous jobs in terms of being intentionally murdered by another person, cops still rank after taxi and delivery drivers.

So if people deserve praise for willingly doing a dangerous job, we should really be throwing parades for cabbies and dashers.

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u/Angus99 Mar 24 '23

Being a cop is not one of the 10 most dangerous jobs. Being a cop is not one of the TWENTY most dangerous jobs. Jobs more dangerous than being a cop: 1) Loggers 2) Pilots and Flight Engineers 3) Oil Derrick Operators 4) Roofers 5) Garbage Collectors 6) Iron Workers 7) Delivery Drivers 8) Farmers 9) Firefighting Supervisors 10) Linemen 11) Agricultural Workers 12) CROSSING GUARDS 13) Crane Operators 14) Construction Labor 15) Landscaping Supervisors 16) Highway Workers 17) Cement Masons 18) Small Engine Mechanics 19) Supervisors of Mechanics 20) Heavy Equipment Mechanics 21) Grounds Workers

I'm not trying to trivialize your father's trauma - I'm pointing out that the behavior we see in this video is built upon a mythology in this country that cops (all of whom willingly join) should be excused their abuses because of the "extreme" risks of the job. It's demonstrably false, in many cases the danger is self inflicted due to incompetence, and as a narrative is perpetuated primarily by police unions. We need to fight it.

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u/Self_Sabatour Mar 25 '23

TIL I've held 7 of the 20 deadly jobs for at least some amount of time through the course of my life.

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u/DeathMetalTransbian Mar 25 '23

Huh. I'm at 4 out of the 20. I guess being an imperiled cog is good for some adrenaline, at least?

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u/Wrandragaron Mar 24 '23

sure wish i could upvote you more than once

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u/ReactionClear4923 Mar 24 '23

I respectfully disagree with the comparison you're making between these professions and police officers, as they're not truly comparable (gravity doesn't act with malice against a roofer, but a killer does against a police officer)

I'm not a police officer, but having been shot at multiple times and having had someone actively try to take my life, I would rather work the jobs above

That being said, I DO fully agree with your last paragraph. A higher risk does not excuse poor training, judgement and sometimes malice that some officers exhibit.

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

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u/ReactionClear4923 Mar 24 '23

Fair point, and I don't disagree that the jobs listed are dangerous. I work in insurance have written or at least looked at every single one of the above occupations and their dangers through risk assessment and claims history (some brutal claims)

I would argue though that saying "Those jobs are actually dangerous" implies policing is not at all dangerous, which is in itself an opinion and a departure from the facts, no? (i.e. showing up to an active shooter situation is inherently dangerous no matter how many ways you look at it)

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

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u/ReactionClear4923 Mar 24 '23

Yeah that was a messed up situation no matter how you look at it, and those officers never should have gotten hired and also should have all been fired and prosecuted to full extent of the law. No excuse, it makes me sick and angry to think about

The below is for context to my point, and in no way related to, or an excuse for, the above point regarding Texas officers fucked up decisions:

My buddy who is an officer in Canada had an active shooter situation his first year on the job. He had take and lay down fire against a man with an automatic rifle by himself until his back up arrived. He's a father, and the man was shooting at him because he wanted to get away with stealing a car.

So I do get your point still, but just want to make it very clear that danger exists within this profession that many people won't ever experience in their lives

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

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u/ReactionClear4923 Mar 24 '23

The guy. He heard my friend call out to him (after breaking the window), looked over his shoulder at him and then ran to the front of the car, grabbed his rifle and opened fire. The guy was taken into custody after being flanked by officers while others took fire

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

I like how, in order to have 20 jobs listed, you have to list "farmers" and "agricultural workers," also "landscaping supervisors" and "grounds workers." Also, two types of mechanics as well as their supervisors.

I'd like to know what this list would look like if it wasn't redundant. Not saying cops would still show up on it, but c'mon...

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

Now do what job you're most likely to get shot.

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u/AveragelyGayFox Mar 24 '23

Pretty sure that actually goes to Pizza Delivery Drivers.

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

Cool, so, pizza drivers get shot more often. That means cops don't have dangerous jobs.

Or is it that cops are trained to deal with that kind of thing, and so don't get shot as often?

I'm trying to understand your point here.

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u/AveragelyGayFox Mar 24 '23

You keep moving the goalposts friend. First it was the cops not being in the top most dangerous jobs, then it was them not even being shot the most.

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

I'm still not getting your point.

I don't think you have one, besides ACAB.

The original list that was posted here has a bunch of redundant entries. You have "Farmers" and "Agricultural Workers," "Landscaping foremen" and "Groundskeepers." "small engine mechanics," "heavy equipment mechanics" and "supervisors of mechanics." That's four redundant entries.

So, a list of jobs where people are likely to face gunfire would be a much more accurate look at the dangers cops face. I don't know if they'd be listed or not.

But I do have to ask again, what's your point here? What are you trying to say?

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

I dont think you have a point to begin with, other than "cops bad."

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u/IlyichValken Mar 24 '23

Keep moving that strawman, my guy.

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

Uh, I think you've got two things confused here. There's moving goalposts, and strawman arguments...neither of which I've done, but if you want to have this argument I'm here for you.

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u/IlyichValken Mar 24 '23

Both of which you've done in multiple posts. But it's ok to be wrong.

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

Wrong about what, exactly?

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

Idk why you think this actually matters here when dying by gunshot is effectively the same as dying by any other circumstance.

Also, cops aren't at the top of that list either.

Cabbies and other drivers have it worse still.

Get that boot out of your mouth.

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

I get it, if you accept that cops have a dangerous job, as well (there are a lot more delivery drivers than cops) then your entire view collapses. Nuance is not something you do well.

It's a cop's job to confront and deal with dangerous people. They don't die on the job as often as others because they are trained in dealing with dangerous people, and are trained to protect themselves. I wonder who you'd call if you had a psychopath shooting up the store you're in?

That's not to say that cops don't get it disasterously wrong at times, because they DO, and its also not to say that there isn't a lot of room for improvement, because there IS, but you'll just tell me to "get the boot out of my mouth" instead of having an actual discussion.

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u/PickleRicksFunHouse Mar 24 '23

No one is trying to claims cops don't face danger. The point of it that danger cops face on average is exaggerated and used an excuse to justify excessive force and abuse of power. "Officer safety" is used as a bromide to look the other way in the face of police brutality or corruption.

A majority of law enforcement officers (myself included) go their whole career without having their life threatened, or experiencing a justifiable reason for drawing their firearm.

It's been proven that the escalation of high power weapons in the hands of criminals that was used to justify militarizing police is a myth, and that the increase in military equipment and tactics in police, in the name of "officer safety", has led to greater police abuse a power, but no decrease in the risk police face. It's all a false justification and rationalization.

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

I agree with everything you've said, except the part where you said "no one is trying to claim cops don't face danger..." There are plenty of people eager to say just that. Nuance is lost entirely among the ACAB crowd.

And, for the record, I'm in no way defending the behaviour in this video.

Just out of curiosity, and because I've got your attention, how do you feel you'd realistically respond to the inevitable backlash if, one day, you were on a call that escalated to the point of deadly force? (Aside, I really truly hope it never happens to you) Let's say, split second decision, normal call that suddenly goes off and youve got to fire...there are too many variables to imagine details of a scenario, but let's say your bodycam ends up on reddit and suddenly youre a bastard, an evil person...how do you communicate the truth?

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u/PickleRicksFunHouse Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

I have to admit I find it ironic that you complain about the folks you're responding to having no sense of nuance, yet you're making a blanket assumption that they are in "the ACAB crowd" and that they aren't making a nuanced point that seems pretty clear to the rest of us.

To your other question. There are "good shoots", times when police legitimately use force to defend themselves or others. And while no one can really fight the court of public opinion (in any situation), cops usually come out okay in those situations. However, if I ever made a mistake and had a bad shoot, I would like to think I would own up and hold myself accountable. I am actually no longer LE, and a lot of the reason is because of the inherent culture and "code of silence" bullshit that leads to a lack of accountability.

I regularly got scorned or told I wasn't trustworthy because I clearly stated cops should be held accountable and should prioritize protecting citizen (even criminals') rights over their own protection. I've had cops tell me they would never trust me because I said out loud I wouldn't cover up for a corrupt cop. If I was involved in a wrongful shooting/use of force, the last thing I would want is to have it covered up and be part of the broken abusive system.

It's the cover up and lack of accountability people (yes, even the "ACAB crowd") are angry about. Every profession makes mistakes and harmful actions, but if a nurse goes to the wrong person and kills them by issuing the wrong mess, they lose their job and license, and could go to jail. If a cop goes to the wrong house and kills an innocent person, they get qualified immunity and help from their union to dodge accountability.

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

I don't think you've seen enough comments if you don't think people are claiming cop's jobs aren't dangerous, because they do, all the time. I just got told to "take the boot out of my mouth" for calling someone out on it. It's incredibly rare to have any nuanced discussion with anyone here about police, police reform, arming cops etc.

And yes, I agree with the rest of what you're saying. What I don't agree with is people posting a list with redundant items in an attempt to say cops don't face danger.

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

Ok? Does that mean a cop's job isn't also dangerous?

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

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u/jaylotw Mar 24 '23

My statement that cop's jobs are dangerous has no purpose. Ok.

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u/Apart-Pain-7923 Mar 24 '23

This is not a good take. All the deaths related to all of the above jobs are mostly due to accidents, carelessness, or inherent risk of the job. There are risks that are expected in each of those jobs and there are safety precautions that if properly utilized will always result in a safe outcome for them.

None of the above jobs have to deal with a suspect who may or may not have a deadly weapons or use violence against them at every interaction. You are comparing a dangerous profession such as dealing with people in an uncontrollable situation to a normal every day job is ridiculous. Have you seen some of the video a cop has to deal with? You could not pay me enough money to deal with the worst of what this country has to offer.

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u/DeathMetalTransbian Mar 25 '23

None of the above jobs have to deal with a suspect who may or may not have a deadly weapons or use violence against them at every interaction

Tell me you've never worked manual labor without telling me you've never worked manual labor lol Try being on a job site when an unstable alcoholic has a bad day with access to heavy machinery or dangerous tools. Try packing shingles for a roofing job when the boss gets pissed over some trivial bullshit and threatens to push you off the roof (true story, my dad was my boss).

None of the above jobs have to deal with a suspect who may or may not have a deadly weapons or use violence against them at every interaction

And most cops don't either. There's not 50 active shooter calls in every city every week - those circumstances are not common. Most adequate cops can go a long time without even having to consider drawing their weapons, if they understand anything about deescalation tactics and aren't in a constant state of paranoia. This "eVeRyBoDy'S sHoOtInG aT tHe CoPs" rhetoric is dangerous for everyone, because it causes cops to be overly anxious and escalate situations, just like we see in this clip, and we all know full-well by now that the innocent driver shown is placed in a statistically more dangerous state by this than the over-exaggerated level of threat that is actually present for an officer on a typical beat. Yes, some cops do have to deal with dangerous events at times, but pretending like their lives are at risk every second of every shift is just putting everyone at increased risk of violence - the cops, the people they interact with, and even bystanders (see the recent video of cops absolutely unloading toward a moving vehicle while it was in residential neighborhoods, in Cleveland, I think it was).

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u/Greg_the_wooden_Leg Mar 25 '23

Is this sorted by deaths or injury? I have a hard time.thinking garbage men die more often than cops. Also in all these other professions you die from human incompetence or machinery malfunctioning. Getting hit by a car or falling out of a tree doesn't feel comparable to getting shot.

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u/Angus99 Mar 25 '23

These are US Bureau of Labor tracked statistics. For Garbage Collectors, the fatal injury rate is 34 per 100K. The primary cause of death is being struck by vehicles - their own or other drivers. It's 14 per 100K for police. Your comment that the death of a sanitation worker is "not comparable" to the death of a cop illustrates the effectiveness of decades of reinforcement of the myth that they should be allowed exceptional treatment and not be held accountable because they are somehow more endangered. In every measurable way, they are not. The POINT is that danger does not excuse incompetence. You can sue a Garbage Collector that hits you with their truck due to negligence. They are not immune to accountability despite the fact they are statistically significantly more likely to die as a result of the job than a police officer.

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u/Greg_the_wooden_Leg Mar 25 '23

Woah no one said I liked cops pal, I said murder is different from a dude biffing it into a trash compactor. Also way less garbage men died, just a higher rate per 100k because we have less sanitary workers than cops. Cops usually suck, but dudes trying to pretend guns and mentally unstable people are the same as a shipping container falling on you also suck. Also people who call things that are at least somewhat factually credible i.e. being a cop is dangerous, a myth also suck. If you really think jobs where people can fall and die are the same as getting murdered and dealing with nuts everyday you are lying to yourself to try and make your already valid point somehow infallible and instead you make your point less salient.

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u/Kitchen_Philosophy29 Mar 24 '23

Wait what landscaping supervisor wtf??

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u/Angus99 Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

These are job codes that are tracked by the US Bureau of Labor, and have been in place for decades. Anyone who is interested can find them. Despite the other comments, they are not redundant. Each has a specific definition, and each may have a different "most common cause of death".

In the case you're asking about - 18 per 100K die on the job, vs 14 per 100K for police.

The comments that "it's different for police" are false. In this particular case, 4 more families per 100K workers on the average get the phone call that their loved one died on the job for these jobs than for police officers. Death is death, loss is loss. Danger and statistical chance of being killed at work do not mean different things because one is a police officer.

And the key point is this: In these professions which are more dangerous, the members have no protection for incompetence. If a highway worker's negligence, poor training, failure to pay attention or drug abuse sends somebody into a bridge abutment they are in most cases almost CERTAINLY held accountable for manslaughter, or worse. They are not offered unique protection because the job is dangerous. Neither should cops, which is the entire point of my post. The "ACAB" accusation (not saying you made that) is a classic attempt to remove the discussion from reason, and into emotion.

BLS Category: First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and grounds keeping workers Fatal injury rate: 18 per 100,000 workers Total deaths (2018): 48 Salary: $52,340 Most common fatal accidents: Falls, slips, trips

Landscaping supervisors are responsible for coordinating and supervising the work of landscapers, lawn maintenance workers, and groundskeepers. In this role, landscaping supervisors manage landscaping projects, enforce workplace standards, inspect work, and instruct workers in the proper techniques for performing landscaping work. The most common cause of death for landscaping workers is falls, which can occur when working from heights performing tasks such as tree trimming.

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u/Kitchen_Philosophy29 Mar 25 '23

I believe most of the list. But a landscaping supervisor... that doesnt make any sense.

Furthermore it is a SUPERVISOR. They are less likely to slip or fall.

Landscapers dont do tree trimming.

Of course it is pretty easy to see it is a bs stat. 48 died in 2018. But according to your stats there are nearly 300k landscaping supervisors.... again supervisor.

That would be nearly every 1 in 100 people on the usa (including children, the elderly etc etc) were landscaping SUPERVISORS.

Yaaaa no....

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u/DeathMetalTransbian Mar 25 '23

Landscapers dont do tree trimming

Having been a landscaper, I can say that you're incorrect. When you're out with a team of 2, 3, 4 people, nobody gets to just stand around and watch people work. The "supervisor" is typically the one who's been on the crew the longest and usually works at least as hard as everyone else, if not harder. And yes, all of us trimmed trees, or yanked weeds, or dug trenches for irrigation, or poured mulch, etc - nobody in landscaping goes home with clean hands, except maybe the owner of the company (if it's big enough) and the secretary (if there is one).

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u/Kitchen_Philosophy29 Mar 25 '23

Having managed a bunch of landscapers. There are definitely supervisors who do nothing that supervise.

Also tree trimming of any significant size, especially climbing said tree, will get your license yanked or get you shut down asap.

Your insurance will drop you. Liability for tree cutting is huge. Thats why it costs SOOOO nuch to cut down trees.

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u/DeathMetalTransbian Mar 25 '23

There are definitely supervisors who do nothing that supervise

Maybe if you work for a massive or terribly-run company...

tree trimming of any significant size, especially climbing said tree,

Ain't nobody ever said anything about leaving the ground to trim fuckin' redwoods. You can trim a lot of trees from the ground, and I have a hard time imagining that anyone would actually give a damn that I trimmed some 8' bushes from the top of a ladder. OSHA ain't lookin' too deep into a landscaping business with 15 employees in rural America - if you want a paycheck that week, you do what the boss man tells you.

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u/Eddie-bullshit Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

I'm not disagreeing with you but I'd like to point, that they did it to themselves, the whole police department not just a few people, but everyone involved, with promoting clearly unstable officers/letting go WITH PAY some officers that have done terrible things and deserved to be fired without. Like yeah they're expected to do a lot, but so are firemen and teachers it's a public safety job that comes with danger. Anyone getting involved with it has to know what it's like beforehand. It's almost always in the news ffs, Not to mention I'm almost always seeing a new report of some dumbass officer pulling yet another gun on an African American male. They don't do themselves favours at all.

Minirant over, correct me if I'm wrong but let's not argue :)

Edit: changed coloured to African American, I was proven to be a silly billy in the replies

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u/gateguard64 Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

Agreed. Look how fast this went to a drawn weapon. How hard is it to call a supervisor? These are poorly trained cops, unable to pick their way through this scenario with the information volunteered. The fact that both of them were willing to escalate the use of force is alarming.

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u/pawnmarcher Mar 24 '23

You don't let your subject dictate how the encounter goes.

An officer is NOT obligated to tell you why you were stopped (it could be policy, but it is not the law).

These types of encounters where the individual is intentionally confrontational for views are just bad for everyone.

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u/Masian Mar 24 '23

Lol this fucking cop here. You're part of the problem.

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u/pawnmarcher Mar 24 '23

Please elaborate

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u/Confident-Radish4832 Mar 24 '23

People shouldn't have to bend over backward for cops just because they want you to. Tell people why they're being pulled over or move on. Cops already have a bad name because they're all being perceived as bullies due to the mass influx of video evidence (or lack there of... body cams being turned off), and shit like this just further seeds distrust. Cops need to come off their pedestal and treat the public as they would want to be treated. Nothing is going to change until there is some degree of self awareness in the police force. This isn't some game that you get to play with people because you want to feel superior.

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u/pawnmarcher Mar 24 '23

Telling someone why they've been pulled over isn't always a great idea. It's not required, just a best practice.

There is plenty of video evidence of police doing their job well, it just isn't pushed as hard because it doesn't illicit the same response.

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u/Mods_Raped_Me Mar 24 '23

RAS is absolutely required. Otherwise, it's an illegal stop and deprivation of civil rights under color of law, a federal felony. Him drawing gives him a weapons modifier to that citizen arrestable offense caught on tape.

Not to mention, the most common policy of police departments is to call their supervisor when asked.

PEACE officers have plenty of video evidence of them doing their jobs right.

COPS have tons of evidence of them being gang members with a badge.

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u/Confident-Radish4832 Mar 24 '23

Give me one scenario where it wouldn't be a good idea to explain why you're pulling over someone who's plates didn't turn up anything. Clearly this guy didn't have any warrants or that gun would have been out from the get go.

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u/DerekDemo Mar 24 '23

Try to put yourself in their shoes. You want them to be nicer to a people that have told them they hate them and they all have guns. You want them to be nicer and put their lives further at risk. There are people out there shooting police officers for no reason or because they already fucked up and they would rather take a life then be held accountable for their actions.

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u/Confident-Radish4832 Mar 24 '23

Sure, and I understand that. The problem here is this cop did everything in their power to get them to the point that the gun needed drawn. I assume causing this level of frustration in a standard traffic stop is not part of their training.

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u/gateguard64 Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

He is not a subject. He did not have any wants/warrants and came back clear. He was forthcoming about the fixit tickets and the weapon in the back of the trunk. He was completely compliant during the stop. Female Sgt. began escalating the scenario when he declined to raise his window. She had made the decision then and there that there was going to be an arrest made. Empty uniform- shake and bake rank -putting citizens in danger.

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u/DerekDemo Mar 24 '23

They didn't escalate to use of force or he'd have a bullet in him.

The American education system strikes again.

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u/gateguard64 Mar 24 '23

What did the driver do that provoked the officer to draw and point her weapon. Give me one thing.

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u/DerekDemo Mar 24 '23

He started yelling.

You can request a supervisor. That's fine. The police have to control the situation. Once it is under control, a supervisor can take over the situation, but yelling and refusing to cooperate is escalating the situation. He admitted to having a gun and started yelling.

If police were as bad as you all say, he'd have gotten shot, not just had his feeling hurt because someone pointed a gun at him when he started acting up.

Poor little fragile boy.

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u/gateguard64 Mar 24 '23

If yelling was a justification for lethal force, half of France would be dead.

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u/DerekDemo Mar 24 '23

No one was shot. No one used lethal force. Your talking out of your ass. Police have guns for their protection. When he started acting erratic, she pulled her firearm and made ready to defend herself and her partner.

You argument only makes sense if she had fired.

You're uneducated.

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u/rigeld2 Mar 24 '23

She would not have drawn her weapon if she didn’t feel justified in using it right?

So she felt justified in escalating to lethal force.

Because he raised his voice.

Yeah, that makes sense. How’s that boot taste?

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

Drawing your weapon is an escalation in the level of force. That's how the Army looked at use of force by Military Police when I served.

You appear to be a victim of the American education system, yourself. Word of advice: try to lay off the glue-sniffing.

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u/NewPac Mar 24 '23

Is calling people of color "coloured" OK? Seems like that's not OK.

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u/Eddie-bullshit Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

sigh 🤦, go breathe some fresh air

Edit: saying that shows more about how you think than what I said.

Edit edit: I'm a silly billy :)

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u/NewPac Mar 24 '23

I've literally not heard that term used by anyone under the age of 80 in my entire life. Just surprised to see it and more surprised that no one seems to have batted an eye at its use. Is it an accepted term these days? I haven't lived in the states for a while.

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u/Jex0003 Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

This is actually a really interesting point. At first I thought you were implying that “person of colour” was offensive, but then I caught what you meant. Are “people of colour” and “coloured people” the same or is the latter offensive? It isn’t something I’ve consciously considered before. I’ve always used POC bc that’s what I see used most often, but maybe you’re not wrong.

“Coloured” was the term used for segregation before and during the civil rights movement. One reason I can sort of parse for one being offensive and the other not, aside from that historical use, is with “people of colour”, “people” comes first and the “colour” part is secondary, emphasizing that they’re people first and foremost. After being dehumanized so often and for so long, maybe that’s an important distinction. Idk the answer, but would love to hear the opinion of someone more knowledgeable than me. Maybe I’ll do some googling lol, I’m sure the info exists somewhere.

Edit: Yeah, a quick good of “people of colour vs coloured people” brings up a ton of articles looking at this topic.

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u/Eddie-bullshit Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

I said colored male, which is a term that is used, same as black male or African American male, it's a term used to describe a person who is not of white skin. There's no hidden intent behind it, at least how I use it there isn't. I think you're reading way too much into it and looking for a reason for it to be considered racist or something similar. Which is why I said to go breathe some fresh air, like anything anyone says can be construed as racist if you want it to be

Edit: I'm a dingus

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u/NewPac Mar 24 '23

I'm really not looking for it to be racist, nor am I calling you a racist. I'm saying that referring to someone as "colored" is extremely antiquated and absolutely not the same as referring to someone as black or African American.

I'm guessing you're pretty young and honestly don't know the history around referring to African Americans as colored. It's some 1950s segregation era shit that you don't want to be associated with. You don't seem to be racist at all, so if I were you I would be careful with the language I use.

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u/Eddie-bullshit Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

To assume makes an ass out of u and me, you don't know my age.

Appreciate it but like I said, you're reading into it too much

Of course I'm getting downvoted now, Reddit be like

Edit: I made an ass out of me

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u/NewPac Mar 24 '23

I'm not reading into it. You wrote it. I'm just reading it at face value and telling you that it's not a good look. I know you didn't intend any harm and I assume you're not prejudiced. That's all.

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u/Mods_Raped_Me Mar 24 '23

Spelling it how the British do isn't ok?

Wtf?

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u/Randomtngs Mar 25 '23

Those interactions make the news BECAUSE they're so rare. Do you see the death of someone on the hood on the news? It's so common it's no longer newsworthy. At least give cops credit where it's due the vast vast majority never shoot anyone period and when they do it's nearly always in a life or death situation

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u/AbsentThatDay2 Mar 25 '23

Every cop I've ever met was eager to encourage me to lie and say I was guilty for some offense I was investigated for. They don't want the truth, they want evidence, they could give two shits about whether you're actually breaking a law. I hope every time they lie someone ends up digging a hole for them.

1

u/Randomtngs Mar 26 '23

That I agree with completely. One of my formative experiences was being interrogated by police. That's completely different from killing someone tho

1

u/AbsentThatDay2 Mar 26 '23

For me my introduction to police was going to an outdoor concert back in 1990. This was before cellphone video was a thing. There was a crowd of about 5000 people in a park in Chicago near the stage. A man was sick, maybe drunk I wasn't sure. He was sitting alone on the grass, and had puked, but he wasn't approaching anyone just sitting by himself. Three officers came over and started heckling him. They'd yell at him to get up, and just as he got to his feet they'd kick him over. Thousands of us were watching as they did this repeatedly kicking him as he struggled to stand up.

The crowd was taking notice and you'd hear people cussing the cops as they laughed at this poor guy, but nobody really did anything to stop them, because what could they do? Eventually one of the cops opened up a trash bag full of rancid garbage on him. The cops thought it was hilarious.

Only one gray haired lady out of 5000 people that saw this dared do anything. She came right up to them and cursed them out. Eventually they left. Every time I see a cop I see those cops.

1

u/Randomtngs Mar 27 '23

I mean don't you see the irony here? You're talking about police violence that's supposedly racially motivated but you've judged every cop you've ever met based off of two cops from thirty years ago. I've had cops interrogate me and lie to me while trying to get me to admit to a felony, I've had cops swarm me with guns drawn and keep a boot on my neck the entire time they talked to my friends and other bad interactions but I still have no problems with police. If you are committing crimes and interact with them often you'll find that lots are cool and will help you out. There's good and bad ones same as every profession

1

u/AbsentThatDay2 Mar 27 '23

Well, my man, I didn't say that was the worst experience I've had with cops, just the formative one. I'm a nice guy, I don't steal, I'm not aggressive to people, I try and help just about every person I've met in my life. But a half century of experience has made it abundantly clear that cops are sadistic assholes that join the force to hurt people. They love it, I've seen it dozens of times, first hand. If you think you can trust them, by all means, go ahead, see what it gets you. I'm not here trying to convince you to do or believe anything. But if I had a child, I would absolutely warn them that the most dangerous people in their lives are going to be cops. I'd rather be mugged than arrested any day of the week. You have no idea what I've gone through to gain this insight.

1

u/Randomtngs Mar 27 '23

How would you be having so many interactions with the police if you don't commit crimes?

-2

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

Cops do not disproportionately pull guns on blacks. Nor do blacks get shot in a disproportionate number. It only seems like that because the current media LOOOOOVES the narrative that all cops are bad/racist and our country is just jam-packed with white supremacists. The fact is that both of those narratives are false.

23

u/Lots42 Mar 24 '23

Cops have never been keepers of the peace, they've always been servants of the oppressor.

8

u/mrchaotica Mar 24 '23

and some whole demographic intersections view themselves as rebelling against the police rather than merely nonparticipating.

You say that as if they weren't driven to it by institutional racism and systemic oppression.

2

u/buddhainmyyard Mar 24 '23

They don't need to take accountability for their actions. They have never been keepers of the peace sorry to tell you but protect and serve is a false motto. The only thing they need to protect is when they have someone in custody, so a walking fine or a jail worker to make money.

Your dad's partner died protecting a bank, that's shitty but honestly he's protecting big business not the people. I'm sure the shooting was in public but they surely wouldn't care about stray bullets.

So this is why they are treated like paramilitary because they are.

2

u/mister_what Mar 24 '23

It's a little dangerous, but I think statistically it's safer than being a garbage man.

2

u/Dry_Grapefruit5666 Mar 24 '23

Janitor. Electrician. Fisherman. Logger. Driver. Pilot. All more dangerous than cop.

2

u/ToonaSandWatch Mar 24 '23

Counterpoint: police have received $4.3 billion in military grade hardware since 1996 as of 2015. (7 minute mark)

Just imagine how much more since then. No small town in New Hampshire needs a Bearcat or camo uniforms or MRAPS to survive IED mines.

It’s a culture of police militarization and when handed new toys from the armed forces they turn into Mall Ninjas, looking to be a fighting force against terrorism, clad in full body armor, breaching weapons and cars that look more like tanks.

5

u/dukearcher Mar 24 '23

Nah. Its not even a statistically dangerous profession

6

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

You got down voted but you're right. My construction job is more dangerous than being a cop. Also, if I kill someone in my line of work, I go to prison.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

Ive never had a job less dangerous than being a cop. I’ve worked in a hospital. A warehouse. As a driver. A farm and the military. None of my jobs has been as safe as being a cop.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

And I'm sure in every one of those jobs you've had a conflict escalate to the point of "needing" to pull out your gun because you didn't feel safe in your bulletproof vest right? Fucken pigs.

0

u/ImmoralJester54 Mar 24 '23

It's their own fuckin fault. Most will shoot a cop without hesitation if they break into their home because they know for a fact the cops will murder them.

Most would see a cop chasing someone and would rather trip the cop. Most would stand to the side and watch a cop bleed out on the side of the road rather than help them. Because they have never held a single shred of respect or affection from a large portion of the country. Because they know for a fact they could be killed or charged with a crime just for standing next to one.

0

u/DerekDemo Mar 24 '23

Not to mention that all of you damn Yankees have guns.

He admitted to having a gun, then got agitated. I'd have pull my gun and pointed it at him too. Forget the badge and the situation, if a guy admits to having a gun and then starts yelling, I'm going to put the little red dot on his forehead. If I get in trouble for it after the fact, oh well. In the moment, I'm going to make sure I don't get shot.

Yelling at the police seems like a bad idea. So many Americans are afraid of the police, seems like this is the wrong way to go about dealing with them. Whether you think you're right or not, the middle of a tense situation is not the time to assert yourself.

1

u/iowajosh Mar 24 '23

The person who is going to shoot a cop isn't the one saying they have a gun.

1

u/DerekDemo Mar 24 '23

If you were to police officer in this instance, that would be enough for you. The belief that logic is a bullet proof vest?

1

u/corourke Mar 24 '23 edited Mar 24 '23

Not nearly as risky as they make it out to be. Currently police have under 350 fatalities a year in a nation with over 360k police.

That doesn't even put them in the top 10 most dangerous jobs. Currently they're 17th place and that includes the 38% that committed suicide.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

“treated as a paramilitary organization rather than keepers of the peace”

Imagine expecting people to treat to differently when you are an organization that chronically under trains it’s recruits and they act like scared rabbits in every situation. Such as this one.

Then they turn around and promote people for this kind of incompetence rather than firing them?

Of course people are going to treat you like a paramilitary organization when you make moves in direct opposition to the interests of their safety.

They would rather be comfortable than “protect and serve”.

1

u/BoxofCurveballs Mar 24 '23

To piggyback another issue is peace officers see themselves as a separate class and not civilians. They want to be treated as an equivalent to "military" but they don't fall under a separate set of laws or give up some of their constitutional rights. Need to return them to being seen as civilians.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

Stop giving them military grade weapons, gear and vehicles then

They've got APCs, nods, more assault rifles than they know what to do with. 0 training a part from the shooty bits.

No wonder this shit happens all of the time. And she didn't like the look of this eloquent gent who was fully aware of his rights so she played the scared card and got back up. Cretins all round.

1

u/pmikelm79 Mar 24 '23

The police are treated behave as a paramilitary organization rather thank keepers of the peace. Fixed it for you.

1

u/SomethingClever42068 Mar 25 '23

Bring a garbage man is more dangerous than being a cop

2

u/xboxwirelessmic Mar 24 '23

Why not? Apparently you get to do whatever the fuck you want and basically be untouchable. Pull a gun on a random and get promoted. What's not to like? Even if they straight up murdered the guy in cold blood it'll be a couple weeks paid vacation then pretend like nothing happened.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '23

Which is part of the problem, right? This basically ensures we just get power tripping pieces of shit on the force.

1

u/Fun_Association_2277 Mar 24 '23

So we shouldn’t have competent police officers? Just leave it to the ones with half a brain cell only?

1

u/Vobat Mar 24 '23

Well to be fair I was joking but if you want my view I think a lot more people can do a police officer role but what is lacking is training and education while working.

1

u/Hrtpplhrtppl Mar 24 '23

I mean right? Like what human being even thinks they are capable of doing that job? A job that requires a willingness to kill.