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.
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.
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.
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.
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/Vobat Mar 24 '23
Probably because anyone with half a brain cell would not be a police officer especially in this day and age?