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There is an ever growing boundary between ordinary citizens and government officials. Unless there is a drastic shift, this does not bode well for the U.S. as a

There is an ever growing boundary between ordinary citizens and government officials. Unless there is a drastic shift, this does not bode well for the U.S. as a country.

whamlastxmas 7y ago
In Denver there are "Civilian Crash Investigation" cars which drives me crazy. Police and government officials are also civilians. The distinction on the car is such an "us vs them" mentality and very out of touch.
- jadell 7y ago
  Police use military terminology when talking among themselves. Many current police officers come from the military before becoming police. Officers refer to non-LEO as "civilians". If the police are supposed to be a civilian agency, someone forgot to tell them. The "us v. them" mentality comes from both sides. Though my personal opinion is: the police (and the government they serve) started it and actively encourage it.
mindslight 7y ago
The distinction is longstanding, from a simpler time. The problem is that the police are taking more and more advantage of it. Indemnifying police for the damages they cause makes it so they have no reason to even consider them. We'd expect these externalities to grow larger over time, because there's no incentive for them not to. Wait for the suspect to come out, or play commando? It's all the same to them. The current situation is a weird reverse-lottery wherein only a rare unlucky victim is expected to bear the burden of a societal cost. Police departments should be civilly responsible for damage caused by their actions, end of story. This story, casualties from high speed chases, arrests of innocent people. These are all damages created by explicit choices by police, and thus whomever is enabling/funding the police departments should be responsible for them. If cities/insurers/taxpayers don't like having to pay for what they're enabling, then they will institute policies to reign in the police to keep them from doing such things!
t0mbstone 7y ago
The answer is simple. Initiate a high speed chase directly to the homes of your local judges and see how they like it when the police destroy their homes.

There is an ever growing boundary between ordinary citizens and government officials. Unless there is a drastic shift, this does not bode well for the U.S. as a country.

whamlastxmas 7y ago

In Denver there are "Civilian Crash Investigation" cars which drives me crazy. Police and government officials are also civilians. The distinction on the car is such an "us vs them" mentality and very out of touch.

jadell 7y ago
Police use military terminology when talking among themselves. Many current police officers come from the military before becoming police. Officers refer to non-LEO as "civilians". If the police are supposed to be a civilian agency, someone forgot to tell them. The "us v. them" mentality comes from both sides. Though my personal opinion is: the police (and the government they serve) started it and actively encourage it.

mindslight 7y ago

The distinction is longstanding, from a simpler time. The problem is that the police are taking more and more advantage of it. Indemnifying police for the damages they cause makes it so they have no reason to even consider them. We'd expect these externalities to grow larger over time, because there's no incentive for them not to. Wait for the suspect to come out, or play commando? It's all the same to them. The current situation is a weird reverse-lottery wherein only a rare unlucky victim is expected to bear the burden of a societal cost. Police departments should be civilly responsible for damage caused by their actions, end of story. This story, casualties from high speed chases, arrests of innocent people. These are all damages created by explicit choices by police, and thus whomever is enabling/funding the police departments should be responsible for them. If cities/insurers/taxpayers don't like having to pay for what they're enabling, then they will institute policies to reign in the police to keep them from doing such things!

t0mbstone 7y ago

The answer is simple. Initiate a high speed chase directly to the homes of your local judges and see how they like it when the police destroy their homes.