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LAPD Officer's Op-Ed: "Don't challenge us and we won't hurt you"

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gohepcat

Banned
Well...while I do understand that this is the wrong way to approach police work...I'm curious as to what people on this board think you should do if you are "unfairly" stopped by the cops. If you truly believe that some police are sociopaths or violent, it would seen prudent not to provoke them correct?
 

ICKE

Banned
It is just the truth, starting an argument during a normal stop is just asking for trouble. You can not fight against their authority without suffering serious consequences. I don't see what the big deal is, the sentiment is justified even if the system does not work as intended.
 

msv

Member
Ok- I will be that guy. This article actually has some merits if you truly read it.
How? This is no more than victim blaming. Your rights are your rights, the cop is exceeding his or her rights in the quoted excerpt, ergo, you don't have to submit. If the cop proceeds to continue and/or use force, blame is fully on the cop, nowhere else.

IMO police should be punished more harshly than civilians for abuse or misuse of power - letting this power go unchecked.. well we see what happens. Ferguson at the moment seems like just a bigger variant of the Stanford prison experiment.
 
I don't think what he's saying is "obey my power trip or get shot" at all. It's more like 'Don't argue with the ref- he's not going to change his mind. If he is using his power appropriately and he's in the right he won't change his mind. And if he's on a power trip and being a racist bastard, he won't change his mind.'

It didn't read to me like he was condoning cops abusing their powers, more like harm minimization: comply with the psychopathic cop and he's less likely to do something stupid and shoot you. And follow up as best you can when the guy with the gun has gone.
 
Well...while I do understand that this is the wrong way to approach police work...I'm curious as to what people on this board think you should do if you are "unfairly" stopped by the cops. If you truly believe that some police are sociopaths or violent, it would seen prudent not to provoke them correct?

Correct. Just don't acquiesce to illegal demands on their part, and politely explain to them why.
 

Rest

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
I skimmed the article, but it seems like he's describing the basic rule of interacting with a cop: Unless they're telling you to do something illegal and you have witnesses, do what they tell you to do. If you're not doing that, bad things are going to happen to you.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
"If you don't want to get gunned down while unarmed, don't call me names while aggressively walking towards me with a dehumanizing stare".

Go to hell.

Police culture in this country is fucked up.
 

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
"He's just speaking the truth"

The truth is that he's a big fat bully with a gun and some of you are not even phased by the fact that a policeman is writing in one of the biggest newspapers of the nation that you may get shot, tased or beaten if you dare to do as much as talking back at him. Emphasis on talking.

And you accept it.
 

Alchemy

Member
"He's just speaking the truth"

The truth is that he's a big fat bully with a gun and some of you are not even phased by the fact that a policeman is writing in one of the biggest newspapers of the nation that you may get shot, tased or beaten if you dare to do as much as talking back at him. Emphasis on talking.

And you accept it.

Talking? Shit, he said if I walked funny towards him I'd get shot, tased, or beaten.
 

mr jones

Ethnicity is not a race!
Did ANY of you read the article? Seriously. Any of you?

What do you expect a cop to say? He's telling you police interaction 101. Don't fuck with them. They won't fuck with you. They're doing a very dangerous job. They have the power and authority to make your life REALLY suck, so do as they say, and it will be over soon.




What he's NOT saying, is ALL of that entire article should be taken in the context "if you're white."
 

pj

Banned
That guy choked to death in NY a few weeks ago didnt start the altercation, the cops did. Over untaxed cigarettes.

That case is not what this LAPD guy is talking about. I hope the cop who did the choke hold is criminally charged. The coroner ruled it a homicide so hopefully something happens.

Although I wonder if that man had complied from the beginning and accepted being under arrest (for an actual illegal activity) instead of arguing, would he be alive today?

Also, if a cop does put you in a (illegal) choke hold, how is resisting going to make it better for you?

Obviously cops should not abuse their power, but when they do, self preservation should be your primary concern.
 

Piecake

Member
"He's just speaking the truth"

The truth is that he's a big fat bully with a gun and some of you are not even phased by the fact that a policeman is writing in one of the biggest newspapers of the nation that you may get shot, tased or beaten if you dare to do as much as talking back at him. Emphasis on talking.

And you accept it.

They are likely fine with it because they don't see themselves as ever being in a situation where they have to stand up to a cop or deal with a cop on a power trip.
 

Horse Detective

Why the long case?
Did ANY of you read the article? Seriously. Any of you?

What do you expect a cop to say? He's telling you police interaction 101. Don't fuck with them. They won't fuck with you. They're doing a very dangerous job. They have the power and authority to make your life REALLY suck, so do as they say, and it will be over soon.




What he's NOT saying, is ALL of that entire article should be taken in the context "if you're white."

Well ideally the people with the legal power to use deadly weapons wouldn't be making threats, but that is just me.
 
Well...while I do understand that this is the wrong way to approach police work...I'm curious as to what people on this board think you should do if you are "unfairly" stopped by the cops. If you truly believe that some police are sociopaths or violent, it would seen prudent not to provoke them correct?

It is just the truth, starting an argument during a normal stop is just asking for trouble. You can not fight against their authority without suffering serious consequences. I don't see what the big deal is, the sentiment is justified even if the system does not work as intended.

I don't think what he's saying is "obey my power trip or get shot" at all. It's more like 'Don't argue with the ref- he's not going to change his mind. If he is using his power appropriately and he's in the right he won't change his mind. And if he's on a power trip and being a racist bastard, he won't change his mind.'

It didn't read to me like he was condoning cops abusing their powers, more like harm minimization: comply with the psychopathic cop and he's less likely to do something stupid and shoot you. And follow up as best you can when the guy with the gun has gone.

Correct. Just don't acquiesce to illegal demands on their part, and politely explain to them why.

I skimmed the article, but it seems like he's describing the basic rule of interacting with a cop: Unless they're telling you to do something illegal and you have witnesses, do what they tell you to do. If you're not doing that, bad things are going to happen to you.

Jesus fuck. I hope none of you are anything but well-groomed white men with collared shirts when you're pulled over by a cop who just found out his wife is fucking a black neighbor.

You do not have to comply with police if they are acting illegally. You should not have to comply with police if they are acting illegally. Ever. Under any circumstances. Ever. You should not be told, BY POLICE, to "deal with it" in the event of an illegal interaction with law enforcement. You should not be conditioned to accept a society where law enforcement can abuse citizens as a matter of first recourse.

The entire article is washing away the fact that officers ROUTINELY interact with citizens in illegal, violent ways. Mostly minorities. To tell people that they should suck it up and be literally violated, just to write a letter to someone who won't give it a second look, is among the most ridiculous examples of people jerking off a broken and abusive authoritarian system I can imagine.

Think about the world you live in. Think about whether or not you want to have someone who can stop you, middle of the street, and literally demand that you acquiesce to their every whim simply because they have a gun. That is what this Op-Ed is supporting.
 

Prologue

Member
Waiting for the defense force to come justify this.

I know they will.

"They killed him, but it only happened because they outnumbered him 12 to 1 and had him completely subdued without threat of reprisal. It was his own fault, what an idiot."




For the fucking record, nobody is forcing people to sign up as law enforcement. Nobody is demanding these people put their lives on the line. Choosing to be an officer is a personal decision. That means those onerous civil rights citizens get so uppity about don't need to bother anyone. If you, as an officer, don't have the patience to deal with people calling you names without responding with violence....how about you stop being an officer?

Please tell the many, many, many, many, many people arrested (or, alternatively, "detained") with no charges in Ferguson that they have legal recourse after being released.

Did I say it was his fault? Didn't I say that all actions should be taken against the cop? It was ruled a homicide for a reason. But this man had 31 arrests, with the first one being at 16. There are cops that power trip, its a growing issue in this country and hopefully it gets resolved n the near future. Knowing that, why provoke them?
 

Guevara

Member
Honestly you should probably do whatever it takes to get through a conversation alive. Treat cops like an occupying army.
 

studyguy

Member
Why can't you all just stop resisting.

43b6a84c8e_STOP-RESISTING-.gif
 

Weiss

Banned
Did ANY of you read the article? Seriously. Any of you?

What do you expect a cop to say? He's telling you police interaction 101. Don't fuck with them. They won't fuck with you. They're doing a very dangerous job. They have the power and authority to make your life REALLY suck, so do as they say, and it will be over soon.




What he's NOT saying, is ALL of that entire article should be taken in the context "if you're white."

Golly, I wonder where else this can be applied to.
 

AntoneM

Member
I guess this guy never heard about the multiple colonoscopies a guy went through in New Mexico because an officer though he was clenching his butt cheeks and therefore hiding drugs in his ass. What are you supposed to do in that case, just let the cops shove things up your ass? I mean if you're innocent you should have no problem with that right?
 

Burt

Member
What he's NOT saying, is ALL of that entire article should be taken in the context "if you're white."

Actually, I would argue that the article could be prefaced with "if you're not white." White people can get away with attitude, aggression, and other poor decisions that minorities often wouldn't be able to get away with without a beat. When you're more likely to be beaten in the first place for no reason as a minority it's doubly important to maintain a cooperative attitude and minimize that risk.
 

Jag

Member
Holy crap. Thanks for posting that. Scary shit.

Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my badge. Don’t scream at me that you pay my salary, and don’t even think of aggressively walking towards me.

Absolutely fucking chilling.
 

Siegcram

Member
Did I say it was his fault? Didn't I say that all actions should be taken against the cop? It was ruled a homicide for a reason. But this man had 31 arrests, with the first one being at 16. There are cops that power trip, its a growing issue in this country and hopefully it gets resolved n the near future. Knowing that, why provoke them?
Because it's irrelevant what you do, they can make up any bullshit excuse to "justify" shooting you. Heck, he even does so in the article.

With you dead, they're gonna get away with it if they don't get caught on tape. And even then we've seen that the punishment, should it actually occur, is more than questionable in its scope most of the time.
 

Christine

Member
Fuck the police

There are other possible responses to the opinion presented in the article, but that's the only appropriate one.
 
I'm sorry but I agree to an extent. If you get stopped, you comply. Don't get aggressive, don't get physical. Be polite and courteous. A man died like two weeks ago in NY from a choke hold from an NYPD officer. I hope the officer gets the book thrown at him and his pension stripped. But when you see almost a dozen officers around you, you STFU and you comply.


We live in a world where people are so self absorbed in their "busy" lives. Do you honestly think its rare for people not to let out their daily frustrations during a unrelated police stop? I use to have an unnecessary attitude whenever I came across a cop, there was no reason for it. If you feel they crossed the line, write down their badge number, file a complaint and even get a lawyer if you feel its necessary.
Because it shouldn't be this way in the first place. This is not the type of behavior we have police officers for. They are not supposed to be here to try and scare the public into acting a certain way. By letting them overstep their bounds on a consistent basis, you are slowly but surely allowing them more power over you then even the written laws they're sworn to uphold are supposed to give them.

And I'm sorry but it's laughable that you think some sort of "Unnecessary behavior" can be taken through the justice system and simply taken care of in an appropriate manner in a world where Cops outright kill people and are punished with paid leave. The only thing taking a complaint about an officer through the justice system will get you is a lot of wasted time.

I want to live in a world where everything works that way, because then there would be far less of a problem with the police if I did, but that is not the world we live in.
 
Jesus fuck. I hope none of you are anything but well-groomed white men with collared shirts when you're pulled over by a cop who just found out his wife is fucking a black neighbor.

You do not have to comply with police if they are acting illegally. You should not have to comply with police if they are acting illegally. Ever. Under any circumstances. Ever. You should not be told, BY POLICE, to "deal with it" in the event of an illegal interaction with law enforcement. You should not be conditioned to accept a society where law enforcement can abuse citizens as a matter of first recourse.

The entire article is washing away the fact that officers ROUTINELY interact with citizens in illegal, violent ways. Mostly minorities. To tell people that they should suck it up and be literally violated, just to write a letter to someone who won't give it a second look, is among the most ridiculous examples of people jerking off a broken and abusive authoritarian system I can imagine.

Think about the world you live in. Think about whether or not you want to have someone who can stop you, middle of the street, and literally demand that you acquiesce to their every whim simply because they have a gun. That is what this Op-Ed is supporting.

Why did you quote me in this response? I agree that you shouldn't comply with illegal demands and made that clear in my post, unless you disagree with the whole "being polite" part.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Well...while I do understand that this is the wrong way to approach police work...I'm curious as to what people on this board think you should do if you are "unfairly" stopped by the cops. If you truly believe that some police are sociopaths or violent, it would seen prudent not to provoke them correct?

The problem is a cop actually saying doubling down with "don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my badge. Don’t scream at me that you pay my salary, and don’t even think of aggressively walking towards me." Shit is fucking scary.
 

pj

Banned
You do not have to comply with police if they are acting illegally. You should not have to comply with police if they are acting illegally. Ever. Under any circumstances. Ever. You should not be told, BY POLICE, to "deal with it" in the event of an illegal interaction with law enforcement. You should not be conditioned to accept a society where law enforcement can abuse citizens as a matter of first recourse.

How do you define police "acting illegally"? Is it what you believe is illegal or what is actually illegal? I'm not a lawyer so how do I know if I'm actually being arrested legally or not?

I don't know the law, but lets say that you're right and you don't have to comply.

Then what? They fucking shoot you.

If I comply, maybe I get charged with something, maybe I don't. If they did something illegal, maybe I sue them and get tons of money like that dude in NYC who got 125k after getting arrested for filming the cops.

I just don't see the benefit of not complying.
 
Did I say it was his fault? Didn't I say that all actions should be taken against the cop? It was ruled a homicide for a reason. But this man had 31 arrests, with the first one being at 16. There are cops that power trip, its a growing issue in this country and hopefully it gets resolved n the near future. Knowing that, why provoke them?

Knowing that this man was a human being, why murder him?

That's the question you should be asking. He was murdered. Literally. Not a single person on this Earth should give a fuck if he called the officer a cunt, or spat at him, or if he had been arrested before. He was murdered. Maybe you should spend less time wondering why people are upset in their interactions with police and more time worrying about the fact that an officer could execute you tomorrow and never be charged. Or, in the rare case that he is charged, that he is guaranteed to walk free.

And maybe instead of focusing on the public mistreatment of officers, as you do here:

We live in a world where people are so self absorbed in their "busy" lives. Do you honestly think its rare for people not to let out their daily frustrations during a unrelated police stop? I use to have an unnecessary attitude whenever I came across a cop, there was no reason for it. If you feel they crossed the line, write down their badge number, file a complaint and even get a lawyer if you feel its necessary.

You should focus on the people with guns and authority acting as paramilitary forces in the street, participating in illegal search and seizure rings across the nation, murdering people in the street, and generally being a corrupt and untrustable institution.

"But people are so mean to police, and for what reason? All they do is racially profile minorities and kill them in the street without repercussion. Pull people over and literally steal money from them with the threat of violence. Arrest citizens with no charges. It's not all cops!"
 
I guess this guy never heard about the multiple colonoscopies a guy went through in New Mexico because an officer though he was clenching his butt cheeks and therefore hiding drugs in his ass. What are you supposed to do in that case, just let the cops shove things up your ass? I mean if you're innocent you should have no problem with that right?

Complain about it afterwards. At which point it will be investigated and no wrongdoing will be found. Justice!
 
How can you disagree with this? They have the guns, they will win an altercation.

Resisting arrest is about the stupidest thing you can do. Being required to comply with police orders is the entire basis of policing. Are we supposed to be allowed to say "no thanks, I don't feel like being arrested today"?



So it's better to resist and likely get injured or killed than to comply and probably not get injured or killed?

No, resisting or challenging police is never a good idea. However, sometimes people who have done nothing wrong are killed or arrested without proper justification and that is wrong.
 

gohepcat

Banned
Jesus fuck. I hope none of you are anything but well-groomed white men with collared shirts when you're pulled over by a cop who just found out his wife is fucking a black neighbor.

You do not have to comply with police if they are acting illegally. You should not have to comply with police if they are acting illegally. Ever. Under any circumstances. Ever. You should not be told, BY POLICE, to "deal with it" in the event of an illegal interaction with law enforcement. You should not be conditioned to accept a society where law enforcement can abuse citizens as a matter of first recourse.

The entire article is washing away the fact that officers ROUTINELY interact with citizens in illegal, violent ways. Mostly minorities. To tell people that they should suck it up and be literally violated, just to write a letter to someone who won't give it a second look, is among the most ridiculous examples of people jerking off a broken and abusive authoritarian system I can imagine.

Think about the world you live in. Think about whether or not you want to have someone who can stop you, middle of the street, and literally demand that you acquiesce to their every whim simply because they have a gun. That is what this Op-Ed is supporting.

Calm down please.

I agree that I can't fully appreciate how it feels becasue I'm coming from being a white guy in a very low crime area. Last time I got pulled over by the cops the guy was actually really nice (I was speeding so...)

So I'm sure my views are very different than many people.

But I'm trying to understand what the solution is.
 

Xenon

Member
Here's the thing. All this shit:



Comes with the fucking job. If you don't like it, you are free to find a new one away from law enforcement.

If I shoot, pepper spray, taser, strike with a baton or thrown anybody just for running his mouth or aggressively walking towards me (whatever that means) I'll be rightfuly accused of assault -at very least- and thrown into jail. For a person charged with the duty of enforcing the law and keeping the peace I expect even higher standards of conduct.

This man is a bully making bully excuses. He can fuck right off.

He's being honest. Like it or not cops are people. When people get put in tense situations unpredictable things can happen no matter how much training they have. This is amplified by both sides of the confrontation having fears based on preconceptions and prejudices. So the question is do you want to test a persons resolve who has been given the use of deadly force by society? In theory you should, but it's not practical. As we have seen, it can result in someone getting killed.

As condescending and prick-ish as this guy is, it's good advice.
 
holy shit

this, ladies and gentlemen, is how the police forces of the united states view you, the tax paying citizenry

as if you're their fucking enemy

Protect and Serve, am I right?

But this guy isn't speaking for all cops. Don't let this op ed and what's going on with the police in Ferguson dissuade you. Seriously. There's good ones out there. Just submit to their authority and everything will be fine.
 

pj

Banned
No, resisting or challenging police is never a good idea. However, sometimes people who have done nothing wrong are killed or arrested without proper justification and that is wrong.

Of course it's wrong.

If a mugger comes up to you with a knife and says "gimme your wallet or I'll cut you"

Do you have the right to resist? Yes

Would it be stupid to resist? Yes

Ideally there would be no muggers or power tripping cops, but that's not the world we live in.
 
I read the entire article, and I feel like the OP bolded sections meant to upset folks. The entire article seems reasonably balanced to me. He is pretty fair about police abuse, and even says he supports all cops wearing cams to record behavior. Nothing seems like it is getting brushed under the rug.
 
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