Do you think policemen abused their power as officers? Do you think racism is in

1. 60

   Rakim Cheeksposted 9 years ago

   Do you think policemen abused their power as officers? Do you think racism is involved?
   
       Over the past several months, police brutality has increased. Not to mention, the police has killed several people of color including: Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Johnathan Ferrell, Miriam Carey, Andy Lopez, McKenzie Cochran, Victor White, and recently Freddie Gray.  Most people in the African American community are upset and are saying justice is not being serve at all. I want you to be honest and speak your mind about this issue.

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2. 55

   peter565posted 9 years ago

   I think most cops are good decent people trying to do their job, but there are definitely some that are corrupt and some that are prejudice.  This is because, cops are usually not very well educated.  Although there are university graduated police officers out there, most university graduated cops, would belong to advance agency such as FBI and Homeland security.  Ordinary cops, don't have that level of training, they only have one year training, their training is only of community college standard.  So, they are not very highly educated in policing, in addition, because the police force do not set their standard to all officers must be university graduated in policing, but only community college graduate standard, it mean some people who became cops, sign up because they are too stupid to make it into college and as we know from high school, most of the people who do bad in school, are the trouble makers.  If all cops need to have at least a Bachelor degree in policing or has both a community college standard training in policing and a Bachelor degree in some field relevant to policing (e.g. psychology, forensic).  It would definitely increase the standard of cops, and issue of police brutality would decrease.  But we also need to consider the fact, smart people are not necessary very tough and the police still need extreme tough units such as SWAT.  These smarter police officers with university qualification might be tough enough to endure the training to become ordinary police officer, but how many of them are they tough enough to be SWAT?  If we take a look at SWAT training, those who join, are already really tough cops and even then half of them, didn't make the cut.  So, if we all cops need to be university graduates, we must also make sure, amount them, there are enough people that are good enough to make the cut into elite units, such as SWAT and that is to find a way to encourage university graduates to join the police force and encourage high school graduate to study a bachelor in policing in college.  Method of doing so, might be increase the pay of the police force.  I know there are a lot of very just people, whom set their mind on been police officers when they grew up (I was one myself) but once they reach high school, they need to consider the reality of the high stress and high danger of been a police officer, yet seriously under paid.  This would turn so many young boys, that wanted to be police officers, away from the job.  Also, those who study a Bachelor degree in policing, should first finish one year of the same community college standard police training, to make sure they are up to the job, then start working as part time cops, so, to make sure they are tough enough, while studying for their university degree in policing, to make sure they are tough enough for the job.  The government should pay for their entire university degree in policing, but to train a university graduate cop cost a lot of money, so, after they graduate, they must remain as a police officer for a minimum of ten years. 
   
   If you just want to deal with the issue of police brutality towards blacks and not the wider problem, there is a simpler issue, encourage more black people to join the police force.

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3. 62

   Aquene Sincerityposted 9 years ago

   Just like in any profession, there are good officers and there are corrupt officers. Those corrupt cops do abuse their power, pull over people without probable cause, execute illegal searches and seizures, falsely arrest/imprison people, trump up charges and shoot with little reason, etc. I do think that after Zimmerman got off for Trayvon Martin the temptation for corrupt cops or those cops who considered doing questionable behaviors, increased. Because American Americans are continuing to be murdered by cops with no one being sentenced or serving time, I think it gives others the green light to keep propagating their racist agenda. The reality is that this is nothing new however these murders are now happening in plain sight, in front of witnesses, with no evidence against the victim and without fear of prosecution. Until cops are being brought to justice by the same laws that they are supposed to enforce, nothing is going to change, no matter how many riots break out.

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4. 57

   feenixposted 9 years ago

   This is going to shock just about everyone, but in my opinion, every one of the black men who got killed by white authority figures and law-enforcement officers -- spanning Trayvon Martin to Freddie Gray -- set themselves up to get killed.
   
   The primary reason why I see things as I do is, I am an old-school black dude who grew up in one the toughest areas of the US, South-Central Los Angeles/Watts-Compton. And the number of "police-brutality" cases that are occurring today are merely a drop in the bucket compared to all the ones that took place during the 1960s and before.
   
   Personally, back in the early to mid-1960s, I received "Rodney King-style" beatings by LAPD officers, LA County Sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol troopers on at least four or five occasions. In fact, as a result of a couple of those beatings, my face looked worse than King's did after he was beaten.
   
   However, opposite of what was the case back when I was a young man who frequently broke the law, today's young black "gangstas" and wannabe "gangstas" are not men enough to accept that when you walk around looking and acting like a "gangsta," you're setting up the perfect storm for getting brutalized, and even killed, by the cops -- or even by some other black "gangsta."
   
   When it comes to the rowdy ways in which a significant number of young black men are behaving and conducting themselves today, it is time for black society, as a whole, to take matters into its own hands. The time is ripe for older blacks like myself to travel all over the country for the purpose of guiding large numbers of young black men towards being productive and law-abiding members of their communities.
   
   Finally, I must say that once I grew up and started carrying myself like a "real man," no longer did cops, including the racist ones, try to "cramp my style."
   
   For about the past 50 years now, every one of the white law-enforcement officers that I have come in contact with have treated me with nothing but respect -- and that is because the "vibes" I give off command their respect.

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5. 55

   Alberic Oposted 9 years ago

   I was in the military and when I was on reserve status, I served with those who are police officers in various cities.
   
   Like in the military, there are 3 groups. This is generalized:
   
   1. 20% have strict moral convictions and have the utmost courage and integrity.
   
   2. 60% are the 'normal' people who are mostly good but when faced with peer pressure and the status quo, they will go with the herd.
   
   3. 20% people who abuse their position of authority. Yes they are more common than you think. I've seen them in them in the military and various civilian occupations (including LEO).
   
   You go into a city and some cops there are complete jerks and then there are cities where cops are very professional.

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