Top 5 Reasons Not to Trust the Police
February 17th, 2008 by Kavan WolfeRecently, a police officer has engaged me in a debate about whether police are justified in using Tasers on individuals who nonviolently refuse to cooperate. I think we all agree that anyone who attacks a police officer deserves the asskicking that follows (most of the time); however, the issue is murkier where the “perpetrator” gives no threat or indication of violence, but simply refuses to comply. The aforementioned police officer argued that police are totally justified in use of force were civilians are noncompliant; I disagree.
It seems a major assumption underlying this argument is whether or not John Q. Public should trust the police by default. A major tenant of the justice systems in western countries seems to be that the police are trustworthy. This is bullshit. Here are 5 good reasons civilians should not be expected to trust the police.
1. Rodney King. History speaks for itself. So do videos.
2. Legalized Entrapment. In New York, police leave purses with credit cards in them lying around and cart off to jail whoever picks them up whether or not he or she intended to return the purse intact.
3. “No-knock” warrants. Man hears someone break into his house. Man gets 18-month-old daughter down on the ground, hides behind bed. Man sees armed assailant break into bedroom, shoots and kills him in self defense. Assailant was actually officer who didn’t bother yelling “police!” upon busting in. Man is now on death row.
4. Extraordinary rendition. If the US government suspects that you might have information that could lead them to someone who might be a terrorist, they can kidnap you out of an airport, deport you to a secret location in another country and torture a false confession out of you. This is not a conspiracy theory: Washington has officially apologized to a Canadian citizen treated in this manner. Hello thought police.
5. Legal ignorance. Whether or not you support open carry laws, if the law says that you can walk around carrying a gun, the police should know that and not hassle you. In many places, you are not even required to give police identification but try telling an officer that.
Conclusion
Obviously, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any good cops. All I’m saying is, at the group level, assuming that everyone should trust the police and always cooperate doesn’t make sense in the face of historical and current events. Why should I trust a group of people known for violating individual rights, not knowing the laws they’re supposed to uphold and inciting unnecessary violence?
Related Articles: 5 MORE Reasons Not To Trust the Police
February 19th, 2008 at 4:59 am
>>> The aforementioned police officer argued that police are totally justified in use of force were civilians are noncompliant; I disagree.
What would you have the cop do, approach the guy and get stabbed?
February 19th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
@H
RTFA dumbass.What part of “gives no threat or indication of violence” did you not understand?
February 20th, 2008 at 5:44 am
“What part of “gives no threat or indication of violence” did you not understand?”
What if the guy decided not to reveal the fact that he has a concealed weapon? There’s no threat or indication until it happens in that case. Do you want an officer to take that risk?
Dumbass? Look in the mirror. You’re just one of those “fuck the police” idiots who thinks he’s entitled to act like an asshole and resist. Police need to treat you like a saint or something.
War on Bullshit, eh? You’re full of it.
February 20th, 2008 at 5:46 am
Also, you can warn the guy that you are about to taser him. If he still resists and tries to play hero (like the idiot he is) go ahead and give it to him.
I can understand if the cop just went ahead and did it right off the bat without asking for cooperation or warning first.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:08 am
@H
Yes, but what if upon hearing ‘if you don’t cooperate you will be electrocuted’ the suspicious person whips out a rocket launcher and kills the police? Why not just peremptorily shoot everyone who looks suspicious? This is ABSURD. This amounts to presumption of guilt. Refusing to cooperate with police cannot morally be a crime because we have no reason to trust an individual officer a priori. Therefore, shocking someone who is just sitting there refusing to move violates a basic tenant of law: presumption of innocence.
This isn’t about attacking police officers. Like I said, if you assault an officer, the officer is perfectly justified in using whatever force is necessary. This is about passively, non-violently refusing to cooperate with commands that violate your rights.
February 21st, 2008 at 7:50 am
>>>>> This is about passively, non-violently refusing to cooperate with commands that violate your rights.
And what rights would those be? The right to act like a jackass? You cooperate with them. Then if you feel your rights were violated you seek legal action AFTER the fact. Trying to be a hero gets your ass kicked and rightfully so.
Cops have better things to do that sit around for hours because some idiot just wants so be Mr. Defiant and sit there “passively resisting”. How long do you suppose the police should put up with their crap? Huh?
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Maybe I’m crazy, but I think the police shouldn’t violate your rights in the first place. You know, rights like freedom of thought and freedom of speech. And no, they shouldn’t stand around waiting for someone, who has not been charged with a crime, to cooperate with an illegal order. They should go arrest actual criminals.
You can’t seek legal action after the fact if they kill you. Even if you’re still in one piece, going after the police force will only get you hunted for the rest of your days. The legal system is horribly broken. It is not effective in addressing police misconduct.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:17 am
I would take a taser anyday over the crap they use to hit people with- refusing to cooperate no matter if its violence or not- the person has to be dealt with , restrained and forced to comply- quite simple
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:07 am
>>>> You know, rights like freedom of thought and freedom of speech. And no, they shouldn’t stand around waiting for someone, who has not been charged with a crime, to cooperate with an illegal order. They should go arrest actual criminals.
So what if the cops saw you running out of a bank with the alarm going off and a big bag of money slung over your shoulder? Then when they approach you, you decide to just sit on the sidewalk quietly for hours and hours. No violence. Then what? Should they just stand around like morons and hope you’ll give in eventually? Do they need to kneel down before you and beg you to come with them? Or should they deal with you quickly so they can go after some other criminals?
The police would become a laughingstock if they were run by someone like you. There needs to be some sort of authority in the world. When told to do something by the people in authority, you need to do it or they will make you do it.
I’m trying to reason with a brick wall here, so it seems.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
@H
Alright. Nobody is this stupid. You’re clearly just trying to get under my skin. If the police see someone run out of a bank with a bag of money, they should arrest him or her. Trust is irrelevant. I’m talking about the police bothering people who HAVEN’T COMMITTED CRIMES. The idea that police can’t possibly function without marching over people’s rights is absurd. This discussion is over.
@Kelly
‘The person has to be … restrained and forced to comply.’ Why? Why does everyone have to be forced to comply with illegal orders? What, you think society will end if people start questioning authority?
Why is it only the totalitarian assholes who comment?
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Curiously enough, even though I would likely qualify, in most instances, as either totalitarian or rectal-cavity-esque, I’m with you on this one. In a perfect society, it would be fantastic to rely on an impartial police force protecting according to the rule of law, with a secondary safety net provided by an unemotional and unbiased justice system. Contrary to (un)popular belief, however, we live in an imperfect rule (yes, you knew that), the police are human (to err is human, to err vigorously is fuzz), and the justice system is exactly as reliable as… have you ever heard of the Edsel? (If you haven’t, it’s a typical Ford and you can understand my anti-American-engineering drift, doubtless.) We live in a system where it takes the police a half hour to show up at the site of a violent crime but only thirty seconds to electrocute an innocent bystander, where the prosecution of the innocent is a fantastic replacement motto for any room with a judge’s bench, and where adherence to a strict code of unquestioned authority is more dogma than a Papal bull (yes, it’s certainly bull of some sort, even if not quite Papal). If I question the authority of an emotional wreck wearing a badge and brandishing a firearm, I am no longer a child of the revolution, no longer an anti-totalitarian, no longer a patriot standing up for freedom. Apparently I am either a terrorist or a sympathizer. Oops. My bad.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:27 pm
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