Cops Suck

I had an interesting conversation with some of my conspecifics the other day about police misconduct and my view that policing has become increasingly militaristic and hostile. To my surprise, my ally in the discussion was the right wing gun nut. On the other side were several white women 40-60 years of age who reckoned that there were a few bad cops here and there but all and all the police are our friends. I asked one of them "What's the difference between three policemen and three armed muggers?" "I don't know, what?" she replied. "I don't know, either" was the punchline. Ha, ha, ha. Pretty good for an extemporaneous joke, if I say so myself.

I don't reckon any of these ladies has ever had a run in with the police. One of them allowed as how she had seen policemen who were lazy or indifferent or cowardly in the face of a crime, but she had never experienced police oppression. I hope she doesn't get tased.

The best cops are the lazy and indifferent ones, as far as I am concerned. I refer to these as the "good" cops". The active ones are troublemakers who are most likely to get someone killed or maimed. I can't stand those guys.

There are very few cops who follow the model of community policing, who know their beat and the people who live there and who deter crime through their awareness and presence. These guys have lots of informants and helpers in the community because they are trusted. These guys can't get ahead in police departments because they don't put up the numbers. The kind of people recruited by police departments nowadays couldn't follow this model if they tried. They don't have the brainpower or people skills.