# Why cops and their unions don't care about the public **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 5, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876 "2017-08-05T23:16:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/61 "2017-08-06T18:17:25Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > The “Broken Record” trick. I’m impressed. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/62 "2017-08-06T18:58:27Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > What the fuck is your issue? I already said those are not your words. What more do you fucking want? My issue is you’re weaseling. I want you to stop weaseling. I’m not holding out much hope on that, though. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/63 "2017-08-06T19:02:24Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > My issue is you’re weaseling. I want you to stop weaseling. I’m not holding out much hope on that, though. Are you fucking mental? I have already said nothing I have typed is attributed to you. I am not attaching anything to you. Fucking get over yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/64 "2017-08-06T19:04:10Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > Thank you to everyone for pointing out the error of my ways. If you want stuff you got to pay for stuff. Sometimes the stuff is broken, but it can still be better than no stuff. Thanks to the men and women who do stuff for us that need to be done. > [@UCBearcats](#): > > Thank you to everyone for pointing out the error of my ways. If you want stuff you got to pay for stuff. Sometimes the stuff is broken, but it can still be better than no stuff. Thanks to the men and women who do stuff for us that need to be done. > [@UCBearcats](#): > > Thank you to everyone for pointing out the error of my ways. If you want stuff you got to pay for stuff. Sometimes the stuff is broken, but it can still be better than no stuff. Thanks to the men and women who do stuff for us that need to be done. > [@UCBearcats](#): > > Thank you to everyone for pointing out the error of my ways. If you want stuff you got to pay for stuff. Sometimes the stuff is broken, but it can still be better than no stuff. Thanks to the men and women who do stuff for us that need to be done. > [@UCBearcats](#): > > Thank you to everyone for pointing out the error of my ways. If you want stuff you got to pay for stuff. Sometimes the stuff is broken, but it can still be better than no stuff. Thanks to the men and women who do stuff for us that need to be done. [Moderating] **UCBearcats** , if you don’t want to respond to this thread any more, just stop posting to it. If you keep reposting the same C&P answer to everyone who disagrees with you, I will lock this thread and issue you a formal warning for trolling. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/65 "2017-08-06T21:22:37Z")
The unions don’t care about the public - they care about the clients they serve. That shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone. Law enforcement often do care about the public. After all, it is the public they interact with on a daily basis. To the extent that their pension plans are angering the public, cops should probably care about that as well. I’m not a fan of this growing antagonism between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Branding all public servants as vile and self-serving ignores the good they do in serving all of us. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/66 "2017-08-06T21:57:28Z")
I could’ve sworn you flounced off a while back–why are you such a drama queen to have done it in the first place while being such a weaky person that you can’t make it stick for even a couple weeks? You are the FailBean. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/67 "2017-08-06T22:21:34Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > We all have to do things we don’t like at work. My post regarding compensation is that most cops don’t make $40k. They make well over the average person. Hey homie, the median salary in the US of A is $52,000. That’s us average people who’s average intelligence you’re insulting with your bogus claims. A police job is not a way to get rich. It’s a public service job. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/68 "2017-08-06T23:00:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That’s the fault of the cops? If you had such a pension, would you be willing to give up? > > Sounds to me like poor budgeting by the municipality. To be fair, in their place I’d grab it and I’d be crazy NOT to. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/69 "2017-08-06T23:05:46Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > Overtime and holiday pay is a waste of money. Why pay more for the same service? Overtime pay and holiday pay is fair, and it is standard in most jobs. It is a way to get people to volunteer for extra work, that the staffing levels would not otherwise allow. It compensates the people for going over and above. It keeps management from having to be the bad guy and direct the extra hours. It also takes the sting out of the tax that is levied on the extra money. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/70 "2017-08-06T23:07:25Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > In case anyone ( **Steophan** ) is wondering what anti-cop bias looks like, here’s a hint. I have “a concern” about BOTH extremes. ---
**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 6, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/71 "2017-08-06T23:52:10Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > Steophan is part of the reason for this thread. All of his cops can do no wrong and nobody should stop them while they are working crap. Nobody should _shoot_ them while they are doing their job. That being a controversial position is something I would expect from edgy teens, not a supposedly rational discussion board. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/72 "2017-08-07T02:20:02Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That should not be a surprise. It’s a job that requires more than the average skill level, HA! Good one. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/73 "2017-08-07T03:12:21Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Christ, how many police threads are we going to have? What do you have against Sting? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/74 "2017-08-07T03:37:08Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Nobody should _shoot_ them while they are doing their job. That being a controversial position is something I would expect from edgy teens, not a supposedly rational discussion board. Cops are not supposed to kill innocent people either. It unfortunately happens way to often. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/75 "2017-08-07T03:40:16Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I have “a concern” about BOTH extremes. I’m not anti-cop. I’m anti-bad cop. I’m anti- overpaying for the crap that we have now. I’m anti- having no accountability for the criminal acts perpetrated by bad cops against the people they work for. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/76 "2017-08-07T03:43:07Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Hey homie, the median salary in the US of A is $52,000. That’s us average people who’s average intelligence you’re insulting with your bogus claims. A police job is not a way to get rich. It’s a public service job. My number is off only because the sites put out the median base salary and not the inflated with overtime and meeting the number of tickets bonus per month final ay. Cops are not over the top wealthy, but they are not normally collecting food stamps. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/77 "2017-08-07T03:47:50Z")
> [@UCBearcats](#): > > My number is off only because the sites put out the median base salary and not the inflated with overtime and meeting the number of tickets bonus per month final ay. Cops are not over the top wealthy, **but they are not normally collecting food stamps.** You think they’re supposed to be? ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/78 "2017-08-07T04:07:26Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > You think they’re supposed to be? I don’t think they should at all. If I say that no cop anywhere in the United States collects food stamps, then some anal retentive fuck head will respond with “cite”. ---
**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 7, 2017, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/79 "2017-08-07T04:55:50Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Nobody should _shoot_ them while they are doing their job. That being a controversial position is something I would expect from edgy teens, not a supposedly rational discussion board. Now who wants to take a wild guess about the context of the statements **Steophan** is talking about? Is it the cold-blooded murder of on-duty officers? Is it a civilian getting spooked that the cops will shoot him, so he pulls his gun and shoots back? Is it a life-or-death struggle with a corrupt cop? No. The statements Steophan is complaining about are people claiming that a man who shot a cop during a no-knock raid did so in self-defense. This was after the cops burst in through the window at 5:30 AM without identifying themselves - a situation _utterly indistinguishable from a bog-standard home invasion_. Needless to say, the local police department where he lives has _really_ shiny boots. 🙂 ---
**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 7, 2017, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876/80 "2017-08-07T09:18:43Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > No. The statements Steophan is complaining about are people claiming that a man who shot a cop during a no-knock raid did so in self-defense. This was after the cops burst in through the window at 5:30 AM without identifying themselves - a situation _utterly indistinguishable from a bog-standard home invasion_. That would be the police doing their job. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cops-and-their-unions-dont-care-about-the-public/792876.md?page=5)