# 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:** 740
**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 5, 2019, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14783 "2019-06-05T22:34:08Z")
Check this out: [Racist, violent posts by police: Departments investigating](https://apnews.com/bf6a33575e15467e80483072ee4c9b28) > [@](#): > > Police departments in at least five states are investigating, and in some cases condemning, their officers’ social media feeds after the weekend publication of a database that appears to catalog thousands of bigoted or violent posts by active-duty and former cops. > > The posts were uncovered by a team of researchers who spent two years looking at the personal Facebook accounts of police officers from Arizona to Florida. They found officers bashing immigrants and Muslims, promoting racist stereotypes, identifying with right-wing militia groups and, especially, glorifying police brutality. All the posts were public. > > “It’s a good day for a choke hold,” wrote an officer in Phoenix. A sergeant in Philadelphia commented that a young suspect should be “taken out back and put down like the rabid animal he is.” Another sergeant posted a meme that said, “Death to Islam.” In St. Louis, a police official shared a meme asserting that “if the Confederate flag is racist, then so is Black History Month.” > > “Obviously, some of the posts are very disturbing,” said Emily Baker-White, a lawyer who launched the Plain View Project in 2017. > [@](#): > > Funded by Injustice Watch, a not-for-profit journalism organization, Baker-White and her team pored through the Facebook accounts of more than 2,800 current officers and nearly 700 former officers. > > They wound up flagging posts by 556 of the current officers — about one in 5 of those studied — and 299 former officers. The database includes more than 5,000 posts, as well as comments on the posts. The results were jointly published on Saturday by Injustice Watch and Buzzed. Good job Miss Baker-White (and those who support(ed) her efforts)! ---
**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:** [June 6, 2019, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14784 "2019-06-06T00:46:40Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > :rolleyes: There isn’t a “rolleyes” smilie big enough for this post. **asahi** can be annoying, yes. You sound like a rank and festering turd. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14785 "2019-06-06T01:23:27Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > **asahi** can be annoying, yes. You sound like a rank and festering turd. **asahi** or **Orwell**? Somebody’s a turd here, and I wanna know who it is! It’s me, isn’t it? Shit. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14786 "2019-06-06T01:29:34Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > It’s me, isn’t it? Shit. Hmm. I seem to recall hearing things about you (such as my memory is). Do mention of you pop up in the OTRU thread now and again? ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14787 "2019-06-06T01:39:47Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Hmm. I seem to recall hearing things about you (such as my memory is). Do mention of you pop up in the OTRU thread now and again? Ha! Time and again. ---
**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, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14788 "2019-06-06T22:22:53Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Minneapolis’ former-Officer Noor, found guilty recently of both 3rd degree murder and 2nd degree manslaughter for the shooting death of Australian Justine Damond, will ask for no prison time](https://apnews.com/02ec1053156f4c26a10858e4d7e91940).I don’t give a fuck what he would be amenable to: I’d bet that Miss Damond would be amenable to being alive, but Mr. Noor didn’t really give a fuck about that, so… [Mr. Noor’s attorneys presented the court with a petition for a different sentence than the 12.5 years called for by state guidelines](https://apnews.com/20f8b6da669a44fd9344131f2ce01de5): > [@](#): > > Attorneys for a Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of an unarmed woman who had called 911 are asking a judge not to send him to prison, proposing instead that he report to jail for a week each year on the woman’s birthday and the anniversary of her death. :dubious: > [@](#): > > Defense attorneys Thomas Plunkett and Peter Wold proposed in a memo to Judge Kathryn Quaintance that she creatively sentence Noor to turn himself in to a county detention facility for a week every year on the anniversary of Damond’s death and another week starting on her birthday. The proposed sentence would last the duration of Noor’s probation, which the attorneys didn’t specify in their request, and also would include an annual period of community service. > > “This sentence honors the memory of Ms. Rusczcyk and allows Mr. Noor to continue to serve the city,” they wrote. “Just as importantly, it mandates that Mr. Noor will continue to consider his action and the great loss they caused.” :rolleyes: I sure hope the judge doesn’t buy into this. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14789 "2019-06-07T00:12:00Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I sure hope the judge doesn’t buy into this. “This sentence honors the memory of Ms. Rusczcyk and allows Mr. Noor to continue to serve the city,” they wrote. “Just as importantly, it mandates that Mr. Noor will continue to consider his action and the great loss they caused.” I think 12.5 years in prison would satisfy all of those points. He would continue to serve the city by not murdering or manslaughtering anyone, and he’d have plenty of time to contemplate his actions. _That’s_ how Ms. Rusczcyk’s memory is best honored. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14790 "2019-06-07T01:48:03Z")
Wow. I’d propose a sentence where I turn myself in to the local liquor store every week on Justine Damond’s birthday and toast a fine glass to her name. That way I’d be serving 1) Ms. Rusczcyk’s memory, 2) the city, and 3) myself wit a big ol’ bottle of wine for getting off scott-free for murder/manslaughter! DAMN!?! ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14791 "2019-06-07T03:09:27Z")
Hopefully she remembers what happened when the [judge creatively sentenced rapist Brock Turner to six months](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/06/06/judge-aaron-persky-who-gave-brock-turners-lenient-sentence-sanford-rape-case-recalled/674551002/) because ‘prison time could have a “severe” impact on Turner’s life.’ ---
**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:** [June 7, 2019, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14792 "2019-06-07T06:41:03Z")
It is still a little troubling, though, that the gang of officers in Baltimore who attended to Freddy Gray’s last hours all got to walk. None of them had a funny Muslim-sounding name. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14793 "2019-06-07T14:29:02Z")
Seriously, what the fuck is going on in Baltimore? They should fire them all and start again. [Baltimore police sergeant to be charged with misconduct, assault and false imprisonment](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/baltimore-police-sergeant-to-be-charged-with-misconduct-assault-and-false-imprisonment/ar-AACvaG2?li=BBnbfcL) > [@](#): > > Harrison said Newberg told the department he was in the middle of running a warrant check when a second person “verbally challenged and became combative and aggressive.” > > However, Harrison said body camera footage shows otherwise as he said it shows the second man talking to Newberg and then “walking calmly away after offering his opinion that Sgt. Newberg should have not placed the suspect on a wet sidewalk.” > > Newberg chased after the man and grabbed him, Harrison said, and a second officer tackled the man and placed him in handcuffs. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14794 "2019-06-07T16:45:32Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Mr. Noor’s attorneys presented the court with a petition for a different sentence than the 12.5 years called for by state guidelines](https://apnews.com/20f8b6da669a44fd9344131f2ce01de5)::dubious::rolleyes: > > I sure hope the judge doesn’t buy into this. It seems the judge wasn’t feeling too creative today. [Ex-Minneapolis officer Mohamed Noor sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison](http://www.startribune.com/ex-minneapolis-officer-mohamed-noor-sentenced-to-12-and-a-half-years-in-prison/510959572/) > [@](#): > > “He does not take personal responsibility …” she said. “He has not acknowledged that he could have handled the situation any other way.” Queue the inevitable round of appeals. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2019, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14795 "2019-06-07T16:52:26Z")
Nope, no racsim in the Louisville police force. But… [African Americans were disproportionately stopped and three times as likely to be searched as white drivers. Though African Americans make up about 20% of Louisville’s driving-age population, they accounted for 33% of the stops and 57% of the 8,942 searches.](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/lmpd-data-shows-black-drivers-searched-far-more-than-whites/ar-AACxJP4) ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14796 "2019-06-07T17:23:58Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > “This sentence honors the memory of Ms. Rusczcyk and allows Mr. Noor to continue to serve the city,” they wrote. “Just as importantly, it mandates that Mr. Noor will continue to consider his action and the great loss they caused.” > > I think 12.5 years in prison would satisfy all of those points. He would continue to serve the city by not murdering or manslaughtering anyone, and he’d have plenty of time to contemplate his actions. _That’s_ how Ms. Rusczcyk’s memory is best honored. I don’t disagree that Officer Noor should have served time for manslaughter, but I think this case seems like another example of racial disparities in the criminal justice system. If it were a white cop who had mistakenly shot a black woman, I seriously doubt there would be a 12-year prison sentence. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14797 "2019-06-07T17:40:23Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Nope, no racsim in the Louisville police force. But… > > [African Americans were disproportionately stopped and three times as likely to be searched as white drivers. Though African Americans make up about 20% of Louisville’s driving-age population, they accounted for 33% of the stops and 57% of the 8,942 searches.](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/lmpd-data-shows-black-drivers-searched-far-more-than-whites/ar-AACxJP4) There’s another, equally important statistic in that story: > [@](#): > > But the data shows that police found contraband in 72% of the searches of whites versus only 41% for African Americans. So, when whites are searched, they are almost twice as likely as blacks to have contraband, but hey, we’ll keep searching more black people than white people anyway. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14798 "2019-06-07T18:46:43Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I don’t disagree that Officer Noor should have served time for manslaughter, but I think this case seems like another example of racial disparities in the criminal justice system. If it were a white cop who had mistakenly shot a black woman, I seriously doubt there would be a 12-year prison sentence. Wish I could disagree, but I can’t. > [@mhendo](#): > > There’s another, equally important statistic in that story: > > So, when whites are searched, they are almost twice as likely as blacks to have contraband, but hey, we’ll keep searching more black people than white people anyway. That tends to happen when the cops only search white drivers that they have actual probable cause for while just searching all the black drivers. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2019, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14799 "2019-06-07T19:12:20Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > So, when whites are searched, they are almost twice as likely as blacks to have contraband, but hey, we’ll keep searching more black people than white people anyway. Well, to be fair, they don’t search white people unless they actually have a reason. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14800 "2019-06-07T19:37:35Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Well, to be fair, they don’t search white people unless they actually have a reason. Right, that was sort of my point. Given the statistics in the article, regarding the percentage of blacks and whites stopped and searched, and the percentage of searches that result in contraband being found, there are only really two possible conclusions to be drawn: 1. White people are almost twice as likely as black people to engage in illegal activity. 2. Police in Louisville stop black people just for the hell of it. I concede that #1 is possible, but #2 seems far more likely. Of course, the cops argue that they’re just doing their job: > [@](#): > > Speaking before the Metro Council Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, Police Chief Steve Conrad acknowledged that the department has disproportionately stopped black drivers. But he noted that African Americans are disproportionately represented in all aspects of the criminal justice system, including in arrests and incarceration. > > He said that the department has focused on six high-crime neighborhoods where predominately “people of color live” and that to make those neighborhoods safer, “people who live there are going to be stopped." That first paragraph is hilarious. He uses the dramatic over-representation of blacks in the criminal justice system not as an example of injustice and discrimination, but as an excuse for his own department’s racist policing practices. And the second paragraph smacks of “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” ---
**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:** [June 7, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14801 "2019-06-07T19:58:22Z")
It is partly because of the feedback loop. “_I searched his car because he acted nervous_” – when it has become increasingly obvious that being non-white around police officers is very hazardous to one’s health, of course non-whites are going to be nervous. And the police expect them to act like a lawn jockey: if they are relaxed and confident, there must be something wrong with them. But, you know, the police are not racist. No, no, no, not at all. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14802 "2019-06-07T20:47:45Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > {…} If it were a white cop who had mistakenly shot a black woman, {…} Well, to be fair, she (the hypothetical black woman) brandished a gun-like object and she tested positive for many drugs. CMC fnord! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=739) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=741)