Police Brutality

[musicmonster]

While America is busy fighting wars overseas, there is a war going on in its own soil and I'm not sure if the President even really cares about this whole thing. I'm talking about the Againt the Cops protests happening in many different states now. This is pretty much leading to nowhere, the way I'm seeing it by the way. What's your opinion about it?

 

[missbishi]

Well I'm in the UK where people seem to blindly accept police brutality and corruption. The story of Eric Garner is horrific and the video is heartbreaking. I'm glad to see the protests taking place in your country and I really hope they do something to change the situation. I really cannot understand why Obama, not just as a man of color but as President, hasn't addressed this.

 

[d4rk3n]

I think it's time for the president to give some answers. Police brutality is a topic that most people ignore until something bad occurs. Even in India here, there were cases of police brutality, but none as severe as that of Eric Garner. I just hope this gets addressed soon.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

It will take a long time to change the situation. Much longer than it will take to, say, defeat the Daesh. It has got to start with the chilren. It has got to start with the schools. What we see in the news is the manifestation of a mindset that is symtomatic of the deeply-ingrained attitudes of the people of the US.

 

[krazyman]

Police brutality is nothing new in the United States. You have some rogue cops who traditionally go against the book and take matters into their own hands. However, what is the percentage of police officers we are talking about when talking about this particular subject. I'm guessing a relatively small amount, however, because of the nature of the situation and the fact the report of "Police Brutality" will sell newspapers and make people turn on the 6 o'clock news, it is sensationalized by the media.

Most officers do a good job and should not have to suffer the consequences of wearing GoPro cameras or dealing with charges of brutality because of a few rogue cops (every city/precinct has them) have taken the law into their own hands.

 

[missbishi]

It will take a long time to change the situation. Much longer than it will take to, say, defeat the Daesh. It has got to start with the chilren. It has got to start with the schools. What we see in the news is the manifestation of a mindset that is symtomatic of the deeply-ingrained attitudes of the people of the US.

Education from an early age is key. I cannot see how else things are going to change.

Most officers do a good job and should not have to suffer the consequences of wearing GoPro cameras or dealing with charges of brutality because of a few rogue cops (every city/precinct has them) have taken the law into their own hands.

I'm sure that most officers are indeed decent. Sadly, they are overshadowed by their racist colleagues. A clear case of one bad apple spoils the rest.

 

[DeltaForce103]

This is obviously a polarizing and emotional issue, but I can see no valid counter-arguments against what he points out.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

If I remember rightly, policemen in the UK do not carry firearms on duty. Perhaps if the US police department take a closer look at how their UK counterparts get the job done without using firearms, it might be a step in the right direction.

 

[musicmonster]

Well I'm in the UK where people seem to blindly accept police brutality and corruption. The story of Eric Garner is horrific and the video is heartbreaking. I'm glad to see the protests taking place in your country and I really hope they do something to change the situation. I really cannot understand why Obama, not just as a man of color but as President, hasn't addressed this.

Man, I've been waiting for his answers to this as well! But I don't know why it seems like it ain't an issue for him at all in all of his interviews. And it is not just Eric Garner, Mike Brown who was a minor and unarmed and so on and so forth. They didn't indict the police who was responsible Garner's death but they did with the one who filmed it! How messed up is that??

It will take a long time to change the situation. Much longer than it will take to, say, defeat the Daesh. It has got to start with the chilren. It has got to start with the schools. What we see in the news is the manifestation of a mindset that is symtomatic of the deeply-ingrained attitudes of the people of the US.

It is going to take a while before a solution could be done here and it is sad because lots of innocent lives are dying. I hope America wakes up soon. It's already 2015.

 

[musicmonster]

This is obviously a polarizing and emotional issue, but I can see no valid counter-arguments against what he points out.

It is more than just a racial issue for me though because any race now could be a victim as long as someone is above the law, which apparently in this story are the cops. It is just so disturbing that lots of things are sensationalized by the news but this issue was only brought about recently and the President doesn't even feel like he cares.

 

[missbishi]

If I remember rightly, policemen in the UK do not carry firearms on duty. Perhaps if the US police department take a closer look at how their UK counterparts get the job done without using firearms, it might be a step in the right direction.

No, they don't carry firearms on duty.The most they have is a taser gun, pepper spray or CS gas in some instances. Remember, though, that civilians don't carry guns either and they are very difficult to obtain without the correct license. The risk of actually being shot is quite low. If I was a cop in the USA then I really wouldn't want to be unarmed.

 

[globulon]

Police brutality is a truly scary phenomenon and something that should not be accepted and ignored! I believe the (very slow) push towards equipping officers with cameras is a silver lining. I understand that police brutality likely stems from a very small portion of law enforcement officers and that forcing everyone to be monitored is a controversial idea. However, there is a strong case that cameras would not only limit cases of police brutality but may also protect officers from aggressive and dishonest members of the public.

 

[krazyman]

I like the point that Aree makes about U.S. counterparts in the U.K. not using weapons on the streets (at least not lethal ones). Makes you wonder the question, is it possible that people are getting into law enforcement for the wrong reasons? Is it possible it's about a superficial power and the right to carry a gun openly?

How would policing the U.S. be different if police carried non-lethal weapons (bully clubs instead of guns)?

 

[Peachdejour]

There is a prison gang in the Ohio prison system called the Heartless Felons. They even have members in the juvenile detentions centers. They were calling for members of the gang on the streets to shoot white police officers in retaliation of the grand jury decision in New York. Cleveland Police were on high alert. I'm not sure if this prison gang exists in other parts of the United States?

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

There is a prison gang in the Ohio prison system called the Heartless Felons. They even have members in the juvenile detentions centers. They were calling for members of the gang on the streets to shoot white police officers in retaliation of the grand jury decision in New York. Cleveland Police were on high alert. I'm not sure if this prison gang exists in other parts of the United States?

That's interesting. And worrisome. So the criminals behind bars are still able to do such things, eh? Now, that makes me wonder what the prison wardens are doing? Are they in the payroll of the criminals?