Why we love our police (again)

[Hawkmoon]

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2015/02/17/police-raid-90-year-old-womans-home-find-nothing/

Synopsis: Police get search warrant, raid house of a 90-year old woman, find no evidence of drugs in the house and no indication woman has ever used or sold drugs, and the department's brilliant comment is:

"while the resident may not have had any knowledge of drugs being sold from her home, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen."

So if Granny wasn't dealing drugs and you can't find any evidence of drugs, even using drug-sniffing dogs, exactly who was doing the alleged dealing? The tooth fairy? I wonder how much the po-po paid the confidential informant for dropping a dime on Granny.

[wmenorr67]

She had too much Geritol.

[MechAg94]

At the bottom, the article says the department is paying for some repairs and new windows.  I think they know they screwed up and are trying to avoid liability. 

[230RN]

Did she blow her chance of suing the Department by accepting repairs?

[De Selby]

If just one person was prevented from feeling less pain or enjoying euphoria, it's worth it

[HankB]

And of course, the MOST important thing is that all the cops in the Granny Raid got to go home that night.

[Mannlicher]

very little in life that involves humans winds up perfect.  The police are no exception.  yeah, we all want perfection, and no mistakes, but that is just not reality.
What you can take to the bank though, is that without the police, life would be pretty intense for us all.  Like them or not,  society wants and needs law and police to enforce those laws.

[makattak]

very little in life that involves humans winds up perfect.  The police are no exception.  yeah, we all want perfection, and no mistakes, but that is just not reality.
What you can take to the bank though, is that without the police, life would be pretty intense for us all.  Like them or not,  society wants and needs law and police to enforce those laws.

My problem with nearly all of these stories is the LAZINESS these events represent.

In nearly every wrong raid, a simple staking out of the house and actually checking out of the "informant's" story would have ended this with no one ever knowing about it.

But the police usually have no idea who is in the house, whether children are present (even when toys are strewn in the yard), or if the criminal activity they suspect is actually going on.

Yes, it takes more time to check out a house before breaking in. It's safer for all involved, though, too.

I think these types of raids are necessary at times. There needs to be a LOT more due diligence before they are used.

[roo_ster]

My problem with nearly all of these stories is the LAZINESS these events represent.

And generally unprofessional practices and attitudes.  For the love of Pete, have some pride and self-discipline.

[RocketMan]

And generally unprofessional practices and attitudes.  For the love of Pete, have some pride and self-discipline.

I think in many cases the cops are proud of what they do, even when they know they are doing wrong.  They believe they are getting over on someone, whether it's the bad guys, or good guys they know can do little or nothing to correct their behavior.

[zxcvbob]

For the love of Pete, have some pride and self-discipline.

You don't need that when you've qualified immunity.  (and a strong union helps with that pesky "qualified" part)

[Scout26]

My problem with nearly all of these stories is the LAZINESS these events represent.

And generally unprofessional practices and attitudes.  For the love of Pete, have some pride and self-discipline.

This.  SO. MUCH. THIS.

In addition to thoroughly investigating crimes, we also made sure we ran down exculpatory leads just as vigorously.  We wanted to make sure that if we brought some to courts-martial and were going to put them in jail for long time that we got the right SOB, and that he was going to get what he deserved, good and hard.  Since there are no consequences to civilian police for getting it wrong, there's little to no effort to get it right.  And as that arrogance and reckless disregard for the fundamental rights of the people continues and grows, the mis- and distrust of the those that are supposed "To Protect and to Serve" will continue to fester and boil over, as we have seen with the riots in Ferguson and Staten Island.  We are approaching the tipping point, where unless the police are reined in, there will be a point where it will get very ugly, very quick and spread beyond the confines of the inner cities/ghettos/poor/minority communities