"His mother-in-law is dying right now".. "I'm almost done."

[DerbyCat]

For those of you that don't know, I'm an ex-cop. Most cops aren't like this kid in Dallas but I know that there are still too many like him on the street. What didn't surprise me about this case was his approach, young cops know how to escalate a problem but they don't know how to DE-escalate, they have to show the suspect who "The Man" is - let me explain - they teach you a couple key things in the academy, 1. It's cops against everyone else ("everyone you contact on the street may kill you given the chance, don't give them that chance"), 2. Follow your S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedure) - this is the weakness. They teach new cops how to *follow the rules* when problem solving via escalation (first use your *command presence*, if that doesn't work then try the pepper spray, after that use your baton and as a last resort, shoot them twice in their chest with your gun) but they don't teach you how to DE-escalate, how to say "I'm sorry, I made a mistake" or to let someone go, *no harm, no foul*. If you stop someone because they fit a "profile" (black man in a white neighborhood, white guy driving slowly around a Hispanic neighborhood known for drug sales), you can't let that person go with a warning, especially if you pull them out of their car and toss it, you HAVE to write a ticket to that person to *justify* what you did. This mentality is passed from senior officers to rookies and it continues throughout the years... It doesn't make it right, it just is what it is.

Until cops can see people for the fragile humans that they are, they will continue to disrespect those people that set their radar off - it's really hard to respect someone your afraid might kill you - that was the problem in Dallas.

[declansharbor]

Originally Posted by DerbyCat

Until cops can see people for the fragile humans that they are, they will continue to disrespect those people that set their radar off - it's really hard to respect someone your afraid might kill you - that was the problem in Dallas.

If this happened on a drug corner or in a gang-related neighborhood, I would agree. It, however, culminated in a HOSPITAL parking lot.

This tough-guy cop must have the IQ of a sewer rat. He deserves nothing short of Michael Fay treatment, if for nothing else, for being so stupid and heartless. He did the right thing by pulling him over, but where was this d'bags common sense after they tried to explain their case?

[Danzig]

on the one hand, you do have police who hear sob stories, most of them false, every day.
on the other hand, it shouldn't have taken the yahoo 17 minutes to get to the bottom of the story.

[AeWingnut]

so anyone catch what was going on in Oakland California?

[Suffolk Shippers]

This is a really pathetic case, IMO. Cops work a thankless and dangerous job but they should be aware enough to asses a situation like this vs. a truly dangerous and/or reckless situation. Steve said it well previously that the cops are here to "protect and serve" and I add, they are on the job on our dime.

While it is true that when all is equal, the police have the command of the community there are in. However, they serve on the taxpayers dime, and as a taxpayer, I want the cops in my community to do their jobs. I expect when people go astray of the law they are arrested or fined as they should be. But, when a situation calls for compassion, I expect cops should be able to see that and act upon it. Do we think if this was a guy hustling his pregnant wife to the maternity ward this would have had the same outcome? In my eyes, it's the same type of situation, and cops should be able to see that, and I trust most do. The fact that Ryan Moats in black is all the more disturbing, because you have to believe profiling was involved.

I read this Moats article and one I will paste below in the course of a few days. Basically, there are so many zoning ordinances on sex offenders in Miami-Dade County, that the only place some of them can live and not be in violation is under a bridge. Humans forced to live under a bridge by overzealous politicians trying to look "tough" on crime. Is this the kind of country we live in now a days, where cops profile black guys trying to get a final minute in with dying relatives and we pass laws to force people who have paid their debt to society to live under a bridge?

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/nat...icleid=1161620

[Suffolk Shippers]

Looks like the badge in question has had some previous run ins...notably, Zach Thomas' wife:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/f...icleid=1162188

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by Suffolk Shippers

Looks like the badge in question has had some previous run ins...notably, Zach Thomas' wife:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/f...icleid=1162188

moral of the story. Keep your proof of insurance and registration in the car and get your license updated when you move. Suspect towing cars for lack of insurance is a $$$ maker for TX. This cop may be a little gun happy though.

Originally Posted by dellinger63

moral of the story. Keep your proof of insurance and registration in the car and get your license updated when you move. Suspect towing cars for lack of insurance is a $$$ maker for TX. This cop may be a little gun happy though.

Moral of the story:
You dont need to throw a women in jail for 3 hours for a U-turn.
A little gunhappy...

Yes indeed, just a little.
The guy is an idiot.