Short police officer gets dissed

[Postmalonelistener]

Such is human nature, take your frustrations out on the weakest link in the opposing force. Such is the misfortune in these kinds of battles, always the good, helpless, or innocent that get hurt most of the times. Never the instigators or the truly corrupt.

 

[Mike41090]

I was going to go on a rant about policing in the US.... but all I'm going to say is that it is really bad. I lived in Europe for 4 years and spent time in Germany and France. The biggest difference is that the police in Europe, in my personal experience is mostly attitude. Cops in France and Germany can be just as aggressive as American police, but in Europe the attitude with police is that you are not a problem, until you demonstrate you ARE a problem. In many places in the US cops just assume you are going to be a problem right from the start. It sets a very negative tone right from the start that frequently escalates to confrontation.

 

[Postmalonelistener]

The standards for police are significantly lower in America than elsewhere. Here becoming a police is a university education like any other and then there's psychological screening, a BMI requirement on top of physical fitness, they are trained to deescalate, and there's no militarization.

Our police force in Sweden has been damaged at an organizational level, but the training and standards themselves seem fine. There also seems to be more cases of outright criminal police in America as a whole, like the Camden police department in NJ that was so corrupt it was deemed better to just demolish and rebuild it than try to fix it. And then you have the "ghost skins" infiltrating police forces in America as the FBI has been warning about for a long time...

The police force as an institution in America in general has dark roots. In the south they grew out of the slave patrols, and transitioned into the Redeemers terrorist movement after the civil war. In the 19th century formal police departments were progressively established throughout America beginning in Boston, and these were basically politically controlled mafia gangs. Then you have the police involvement (along with hired mafias, the national guard and Pinkerton agents) in american labor history when the country was industrializing, as a force to brutalize, mass arrest, kill and even massacre workers and keep organized labor down. Then the same role as thugs against the civil rights movements (beginning under Woodrow Wilson's regime against which the American Civil Liberties Union formed), the anti-war movements, and for the War on Hippies and PoC (aka War on Drugs). So it's not exactly unprecedented...

My family is from the East Coast originally (Tri-State area), who usually ended up joining forces like the NYPD there?

Not the rich kids from the Upper East and Upper West Side of Manhattan, they end up being bankers and working white collar jobs. Not even the small town kids who are hard working. Most of the times, it is the kids from uber-douchey places like Long Island who couldn't cut it in sports and realized that their football and basketball careers are going nowhere because colleges want athletic black kids (hmmm, I wonder where some of that hatred comes from).

This is why the cops you get are short-tempered, most have a badge along with a chip on their shoulder due to not amounting to that much in life. Mix that with the extra Long Island douchebaggery and wanna be macho culture (the same dudes who'd be scared sh1tless of a black person if they didn't have a badge), you get a recipe for disaster.

Thankfully, Manhattan keeps these types at bay for the most part to not leave a bad mark on tourists. Go to other boroughs, especially as you get more suburban? You will see these types in overabundance and they make life miserable for minorities there.

 

[Mike41090]

I was going to go on a rant about policing in the US.... but all I'm going to say is that it is really bad. I lived in Europe for 4 years and spent time in Germany and France. The biggest difference is that the police in Europe, in my personal experience is mostly attitude. Cops in France and Germany can be just as aggressive as American police, but in Europe the attitude with police is that you are not a problem, until you demonstrate you ARE a problem. In many places in the US cops just assume you are going to be a problem right from the start. It sets a very negative tone right from the start that frequently escalates to confrontation.

I agree with you to an extent.... the thing is, it takes ATLEAST a few years in my opinion to figure out how to be very good at talking with people when you are a police officer. And I’m not talking about having an average conversation with someone like yourself. I’m talking about someone who is mentally ill, emotionally unstable, or literally just committed a crime and KNOW they are about to be locked up. Because those are the tough jobs that can be pressure cookers because you are not sure what this person is capable of. There are two things I focus on all the time, that I think are absolutely PARAMOUNT in policing in regards to dealing with the public. Verbal judo and tactics. De escalation is key as well. I do agree with you that some officers make it worse, even the majority to be honest don’t have a clue and escalate the situation. But trust me when I say this. It is not easy whatsoever to become good at talking to people in high stress situations as a police officer. Usually when I fail to hit the sweet spot with an emotionally disturbed person, I’ll just take a step back and have the officer next to me give a go at him (calming him/her down). Working as a team is the best way to handle jobs and I can’t stress this enough. A lot of cops these days think they can do it on their own (usually because they have more TIME on the job then other officers, or they simply do no not want to look incompetent in front of co workers). Slightly off topic but what I find fascinating is that every time someone gets lodged into a cell for a crime they committed, do you want to know what they say? “I DIDNT DO ANYTHING WRONG. Happens 99 percent of the time even when you have them dead to rights on surveillance footage and victim/witness statements. And this even applies to people who have a bad night, slip up and get arrested for the first time in thier lives. I always thought people would man up to thier actions and just be like “yeah I screwed up” but nope, quite the contrary. Back to your point though. I do agree that being in shape and physically commanding respect is a huge plus. But using your brain and staying calm under pressure trumps that hands down. Experience helps communicate with people better than any sort of training you can receive.

 

[Mike41090]

I agree with you to an extent.... the thing is, it takes ATLEAST a few years in my opinion to figure out how to be very good at talking with people when you are a police officer. And I’m not talking about having an average conversation with someone like yourself. I’m talking about someone who is mentally ill, emotionally unstable, or literally just committed a crime and KNOW they are about to be locked up. Because those are the tough jobs that can be pressure cookers because you are not sure what this person is capable of. There are two things I focus on all the time, that I think are absolutely PARAMOUNT in policing in regards to dealing with the public. Verbal judo and tactics. De escalation is key as well. I do agree with you that some officers make it worse, even the majority to be honest don’t have a clue and escalate the situation. But trust me when I say this. It is not easy whatsoever to become good at talking to people in high stress situations as a police officer. Usually when I fail to hit the sweet spot with an emotionally disturbed person, I’ll just take a step back and have the officer next to me give a go at him (calming him/her down). Working as a team is the best way to handle jobs and I can’t stress this enough. A lot of cops these days think they can do it on their own (usually because they have more TIME on the job then other officers, or they simply do no not want to look incompetent in front of co workers). Slightly off topic but what I find fascinating is that every time someone gets lodged into a cell for a crime they committed, do you want to know what they say? “I DIDNT DO ANYTHING WRONG. Happens 99 percent of the time even when you have them dead to rights on surveillance footage and victim/witness statements. And this even applies to people who have a bad night, slip up and get arrested for the first time in thier lives. I always thought people would man up to thier actions and just be like “yeah I screwed up” but nope, quite the contrary. Back to your point though. I do agree that being in shape and physically commanding respect is a huge plus. But using your brain and staying calm under pressure trumps that hands down. Experience helps communicate with people better than any sort of training you can receive.

The way I see it. There’s only some officers that are very good in tense situations. If you only took those officers and got rid of the rest, there would literally be any police officers at all. And even those officers who are good in tense situations are t perfect so it would be inevitable just by the sheer numbers of police/civilian interactions for something to eventually go wrong again and become another Gardner/Floyd video. It’s just a matter of time in my opinion, especially with everyone on the lookout to capture that next video in essence.

 

[RangerMIke]

The way I see it. There’s only some officers that are very good in tense situations. If you only took those officers and got rid of the rest, there would literally be any police officers at all. And even those officers who are good in tense situations are t perfect so it would be inevitable just by the sheer numbers of police/civilian interactions for something to eventually go wrong again and become another Gardner/Floyd video. It’s just a matter of time in my opinion, especially with everyone on the lookout to capture that next video in essence.

Good point. first I think the biggest problem with policing in the US is that there are not enough police, and that they can not attract the kinds of quality people in law enforcement because the pay, and long hours, due to shortage, is too long. So you end up bringing in people that are not well suited to the job then 'hope' they develop into quality officers. Back when I was a kid and saw a squad car or had a situation where the police were involved, you ALWAYS had an older seasoned cop, and a younger officer that was on the job learning... you just do not see that much anymore. Being able to deal with stressful confrontational situations comes with practice and the best way to learn is from an effective quality mentor.

Another problem, which really isn't the fault of individual cops, is that their priorities are set by political leadership which may or may not be aligned with protecting and serving the public. Just this morning... I was driving into work and at a major intersection the traffic lights were out... it was a snared and dangerous mess... took me 20 minutes to get thorough that. Then not even a mile down the road, there was a check point set up ticketing people with expired brake tags... I am sure that the cops would have much rather been at the intersection directing traffic... you know... actually helping people... but the city needs ticket revenue... and that stupid check point was a priority that morning.

Cities have turned law-enforcement into tax collectors, so people do not see the police as a value added service, but just one more thing that makes their lives a little more difficult. In my home city of New Orleans, 75% of all murders go unsolved... car break-ins and thief is RAMPANT... and almost completely out of control... but godd@mnit.... if you park on the wrong side of the road, or are 5 minutes late to the parking meter, or if your tail light happens to go out and you don't know about it... you're getting a fvcking ticket. And if you are a victim of a crime, you're going to have to wait an hour for a cop to show up.

Regrettably, I can honestly say that in the last 20 years, I have never had any positive interaction with the police... NONE. I had a bike stolen and when I reported it the police I got b1tched out by the officer for owning such a nice bike. I have more stories, but don't want to post a wall of text... But I will share this one.

I was arrested a few years back under suspicion of DUI. What happened was it was late and I was driving home from work... I drove through a dust cloud and dirt got in my contacts... so a pulled off to the side of the road to try and rest my eyes and get the dirt out since I didn't have anything with me to wash it out with. Well I fell asleep... A cop comes by and bangs on my window, He has me get out, dance around doing sobriety tests, checking my documentation. Anyway I get cuffed and hauled into the precinct station. I do some more sobriety tests dancing around, about 3 different cops came in checking my eyes... more dancing around walking lines... standing on one foot.... they said they didn't see any indications... so I volunteered to take a sobriety test... and I had to correct the officer who said "If you don't take the test we are going to suspend your license for 6 months." I said, he was wrong, my license will only be suspended if I am otherwise found not-guilty... and since you don't have any evidence... I will not be suspended... but if this gets me home sooner.. fine. .000 BAL.... but that wasn't enough, they wanted to do a blood test... which I already again volunteers for... waited around sitting in handcuffs for 3 hours waiting for the results to come back. Well.... they came back and arrested me... took me down to central lock-up and booked me, (drug test was apparently clean but I didn't learn that until later). NO one told me what I was arrested for... I had no idea why I was in jail. I called my lawyer, and he came out and posted my bail ($17,000 don't get me started on why the fvck that was so high) and it was only then that I knew I had been arrested for not having a valid driver's license. I told my lawyer that I gave them my license when I was taken in... and that it was indeed valid... he told me that Cops here do that sh1t all the time, they will just say you didn't give it too them so that they don't have to explain why you were arrested without any evidence for DUI.

Anyway I was ready to go to war over this, but my lawyer, while willing to take my money, said there was no way to win this, and even if we did and got a monetary judgement from a city, the city is broke and we would have to wait behind $25 million in judgements already on the books for a city that can not pay. So I settled for having the fine waved but continued to insist I didn't give them my license, and paid my lawyer for doing that... so I still lost about $1,000 for his services. Now if this can happen to a middle aged white man, wearing a suit, driving a $40,000 Audi... what fvcking chance in hell does a black teen age kid, living in the projects with his single mother have.... that poor b@sterd would have been sitting in jail for God knows how long, since he couldn't make bail, waiting on a public defender to get around to him... and would have been mixed in with really horrible people. And people wonder why innocent people run from the cops.

 

[Mike41090]

Good point. first I think the biggest problem with policing in the US is that there are not enough police, and that they can not attract the kinds of quality people in law enforcement because the pay, and long hours, due to shortage, is too long. So you end up bringing in people that are not well suited to the job then 'hope' they develop into quality officers. Back when I was a kid and saw a squad car or had a situation where the police were involved, you ALWAYS had an older seasoned cop, and a younger officer that was on the job learning... you just do not see that much anymore. Being able to deal with stressful confrontational situations comes with practice and the best way to learn is from an effective quality mentor.

Another problem, which really isn't the fault of individual cops, is that their priorities are set by political leadership which may or may not be aligned with protecting and serving the public. Just this morning... I was driving into work and at a major intersection the traffic lights were out... it was a snared and dangerous mess... took me 20 minutes to get thorough that. Then not even a mile down the road, there was a check point set up ticketing people with expired brake tags... I am sure that the cops would have much rather been at the intersection directing traffic... you know... actually helping people... but the city needs ticket revenue... and that stupid check point was a priority that morning.

Cities have turned law-enforcement into tax collectors, so people do not see the police as a value added service, but just one more thing that makes their lives a little more difficult. In my home city of New Orleans, 75% of all murders go unsolved... car break-ins and thief is RAMPANT... and almost completely out of control... but godd@mnit.... if you park on the wrong side of the road, or are 5 minutes late to the parking meter, or if your tail light happens to go out and you don't know about it... you're getting a fvcking ticket. And if you are a victim of a crime, you're going to have to wait an hour for a cop to show up.

Regrettably, I can honestly say that in the last 20 years, I have never had any positive interaction with the police... NONE. I had a bike stolen and when I reported it the police I got b1tched out by the officer for owning such a nice bike. I have more stories, but don't want to post a wall of text... But I will share this one.

I was arrested a few years back under suspicion of DUI. What happened was it was late and I was driving home from work... I drove through a dust cloud and dirt got in my contacts... so a pulled off to the side of the road to try and rest my eyes and get the dirt out since I didn't have anything with me to wash it out with. Well I fell asleep... A cop comes by and bangs on my window, He has me get out, dance around doing sobriety tests, checking my documentation. Anyway I get cuffed and hauled into the precinct station. I do some more sobriety tests dancing around, about 3 different cops came in checking my eyes... more dancing around walking lines... standing on one foot.... they said they didn't see any indications... so I volunteered to take a sobriety test... and I had to correct the officer who said "If you don't take the test we are going to suspend your license for 6 months." I said, he was wrong, my license will only be suspended if I am otherwise found not-guilty... and since you don't have any evidence... I will not be suspended... but if this gets me home sooner.. fine. .000 BAL.... but that wasn't enough, they wanted to do a blood test... which I already again volunteers for... waited around sitting in handcuffs for 3 hours waiting for the results to come back. Well.... they came back and arrested me... took me down to central lock-up and booked me, (drug test was apparently clean but I didn't learn that until later). NO one told me what I was arrested for... I had no idea why I was in jail. I called my lawyer, and he came out and posted my bail ($17,000 don't get me started on why the fvck that was so high) and it was only then that I knew I had been arrested for not having a valid driver's license. I told my lawyer that I gave them my license when I was taken in... and that it was indeed valid... he told me that Cops here do that sh1t all the time, they will just say you didn't give it too them so that they don't have to explain why you were arrested without any evidence for DUI.

Anyway I was ready to go to war over this, but my lawyer, while willing to take my money, said there was no way to win this, and even if we did and got a monetary judgement from a city, the city is broke and we would have to wait behind $25 million in judgements already on the books for a city that can not pay. So I settled for having the fine waved but continued to insist I didn't give them my license, and paid my lawyer for doing that... so I still lost about $1,000 for his services. Now if this can happen to a middle aged white man, wearing a suit, driving a $40,000 Audi... what fvcking chance in hell does a black teen age kid, living in the projects with his single mother have.... that poor b@sterd would have been sitting in jail for God knows how long, since he couldn't make bail, waiting on a public defender to get around to him... and would have been mixed in with really horrible people. And people wonder why innocent people run from the cops.

Wow, that’s a pretty messed up situation to be in. And I can completely hear where your coming from. The city that I live in, what you went through was more present from 90’s up until 2010 for sure considering the zero tolerance policing where literally everyone goes to jail for situations like that. It’s this zero tolerance policing that makes a lot of these minority communities especially in my city have a chip on their shoulder about cops. But here’s a huge misconception I have found out about minority neighborhoods in my opinion. The majority of the residents actually want the police there. Almost everyone is friendly when passing by and even chat you up. It’s almost the same people involved in 911 situations day in and day out. It’s always shocking getting a call and not recognizing who we see at these jobs. And those are the people that call 911 and when you show up cause a ruckus and then say “**** off, we don’t need police here”... I just sit there like umm ok you did just call us here (and every other day). Mob mentality is a huge problem in these neighborhoods. Because you can talk to a guy with a rap sheet out the door, man to man, and he’s actually kinda chill. But if his buddy comes by or simply passes us on the street, his attitude simply flips a script. It’s kinda sad to be honest but that’s how most people in these neighborhoods are. I always tell myself in regards to the hate these neighborhoods have towards cops: and I don’t mean to sound corny, but Deep in these peoples hearts, they know what is right and what is wrong and they are deeply blinded by thier pride to there neighborhoods. They are proud to be from the projects and the lifestyle it represents, but deep down and behind closed doors (1v1 convo I just explained), they despise it and want something more for themselves but are trapped. That’s why I sympathize, because there are TONS of people in the hood who do not know there fathers and whose family members are junkies. Like you can’t even have a more ****ed up family life even if you tried. And all the teenage guys at 16,17,18 years old are already fathers to children with different women. It’s mind boggling and puts thier future in stone for constant failure. I do not believe in de funding police(knee jerk reaction by politicians giving into whoever screams and jumps up and down the loudest), But I STRONGLY believe in getting the proper services in these bad neighborhoods to not repeat the cycle. Give these people something they are frightened to lose, like every other hard working person has.

 

[RangerMIke]

@Mike41090 I actually grew up in a black neighborhood ... Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, I was raised by my Grandfather that had lived in that place since the 1930s back then it was a middle class white neighborhood, and he just didn't want to move. Almost all my friends were black as a kid, and I actually went to an inner-city school that was 75-85% black.

And your assessment of attitude is 100% accurate. But back then (the mid 70s) we actually had cops assigned to our area. There were three, but the only one I remember was Officer Jake, since he worked the day shift and I saw him all the time. He was a Sergeant and everybody knew him... I remember watching a movie back in the 80s called "Colors", and the character portrayed by Duvall looked and acted JUST LIKE Officer Jake. They could have based that character on him. He made a really effort to connect with people, and he always had some new young cop he in tow... But Officer Jake was in charge. One time I remember sitting in Han's Barber shop where a lot of local men would just hang out... and Officer Jake walked in with his latest protege, and all the men were saying "Hey Officer Jake... looks like you got a new one!" then he introduced the new guy to the group and sat down and built rapport with the group.

When the women on the block saw us kids doing something stupid, they would yell at us, "You better stop that or I'm calling Officer Jake!" They didn't say they were calling the police... law-enforcement them was very personal and built on relationships. Another difference I saw is that frequently Officer Jake just would not arrest people... if it was some kind of dispute... he would try and settle it without hauling someone in. Once me and a couple of friends were tossing rocks at an abandoned building trying to break windows... it was stupid kid stuff, and hell half the windows were already broken out anyway... He just drove up and said "Boys... get in the car!" We pilled in and he took us back to our parents, and told us that the next time he saw us, he wanted us to give him an apology letter to the owner. I wrote that letter and kept it on me for a couple of weeks, until I saw him again. I'm sure he just tossed it in the trash, because I'm not sure anyone actually owned that building. But the man actually commanded respect.

When we had a serious crime that had to be investigated, no one would talk to the detectives, but would sidle up to Office Jake and tell him what they knew. Once he had a black partner... but no one really trusted him... but they did trust Officer Jake... they wouldn't talk to him unless Office Jake was around.... it took a while before anyone would trust completely any partner he had along.

We REALLY need to get back to that... because it makes a world of difference.

 

[Mike41090]

@Mike41090 I actually grew up in a black neighborhood ... Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, I was raised by my Grandfather that had lived in that place since the 1930s back then it was a middle class white neighborhood, and he just didn't want to move. Almost all my friends were black as a kid, and I actually went to an inner-city school that was 75-85% black.

And your assessment of attitude is 100% accurate. But back then (the mid 70s) we actually had cops assigned to our area. There were three, but the only one I remember was Officer Jake, since he worked the day shift and I saw him all the time. He was a Sergeant and everybody knew him... I remember watching a movie back in the 80s called "Colors", and the character portrayed by Duvall looked and acted JUST LIKE Officer Jake. They could have based that character on him. He made a really effort to connect with people, and he always had some new young cop he in tow... But Officer Jake was in charge. One time I remember sitting in Han's Barber shop where a lot of local men would just hang out... and Officer Jake walked in with his latest protege, and all the men were saying "Hey Officer Jake... looks like you got a new one!" then he introduced the new guy to the group and sat down and built rapport with the group.

When the women on the block saw us kids doing something stupid, they would yell at us, "You better stop that or I'm calling Officer Jake!" They didn't say they were calling the police... law-enforcement them was very personal and built on relationships. Another difference I saw is that frequently Officer Jake just would not arrest people... if it was some kind of dispute... he would try and settle it without hauling someone in. Once me and a couple of friends were tossing rocks at an abandoned building trying to break windows... it was stupid kid stuff, and hell half the windows were already broken out anyway... He just drove up and said "Boys... get in the car!" We pilled in and he took us back to our parents, and told us that the next time he saw us, he wanted us to give him an apology letter to the owner. I wrote that letter and kept it on me for a couple of weeks, until I saw him again. I'm sure he just tossed it in the trash, because I'm not sure anyone actually owned that building. But the man actually commanded respect.

When we had a serious crime that had to be investigated, no one would talk to the detectives, but would sidle up to Office Jake and tell him what they knew. Once he had a black partner... but no one really trusted him... but they did trust Officer Jake... they wouldn't talk to him unless Office Jake was around.... it took a while before anyone would trust completely any partner he had along.

We REALLY need to get back to that... because it makes a world of difference.

Very much agree with you on that. I actually noticed that exactly to a tee that some people we ALWAYS deal with only feel comfortable talking to certain cops about what’s going on in the neighborhood. It’s the cops these people talk to on a first name basis. The thing with that style though it’s kind of like a double edged sword. Your talking to these people... some are normal (which is cool), but others are straight up drug dealers with robberies and even a murder or two under there belt. I have had these convos with drug dealers on the corner. (was extremely hesitant at first but a senior cop told me to stop sitting in the car and interact with them rather than babysitting them from committing a crime). I got outta the car and straight up just shot the **** with a bunch of them, talking about basketball, the neighborhood crackheads and what not lol and actually enjoyed the convo and they know who I am and help me keep the corner clean which I couldn’t believe. Was actually blown away by it. The teenagers are the disrespectful ones (in regards to hot corners). Ya gotta chat up the 20 something year olds because they kinda get it, in a sense. What I mean by double edged sword, is that I’m chatting these people up and building a bit of trust and some sort of relationship. But I know that if they had the opportunity, they would rob me straight outta my shorts if I wasn’t a cop and the opportunity arose. And to top it off, they’re selling drugs and everything under the sun. So in reality, it’s kinda like having a fake convo in a sense because while we are talking about this and that, he knows I know he’s a drug dealer and commits robberies on the reg. But the bottom line, like you said, is getting to know them and vice versa. Every time I roll up to them just to see how things are (generally speaking) the young guys on the corner don’t grill me or have some wise ass comment, or even drink straight up in front of you lol, because they respect the guy I’m usually cool with and he “looks” out for me in regard to which cops they **** with. I’m telling ya, people like that on the corner can legit SMELL fear underneath that uniform, you can feel it and sense it. They know who to mess with. And they push your buttons by smoking joints, drinking beers and even starting fights in front of you. All for the sole purpose to show thier boys and people passing by (neighborhood gossip) that they don’t give a ****. Stuff like this makes me tell the new guys I train to NEVER be afraid to talk to anyone on the street, a passerby, or even a dam librarian. It helps ya stay sharp.

 

[Mike41090]

Very much agree with you on that. I actually noticed that exactly to a tee that some people we ALWAYS deal with only feel comfortable talking to certain cops about what’s going on in the neighborhood. It’s the cops these people talk to on a first name basis. The thing with that style though it’s kind of like a double edged sword. Your talking to these people... some are normal (which is cool), but others are straight up drug dealers with robberies and even a murder or two under there belt. I have had these convos with drug dealers on the corner. (was extremely hesitant at first but a senior cop told me to stop sitting in the car and interact with them rather than babysitting them from committing a crime). I got outta the car and straight up just shot the **** with a bunch of them, talking about basketball, the neighborhood crackheads and what not lol and actually enjoyed the convo and they know who I am and help me keep the corner clean which I couldn’t believe. Was actually blown away by it. The teenagers are the disrespectful ones (in regards to hot corners). Ya gotta chat up the 20 something year olds because they kinda get it, in a sense. What I mean by double edged sword, is that I’m chatting these people up and building a bit of trust and some sort of relationship. But I know that if they had the opportunity, they would rob me straight outta my shorts if I wasn’t a cop and the opportunity arose. And to top it off, they’re selling drugs and everything under the sun. So in reality, it’s kinda like having a fake convo in a sense because while we are talking about this and that, he knows I know he’s a drug dealer and commits robberies on the reg. But the bottom line, like you said, is getting to know them and vice versa. Every time I roll up to them just to see how things are (generally speaking) the young guys on the corner don’t grill me or have some wise ass comment, or even drink straight up in front of you lol, because they respect the guy I’m usually cool with and he “looks” out for me in regard to which cops they **** with. I’m telling ya, people like that on the corner can legit SMELL fear underneath that uniform, you can feel it and sense it. They know who to mess with. And they push your buttons by smoking joints, drinking beers and even starting fights in front of you. All for the sole purpose to show thier boys and people passing by (neighborhood gossip) that they don’t give a ****. Stuff like this makes me tell the new guys I train to NEVER be afraid to talk to anyone on the street, a passerby, or even a dam librarian. It helps ya stay sharp.

By having these convos with people in the neighborhood as well, I always think that if something god forbid happened to me, and I was in trouble, they would think back to us chatting it up and would help me out or call for help. That’s always etched in my mind as well when I talk to people in the neighborhood. Because **** does go haywire all the time, sometimes there’s backup, other times, not so much. And with everything going on, ya always gotta be on the lookout for that one in a million mentally ill dude who just wants to take out a cop and be a “martyr” in his own head. Because that’s what happens during times like these. Emotions are high for everyone right now

 

[RangerMIke]

By having these convos with people in the neighborhood as well, I always think that if something god forbid happened to me, and I was in trouble, they would think back to us chatting it up and would help me out or call for help. That’s always etched in my mind as well when I talk to people in the neighborhood. Because **** does go haywire all the time, sometimes there’s backup, other times, not so much. And with everything going on, ya always gotta be on the lookout for that one in a million mentally ill dude who just wants to take out a cop and be a “martyr” in his own head. Because that’s what happens during times like these. Emotions are high for everyone right now

I'm pretty sure you are right.

There was this punk in the neighborhood everyone called "Mookie". He was dealing, and most people knew it, but it was all small time pot stuff, so no-one really paid much attention to him, but he had a big mouth on him. As a kid he used to scare the crap out of me.... Anytime I saw him and I was with my friends he used to yell out at my friends, "Why are you hanging out with the white 'motherf**ker, you better do something about that or I will!" He didn't like any cops, and wasn't actually from New Orleans... I'm really not sure how he ended up in the Lower 9th or where he came from but he was around from about he time I was 9 to 11.

Well one day, apparently he did something worst that just selling dope, I never found out what it was, but Sgt Jake arrested him... he was gone for about a week I suppose and the word on the street was that he planned to "busta cap in Jake", started waving around and showing off a gun he said he was going to use. I never actually heard any of this or saw the gun, since I stayed as far away from him as I could. But this was getting around.

Apparently, someone might have actually believed he might do this, and Mookie ended up dead. Shot in the head. I don't know for sure if it was because he was threatening to kill Officer Jake, but I do know that no one was comfortable about the idea that this jack@ss was going around saying he wanted to kill him.

 

[Mike41090]

I'm pretty sure you are right.

There was this punk in the neighborhood everyone called "Mookie". He was dealing, and most people knew it, but it was all small time pot stuff, so no-one really paid much attention to him, but he had a big mouth on him. As a kid he used to scare the crap out of me.... Anytime I saw him and I was with my friends he used to yell out at my friends, "Why are you hanging out with the white 'motherf**ker, you better do something about that or I will!" He didn't like any cops, and wasn't actually from New Orleans... I'm really not sure how he ended up in the Lower 9th or where he came from but he was around from about he time I was 9 to 11.

Well one day, apparently he did something worst that just selling dope, I never found out what it was, but Sgt Jake arrested him... he was gone for about a week I suppose and the word on the street was that he planned to "busta cap in Jake", started waving around and showing off a gun he said he was going to use. I never actually heard any of this or saw the gun, since I stayed as far away from him as I could. But this was getting around.

Apparently, someone might have actually believed he might do this, and Mookie ended up dead. Shot in the head. I don't know for sure if it was because he was threatening to kill Officer Jake, but I do know that no one was comfortable about the idea that this jack@ss was going around saying he wanted to kill him.

Back in the 70’s and 80’s, who knows. Defintely more of a Wild West back then in regards to stuff like that.

 

[Mike41090]

Back in the 70’s and 80’s, who knows. Defintely more of a Wild West back then in regards to stuff like that.

Even the 90’s as well

 

[MrWood]

every person I knew who went on to become a police officer in America...
was picked on and bullied in high-school.

 

[oc16]

every person I knew who went on to become a police officer in America...
was picked on and bullied in high-school.

True to a point. It is also the opposite. Guys who were the "Alphas" or Top Dogs in high school and college and want to keep it that way.

Alot of cops I know were football players in high school and college.

 

[Spaz]

@Mike41090 I actually grew up in a black neighborhood ... Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, I was raised by my Grandfather that had lived in that place since the 1930s back then it was a middle class white neighborhood, and he just didn't want to move. Almost all my friends were black as a kid, and I actually went to an inner-city school that was 75-85% black.

And your assessment of attitude is 100% accurate. But back then (the mid 70s) we actually had cops assigned to our area. There were three, but the only one I remember was Officer Jake, since he worked the day shift and I saw him all the time. He was a Sergeant and everybody knew him... I remember watching a movie back in the 80s called "Colors", and the character portrayed by Duvall looked and acted JUST LIKE Officer Jake. They could have based that character on him. He made a really effort to connect with people, and he always had some new young cop he in tow... But Officer Jake was in charge. One time I remember sitting in Han's Barber shop where a lot of local men would just hang out... and Officer Jake walked in with his latest protege, and all the men were saying "Hey Officer Jake... looks like you got a new one!" then he introduced the new guy to the group and sat down and built rapport with the group.

When the women on the block saw us kids doing something stupid, they would yell at us, "You better stop that or I'm calling Officer Jake!" They didn't say they were calling the police... law-enforcement them was very personal and built on relationships. Another difference I saw is that frequently Officer Jake just would not arrest people... if it was some kind of dispute... he would try and settle it without hauling someone in. Once me and a couple of friends were tossing rocks at an abandoned building trying to break windows... it was stupid kid stuff, and hell half the windows were already broken out anyway... He just drove up and said "Boys... get in the car!" We pilled in and he took us back to our parents, and told us that the next time he saw us, he wanted us to give him an apology letter to the owner. I wrote that letter and kept it on me for a couple of weeks, until I saw him again. I'm sure he just tossed it in the trash, because I'm not sure anyone actually owned that building. But the man actually commanded respect.

When we had a serious crime that had to be investigated, no one would talk to the detectives, but would sidle up to Office Jake and tell him what they knew. Once he had a black partner... but no one really trusted him... but they did trust Officer Jake... they wouldn't talk to him unless Office Jake was around.... it took a while before anyone would trust completely any partner he had along.

We REALLY need to get back to that... because it makes a world of difference.

When a man has been to war and spilled ENOUGH BLOOD, he knows that violence only begets more violence.

And he also knows the cycle never truly ends, until someone in authority and who has sufficient respect steps in to diffuse tough situations through effective diplomacy.

For police officers, its always better to be an "officer jake".

Even for a manager, it's always better to be "officer jake", productivity will increase, which means level of service will increase which turn means more business or success.

 

[Xenom0rph]

Bump.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

When I was a kid... all the police in my city were big, fit, strong and imposing. Now it is a rare thing when I see a cop whose @ss I could not kick in a fair fight. Many are weak fat @sses. It is hard to command respect when you look like the Pillsbury doe-boy or a Munchkin.

One of the reasons we have so many police shootings in the USA is because way too many policemen in our country do not have the ability to command respect with their presence nor the physical strength to enforce their will. Respect is not gifted... it is earned... just putting on a uniform does not mean you should automatically be respected. Physical fitness and physical standards should be screening criteria for police.

I mean half the reason why these people aren't afraid of doing things is because they know all they have to do is run and those fat cops are not going to be able to run after them...

 

[logicallefty]

I mean half the reason why these people aren't afraid of doing things is because they know all they have to do is run and those fat cops are not going to be able to run after them...

As a police officer we are trained to take quite a bit of verbal abuse in a situation like that. Where we can take action is if the verbal abuse is interfering with an investigation we are trying to actively work, or, if people touch us at all. If someone so much as puts the tip of their pinkie on my arm in an insulting and provoking manor I am allowed to remove it by any means necessary and if they touch it a second time I will arrest them. If the touch my firearm i will arrest after the first time. But if it’s just verbal then they can call me anything they want and I’m expected to take it. I’ve never been verbally attacked by anybody who wasn’t under arrest. I have arrested people for obstructing my investigation but they were never directly attacking me. Just upset in general. And once they’re in handcuffs every noise they make you consider no different than a barking dog or nagging wife that you tune out LOL

 

[Xenom0rph]

As a police officer we are trained to take quite a bit of verbal abuse in a situation like that. Where we can take action is if the verbal abuse is interfering with an investigation we are trying to actively work, or, if people touch us at all. If someone so much as puts the tip of their pinkie on my arm in an insulting and provoking manor I am allowed to remove it by any means necessary and if they touch it a second time I will arrest them. If the touch my firearm i will arrest after the first time. But if it’s just verbal then they can call me anything they want and I’m expected to take it. I’ve never been verbally attacked by anybody who wasn’t under arrest. I have arrested people for obstructing my investigation but they were never directly attacking me. Just upset in general. And once they’re in handcuffs every noise they make you consider no different than a barking dog or nagging wife that you tune out LOL

I gotta ask an honest question: in that particular situation, what could have that short police officer have done besides walk away?

She dissed him, but she didn't threaten him so he doesn't have a reason to arrest her.

If he had gotten into a verbal altercation it would have only encouraged more women to join in and verbally abuse him and the situation would escalate.

Were there any other options?

I've actually encountered short cops before. One particular short cop (I swear I'm not making this up) had to have been about 5'4"....

....dude was trying to instigate trouble with everyone in a gas station because he knew he could hide behind his badge.... guys like that I have no respect for....

....but this particular officer I kinda feel bad for....