^ Boot licking apologism

7/21/2010 2:04:05 PM

So I'm apologizing for cops by saying you shouldn't rely on them?

7/21/2010 2:04:52 PM

What does that have to do with this thread?

7/21/2010 2:05:59 PM

Ah I see God's comment now. Anyway

Gotta love how "To Protect and Serve" is just another empty American motto, devoid of any principles or content

7/21/2010 2:06:58 PM

Honestly, if most police followed Robocop's prime directives (aside from the classified one) we'd be good:

1. "Serve the public trust"
2. "Protect the innocent"
3. "Uphold the law"

Notice the order they're given. This should always be the case. An officer should strive to protect the citizens and serve the public trust over upholding the law.

7/21/2010 2:19:36 PM

Quote :

"I'm not sure where he got the 1.06% number from anyway. You don't need to use any number, you already know what the percentage is because it gave you the numbers for 100k people. The percentage of police officers committing the types of crimes listed is 0.6681%."

i got the 1.06% by taking the stat he posted that to date this year, 3240 officers have gotten trouble.

doubled it to 6480 to try and duplicate a year

then added 2000 officers to make up for any good ole boy networks sweeping things under the rug

to get a total of 8480 officers getting in trouble this year, out of 800,000 total = 1.06%

7/21/2010 5:24:13 PM

Quote :

"For every crime that a police officer does, he serves less time and receives less punishment. What sort of message does that send? "

do you have a statistic for this?

are you going to ignore my response to the statistics you posted?

7/21/2010 5:25:06 PM

uh... haha

do you have a statistic for the sky being blue

7/21/2010 5:40:52 PM

so no right?

you guys are all spouting this as truth. i want to know how you know it.

this is why the sky is blue:
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html

now, your turn.

[Edited on July 21, 2010 at 6:05 PM. Reason : .]

7/21/2010 6:04:49 PM

"Police brutality cases on rise since 9/11"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-17-copmisconduct_n.htm

Quote :

"WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are targeting a rising number of law enforcement officers for alleged brutality, Justice Department statistics show. The heightened prosecutions come as the nation's largest police union fears that agencies are dropping standards to fill thousands of vacancies and "scrimping" on training. Cases in which police, prison guards and other law enforcement authorities have used excessive force or other tactics to violate victims' civil rights have increased 25% (281 vs. 224) from fiscal years 2001 to 2007 over the previous seven years, the department says. During the same period, the department says it won 53% more convictions (391 vs. 256). Some cases result in multiple convictions. Federal records show the vast majority of police brutality cases referred by investigators are not prosecuted. 'CODE OF SILENCE': Milwaukee beating case collars 'bad cops' University of Toledo law professor David Harris, who analyzes police conduct issues, says it will take time to determine whether the cases represent a sustained period of more aggressive prosecutions or the beginnings of a surge in misconduct. The cases involve only a fraction of the estimated 800,000 police in the USA, says James Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the nation's largest police union. Even so, he says, the FOP is concerned that reduced standards, training and promotion of less experienced officers into the higher police ranks could undermine more rigid supervision. "These are things we are worried about," Pasco says. For the past few years, dozens of police departments across the country have scrambled to fill vacancies. The recruiting effort, which often features cash bonuses, has intensified since 9/11, because many police recruits have been drawn to military service. In its post-Sept. 11 reorganization, the FBI listed police misconduct as one of its highest civil rights priorities to keep pace with an anticipated increase in police hiring through 2009. The increasing Justice numbers generally correspond to a USA TODAY analysis of federal law enforcement prosecutions using data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Those data show 42 law enforcement prosecutions during the first 10 months of fiscal year 2007, a 66% increase from all of fiscal 2002 and a 61% rise from a decade ago. David Burnham, the co-founder of the TRAC database, says prosecutions appear to be increasing, but "more important" are the numbers of cases prosecutors decline. Last year, 96% of cases referred for prosecution by investigative agencies were declined. In 2005, 98% were declined, a rate that has remained "extremely high" under every administration dating to President Carter, according to a TRAC report. The high refusal rates, say Burnham and law enforcement analysts, result in part from the extraordinary difficulty in prosecuting abuse cases. Juries are conditioned to believe cops, and victims' credibility is often challenged. "When police are accused of wrongdoing, the world is turned upside down," Harris says. "In some cases, it may be impossible for (juries) to make the adjustment.""

Here's the case that the previous article links to:

"Milwaukee beating case busts officers' 'code of silence'"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-17-Copside_N.htm

An excerpt from this article:

Quote :

"The brutal beatings of Frank Jude and Lovell Harris triggered outrage in the city of Milwaukee. Last year, when a Milwaukee jury did not convict three local police officers on battery charges for a beating in which Jude was kicked in the head and stabbed in both ears, the public fury intensified. A demonstration followed the verdicts, which Mayor Tom Barrett characterizes as a breakdown of the justice system. Law enforcement and legal analysts say the cases — which federal prosecutors refiled under different charges and won earlier this year — underscore the difficulty in winning convictions against officers. Such cases, in which officers are accused of using excessive force to violate victims' civil rights, are plagued by problems with victims' credibility, a lack of strong physical evidence and the "code of silence" adopted by some officers who refuse to testify against others in their ranks. Police given benefit of doubt David Allred, who prosecuted misconduct cases at the Justice Department for more than three decades, says the prosecutions almost always involve juries who are predisposed to believe the police rather than the victims. "All of us have lost cases in which we believed the officer did something wrong, and I believed the jury was gonna convict," says Allred, who retired this year as a deputy chief in the Civil Rights Division. In a 1983 Alabama prisoner abuse case, Allred says he faced not only a potentially biased jury and a victim with a criminal past, but also a judge who told Allred he "would do everything he could to prevent a conviction." Allred lost the case. It remains a stark reminder that misconduct cases don't necessarily depend on the strength of the evidence. "These are by far the hardest cases of any kind of criminal cases to prosecute," Allred says. The prosecutor's assessment is supported by a USA TODAY analysis of federal prosecutions of law enforcement officers, based on data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. At least 96% of all law enforcement cases referred to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in each of the past seven years by investigative agencies did not result in prosecutions. Even so, the Justice Department says its brutality prosecutions are rising. Federal prosecutors filed 25% more excessive force cases during the past seven fiscal years compared with the previous seven, and won 53% more convictions. Alex Busansky, who prosecuted police cases in the Civil Rights Division for seven years before leaving in 2004, says the code of silence and lack of physical evidence hampers many investigations. Without the cooperation of witnesses — often other police officers — the cases are reduced to allegations and denials. "You really need someone to cooperate," Busansky says. "You don't know what reasonable doubt means until you get involved in some of these cases." Crossing line in Milwaukee In the Milwaukee case, securing other officers' cooperation was a major challenge and key to the eventual convictions of seven former police officers (an eighth was acquitted). "It was critically important to establish a truthful account of what happened," says Mark Kappelhoff, criminal section chief in the Civil Rights Division. "Law enforcement officers are held in high esteem, so having another police officer testify about the misconduct was valuable evidence to prove that the officers crossed the line that night." The last two of the seven officers were sentenced earlier this month to more than two years in prison for their roles in the attacks. Jude, who is biracial, and Harris, who is black, said they heard racial slurs as they were beaten. Former officers Jon Bartlett, Daniel Masarik and Andrew Spengler, each sentenced last month to more than 15 years in prison, received the most severe punishments. Jude and Harris were attacked after attending a party at Spengler's home in October 2004. Invited there by one of Spengler's friends, they were accused of stealing a police badge from the officer's bedroom. No badge was ever found in their possession. Such incidents have stoked concern within the nation's largest police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, that law enforcement agencies may be dropping standards to fill vacancies and cutting back on training, FOP Executive Director James Pasco says. Shortly after the beatings of Jude and Harris, Barrett says the Milwaukee Police Department began requiring all recruits to submit to psychological testing before joining the force. When the test was first administered two years ago, 20% of the recruits failed. Barrett says the department made the change after investigations into the assaults raised questions about officer Bartlett's conduct prior to joining the force. Bridget Boyle, Bartlett's attorney, says he was convicted in 1992 of fleeing from police in a traffic-related incident. Because of that conviction, Boyle says Bartlett "technically should not have been hired as a police officer." Boyle describes the beating and prosecutions as "a difficult period" for the community. In places where police are convicted of misconduct, Boyle believes confidence in law enforcement institutions is compromised for years. "Jurors are already scrutinizing police officers' statements more closely now" in Milwaukee, says Boyle, who is married to a city police officer. "The fact that there are a couple of bad eggs doesn't mean the whole system is rotten.""

7/21/2010 6:49:24 PM

Here's more links than you could ask for to specific cases.
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?page_id=1581

Quote :

"Summary The following statistical report is based on information gathered during the first three months of 2010. The data used to create this statistical report is available for public viewing in the database section (http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/?page_id=127) of this site. From January 2010 through March 2010 there were: * 1,160 Unique reports of police misconduct cited. * 1,410 Law enforcement officers cited in recorded police misconduct reports. * 77 Police Chiefs, Sheriffs, and other department leaders cited in misconduct reports. * 1,446 Alleged victims of police misconduct cited in reports. * 52 Fatalities attributed to alleged acts of police misconduct. * 16.5 Law enforcement officers cited in the news for misconduct on average each day. * $54,320,000 paid out in settlements and judgments for police misconduct related civil lawsuits. By projecting this month’s NPMSRP totals out to one year, the following comparisons can be made between the reported police misconduct allegation rate and the reported 2008 general crime rate* as published by the FBI and DOJ for 2008 (*please note that both the NPMSRP police misconduct rates and the FBI/DOJ UCR general crime rate statistics are reported incidents, not convictions): Violent Crime: (all assault, excessive force, forcible rape, murder, and domestic assault allegations) * 1 out of every 235 (425.1 per 100k) police officers will be accused of a violent crime. * 1 out of every 220 (454.5 per 100k) citizens will be accused of a violent crime. Homicide (all non-negligent manslaughter, murder, and homicide allegations excluding vehicular homicides and DUI-related deaths) * 1 out of every 4,813 (20.8 per 100k) police officers will be accused of homicide * 1 out of every 18,518 (5.4 per 100k) citizens will be accused of homicide Sexual Assault (all sexual assault, coercive sexual battery, and rape allegations but not including consensual sexual misconduct, exposure, solicitation, or child pornography) * 1 out of every 1,195 (83.7 per 100k) police officers will be accused of sexual assault. * 1 out of every 3,413 (29.3 per 100k) citizens will be accused of sexual assault. "

"Police Brutality in America"
http://baltimorechronicle.com/2010/071310Lendman.shtml

7/21/2010 6:49:57 PM

we have already gone over those stats on the previous page, except they for were projected over the year. please rewind.

7/21/2010 8:01:09 PM

Obviously didn't read anything I posted because the articles are about more than the stats summarized above

[Edited on July 21, 2010 at 8:04 PM. Reason : .]

7/21/2010 8:04:09 PM

Wondering when I'll get a substantive response, or at least a redirection that takes some effort.

7/22/2010 1:37:12 AM

Quote :

"Last year, 96% of cases referred for prosecution by investigative agencies were declined."

I mean, holy fucking shit right

7/22/2010 1:38:32 AM

Quote :

"Last year, 96% of cases referred for prosecution by investigative agencies were declined."

ok, I will bite. I absolutely agree that seems ABNORMALLY high especially compared to the general public which I can only guess is much lower. the crime statistics themselves do not.

its also probably fair to mention that officers are targeted for prosecution at an exponential rate compared to the general public, which would skew that statistic. if there were someway to compare that, it would make your argument more convincing. I mean if 9 out of 10 times, people are just pissed off because the cops busted their pot stash and bring a charge that is unsubstantiated it SHOULD be dropped.

7/22/2010 9:37:58 AM

Quote :

"officers are targeted for prosecution at an exponential rate compared to the general public,"

This doesn't even make sense as an assertion.

7/22/2010 9:52:41 AM

replace all cops w/ robocops imo. Any job that attracts low-education workers should be automated

7/22/2010 9:57:32 AM

Quote :

"ok, I will bite. I absolutely agree that seems ABNORMALLY high especially compared to the general public which I can only guess is much lower. the crime statistics themselves do not. its also probably fair to mention that officers are targeted for prosecution at an exponential rate compared to the general public, which would skew that statistic. if there were someway to compare that, it would make your argument more convincing. I mean if 9 out of 10 times, people are just pissed off because the cops busted their pot stash and bring a charge that is unsubstantiated it SHOULD be dropped."

You bit wrong. Not sure how you could read a single sentence so incorrectly.

Quote :

"Last year, 96% of cases referred for prosecution by investigative agencies were declined."

Quote :

"cases referred for prosecution by investigative agencies"

These aren't just accusations; these are cases referred by investigative agencies. They've been research and the ridiculous, baseless claims have been sifted out. 96% of THESE were declined for prosecution.

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 9:59 AM. Reason : I'll blame your cop-goggles. Defend friends AT ALL COSTS *reads shit incorrectly*]

7/22/2010 9:58:45 AM

This thread is a great example of TWW statistical paradox; users will believe in general statistics if and only if they benefit their own position.

The same people who argue, "DWI/Speeding statistics are not accurate because they include people who were drunk who didn't cause the accident/weren't legally drunk, etc" are the same people who argue that "brutality" statistics show how much misconduct there is in the police force.

Do those statistics tell show the dispositions of those allegations? It seems like they just base statistics off of news headlines.

7/22/2010 10:57:05 AM

Some of the stats are based on news headlines (to report rates of formal allegations), and some aren't. Read the articles.

7/22/2010 12:32:51 PM

Quote :

"This doesn't even make sense as an assertion."

its hard to explain what I meant and I dont have the time to try right now. if I could edit that out I would. basically that being constantly exposed to inflammatory situations makes them exposed to a larger amount of litigation than average people. not sure how i could prove that or if its even true. just an assumption.

Quote :

"referred for prosecution by investigative agencies"

yes I did misread that. MY BAD. even still, there has to be a basis to decline to prosecute. you cant just decline for the F of it, repeatedly. if there are DA's not prosecuting cops because of favoritism that is wrong and the DA should be fired for it. what do you want me to say other than that? i dont know specific back stories and neither do you.

your initial assertions are still markedly, offensively and obviously wrong. the fact remains that less than 1% of cops per year commit crimes. hardly the "gang" you espouse. if DA's are not doing their jobs, that is another topic.

7/22/2010 5:09:42 PM

Quote :

"yes I did misread that. MY BAD. even still, there has to be a basis to decline to prosecute. you cant just decline for the F of it, repeatedly. if there are DA's not prosecuting cops because of favoritism that is wrong and the DA should be fired for it. what do you want me to say other than that? i dont know specific back stories and neither do you. "

What do I want you to say? LOL

*presents proof of code of silence*
WELL WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY IT'S WRONG
*goes back to categorically supporting cops under the myth that corruption is limited to "a few bad apples"*

Quote :

"your initial assertions are still markedly, offensively and obviously wrong. the fact remains that less than 1% of cops per year commit crimes. hardly the "gang" you espouse. if DA's are not doing their jobs, that is another topic."

It's like you're not listening or reading.

You are the worst case of Just-World-Syndrome I've ever seen. There's no systematic corruption! *ignores serious evidence of systematic wrongdoing throughout the entire justice system*

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 5:16 PM. Reason : .]

7/22/2010 5:14:01 PM

yeah how do you want me to address the question of whether a DA is doing his job or not? you changed the conversation.

I dont support cops who break the public trust. you just have not convinced me that it is anywhere near being considered prolific or like "the most violent gang in america." you have not presented anything to back that up.

how does ~1% indicate anything "systematic?." its a ridiculous statement. the stats you brought to the thread spoke to this.

some cop took your weed stash or your girlfriend one day and you are pissed about it.

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 5:21 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on July 22, 2010 at 5:22 PM. Reason : ..]

7/22/2010 5:21:25 PM

Neither happened, in fact. No personal vendetta here, I just care about liberty unlike you, who cares more about licking his buddies' nuts.

The accusation rates are much more important here than convictions seeing as how tons of legitimate cases are being thrown out by prosecutors colluding with the police. This is measurable. It's like you really don't give a flipping fuck that citizens' rights and liberty are being trampled and I'm confused as to why.

7/23/2010 2:07:30 AM

Quote :

"Neither happened, in fact. No personal vendetta here, I just care about liberty unlike you, who cares more about licking his buddies' nuts. The accusation rates are much more important here than convictions seeing as how tons of legitimate cases are being thrown out by prosecutors colluding with the police. This is measurable. It's like you really don't give a flipping fuck that citizens' rights and liberty are being trampled and I'm confused as to why."

laughable.

firstly, you have assumed the whole time that my stance is based on "buddies."

secondly, our country doesnt punish based on accusations.

I dont have any friends that are street cops. not that you care.

my stance is based on logic and reason. I also tend to give police and military the benefit of the doubt because of how difficult their jobs are. you expect them to be perfect and you completely refuse to acknowledge that there are two separate points here:

1. the rate cops commit crimes - which I think is not indicative of a systematic problem being ~1%.

2. the rate at which those crimes are prosecuted - I certainly agree that 96% being dropped seems crazy and Id like to see circumstances.

so tell me again how I am "trampling" freedom?

7/23/2010 8:33:49 AM

You keep repeating the "rate at which cops commit crimes" which is based off of an accusation rate which we have reason to believe is lower than the actual crime rate.

(Various things have been posted to show that formal complaints must first go through cops, officially. Other things posted showed that many states are incompetent at convicting officers even in clear cut cases, but this is only from the 4% of things REFERRED BY INVESTIGATIVE AGENCIES FOR TRIAL. Stop repeating the number over and over unless lying to yourself is a requirement for towing the line for your friends. You act like because they're not street cops that magically they're not part of the code of silence lol -- the only question is, why are you?)

7/23/2010 9:18:03 AM

Haters gonna hate....
              /

7/23/2010 9:26:03 AM

guys

lets all just calm down and watch Serpico

7/23/2010 10:13:45 AM

Quote :

"You keep repeating the "rate at which cops commit crimes" which is based off of an accusation rate which we have reason to believe is lower than the actual crime rate. (Various things have been posted to show that formal complaints must first go through cops, officially. Other things posted showed that many states are incompetent at convicting officers even in clear cut cases, but this is only from the 4% of things REFERRED BY INVESTIGATIVE AGENCIES FOR TRIAL. Stop repeating the number over and over unless lying to yourself is a requirement for towing the line for your friends. You act like because they're not street cops that magically they're not part of the code of silence lol -- the only question is, why are you?) "

full disclosure - I have one friend who works for the SBI and he investigates Medicare fraud. I have another who in the ATF in new orleans. there you go. I guess that makes me a shill for police brutality nationwide.

now, you are dense. the rate I keep harping on is based on the statistics you provided! I even added a 30% margin of error and got 1.06%. how the fuck am I supposed to be able to comment on unreported or crimes that nobody is convicted for? because you say they are guilty? because you "know" departments arent self reporting and local/national news carriers turn a blind eye ALL THE TIME to brutality? please. you are a loon.

additionally, I have already said I agree the prosecution rate seems inappropriate. so I ask again, what else do you want from me?

now, I have to leave because my black helicopter is here.

7/23/2010 12:52:50 PM

^ When there's been an attempt to measure the amount police evade charges (there's evidence of frequent evasion in a variety of ways, either pre or post investigation), you can't just harp on the conviction rate or even on the rate of formal allegations.

It's like you keep sayin' numbers but you can't interpret them.

7/23/2010 2:07:56 PM

DaBird, will you please step off this 1% shit.

From reading the thread it appears you pulled the "800,000" officers nationally out of thin air. Where did this number come from? Is it the same number used in the other statistics?

Not to mention that 25% or more of police officers never step outside of the police building. I have no idea how to figure this number out, but beat cops and those that interact directly with the public should be the metric used to measure abuse.

Unless you have verifiable sources to support your statistics, like the other posters in this thread, stop using made up stats to support your argument. Thanks.

7/23/2010 7:31:57 PM

^ I would assume the number came from a source, like say the BLS:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos160.htm

To be fair, they have the number at about 900k, though about 100k are supervisors (those ones that you don't think should count).

Seems to me 800k is a reasonable number.

On another topic, why is it that no GPS maker has ever integrated a camera and mic into the unit? I would imagine being able to have your own dash cam of your interactions with cops would be a nice feature.

[Edited on July 23, 2010 at 8:29 PM. Reason : asdf]

7/23/2010 8:27:52 PM

^^ Did you just criticize a guy for pulling a number out of thin air, then admittedly pull a statistic of your own out of thin air, and top it off by telling the aforementioned guy to stop posting if hes just going to make up statistics? ALL IN ONE POST?

[Edited on July 23, 2010 at 9:24 PM. Reason : the]

[Edited on July 23, 2010 at 9:25 PM. Reason : o]

7/23/2010 9:24:19 PM

I got the 800,000 from a quick google search. if you go back and read, I didnt post it as fact I posted as speculation;

Quote :

"what are there? 800,000 police officers nationwide? how many per year get in trouble for corruption? lets arbitrarily say 100 per state per year (some will have more, others less). that is 5000 cops a year getting in trouble. less than 1%. maybe its more? show me a statistic. what percentage of the population gets in trouble every year? compare it that. "

then God posted the stats:

Quote :

"From January 2010 through June 2010 there were: -2,541 Unique reports of police misconduct cited. -3,240 Law enforcement officers cited in recorded police misconduct reports. -178 Of the law enforcement officers reported were departmental leaders, police chiefs, and sheriffs. -4,199 Alleged victims of police misconduct associated with these reports. -124 Fatalities associated with these reports. -17.9 Law enforcement officers cited in the news for misconduct each day on average. -$148,512,000 in approximated police misconduct related settlements and judgments paid out in this period. "

i took the 3240 x 2 = 6480 over a year.

i added 2000 for 'cover ups' or for the good ole boy network.

8480/800000 = .0106

7/24/2010 9:30:18 AM

lol and we continue our slide toward police state insanity while idiots like ^ play with and make up numbers

[Edited on July 25, 2010 at 3:40 PM. Reason : .]

7/25/2010 3:39:50 PM

hurfa durfa adding small number to artificially tiny number = my unbelievably stupid conclusion

7/25/2010 3:41:09 PM

http://www.intomobile.com/2010/11/15/cops-arrest-iphone-video-phone/

Quote :

"Another day, another case of abuse of power by cops unwilling to have their public police activities filmed by passersby with an iPhone, Android, or any other video recording device. This time around, we bring you the story of a Connecticut man who was recently arrested by New Haven Assistant Chief of Police Chief Ariel Melendez for the alleged crime of “disturbing the peace.” According to reports, Luis Luna was convicted of the crime after being approached by Officer Melendez, who asked Luna to stop using his iPhone to videotape police officers breaking up a fight on College Street. Luna also claims that the officers involved in the incident proceeded to delete the videos that he had just recorded with his iPhone. According to the police report, Ass. Chief Ariel Melendez ordered the arrest of Luis Luna. “He began taking pictures and filming. Asst. Chief Melendez approached Mr. Luna and asked him to leave as well as stop filming. Mr. Luna did not do so. Therefore, Chief Melendez instructed me to arrest Mr. Luna,” wrote arresting officer Fitzgerald. It’s not clear how using his iPhone to film police breaking up a fight is considered “interfering with police,” but that’s the charge for which Luna was handcuffed and placed in jail. What is clear, is that cops are clearly uncomfortable having their public actions filmed by citizens who, in most cases, have done nothing wrong (other than using their smartphone to record video). Even Melendez’s boss, Chief Limon agrees that filming official police activity is not a crime. “It’s not our policy to arrest people for filming,” Chief Limon is reported as saying by the New Haven Independent. “As a general principal, it is not illegal to video.” Luna says that he was arrested and placed in jail for a night on charges of “interfering with police.” He also claims that cops confiscated his phone, claimed to not know anything about his iPhone, and later returned his phone with his recently recorded videos deleted from memory. He was later advised by the city’s District Attorney that he would drop the charge against him and instead charge Luna with the lesser charge of “public disturbance” – for which Luna had to pay a fine and officially admit to guilt. We’re hearing more and more these days about abuses of power, arrests, and civil rights violations committed by law enforcement on citizens pointing their handsets’ camera lenses in a cop’s direction. Rather than staying true to their oath to serve the public good and uphold the law, it seems some law enforcement officials are afraid of getting caught with their crooked hands in the unlawful cookie jar by citizens armed with smartphones/cameraphones. The problem, it seems, is that “Police are not used to ceding power, and these tools are forcing them to cede power,’’ according to David Ardia, director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society’s Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard University. What say you, law abiding smartphone/cameraphone user? Should there be laws protecting citizens’ rights when filming police activity in a non-interfering manner? "

11/17/2010 11:52:31 AM

Quote :

"Should there be laws protecting citizens’ rights when filming police activity in a non-interfering manner?"

Obviously. The only reason cops don't want to be videotaped is because then they can't make up their own rules

11/17/2010 5:33:54 PM

http://www.briantbeasley.com/?p=363

11/17/2010 5:56:19 PM

11/20/2010 2:49:17 PM

Police make the law.

[Edited on November 26, 2010 at 11:47 PM. Reason : They are the law.]

11/26/2010 11:26:05 PM