4 ms·

I completely agree with this take. 85% of police officers voted for Tump in 2016. Just from personal experience, I've noticed a growing animosity from police p

I completely agree with this take. 85% of police officers voted for Tump in 2016. Just from personal experience, I've noticed a growing animosity from police pushing back on the reform movements happening across the country. I've heard officers refusing to be involved in psychiatric calls due to changes in use of force laws which could hold them personally accountable. Instead of working to find a legal solution, their attitude seems to be one of revenge and their actions a punitive measure on the electorate and government which chose to enact those laws. There is a culture of us vs. them that is being focused towards politicians and reformists. I hope it's not a pervasive one.

giarc 6y ago
>85% of police officers voted for Tump in 2016. That's likely a national statistic. Remember, these are police in DC, a very liberal area.
- robk 6y ago
  On police salary they live in Calvert or Charles or Fauquier Counties which are still oases of red.
- jorblumesea 6y ago
  Very few police officers actually live in the area they work in. Most live far outside the city in the suburbs or more red areas. Either due to cost of living or politics. This often contributes to the "us vs them" divide because the people policing neighborhoods are often from different areas, ethnicity, incomes and political leanings.
  - cozzyd 6y ago
    Even in places like Chicago where there is a residency requirement, most officers tend to live in "cop and firemen" neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city. This has some predictable consequences: https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/12/20/police-heavy-wards-get-the-least-parking-tickets-out-of-any-in-chicago-data-shows/ https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/12/20/police-heavy-wards-g...
- wolrah 6y ago
  > That's likely a national statistic. Remember, these are police in DC, a very liberal area. Still cops. I personally know two DC area cops who are quite red. Remember, police organizations have been pushing the idea that anyone who protests police brutality is anti-cop and the right wing have more or less 100% stood by them or encouraged them.
leereeves 6y ago
It's not surprising that police don't side with Democrats who vilify them for defending themselves, and refuse to respond to psychiatric calls that might make them a target. Consider the killing of Walter Wallace, one of the "psychiatric incidents" you're talking about: > Several 9-1-1 calls were made by Wallace's sister, brother, and neighbor, telling dispatchers that Wallace was assaulting his parents > The two officers arrived in the area to respond to a domestic dispute. When they arrived, Wallace walked out of his house carrying a knife. The two officers backed away while telling him to drop the knife, and as Wallace walked in their direction, each officer fired several rounds at Wallace, hitting him in the shoulder and chest. He later died from his wounds in the hospital. Wallace's family stated that Wallace was having a mental health crisis. > Protests and demonstrations against police brutality and institutional racism in response to Wallace's killing took place across Philadelphia throughout late October. > The then-presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris published a joint statement saying, "Our hearts are broken for the family of Walter Wallace Jr... We cannot accept that in this country a mental health crisis ends in death."[34] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Walter_Wallace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Walter_Wallace Body cam video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl1QBL8TijI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl1QBL8TijI Edit: And it really says something about our ability to discuss facts on Hacker News when quotes from Wikipedia and a body cam video are downvoted to invisibility.
- glial 6y ago
  I’m sorry, but can you really not think of any other way to subdue somebody with a knife than shoot them?
  - leereeves 6y ago
    Never having been in a knife fight, I'm not going to speculate or second guess people who put their lives on the line. What's your expertise in this area?
    - glial 6y ago
      No expertise, but just offhand one could use beanbags, rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray, tranquilizers, etc - Is there a good reason that these are not options? Why jump straight to shooting someone multiple times? Maybe I’m just not understanding something.
tomatotomato37 6y ago
It does beg the question; if your the leader of a political faction, who is currently faced off against another faction which has spent the last something years courting the prime authority figures in the region, what's the next tactical step after that faction starts starting shit and those authority figures who are tasked with stopping said shit refuse to act? Is the only solution to quickly bootstrap your own brand of authority figures and hope yours is bigger than theirs?
BugsJustFindMe 6y ago
> 85% of police officers voted for Tump in 2016. Is there a source for this claim? All I could find was https://www.policemag.com/342098/the-2016-police-presidential-poll https://www.policemag.com/342098/the-2016-police-presidentia... It says that 84% of responding email-registered readers of POLICE MAGAZINE indicated that that they would vote for Trump. That's not the same as what you said at all. This magazine "emailed 59,238 readers". There are more than 10x that many full-time police officers in the US. Can one conclude that the responding fraction of this tiny-circulation magazine's readership is statistically representative of all police officers in the country?

giarc 6y ago

>85% of police officers voted for Tump in 2016. That's likely a national statistic. Remember, these are police in DC, a very liberal area.

robk 6y ago
On police salary they live in Calvert or Charles or Fauquier Counties which are still oases of red.
jorblumesea 6y ago
Very few police officers actually live in the area they work in. Most live far outside the city in the suburbs or more red areas. Either due to cost of living or politics. This often contributes to the "us vs them" divide because the people policing neighborhoods are often from different areas, ethnicity, incomes and political leanings.
- cozzyd 6y ago
  Even in places like Chicago where there is a residency requirement, most officers tend to live in "cop and firemen" neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city. This has some predictable consequences: https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/12/20/police-heavy-wards-get-the-least-parking-tickets-out-of-any-in-chicago-data-shows/ https://blockclubchicago.org/2018/12/20/police-heavy-wards-g...
wolrah 6y ago
> That's likely a national statistic. Remember, these are police in DC, a very liberal area. Still cops. I personally know two DC area cops who are quite red. Remember, police organizations have been pushing the idea that anyone who protests police brutality is anti-cop and the right wing have more or less 100% stood by them or encouraged them.

leereeves 6y ago

It's not surprising that police don't side with Democrats who vilify them for defending themselves, and refuse to respond to psychiatric calls that might make them a target. Consider the killing of Walter Wallace, one of the "psychiatric incidents" you're talking about: > Several 9-1-1 calls were made by Wallace's sister, brother, and neighbor, telling dispatchers that Wallace was assaulting his parents > The two officers arrived in the area to respond to a domestic dispute. When they arrived, Wallace walked out of his house carrying a knife. The two officers backed away while telling him to drop the knife, and as Wallace walked in their direction, each officer fired several rounds at Wallace, hitting him in the shoulder and chest. He later died from his wounds in the hospital. Wallace's family stated that Wallace was having a mental health crisis. > Protests and demonstrations against police brutality and institutional racism in response to Wallace's killing took place across Philadelphia throughout late October. > The then-presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris published a joint statement saying, "Our hearts are broken for the family of Walter Wallace Jr... We cannot accept that in this country a mental health crisis ends in death."[34] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Walter_Wallace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Walter_Wallace Body cam video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl1QBL8TijI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl1QBL8TijI Edit: And it really says something about our ability to discuss facts on Hacker News when quotes from Wikipedia and a body cam video are downvoted to invisibility.

glial 6y ago
I’m sorry, but can you really not think of any other way to subdue somebody with a knife than shoot them?
- leereeves 6y ago
  Never having been in a knife fight, I'm not going to speculate or second guess people who put their lives on the line. What's your expertise in this area?
  - glial 6y ago
    No expertise, but just offhand one could use beanbags, rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray, tranquilizers, etc - Is there a good reason that these are not options? Why jump straight to shooting someone multiple times? Maybe I’m just not understanding something.

tomatotomato37 6y ago

It does beg the question; if your the leader of a political faction, who is currently faced off against another faction which has spent the last something years courting the prime authority figures in the region, what's the next tactical step after that faction starts starting shit and those authority figures who are tasked with stopping said shit refuse to act? Is the only solution to quickly bootstrap your own brand of authority figures and hope yours is bigger than theirs?

BugsJustFindMe 6y ago

> 85% of police officers voted for Tump in 2016. Is there a source for this claim? All I could find was https://www.policemag.com/342098/the-2016-police-presidential-poll https://www.policemag.com/342098/the-2016-police-presidentia... It says that 84% of responding email-registered readers of POLICE MAGAZINE indicated that that they would vote for Trump. That's not the same as what you said at all. This magazine "emailed 59,238 readers". There are more than 10x that many full-time police officers in the US. Can one conclude that the responding fraction of this tiny-circulation magazine's readership is statistically representative of all police officers in the country?