Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: Perd Hapley on August 10, 2022, 05:21:31 PM
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Since we're roasting the FBI, how about some love for the local yokels? This article is mostly about British police, but with a warning for Americans.
https://amgreatness.com/2022/08/09/from-law-enforcers-to-woke-enforcers/
Most of Britain’s police forces have switched from law enforcement to woke enforcement. America is on the same road.
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This was a dozen years ago here in my little home town.
https://www.news9.com/story/5e366b6e2f69d76f6207b411/chelsea-police-chief-jeremy-murrell-arrested-on-drug-complaints
When he was the police chief in Buffalo, Oklahoma, investigators caught him but told him if he resigned as chief - got out of law enforcement and got help for his habit - they wouldn't prosecute.
Thin blue line and all don't ya know...
https://kfor.com/news/local/oklahoma-city-police-department-officer-fired-after-several-misconduct-allegations/
https://heavy.com/news/ronni-carrocia-ladonna-paris-tulsa-full-video/
https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/civil-lawsuit-filed-in-rogers-county-vs-sheriff-walton
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(Not my local PD)
Two members of the Brookville Police Department are suspended following allegations that they arrested a man thought to be anti-police whom they did not want running for town board.
The more I have worked with local law enforcement agencies, the more my trust in them has declined.
There are good cops, but they have a tough time if they don't go along with the department culture which is usually awful.
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Trust the local police?
One word: UVALDE
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(Not my local PD)The more I have worked with local law enforcement agencies, the more my trust in them has declined.
There are good cops, but they have a tough time if they don't go along with the department culture which is usually awful.
I have had good or decent experiences with the cops I have come in contact with, but I think you are right about that. I imagine is takes some mental toughness to hold to your convictions if everyone around you is going the other way.
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(Not my local PD)The more I have worked with local law enforcement agencies, the more my trust in them has declined.
There are good cops, but they have a tough time if they don't go along with the department culture which is usually awful.
This seems to be the primary problem with not just local, but state and fed cops as well. Also could be applied to gov in general - even the IRS. There are plenty of good people trying to do the right thing, but the culture seems to promote people with a predisposition to let authority go to their heads into positions of authority.
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The department for which I am a commissioner had a minor scandal years ago wherein the previous chief was ousted by the town council for favoritism and promoting based on friendship instead of merit and the current chief was installed. I'm not sure whether it is just in his nature, or because he accepted the position in the shadow of corruption but he has fostered a much more transparent department with very high standards both for the officers and leadership.
Unlike some of you, I lack the personal experience to speak for all or most departments. I'm aware that there are some bad departments out there, but can't speak to how common they are.
Regardless, my potential impact on a bad local department is much higher than my potential impact on a bad Federal department. Something to consider if you feel your local department is corrupt.
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The few interactions I've had with the local police (in a suburb just west of Austin, TX) have been just fine, and related to things like a dead or injured animal. I sat on a couple of juries in local traffic court, and from what I could see and hear the officers testifying all conducted themselves in a professional manner both in court and with the motorists they ticketed. My town IS listed in the National Speed Trap registry, and I suspect an appreciable amount of revenue is generated this way.
As for the department's leadership, our (now former) police chief was not particularly liked by at least some of the rank and file. He arranged to make a commercial for the prepackaged meals being sold by the HEB grocery chain, using police personnel and resources in the commercial which ran for a while on local TV stations - this rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. He got a new $26,000,000 city police HQ built. He also ran his own consulting business while chief of police and served on multiple boards. He later allowed a company to put cameras on the public right-of-way in an upscale housing development, something only the city council was empowered to do. This last prompted the city to request his resignation. He's now a dean at a local community college and is (among other things) on an FBI curriculum committee. I don't know if these are all paid positions.
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That brought to mind this story https://www.dailypress.com/news/crime/dp-hamptons-cigarette-sting-gallery-promo-storygallery.html where the Hampton Virginia police department ran an undercover sting operation supposedly to target black market cigarette sales but produced no arrests. The profits from this business, yes profit is literally correct, were used to buy cars, electronics, "training" vacations and the like.
And that made me realize that this story, and most of the others mentioned here, are quite a few years back in time. So, to me the lesson is these stains on the integrity of the police, local or nationwide, are really hard to wash out.
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I'm biased toward local depts as my training was from a former police and military instructor. Many in the group I shot with for years were cops. We shot IDPA but being tactically sound was frequently emphasized over raw speed. Sometimes Jack would point out "nice fast shooting there but you're probably dead" =D
The pressure on local depts to integrate with higher authorities seemed to be ramping over this last decade. The wiggle room of local departmental autonomy seems to be a thing of the past. I say this just from outside observation as I've lost touch with most of my old shooting crew and my instructor has shaken off his mortal coil. I could be talking out my butt, I've done that before :)
I don't know much about the attitudes of the high speed operators we have running around now on patrol.