RE: Response to the killing of George Floyd
We're conflating arguments guys...
If you believe that what we're doing is 'the best idea' and just needs some tweaks then fine. I disagree. If you believe that this is entirely about the population, I know some highly educated and intelligent people of color who have felt victimized, while complying. As with gun registrations and even voter ID, I abhor the idea of placing restrictions/burdens on large swaths of 'regular' people in order to address a relatively small percentage of 'bad apples'. In the voter ID area, what I mean is forcing the rest of us to deal with the high risk of voter fraud because some infinitesimal portion of the potential electorate won't get an ID (and would otherwise be eligible to vote).
I had a single cop the other day come and do a well-check on my parents... who accidentally triggered, then turned off their alarm. He was alone... If there had been an ambush, he would have been dead and a weapon wouldn't have mattered. IMO, he would have been better served by better surveillance equipment and protective gear than a gun. His best and really only option would have been to run and hide and call for assistance. He wouldn't have 'shot his way out' of an ambush. If alternatively he had discovered that my father was 'out of it' and had a gun... unless my father were randomly shooting passers-by, shooting my father when all he really had to do was secure the area (which doesn't involve a gun) would have been a horrible outcome.....
and that nice young man, probably 27 years old with 18 months on the job wouldn't in any way be qualified as "James Bond' or 'Dr Phil' to address either of those issues directly... so why does he show up with probably 2 guns, a tazer, pepper spray and a baton... with 'hands at the ready' to do a well-check? And in addition to all of the 'what if's' with weapons, why do we think that this guy is somehow qualified to deal with all of the myriad of potential issues that could arise without exacerbating the problem?
MAYBE the solution is simply two people in every car... one trained in psychology, problem resolution or de-escalation... and another trained in weapons and defense.
If we're going to arrest someone, perhaps regardless of 'what for', then some measure of offensive weapon (tazer, some new tranq) or support (secondary armed officer) makes sense. If we're not, then it doesn't. I rarely see arrests made by one cop, there's normally 4-10 in my limited experience of witnessing it. Most often within moments, the cop on the scene is calling for assistance/support.
Tanq, as for resisting arrest... my solution is clear if poorly articulated. If someone is resisting and you aren't armed... you back away (de-escalate) and call for assistance. You do what you can (which may in some cases be nothing) to follow/contain the person until that help arrives.
I had a cop follow my son home from the corner Bucky's to home for a registration sticker that he had neglected to replace on his car. When he stopped and got out, she was aggressive towards him for no apparent reason. As far as I'm concerned, she didn't need to interact with him at all, and sure as hell didn't need a gun. All she had to do was somehow record/document the offense and mail a ticket to the registered owner of the vehicle. I suspect that she thought she'd catch a minor with beer or whatever (it was the 4th of July some years ago) although he was 21 and didn't have beer... so looking for one of those 'lucky' stops to get additional charges... but my son suffers from extreme anxiety... I could see him quite literally freaking out over those events... and doing something stupid and getting shot...
all because the registration came in the mail, but he was out of town... and when he came home, he didn't rush out to the car to scrape the windshield sticker off.... because the cop KNEW FOR A FACT that when she ran the plates, that the car was legally registered and renewed in the system... she just saw that he didn't have a sticker.
that wasn't racism... it might have been profiling (my son had long hair at the time)... but it certainly was systemic in that this is obviously what she'd been taught/encouraged to do. See some minor offense, rather than address it... if the guy looks 'suspicious' (with no real definition of that) see if you can get lucky
(This post was last modified: 06-30-2020 09:27 AM by Hambone10.)
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