I guess you didn't read my previous post when I stated that I wasn't making a blanket statement directed at all LEOs.
Yeah, I did.
There are countless examples of LEO's covering up for other LEO's.
This is not a blanket statement towards all LEO's.
So, which is it? You can't say in one breath "There are countless examples of LEO's covering up for other LEO's" and than, say in another "This is not a blanket statement towards all LEO's."
What is your position on witnessing the unlawful use of deadly force? If a LEO executes an unarmed civilian, let's say in front of a CHL holder, do you feel that if that civilian is fearing for his life...he/she has the right to defend themselves against the officer...up to the use of lethal force if necessary?
That's a pretty far stretch, but I'll address it. "It depends." Does that person have all the facts in order to make the determination that an officer was "Executing an unarmed civilian?" Did the officer present himself as a direct threat for no reason to you, with the CCW permit and armed with your weapon? Were you in reasonable fear for your own life and had no other choice?
I think we've seen a fair share of examples where reporting through the proper channels has proven to be ineffective. While I don't think that means people should be taking matters into their own hands...I believe people have the RIGHT to take things into their own hands. This isn't a country where the Police were meant to rule with an iron fist, and where their word and actions are above reproach. If you think that this is what this country should be, perhaps you need to rethink the oaths that you took.
Do you understand the term "Good order and discipline?" If there were No law enforcement presence anywhere, what do you honestly would think this country or any country for matter would look like? I've said it before and I'll say it again. The streets are not a court of law. Just because YOU may think you are being treated unfairly, does not give you the right to resist and not comply. It's not a so called "Iron Fist" as you would call it and no one I knew of that was on shift with me or anyone else I knew for that matter, even today thinks they have one. And I have more friends in more departments in more states than I can count.
Excuses are like ass holes...If you can't handle what the job requires, or you can identify those that can't handle what the job requires...it's simple to quit/report etc. The problem is that the system doesn't support individuals to be peered out. So the slobs, crooks, shitbags...will work without impunity for as long as they can get away with it.
Wrong. You think a city or a town council wants a known liability on their payroll? The chief, deputy chiefs, watch commanders, supervisors, along with senior patrol officers doesn't and neither does anyone else for that matter. Some slide under the radar, but for the most part, I've seen many get their walking papers for even mundane nonsense, if it's been a reoccurring issue. Just because you don't know about it, or read about it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It does happen and more frequently than you realize.
You know what happens to an officer if he's up on the stand and either giving testimony or cross examined and it's been discovered he's perjured himself and lied under oath? He's done. For good. Know why? Every single trial lawyer across the country will know who you are from that point on. You lie about one thing, you'll lie about something else. You can't be trusted to tell the truth or provide credible testimony. No department will ever hire you again either. You've just tainted yourself for the rest of your life.
For some reason, you would be led to believe that officers can go unchecked and do stupid stuff and not be held accountable. The MSM and others would have you believe that, but that simply just isn't true.
If you use "Officer discretion," to violate a citizen's rights in the name of going home at night...you have no Honor. Period. Did I want to survive every mission/patrol? Absolutely. But don't think for a second that I wasn't fully prepared to die for the right cause. That is the meaning of sacrifice...and I would expect that you're fully cognizant of that truth.
Let me clarify a few things for you. First off, the meaning behind "Going home every night at the end of your shift.
Officers are taught and train in the "Escalation of Force" and "Use Of Force Continuum." Anytime any kind of force is used, whether it be O/C, Taser, Baton, Strong Hand etc, you have to fill out (At least most, if not all departments) a "Use Of Force" form and explain/articulate "Why."
Officers are also trained in the use of Deadly Force as well, learn it early on and continue to.
We are also trained in what's known as "Weapons Retention." The last thing an officer needs is to have their own service weapon used against them. And yes, many a LE Officer has died at the hands of their own gun. You go after my weapon and all bets are off. Period.
And as for going home each night, I'll give you a personal example.
One night when I was on patrol, a drop yard sent a silent alarm signal to the Central Station and I was dispatched on it as I was closest and other units were tied up with a traffic accident. I was familiar with this location as Hi Value items were being stolen from the containers and no one as of yet had been caught. (This later turned out to be an inside job)
I made my approach, blacked out without any backup, and asked if the Central Station had received any more alarm trips. I was told they were still receiving motion in the yard. I got out of my unit and made entry into the yard. I stopped for a few minutes in the dark, looking and listening. I then heard metal to metal contact, looked in that direction and saw a vague outline in the shadows of someone that appeared to be moving. I made a wide flanking approach to the rear of one row of the containers, and observed a large male climbing down from the back of one several containers away. I made contact with my dispatch, notified them what I had, re -requested backup and told them to "Step it up."
I stayed where I was at and he then began to move in my direction. Eventually, he was getting close enough where I had no choice at that point and lit him up with my maglite, announced who I was, not to make any sudden moves, and to keep his hands where I could see him. As I could now see him better, I knew who this individual was and his background. He was about 6' 8" and weighed in excess of 300 lbs. Now, I'm no small guy. I'm 6' 1" At the time, I weighed 220, and was ripped like a brick shit house. Even with that, I knew I had my hands full. He had a long RAP sheet, a history of resisting officers, had been O/C'd in the past and tasered, with little to no effect. It took several officers to take him down the last time he was arrested. This arrest would have made him a 3 time loser (Habitual felon) = a long sentence. He continued to walk towards me. I then drew down on him and told him "Stop now or I'll drop you right where you stand." "As big as you are, there's no jury in the world that will convict me based on your size and mine." I think he knew by the sound of my voice that I mean't business. I held him at gunpoint until I finally got my backup.
Moral? The only recourse I knew I had with this man was deadly force. If he had gotten my weapon, I have no doubt he would have used it against me. And chances are I would have been in the fight for my life.
I ain't scared of dying. What I am scared of is dying for no good reason when I would have had another choice within the law.
And as an officer, we don't use warning shots like you see in the movies. We are also taught when using deadly force, you don't shoot to wound, you shoot to stop the threat until they are no longer a threat.
It doesn't mean I wasn't willing to go into harm's way and take a round in the course of protecting someone. It also doesn't mean I'm going to "Violate a citizen's rights" in order to do so either. However, if you're looking or expecting perfection each and every time an officer across this country goes out on a call, maybe in a perfect world.
Cops are human. They will make mistakes, and sometimes they are big mistakes. I was taught early on that EVERYTHING YOU DO CAN BE A LIABILITY.
Now, let me address the other highlighted term.
Evidently, you don't understand the definition or meaning of the term "Officer discretion." Say you're flying down the Interstate, doing 73 in a 65 mph zone. I pull you over, check your tags, license, MVR, insurance and for any wants or warrants and everything comes back ship shape. In this instance, you've been a license holder for 25 years, never had a ticket, let alone any infractions or warnings. You were polite when I approached, had everything I asked for, didn't do or say anything dumb and had nothing illegal in plain view. Same when I came back. At this point, 9 times out of 10, I'd more than likely let you off with either a verbal or a written warning and you'd be on your way.
Now, let's change the dynamics a bit. On this stop, you don't have your seat belt fastened, and then, you begin to verbally cuss me out because it's "My fault" you were speeding, "I pay your salary with my taxes" etc etc. Again, when I run 27's, 28's and 29's, everything comes back the same as the first scenario. See where I'm going with this?
Same applies if I'm dispatched to a domestic call, and I come upon you exiting the house and you match the description of one of the persons present in the dwelling. I then do a stop and talk. I am going to question you, but first, for my own safety, I pat you down for any weapons. Based on my training, I feel a bag in your right pocket and ask you about it. You hesitate at first and ask you again what's in your pocket. You then fess up and tell me you have some dope on you and it's in your pocket.
I then place you in handcuffs and "Detain" you. Detaining someone doesn't mean you're under arrest or going to jail, it simply means for my safety and yours, until I'm done conducting my FI, you will be restrained. So, why are you in cuffs? Say there's someone inside, that has been assaulted no one knows about yet and you committed the crime. Well, at least I don't have to worry about you rabbitting at a full sprint away from me or having your hands free to break away from me or assault me.
However, in this case, you're not part of the problem, you just happen to be a 3rd party when all this happened. That bag you had on you earlier has less than a half oz. Based on your demeanor, I can either haul you off to jail or just let you go with a misdemeanor citation for possession, the cuffs come off and you're free to go.
The term "Officer Discretion" has absolutely nothing to do with corruption.
I agree to an extent. The media has absolutely had a negative impact when it comes to the separation of LE and the general population. BUT, various LE Agencies have definitely screwed the pooch more times than the media has. With everything going on...department's dirty laundry is getting aired out more than it usually would.
Interesting that you've brought up false media information etc...as attacks on Officers are one of them. There's currently an outcry about cops being targeted for "assassination." Don't get me wrong...I'm very much against any harm coming to our LEOs. However the statistics do not support the claim. Officer deaths via shooting are actually down in numbers.
And that's exactly what you see. You think a news station is going to headline everything an officer does in a positive light, those little things that no one else sees or is aware of or are they going to go full bore with "Officers assault citizen - citizen says he did nothing wrong" headline.
We had one local station who got a hold of MVR footage of a DWI stop in which the suspect was combative, did not comply, was O'C'd, still didn't comply, was tasered not once, but twice, with no effect and wound up fighting with 3 officers and eventually 5. Well, guess what? The station only showed this stellar individual fighting with the 5 officers and left out the first 5 minutes of the primary officer repeatedly asking to see the individual's drivers license. It also didn't show when this individual decided he was going to resist and grab the primary officer.
It took the FOP to get the rest of the tape released and shown to the public. (The "Rest of the story" as Paul Harvey would say)
Turns out, he had a revoked license (Lifetime suspension) a stolen .38 in the cab of his truck, thought he was a sovereign citizen and didn't have to comply with any of the officers commands. He also blew a .27.
And then, you have people in prominent positions propagating the same thing that is absolutely mind boggling.
Link
Along with hollywood, pro sports and congress doing the fucking "Hands up, don't shoot" BS and continually perpetuating it...... And to this day, you would think Brown was the hero and Officer Wilson was the criminal. Remember this - just because someone says it's so, doesn't mean it's so, unless and until it is backed up with facts and corroborated as such.
Dude...we've all got dead friends. You can try and use them as martyrs if you'd like, but you'll get no sympathy from me. No disrespect towards those men at all, and I think you're getting the impression that I am anti-cop. I'm not.
Martyrs? Really?
Trooper Ed Lowry - My kids and his played baseball together. We were also neighbors and he was well liked and respected within the community. Him and a deputy were both gunned down with an AK after stopping a vehicle that had been involved in a robbery in another state - too soon to know that piece of information when the vehicle was stopped initially. The Golphin brothers both laughed about it during their trial and showed absolutely no remorse for doing so.
Mark Renninger - A veteran of 2nd Ranger Bn. Gunned down and killed in ambush, along with 3 other officers in Seattle while they were in a coffee shop together. His wife was a dispatcher for his department and initially took the call until she broke down once she learned one of them was her husband.
Martin Lawing - Veteran of 3rd Ranger Bn, who was a member of a SWAT Tm, serving a warrant, who tossed a bag phone in order to communicate with a deranged woman in her 70's, who then shot and paralyzed a good man for life.
It's known as "Honoring those no longer with us, who died in the line of duty" or gave all in their performance of it.
Maybe you've heard of it somewhere during the course of your service in the military..........geezus H. Christ.
Like I said, I'm not anti-cop. I think we can agree, or I'd hope we can, that the rise of power for LE Agencies has steadily increased Post 9/11. The abuse of power is now being called into question by the American people. Like it or not, it's the reality of things.
Well, it really puzzles me when you made the statement that you've done many ride alongs, many of your family members are or were in LE and you know many that are as well, yet, you keep using the same mantra that would lead anyone to believe that those in blue are some kind of jack booted thugs and are the majority instead of the exception.