3 ms·

If you are terrified of ever interacting with the police, I would recommend that you go and meet some of them. The super majority of them are just normal people

If you are terrified of ever interacting with the police, I would recommend that you go and meet some of them. The super majority of them are just normal people trying to do good for a community. Your fear, I think, has far more to do with an availability bias of these relatively few stories getting plastered everywhere. You're much more likely to be killed in a gang or drug related shooting than you are by a cop.

CWuestefeld 10y ago
While most of my interactions with police have been fine, I have been subject to, and been witness to, several that were less-than-professional. - I've been hassled and cursed at by an officer. - I've watched a friend who was doing nothing wrong be roughed up by an officer. - I've had police give false evidence against me on a traffic citation. - As a child being physically bullied, a friend and I went to a cop for help. When we told the cop that these other kids were trying to beat us up, the reply was "you'd better watch out, they'll probably hit you again". So while it's true that not all cops are bad, my personal experience shows me that the bad seeds aren't all that rare.
Swizec 10y ago
Terrified is probably a strong word and I'm sure media bias has a strong influence on my perception. But I definitely don't feel safe about interacting with the police. From all the advice on how a cop is never your friend and you shouldn't talk to them, to all the deaths all over the internet ... how else am I supposed to feel? I'm sure all of them are upstanding citizens and perfectly awesome when off duty. I'm sure most of them are amazing when on duty. But the overall climate and police procedures or whatever it is, sure make them seem thuggy. I believe a lot of it is because they have to be thuggy in order to stay safe. But it doesn't make me feel safe.
- weberc2 10y ago
  I appreciate your honest perspective. The statistics indicate that you're much less likely to be assaulted by the police than ordinary citizens, whatever your race. > I believe a lot of it is because they have to be thuggy in order to stay safe. Perhaps then we should be focusing our attention on improving the environments they work in? For example, cracking down on violent crimes, perhaps especially those that target police?

CWuestefeld 10y ago

While most of my interactions with police have been fine, I have been subject to, and been witness to, several that were less-than-professional. - I've been hassled and cursed at by an officer. - I've watched a friend who was doing nothing wrong be roughed up by an officer. - I've had police give false evidence against me on a traffic citation. - As a child being physically bullied, a friend and I went to a cop for help. When we told the cop that these other kids were trying to beat us up, the reply was "you'd better watch out, they'll probably hit you again". So while it's true that not all cops are bad, my personal experience shows me that the bad seeds aren't all that rare.

Swizec 10y ago

Terrified is probably a strong word and I'm sure media bias has a strong influence on my perception. But I definitely don't feel safe about interacting with the police. From all the advice on how a cop is never your friend and you shouldn't talk to them, to all the deaths all over the internet ... how else am I supposed to feel? I'm sure all of them are upstanding citizens and perfectly awesome when off duty. I'm sure most of them are amazing when on duty. But the overall climate and police procedures or whatever it is, sure make them seem thuggy. I believe a lot of it is because they have to be thuggy in order to stay safe. But it doesn't make me feel safe.

weberc2 10y ago
I appreciate your honest perspective. The statistics indicate that you're much less likely to be assaulted by the police than ordinary citizens, whatever your race. > I believe a lot of it is because they have to be thuggy in order to stay safe. Perhaps then we should be focusing our attention on improving the environments they work in? For example, cracking down on violent crimes, perhaps especially those that target police?