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When the Fight Is Over, It’s Over
Since I’ve been in the arena, for what it’s worth I’ll comment on the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis. This is the second major incident that indicates there is something wrong with the training model and the hiring model of the Minneapolis Police Department. Every police department and sheriff’s office in the United States should be looking at this incident and assessing their training and hiring model. They should be asking themselves; “Could this happen to us?”
Training is expensive and it should not stop after an officer graduates from the academy. In-service training should continue on a regular basis for officers and supervisors. In-service training is expensive, but the lack of in-service training could cost lives, not just dollars. In-service training also allows trainers to assess a department’s officers on a regular basis.
The hiring process may only produce ten or twenty qualified candidates out of the 500 applicants that began with the written test. Lowering your hiring standards will not improve your department. Some candidates will do well on tests and in training, but will not do well out on the street. FTO’s (Field Training Officers) should weed out candidates that cannot handle the stress, are prone to making poor decisions, and have poor verbal skills. If those shortcomings do not improve during the FTO phase of their training, they will become worse when they start working without direct supervision. If they end up with another officer, especially one that had the same issues in training, it could end in tragedy.
In this incident, fully knowing it was being videoed with bystanders encouraging action, officers stood by as Chauvin put his career at risk. He was in an unsafe, career-threatening situation but his fellow officers let him keep digging a hole instead of saving him.
I haven’t seen video of an officer saying to Chauvin, “Hey we got this. Let’s get him up and in a car.” Chauvin seemed to freeze, and his buddies needed to care for him and in turn care for the arrestee.
I do not understand why Mr. Floyd was not placed in the car on the passenger side rather than walking him around to the driver’s side of the car and placing him face down on the pavement. Once you make an arrest and the sooner you get a suspect in handcuffs and in the back seat it becomes safer for the officer and the suspect.
Published in Policing
I was in court one time after I got a ticket that really made me angry. I was driving along when a CHP car starting weaving to slow traffic (I never learned why) and I slowed down. The other three cars around me sped up and took off. I was trying to be a good person and stayed behind the CHP cruiser. Then he pulled off to the shoulder and I assumed the slowdown was over. As I began to speed up, he pulled out again so I stayed behind him. Finally I pulled along side and asked what was going on. He then pulled me over and wrote a ticket for following too close.
Anyway, I am in court and a young girl appears for a speeding ticket. She says the sheriff was following her closely and she sped up to get away. Then he pulled her over. The judge scoffed and fined her. The next case was another young girl with a similar story. Same cop. The next was another and the judge then said to himself “Whoa !”
He then dismissed all three tickets. Just a sheriff playing games with young girls. Costa Mesa area in OC.
Yes!
If there are good Cops, where are they? Where is their outrage? Nowhere, because they just get to do whatever they want to do, all the time.
It is time to bring the hammer down on the police everywhere. They all need to be held to a higher standard of accountability, that is not just losing their jobs, but loosing their freedom for abusing the freedom of others.
Their outrage is coming from all parts of the United States. I don’t know what you mean by bringing the hammer down on the police everywhere. You seem to have some anger management issues that includes punishing individual officers for crimes they haven’t committed to include a post that I have written that points out the failure of the Minneapolis Police Department to correct their own problems. Generalizations, and the belief of collective punishment will just get you the type of police officer that will also practice generalizations and collective punishment. I don’t think that’s what you want, but as some say about voters in this country you might get exactly what you deserve. If you bring the hammer down on all officers regardless of their guilt or innocence the good cops will quit, and the ones who don’t give a damn will stay.
Good grief, Bryan. Does this sound reasonable on second glance? Seriously? To generalize about police officers in this way is not only unfair but it’s dangerous. Please reconsider what you’ve said. Please.
I have anger management issues based on what I say. I guess the police who take their anger out on citizens are just fine.
This is part of a general trend in this nation, of people in power constantly getting away with abuse of that power.
I can find videos from all over this nation of police abusing the rights of citizens. The police in Minneapolis might be worse than average, but we still have the NYC police wrestling people to the ground for not social distancing. We still have police putting a man in handcuffs for being in a park with his daughter. We still have police ticketing a woman for driving by herself and giving her a fine. We still have police merrily engaged in civil forfeiture all over this land.
Anything I say to the police in any encounter can be used against me. The best lawyers tell you to never talk to the police. Never.
Bring the hammer down menus we must have major reform of policing at ever level across the nation. We also need reform of a process that results in a 97 percent conviction rate, but that is not police.
We can start by ending the practice of shaking down citizens for money.
I need to add that the rioters should be dealt with strongly. The riots are not justified.
Having woken up early this morning with a nightmare unrelated to the police, but related to feelings, I think I can say a big part of what makes me angry here is the sense of helplessness and powerlessness.
The government has the power to destroy my life, even kill me, or a member of my family. The government uses that power arbitrarily. If I defend myself, I might win in court, but my life will still be destroyed. I have no sense that the monster will only go after the wicked anymore. The police are its claws and teeth.
I no longer believe that I have any power over what the government does. I am not well connected enough, or rich enough. There are other people in power, other people with connections. Not me. The best I can do is hope that the beast does not decide to go after me.
I don’t think, that in a republic, people should live that way.
I. have been a teen in a Camaro getting a ticket. Your Dad should have just appreciated the kindness.
The kindness that the police was waiting by a malfunctioning railroad crossing in order to ticket someone who crossed it?
I am not sure I get that. She was itching to have an encounter.
You know, it is OK to get angry at injustice. It seems that maybe, based on responses in this thread, y’all don’t think so.
That’s some fine crime-fighting work there, deputy.
If he chooses this option, instead of just checking in on her, asking her how she’s doing, to see what’s up, then let her go, then he’s actively searching to demonstrate his authority over others. He’s not there to help. He’s there to dominate.
This is not the profile we’re looking for, in people charged with both serving and protecting us.
Funny story. A friend of mine was an orthopedic surgeon who lived in Laguna Beach. When he would get a call from the ER, which was in Mission Viejo, he had a tendency to drive fast on Laguna Canyon Road. A Porsche of course. He got pulled over and used his usual excuse, an emergency call to the ER. The cop said, “Oh yeah ? I’m calling the ER.” He did but my friend was prepared. He had trained the ER ward clerk, a gal named Mary, to take these calls and say, “Where is he? We are waiting for him.” So, he got off. It happened a few too many times and the same cop finally wrote him a ticket as the story was just too suspicious.
A month later, the cop on his motorcycle, got hit and ended up in the Trauma center ER. Guess who was the ortho doc on call ? Yup.
Maybe a psychologist could help with the anger management issues.
orthopedic surgeons… typical
All whites are racist.
All blacks are lazy.
All cops are bad.