Some good news:
Video-recorded arrest gets NYPD cop indicated on assault charges
TSA supervisor has man arrested, apparently lies under oath. Short account[/ulr]. [url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150204_TSA_jails_innocent_traveler_when_he_asks_to_file_a_complaint.html]Longer account. Apparently the man asked for a complaint form. Surveillance tape appears to conflict with report by TSA supervisor.
I don’t know what to make of all this crap, except that methinks police work should have low job security. Generous pay, but low job security.
If his crime had got a shorter sentence, I’d agree with you (usually it would only get a caution, for a first offence so minor, which would show up on a CRB check but would be unlikely to cause problems). But six months makes it look like a really serious theft, because theft usually doesn’t get such sentences, and on your link the regulations do take length of sentence into account.
They also take length of time since the crime into account, so he’ll be better off in several years’ time. But that’s a long time where a huge number of fields of work are barred - I didn’t even mention most of the fields of work that are included on that page; it basically lists most major sectors of the economy. Even retail is included. Voluntary work is also included.
He’ll also have to declare his criminal record for any job or volunteer role for two and a half years.
I really do think that, given that those jobs will have plenty of applicants without such a record, he’ll be in an extremely difficult position regarding getting work. Especially since he’s young enough (and was a student) that he probably doesn’t have a ton of experience prior to the conviction.
Sometimes a criminal record doesn’t stand in your way that much; a record for possession of pot probably wouldn’t be a big deal for most jobs. Having a caution for theft probably wouldn’t be a big deal except for the financial industry. Having a six-month-long sentence is harder to get past.
It also means you’ve spent months (probably three) in prison, which isn’t pleasant for anyone, but even less so for someone who wasn’t a hardcase to begin with, so he might well come out of prison less employable as a person than when he went in.
Note that all this stuff comes up on application, not after you’ve been offered the role.
Police unions wouldn’t easily allow this…and those unions are crazy strong.
What we need are citizen review panels for police misconduct, set up like jury duty.
We also need MRI scans for prospective (and current) officers, to weed out those with poor empathy and low impulse control. I bet this will become a real thing within 10 years.
Right after the same thing is mandated for Judges and prison guards.
Those “crazy strong” police unions are, in many jurisdictions, also doing everything possible avoid any sort of citizen oversight.
And DAs. 
Which is proof they NEED it, hmm? 
So they claim, I wonder why they’re not releasing it.
Today’s episode of This American Life on NPR is relevant.
I like the tin man.
Iced tea arrest dismissed.
Frank Jude was beaten and tortured by Milwaukee police in 2004 and got back in the news in 2014, incarcerated in jail, unable to pay bail. Click the link to see how bad life can be for police victims.
Great! Case dismissed and the cop found to have violated his rights, all after a two-year legal battle.
The cop in question probably never even got a reprimand, let alone any actual punishment, and is probably still out there doing pretty much the same thing today. The only difference, i’ll bet, is that he’s a little more careful to make sure that there are no cameras around. Because you know that this case would have gone very differently if no-one had caught the incident on video.
Hell, even with the video, and even with the judge’s dismissal of the case and his ruling that the stop was unconstitutional, the ADA in the case still thinks the cop was in the right:
Hey, asshole, if there’s anti-cop sentiment in certain quarters, it’s because some cops behave like the asshole in this case, and because some prosecutors insist on taking cases to trial even when Blind Freddy With No Law Degree can see that the arrest and/or the charges are bullshit.
Very sad story; read the comments. (One comment implies he had black relatives, but I see no other indication of the victim’s race.)
America’s gun culture to blame? For the victim to even own a gun would be less common in a less gun-happy culture.
And the police should have been shouting “Police” and holding up badges. Were they?
SIAP
Pretty funny except that someone will need to buy a new door.
From the story:
The police department then added: “We decided to speak to him in a language that everyone understands, and that our cops are especially fluent in.”
Oh, Madison Alabama. I thought it was Madison Wisconsin. Because if they really want to beat up the right Walker…