# Resolved: The US will have to fire almost all Law Enforcement personnel **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [April 26, 2025, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527 "2025-04-26T07:11:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [May 2, 2025, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/41 "2025-05-02T13:33:36Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I am one hundred percent certain this is ridiculously, comically false. Eh, I dunno. Try peacefully filming in a public area in the U.S. The cops _will_ be called, and you will _probably_ be detained. Which would be illegal. Most cops are _ **completely** _ ignorant on - or simply don’t care about - the rights protected by the First and Fourth Amendments. It wouldn’t surprise me if foreign cops knew our laws better than most of our cops. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/42 "2025-05-02T13:40:44Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Eh, I dunno. Try peacefully filming in a public area in the U.S. The cops _will_ be called, and you will _probably_ be detained. In no way does this theoretical scenario demonstrate that a cop from Norway knows American law better than the typical American cop. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/43 "2025-05-02T14:06:05Z")
Oops NM ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/44 "2025-05-02T14:07:31Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Eh, I dunno. Try peacefully filming in a public area in the U.S. The cops _will_ be called, and you will _probably_ be detained. You’ve been watching too many YouTube videos. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/45 "2025-05-02T14:11:16Z")
Fwiw, I’ve peacefully taken video on my camera in public areas on several occasions. I wasn’t secretive about it, anyone looking at me knew i was filming. The cops have never been called. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/46 "2025-05-02T14:27:25Z")
I have been dispatched to complaints of someone taking photographs of video taping. It’s always resulted in me educating the complainant that they have no expectation of privacy in public, or that there is no violation of law taking pictures of their building , etc . And as long as they’re not getting in my way people can take pictures and videos of me while I am on a call. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/47 "2025-05-02T14:55:24Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Do you think that these federal agents will just say, “Oh, I guess we’re doing Due Process again, no problem!”? They’ll have years of practise to overcome, and that’s assuming they even want to overcome it. Far too many of them seem to actually agree that what they’re doing is The Right Thing. 100% spot-on observation. And it’s not just law enforcement either. Republican politicians and government officials have for years been doing things that will land them in jail (at least) if Democrats ever gain supermajority control of government. This creates a need for them to commit even bigger crimes. The entire Republican party will need to be burned to the ground along with a number of Democrats. Fascism is a snowball of criminality, it has to be melted in its entirety. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/48 "2025-05-02T19:42:45Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Simple announcing “It’s not true” doesn’t change the facts. Police training isnt anything like you think it is, In fact recently, the Police have been trained to be more mindful and careful. > [@Chronos](#): > > The fact that US law enforcement has a much worse grasp of the law than most people, including thinking that a great many things are illegal that aren’t. Take a look at the list of things that black people routinely get pulled over, arrested, or killed for. Mostly traffic stops like a busted taillight. Yes, in some areas a white person might just get a warning or not pulled over at all, but the stops are almost always legit. > [@Chronos](#): > > Foreign cops would almost certainly know that it’s perfectly legal for a black man to have a gun. No more than a white person. In CA for example, very very few people are allowed to carry a gun. And if you are white and pull that gun out - you will get shot just the same. > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Try peacefully filming in a public area in the U.S. The cops _will_ be called, and you will _probably_ be detained. I have seen people doing that all the freaken time without any police being called. Any time anything even mildly interesting or even if not- like a plate of food. But it isnt always legal- look at all the times it is not- Recording kids in a playground if you are not their parent can be illegal for example- > **[Recording in Public: Is It Illegal to Record Without Permission?](https://www.freedomforum.org/recording-in-public/)** > > The specifics of recording in public, and what you can do with a recording, can get complicated quickly. Here's everything you need to know. > [@pkbites](#): > > You’ve been watching too many YouTube videos. And not out in the real world- as this point out- > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Fwiw, I’ve peacefully taken video on my camera in public areas on several occasions. I wasn’t secretive about it, anyone looking at me knew i was filming. The cops have never been called. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/49 "2025-05-02T20:01:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Police training isnt anything like you think it is, In fact recently, the Police have been trained to be more mindful and careful. More mindful and careful than what? And why was this training deemed necessary? This “training” is a response to the American public finally, gradually, becoming slightly more aware of what the police are really like. Meanwhile, the actual training they get is that, whenever any cop does some egregiously horrible thing, every other cop in the nation stands behind the Blue Wall and defends them. That’s what people really learn from. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/50 "2025-05-02T20:05:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > More mindful and careful than what? And why was this training deemed necessary? That it used to be, and things change. > [@Chronos](#): > > Meanwhile, the actual training they get is that, whenever any cop does some egregiously horrible thing, every other cop in the nation stands behind the Blue Wall and defends them. There is no such training, and while that is common, it is by no means automatic. And go to any profession- they usually stand behind their fellow members- lawyers are a great example here. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/51 "2025-05-02T20:25:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Recording kids in a playground if you are not their parent can be illegal for example- I just read that, and i didn’t see anything in it about recording children on a public playground. It does list some exceptions for cameras up skirts, or IR recording through walls, or voice recording in some states, or… But i missed anything about kids. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/52 "2025-05-02T20:37:21Z")
There was this > Recordings of children almost always require specific permission from parents or guardians. That’s why in many presentations, when consent was not obtained, faces will be blurred or voices muted to prevent identification But that seems to be about using the video in a presentation of some sort, not taking the video . I suspect it’s really talking about a school filming students for an ad or something similar, not the news filming people in a park, even if some or most are children. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/53 "2025-05-03T01:06:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > There is no such training, and while that is common, it is by no means automatic. …You just said that something is no such and common in the same breath. And no, it’s not that way for other professions: Every other profession is better at policing themselves than the, well, police, are. When lawyers misbehave, they get disbarred. When teachers misbehave, we get fired. When police misbehave, they get paid vacations. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/54 "2025-05-03T02:27:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When police misbehave, they get paid vacations. And “qualified immunity.” ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/55 "2025-05-03T12:01:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When police misbehave, they get paid vacations. Cops get suspended w/o pay, fired, and even prosecuted all the time. Just because you haven’t heard about it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. An officer getting suspended for something isn’t Necessarily going to make a news feed. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/56 "2025-05-03T12:36:05Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I just read that, and i didn’t see anything in it about recording children on a public playground Which may not fall under the category. of “peacefully filming in a public area”. Nor does trying to video up someones skirt What I get sent to are events like street fairs and parades where some nut is complaining about people taking photos and videos and they don’t want to be in them. And they always insist that the people taking such photos and videos were supposed to get their permission beforehand. Sometimes someone will take pics or video of a building or business and the building or business managers will make a complaint. Now I have every right to ask the photographer what they are doing but they don’t have to answer and can leave. They are not being detained. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/57 "2025-05-03T12:54:13Z")
I took pics of a building and got questioned by the private security employed by the building’s owner. I told them i was playing with my new camera, and testing various settings. (Which was true.) They went away again. I was standing on a public sidewalk, and they didn’t have the right to do anything more. I guess if they’d thought i was dangerous they could have called the police. But i was just a middle aged woman standing on a sidewalk with a camera. They probably should have made a record of that interaction, in case there was later a terrorist event or something that might have been related to my scoping out the joint. Maybe they did. 🤷‍♀️ ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/58 "2025-05-03T14:04:29Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I took pics of a building and got questioned by the private security employed by the building’s owner. 🤷‍♀️ Heh. In 2019 I got bitched at by the Boarder Patrol for taking pictures of the bridge from El Paso into Juarez. Pete: Am I under arrest? BP: No Pete: Bye. Nobody detained me or stood in my way. And I took more pictures right in front of them after that encounter. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/59 "2025-05-03T14:16:16Z")
I took more pics after my encounter, too. Standing in pretty much exactly the same spot. After politely answering the anxious man’s questions. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527/60 "2025-05-03T19:15:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You just said that something is no such and common in the same breath. Yes, becuase THERE IS NO SUCH **TRAINING.**. It certainly occurs, yes, but it is not something that the police are trained in. In fact the upper management doesnt care for the 'blue wall". > [@Chronos](#): > > When police misbehave, they get paid vacations. Or fired or unpaid suspensions or criminal charges and convictions. And some teachers have tenure- cops do not. > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > And “qualified immunity.” So do all civil servants. Qualified immunity just protect the individual police office from being harrassed by lawsuits- and since the cop has no assets, they would just be harassment. Instead you can (and many do) sue the entire department and can get settlements up to $15 million dollars, instead of $1.75 in changes and some pocket lint from suing some random police officer. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4v4oqA-AWMI/maxresdefault.jpg "Williams Police Department officer fired following ABC15 reports") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v4oqA-AWMI) > **[Dallas police officer fired over improper release of body cam footage](https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-police-officer-fired-ali-toppa-body-cam)** > > Ali Toppa was arrested on November 21, 2024, for the unauthorized release of body-worn camera recording, which is a Class A misdemeanor. [https://www.ktvu.com/news/martinez-officers-fired-wake-deadly-shooting-tahmon-wilsonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C\_wnb5CCycM&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD](https://www.ktvu.com/news/martinez-officers-fired-wake-deadly-shooting-tahmon-wilsonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_wnb5CCycM&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD) > **[HCPD officer fired amid misconduct investigation in shooting involving NMB...](https://wpde.com/news/local/scott-spivey-weldon-boyd-misconduct-investigation-sled-horry-county-police-officer-fired-hcpd-camp-swamp-road-shooting-involving-prominent-north-myrtle-beach-business-owner-restauranter)** > > A veteran Horry County police officer is out of a job as part of an internal investigation related to a deadly 2023 shooting involving a prominent North Myrtle [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-the-us-will-have-to-fire-almost-all-law-enforcement-personnel/1017527.md?page=4)