... yeah, I'm definitely in the more-nervous-around-cops-than-anything crowd. Criminal's probably only after my money, maybe break a leg or something. Cop goes bad, I'm probably either dead or framed for something, and either way my life is effectively over -- and even better, at least the criminal would probably end up in jail for it. Cop's probably going to go free for putting me in the grave, jail, or hospital. Maybe even get a raise or promotion, a bit down the line.
M'also in the states, though, and have had family in politics. Seen too much bad news and know of too much back-room stuff to be particularly comfortable around law enforcement. Bit too much institutional corruption, at this point.
This is my perspective also.
With a criminal, you have at least some chance of negotiation or self-defense.
In a confrontation with a cop, you have zero chance of either. They want absolute and immediate submission to their authority, and anything else results in escalation of force. Police nationwide are trained to behave according to the
Use of Force Continuum, which is basically three strikes and you're dead. Strike one is verbal command/warning. Strike two is non-lethal force/pain compliance. Strike three is lethal force. Once again, this is how they are trained to behave in any encounter, even if the suspect they're interacting with is unarmed and non-aggressive. So in the wrong situation, it doesn't even matter if you're dealing with a good or bad cop, if they're acting by the book. A good cop will still end up severely injuring or killing, for example, someone who is unable to comply with orders because they're very obviously having a seizure.
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Topic: Things that made you sad today thread. (Read 9767591 times)