It's very regional as there are parts of the country where this runs deep, there are others where if you are abusing the color of your authority or doing something on the fringe or illegal, you will be called on it and hung out to dry.
I guess 'hung out to dry' means different things to different people. In the article above those Pomona officers grossly, and blatantly, overstepped even the generous guidelines (or SOP's) set out for LEO's to abide by. There conduct was definitely criminal. Yet, they did not admit to any wrong doing, the Pomona Police Department did not release any statement condemning the officers actions, the two officers in question are STILL LEO's in the Pomona Police Department, and the money awarded the former LAPD officer was payed by the citizens.
If anybody was 'hung out to dry' it was the LAPD officer who was subject to the abuse, given the option to resign or get fired, encouraged to plea to a crime he didn't commit in order to gain a lenient sentence, and spent two years clearing his name.
I pm'd you several weeks ago reporting a crime. The perpetrator of this crime is higher up in a State Law Enforcement Agency down in the valley. She knowingly, and willingly has used her position to deny me a constitutional right, and continues to knowingly defy the Arizona Revised Statutes. Have you even looked into it?
The abuse of authority is ALOT more widespread than you let on.
Mistakes happen and they are going to continue to happen while we have the human element in law enforcement. However, there is no place for abuse of authority in this business to include committing crimes, intentionally violating someone's rights, or dishonesty. The incident in question here was not a mistake, it was a willful act committed by officers and they should be punished for their parts in this incident, hence my issue with Mike_Honcho's statement previously trying to use the "going home safely" statement that I and other LEO's on here have echoed.
I don't expect that LEO's should be perfect. All I expect is for them to be responsible for there actions, and if a mistake is made... own up to it, and work to make it right.
On top of 'mistakes being human', humans do absolutely fucked up shit to each other!! It would be impossible for human beings to be decent to each other 100% of the time. Yes, that does mean that some LEO's will use there power to selfish ends and the detriment of the citizens. Saying it isn't so does nothing for the credibility of the LE community, and paying lip service to the ideal that LEO's are held to a higher standard without backing that up with actions is even a bigger forsaking of the public trust.
In this case, I agree with you 100%, those officers should be punished, as of yet they haven't though. Personally I've had property stolen, my name tarnished, been incarcerated under false pretenses, been the object of perjury, been denied my liberty, denied my Constitutional rights, and have had the distinct pleasure of looking down the barrels of several loaded weapons. In ALL cases, those LEO's were never punished.
There is nothing wrong with questioning the actions of LE, however some of the crap that goes around here goes above and beyond questioning and heads straight into the realms of openly bashing those in LE. I am fine with LEO's sticking together, however I am not okay with them abusing the color of their authority or the public trust and will out those who do so. I know many of the guys I work with will do the same just as they have no issue with arresting an officer if they break the law. If the LE community in a particular area wishes to hide the actions of the bad, then it erodes the trust in and credibility of those who are good. My issue with this site is people make numerous blanket statements and take legitimate discussions and turn them straight into twisting statements made by myself and other LEOs on this site and turn every thread into a bash fest.
I agree with you in questioning the actions of LEO's. I would go even further and say that a responsible citizen should question the actions and motivations of ALL manifestations of the government.
I also agree with you in the fact that cover-ups dissolve the public trust... even the 'good' LEO's.
I have made several statements that could be considered 'blanket statements'. I've backed up my opinions, and in my personal experiences they prove to be true.
I don't like the LE community PERIOD. The 'badge' or the LEO title gives a person greater authority or power over other citizens. Power that is NOT granted by the consent of the governed, but is allowed to exist in order for the system not to be questioned. I've said it before and I'll say it again... the LE community is given WAY too much leeway with the Law for the execution of there 'job'. Without that power LEO's would have no authority to abuse. People would be still do abhorrent things to each other, but instead of fostering a group that is prone to abusing authority in order to 'protect' the people... the citizenry would be responsible for themselves, there actions, there security, and there way of life. The Thomas Jefferson quote is my signature for a reason.
Perhaps a bigger issue than threads turning into a LEO bash fest, is the fact that mistrust, frustration towards LEO's is becoming more, and more widespread. The Declaration of Independence says, "...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."
Honestly, no amount of discussion will change or alter my opinion of the LE community. I also feel like I'm just gunning it in the middle of a muddy wash trying to make my points with the LE community... I make a lot of noise, but get absolutely nowhere.
