THE POLICE PROBLEM
The police problem is that police are policed by the police. Cops are accountable only to other cops, which is no accountability at all.
99.9999% of police brutality, corruption, and misconduct is never investigated, never punished, never makes the news, so it's not on this page.
When cops are caught breaking the law, they're investigated by other cops. Details are kept quiet, the officers' names are withheld from public knowledge, and what info is eventually released is only what police choose to release — often nothing at all.
When police are fired — which is all too rare — they leave with 'law enforcement experience' and can easily find work in another police department nearby. It's called "Wandering Cops."
When police testify under oath, they lie so frequently that cops themselves have a joking term for it: "testilying." Yet it's almost unheard of for police to be punished or prosecuted for perjury.
Cops can and do get away with lawlessness, because cops protect other cops. If they don't, they aren't cops for long.
The legal doctrine of "qualified immunity" renders police officers invulnerable to lawsuits for almost anything they do. In practice, getting past 'qualified immunity' is so unlikely, it makes headlines when it happens.
All this is a path to a police state.
In a free society, police must always be under serious and skeptical public oversight, with non-cops and non-cronies in charge, issuing genuine punishment when warranted.
Police who break the law must be prosecuted like anyone else, promptly fired if guilty, and barred from ever working in law-enforcement again.
That's the solution.
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Our definition of ‘cops’ is broad, and includes prison guards, probation officers, shitty DAs and judges, etc — anyone who has the authority to fuck over people’s lives, with minimal or no oversight.
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RULES
① Real-life decorum is expected. Please don't say things only a child or a jackass would say in person.
② If you're here to support the police, you're trolling. Please exercise your right to remain silent.
③ Saying ~~cops~~ ANYONE should be killed lowers the IQ in any conversation. They're about killing people; we're not.
④ Please don't dox or post calls for harassment, vigilantism, tar & feather attacks, etc.
Please also abide by the instance rules.
It you've been banned but don't know why, check the moderator's log. If you feel you didn't deserve it, hey, I'm new at this and maybe you're right. Send a cordial PM, for a second chance.
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ALLIES
• r/ACAB
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INFO
• A demonstrator's guide to understanding riot munitions
• Cops aren't supposed to be smart
• Killings by law enforcement in Canada
• Killings by law enforcement in the United Kingdom
• Killings by law enforcement in the United States
• Know your rights: Filming the police
• Three words. 70 cases. The tragic history of 'I can’t breathe' (as of 2020)
• Police aren't primarily about helping you or solving crimes.
• Police lie under oath, a lot
• Police spin: An object lesson in Copspeak
• Police unions and arbitrators keep abusive cops on the street
• Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States
• When the police knock on your door
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ORGANIZATIONS
• NAACP
• National Police Accountability Project
• Vera: Ending Mass Incarceration
view the rest of the comments
If warrantless masked men come to your door, even claiming to be cops or ICE, far as I'm concerned they're fair game. I better see blue lights out front and in no case am I opening the door.
Call the cops right off the bat. Case after case after case demonstrates that he who calls 911 first wins. A mugger can approach you, you pull a gun, gets run off and calls 911 first? You got some splainin' to do Lucy. CALL 911 FIRST.
STFU and grab your weapon. Don't yell or threaten, don't say a word. Prepare to fight and STFU until the cops come. Anything you say in the lead up can be used against you. STFU.
I have a gun within reach anywhere I stand in my house. Sound fruity? Meh, maybe. I got that way after a bear wandered in the dog door. In no case is ICE coming in this house to drag my wife off without a fight. Will I die? Most likely. But they're not getting a free pass.
Every day, I wake up happy I don't live in the USA. I have to think about none of this. I hope it stays that way.
Yeah, I feel more and more like I won the jackpot being born in Sweden...
Yeah I'm just hoping people learn from the US example but I'm afraid too many people don't have the political analysis to connect the dots between a rightward shift in politics and fascism as its natural conclusion.
My kids 10 and I tell him often to get out when he's old enough, I'll help fund his move to Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, don't give a fuck. Go explore and decide away from this place.
Aside from the grenade murdering.
Be vigilant. I was born in 1971 and never imagined today's America.
As an embarrassed "American" (whatever that means anymore) I fully agree, take me from this place.
Thanks for letting me know that I can rob you if I just flash some blue lights
Missed a bit there hombre!
Where do you live? Seriosly, I live in Europe, never been in USA and reading stuff like this I will never ever go in a country where anybody could have a gun. Sometime I forgot to lock my appartment at night, don't own a gun. Simple life. There are thieves but most of the time they don't have a weapon, maybe a knife.
Uh, europeans have guns too.
Thinking about moving to the Philippines and telling my wife it would be a bummer to never get to shoot again. She looked at me like I grew a second head. LOL, she has a relative that owns a gun store and Filipinos are simply mad for 1911s. Who knew?
Americans don't have a gun problem. American's have a culture problem.
A Fillipino made 1911 is my overt fav. Inexpensive and fabulously well made. I knew. ;)
NW Florida, America. No, not everyone can have a gun, and not as many people are armed as you might think. Bear in mind, unusual events get reported, because they are unusual. There are 340,000,000 souls here. It's a big-assed country, weird shit happens.
And yes, I used to leave my house unlocked all the time. The only reason I started locking up was to keep anyone from stealing my guns. (After the "bear incident".) How's that for irony?
None the less, I had felt safe leaving my door unlocked, and usually did, but now, with the current political situation and having a brown immigrant wife ...🤷🏻 Doors locked, 12-gauge leaning on the desk, AR-15 resting on the nightstand. But I'm damned thankful to be armed and practiced. Fucking nuts! I never imagined.
Anyway, I've been in many situations, both in the wild and on the street, mostly in the wild, where I was glad to be armed. Having said that, I've led a life that's a bit more... adventurous, than most Americans. Please do not take my anecdotes to be typical of American life. And please don't take our media reports to be typical.
As a very quick amendment to what you have to say, call 911first IF YOU ARE SAFE TO DO SO. Under most circumstances, yeah, you can do that first. Just make sure you or someone else are not in ACTIVE AND IMMEDIATE danger before you call 911
Thank you. I should have said grab your weapon and unsafe it first, then call 911. Can you believe we're having this fucking discussion!?!
Well, yeah, this is always a good thing to remind people. Its not taught enough, honestly.
In a case where the cops are getting called no matter what, you best be the first caller. I have advocated avoiding the police many times on here and on reddit, for a decade. But if they're coming, be first in line. Second place is automatically seen as the bad guy.
The race to the courthouse.
The whole video is valuable advice from a well respected man. RIP. :(
(can't edit my posts, yet AGAIN)
Wanted to add; the first one minute and thirty seconds are something EVERYONE should watch. This is sage advice for anyone.