Ongoing U.S Police Brutality and Corruption Discussion Thread

in the more troubled schools here they've been trying new talk-it-out-with-students discipline techniques and a bunch of people have complained that basically this appears not to be punishment and doesn't do anything more to make the place stop looking lawless and shouldn't we be seeing some CONSEQUENCES etc

despite the CONSEQUENCES regime being the one where tempers flare wildly and teachers get scared and there are cops in the building

I think the more useful discussion is why are we using cops in social worker roles all the fucking time?

that is an excellent question and frankly i didn't even know cops were employed in many schools.

'Sources' say that this particular cop won't be employed there anymore!

I don't see color when I violently assault children for no reason

that child could have been black, white, red, yellow, or whatever, and I still would have suplexed her ass

Outrageusly, the two girls arrested in class will still be charged. One of them for disrupting class after a police officer assaulted one of her classmates...

I mean, sure, he was out of line, but she should not have protested. 1000$ bail.

I hope that the judge looks at this and throws it out immediately

Fields has been fired.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/28/452501995/s-c-sheriff-will-decide-deputy-s-future-with-department

presumably he can wait for the gofundme money to roll in

i hate the world.

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/there-are-no-innocent-black-people-1739019535

As anybody who spends any time in any grammar/jr. high/high school can tell you, there are cops baked into primary education in a way that is almost unrecognizable to those of us who grew up prior to columbine

we had cops assigned to our campuses in jr. high/high school in the late 80s. I saw them all the time. My high school cop once produced a list of the literally hundreds of gangs/gang members that were active on campus, which was total Satanic Panic + racist bullshit. He is, unsurprisingly, a right-wing fundie Xtian nutjob (here's his linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thegadfly4u) who plays in a Christian rock band. Worst high school ever.

I think we had a cop by the time I graduated. Obviously Officer Whatever didn't have much to do at my school, and I think the teachers resented his presence (not necessarily him personally) for the most part. Anyway, depressing.

xpost

God is Not an Option
Publish America
2007

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No one knows what that looks like in eternity

and neither will you!

two blocks away from last night, the police shot a guy in the head after he flagged them down and then "extended a towel-wrapped arm towards them". The cops told him to put down the gun and then shot him. Anyway, unarmed OF COURSE.

― nomar, Saturday, June 20, 2015 5:10 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

video showed him with a big head wound and the cops flipping him over and cuffing him. He's still alive somehow.

― nomar, Saturday, June 20, 2015 5:12 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

below is an update about this case, which is to me one of the most egregious crimes committed by police I've ever heard about but still seems to go underreported even in L.A. It's difficult to read and see how this poor gent is now.

http://www.losfelizledger.com/article/federal-lawsuit-to-be-filed-in-walter-deleon-shooting/

that is fucking horrifying

i hope he and his family get $50 million

jesus fucking christ, that is the worst thing i've read in i don't know how long. i'm at work and i'm about to cry.

FBI Director Comey says the "era of viral videos" has put cops "under siege," and that violent crime may be rising because cops can't do their jobs without brutality as an option, essentially. (this is being called a "Ferguson effect" by the likes of Shit Christie)

https://news.vice.com/article/the-fbi-director-says-cops-are-under-siege-from-viral-videos

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2015/10/28/124357/the-myth-of-police-reluctance/

fuck the cops

well, fuck comey, for sure. frankly i think this is firing offense. not only does he not have any evidence to back up his assertion (as he admits himself!) but it's not really his business.

i'm not sure that "cops" in general are the problem, although there are surely plenty of rotten cops just like there are rotten folks in any profession.

generally speaking, folks' behaviors -- especially in a large social category like "law enforcement" -- is conditioned by the structures they're working within. we need to change those structures. certain rules--or the lack of same--breed certain behaviors.

comey is not helping.

What does Comey propose? To ban the filming of cops in public areas? What's his point? What a dipshit

yeah, that's what's so pernicious. he's like, "i dunno, just sayin what i'm hearin'..." but the actual implications of his remarks (which he will never spell out) are so revoltingly reactionary and anti-democratic.

I have to say that he's totally right about it being really hard to just do whatever you want to do however you want to do it when a bunch of killjoys are trying to, like, hold you accountable for your actions or whatever.

apparently Obama called him into the WH for an *unscheduled* meeting after these 2 speeches

didn't can him tho

fwiw the cops in the lil vermont town near me (known for being wealthy-and-progressive) was going to get body cameras until the town gov't struck down the idea citing ~privacy concerns~

for citizens

it was the cops who had asked for them in the first place

vermont, man

well, yeah, those are legit concerns. it's complicated.

they just announced that all cops in this city will wear body cameras while on duty. citizens can request that they turn them off during encounters, but the ultimate decision is made at the cop's discretion.

i understand the call for body cameras, and maybe they are necessary, but they will raise all kinds of complex privacy issues, and we might end up regretting having advocated for them.

maybe they should be required to blur out the faces of civilians in the videos unless there is a prevailing reason why the person should be identified.

The main issue I have with body cameras is that it seems like most people are unwilling to believe the bald evidence video puts in front of them and grope for a context uncaptured by film that supports whatever narrative they want to believe anyway, so it seems like it will be a largely frustrating, expensive empty gesture that will do nothing but generate more ill will towards everyone.

The best alternative I can come up with is to just murder everyone and start over; when weighed against this, body cameras begin to seem like a much more reasonable choice.

idk maybe we should explore this murder option, could all work out

I figured you'd be on board

also fwiw Comey should never have been nominated in the first place, hope Obama's regretting his selection of yet another shitty Dubya appointee

In a US culture where involuntary contact with the police is assumed by many as probably your own damn fault, the potential for blackmail and abuse ("see, we had to talk to this wild out of control thug many times before the justified shooting -- here's video!") seems huge.

i'm sort of not understanding what the privacy issues might be

i mean assuming the cops aren't just allowed to upload whatever they want on youtube

police with body cameras entire a private building
someone unrelated to their reason for entry is there doing something they don't want others in their lives to know about
their presence is now part of the public record tied to a completely unrelated matter

I have zero concerns/issues with body camera usage in public spaces because it's a public space and one should have zero expectation of privacy in public

In more practical terms I think everyone should have zero expectations of privacy anyway since "privacy" as it's been implemented in this country usually only applies to white people but I've had that argument before

xp - can those public record tapes be obtained by unrelated third parties? journos etc.?

I don't think body camera video automatically = public record, it would have to be admitted into an evidence in a trial for that, and it would not be hard to remove irrelevant people/activity from the evidence (I would think)

xp

I think everyone should have zero expectations of privacy anyway

I agree w this tho

xxp if they're police property and usable as case evidence, i'm guessing probably, much like police reports

my parents found out about my first speeding ticket because of the police blotter lol small townz

I don't think body camera video automatically = public record, it would have to be admitted into an evidence in a trial for that, and it would not be hard to remove irrelevant people/activity from the evidence (I would think)

xp

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, November 3, 2015 4:39 PM (6 minutes ago)

right

lol yeah, I mean the fact that you've been arrested or given a citation is already a matter of public record; I'm not sure court-admissible video shot by police already participating in an action that is eligible for the public record would suddenly fall under privacy concerns

I mean, my understanding is the main reason shows like Cops have to redact people out is because they're not allowed to use that footage in a for-profit venture without compensating the people in it or getting them to sign a waiver granting permission for free usage of their visages; it's not because it is illegal to use the footage of them, otherwise even the redacted portions with people's faces blurred out wouldn't be usable as there are usually enough context clues left in for anyone familiar with the associated parties to figure out who they are.

eh just murder everyone already

I read this article last spring and it's kind of fascinating and covers a lot of the privacy concerns and how the Seattle PD is trying to deal with it. Basically someone requested every single dash cam video ever taken which you can do in Washington due to public disclosure laws:

the activist’s request encompassed over 360 terabytes of data: 1.6 million recordings stretching back six years. Each one would have to first be reviewed to cut out any images or audio of children, medical or mental health incidents, confidential informants, or victims or bystanders who did not want to be recorded.

So they've been working with the guy on methods for releasing the videos while redacting any faces / names / locations that might give away personal details. The resulting videos are crazy looking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psGKa0fNs-4

holy fuck re that DeLeon story

LAPD really circling the wagons on that one, hiding behind the blue wall pretty effectively. for whatever reason there hasn't been a large(r) protest movement over it.