I thought this was kind of neat. A bystander video taped this and put it on youtube originally. What made me sad was that TONS of comments on the original were that it was just a PR stunt, not real, no way, etc.
Exactly my point.
Probably because who the fuck needs cops shaking their groove thang? You're on the damned job and you want me to give you kudos because you dropped it like it's hot?
No, people want cops to not be hard asses when she show up on your door step. They want officers to be fucking polite when they knock on your door, to maintain eye contact, to speak to them as someone approaching equals and not like some swaggering douchenuts who assumes you're operating a drug ring out of your basement.
Yes, my god, how dare people assume that a SYTYCD moment must be staged. That totally means the cops have a bad rep.
Probably because who the fuck needs cops shaking their groove thang? You're on the damned job and you want me to give you kudos because you dropped it like it's hot? No, people want cops to not be hard asses when she show up on your door step. They want officers to be fucking polite when they knock on your door, to maintain eye contact, to speak to them as someone approaching equals and not like some swaggering douchenuts who assumes you're operating a drug ring out of your basement.
Yes, my god, how dare people assume that a SYTYCD moment must be staged. That totally means the cops have a bad rep.
It was asked up post why cops don't get out of their cars, off their bikes and walk beats. Be a part of the community. The kids were dancing in the streets already and the cops got out of their cars and participated. This is an example.
OR they could have--you know told the kids to get off the streets an stopped loitering and causing trouble. Then when they didn't move fast enough they could have beat them.
ETA: also, a cop can get out of his car and have fun--and do the bolded as well. They SHOULD do the bolded without a doubt. Both go into being a member of your community.
Probably because who the fuck needs cops shaking their groove thang? You're on the damned job and you want me to give you kudos because you dropped it like it's hot?
No, people want cops to not be hard asses when she show up on your door step. They want officers to be fucking polite when they knock on your door, to maintain eye contact, to speak to them as someone approaching equals and not like some swaggering douchenuts who assumes you're operating a drug ring out of your basement.
Yes, my god, how dare people assume that a SYTYCD moment must be staged. That totally means the cops have a bad rep.
And why did the police director or whatever in that article say the black man "was acting like a jerk?" So someone acting like a jerk makes it ok to do the wrong fucking thing? I don't even think the guy was acting like a jerk anyway.
I think teachers and doctors should stop doing their job properly with students who act like jerks or patients who act like jerks. Student is a jerk...fail him. Patient is a jerk...don't give CPR. Why is ok for police to be assholes and not to the proper job?
See, I'm going to have to step out because you two are missing the damned point.
For one, there is a middle ground between dancing in the streets and firing tear gas at protesters. Until officers in these neighborhoods regularly engage the public in a more evenhanded manner and are respectful even when approaching suspects, doing the macarena in the city streets will not change anything. Because you see, those neighborhood kids might remember officer Bad Romance but they remember the way cops speak to them when they bust in their houses looking for a cousin they aren't related to or the nastiness of their tone when he pulled over their big brother last week for looking black.
Secondly, the reputation of the police has absolutely not suffered with these videos. For starters, many of these videos aren't even new. They are the same old story on a newer day. They don't tell black folks anything they didn't already knew and they aren't convincing white folks who don't care that this happens regularly or that it happens to people who don't deserve it.
So I'm really confused as to what you guys are arguing or even advocating. Do you want channel four to dedicate a nightly segment to showing how cops are the good guys? Because what I want is a complete overhaul of police department training including the way they deal with the public in every day interactions. I guarantee what I want is going to be more helpful to society at large than it will be to highlight each time a beat cop stopped to shoot a few hoops when walking past the Y. Because you know sure as shit he isn't stopping to shoot a few hoops with the 17 year olds playing ball at the run down playground. At least not without frisking them first because where two or more somewhat grown black men are gathered, there will be crack also.
Probably because who the fuck needs cops shaking their groove thang? You're on the damned job and you want me to give you kudos because you dropped it like it's hot?
No, people want cops to not be hard asses when she show up on your door step. They want officers to be fucking polite when they knock on your door, to maintain eye contact, to speak to them as someone approaching equals and not like some swaggering douchenuts who assumes you're operating a drug ring out of your basement.
Yes, my god, how dare people assume that a SYTYCD moment must be staged. That totally means the cops have a bad rep.
But why can't cops do that? I mean I wouldn't, but I don't see a problem with it. Kids love that kind of stuff. They love it when their teacher knows the latest dance and tries to do it. Same with cops. Kids would be like I can't believe cop so and so knows how to do whatever. Or if they get out there and play ball or jump rope or whatever the kids are doing. It is sometimes a way to bridge that gap. And I guess it falls flat with many people. Whatever.
They could if they got off their asses and tried to improve PR with the public rather than getting on a power trip because they are the "Good guys/gals with guns." Again, f 'em
I'll just drop that my (lily white) mama lives in a "transitional neighborhood" in south philly and is that lady who knows the names of all the kids on her block, will start sweeping her own stoop and just keep going till she hits the corner, knows everybody's business, takes my handmedown baby shit to give to the lady who lives across the way who regularly gets her power shut off on her, etc etc etc. By all rights the beat cops in that area should all know her name. She's up in EVERYBODY else's business - so it's not like she wouldn't chat with them too. But they never say boo to her. Never make eye contact. Never just wave or even give the manly upward nod thing. They don't even walk around. They just roll through all slow in their car giving all her black neighbors the eyeball.
She hates them.
That's the kind of shit that is a total total failure of training and SOP.
See, I'm going to have to step out because you two are missing the damned point.
For one, there is a middle ground between dancing in the streets and firing tear gas at protesters. Until officers in these neighborhoods regularly engage the public in a more evenhanded manner and are respectful even when approaching suspects, doing the macarena in the city streets will not change anything. Because you see, those neighborhood kids might remember officer Bad Romance but they remember the way cops speak to them when they bust in their houses looking for a cousin they aren't related to or the nastiness of their tone when he pulled over their big brother last week for looking black.
Secondly, the reputation of the police has absolutely not suffered with these videos. For starters, many of these videos aren't even new. They are the same old story on a newer day. They don't tell black folks anything they didn't already knew and they aren't convincing white folks who don't care that this happens regularly or that it happens to people who don't deserve it.
So I'm really confused as to what you guys are arguing or even advocating. Do you want channel four to dedicate a nightly segment to showing how cops are the good guys? Because what I want is a complete overhaul of police department training including the way they deal with the public in every day interactions. I guarantee what I want is going to be more helpful to society at large than it will be to highlight each time a beat cop stopped to shoot a few hoops when walking past the Y. Because you know sure as shit he isn't stopping to shoot a few hoops with the 17 year olds playing ball at the run down playground. At least not without frisking them first because where two or more somewhat grown black men are gathered, there will be crack also.
I'm not even quite sure how to respond to you, given that you are putting a lot onto my posts that just isn't really even there. ETA: I never said anything like what you have posted above, and I definitely never insinuated that I thought a cop dancing with kids in the streets was some sort of solution to these problems.
So I'm really confused as to what you guys are arguing or even advocating. Do you want channel four to dedicate a nightly segment to showing how cops are the good guys? Because what I want is a complete overhaul of police department training including the way they deal with the public in every day interactions. I guarantee what I want is going to be more helpful to society at large than it will be to highlight each time a beat cop stopped to shoot a few hoops when walking past the Y. Because you know sure as shit he isn't stopping to shoot a few hoops with the 17 year olds playing ball at the run down playground. At least not without frisking them first because where two or more somewhat grown black men are gathered, there will be crack also.
This!
And I'm getting off subject, but I think this doesn't even just include race relations, but sexual harassment as well.
I had a decent experiences with the police recently after my apartment got robbed. However, the two 20something cops thought it was appropriate to flirt and be totally unprofessional with me and my roommates.
My 2 roommates (who are a few years younger than me) were like haha and totally into it batting their eyes and blushing, but I was seriously giving them the stank eye and the side eye for being in my home, doing their job, while trying trying to get some ass.
I really can't think of any other authoritative professions in which this kind of behavior is ok.
So in the very beginning it sounded like the female cop was responding to a call. I couldn't really hear well. So if that is the case I don't have an issue with them approaching him based on a call. But after that fuck it all. I am so tired of police saying that people have to talk to them or give them their ID. There is nothing wrong with making a contact. That is what police do. But if the person refuses to hand over their information or walks away the contact is over. You have to have an actual reason to turn that contact into a stop (when the person is actually detained). And there clearly was not one here. I can tell you police are not learned this in training and if this guy did file a complaint or sue the officers should lose.
And this isn't a problem with MOST police. It is still a very small minority. And MOST police are trying to do good in their communities, but that is never highlighted and will never get media attention.
That was gut wrenching.
Good cops doing their jobs usually don't kill people though, so yeah there's no "news" to report. But what they CAN do is band together and come out and say, "we don't condone this and that and the other" and go out in the community not just to knock people over the head with batons, but to build relationships with the residents. Get out of the car. Get off the bicycle. Walk a beat. You can't just show up when shit is FUBAR if you want people to trust you and respect you. That requires relationship building. Maybe that is happening, I dunno. But seems like a lot of people with bad tastes in their mouths regarding cops might feel less skeptical about them if some of the stuff I mentioned above happened more.
TL;DR version: It's not the media's job to do PR for the good cops.
Not just this, but the good cops need to say fuck the brotherhood and push out the bad ones. I have said it countless times before in regard to gun control, the fight for good and what's right needs to come from within. Don't let these fuckers taint the name of your beloved police force/resonable gun ownership. No one is going to trust the police as a whole if they, the ones who have taken an oath to PROTECT and SERVE cannot even get that done amoungest themselves.
Not just this, but the good cops need to say fuck the brotherhood and push out the bad ones. I have said it countless times before in regard to gun control, the fight for good and what's right needs to come from within. Don't let these fuckers taint the name of your beloved police force/resonable gun ownership. No one is going to trust the police as a whole if they, the ones who have taken an oath to PROTECT and SERVE cannot even get that done amoungest themselves.
Yes! These officers, they always want to say it's not them, it's these other guys. But then they act assy when Internal Affairs comes around, get all buggy on people when they say there are bad guys, and basically allow it to continue by refusing to acknowledge not just that there are some bad cops out there but exactly who those bad cops are and what behaviors are the behaviors of bad officers.
I always think "Oh, I live in a liberal, diverse city" and then this shit happens. It's so fucking disheartening.
And I can't get the police to show up for shit in my neighborhood, but a black guy sitting in the skyway warrants a three officer response. Jesus Christ.
Dude. I had this exact thought.
I called the SPPD about a fight with 30 people right outside my house. By the time they responded it had already broken up and everyone was on their merry way. Also, only 1 cop car rolled up. It slowed down, noticed everyone was leaving and then he/she just left.
But *THIS* needed to be handled the way it was with all those cops?? No.
Again, with the protecting each other. This article quotes the St. Ann police chief after Office Go Fuck Yourself resigned. He should not have commented "they won this one". It should have been "under no circumstance do we condone this behavior". Boo-hoo your office now has a black eye, a officer representing your office did this. Quit expecting everyone else to take responsibility for their actions, when you got your own work to do.
This is what I think we need awareness of!! All of these instances need to be part of a national conversation. Maybe I need to dump ice on my head and post it to Facebook everytime a cop gets out of line with a black person? Maybe then there would be more conversation? More awareness?
Everyone here cares about this topic but there is hardly a peep elsewhere in my life.
I feel completely helpless. This is MY country too and this is not what I want to be part of. These police officers represent US and what does it say about US that this can happen to a innocent person in JANUARY and passive conversation happens not until AUGUST?! To be most likely forgotten in September?
It seems we've established that this type of behavior is not news to black people in this country. But I do think it is news (sadly) to many white people. Sure there is still the closing of ranks and people who will always take the LEO's side, but as more and more of these videos are shown and as this conversation continues, I have hopes that the scales will continue to fall from people's eyes.
Are all cops dirty/racist/whatever? Of course not. But it's apparent (and now with video proof!) that this type of incident occurs far too often, which is indicative of a system that is all too easily corrupted by those who abuse the power they're given. Drastic changes are needed.
As much as I hate watching videos like this, I'm so glad (for once) for the proliferation of cell phones which help bring these abuses to light. I agree with elleblue that a lot of sheltered white people think that if the police do something to you that you must have done something to deserve it. Hopefully some eyes are being opened, but it's awful that it has to come at the expense of these victims.
A bit off topic, but what can we expect if officers begin wearing cameras. This man's phone was held for six months. Will the police only release footage if it goes in their favor? Will each person have to file a court order to get a copy of their video? While I like the idea on the surface, I am afraid that just having the cameras are going to give the people who already don't want to admit that this type of harassment happens, even more reason to bury their head in the sand.
A bit off topic, but what can we expect if officers begin wearing cameras. This man's phone was held for six months. Will the police only release footage if it goes in their favor? Will each person have to file a court order to get a copy of their video? While I like the idea on the surface, I am afraid that just having the cameras are going to give the people who already don't want to admit that this type of harassment happens, even more reason to bury their head in the sand.
I think in places where the cameras are in place the results have been good. complaints down, etc.
I don't know if existing dash cams and the like are the kind of thing subject to FOI requests though. Good question.
This is what I think we need awareness of!! All of these instances need to be part of a national conversation. Maybe I need to dump ice on my head and post it to Facebook everytime a cop gets out of line with a black person? Maybe then there would be more conversation? More awareness?
Everyone here cares about this topic but there is hardly a peep elsewhere in my life.
I feel completely helpless. This is MY country too and this is not what I want to be part of. These police officers represent US and what does it say about US that this can happen to a innocent person in JANUARY and passive conversation happens not until AUGUST?! To be most likely forgotten in September?
We need a major revolution.
In the aftermath of Ferguson, three teenage brothers mad sisters developed an app for people to upload instances of police harassment and good interactions if you have them.
It's sad it's come to that. Surely, we need more than this, but it is a start. People are definitely looking more closely at police brutality and jaradsmr, now whether that changes anything is another story.
Thank you for the discussion regarding the video that was has been circulated from a January 31, 2014 arrest.
As is often the case, the video does not show the totality of the circumstances.
Our officers were called by private security guards on a man who was trespassing in a private area. The guards reported that the man had on repeated occasions refused to leave a private "employees only" area in the First National Bank Building.
With no information on who the man was, what he might be doing or why he refused to leave the area, responding Saint Paul police officers tried to talk to him, asking him who he was. He refused to tell them or cooperate.
Our officers are called upon and required to respond to calls for assistance and to investigate the calls. At one point, the officers believed he might either run or fight with them. It was then that officers took steps to take him into custody. He pulled away and resisted officers' lawful orders. They then used the force necessary to safely take him into custody.
The man was charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and obstruction of the legal process. Those charges were dismissed in July.
We have had a discussion with the man in the video and he was given information on how to file a formal complaint if that was his desire. At this time, no formal complaint has been filed.
We hope this helps to clear up some of the information our communities have been seeking.
No, it does not clear shit up. And these actions are not lawful because your state does not have such a law, and by all accounts the area is not private. But close ranks, motherfuckers.