# I pit the cops who openly applauded police abuse today **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 28, 2017, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340 "2017-07-28T19:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/241 "2017-08-01T17:41:36Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > I’m not in constant terror for my own life _because_ there are laws and cops who enforce them. Same as the rest of you. I wouldn’t want the risk _or_ the responsibility of doing that job. Fortunately, others are willing to do it. Unfortunately, many of them suck at it. Willing to take a paycheck, not able to perform the job asked. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/242 "2017-08-01T17:49:44Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Unfortunately, many of them suck at it. > > Willing to take a paycheck, not able to perform the job asked. No, a few of them suck at it, the vast majority do a good job. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/243 "2017-08-01T17:51:09Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I can appreciate the existence of law enforcement without feeling the need to suck their collective dick. I only suck individual dicks. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/244 "2017-08-01T17:52:32Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Unfortunately, many of them suck at it. > > Willing to take a paycheck, not able to perform the job asked. Like most other jobs, if you’re being honest. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/245 "2017-08-01T18:00:57Z")
Its the bonds of loyalty, which is to say, all too human. Like men in a combat squad, the cop’s most powerful loyalty is to his comrades. This sort of loyalty is iron-bound. The cop’s loyalty is first to his own, his partner, his department, and cops in general. After that come the people they protect and serve, way down the list is the people that they protect against. Can’t say I’ve ever felt that I was part of the first group. Caveat: I have met a couple of cops who _do_ represent the ideal of “protect and serve”. I don’t know where we get such people, or where we can get more. I don’t know them well enough to presume to call them friends, but would be proud to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/246 "2017-08-01T18:07:59Z")
> **[WSJ: DEA Sent Agency-Wide Memo After Trump ‘Condoned Police Misconduct’](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dea-acting-director-agency-wide-memo)** > > The acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration wrote to agency employees the day after President Donald Trump endorsed police abuse to “reaffirm” the agency’s principles in the face… The director of the DEA sent a memo to all staff reaffirming that the DEA doesn’t condone mistreatment of suspects. > [@](#): > > In a memo marked “Global Distribution” and titled “Who We Are,” according to the Journal, Chuck Rosenberg (pictured above) wrote: “The president, in remarks delivered yesterday in New York, condoned police misconduct regarding the treatment of individuals placed under arrest by law enforcement.” > > \ > > “I write to offer a strong reaffirmation of the operating principles to which we, as law enforcement professionals, adhere […] I write because we have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong. That’s what law enforcement officers do. That’s what you do. We fix stuff. At least, we try” He will be missed. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/247 "2017-08-01T18:09:55Z")
**Steophan** , you ignored my questions twice. Why did you assert complete speculation (that 12-year-old Rice tried to threaten police officers) as fact? Why would you want to assume the worst about a dead child without any reason? ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/248 "2017-08-01T18:26:18Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > No, a few of them suck at it, the vast majority do a good job. Nah, I’m gonna stick with many. A few cops that sucked at their job would make headlines once or twice a year. Keep in mind, we’re not talking about cops who kill, or at least, not just about cops who kill, we are talking about cops who abuse their position for either personal gain or vengeance upon some “low-life scum” that they deem below them. Cops who[plant evidence](http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/20/us/baltimore-cop-allegedly-planting-evidence/index.html), cops who will [beat you and arrest you for saying something they didn’t like](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/10/04/brutal-video-shows-white-officer-violently-arresting-black-man-sitting-on-his-mothers-porch/?utm_term=.ea8a117cc667), cops who [rape the people that called them for help](https://newsone.com/1854105/officer-ladmarald-cates-rapes-single-mother-in-milwaukee-after-she-calls-911-for-help/), cops who [shove screwdrivers up a suspect’s ass](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/2-cops-sodomized-man-screwdriver-working-article-1.2820609?utm_content=bufferf56cd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=NYDailyNewsTw). I could go on, but I am getting depressed trying to sort through all the different police abuse scandals. These make up more than just “a few”. They are psychopathic cowardly bullies who hide behind their badge and their gun to live out their fantasies of being the man in charge, the strong man, the authoritarian. They don’t need trump’s encouragement to abuse their charges, they are already right there on that page. That the “vast majority” do not participate in such antics makes no difference. If they turn a blind eye towards their fellow cop’s behavior, they are no better themselves. I very much doubt that the vast majority of cops have turned in their fellow cops for their misdeeds. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/249 "2017-08-01T21:03:21Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I’d hope that someone who is in a constant state of terror for his own life would be steered away from a career in law enforcement, but it could just be wishful thinking on my part. Such a person should be declared as unfit for duty and gotten rid of. Sooner or later he WILL kill someone - most likely the wrong person. Thanks to VIDEO, we now have prof that this has already been happening. To Steophan: You want to say the system works as intended, citing one back shooting shitbag who was convicted. Wanna lay a bet on how it would have gone, without the video? He would have lied his fat ass off and his buddies would have helped cover his tracks. Video forces the truth out into the open. It all too often directly contradicts the false statements bad cops have gotten away with before, to cover their own abuses and crimes. They are finally being seen for what they are, and gradually they are starting to get convicted. Videos help FORCE the system to work. That’s all I have to say on this train wreck any more. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/250 "2017-08-01T21:15:21Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Video forces the truth out into the open. It all too often directly contradicts the false statements bad cops have gotten away with before, to cover their own abuses and crimes. They are finally being seen for what they are, and gradually they are starting to get convicted. Videos help FORCE the system to work. That’s why I’ve repeatedly said I support police body cameras. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/251 "2017-08-01T21:23:56Z")
Still ignoring my questions, **Steophan**. Why are you ignoring my questions? I’m not making personal insults. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/252 "2017-08-01T21:35:54Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > He took a fucking plea deal, and is about to be sentenced. Are you really that fucking stupid? The system has worked. He’s been convicted, and is going to be locked up. > > That you add a “but” to the statement about keeping the innocent free shows that your priorities are fucked up. No. Fuck that shit. A jury trial is the best system we have at the moment. It’s a good system. But if you want to claim that it never fails, then I think you owe Debra Milke an apology. If you want to claim that the system never fucks up, that it’s never biased, that there aren’t issues that it needs to work on, then _you need to look closer_. Michael Slager got away with Murder. So did the fuckwit whose name I can’t bother to look up who shot Philando Castile. So did OJ Simpson. So did the countless members of lynch mobs who were never prosecuted in the south. THIS HAPPENS. IT IS A THING THAT HAPPENS. DEAL WITH IT. > [@](#): > > I’m glad to hear you outright say that people shouldn’t bother with trials, though. Shows your true colours very clearly. I’m drunk off my tits and I still can figure out that this is _not_ what I said, you asshole. Go ahead, keep making shit up about me. See how well that goes for you. > [@Miller](#): > > Well, except for the part where you said **BCP** argued cops shouldn’t get trials. Thank you for the confirmation, Miller. 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/253 "2017-08-01T21:37:56Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Still ignoring my questions, **Steophan**. Why are you ignoring my questions? I’m not making personal insults. What is it with everyone in this thread needing me to remind them of things I’ve discussed with them several times? You are either very forgetful or very needy. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/254 "2017-08-01T21:41:49Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, if you’re, like, a cat burglar, then you’ve hit a clear conflict of interest here, right? That sounds so much cooler than “thief”. Conjures up images of a dashing character running across the rooftops of Marseilles. Cary Grant, or Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat. That is going on my next set of business cards. Right now I have “Salvage Consultant”… worked for Travis McGee. [/HIJACK] … but at least I’m not “drunk off my tits” like **BPC** … ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/255 "2017-08-01T21:43:27Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Michael Slager got away with Murder. Nope. The rest of what you posted is just as ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/256 "2017-08-01T21:44:56Z")
[The acting head of the DEA](http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/01/politics/dea-trump-rough-suspects/index.html) didn’t think it was a joke > [@](#): > > Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump told an audience full of police officers in New York to be “rough” on suspects, the acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration sent his employees an email that rebuked the President’s suggestion. “The President, in remarks delivered yesterday in New York, condoned police misconduct regarding the treatment of individuals placed under arrest by law enforcement,” DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg wrote in a message to DEA’s “Global Distribution” list Saturday. > >  ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/257 "2017-08-01T21:48:09Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > I’m not in constant terror for my own life _because_ there are laws and cops who enforce them. Same as the rest of you. I wouldn’t want the risk _or_ the responsibility of doing that job. Fortunately, others are willing to do it. What responsibility, when you get away with murder? And you know what job I wouldn’t want? Deep sea fisherman, or farmer. Now \*those \*are dangerous jobs. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/258 "2017-08-01T22:00:38Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > What responsibility, when you get away with murder? And you know what job I wouldn’t want? Deep sea fisherman, or farmer. Now \*those \*are dangerous jobs. Well fuck off to Somalia and live without any police, then. And you’d see what people _actually_ getting away with murder on a regular basis looks like, too. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/259 "2017-08-01T22:05:11Z")
You kind of deflected there, without actually addressing what I said. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cops-who-openly-applauded-police-abuse-today/792340/260 "2017-08-01T22:05:24Z")
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