# Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread #2 **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 23, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531 "2020-06-23T20:29:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 197
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3928 "2024-02-07T21:56:59Z")
Seems about right. [![](https://i.imgur.com/OEwmRCN.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/OEwmRCN.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3929 "2024-02-07T21:59:50Z")
Because of course it’s fucking Aurora. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3930 "2024-02-09T08:11:32Z")
> **[Met officers dissuaded children from making sexual abuse claims, report finds](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/09/met-police-officers-dissuaded-children-making-sexual-abuse-claims-report)** > > Other failures listed in damning official report include blaming children for ‘making poor choices’ Take heart, Americans, you are not alone in having terrible police. (Also, note, the headline only scratches the surface on the report’s findings; there are horrors galore in the body of the article. So click with caution if you cannot handle victimized children, especially when it’s clear they’ve been abandoned to their fates by the authorities who were supposed to protect them.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3931 "2024-02-09T14:30:17Z")
I’m assuming the “Met officers” here are from London? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3932 "2024-02-09T16:19:52Z")
Yes. This doesn’t seem like it would fall under their national responsibilities. Their local policing role is restricted to London. Policing jurisdiction in the UK is complicated. In some way the Met acts as local police in London, the equivalent of the FBI in other parts of Britain/UK/England & Wales. Sort of. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3933 "2024-02-09T17:55:00Z")
So where does Scotland yard fit in? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3934 "2024-02-09T18:22:13Z")
I think Met and Scotland Yard are synonymous. Or rather Scotland Yard is a metonym for the Metropolitan Police. Like Pentagon for the US Dept of Defense. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3935 "2024-02-09T19:27:50Z")
Officially, Scotland Yard (more technically _New_ Scotland Yard) is the name of the building where the Met are headquartered. Hence the nickname. So yeah, the Pentagon is a good comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3936 "2024-02-14T03:01:42Z")
This is the opposite of what’s normally posted in this thread. I couldn’t find the full video on youtube, only a shorter version from the news, so here’s the video on facebook. You shouldn’t need an account to watch it. > **[In this weekend's final #OPL3Play, a #Wisconsin suspect flees from police,...](https://www.facebook.com/ReelzChannel/videos/920281956177593/)** > > In this weekend's final #OPL3Play, a #Wisconsin suspect flees from police, flips them off, and then counts on them to save him as he dangles for his... ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3937 "2024-02-14T06:08:30Z")
In Okaloosa County Florida, officers were dealing with a domestic disturbace situation. They had handcuffed and searched the man and placed him in the back of their patrol car. > Deputy Hernandez was approaching the passenger side rear door of his patrol car to do a secondary search of Jackson when he heard a pop sound which he perceived to be a gunshot and believed he had been hit," the release states. "He began yelling ‘shots fired’ multiple times, falling to the ground and rolling. He fired into the patrol car. Once Hernandez started shooting, his partner followed suit. Turns out the Deputy had not been hit, or even fired upon. What set off the incident? An acorn had fallen from a tree and hit his patrol car. [Bodycam footage of the incident.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVNnxr2SGFg) [PDF of the Sheriff’s Office final report on the incident.](https://www.sheriff-okaloosa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IA-2023-031-Final-Report-Jackson.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3938 "2024-02-14T15:55:04Z")
The Massachusetts State Police are caught up in yet another scandal (following recent scandals of lying about overtime for years, and taking straight up bribes to issue CDL licenses). This time, they were caught making secret recordings of drug busts, and not turning them over to prosecutors or defense attorneys. This has potentially jeopardized dozens of drug convictions. It was also, in many cases, a violation of the wiretapping law. In any normal profession, heads would roll for gross negligence (at best) like this. The officers involved are likely to skate though, because according to the officers, they weren’t properly trained not to violate the law and basic rules of criminal procedure. From a sergeant with 25 years on the force: “To be honest with you, your honor, I don’t know if it’s specifically written in the policy. I’m not too good with policy and procedure,” Desfosses replied. “But I believe that there would be something that — yes, troopers are required to turn over evidence to the district attorney’s office, yes.” Golly gee wiz, Mr. Judge sir, I’m not too good with them papers and rules. > **[Judge grills Mass. state troopers over illegal, undisclosed audio recordings](https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/2024/02/13/mass-state-troopers-callyo-recordings-investigation/72582268007/)** > > An audit found more than 60 troopers made recordings they never disclosed to prosecutors, most of them in drug cases. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3939 "2024-02-14T16:06:45Z")
> [@mjmartin](#): > > “To be honest with you, your honor, I don’t know if it’s specifically written in the policy. I’m not too good with policy and procedure,” Remember this when the local cops (on this board) and their supporters say that they live and die by policies and procedures not the niceties of the actual law and constitution. The Blue Line of Terror protects them from all accountability as long as enough of the population is either enthusiastically in favor of police impunity or cowed into submission. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3940 "2024-02-14T18:25:56Z")
> [@Santos\_L\_Halper](#): > > What set off the incident? An acorn had fallen from a tree and hit his patrol car. Over in SGNotD, it was suggested that the officer may have acquired some measure of post-traumatic stress disorder from a couple of duty tours overseas. Sounds to me like, maybe this is an extreme position, like we should have a policy that prohibits any person leaving the military from being employed in LE (including private security) for at least a decade. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3941 "2024-02-14T18:40:15Z")
Yes, that is a bit extreme. PTSD screening, though… But a vet who never got deployed anywhere hot should be no more problematic than a random person off the street. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3942 "2024-02-14T19:00:43Z")
Military training instills an attitude that is inappropriate for LE. Even if you never saw combat, the mindset is still wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3943 "2024-02-14T19:15:12Z")
Their language also reflects this: notice how they refer to you and me as “civilians.” I cringe every time I hear that. The truth is that LEOs are _also_ civilians. The term “civilian” should only be used by active duty military. (Which explains why they use the term: they think they’re in the military. And guess who they think they’re at war with?) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3944 "2024-02-14T19:34:38Z")
You wish cops had the strict rules of engagement that soldiers have to follow. During CHAZ/CHOP on Capitol Hill in Seattle, volunteers who were medical professionals wore their scrubs while they attended to injured protesters. The cops shot them with non-lethal rounds. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3945 "2024-02-14T20:01:37Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > [Mississippi civil rights lawyer arrested filming traffic stop, attorney says](https://news.yahoo.com/mississippi-civil-rights-lawyer-arrested-212807021.html) > > How many times do cops need to be informed that being filmed by an uninvolved party from a distance is a constitutionally protected activity? Update: > **[Mississippi Judge Rescinds Own Verdict Against Civil Rights Attorney](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mississippi-judge-rescinded-traffic-stop-verdict_n_65c3e316e4b0fb721d5f6ddd)** > > Local attorney Jill Jefferson was convicted of multiple misdemeanors on Jan. 31, but the judge reversed course without explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3946 "2024-02-16T03:11:28Z")
" “And when the trial was over and it was time for him to render his verdict, he read verbatim from that paper, even flipping pages, and we could tell he didn’t write that because he couldn’t pronounce some of the words in the verdict,” Jefferson [told] Mississippi Public Broadcasting." That _definitely_ needs some looking into. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2024, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531/3947 "2024-02-16T11:27:10Z")
GA police officer made numerious DUI arrests despite evidence they were not drunk. > **[Commerce cop repeatedly charged innocent drivers with DUI](https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/commerce-officer-repeatedly-charged-innocent-drivers-with-dui)** > > For nearly a year, the Commerce Police Department charged innocent people with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol who insisted all along there was no evidence to make an arrest. > [@](#): > > For nearly a year, the Commerce Police Department charged innocent people with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol who insisted all along there was no evidence to make an arrest. > > One of them passed breathalyzer tests 10 times either in the field or at the jail, yet he was still charged with drunk driving. > > Cody Wood, the officer involved in all the arrests, is on paid administrative leave while the city reviews his work. > [@](#): > > Yet, Officer Wood failed to put in his report something he did see: the results of a breathalyzer field test to detect alcohol. Cash blew a triple zero — no alcohol detected… eight times at the scene. > > Cash was still arrested for drunk driving. > > “I’m about to lose my job, too,” a despondent Cash can be heard on the body cam video. > > At the Jackson County Jail, Officer Wood called in a Jefferson police officer who was certified to use a more elaborate alcohol sensor, the Intoxilyzer 9000. > > Cash blew two more times and then waited for the Jefferson cop to read the results. > > Here’s what Cash remembers happening next: > > “He starts looking through the paperwork, and then he looks at me, looks over at the arresting officer, looks back at me and says, ‘Is this a F-ing joke?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Because you blew triple zeros twice. Like you’re not drunk. I don’t know why you’re here.’” > > [snip] > > Even though he had now passed 10 breath tests, Wood still charged Cash with drunk driving. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531.md?page=196) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread-2/912531.md?page=198)