I saw a ton of videos of US cops being abusive, and not only with black people. My perception is that if you live in the US you have to know your rights or these cops will take advantage of you. They just simply lie about what they can do.
I mean I see that cops are people who you need to respect in your country, they have a lot of authority and you shouldn’t mess with them. Does everyone hate cops in the US? I just think that these cops won’t even like it if you ask them to show you the laws that allow them to do whatever they trying to do. Or I’m being wrong by judging them because of viral videos?
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Because there’s no accountability. If they get caught, they get a month-long paid vacation while their buddies “investigate,” then everybody goes back to business as usual.
Not all – but many cops abuse their power and think they’re above the law.
No, not everyone hates cops in the US. Tons of people support the police.
You only see the bad interactions. The thousands of nice and respectful interactions are not put online, but they happen every single day.
So, you watched a few videos and you think you know about our country? Yikes.
>My perception is that if you live in the US you have to know your rights or these cops will take advantage of you.
No, but you should know your rights anyways. Follow the law and you’ll never get stopped.
>They just simply lie about what they can do.
Body cameras, extensive paperwork, and audits would make this quite hard these days.
>Does everyone hate cops in the US?
No, most people do not nor have any reason to hate cops.
>Or I’m being wrong by judging them because of viral videos?
….yup.
> Or I’m being wrong by judging them because of viral videos?
There most definitely are asshole cops. But keep in mind, those videos are viral because they are not the norm.
There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of police interactions every single day that are very mundane and run of the mill boring (or very positive too).
>Or I’m being wrong by judging them because of viral videos?
It’s both.
Our police aren’t held accountable nearly as severely or nearly as often as they should be. There’s been a longstanding culture in the police force about not ratting out corrupt cops, and this can lead to a few assholes running rampant while the rest of the police force tends to not notice for as long as possible.
That being said, most people go their entire lives and only ever have positive, or at least *fair* interactions with cops.
It is a bigger people than it should be, but it’s probably a far smaller problem than your videos have led you to believe. Chances are, if you ever come to America and get pulled over, you’ll get treated fairly.
1) internet videos show like 30 seconds of an often time 20+ minute encounter.
I can make anyone a villian if i get to edit whole encounters
2) our departments are not monoliths we have hundreds all with there own procedures and laws
3) even the most tame and safe/mild uses of force look bad on the outside. Combine this with my initial bullet point and it amplifies biased videos
4) videos posted are an almost nonexistent percentage of encounters considering the millions upon millions of national interactions at any given time.
5) most videos online are from biased sources. Always important to remember this. If it starts mid argument/encounter then you already missed very important context
Law enforcement abusing their power or government abusing their power is hardly some trait exclusive to the US.
I used to love the police. I almost was one.
The last 7 years have changed my mind.
As more videos of abuse, stories of scandal, rape in exchange for letting you go, planting evidence…. I hate them more and more.
And the bad cops make the good cops that genuinely wanted to help people (like I did) look bad… the hate they get jades them pretty fast.
Plus you see the worst of humanity every day so that is how you start to view everyone. And they become assholes too. When everyone hates you, you hate everyone, and the cycle continues in a self feeding loop.
So today? Fuck the police. All cops are bastards. Better film all your stops. And know your rights. But comply.
I have no problem with cops. If you are respectful they will be the same.
This essay breaks it down really well.
[https://medium.com/@OfcrACab/confessions-of-a-former-bastard-cop-bb14d17bc759](https://medium.com/@OfcrACab/confessions-of-a-former-bastard-cop-bb14d17bc759)
> Or I’m being wrong by judging them because of viral videos?
When you see someone choked, beaten, or shot there is no way to be “wrong” that this is violent & can’t be justified.
>My perception is that if you live in the US you have to know your rights or these cops will take advantage of you. They just simply lie about what they can do.
‘Cops can & will lie, there is nothing to be done except give them no reason to do so by doing what you are supposed to be doing. They probably wont ruin your life because of the color of your skin, but they might not be professional & things can escalate badly. Always call 911 when someone needs help. Always comply with their orders politely. Be an upstanding citizen. ‘
-What we tell our child.
Although it shouldn’t have to be this way…It *is* this way every country we’ve ever visited including Europe.
Sometimes I have to work with police for my job, I’m not anti-cop. Many of them are heros. Many are not.
Im not a cop apologist… Far from it. But I will point out that nobody is posting videos of the 95% of cop interaction that are smooth and cordial.
A big part of my job is working with police, fire, and EMS workers. They’re like every other profession or walk of life in that, being people, some are simply better, nicer, more intelligent, or whatever, than others. But far and away the people in these professions – speaking as a whole – are far more likely to be polite, respectful, and friendly than most other professions, at least in my experience.
I dislike the police. They do not make me feel safe. But you’ll typically see lots of support for them among *certain groups* of folks.
According to my uncle, who is an ex-cop: There are a lot of good cops, and there are a lot of bad cops, just like with any profession. The problem is that our system is set up to reward the bad cops and sometimes even punish the good cops. (He got fired from one precinct for treating the mayor’s drug-using son the way the department treated all other drug-users, and he was forced out of another precinct for pushing to have a real investigation regarding officer misconduct against a civilian).
We also have a thing called “qualified immunity”, which makes it very difficult to charge cops who murder civilians while on the job with murder/manslaughter/etc. This often leads to the only semblance of a route for “justice” dependent on internal investigations by that police officer’s own police department, which oftentimes officially declare no wrongdoing, even when the evidence is obvious.
Now, that is not to say that cops are just out here jailing people for sport. Generally, if you stay out of the bad areas of crime, and if you act like a good person AND follow our country, state, and municipal laws, the police won’t bother you. (Though keep in mind that each locality has their own police department more or less)
As you seem to already realize, the internet amplifies the extremes. Normal life in America, police violence (depending on where you live and the color of your skin) tends to be relatively rare. After all, there are only so many cops, and of that population, only a subset are malicious cops. The problem that we have in our country has a lot more to do with not getting rid of the bad cops than it does having all cops being occupying forces or something like that.
Mileage may vary, but as a tourist here you would almost certainly be fine so long as you don’t plan on being a jerk.
We have good cops and bad cops, but remember, we ask cops to do one of the worst jobs out there, with minimal training and minimal support. The fact that they come to be a bit tribal and look after their own seems to be inevitable, given that situation.
I’ll say cops deserve a lot of what they get here, but credit where credit is due, cops truly give a shit about victims.
Someone close to me spent time as a prosecutor working domestic violence cases, I’ve heard multiple stories about courtrooms full of cops showing support when victims testify against their abusers.
So yeah, those horror stories are real, but I think it’s mostly a situation where the good ones just don’t make the news so all you hear about is the bad ones.
Nobody uploads random traffic stops that conclude peacefully with no incidents.
Also a side Note: every time a police officer approaches or interacts with someone they have to make an assumption that the person is armed. Not saying it excuses behavior, but it is a part of American policing that is pretty uniquely american
1. Most aren’t like that.
2. Algorithms are set up to show more videos like those you already watched.
3. Large population size coupled with strong speech protections means that the United States are more likely to show up in greater numbers than another country without either of those factors.
Youtube isn’t real.
Cops are not required to show you the law as they arrest you…. that’s what court is for. We have an issue in this country with citizens not understanding officers have actual authority over them. This authority is required for them to be able to do their jobs. Courts are where you fight the rights and wrongs of the case and/or arrest. Also officers here have to deal with assuming that every person they come across is armed. I know that sounds crazy but we literally have more guns than people here so it is actually logical for them to assume everyone is packing a gun. So you mix in citizens who refuse to follow orders with officers having to assume you have a gun and you can start to see why officers are so jumpy while on duty. If an officer pulls you over, follow instructions. If an officer says place your hands behind your back you are detained or under arrest then place your hands behind your back and shut up. Of course you will have some officers who abuse power and they need to be held accountable. Mostly we have citizens who think they dont have to listen to authority.
>I saw a ton of videos of US cops being abusive
Let’s acknowledge that videos of police officers being polite and professional rarely get posted anywhere. Do the police have a lot of power? Yes. Are there police officers who abuse their power? Yes. Would we rather have no police? No one sane is going to take that position.
The vast majority of the encounters that go badly wouldn’t go badly if people would just cooperate. People who think they know their rights and think their rights mean they can do whatever they want are usually wrong. People who want to get violent with police officers are taking their lives in their own hands. Don’t do that and you’ll almost certainly be fine. The exceptions are actually very rare.
TL;DR: If you’re polite, they’re generally polite and professional.
>I saw a ton of videos of US cops being abusive
These would be vastly outnumbered if videos were uploaded where nothing happens.
Most of my interaction has been positive or neutral.
Police deception is legal in every US state. So yes, they can lie to someone in nearly any instance. Make no mistake, the presence of body cameras and such makes absolutely no difference because it’s something they’re literally allowed to do.
I’d be interested in seeing some data on those who support police vs. oppose them broken down by age, race etc. Anecdotally, the only people I know personally who trust/support the cops are white boomers.
I have to laugh when people bleat *for every bad video you see there are X number of interactions that are perfectly fine!* Fuck that. Fuck allll of that.