4 ms·

Why? Most police spend their time keeping the peace and catching bad guys. That seems an intrinsically rewarding activity. No need to posit any character flaw t

by jl6 2y ago

Why? Most police spend their time keeping the peace and catching bad guys. That seems an intrinsically rewarding activity. No need to posit any character flaw to explain why someone would want to do that. Maybe you are thinking “power over other people” is the issue, but I think most cops see that as a necessary tool rather than the chief reward.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
codr7 2y ago
Could have fooled me! I'm more worried about the Police than any other class of criminals.
- s1artibartfast 2y ago
  I think that is a pretty privileged position. You might feel different if there were homicides and armed burglaries in your neighborhood
  - lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago
    Personally, I’m not so sure. That’s not to say I welcome the burglars and murderers but it would be comedy to say, “At least it can’t get any worse,” and then the police show up.
fn-mote 2y ago
> I think most cops see that as a necessary tool rather than the chief reward. The problem with this view is that there are a lot of high profile cases that are examples of people abusing their power. I am happy to believe that “most cops” see it that way. I am less familiar with those police officers supporting reforms that would either expose or suppress the bad behavior of the minority.
darioush 2y ago
This is not the problem. The problem is a higher portion of people who just want to power trip apply to these positions, even if they are not the majority of the police force. Basically, it is the dream job for a bully. It seems there should be severe penalties for "power tripping" (aka misuse of authority and databases for special purposes); slap of the wrist fine, suspended paychecks and internal investigations will not deter this group of people. I don't see how these crimes are considered less than drug dealing. Specifically the punishment should include mandatory jail time and permanent ban from jobs where they have any form of authority over others including management, teaching, and all government positions.
- 1659447091 2y ago
  > It seems there should be severe penalties for "power tripping" (aka misuse of authority and databases for special purposes) I wonder if the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act could be used against them in these cases. I'm not a law expert, but it seems to be used for similar "unauthorized access" cases.
  - plagiarist 2y ago
    For that, the country would need DAs who are willing to prosecute criminals.
itishappy 2y ago
Excerpting power over others is intrinsically rewarding too, so I'm not sure why we should only expect the pure motivation.
tasty_freeze 2y ago
There are countless videos demonstrating that some cops are power tripping. Some guy doesn't react quickly enough to a request and they get floored brutally while the cop screams at him: "Don't you dare f** with me or I'll turn you into a puddle you a*h**! Do you understand me! I said do you understand me!" You might argue that hey, he has adrenaline flowing and so maybe he was a bit over the line. But they are professionals supposedly trained in effective deescalation techniques. Those techniques aren't just because it is humane, it is because it results in better outcomes. But the ego trippers put all that aside because they enjoy being the punisher. Both of my grandfathers (and an uncle and a brother in law) were career cops. One of my grandfathers said: the power given to you as a cop either brings out the best in you or the worst.
- int_19h 2y ago
  Watch this for one of the most vivid illustrations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OflGwyWcft8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OflGwyWcft8
  - tasty_freeze 2y ago
    Yup. That cop was not only not punished, he said he has PTSD as a result. He retired young with benefits.

by jl6 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

codr7 2y ago

Could have fooled me! I'm more worried about the Police than any other class of criminals.

s1artibartfast 2y ago
I think that is a pretty privileged position. You might feel different if there were homicides and armed burglaries in your neighborhood
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 2y ago
  Personally, I’m not so sure. That’s not to say I welcome the burglars and murderers but it would be comedy to say, “At least it can’t get any worse,” and then the police show up.

fn-mote 2y ago

> I think most cops see that as a necessary tool rather than the chief reward. The problem with this view is that there are a lot of high profile cases that are examples of people abusing their power. I am happy to believe that “most cops” see it that way. I am less familiar with those police officers supporting reforms that would either expose or suppress the bad behavior of the minority.

darioush 2y ago

This is not the problem. The problem is a higher portion of people who just want to power trip apply to these positions, even if they are not the majority of the police force. Basically, it is the dream job for a bully. It seems there should be severe penalties for "power tripping" (aka misuse of authority and databases for special purposes); slap of the wrist fine, suspended paychecks and internal investigations will not deter this group of people. I don't see how these crimes are considered less than drug dealing. Specifically the punishment should include mandatory jail time and permanent ban from jobs where they have any form of authority over others including management, teaching, and all government positions.

1659447091 2y ago
> It seems there should be severe penalties for "power tripping" (aka misuse of authority and databases for special purposes) I wonder if the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act could be used against them in these cases. I'm not a law expert, but it seems to be used for similar "unauthorized access" cases.
- plagiarist 2y ago
  For that, the country would need DAs who are willing to prosecute criminals.

itishappy 2y ago

Excerpting power over others is intrinsically rewarding too, so I'm not sure why we should only expect the pure motivation.

tasty_freeze 2y ago

There are countless videos demonstrating that some cops are power tripping. Some guy doesn't react quickly enough to a request and they get floored brutally while the cop screams at him: "Don't you dare f** with me or I'll turn you into a puddle you a*h**! Do you understand me! I said do you understand me!" You might argue that hey, he has adrenaline flowing and so maybe he was a bit over the line. But they are professionals supposedly trained in effective deescalation techniques. Those techniques aren't just because it is humane, it is because it results in better outcomes. But the ego trippers put all that aside because they enjoy being the punisher. Both of my grandfathers (and an uncle and a brother in law) were career cops. One of my grandfathers said: the power given to you as a cop either brings out the best in you or the worst.

int_19h 2y ago
Watch this for one of the most vivid illustrations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OflGwyWcft8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OflGwyWcft8
- tasty_freeze 2y ago
  Yup. That cop was not only not punished, he said he has PTSD as a result. He retired young with benefits.