this hit digg front page today... not sure how many have seen it. A warning: it is a little disturbing. I'll link to the digg page so you can see the comments. For those unfamiliar with digg, just click the title of the article to go to the story / video.
Question: is there an element of moral hazzard associated with police? Does the force attract more not_so_nice folks as other sectors? What irony (or is it just tragedy?)
http://digg.com/politics/Fired_officer_Woman_s_black_eyes_broken_teeth_from_fall
here's a story of police brutality that involves an asian american, which is relatively rare.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cho11feb11,1,3926250.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
somebody thought he was a vandal because he was holding a tire iron, and so that guy called the cops. the cops rushed to the scene and drew their weapons on the man. not sure exactly what happened next but they ended up shooting and killing the guy, purportedly because he looked threatening with the tire iron. the man did live in the neighborhood so he might have just been fixing his car.
MORAL OF THE STORY.
this occurred in california, where there is a history of police brutality. not coincidentally, most people here believe guns are evil and therefore are supportive of gun laws. this leads to a dependence on police to resolve issues and defend the citizens. when police rush to a scene and try to figure things out right then and there, it often leads to misjudgment and the use of brutal force to get the uncooperative citizen to give up all freedoms. the distrust of police stemming from the history of brutality and perhaps personal experience like my own (where police thought i wasnt driving my own car and searched me cuz i was wearing a raiders cap), leads to tendency not to cooperate with the police.
we need citizens to be less reliant on the police and be more resposible to defend themselves and resolve their own issues when they can. if they see a hoodlum or possible vandal, they need to try to stop him and defend themselves with their own gun or other weapon if they can. strict gun laws and dependence on police leads to police brutality.
No libertarian forum would be complete without the mandatory police brutality thread.
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February 17 - 1600 - Giordano Bruno is burnt alive by the catholic church. Aquinas : "much more reason is there for heretics, as soon as they are convicted of heresy, to be not only excommunicated but even put to death."
Police brutality is the 'trickle-down" theory of government coercion. As long as law enforcement officers are considered above the law, law enforcement agencies will attract the kind of people who 'fit' that position.
Tell me about it. I was driving my car last thursday when I was pulled over. Now I have interacted with State police before and they generally are dicks to say the least BUT this guy was a bunch of words I wont say. It happened to be that the reason he pulled me over was that my car was past registration with the state. Now registration for cars is just a money grab. It serves no purpose but to throw a large sum of money on a ticket and then hand it to you. Then you have to pay the state every year just to register (something that could be done once every time the car's ownership changes but no, the state goes all out to get money from you and make it yearly).
So anyway this cop slams me with a huge ticket and then acts like and complete you know what the entire time even as I act nice to him. He searches my car after he announces it is getting towed (he saved the road from my fully functional car, keep in mind registration is not the same as an inspection sticker) and looks to try and catch me on every technicality and just out right makes fun of me. I call my friend to come get me or else I would be stranded and he then mocks my friend who has done nothing!!! Oh and to top it off the tow company that has the contract from the state made a hefty amount of money off me. The best part though is the cop did not even give the towing company my car key so I never got it back!!
I mean this is out right retarded and it makes me have little faith in my fellow citizens for buying into this registration crap. I mean it serves NO purpose but to grab money from you. When I talked to my car insurance company about it they said that this is a frequent event and the police department and towing companies make hefty sum every year.
Well sorry for that rant but Yes I think you have to be particularly a bully to say the least to want to become a cop. This guy enjoyed his power and he always had a smirk with every little penalty he put on me even though I never provoked him. He reminded me of some bully from a movie which would be laughable if it were not for the fact he had the full power of the commonwealth of Massachusetts behind him.