A thread critical of LE (cops & prosecutors)

[AriGold]

Okay, this subject has come up and, a long time ago, Duchess suggested I start a thread about it. I want to be clear that I do not paint any one group of people with with one brush. I am an individualist and believe that everyone should be judged as an individual. In any group or institution, however, there can be a lot of pressure to conform and protect the group. It's a lot riskier for a cop to stand against corruption among police than it is for people in other professions. If the group happens to have a lot of Freemasons, that's another level of pressure to STFU about wrong doing.

So, I'm a Constitutionalist. I hold the founding principals of our country above all. I would never agree that trading liberty for security is a sound idea. It always leads to tyranny. Insecurity is the price of living in a free society.

I have never had a problem with a cop. I did have a Long Beach cop joke that he might shoot my dog as I walked down the sidewalk. By all rights, I should have been able to kick him in the balls for threatening us like that, but we all know how THAT would have turned out. Of course, I sucked it up and walked on. Hhe was able to get away with that shit because he was a cop, and he and his buddies all thought it was funny.

Because I'm particularly interested in the abuse and excesses of government (mostly at the federal level) and I see that as a threat to freedom, I take note at the militarization of police, police brutality, and the lack of accountability. I don't want to live in a police state, and I think we're headed in that direction. Lots of innocent people have been killed when the wrong houses have been raided (raided for crap like marijuana - a fucking PLANT!, no less). People have been tased for nothing more than "mouthing off" - IOW, in non threatening situations. Tasers CAN be lethal, too. Old people and little kids have been abused. Many, many, many innocent pets have been MURDERED. That last one makes me absolutely crazy. When I read these stories or see the videos all I can think of is how much I would like to shoot the asshole cowards who did it. OF COURSE, I NEVER WOULD. I don't want to go to prison.

Now, this is Lady Cop's place here. I respect and like her. I am not here to shit all over the carpets. This is a thread to CIVILLY discuss something very important, where we are fortunate enough to be able to have input from LC & Dick, two people who have been in LE. There may be others here, as well, but I'm too new to know. So, with that, here's a video (and I have LOTS more):

Youtube description:

This video shows a search warrant served by the Columbia Mo. police department. The cops bust in this guys house in the middle of the night and shoot his two dogs (one a pit bull that was caged in the kitchen and the other a Corgi) with children in the home. it turns out that rather than a big time drug dealer, this guy had a small pipe with some resin in it, a grinder, and what the cops here call "a small amount of marijuana" (meaning less than a few grams). We here in Comlumbia want everyone to know what kind of police department we have here, check out our "finest" in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbwSwvUaRqc

BTW, I cannot even watch that video, again. WAY to upsetting.

Terrible. I hate seeing instances where the execution of search/arrest warrants results in the execution of family pets.


There have been several cases here in DC of excessive force against animals.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...03938.html

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0610/746319.html

Totally unacceptable.