Pick any week you want, but here is what we get to read for a typical news in 1 day (today):
Woman calls for justice after 'police beat her husband to death in front of their daughter' in a movie theater row | Mail Online
California police officers taser a deaf man and knock him unconscious while he was trying to use sign language to communicate with them | Mail Online
What we don't hear is any public condemnation of things that happen by other people of the same group and very seldom see any actual justice done (as in the same justice that would be meted out if someone else did the same thing).
Now in my opinion based pretty much solely on reading as much news and commentary as I can, it seems these incidents are getting much more frequent and with more tragic results & less accountability. I could be totally wrong and it could be the same amount as always, & everybody responsible always got away with it, but it is just now being reported more.
Either way it casts serious shadows of doubt over an entire profession, the lack of condemnation just as much as the acts themselves.
Ok, have to interject on this one. In the last six months members of my department have done some wonderful things. The entire PD collected donations and bought a Christmas for a kid who had the misfortune of being born to a hooker mom and dealer day who burned down the house. We wanted to keep it QT but the grandmother of the kid called the media. No one was interested.
An off duty patrol officer was involved with a water rescue in NH when on vacation and saved a girl from drowning in the rapids by a swimming hole. He was seriously hurt but considered a hero by the family of the girl. Made news up there, a few spots, but no mention of his being an off duty police officer. Our local media didn't have any interest when our administration put it out.
Last year one of our officers was standing a detail another town. He hear screaming and people yelling for help and ran into a burning building. He pulled out one person and was accompanied by the off duty deputy Chief of that PD and both went in again. They retrieved a second party who they attempted CPR until rescue arrived however she did not recover. I put him in for the life saving award and the Red Cross hero's award and he received both. Again, almost zero media coverage.
Three months ago one of my female officers, all 5' and 102 ponds of her, responded to a domestic. An out of control 15 year old, over 6' and 240 pounds, punched her in the face. She dropped but is a little bad ass and popped back up. He grabbed a broken chair leg and came at her telling her he was going to cave in her skull. She had EVERY right to go to deadly force BUT tazed him. He took the ride and attempted to get onto his feet and go after her again. She hit him with a second 5 second ride and then a third when he recovered and again wanted to "fuck the bitch up" then follow up units arrived and he was cuffed and secured.
Next day in front of the station is FOX News and other media. Headlines of the Times reads "Officers repeatedly Tazer unarmed teen" and that was the headline. The rport was three responding officer taz this poor helpless teen in his own kitchen. They forgot about the part where he beat is 10 year old sister to a pulp or punched the officer and went after her with the table leg.
San Diego CA an officer getting lunch sees a small boy who didn't have enough for lunch. He pulled out his wallet and covered the difference and had a positive exchange with him. Five min. later a EDP walked up to his patrol car sitting at a traffic light and shot him in the head. The only reason it got any play at all was because the boy was there and he was interviewed by a novice reporter.
My point is the positive incidents, in most of the Country, far out weight the negative. I am not blaming the media, they give the people what they want. The same people calling us "pigs" and questioning way we have to stop for minor traffic infractions based on laws, regulations and codes we did not write. The same people who can't control there own kids and call us in to be the bad guy and then tell the kids it was the police who responded that are bad, not mommy and daddy. The same people who see a cop behind them and say "oh shit, fucking pig behind me" but then wave at the passing fire truck.
The populous know we are a necessary evil but we become the scape goat and our flaws are magnified. I am NOT saying there are not bad cops. I have run across them and I have brought some of my own up on charges in an effort to weed them out early, for there sake and ours. It does no justice to "let them go" until a serious incident when you can get them out early and save them, and the public, the future fall out. But the social deck is stacked against us from the start.
I still love my job. I will respond to any call and lay my life on the line for the same public that wants to ignore our positive contributions, and even thought there are comments on the thread I find offensive I would not hesitate to lay my live on the line for anyone, no matter what comments they made or what contempt for my job lies in there hearts. And that is how most of my "pig" brethren feel. We don't need hugs or pats on the back, we have each other for that, we just want to do the job that our hearts guided us to do and be what we really are, sheepdogs.
Sully