3 ms·

> They drove drunk, cheated on time cards, brutalized family members, even killed others with their recklessness on the road. But thanks to some of the weakest

by rb808 7y ago

> They drove drunk, cheated on time cards, brutalized family members, even killed others with their recklessness on the road. But thanks to some of the weakest laws in the country for punishing police misconduct, the Golden State does nothing to stop these officers from enforcing the law. Honestly I dont like the American enthusiasm for restricting employment of criminals that have served their time. If someone had a DUI or cheated on time cards in their past I have no problem with them being a cop. Brutalizing family members sounds more serious but I'd like to find out more before judging someone on a brief description.

s1artibartfast 7y ago
It would be interesting to see how the rates compare to other professions. >More than 80 law enforcement officers working today in California are convicted criminals So 80/80,000 have some sort of misdemeanor conviction. I wonder how many of those are serious and how the rate compares to doctors, politicians, and engineers
- jonathankoren 7y ago
  You also have to keep in mind that cops also by statute have a much higher bar for conviction, which not only means they are more likely to not to be found guilty, but not even prosecuted for acts that would be an open and shut case for anyone else. Also, let’s not forget sovereign immunity also applies to cops. And this on top of the the fact that cops underreport cop crimes, and prosecutors use their discretion to not prosecute cops by a huge margin.
chrisweekly 7y ago
Those were examples of POLICE MISCONDUCT. Which is to say, crimes committed WHILE THEY WERE EMPLOYED AS POLICE OFFICERS. This has precisely nothing to do with employment discrimination against former felons. It has to do with enabling ongoing criminal behavior by police officers -- those very people entrusted with a sacred privileged duty to uphold the law -- without fear of consequence. Police officers (and judges and others granted power by our society to wield life-and-death power over other citizens) must be held to the highest standards in their conduct.
ohashi 7y ago
Why are cops getting special privilege that normal citizens aren't? I'm not a fan of the criminal justice and reform system either. But police should be held to a higher standard, not lower one.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  It's a lot harder to find motivation to go hard enforcing this or that law when you know that if you broke this or that law they'd receive the same treatment.
- Nasrudith 7y ago
  Because the system was messed up by mistake or design that they are effectively a bloc of power instead of being properly subordinate to its citizens. "Law and Order", "Tough On Crime", and other DA election scare tactics have resulted in them having too much electoral power to be accountable - which media coverage also shares blame in. And this is before stupid human tricks of those completely unprivileged by the existing system judging those who are higher up to a lower standard.
Ididntdothis 7y ago
I think being in the justice system like law enforcement or judiciary where decisions are made about life and death should require higher standards than other jobs. I know somebody whose cop ex-husband first beat her and then terrorized her for years. No local cop would ever do anything about it. She moved away a few hundred miles and even there he managed to get other cops to harass her constantly. This should just not be possible and people who behave like that simply aren’t fit to be a cop. From what I know stuff like this is quite common. Addition: the abusive ex-husband retired with 50 and pulls a 150k pension now.
big_chungus 7y ago
I'd break drunk driving and cheating on time cards into separate categories, as there are different reasons to deny each a job. Drunk driving can reveal poor judgement and a lack of foresight. Cheating on time cards can reveal a lack of ethics. It could also reveal a personal struggle with gambling, drugs, or other other financial problems. These sorts of problems constantly demand more money and might cause future fraud or theft issues due to on-going or escalating financial desperation. Of course, all that aside, it's often easy to tell if someone's "turned toward the light" and grown up a bit, usually making him okay to hire. I'd agree that brutalizing family members probably reveals a pretty screwed-up guy, and probably wouldn't ever hire such a person. It's worse than murder; one has to be more of a psychopath to hurt those he loves than walk walking into a store and shoot a man as part of an armed robbery.
aidenn0 7y ago
A DUI for someone who spends much of their work hours behind the wheel is a significant issue, IMO. 2 DUIs bans you for life from getting a CDL in California, and the BAC level to be considered a DUI is half that as someone without a CDL, even when not driving a commercial vehicle.

by rb808 7y ago

s1artibartfast 7y ago

It would be interesting to see how the rates compare to other professions. >More than 80 law enforcement officers working today in California are convicted criminals So 80/80,000 have some sort of misdemeanor conviction. I wonder how many of those are serious and how the rate compares to doctors, politicians, and engineers

jonathankoren 7y ago
You also have to keep in mind that cops also by statute have a much higher bar for conviction, which not only means they are more likely to not to be found guilty, but not even prosecuted for acts that would be an open and shut case for anyone else. Also, let’s not forget sovereign immunity also applies to cops. And this on top of the the fact that cops underreport cop crimes, and prosecutors use their discretion to not prosecute cops by a huge margin.

chrisweekly 7y ago

Those were examples of POLICE MISCONDUCT. Which is to say, crimes committed WHILE THEY WERE EMPLOYED AS POLICE OFFICERS. This has precisely nothing to do with employment discrimination against former felons. It has to do with enabling ongoing criminal behavior by police officers -- those very people entrusted with a sacred privileged duty to uphold the law -- without fear of consequence. Police officers (and judges and others granted power by our society to wield life-and-death power over other citizens) must be held to the highest standards in their conduct.

ohashi 7y ago

Why are cops getting special privilege that normal citizens aren't? I'm not a fan of the criminal justice and reform system either. But police should be held to a higher standard, not lower one.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
It's a lot harder to find motivation to go hard enforcing this or that law when you know that if you broke this or that law they'd receive the same treatment.
Nasrudith 7y ago
Because the system was messed up by mistake or design that they are effectively a bloc of power instead of being properly subordinate to its citizens. "Law and Order", "Tough On Crime", and other DA election scare tactics have resulted in them having too much electoral power to be accountable - which media coverage also shares blame in. And this is before stupid human tricks of those completely unprivileged by the existing system judging those who are higher up to a lower standard.

Ididntdothis 7y ago

I think being in the justice system like law enforcement or judiciary where decisions are made about life and death should require higher standards than other jobs. I know somebody whose cop ex-husband first beat her and then terrorized her for years. No local cop would ever do anything about it. She moved away a few hundred miles and even there he managed to get other cops to harass her constantly. This should just not be possible and people who behave like that simply aren’t fit to be a cop. From what I know stuff like this is quite common. Addition: the abusive ex-husband retired with 50 and pulls a 150k pension now.

big_chungus 7y ago

I'd break drunk driving and cheating on time cards into separate categories, as there are different reasons to deny each a job. Drunk driving can reveal poor judgement and a lack of foresight. Cheating on time cards can reveal a lack of ethics. It could also reveal a personal struggle with gambling, drugs, or other other financial problems. These sorts of problems constantly demand more money and might cause future fraud or theft issues due to on-going or escalating financial desperation. Of course, all that aside, it's often easy to tell if someone's "turned toward the light" and grown up a bit, usually making him okay to hire. I'd agree that brutalizing family members probably reveals a pretty screwed-up guy, and probably wouldn't ever hire such a person. It's worse than murder; one has to be more of a psychopath to hurt those he loves than walk walking into a store and shoot a man as part of an armed robbery.

aidenn0 7y ago

A DUI for someone who spends much of their work hours behind the wheel is a significant issue, IMO. 2 DUIs bans you for life from getting a CDL in California, and the BAC level to be considered a DUI is half that as someone without a CDL, even when not driving a commercial vehicle.