Hello everyone, today we have another example of just how stupid people can be. In this case the stupid people are the police. There have been many incidences where the police have been accused of misconduct and abuse. In fact there are whole websites devoted to this topic. In this age of YouTube we can now have almost instant documentation of such abuses. I myself had an incident where the providence police pulled me over and threatened “beat me up in front of my girlfriend.” The police were parked in a parking lot with their lights off and I had made a left hand turn onto the street where I live. I was pulled over and given no reason for the stop and when I asked what I had done that was when I was threatened. If there had been camera then I am sure that this would not have happened.
These videos can be found all over the internet and I believe that the police often forget that they have them mounted on their own squad cars. One of the best videos was taken by a driver who had cameras mounted inside his car with a wireless uplink to his website. We can see in the video that the driver was following all the proper laws and procedures and was still stopped. When he asked what he had done he was told that he had not signaled when he turned (the video clearly showed the blinker turned on during the turn. The police officer then threatens the driver offering to make up charges and arrest him. All the while the driver can be heard responding politely and respectfully. The police officer then notices the camera and quickly backtracks and lets the driver go. My favorites are the videos of police misusing the tasers. These videos just make me want to move to Alaska away from all civilization and this police state that we are turning into.
This latest video that I have found clearly shows an officer losing control of his emotions and abusing his authority by arresting a member of the media for interviewing witnesses to an accident. The police officer orders the reporter to leave and when he, on his way back to the truck, states that the camera man can film the accident, the reporter is accosted. The police officer puts his hands on the reporter, stopping him from returning to his truck and when the reporter states that he is trying to leave the officer asks him is he wants to be arrested. Then we see a trick that officers use all the time. I know this because I was told by a police officer that they are trained to do this.
The trick is to yell out actions that the person is accused of performing, actions that allow them to respond physically, even though no such actions have taken place. Officers will yell out things like “lower your hands” or “stop resisting” even if the hands are not raised and the person is not resisting. The belief is that if they state the action, later it can be documented and in effect proven that the actions have taken place even though they have not. With the widespread availability of camcorders and video phones this practice is easily spotted and called out for the manipulation and out and out lie that it is. In the video the officer yells out “take your hands off of the truck” even though the reporter is not touching the truck. The officer arrests the man even though he is trying to comply with the officers demands. What happens here is an emotional response to a tense situation. The officer gives an order and when it is not followed immediately the officer feels that his authority is threatened, then in order to keep his sense of superiority he must follow through with the only option that allows him to save face and that is to arrest the person. That will show them. Don’t get me wrong, I have great respect for police officers and feel that the majority of them do a great job. There are some however that feel that they have to display their authority like they would their badge. They are what we would have called bullies in high school. It is when this power goes to their heads that we hear stories of people getting tazed for little to no reason upwards of five to ten times while on the nearly unconscious. I have seen videos of police officers tackling children for throwing snowballs at other children or skateboarding, videos of officers knocking cyclists off of their bikes for no apparent reason. There have also been sting operations setup by people to catch police abusing their powers in other ways such as obtaining search warrants with no probable cause what so ever. People such as “Johnny justice” filming officers breaking traffic laws for no other reason other than they knew that they could get away with it. I believe that the police have entirely too much power over people in their everyday lives. They can fill out paper work with statements such as “the suspect approached in a threatening manner” and these statements are purposefully vague and completely subjective. I believe that it is high time the police are called to obey the same laws that they enforce. In this most recent video there was no reason for the officer to touch the reporter or to threaten him. Below are some links to sites that show police abuse of power. Remember that not all police abuse their power but it does seem that way doesn’t it?
http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=10216950
http://www.jimmyjustice4753.blogspot.com/
http://www.badphoenixcops.com/
http://www.videosift.com/video/Odessa-cops-raid-fake-drug-den-get-caught-on-camera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnI_xM5ujo4&feature=related
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