I'm not defending the bully attitude that a lot of cops have, despite what the rest of this is going to sound like.
I think a lot of people mistake professional paranoia for bullying. My mother was a cop, and I grew up learning how cops view the world. As a police officer,
you must assume everyone is out to get you -- because the one time you don't is the time you'll encounter the person who is.
As a result, cops -- both by inclination and by training -- try to ensure that they are the only person in control of any given situation they find themselves
in. -Any- resistance to this control -- even something as seemingly innocent as a question -- is potentially a threat. It's precisely how things escalate
-- a question is not a request for information, it's a protest against the control of the situation and immediately sets a cops nerves on edge. Every
drunk they've had throw a punch at them, every gang member who has pulled a gun, all of it... began with the person questioning what they were ordered to
do.
It's not an excuse for bullying behavior, but what I'm trying to convey is that, in general, the cops aren't trying to be bullies. They're just all too aware that if they don't control the situation, the suspect will -- and that
way lies problems.
The downside to this is that the insistence on absolute control by the cops results in the public perceiving them as bullies. And sometimes they are, yes.
Most times they are not, they're just stuck doing a job that is difficult, dangerous, thankless, and dehumanizing. They're not allowed to make
judgement calls; the public treats them like shit; some of the people they're supposed to arrest are better armed than they are AND eager to fight (which
most cops are not); and no matter how they handle a given situation the media and the public will put the worst
possible spin on it.
Let's face it, being a cop is not a fun job.
Again, I'm not defending the actual bullies -- and there ARE bullies on the force. The uniform attracts them because it's perceived as power, and
bullies above all want power over others. But the majority of the force is made up of tired folks who never get anything but the dirty end of the stick and
who are constantly being threatened by the people they're supposedly supposed to protect -- threatened physically, financially ("I was drunk and
disorderly but THEY assaulted ME! I'm suing!"), and psychologically. If you don't believe the last, you haven't seen the inside of a
precinct. Cops band together against everyone else because we (society) has fostered the "us vs them" mentality, but they're brutal to each
other as well, because none of them want one of the others giving them a bad name.
In short... yeah, you may have encountered bully cops. I won't dispute that. But my money would be on the cop just being stressed and overreacting to
what YOU thought was an innocent question, comment, remark, or action. It may well have been, but he has no way of knowing that and YOU have no way of knowing
what happened the last time Joe Criminal made that same move and the cop didn't stop him in time.
I'm not defending bullies, but the public in general needs to learn that it's NOT always the cop's fault. Next time a cop pulls you over,
don't assume he's being a bully, assume he's approaching you with the viewpoint that you are armed, drunk, escaped from the nearest mental
institution, and high -- all at the same time. Until he's convinced you're not, anything you do that reinforces that image -- especially things like
repeating his questions with that incredulous tone in your voice, like you can't believe he's asking YOU, fine upstanding citizen that you are, a
QUESTION, my GOD -- will immediately kick him into high gear. Which, if you're the sort to assume cops are bullies in the first place, will likely cause
you to display more attitude... and thus the cycle escalates.
Be smart. Do what you're told, when you're told to do it, with no backtalk. If you're convinced of your innocence and you feel the cop is
breaking the law, the solution is NOT to get into an argument over the fine points of legal interpretation with him right then and there, it's to address
it later when there's no chance of someone getting shot.
I'm probably going to get flamed for 'blaming the victim' or some such bullshit, but I'm not. I'm pointing out that, except in some rare
cases, the average 'victim' of police brutality helped escalate the situation themselves. No, it still shouldn't have happened -- just like this
writer, regardless of what he did, shouldn't have been beaten (if he indeed was) and thrown in jail. But neither did the border guards just decide
"hey, let's beat up the next Canadian to come by!"
--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs
I think a lot of people mistake professional paranoia for bullying. My mother was a cop, and I grew up learning how cops view the world. As a police officer,
you must assume everyone is out to get you -- because the one time you don't is the time you'll encounter the person who is.
As a result, cops -- both by inclination and by training -- try to ensure that they are the only person in control of any given situation they find themselves
in. -Any- resistance to this control -- even something as seemingly innocent as a question -- is potentially a threat. It's precisely how things escalate
-- a question is not a request for information, it's a protest against the control of the situation and immediately sets a cops nerves on edge. Every
drunk they've had throw a punch at them, every gang member who has pulled a gun, all of it... began with the person questioning what they were ordered to
do.
It's not an excuse for bullying behavior, but what I'm trying to convey is that, in general, the cops aren't trying to be bullies. They're just all too aware that if they don't control the situation, the suspect will -- and that
way lies problems.
The downside to this is that the insistence on absolute control by the cops results in the public perceiving them as bullies. And sometimes they are, yes.
Most times they are not, they're just stuck doing a job that is difficult, dangerous, thankless, and dehumanizing. They're not allowed to make
judgement calls; the public treats them like shit; some of the people they're supposed to arrest are better armed than they are AND eager to fight (which
most cops are not); and no matter how they handle a given situation the media and the public will put the worst
possible spin on it.
Let's face it, being a cop is not a fun job.
Again, I'm not defending the actual bullies -- and there ARE bullies on the force. The uniform attracts them because it's perceived as power, and
bullies above all want power over others. But the majority of the force is made up of tired folks who never get anything but the dirty end of the stick and
who are constantly being threatened by the people they're supposedly supposed to protect -- threatened physically, financially ("I was drunk and
disorderly but THEY assaulted ME! I'm suing!"), and psychologically. If you don't believe the last, you haven't seen the inside of a
precinct. Cops band together against everyone else because we (society) has fostered the "us vs them" mentality, but they're brutal to each
other as well, because none of them want one of the others giving them a bad name.
In short... yeah, you may have encountered bully cops. I won't dispute that. But my money would be on the cop just being stressed and overreacting to
what YOU thought was an innocent question, comment, remark, or action. It may well have been, but he has no way of knowing that and YOU have no way of knowing
what happened the last time Joe Criminal made that same move and the cop didn't stop him in time.
I'm not defending bullies, but the public in general needs to learn that it's NOT always the cop's fault. Next time a cop pulls you over,
don't assume he's being a bully, assume he's approaching you with the viewpoint that you are armed, drunk, escaped from the nearest mental
institution, and high -- all at the same time. Until he's convinced you're not, anything you do that reinforces that image -- especially things like
repeating his questions with that incredulous tone in your voice, like you can't believe he's asking YOU, fine upstanding citizen that you are, a
QUESTION, my GOD -- will immediately kick him into high gear. Which, if you're the sort to assume cops are bullies in the first place, will likely cause
you to display more attitude... and thus the cycle escalates.
Be smart. Do what you're told, when you're told to do it, with no backtalk. If you're convinced of your innocence and you feel the cop is
breaking the law, the solution is NOT to get into an argument over the fine points of legal interpretation with him right then and there, it's to address
it later when there's no chance of someone getting shot.
I'm probably going to get flamed for 'blaming the victim' or some such bullshit, but I'm not. I'm pointing out that, except in some rare
cases, the average 'victim' of police brutality helped escalate the situation themselves. No, it still shouldn't have happened -- just like this
writer, regardless of what he did, shouldn't have been beaten (if he indeed was) and thrown in jail. But neither did the border guards just decide
"hey, let's beat up the next Canadian to come by!"
--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs