# Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942 "2014-10-10T07:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 531
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10602 "2017-05-22T19:27:12Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > Statistically speaking, the chance of a white cop being killed by a black male is greater than the reverse. That depends on how you define “the chance”. There were [222 black males shot and killed by police in 2016](https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings-2016/), and [64 police shot and killed during the same period](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/30/507536360/number-of-police-officers-killed-by-firearms-rose-in-2016-study-finds). I can’t find figures on how many police were shot by blacks vs. other races. And there are less than a million police in the US vs. tens of millions of black males. > [@](#): > > But the NLEOMF found that 64 officers were killed in firearm-related incidents in 2016 — a 56 percent increase over 2015, when 41 officers were killed. It’s the highest number of firearms-related deaths recorded since 2011, when the tally was 73. > > Those shooting deaths included 21 deaths in ambush-style shootings, “the highest total in more than two decades,” NLEOMF said in a statement. If you meant the chances are much greater that a black male is shot by another black male than by a cop, that is pretty obvious. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10603 "2017-05-22T19:43:49Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Would like to punch every juror in the face. What a bunch of tools. Guy was facing away from the TWO officers with guns pointed at him, his hands up, while a police chopper hovered above and backup was on it’s way when one of the incompetent cops shot him. Several of those jurors you want to punch in the face were in tears because of the verdict. > **[NOT GUILTY: Betty Shelby acquitted; jurors in tears; Crutcher's sister says...](https://tulsaworld.com/news/bettyshelby/not-guilty-betty-shelby-acquitted-multiple-jurors-in-tears-crutcher/article_cfdc970b-2b10-5f15-b4c1-711c5da4cc03.html)** > > Jurors deliberated for about nine hours before delivering a verdict about 9:50 p.m. Wednesday. As soon as the judge finished reading the verdict, at least five jurors started crying.See how At least one regrets not hanging the jury > **[Betty Shelby Trial Juror Speaks With 'The Frontier'](http://www.newson6.com/story/5e35f88b2f69d76f6202b8b6/betty-shelby-trial-juror-speaks-with-the-frontier)** > > The juror tells The Frontier he will always regret not hanging the jury.  “At one point I talked with another juror about just hanging the jury, and making the state try the case again. We really agreed that if they did a better job, they could have convicted her… I’ll always feel like a coward for not doing that.” ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10604 "2017-05-22T19:51:21Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > Are purposefully being dense? If the correct penalty for shooting AT someone (even the police )is 19 yrs, how is it remotely fair that the penalty for shooting at, AND KILLING, an unarmed someone, is NOTHING? No jail time, no fine, no loss of shooting privileges, NOTHING! The victim was not responding to police commands and was high on PCP. This is enough to justify almost any police reaction in the minds of many. For the record, I believe betty Shelby was guilty of manslaughter. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10605 "2017-05-22T20:05:41Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > There were [222 black males shot and killed by police in 2016](https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings-2016/) … According to those numbers, of the 963 people killed by police in 2016, 465 (48%) were white. That looks pretty disproportionate to me. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10606 "2017-05-22T20:50:41Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > According to those numbers, of the 963 people killed by police in 2016, 465 (48%) were white. That looks pretty disproportionate to me. Agreed. Racially the US is ~63.7% white and 12.2% black. Using these numbers for people shot by police 48% were white and 23% were black. Looking disproportionate but in the direction of a black person being more likely to be shot by a cop than a white person. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10607 "2017-05-22T23:27:29Z")
Then there is [the SLCPD](http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/cops-salt-like-city-no-murders-police-brutality/1956644/), who have not killed _anyone_ since 2015. They have put in place de-escalation training, along with a “de-escalation award”, which has led officers to show great restraint, even to the point of not resorting to violence when it might well have been justified. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10608 "2017-05-23T06:16:04Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Then there is [the SLCPD](http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/cops-salt-like-city-no-murders-police-brutality/1956644/), who have not killed _anyone_ since 2015. They have put in place de-escalation training, along with a “de-escalation award”, which has led officers to show great restraint, even to the point of not resorting to violence when it might well have been justified. The only thing controversial about that is more departments aren’t doing something like it. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10609 "2017-05-23T12:34:45Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > According to those numbers, of the 963 people killed by police in 2016, 465 (48%) were white. That looks pretty disproportionate to me. Disproportionate to what? To the percentage of blacks in the population, sure. To the amount of violent [crime committed by the different races](https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/43tabledatadecoverviewpdf), no. (pdf) Blacks are 12-13% of the population, and commit over 38% of the violent crime in the US. It would be surprising if a disproportionate number of them _didn’t_ get shot. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10610 "2017-05-23T14:49:55Z")
I’m looking for the article from which got those statistics. I believe that it was written by Heather MacDonald, a vocal supporter of the police. As soon as I can locate it, I’ll post a link. Here’s another interesting article. > **[8 'key findings' from new study on killing of unarmed suspects](https://www.police1.com/use-of-force/articles/8-key-findings-from-new-study-on-killing-of-unarmed-suspects-21ZMAYTVhBRn1VtW/)** > > Nearly 300 pages of the In Context: Understanding Police Killings of Unarmed Citizens are devoted to describing and dissecting the 153 fatalities, one by one, month by month throughout the year And another > **[New Washington State University study: Even tired cops are more hesitant to...](https://www.police1.com/use-of-force/articles/new-washington-state-university-study-even-tired-cops-are-more-hesitant-to-shoot-black-suspects-VsQPXHtPEhHhCOjZ/)** > > A new study concludes that officers tend not to be biased against black suspects in resorting to deadly force, even when fatigued and thus potentially more vulnerable to making angry, irrational, and impulsive decisions ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10611 "2017-05-24T19:52:41Z")
[San Antonio, Texas this time: > [@](#): > > The San Antonio Police Department is reviewing police body camera footage after a bystander posted video online that appears to show an officer punching an eighth-grade girl three or four times outside a birthday party last weekend. > > Mayor Ivy Taylor issued a statement saying the video “is hard to watch and listen to” and that the department is reviewing the police body camera footage to determine exactly what happened. > [@](#): > > The 14-year-old girl was arrested on a charge of assaulting a public servant, a San Antonio police spokeswoman said. > > Artessia House, a lawyer for the girl, denies that the teen struck the officer. She told the San Antonio Express-News that the girl is an honor roll student with no history of violence. ]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_GIRL\_STRUCK\_TEXAS\_OFFICER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-05-24-15-06-31](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GIRL_STRUCK_TEXAS_OFFICER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-05-24-15-06-31)) I believe this is the original video: [San Antonio Police vs teen girl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxN3WZ_z80). The description on the video says that “Magically, all body cams of the police “malfunctioned” in this incident” but I have not seen any other claim or confirmation of that. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10612 "2017-05-24T20:42:21Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I believe this is the original video: [San Antonio Police vs teen girl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxN3WZ_z80). Damn, that was horrible. What makes people use portrait as their default?☹ ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10613 "2017-05-26T17:13:32Z")
[Man who was framed by police released after spending 25 years behind bars.](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/bullet-tests-clear-detroit-man-in-prison-since-1992/ar-BBByihS) > [@](#): > > In 1992, Ricks was with Bennett when Bennett was shot in the head outside a burger joint. Ricks said he ran away, dodging gunfire. But a few days later, police pinned the slaying on him and seized his mother’s gun. > [@](#): > > The Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan law school asked Judge Richard Skutt to reopen the case after prosecutors turned over photos of two bullets removed from Gerry Bennett. The bullets were in poor shape and didn’t resemble the pristine bullets that were presented as evidence by Detroit police in 1992. I wonder if their will be any consequences for those who committed perjury, deprived an innocent man of his freedom and let a murderer escape justice. Probably not. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2017, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10614 "2017-05-26T17:22:25Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Damn, that was horrible. What makes people use portrait as their default?☹ I started a milquetosty thread in the subject of 9x16 a few years ago. Apparently it is easier to hold the phone upright while recording. The only answer to this vexing issue is that phone manufacturers need to use square CCDs, so that holding the phone vertically will be able to capture a full frame that can be cropped either way. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10615 "2017-05-27T06:23:30Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Apparently it is easier to hold the phone upright while recording. And it’s mostly just annoying to people viewing on computers. Most of the time, if you’re sharing a video you shot on your phone, you’re putting it on social media platforms, where most of the people viewing it are using mobile devices that they’re probably holding vertically too. If I’m flipping through Facebook and see your “random semi-interesting thing I saw” video, it’s probably not going to be engrossing enough for me to bother turning my device sideways, even if you shot it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10616 "2017-05-27T11:07:19Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > And it’s mostly just annoying to people viewing on computers. Most of the time, if you’re sharing a video you shot on your phone, you’re putting it on social media platforms, where most of the people viewing it are using mobile devices that they’re probably holding vertically too. If I’m flipping through Facebook and see your “random semi-interesting thing I saw” video, it’s probably not going to be engrossing enough for me to bother turning my device sideways, even if you shot it that way. That’s not the point, though, shooting landscape captures more relevant detail in most cases. There’s a reason films and TV moved to wider, not taller, screens. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10617 "2017-06-06T04:26:53Z")
[I have a local one today; from Boulder City, NV: > [@](#): > > Boulder City authorities on Monday refiled charges against a man who, in a federal lawsuit last week, accused the police department of falsifying a police report and altering a dashboard camera recording of his 2016 arrest. > > The new charges came hours after the Las Vegas Review-Journal published an article late Sunday that detailed the allegations contained in John Hunt’s May 30th lawsuit, which addressed his June 2016 arrest on misdemeanor charges. In that case, Hunt, 29, was arrested for traffic violations and resisting a public officer after he staged a one-man protest of a crosswalk-enforcement sting police set up to nab motorists who did not yield to pedestrians. > > Those charges were dropped a week later, after defense attorneys highlighted surveillance video that appeared to contradict the version of events contained in the police report. But on Monday, Boulder City Attorney David Olsen filed a criminal complaint charging Hunt with the four original misdemeanors and an additional count of obstructing a public officer. > > The timing of the new charges — the morning after the Review-Journal article went live online and three days before the city’s one-year deadline to refile charges expires — drew immediate criticism from Hunt’s defense attorney. > > “I’m in awe of how stupid this is,” said defense lawyer Stephen Stubbs. ]([Boulder City refiles charges against man who sued police department | Courts | Crime](https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/boulder-city-refiles-charges-against-man-who-sued-police-department/)) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10618 "2017-06-06T04:28:02Z")
[…and a follow-up on another local case: > [@](#): > > The Las Vegas police officer who stunned Tashii Brown seven times with a Taser and held him in an unauthorized chokehold for more than a minute before his death last month is now facing criminal charges, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo announced Monday. > > At an afternoon news briefing, Lombardo said officer Kenneth Lopera, 31, is facing felony charges of involuntary manslaughter and oppression under the color of office. > > Lopera’s arrest marks the first time in nearly three decades a Metropolitan Police Department officer has faced charges in connection with a police shooting or in-custody death. ]([Las Vegas police officer involved in man’s chokehold death to be charged — VIDEO | Homicides | Crime](https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/las-vegas-police-officer-involved-in-mans-chokehold-death-to-be-charged-video/)) ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10619 "2017-06-07T19:54:03Z")
From my neck of the woods. Its not just a deep an abiding fear of black men. Its also a need to remind wealthy black men and women of their place (my opinion). Some people (including some cops) feel the need to remind blacks that there isn’t enough money in the world to wipe the black off their skin. I don’t know if there is more to this story but right now it looks pretty bad. How do we keep racists from becoming cops? how do we keep assholes in general from becoming cops? > **[The Crime This Time: Partying While Black and Successful](https://www.theroot.com/the-crime-this-time-partying-while-black-and-successfu-1795817170)** > > “That’s a nice dress,” the officer said as I stood frozen while she snapped my picture. I thanked her without smiling as she led me to the bright cell with cornflower-colored bars where I would stay until I was summoned once more to be fingerprinted.... ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10620 "2017-06-07T20:03:52Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > From my neck of the woods. Its not just a deep an abiding fear of black men. Its also a need to remind wealthy black men and women of their place (my opinion). Some people (including some cops) feel the need to remind blacks that there isn’t enough money in the world to wipe the black off their skin. I don’t know if there is more to this story but right now it looks pretty bad. How do we keep racists from becoming cops? how do we keep assholes in general from becoming cops? > > [The Crime This Time: Partying While Black and Successful](http://www.theroot.com/the-crime-this-time-partying-while-black-and-successfu-1795817170) Yeah, that doesn’t look good at all. Fortunately, everyone got to walk away from the experience. Keeping racists and assholes off the force seems pretty much impossible. What CAN be done is to throw the book so fast and hard at those that do violate the civil rights of others in egregious and contemptible fashion that it’s clear to any and all that it’s utterly unacceptable. I suggest crucifixion. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/10621 "2017-06-07T21:48:15Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > From my neck of the woods. Its not just a deep an abiding fear of black men. Its also a need to remind wealthy black men and women of their place (my opinion). Some people (including some cops) feel the need to remind blacks that there isn’t enough money in the world to wipe the black off their skin. I don’t know if there is more to this story but right now it looks pretty bad. How do we keep racists from becoming cops? how do we keep assholes in general from becoming cops? > > [The Crime This Time: Partying While Black and Successful](http://www.theroot.com/the-crime-this-time-partying-while-black-and-successfu-1795817170) I don’t know that it is possible to keep racists and assholes from becoming cops. Racists and assholes are people too, and I can think of no effective screening method to prevent them from joining the force. What we need to do is prevent people who act as racists or assholes from remaining cops. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=530) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=532)