I saw these and many of the videos are instructive: one is a complete exoneration of a cop who was charged with unprofesional behavior by a lady he stopped (she later wrote an apology-she still was clearly wrong and should have been prosecuted for _something_ because she lied!!).
Others are much less complementary.
Stories showing bad things sell better than the stories of how well cops behave 98% of the time. Take this fact into account.
Others show that cops should practice defensive tactics a lot more. Several of the altercations shown were not well handled by the officers.
One other point, pistols were drawn many times without the arrestee complying with commands and yet most of the time no shots are fired. People are not all that intimidated by guns.
In one video a police major is arrested by a patrolman in an adjacent jurisdiction. This follows a traffic stop for failing to signal a lane change. After a non-compliant attitude is displayed, 3 backup officers are called and the major is sprayed (with little apparent effect) and manhandled. A civil suit has been filed by the major. A very unlikley sequence of events, but the police major was black.
It's pretty hard to comply with all traffic regulations at all times. And in many cases traffic stops lead to other really bad decisions both by cops and citizens.
http://www.apbnews.com/videocenter/useofforce/index.html
I was once stopped for failing to signal a turn (at a y intersection and continuing in the 'same' direction) because the officers thought I was on a stolen motorcycle. I was carring a pocket knife, did not have a cycle endorsement, and did not have insurance on the cycle (not required, but the officers did not know it was required only for automobiles). Result? I was told to get my endorsement to operate a cycle, watch the road, and did not receive a ticket. I was polite and did not find any areas of contention to discuss, the officers were also polite, a little nervous about the 'weapon' visable in my pocket, with some justification I guess.
I'm really glad the majority of all the cops I have met are good guys.
For all the cops on TFL, I offer my humble observations:
1) 'be careful out there' ! You do a good job and need to take reasonable precautions, be particulary careful with multiple occupants of cars!
2) practice your DT's,
3) learn and practice proper techniques for interviews (Esp. with multiple people!)
4)make sure you win those non-weapon altercations so you don't need to shoot some dope or a drunk,
5) don't beat on people with sticks when they are down,
6) don't lose your attachment to, and knowledge of 'normal' people. Most people are not dirtbags, most cops are not over-aggressive. Let's all be realistic.
My observations for the non-LEOs in the audience?
1) Give any cop you meet a thank you when you see them doing their jobs well (even if you do get the ticket!)
2) Give the cops respect for doing a difficult job that brings them in to contact with a lot of un-desirable people.
3) Help remove the very few bad actors so they can get a different career, before people's trust and repect for the average cop is damaged. If we all do this together without the overheated rehtoric so popular on the TV we will all be better off.
The video archives at the link deserve browsing.
Best,
Noel
Others are much less complementary.
Stories showing bad things sell better than the stories of how well cops behave 98% of the time. Take this fact into account.
Others show that cops should practice defensive tactics a lot more. Several of the altercations shown were not well handled by the officers.
One other point, pistols were drawn many times without the arrestee complying with commands and yet most of the time no shots are fired. People are not all that intimidated by guns.
In one video a police major is arrested by a patrolman in an adjacent jurisdiction. This follows a traffic stop for failing to signal a lane change. After a non-compliant attitude is displayed, 3 backup officers are called and the major is sprayed (with little apparent effect) and manhandled. A civil suit has been filed by the major. A very unlikley sequence of events, but the police major was black.
It's pretty hard to comply with all traffic regulations at all times. And in many cases traffic stops lead to other really bad decisions both by cops and citizens.
http://www.apbnews.com/videocenter/useofforce/index.html
I was once stopped for failing to signal a turn (at a y intersection and continuing in the 'same' direction) because the officers thought I was on a stolen motorcycle. I was carring a pocket knife, did not have a cycle endorsement, and did not have insurance on the cycle (not required, but the officers did not know it was required only for automobiles). Result? I was told to get my endorsement to operate a cycle, watch the road, and did not receive a ticket. I was polite and did not find any areas of contention to discuss, the officers were also polite, a little nervous about the 'weapon' visable in my pocket, with some justification I guess.
I'm really glad the majority of all the cops I have met are good guys.
For all the cops on TFL, I offer my humble observations:
1) 'be careful out there' ! You do a good job and need to take reasonable precautions, be particulary careful with multiple occupants of cars!
2) practice your DT's,
3) learn and practice proper techniques for interviews (Esp. with multiple people!)
4)make sure you win those non-weapon altercations so you don't need to shoot some dope or a drunk,
5) don't beat on people with sticks when they are down,
6) don't lose your attachment to, and knowledge of 'normal' people. Most people are not dirtbags, most cops are not over-aggressive. Let's all be realistic.
My observations for the non-LEOs in the audience?
1) Give any cop you meet a thank you when you see them doing their jobs well (even if you do get the ticket!)
2) Give the cops respect for doing a difficult job that brings them in to contact with a lot of un-desirable people.
3) Help remove the very few bad actors so they can get a different career, before people's trust and repect for the average cop is damaged. If we all do this together without the overheated rehtoric so popular on the TV we will all be better off.
The video archives at the link deserve browsing.
Best,
Noel