We need an honest to god "good cop" to post here and do an AMA

[steve2470]

Last edited Sat Dec 6, 2014, 10:09 PM - Edit history (3)

AMA = ask me anything

On edit: Scroll down to here for the AMA: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025919944#post73








Months ago, one guy did it, and I'm assuming he was the real deal. Hey..come back..or send a good cop buddy.

Let me go look for that AMA.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018477780

Hey..come back...please...not a call-out.

eta2: he was tombstoned, damn. A S S ume.

There are BAD cops, but NOT 100%, unless your definition of bad is failing to turn in buddies. In that case, yes, 99.9 % of them are BAD. A rare few will step up and turn in buddies. See clarification of my meaning in ETA3.

ETA3: I think, maybe, 80% or so of cops are "good cops". I could be wrong, easily. I have no hard data.

[notadmblnd]

1. Well if one happens to show up, what I want to know is-

How many of your fellow officers have you turned in for misconduct?

[steve2470]

2. good question nt

[pipi_k]

30. I asked this question of Mr Pipi

who is a retired cop.

He said he reported on one guy's actions. The guy was fired.

[steve2470]

35. your hubby is a good man nt

[helpmetohelpyou]

46. Yeah because I'm sure in his 20 or so years on the force it's the only

action he saw a another cop do illegal

[zappaman]

51. Do you know differently?

Why is that so hard to believe?
Are you calling him out for being a bad cop for not reporting things you assert he saw?

[helpmetohelpyou]

57. I'll call any fucking cop out

[pintobean]

59. On the internet - anonymously

wow
you're something

[zappaman]

64. Welcome back...again.

[Bobbie Jo]

83. heh

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Uben]

3. Not a cop, but I could play one on the internet!

Could you please step out of the street and onto the sidewalk?

Hey! Did you hear me?

Quit resisting! Quit going for my gun! HE's reaching for his waistband. OMG! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Damn, why did you resist? I had to shoot you, I felt threatened. What? Call an ambulance? Why? BAM! ...BAM! BAM!

Hello dispatch, could you ring my union steward. We got a problem. Yeah, I'll wait.




How's that? Ask me anything!

[logosoco]

4. oh gee! Where do we send your donations!11!!

I did see a story on my FB feed about a cop in Philly (I think) who is bringing complaints against his department.
Probably won't hear more about THAT story.

[steve2470]

18. too bad you fessed up already :p

Yes, I was joking.

[helpmetohelpyou]

5. ha

[helpmetohelpyou]

6. When will you realize there are no good cops

BUT I'm SURE A DU member will post

I have a brother , a brother in law , a son a daughter and they are a good cop...

bullshit

[steve2470]

7. are you serious ?

Last edited Sun Dec 7, 2014, 04:45 PM - Edit history (1)

100% of cops are NOT bad. To black people, yes, *some* cops are racist, but not 100%.

Prove that 100% of all cops are bad. I will wait. Thanks kindly.

[helpmetohelpyou]

8. yup , serious

[steve2470]

9. ok, prove your assertion please nt

[helpmetohelpyou]

11. Why you want to be cop

[steve2470]

14. I don't.... but not 100% are bad...they just work with way too many bad ones nt

[helpmetohelpyou]

19. How many times in your opinion does a cop break the law

during a 40 hour shift?

Any law from speeding with no just cause to turning a blind eye when they see
a fellow officer break a law.....

Just any law where you and I would receive a ticket by that same cop when they caught us doing the same thing.

Just would like to hear your opinion on this.

[steve2470]

22. It depends on the individual cop

Last edited Sat Dec 6, 2014, 10:36 PM - Edit history (1)

First question: Some cops, probably many many times. The "good ones", maybe accidentally some minor ones.

I don't think cops are perfect. Hell, if I was a cop, I'm sure I'd accidentally break the law at least once a day. I'm a leadfoot, I admit it. That law, I'd have problems with.

That being said, if you are a cop, you have a duty to OBEY the law. If we ousted all cops who break laws accidentally, we'd have NO cops at all. If we ousted all cops who accidentally break traffic laws, we'd have NO cops.

No argument, some cops (no clue about percentages) abuse their power and authority. There are BAD cops, but NOT 100%, unless your definition of bad is failing to turn in buddies. In that case, yes, 99.9 % of them are BAD. A rare few will step up and turn in buddies.

The bad cops, the assholes, the racists, yes, let's get rid of them.

The decent ones who accidentally break the law once a day, nope. We need much much much stronger protections for cop whistleblowers. Right now, a cop who turns in a buddy gets shitcanned or worse.

[MillennialDem]

12. The problem is this

Take 100 cops
1 might commit murder
4 might commit manslaughter, ie they wouldn't want to inherently murder a young black man (or anyone else) but they're reckless idiots who could easily end up shooting a 95 year old holding a stick... or chokehold someone when it's 5v1 etc
15 wouldn't commit murder or manslaughter but are total dickheads and will make your life utterly miserable and slap you if you refuse to let them search your car etc

Of the 80 remaining, they are good cops in all but one respect.... they won't murder, they won't rough up suspects, hell they might even be courteous during a traffic stop.

But there's one thing that makes those 80 not good cops: they rarely, if ever will turn in or testify against another one of the boys or girls in blue. Part of this is also because those who do go against the brotherhood often have their own careers shitcanned. There was an internal affairs guy in the LAPD who got screwed over career wise when he got an innocent man out of prison (he was repeatedly told not to).

[steve2470]

15. excellent points nt

[helpmetohelpyou]

24. I figured you would have know that already but you know what one of the

most common ways a lot (not all) of cops break the law after their shift is over or knows of other cops breaking the law?

It's driving under the influence

[steve2470]

27. good point

Yea, the cops who do not call a cab, lock em up and revoke their badge. I agree.

[helpmetohelpyou]

31. That would take their fellow officers to do that

[steve2470]

33. I agree nt

[avebury]

37. Being a bad cop is not just a cop that uses excessive force,

kills innocent civilians, plants evidence and so on and so on.

A bad cop can simply be any cop that refuses to or is afraid to take a stand against those who commit crimes. A bad police department can be one that uses the "blue shield" to protect member cops from facing the legal ramifications for their actions. Until the time comes when cops are prosecuted for their bad acts it is difficult to view police in a positive manner. Like it or not, the reality is that all cops are tainted by the actions of the bad cops. The police in this country are viewed more and more like those you would find in a third world country.

The purpose of the police is to protect and serve the population, not just fellow cops. It seems like there is not one week that goes by when you read about one or more cops killing/injuring some person/pet and nothing is done to rein it in

The 12 year old boy that was killed in Cleveland by a cop that had been deemed unfit to be a police officer by the last town he worked for. What kind of investigation did Cleveland do on this guy before they hired him? I see a civil suit in their future.

They cops in the housing project in NYC who were told not to do vertical patrols did so and at least one of them had his gun drawn. A couple enters the stairwell to go downstairs and they guy gets shot. What was the first action of the cops? To text their Union Rep, not radio the Precinct, not call for an ambulance. They were out of contact with the Precinct for over 6 minutes. The Precinct had received a 911 call about the shooting, knew they had cops in the area and couldn't get a hold of them to investigate (what turned out to be the shooting that they committed). If that guy can't be charged, convicted and sent to prison I don't even want to think about what will happen in NYC after the Eric Garner GJ fiasco.

Looks at the Garner case and how many cops where there. They all stood around (or assisted) while the cop choked the guy to death. With that many cops there you would think that they would be better able to handle the situation. They made no attempt to render aid to him once it was determined he was in distress. A while back there was a similar situation outside of the Warren Theater in Moore that resulted in a man's death. The incident was recorded by the man's wife. When they sat that guy back up he looked like he was already dead and they delayed providing medical assistance.

In this day in age, the first reaction of anybody should be to not trust the police because you cannot know which ones are capable of committing a violent crime nor can you trust the rest of the cops to deal with a "bad Cop" like they would any other criminal. Wearing a badge should never be a get (stay) out of jail free card.

[steve2470]

38. excellent points

Last edited Sat Dec 6, 2014, 11:00 PM - Edit history (2)

99.9 % of police officers will not turn in a fellow officer for a crime or racism or excessive force, etc.

It's an extremely serious problem. It needs to be solved, as in yesterday.

[notadmblnd]

39. IMO, if they do not turn their fellow officers in when they see them engage in misconduct,

then they are not good cops.

[steve2470]

41. I understand your point

I can see why they do not, but yes, they NEED to uphold the law. I would never ever be a cop. I'd end up getting shitcanned and/or "accidentally killed".

[Inkfreak]

29. I have an uncle & 2 cousins who are cops.

They're my family & I love them. But fuck the police. They've shown their true colors everytime they've defended this crooked institution. So..yea. I agree.

[pipi_k]

44. Like I posted in a reply above

I am married to a guy who is a retired cop.

He was a good cop.

You wanna know what a good cop he was?

He is friends on Facebook with a couple of people he actually arrested.

His brother was friends with a guy Mr Pipi arrested. The two of them used to come to our home. The guy, kidding, I'm sure, always said that he would leave his motorcycle to Mr Pipi in his will. Well, the guy died in October. But before he died, he sold his motorcycle to Mr Pipi.

You don't have people still speaking and thinking well of you years later if you've been an asshole to them.

His philosophy has always been that you treat people with respect, even if you're a cop.


I realize that what I posted will probably make zero difference to those who can't see an inch beyond their own pathetic little prejudices, but that's OK. The world, sadly, is full of people who are real good at hating, but not so great at actually being the change they want to see...

[steve2470]

56. +1 nt

[zappaman]

53. No good cops, eh?

Welcome to DU...again.

[ScreamingMeemie]

10. No one in his/her right mind would cop to being a cop on this board.

Because he/she would be told to turn in his/her gun/badge if he/she were a true liberal/progressive/Democrat
He/she would be exhorted to become a one-man/woman fighter of all that we know to be wrong with our nation's police department.
He/she would probably be called a baby killer by someone, even if he/she never fired a weapon while on duty.

I could list several reasons why AMA would just create a flamey disruptive mess.

[steve2470]

13. you're probably right

The other AMA was in the Lounge, and seemed to go fairly well. Sadly the guy got TS'ed.

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. I am just reading through it now. Thanks for the link.

Best comment so far is the linking of the use of "po-po" to a certain age. I'll be sure to tell my dad's girlfriend that she's a poser punk just trying to look cool.

One time, when she was with me taking Homecoming pictures at a favorite local place to take said pictures, the cops arrived because people were blocking traffic. I will never forget this dear 60-year-old woman yelling,"Oh shoot! Somebody called the Po-Po!"

[steve2470]

25. I was really hoping that guy was for real

I've never been a cop or known any cops very well, so no clue how much of that AMA was BS and how much was for real.

Even the cops in San Francisco and Berkeley are flawed. You'd think in those places, they'd get really good ones. Problem is, 99.99% of liberals/progressives would rather be a social worker with no gun, than a cop with a gun.

I'd never be a cop. No way. I'd rather work with nasty garbage all day.

[ScreamingMeemie]

42. Agreed. I'd rather sit here in my pajamas and write stuff...

and spend days not having to deal with people.

That said, I wonder what he did/said that got him banned? He stated his GF was a poster here.

[steve2470]

43. when I saw that thread, I thought oh shit, you done it now boy lol

Maybe Skinner thought he was a liar. I'm sure MIRT and Skinner and hosts got bombarded with hints to TS him.

[MillennialDem]

16. The problem with the whole "there are good cops and bad cops, just like

every (insert career)"

is that bad cops truly do ruin it for everyone. Have a bad teacher and end up with a bad grade? Big fucking deal. Have a bad cop and you end up 6 feet under, or paralyzed, or sentenced to a crime you didn't commit.

[steve2470]

17. good points! nt

[KingCharlemagne]

20. I'll believe there are 'good cops' when I see them arrest 'bad cops.' Until

then, meh!

[MillennialDem]

23. Yes, "the brotherhood" is actually a far worse problem than anything else with police

[KingCharlemagne]

26. Everyone here should refresh his or her memory about the LAPD Rampart scandal:

The LAPD Rampart scandal refers to widespread corruption in the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (or C*R*A*S*H) anti-gang unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Rampart Division in the late 1990s. More than 70 police officers either assigned to or associated with the Rampart CRASH unit were implicated in some form of misconduct, making it one of the most widespread cases of documented police misconduct in United States history. The convicted offenses include unprovoked shootings, unprovoked beatings, planting of false evidence, framing of suspects, stealing and dealing narcotics, bank robbery, perjury, and the covering up of evidence of these activities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampart_scandal

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. And the life and trial of Lawrencia Bembenek and the subsequent evidence of corruption

spanning the ranks of the Milwaukee Police Department.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Bembenek

http://truthinjusticefiles.blogspot.com/2010/11/lawrencia-bembenek-innocent.html

Not as "sexy," but this case has bothered me since it happened when I was a kid living in Greendale.

[KingCharlemagne]

34. Not to forget or neglect Jon Burge and the illustrious

Chicago PD:

Jon Graham Burge (born December 20, 1947) is a convicted felon and former Chicago Police Department detective and commander who gained notoriety for torturing more than 200 criminal suspects between 1972 and 1991 in order to force confessions. A decorated United States Army veteran, Burge served tours in South Korea and Vietnam and continued as an enlisted United States Army Reserve soldier where he served in the military police. He then returned to the South Side of Chicago and began his career as a police officer. Allegations were made about the methods of Burge and those under his command. Eventually, hundreds of similar reports resulted in a decision by Illinois Governor George Ryan to declare a moratorium on death penalty executions in Illinois in 2000 and to clear the state's death row in 2003.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Burge

[Lurks Often]

32. I doubt the majority here would consider anything any cop says

especially if they don't like it if the answer disagrees with their already made up minds.

[pintobean]

36. I think this thread

is making your point.

[NaturalHigh]

95. No doubt about it.

[steve2470]

40. I think it would be good for DU, as a whole....

Last edited Sun Dec 7, 2014, 04:32 PM - Edit history (2)

to hear a "good cop" speak freely. Especially a cop who has actually turned in a fellow officer.

Yes, many cops (on edit: 20% I guess ? ) are assholes/racists/bullies. I'm just not ready to declare 100% of all cops bad. Yes, they need to turn in fellow officers. It takes a lot of moral integrity and courage to do that, which is why it is so rare. (eta: deleted poor framing)

[avebury]

47. The other issue becomes the lack of trust

in Prosecutors either 1) for the way too many cases have been thrown under the bus, 2) the lack on consistency in how similar cases are handled where minority victims or defendants do not get the same treatment as white victims/defendants, or 3) they flat out refuse to even consider prosecuting a suspect when common sense indicates that probable cause exists.

And you have to consider the possibility of collusion between Police Departments and Prosecutor's Office. For example, Ferguson issued over 24,500 arrest warrants in 2013 and a huge chunk of revenue for the city is derived from the Legal/Court system. Given what has come out in the Wilson GJ and the fact that the Prosecutors intentionally gamed the system including providing false information as fact you have to wonder how many defendants have been railroaded in that town. Yet they have a Prosecutor whose established pattern of conduct is to not prosecute cops. The Wilson GJ was just to put the blame on lack of prosecution on the grand jurors and not on McCullough. Given the amount of money Ferguson generates from the legal/court system. cops who have been involved in questionable practices, a Prosecutor's Office that is untrustworthy, the DOJ should be looking to see if RICO charges might apply here.

Between the Martin, Garner and Brown cases (just to list a few of the most notable) I tend to not automatically trust Prosecutors either.

[steve2470]

49. excellent points nt

[avebury]

58. If you want to read a really good book I would

suggest Death and Justice by Mark Furhman.

Yes I now it is Mark Furhman but it is still a pretty interesting book about 10 Death Penalty cases in Oklahoma County during the Bob Macy (DA) and Joyce Gilchrist (police chemist). Since I moved to Oklahoma City and was somewhat familiar with Macy and Gilchrist I had to read it. The stuff of Gilchrist just makes you want to cringe.

From amazon.com:
Controversy rages about capital punishment as innocent men and women are being released from death rows all over the country. Are innocent people being executed? Is capital punishment justice or is it revenge?

Into the debate steps Mark Fuhrman, America's most famous detective, and no stranger to controversy himself.

Fuhrman seeks to answer these questions by investigating the death penalty in Oklahoma, where a "hang 'em high" attitude of cowboy justice resulted in twenty–one executions in 2001, more than any other state. Most of these cases came from one jurisdiction, Oklahoma County, where legendary DA Bob Macy bragged of sending more people to death row than any other prosecutor, and police chemist Joyce Gilchrist was eventually fired for mismanaging the crime lab. Examining police records, trial transcripts, appellate decisions and conducting hundreds of interviews, Fuhrman focuses his considerable investigative skills on more than a dozen of the most controversial Oklahoma death penalty cases.

On Gilchrist:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/under-the-microscope-08-05-2001/

http://www.patrickcrusade.org/former_oklahoma_city_forensic_ch.htm

[Lurks Often]

50. And you just proved my point

"The whole cop culture is corrupt"

So all 780,000 police in the U.S, are corrupt*? Do you even realize what a giant pile of steaming excrement that statement is?

Why would any police officer post here when the vast majority of people here won't believe anything they might say and will probably mock and insult them?


*As of 2012 and you can sort by total and # of police per 100,000 citizens:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_police_officers

[steve2470]

52. sigh

Ok, let me clarify my meaning:

It is not easy for a police officer to enforce the law upon his fellow officers. It is way too easy for a police officer to break the law, either accidentally or with malice aforethought.

Do you agree with that ?

[Lurks Often]

61. Without knowing how many police are sent to jail every year

for actions they commit either on or off duty, you are making suppositions based on a small, skewed sampling of cases based on media reporting.

More plainly, you are taking anecdotal reporting by the media and applying it to every police officer in the country.

[steve2470]

62. I think it's pretty plain that police officers break the law

How often, I don't have hard numbers.

I think it's also plain that very very very few cops will blow the whistle on a fellow officer.

That's the problem. In addition to the officers who break the law, especially those who commit felonies.

[OilemFirchen]

66. Are you also aware that every police department has an IAD?

Do you presume that they sit around all day with their thumbs up their asses?

[steve2470]

67. I don't think they are busy enough!

I'm sure they earn their pay, but far too much BS goes on for me to believe that they are dropping dead from exhaustion.

Look, I'm a cop supporter, AS LONG AS THEY OBEY THE LAW AND ARE NOT RACIST ETC. You're picking a fight with the wrong dude. Go into the main thread and talk to them. Later dude.

[OilemFirchen]

72. I'm not "picking a fight".

Simply buffering your outrage that cops don't turn on other cops. FTR, most employees don't turn on their fellow workmates. Because policing is unique, there is a built-in mechanism for overcoming that natural tendency.

Thanks, BTW, for reminding me why I rarely engage in these conversations.

[Logical]

90. I would like to find ONE COP that has not abused their power. I doubt it exists. nt

[99Forever]

45. I see absolutely no evidence that good cops exist.

if they aren't directly corrupt, thieving, brutal, trigger happy bullies, they cover for those are. ALL of them.

[951-Riverside]

48. How about some Police union heads speak up?

I know you guys lurking here.

I'd love to know why you beat up and arrest people for trying to ask for higher wages and unionization at Walmart and McDonalds.

[steve2470]

54. +1 nt

[Man from Pickens]

55. Why would any good person become a cop these days?

90%+ of the job is either enforcing unjust laws or revenue collection.

An honest man would join the mafia instead, at least that way he wouldn't have to lie about what he was really there for.

[steve2470]

60. fwiw

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2fow3t/iama_cop_in_missouri_ama/

[egduj]

63. Unfortunately, the profession does not attract the type of people...

that would be very good at the profession.

[LeftInTX]

65. I would like to know:

If the amount of guns that civilians own is contributing to police aggression. With 350 million guns out there are cops now trained to assume that everyone is armed?

What type of cultural training is available for small police departments like Ferguson's?

[sabrina 1]

68. There are good cops, but if they were to post here they would have to do so anonymously, for safety

reasons.

What happens to good cops is illustrated by what happened to one of them in the NYPD a few years ago. He documented corruption among his fellow cops. When they found out they sent a swat team to his home, dragged him and deposited him in a psych ward.

It's a culture that is risky to go outside of. And it is aided and abetted by our entire system. So good cops either quit or keep their mouths shut until the can retire, if they see wrong doing.

[steve2470]

71. if a good cop told the 100% truth about the NYPD, for example......

yes, he/she would need to be anonymous. The good cops need much more protection than they have now.

[gollygee]

69. There are good cops but there is so much racism built into the criminal justice system

that good people end up perpetuating racism whether they want to or intend to or not. Racism isn't simply mean people being mean. It's systems at work, regardless of how nice the people in the system are.

[steve2470]

70. +1 nt

[Taurusny22]

73. Real cop here-I'll give it a shot

But keep in mind I don't have a lot of time to post. With my commute I'm out of the house 12-15 hours a day. I like to spend my time with my 3 teenage boys. Ask me anything.

[steve2470]

74. I would do an OP, that way you get more visibility

Best wishes to you! Thanks for volunteering!

[LeftInTX]

75. Do cops assume that everyone is armed?

350 million guns is why I ask

[Taurusny22]

76. We are alway given the number of 1 million unregistered handguns on the streets of New York

A lot of illegal guns are possessed by law-abiding people. Storeowners etc. So yes when I approach anyone It's always in the back of my mind that a gun can be introduced at any second. It's better to be paranoid then complacent.

[riderinthestorm]

77. Welcome to DU!

Thanks for doing this.

[Taurusny22]

78. You're welcome

Glad to be here!

[Vattel]

88. What do you think about the Garner case?

[NanceGreggs]

79. Yes, of course ...

ALL cops are bad.

Just as ...

ALL Jews are cheap
ALL Italians are mobsters
ALL Polish people are stupid
ALL Muslims are terrorists
ALL Irishmen are drunks
ALL Mexicans in the US are "illegals"
ALL gay men are promiscuous
ALL lesbians are "butch" man-haters
ALL southerners are ignorant rednecks
ALL blacks are "shiftless" and lazy

Okay, as to the above, it's not ALL - it's just 99.999999999999 ...% of the aforementioned.

It's enlightening to see ALL (okay, 99.999999999 ...%) of posters on a self-defined "liberal/progressive" website embracing the very stereotypes they (allegedly) deplore, and broad-brushing cops in the same way RWers broad-brush entire groups of people.

I encountered some really dumb, often-inebriated teachers when my kids were in school. So obviously, ALL teachers are dumb and often inebriated. Or at least 99.999 ...% of them are.

As a court reporter, I've worked with some truly unethical lawyers. So obviously, ALL lawyers are unethical. Or at least 99.999 ...% of them are.

I've had some bad experiences with incompetent doctors. So obviously, ALL doctors are incompetent. Or at least 99.999 ...% of them are.

" ... unless your definition of bad is failing to turn in buddies ..." Well, on that basis, ALL teachers are bad, ALL lawyers are bad, and ALL doctors are bad - because the "bad apples" I encountered wouldn't have still been in their jobs when I met them, if only "their buddies had just turned them in". Based on this criteria, ALL (or 99.999 ...%) of every profession are BAD people, because their colleagues failed to act.

In addition, you are assuming that good cops don't act to rid their departments of bad cops. Just because you don't read about it in your morning paper doesn't mean it doesn't happen. There are cops who "choose" to leave the force to go into other lines of work, having been given very little "choice" in the matter by their fellow officers who found their conduct to be unsuitable, and after having been told in no uncertain terms that their fellow officers will not "have their backs" on the job.

But by all means, keep on keepin' on. Keep insisting that ALL (or 99.999 ...%) of cops are corrupt bigots - and 99.999 ...% of Jews are cheap, and 999.99 ...% of Italians are mobsters, and 99.999 ...% of all blacks are shiftless and lazy ... and so on.

Given the discussion on DU of late as to why the site's numbers are tanking, you might consider that liberals/progressives (or perhaps 99.999 ...% of them) don't accept broad-brushing or stereotypes to be in keeping with their principles, and consider such ignorant notions to be the domain of RWers.

[steve2470]

80. I think you misread me (or maybe I misread you ? )

I think most cops, maybe 80%, are good. However....

to DU....

if you do not immediately turn in another officer for misconduct, racism, etc, then you are a bad cop.


You make good points, but I'm not in the 99.99999999999% bad camp. No way.

It's not easy to be a saint amongst people who are ahem, not saintly.

[NanceGreggs]

81. I apologize if I mis-read you ...

... but did you not say:

"There are BAD cops, but NOT 100%, unless your definition of bad is failing to turn in buddies. In that case, yes, 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 % of them are BAD. A rare few will step up and turn in buddies."

[steve2470]

82. I was referring to people who say, in so many words, that if you do NOT turn in....

another cop for misconduct, racism, etc, that that cop is a bad cop. You will see that opinion downthread.

Your point about doctors covering each other is well-taken. Are 99.9999% of doctors BAD ? No, that's ridiculous. Same point for teachers and other jobs and professions. Your point about the bad ones being forced out is also well-taken.

No, to clarify, I think maybe 20% of cops are "bad". I could easily be wrong, I have no hard data.

Unfortunately, the "bad cops" make all the news. The 80% who are decent human beings do not.

Sorry I was not more clear in my OP.

[NanceGreggs]

84. If that was the intent of your OP ...

... I sincerely apologize for mis-reading that intent. I really do.

That being said, the replies to your OP are, sadly, in keeping with what I have stated. The "all cops are bad" sentiment is no different, IMHO, than the notion that ALL Jews are cheap, ALL blacks are lazy, etc.

The black-and-white group-think here these days is so prevalent, it's becoming increasingly difficult to separate the self-proclaimed "True Progressives (TM)" from the RWers who have infiltrated the site.

Again, I apologize for having misinterpreted what you were trying to say. My bad.

[steve2470]

85. Yes, I get a bit tired of the routine cop-bashing

Yes, *some* are not good. However, let's look at the big picture, as you do also.

No worries, I was not clear in my OP.

[NanceGreggs]

86. Or I was "not clear" in my reading of your OP.

Again, my apologies.

However, I am truly appalled by some of the responses here:

"When will you realize there are no good cops."

"But there's one thing that makes those 80 not good cops: they rarely, if ever will turn in or testify against another one of the boys or girls in blue."

"But fuck the police. They've shown their true colors everytime they've defended this crooked institution."

"I'll believe there are 'good cops' when I see them arrest 'bad cops.' Until then, meh!"

"I see absolutely no evidence that good cops exist."

"Why would any good person become a cop these days?"

"Unfortunately, the profession does not attract the type of people... that would be very good at the profession."

If all the self-righteous teachers "turn in" bad teachers, why are there still bad teachers on the job?

If all self-righteous doctors "turn in" bad doctors, why are there still ongoing malpractice lawsuits?

If all self-righteous lawyers "turn in" bad lawyers, why are there still unethical lawyers practicing?

It would seem obvious that for all the self-righteousness apparent on DU, cops are no different than any other profession in terms of "bad apples" being free to do what they do, due to a lack of their colleagues speaking up.

But forget it, Jake - this is DU-town ...

[steve2470]

87. I wanted a good cop to tell us the reality....

We have one downthread.

When I used to work in the prison, almost all the inmates would swear up and down how fucking horrible the cops were. Well, duh....look at who's sitting in prison. One time I was called " a pussy " to my face because I advocated caution with LEO's. I just smiled to myself and thought, ok tough guy, you do what you want.

I've only had one bad experience in 56 years with LEO's. Granted, I'm a white guy, but I've also been given breaks by LEO's. If 99.99% of them were assholes, my car insurance would be 400% higher.

Reality: shades of gray

DU: hmm.....not always so good at shades of gray

see here for the good cop AMA: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025919944#post73

[OilemFirchen]

89. You missed one.

The whole cop culture is corrupt.

[Logical]

92. So by 'big picture' you think overall there is not a problem in the USA that needs fixed? nt

[steve2470]

93. I'm assuming you've read the entire thread, correct ?

I have not said nor implied that, whatsoever, at any point. Please read all of my comments. Thank you kindly. Good day.

[Logical]

94. I have, and still have no clue. nt

[Logical]

91. What a really silly post. No need to even explain why. nt

[Bobbie Jo]

96. Not that you could, or anything...nt

[alarimer]

97. I Suppose there are good cops

but they form a wall of silence and protect the bad ones. This is the heart of the problem. It needs to accepted to 'rat' on bad cops. Right now, that will get people hurt or ostracized. Cops are like the Mob that way.