Defend your brother and sisters? As opposed to defending the constitutional rights of Americans? That tells me right there what side your on. If you cant even concede that detaining innocent bystanders and subjecting them to searches is against the constitution then there is no hope for you. Again I have witnessed first hand the overuse of force and lack of common sense, discretion by your “brothers and sisters” and it has left a very bad taste in my mouth. I now fear the police more than I ever did.
That just about says it all, doesn't it.
The militarization of our local police depts is bad, bad news.
You have hit the key point as have several others...Too many in “law enforcement” have adopted the Them vs. Us mentality...If you ain’t “cop” you’re a suspect, a perp, or about to be...You’re little people...
With a description of the suspect available, a simple roadblock and observation of occupants, along with a “Good day Sir/Ma’am, sorry for the inconvenience; we’re looking for a bank robber...Move along, and have a nice day!” would have earned these officers points with citizens, and helped their image as protectors...
Instead Aurora PD officers are seen by these citizens and TV viewers in the Denver Metro area as jack-booted thugs; an opposing occupation force unnecessarily and menacingly pointing weapons at innocent citizens going about their lawful business...
The video link attached shows bewildered citizens sitting handcuffed on the curb for an unknown period of time, and crying kids being hurried to the roadside by one cop...Wonder why they’re crying, after being removed from their car with their Dad at gunpoint...6 and 8 year old kids don’t fit the usual bank robber profile IMHO...
And this is not how “Sheepdogs” are supposed to behave...Extremely unprofessional, thuggish, and more than a bit cowardly on the part of LEOs...Clearly not their finest hour...
But maybe seeing this kind of thing will wake up some of the sleeping “flock”...We better get busy correcting this kind of thing or get used to seeing it happen...
These “officers” didn’t wake up one morning and say to themselves “If I stop someone today, I’m gonna menace them with my weapon...” It’s part of the new culture of protect yourself, assume no risk in performance of duties, take no chances that all stems from the Them vs Us doctrine of policing; and it’s US who are the enemy...This is top-down, folks...
Take a look at the video here, before it is taken down:
http://kdvr.com/2012/06/02/aurora-police-searching-for-bank-robbery-suspect/
I agree with you.
I too have seen first hand what a few corrupt cops can do. I had a coworker who was harrassed, as well as illegally detained by the Prattville AL police. In fact one of the Sgt’s told him to his face that he was “No better than the n***ers who roamed around digging through people’s trash looking for aluminum cans”. My coworker is white and a former Marine BTW, and what we do is safety inspections on gas lines.
I had a Montgomery County AL, sheriff deputy who illegally used law enforcement resources to gain access to my personal e-mail account, as well as my financial information. He used my e-mail to send bogus messages to my friends and family.
Both cases others in their respective departments knew of the wrongdoing, yet they did nothing to speak out against it. As a result, they are equally guilty in the wrongdoing.
The main problem is you don’t have to be very smart to qualify for most police departments. And I doubt any psych exams are administered.
Another problem is so many cops are on power trips. Take their guns and badges away and they’re not so brave.
Finally, there’s that “thin blue line” that we’ve seen talked about on this thread.
I used to be a cop. I couldn’t hack it because of the crap I saw cops doing and getting away with.