I grew up with cops in my family. We have family and close friends that are cops, CIA, FBI, and Secret Service. I've probably done 50 ride alongs over the years.. My favorite tv show is Live PD.Let me answer this one:
Having said all that; I don't think the average cop is better or worse than the average doctor or plumber or fire fighter. In my personal life, I wouldn't trust a random cop any more (or less) than I would a veterinarian or financial planner, etc. They're just men and women like the rest of my neighbors.
They're not gods. They're more likely to have been in the military, and and probably have more of a sense of service than the average person. Sometimes they do heroic things, sometimes they screw up. There are certainly racist cops, just like there are racists plumbers, etc. And if it shows up in their job, they should be fired on the spot.
But I certainly don't buy the narrative that the police are a bunch of racists murderers. If they were, wouldn't more black people be shot by the police than white people? Most years, about twice as many white people are killed by police officers than blacks.
And I find it ironic that (generally) the same people driving the narrative that the police are racists and can't be trusted, are the same ones who want to take firearms from civilians and argue that only the police should have assault rifles, etc. Something there doesn't add up.
But unfortunately, there's a lot of political capital to be gained from division, identity politics and pushing the "police are out to get you" narrative.
So, I don't see it going away any time soon. Originally Posted by wfguy71
Caucasian people were the most killed by the police. That would make sense because the population of America is comprised by white, a growing Latino population and so forth.
What people neglect to understand is that black people make up 12 to 13 percent of the USA's population. 24-26% of people killed by the police were black. So by per capita, blacks are being shot twice more than the population. Black neighborhoods are policed 7x harder even though neighborhoods produce the same levels and amounts of crime.
Just recently, I came out of my job late night and entered my car and sat in it while I checked my phone. A flashlight had shined in my face literally two minutes later as an officer informed me that my vehicle had been sitting in the parking lot for awhile and was reported. I calmly stated to this officer that I worked here and with my hands in my lap, rolled my shoulder slowly to even show my workshirt to prove my story. The officer apologized and called in to report everything was clear. I look back to see his vehicle cut me off, another vehicle down in the parking lot and 3rd squad car across the parking lot.
We can disagree on Kaepernick, Nike and discernable levels on police brutality. As a black man, I'm not only scared of the police but truly believe we are getting exterminated legally while unarmed.
To tie it altogether, a person was killed in their habitat by a member of law enforcement over a case of a "mistaken address" and yet, she doesn't have the decency to make amends by pleading guilty or apologize to the family and to top it off, the law enforcement agencies searched the victim's residence. My god people, each and everyone of us should be not only alarmed but also angry and outraged.