3 ms·

Well ordinary people have an option of just walking away that police officers generally have a duty not to, meaning they put themselves into tense situations in

by yuliyp 3y ago

Well ordinary people have an option of just walking away that police officers generally have a duty not to, meaning they put themselves into tense situations in the course of doing their jobs.

woodruffw 3y ago
This is a common misconception: under the Public Duty doctrine, the police have no obligation to intervene in any particular public instance of crime[1]. Their duty to the public is a “general” one, which makes it an extremely weak duty. [1]: https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/police-civil-liability-failure-protect-public-duty-doctrine https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/police-c...
- seanw444 3y ago
  As well as being consistently reaffirmed by various courts that the police have no constitutional duty to protect the public. Only the people in their immediate custody.
  - woodruffw 3y ago
    That duty to protect in custody is also frequently not respected[1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima
usednet 3y ago
Wasn’t it also in New York where an on-duty cop watched a guy get stabbed on the subway from a few feet away and actively chose to do nothing without punishment?
tehwebguy 3y ago
This might sound like common sense but the opposite is more true. Police may walk away from just about any interaction with the public, even if they know that death or serious injury will happen unless they intervene (though there may be states that have legislated exceptions to this). Most working people may be fired for not engaging a potential customer, client, vendor or someone else they’d normally interact with as part of their job. They can even be fired for simply not being friendly enough in one of these interactions.
ROTMetro 3y ago
Hot take: Community policing should be separate from warrant enforcement. A huge part of police's 'fear' is from not knowing who in any interaction is at risk of being incarcerated for 20 years and has an outstanding warrant and might therefor do whatever it takes to avoid that. Community policing should be about community policing and needs to be de-escalated. Warrant enforcement should be warrant enforcement. This would make police less fearful and less justified in their hostility.

by yuliyp 3y ago

Well ordinary people have an option of just walking away that police officers generally have a duty not to, meaning they put themselves into tense situations in the course of doing their jobs.

woodruffw 3y ago

This is a common misconception: under the Public Duty doctrine, the police have no obligation to intervene in any particular public instance of crime[1]. Their duty to the public is a “general” one, which makes it an extremely weak duty. [1]: https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/police-civil-liability-failure-protect-public-duty-doctrine https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/police-c...

seanw444 3y ago
As well as being consistently reaffirmed by various courts that the police have no constitutional duty to protect the public. Only the people in their immediate custody.
- woodruffw 3y ago
  That duty to protect in custody is also frequently not respected[1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima

usednet 3y ago

Wasn’t it also in New York where an on-duty cop watched a guy get stabbed on the subway from a few feet away and actively chose to do nothing without punishment?

tehwebguy 3y ago

This might sound like common sense but the opposite is more true. Police may walk away from just about any interaction with the public, even if they know that death or serious injury will happen unless they intervene (though there may be states that have legislated exceptions to this). Most working people may be fired for not engaging a potential customer, client, vendor or someone else they’d normally interact with as part of their job. They can even be fired for simply not being friendly enough in one of these interactions.

ROTMetro 3y ago

Hot take: Community policing should be separate from warrant enforcement. A huge part of police's 'fear' is from not knowing who in any interaction is at risk of being incarcerated for 20 years and has an outstanding warrant and might therefor do whatever it takes to avoid that. Community policing should be about community policing and needs to be de-escalated. Warrant enforcement should be warrant enforcement. This would make police less fearful and less justified in their hostility.