just to be clear...
Sep. 26th, 2011 10:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drewkittyI am not a police apologist. I am a police realist.
This means recognizing some key facts:
1) Police are people too. They put their pants on one leg at a time, love their families, screw up sometimes, and don't want to die.
2) The increasing separation between the police and the population they serve should alarm two groups: the police, and everyone else. The police are outnumbered on average 2,000 to 1 and utterly depend on community support. The community needs the police and is paying for them.
3) The police are often put into the position of being tools of the political machine. They don't like it. They especially don't like it when pushed into no-win positions between politicians and demonstrators. They are not allowed to beat the politicians . . .
4) Like dogs, police chase and bark. If pushed, they fight, and not fair.
5) Just who do you think is writing the police report? You?
6) The most damaging thing the police can do to any community is to stop doing their job: just park it, or drive around a bit and not see anything.
7) 5% of officers generate 40% of arrests and 20% of citizen complaints. 5% of criminals generate 40% of violent crimes and over 50% of homicides.
8) A Taser is a less lethal weapon used to save lives. It is not a pain compliance tool and it is not a way to assert ego. Assuming the ACLU is right about every Taser death, the odds of dying from being shot with a Taser are about 1/2 of 1%. The odds of dying from being shot are about 35%. Take your pick.
9) If you go hands on with someone fifty times, and your odds of getting hurt each time are 1%, your overall odds of suffering an injury in those fifty times is 40%.
10) To quote Heinlein, "A wounded policeman is far, far more dangerous than a wounded lion."
This means recognizing some key facts:
1) Police are people too. They put their pants on one leg at a time, love their families, screw up sometimes, and don't want to die.
2) The increasing separation between the police and the population they serve should alarm two groups: the police, and everyone else. The police are outnumbered on average 2,000 to 1 and utterly depend on community support. The community needs the police and is paying for them.
3) The police are often put into the position of being tools of the political machine. They don't like it. They especially don't like it when pushed into no-win positions between politicians and demonstrators. They are not allowed to beat the politicians . . .
4) Like dogs, police chase and bark. If pushed, they fight, and not fair.
5) Just who do you think is writing the police report? You?
6) The most damaging thing the police can do to any community is to stop doing their job: just park it, or drive around a bit and not see anything.
7) 5% of officers generate 40% of arrests and 20% of citizen complaints. 5% of criminals generate 40% of violent crimes and over 50% of homicides.
8) A Taser is a less lethal weapon used to save lives. It is not a pain compliance tool and it is not a way to assert ego. Assuming the ACLU is right about every Taser death, the odds of dying from being shot with a Taser are about 1/2 of 1%. The odds of dying from being shot are about 35%. Take your pick.
9) If you go hands on with someone fifty times, and your odds of getting hurt each time are 1%, your overall odds of suffering an injury in those fifty times is 40%.
10) To quote Heinlein, "A wounded policeman is far, far more dangerous than a wounded lion."
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no subject
Date: 2011-09-28 01:54 am (UTC)#3 is I suspect what's going on in NY...
.. and with the police given the load of having to handle homelessness, mental disorders and other things that have been removed from health - where they were before.
Tasers are a complicated thing but in brief - there have been many local problems with their use, with my own suspicion suggesting that the police in question have been ignoring their own safety manuals or not being trained in the first place.
The police I've known - were trained, and do pay attention. But exhausted people don't always.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-28 03:17 pm (UTC)http://www.edrants.com/occupy-wall-street-was-the-nypd-authorized-to-pepper-spray-peaceful-observers/
Oh, and they outed the officer, and apparently he's had use of force issues before in past demonstrations . . .
no subject
Date: 2011-09-30 04:42 am (UTC)Very interesting post here, though. Can't disagree with anything on your list.