After writing so many columns on police issues, I suppose I should make the disclaimer that my dad was a cop. I’m morally certain he was a good man, and that — however much we might differ on politics were he still alive — he was scrupulously just by his standards.
But when I see a cop in my rearview mirror, I don’t like having to hope it’s a decent person. And there’s good reason to assume any cop you see is a bad person.
The town where my dad worked as a cop topped out at under 20,000 people when he retired in the 1970s. The kinds of people who chose to work in small towns, policing their neighbors in communities where everyone knew everyone else, were a lot different from those who find police work appealing today.
Urban police forces are disproportionately attractive to people who get off on wearing black uniforms and making displays of force to terrorize the local population into submission (er, “compliance”). They appeal to people who enjoy stomping around in loud boots and kicking in doors at 3AM, terrorizing children and shooting pets.
They appeal, in short, to sociopaths.
Here’s a quote from a Cato study on police militarization: “We send out two, two-to-four-men cars, we look for minor violations and do jump-outs. … After we jump-out the second car provides periphery cover with an ostentatious display of weaponry. We’re sending a clear message: if the shootings don’t stop, we’ll shoot someone.”
In 2009 Homer, Louisiana’s police chief stated: “If I see three or four young black men walking down the street, I have to stop them and check their names. I want them to be afraid every time they see the police …”
In that context consider the recent arrest of Emily Good, in Rochester, NY — while standing in her own front yard — for filming cops making a bust. The arresting officer claimed she was “interfering” with the arrest and he “didn’t feel safe” with her back there. He initially told her it wasn’t legal to film him from the sidewalk, but he escalated matters after she stepped back onto the grass.
Now, in most jurisdictions, there is — as civil liberties advocates have made themselves hoarse repeating — no law against filming public servants in a public place performing their official duties. They have, in the phrase so dear to police statists, “no reasonable expectation of privacy.” The police chief, after the fact, claimed the arrest wasn’t about filming the officer as such. He was lying.
Ms. Good was arrested, quite simply, because she didn’t properly cower and abase herself, didn’t show proper deference and submission (er, “compliance”) before an Alpha Male. So like a Rottweiler with his adrenaline up, Officer Friendly went off on her. You’ve got to expect that sort of thing — it’s in the breed.
Frankly, it doesn’t matter what the “law” is about recording cops. If you’re spotted doing it, be prepared to have your face smashed into the concrete and your phone stomped to pieces.
What was the local police reaction to the controversy? Did they respect Ms. Good’s legal right to challenge the arrest, to speak her mind on public policy? Did they agree, as public servants subject to civilian authority, to abide by the outcome of any official inquiry? Does the Pope in Rome run a madrasa?
During a public meeting in support of Ms. Good, police carefully used a ruler to determine which cars were parked more than a food away from the curb. Do you think they enforce deviations from the parking regulations so scrupulously when ticketing random cars downtown?
This was retaliation, pure and simple. One of the sheep defied a beast of prey, and his pack turned on her. Likewise, in other cases where cops are recorded in the commission of similar wrongdoing — like public drunkenness and urination, abusive behavior toward the public, etc., during Police Week celebrations — members of the Brotherhood react by leaving threatening messages on websites where the footage is posted.
On occasion, some cop’s instincts toward decency cause him to violate the code of silence and report misconduct by another member of the Brotherhood. This is the unpardonable sin for which there is no forgiveness, either in this world or in the next.
So next time you interact with a cop, don’t stand on your rights. If you film him, make sure it’s as unobtrusive as possible. Say “yes, sir,” smile an ingratiating smile, and act properly intimidated. By all means, make an example of him — memorize his badge number — but do it after the fact. Otherwise, you may wind up explaining your “legal rights” to Saint Peter.
"And there’s good reason to assume any cop you see is a bad person"
That's like saying "There's good reason to assume any black man you see is a criminal"
Grow the fuck up.
Robert, are black men disproportionately permitted to engage in conduct without accountability which would ordinarily be considered criminal? Do people choose to become black men so as to have powers of coercion over others?
My recent post I thought I was a feminist, but it turns out I'm a "rape-supporter."
Robert —
Nobody is born a cop. It's a criminal organisation that people choose to join, where membership brings with it privileges over other people. A little different from race, I think.
Kevin pointed out several reasons why there's a good reason to assume any cop you see is a bad person.
So, Robert – shut the fuck up.
No, Robert, it's not like saying that at all. There's no inherent link between skin color and criminality. What would such a link amount to? By contrast, there's an obvious link between being willing to accept a job that involves using force to keep the putatively undesirable in line and punish people who haven't done anything wrong on the one hand and being a person with serious personal problems on the other.
Any person who uses the phrase "grow the fuck up" inherently needs to grow up themselves.
Other than that, good article, Kevin.
Thank you Gary, you saved my time trying to correct Robert. On the other hand, "Never try to teach a pig to sing, It wastes your time and it annoys the pig." – Robert Heinlein
Sadly, pitifully, and statistically, there is ALSO every good reason to assume any black male you see is a criminal under some circumstances. The people of a number of inner city neighborhoods would tell you that in a flash if they were honest about it. Would YOU, Robert, walk alone, at night, unarmed in some parts of Chicago or Washington D.C.? Really? Even if you are black yourself?
Thank you for posting this, kevin. I needed to know that others are seeing the same thing I am and that I'm not nuts! Cops, today, are pigs and sociopaths and anyone who joins their ranks are of the same caliber. They ARE very bad people! I had a step-grandson who used to set fires….played with GI Joes until he was 16…and molested my two natural Grandchildren. He admitted the molestation to the thugs(pigs) and was NOT held accountable…perhaps because his father was a firefighter and part of the thug brotherhood. He is now in his twenties and….drum roll please…..has become a pig…in louisiana, no less!!!!
The pedant in me (I hate that guy sometimes) feels the need to point out that the Arabic word مدرسة (madrasa) simply means "school". Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't also point-out the complete truth in the underlying theme. Good one, Kevin.
Todd S., the pedant in me feels the need to point out that “madrasa[t]” (with a softened or de-emphasised final “t” sound that is hardly pronounced – your transcription is wrong) only means “school” metaphorically, and that it literally means “place or thing of learning”, from “darasa” meaning “he was learning”. Of course, the metaphor is the usual meaning. Note that the final “t” sound does make a difference, providing a “hook” for the final “a” sound and making it grammatically feminine, so selecting the lighter weight or less serious of alternative metaphorical meanings (compare and contrast “muktab” meaning “office” and “muktaba[t]” meaning “library”, from “kataba” meaning “he was writing”).
In view of that, consider what the difference between a madras and a madrasa might be.
Umm.. no. The "tah marbuta" (tied T) at the end is not pronounced unless the word is followed by another word that begins with a vowel sound (typically the definite article "al"). Such as المدرسة الابتدائية (elementary school or primary school). And even then you won't find everyone enunciating it in actual speech.
Interesting choice with "maktab" مكتب as it can also mean "school" though rarely used that way. Yes it means "office", but also means "desk" (in other words, a place for writing) and is frequently used in that context, both as a reference to an actual piece of furniture and as a reference to an agency or bureau. Maktaba مكتبة is not a form of maktab; it's a different word and it does mean "library". If you were to actually pronounce the t you would be confusing your listener since it would sound like the plural form of the word then (libraries). The T part of the "tied T" is not pronounced.
So, in view of that, I'm considering that madras is not an actual word in Arabic. Unless of course you typed it into Google translate and it gave you back مدرس (teacher). The problem there is that that word is pronounced "mudarris", not "madras"; Google doesn't display the diacritical marks. In fact, outside of a Quran or Arabic textbook you'll almost never see them.
By the same token – don't trust a member of a PDA in Libertopia? They're only accountable to their subscribers, at best.
I don't see any evidence in this article that Kevin supports PDAs. But you are right in your assertion that a private police force would be just as bad as a state-run one. Anyone given the role of a thug hired to exercise aggression over others – regardless of whom they work for – will find their morals going to hell quite fast.
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Or don't trust a homeowner who has a shady-comedic warning sign to the tune of "Is there life after death? Jump my fence and find out"?
Todd S., with all due respect:-
- ‘Umm.. no. The “tah marbuta” (tied T) at the end is not pronounced unless the word is followed by another word that begins with a vowel sound (typically the definite article “al”).’ is missing the point. I told you that the softened or de-emphasised final “t” sound is hardly pronounced; but it still has to be there in the transcription, or there wouldn’t be anything to “hang” the final vowel sound on. So, omitting it is a poor transcription. Yes, it’s a quibble – but we were exercising our quibbling.
- ‘Maktaba مكتبة is not a form of maktab’ is also missing the point. I never claimed that it was the same word, I was just pointing out that, of the two different words you can get by going the construction route of sticking “m-” in front of something based on (say) the “ktb” root and varying the gender, the grammatically feminine one is generally chosen to match the less hard nosed of the available meanings. (I’m pretty closely quoting my own instructor, here.)
- When I mentioned “madras”, that was a question, or idle speculation, about just what the grammatically masculine analogue of madrasa might turn out to be/mean, if there was one. It was not a mistyping of yet another word (though I would have picked “ustez” for teacher, in the context I was studying it – just as I would have used “mindada” for desk, as well as for table).
A lot of aggressive institutions have their root in (illegitimate) property ownership. It's where the police – and the state – have their origin.
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The difference between a citizen assuming a cop is a bad person and a cop assuming a black man is a criminal is the fact that citizens don't have power over cops whereas a cop has power over the citizenry.
Fantastic piece, Kevin. The recent Kelly Thomas beating only cements this. Of course police work is like the army. We glorify it so much, it becomes so noble that no wonder boys are attracted to it.
I think Gil has me confused with some right-libertarian bugbear in his head. Imagining a society where all social functions are carried out by business firms in the cash nexus is an anarcho-cap thing. I'm a market anarchist.
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