4 ms·

That screenshot was really high on the "weird dude power fantasy" scale. I find it very hard to believe that a cop could waste that much effort trying to burn a

• JasonADrury 9mo ago
  That forum post was made by George Erdel of the Beaufort Police Department, an actual cop.
  • IAmBroom 9mo ago
    Also, an actual predator and power abuser.
• cess11 9mo ago
  It's not a "a job". As an institution police spend a lot of effort and resources to make sure that the stuff they do is perceived as a kind of calling and very special, which is important to foster loyalty between cops and helps them psychologically endure exposing vulnerable people to violence and incapacitation. Legally they're in a protected category and 'above the law' in many ways. They get to break into other people's homes, dig through their stuff, spy on and hurt them. Commonly they're told that these actions are what keeps society from hurtling into barbarism. Being told you are superior to others is not psychologically innocent.
  • crimsoneer 9mo ago
    Most cops do not see their job like this, and mostly just want to get home at the end of the day. Yes, they probably have more than their fair share of weirdoes (in the same way most uniformed institutions disproportionately filled with young men tend to), but you know, mostly it's a job (though the US is weird).
    • cess11 9mo ago
      It's not a job. Every cop is a weirdo, they looked for opportunities to exert dominance over other people and decided against becoming social workers, medical practitioners or somesuch. Instead they joined a paramilitary force in peace time.
      • crimsoneer 9mo ago
        God, why do americans assume everywhere is like their weird place. Most countries designed their police to very specifically be civilian.
        • cess11 9mo ago
          I live in northern Europe. It's not uncommon that our cops carry submachine guns and their cars are massive. Your generic middle eastern or african paramilitary would be rather jealous of their equipment.
          • nikanj 9mo ago
            Where!?
            • cess11 9mo ago
              Sweden.
        • JasonADrury 9mo ago
          I don't think the European cops are all that much better people, even if not as murderous. Living in Paris a couple of years ago I used to regularly see cops street racing to a local restaurant for lunch with their sirens on. Their driving style was basically exactly what you'd expect street-racer kids in Eastern Europe. That kind of casual abuse of power is very telling.
      • palmotea 9mo ago
        > It's not a job. Every cop is a weirdo, they looked for opportunities to exert dominance over other people... Stereotype much? Crime is actually a thing that happens. There are definitely cops that have the wrong attitude, but the function is necessary and warrant that kind of stereotyping especially if you want it to be better. Like, here's a recipe for making policing worse: heap on so much steotyping and abuse onto the profession that you scare away all the people who aren't "look[ing] for opportunities to exert dominance over other people." Don't create a filter that only selects "bad apples."
  • nikanj 9mo ago
    They might be above the law, but nobody is above middle management. Even cops are subject to "you spent HOW much hours trying to burn one internet prostitute?"
    • cess11 9mo ago
      They do that kind of thing all the time. The institution as such does not get money based on some performance metric or other, it's usually politicians wanting to look one way or another in the press that determine their budgets.
    • fmajid 9mo ago
      He explains she was in the Chief of Police's neighborhood with irate neighbors, so he clearly had leeway to expend all resources needed to get it done.
      • nikanj 9mo ago
        How very convenient for the story