Deadly force by US police compounds global disdain

[sdanielmcev]

The relevance of race is a non-issue. The only issue is obeying the law. Sensationalized acts perpetuated by a media prone to over-reacting to anything against their certain views causes disproportional coverage. As Scott said, don't run. Very simple. Who runs? The guilty.

[55Jay]

Why are there more minorities in prisons? It's because they commit a disproportionate amount of the crimes.

Or perhaps it 's because they're more often targeted by a largely white police force. The US majority is still non-Hispanic, whites yet relatively few are incarcerated compared to blacks/Hispanics not because the former commit less crimes but rather they are often released or served much lighter punishment.

Ref: US Bureau of Prisons, 1st Qtr 2015.

Capture.JPG

Race # of Inmates % of Inmates Asian 3,212 1.5% Black 78,219 37.5% Native American 3,954 1.9% White 123,140 59.1%

Blacks make up less than 20% of a population of 300M yet according to the chart, they account for almost 1/2 crimes committed in the US? It's obvious that they are targeted by law enforcement more often and severely than white counterparts as evidenced by the numbers and documented violence and killing of innocent blacks.

I have yet to hear of any whites being shot in the back by police while running away.

But that's not what you said. You said blacks are incarcerated more than whites. That doesn't appear to be true.

As far as being shot by police, it appears whites lead in that area too. I can't vouch for the accuracy, but have a look at the link in Post #18.

Edited June 6, 2015 by 55Jay

[The manic]

And look at how they imprison their own people. The stats are shocking

Especially California Home of the free my Arse.

[retarius]

The FBI report is wrong. There was a 10 year old kid shot in Chicago this year and another 12 year old shot in a Walmart store...he was playing with the toy guns on sale in the store. So to say the youngest was 16 means they are undercounting.

[Publicus]

Since the 1950s especially it's been all over television and the news around the world to see the police in the United States setting attack dogs against unarmed civil rights demonstrators who engaged in the Mohatma Gandhi practice of peaceful and passive civil disobedience in opposition against racist laws in the various states and municipalities.

People around the world have seen riots in black communities and police looking like stormtroopers in predominantly black communities. The large black middle class of America doesn't get much publicity and neither do the mass of white Americans who are not racial in their attitudes.

More recently people around the world have seen an unarmed old black guy in a park running from the police patrol and get shot to death, multiple times in the back. In opposing civil rights and civil rights laws over the decades the racial police in the United States have done both themselves and the United States irreparable harm both to themselves at home and to all of us in the view from abroad .

The vast majority of the police in the US do a great job, it's just the racial police over decades who people around the world see almost exclusively, and the fact is America's shame.

[NeverSure]

I would like to see some statistics about people being shot by police merely for running away. That would be murder and the police would be criminals.

The police aren't supposed to shoot anyone unless that person presents a danger of serious bodily injury or death to the police or anyone else. The only exception I can think of is if the runner has committed a serious crime and he's believed to still present a danger. That would be like the guy who's stopped after a high speed chase and then tries to take off again, or someone who has robbed a bank at gunpoint and is leaving with his gun. Those guys will be stopped from going their way into the general public.

A perp doesn't have to be armed to get shot and the definition of a weapon is quite broad. All the shooter needs is a reasonable belief that the perp is going to cause him serious bodily injury even with the perp's own body. If a perp is big enough and strong enough that he can give me a beat down, or if there's more than one perp I don't have to stand there and take it. People have been killed by beatings.

There must be some bad apples in every barrel but after living in the US since the Revolutionary War^TM, I've not seen it myself. What I have seen is some very scary neighborhoods in the large inner cities and I try to stay out of there. The police who work there don't have that choice.

[Publicus]

I would like to see some statistics about people being shot by police merely for running away. That would be murder and the police would be criminals.

The police aren't supposed to shoot anyone unless that person presents a danger of serious bodily injury or death to the police or anyone else. The only exception I can think of is if the runner has committed a serious crime and he's believed to still present a danger. That would be like the guy who's stopped after a high speed chase and then tries to take off again, or someone who has robbed a bank at gunpoint and is leaving with his gun. Those guys will be stopped from going their way into the general public.

A perp doesn't have to be armed to get shot and the definition of a weapon is quite broad. All the shooter needs is a reasonable belief that the perp is going to cause him serious bodily injury even with the perp's own body. If a perp is big enough and strong enough that he can give me a beat down, or if there's more than one perp I don't have to stand there and take it. People have been killed by beatings.

There must be some bad apples in every barrel but after living in the US since the Revolutionary War^TM, I've not seen it myself. What I have seen is some very scary neighborhoods in the large inner cities and I try to stay out of there. The police who work there don't have that choice.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Who would disagree...

And I woulda said it in the same number of words besides.

[Seastallion]

Perhaps some perspective on this from the other side of the fence. So it is understandable that officers are cautious.

On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 58 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1791, more than 20,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

NLEO

• Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1791, there have been over 20,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 20,538 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

• A total of 1,466 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 60 hours or 146 per year. There were 117 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2014.

• On average, over the last decade, there have been 58,930 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,404 injuries.

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/enforcement/

Ok, so it is obvious that the gun culture is largely to blame. Take NZ for example , where gun control is, put simply, "If you want a gun for sport hunting, get a licence (which includes an interview with a police officer), otherwise, you have no reason to hold a gun". NZ police deaths throughout history stand at 29, and over the last decade, 6. SIX!! Take the population proportionately (80:1), and 6 deaths over the last decade equates to 48........ compared to US's 1466!!!! That's an enormous disparity.

Deaths of unarmed people shot by cop.....the disparity is even greater. HUGE. There's been 1 in the last decade. ONE. And he was a bystander who got hit by a stray bullet....it was not fired at him in a fusilade of bullets by a dozen cops high on cowboy dreams, but a bullet that missed the criminal target narrowly, and went on to kill a driver in the background. An unlucky shot.

Now, either NZ cops are far smarter and tougher than US cops, the criminals are far dumber and weaker than US crims, OR the gun laws and culture affect the number of dead cops in either country.

The second option is absolutely not true, the first option is debatable but lets put it aside for now...Gun laws and gun culture.

[sdanielmcev]

Perhaps some perspective on this from the other side of the fence. So it is understandable that officers are cautious.

On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 58 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1791, more than 20,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

NLEO

• Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1791, there have been over 20,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 20,538 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

• A total of 1,466 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 60 hours or 146 per year. There were 117 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2014.

• On average, over the last decade, there have been 58,930 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,404 injuries.

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/enforcement/

Ok, so it is obvious that the gun culture is largely to blame. Take NZ for example , where gun control is, put simply, "If you want a gun for sport hunting, get a licence (which includes an interview with a police officer), otherwise, you have no reason to hold a gun". NZ police deaths throughout history stand at 29, and over the last decade, 6. SIX!! Take the population proportionately (80:1), and 6 deaths over the last decade equates to 48........ compared to US's 1466!!!! That's an enormous disparity.

Deaths of unarmed people shot by cop.....the disparity is even greater. HUGE. There's been 1 in the last decade. ONE. And he was a bystander who got hit by a stray bullet....it was not fired at him in a fusilade of bullets by a dozen cops high on cowboy dreams, but a bullet that missed the criminal target narrowly, and went on to kill a driver in the background. An unlucky shot.

Now, either NZ cops are far smarter and tougher than US cops, the criminals are far dumber and weaker than US crims, OR the gun laws and culture affect the number of dead cops in either country.

The second option is absolutely not true, the first option is debatable but lets put it aside for now...Gun laws and gun culture.

Has nothing to do with 'gun culture.' Or New Zealand.

[thaibeachlovers]

Yeah, that's right NS, it's all just a conspiracy...

U.S. Police Kill More Civilians in March than UK Police Killed in 100 Years

http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/04/07/u-s-police-kill-more-civilians-in-march-than-uk-police-killed-in-100-years/

Police killed more than twice as many people as reported by US government

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/04/police-killed-people-fbi-data-justifiable-homicides

Police in the US Kill Citizens at Over 70 Times the Rate of Other First-World Nations

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-kill-citizens-70-times-rate-first-world-nations/

If the UK police were armed the death rate would be higher.

Perhaps the US just has a lot of very bad people, like 70 times as much as other ( so called ) first world nations.

Edited June 7, 2015 by thaibeachlovers

[thaibeachlovers]

Perhaps some perspective on this from the other side of the fence. So it is understandable that officers are cautious.

On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 58 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1791, more than 20,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

NLEO

• Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1791, there have been over 20,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 20,538 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

• A total of 1,466 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 60 hours or 146 per year. There were 117 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2014.

• On average, over the last decade, there have been 58,930 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,404 injuries.

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/enforcement/

Ok, so it is obvious that the gun culture is largely to blame. Take NZ for example , where gun control is, put simply, "If you want a gun for sport hunting, get a licence (which includes an interview with a police officer), otherwise, you have no reason to hold a gun". NZ police deaths throughout history stand at 29, and over the last decade, 6. SIX!! Take the population proportionately (80:1), and 6 deaths over the last decade equates to 48........ compared to US's 1466!!!! That's an enormous disparity.

Deaths of unarmed people shot by cop.....the disparity is even greater. HUGE. There's been 1 in the last decade. ONE. And he was a bystander who got hit by a stray bullet....it was not fired at him in a fusilade of bullets by a dozen cops high on cowboy dreams, but a bullet that missed the criminal target narrowly, and went on to kill a driver in the background. An unlucky shot.

Now, either NZ cops are far smarter and tougher than US cops, the criminals are far dumber and weaker than US crims, OR the gun laws and culture affect the number of dead cops in either country.

The second option is absolutely not true, the first option is debatable but lets put it aside for now...Gun laws and gun culture.

It's hard to find a cop in NZ there are so few of them. The gangs are savages, but have not yet started to cause significant problems other than minor crime and drug dealing ( I never heard of a home invasion ). I expect that to change in the future. Did you see the "Jake" film- I went out and bought a pump shotgun after that, and having a gun licence already did not have to prove that it was for sport shooting- guns are not registered, so people could have a hundred and the cops wouldn't know. I can even buy a 50 cal. if I want- what hunting would you do with that?

[55Jay]

Ok, so it is obvious that the gun culture is largely to blame. Take NZ for example , where gun control is, put simply, "If you want a gun for sport hunting, get a licence (which includes an interview with a police officer), otherwise, you have no reason to hold a gun". NZ police deaths throughout history stand at 29, and over the last decade, 6. SIX!! Take the population proportionately (80:1), and 6 deaths over the last decade equates to 48........ compared to US's 1466!!!! That's an enormous disparity.

Deaths of unarmed people shot by cop.....the disparity is even greater. HUGE. There's been 1 in the last decade. ONE. And he was a bystander who got hit by a stray bullet....it was not fired at him in a fusilade of bullets by a dozen cops high on cowboy dreams, but a bullet that missed the criminal target narrowly, and went on to kill a driver in the background. An unlucky shot.

Now, either NZ cops are far smarter and tougher than US cops, the criminals are far dumber and weaker than US crims, OR the gun laws and culture affect the number of dead cops in either country.

The second option is absolutely not true, the first option is debatable but lets put it aside for now...Gun laws and gun culture.

Sounds fantastic. Why on earth would you ever leave NZ for a place full of nutters with guns like Thailand?

What is the reason for an interview with a police officer? Their sixth sense? Can they reject an applicant if they just "feel" like he or she is a bit "off"? Do the police have the last and final word?

If you are cleared by a police officer for a gun license, then use your weapon unlawfully, does that police officer get sacked?

Edited June 7, 2015 by 55Jay

[NeverSure]

If the UK police were armed the death rate would be higher.

Perhaps the US just has a lot of very bad people, like 70 times as much as other ( so called ) first world nations.

The US is a nation of immigrants. Give the UK another ten or fifteen years of its er, um, well, immigration and get back to me.

[Seastallion]

Perhaps some perspective on this from the other side of the fence. So it is understandable that officers are cautious.

On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 58 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1791, more than 20,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

NLEO

• Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1791, there have been over 20,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 20,538 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

• A total of 1,466 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 60 hours or 146 per year. There were 117 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2014.

• On average, over the last decade, there have been 58,930 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,404 injuries.

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/enforcement/

Ok, so it is obvious that the gun culture is largely to blame. Take NZ for example , where gun control is, put simply, "If you want a gun for sport hunting, get a licence (which includes an interview with a police officer), otherwise, you have no reason to hold a gun". NZ police deaths throughout history stand at 29, and over the last decade, 6. SIX!! Take the population proportionately (80:1), and 6 deaths over the last decade equates to 48........ compared to US's 1466!!!! That's an enormous disparity.

Deaths of unarmed people shot by cop.....the disparity is even greater. HUGE. There's been 1 in the last decade. ONE. And he was a bystander who got hit by a stray bullet....it was not fired at him in a fusilade of bullets by a dozen cops high on cowboy dreams, but a bullet that missed the criminal target narrowly, and went on to kill a driver in the background. An unlucky shot.

Now, either NZ cops are far smarter and tougher than US cops, the criminals are far dumber and weaker than US crims, OR the gun laws and culture affect the number of dead cops in either country.

The second option is absolutely not true, the first option is debatable but lets put it aside for now...Gun laws and gun culture.

Has nothing to do with 'gun culture.' Or New Zealand.

If it's got nothing to do with gun culture, then it must be something like my second option. NZ was a comparison in reply to Tywais post regarding how police die at the hands of crims.

[55Jay]

Perhaps some perspective on this from the other side of the fence. So it is understandable that officers are cautious.

On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 58 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1791, more than 20,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

NLEO

• Crime fighting has taken its toll. Since the first recorded police death in 1791, there have been over 20,000 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Currently, there are 20,538 names engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

• A total of 1,466 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 60 hours or 146 per year. There were 117 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2014.

• On average, over the last decade, there have been 58,930 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,404 injuries.

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/enforcement/

Ok, so it is obvious that the gun culture is largely to blame. Take NZ for example , where gun control is, put simply, "If you want a gun for sport hunting, get a licence (which includes an interview with a police officer), otherwise, you have no reason to hold a gun". NZ police deaths throughout history stand at 29, and over the last decade, 6. SIX!! Take the population proportionately (80:1), and 6 deaths over the last decade equates to 48........ compared to US's 1466!!!! That's an enormous disparity.

Deaths of unarmed people shot by cop.....the disparity is even greater. HUGE. There's been 1 in the last decade. ONE. And he was a bystander who got hit by a stray bullet....it was not fired at him in a fusilade of bullets by a dozen cops high on cowboy dreams, but a bullet that missed the criminal target narrowly, and went on to kill a driver in the background. An unlucky shot.

Now, either NZ cops are far smarter and tougher than US cops, the criminals are far dumber and weaker than US crims, OR the gun laws and culture affect the number of dead cops in either country.

The second option is absolutely not true, the first option is debatable but lets put it aside for now...Gun laws and gun culture.

Has nothing to do with 'gun culture.' Or New Zealand.

If it's got nothing to do with gun culture, then it must be something like my second option. NZ was a comparison in reply to Tywais post regarding how police die at the hands of crims.

Lots of opinions, it's like a buy one get one free promotion. Maybe better to be informed than merely opinionated.

[nemrut]

Ref: US Bureau of Prisons, 1st Qtr 2015.

Capture.JPG

Race # of Inmates % of Inmates Asian 3,212 1.5% Black 78,219 37.5% Native American 3,954 1.9% White 123,140 59.1%

Blacks make up less than 20% of a population of 300M yet according to the chart, they account for almost 1/2 crimes committed in the US? It's obvious that they are targeted by law enforcement more often and severely than white counterparts as evidenced by the numbers and documented violence and killing of innocent blacks.

I have yet to hear of any whites being shot in the back by police while running away.

But that's not what you said. You said blacks are incarcerated more than whites. That doesn't appear to be true.

As far as being shot by police, it appears whites lead in that area too. I can't vouch for the accuracy, but have a look at the link in Post #18.

It was in response to post showing inmates by race, but yes blacks are incarcerated more than whites when you account for their relatively smally population size compared to non-hispanic whites.

The link you provided is very informative and it's shame the US cant provide that sort of data about it's own country.

[nemrut]

If the UK police were armed the death rate would be higher.

Perhaps the US just has a lot of very bad people, like 70 times as much as other ( so called ) first world nations.

The US is a nation of immigrants. Give the UK another ten or fifteen years of its er, um, well, immigration and get back to me.

UK is full of immigrants with all the baggage it entails. Despite their colonial past they dont have the baggage of slavery and violent gun culture of the US.

[Ulysses G.]

UK is full of immigrants with all the baggage it entails. Despite their colonial past they dont have the baggage of slavery and violent gun culture of the US.

Slavery was normal in England at one time - over 10% of England's population in 1086 were slaves - and British merchants were among the largest participants in the Atlantic slave trade.

[55Jay]

Ref: US Bureau of Prisons, 1st Qtr 2015.

Capture.JPG

Race # of Inmates % of Inmates Asian 3,212 1.5% Black 78,219 37.5% Native American 3,954 1.9% White 123,140 59.1%

Blacks make up less than 20% of a population of 300M yet according to the chart, they account for almost 1/2 crimes committed in the US? It's obvious that they are targeted by law enforcement more often and severely than white counterparts as evidenced by the numbers and documented violence and killing of innocent blacks.

I have yet to hear of any whites being shot in the back by police while running away.

But that's not what you said. You said blacks are incarcerated more than whites. That doesn't appear to be true.

As far as being shot by police, it appears whites lead in that area too. I can't vouch for the accuracy, but have a look at the link in Post #18.

It was in response to post showing inmates by race, but yes blacks are incarcerated more than whites when you account for their relatively smally population size compared to non-hispanic whites.

The link you provided is very informative and it's shame the US cant provide that sort of data about it's own country.

It's a massive conspiracy. <insert dastardly villain laugh here>

Edited June 7, 2015 by 55Jay

[thaibeachlovers]

Ok, so it is obvious that the gun culture is largely to blame. Take NZ for example , where gun control is, put simply, "If you want a gun for sport hunting, get a licence (which includes an interview with a police officer), otherwise, you have no reason to hold a gun". NZ police deaths throughout history stand at 29, and over the last decade, 6. SIX!! Take the population proportionately (80:1), and 6 deaths over the last decade equates to 48........ compared to US's 1466!!!! That's an enormous disparity.

Deaths of unarmed people shot by cop.....the disparity is even greater. HUGE. There's been 1 in the last decade. ONE. And he was a bystander who got hit by a stray bullet....it was not fired at him in a fusilade of bullets by a dozen cops high on cowboy dreams, but a bullet that missed the criminal target narrowly, and went on to kill a driver in the background. An unlucky shot.

Now, either NZ cops are far smarter and tougher than US cops, the criminals are far dumber and weaker than US crims, OR the gun laws and culture affect the number of dead cops in either country.

The second option is absolutely not true, the first option is debatable but lets put it aside for now...Gun laws and gun culture.

Sounds fantastic. Why on earth would you ever leave NZ for a place full of nutters with guns like Thailand?

What is the reason for an interview with a police officer? Their sixth sense? Can they reject an applicant if they just "feel" like he or she is a bit "off"? Do the police have the last and final word?

If you are cleared by a police officer for a gun license, then use your weapon unlawfully, does that police officer get sacked?

Being ex military, I did not have an interview- they just gave a licence to me. I think it's more to ensure you're not insane and have some common sense, plus tell you to attend a course if you don't know anything about guns ( don't know about the last, but seems reasonable to me ).

[Anon999]

Yeah, that's right NS, it's all just a conspiracy...

U.S. Police Kill More Civilians in March than UK Police Killed in 100 Years

http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/04/07/u-s-police-kill-more-civilians-in-march-than-uk-police-killed-in-100-years/

Police killed more than twice as many people as reported by US government

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/04/police-killed-people-fbi-data-justifiable-homicides

Police in the US Kill Citizens at Over 70 Times the Rate of Other First-World Nations

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-kill-citizens-70-times-rate-first-world-nations/

There is more violence because the criminals are more violent.

Side effect of a heavily armed nation.

And of course the governments are too lilly livered to introduce the banning of guns as it would effect their voting base. Don't see them growing any gonads in the foreseeable future either.

[chuckd]

There is that nasty old Second Amendment the gun CONTROL crowd has to work around. It's just giving them lots of angst.

[sdanielmcev]

Yeah, that's right NS, it's all just a conspiracy...

U.S. Police Kill More Civilians in March than UK Police Killed in 100 Years

http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/04/07/u-s-police-kill-more-civilians-in-march-than-uk-police-killed-in-100-years/

Police killed more than twice as many people as reported by US government

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/04/police-killed-people-fbi-data-justifiable-homicides

Police in the US Kill Citizens at Over 70 Times the Rate of Other First-World Nations

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-kill-citizens-70-times-rate-first-world-nations/

There is more violence because the criminals are more violent.

Side effect of a heavily armed nation.

And of course the governments are too lilly livered to introduce the banning of guns as it would effect their voting base. Don't see them growing any gonads in the foreseeable future either.

There are plenty of laws and regulations regarding gun ownership. But, do you honestly believe criminals follow the law? Since you brought up governments, why don't you take a look at who governs those cities? LBJ's Great Society ain't so great. Is it?

[NeverSure]

And of course the governments are too lilly livered to introduce the banning of guns as it would effect their voting base. Don't see them growing any gonads in the foreseeable future either.

The right of the people to keep and bear arms is enshrined in the US Constitution. The government has nothing to do with it.

In order to change that Constitution it takes:

Either a 2/3 vote of both the House and Senate of the US Congress or a call by 2/3 of the states for a constitutional convention. (38 of 50 states.)

If either of these 2/3 majorities are reached and they want to change the Constitution, the change has to be ratified by the legislatures of 2/3 of the states within a limited time frame.

The right of the people to keep and bear arms is specified to be a right of the people against the government. That's what an individual right is.

With 100 million adult gun owners in the US, don't hold your breath.

[HeijoshinCool]

The writer is reporting news and you are mistaken in saying that the people of the U.S. don't give a damn what the writer thinks. I am a person of the U.S. and I care what he thinks and what is going on in the mean streets of American cities - and so do you - give a damn - as you got so upset by reading what this writer wrote.

I get upset any time someone without a clue takes it upon himself to pontificate with presumption and prejudices.

Now look at Tywai's post above for my answer about what you said. I support the police in their very dangerous jobs.

.

It's not often I disagree with you NS, but here we part ways. I do have a clue what police work requires. What the video linked below, and far too many like it, shows, isn't it.

When I started police work in the early 80's, cops were very different. There were bad apples back then, but nowhere near what we have today.

Cops today are overly aggressive, even when the situation does not call for it. They spew foul language at bystanders. We would have been suspended for using a single curse word to a suspect.

We didn't have Tasers, and the guys I worked with, with a few exceptions, wouldn't have wanted to use them. We were expected to talk down the potentially violent, and when that didn't work, grapple. We took pride in that. Shooting a person was a last resort.

Much of the problem today is caused by hiring the wrong people. Many are combat veterans. While most are good cops, there are some very unstable, emotionally immature people being given control over the life and death of everyday citizens. Many current cops are undereducated, and lack a good problem solving thought process. Many can not be challenged to any degree, they lose Face.In my day, we apologized when we stopped the wrong person.

Is America more violent than 30 years ago? Of course. But incidents like the one on this video are a regular, even weekly, example of not a more violent offender, but a more violent police officer.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/03/1390285/-Shocking-new-video-shows-unarmed-Utah-man-was-listening-to-headphones-when-killed-by-police

[JLCrab]

Especially for those non-Americans who may be reading this, the entirety of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution reads:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

The US Supreme Court (2008) has ruled that:

1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

Edited June 7, 2015 by JLCrab

[slipperylobster]

Crackpot nonsense article...only idiots would believe.

There are many countries with worse issues....such as poverty, starvation, tribal warfare, religious zealots, despotism

give us a break. There are a few nut cases that say the USA sucks....but that pretty much just verifies those people as being nutsy.

Pretty fed up with these nonsensical articles showing up...just to get more attention. Americans are in the minority here......but we could just as well post similar articles about problems elsewhere.

People who post this stuff must be mentally challenged.

Edited June 7, 2015 by slipperylobster

[sdanielmcev]

The writer is reporting news and you are mistaken in saying that the people of the U.S. don't give a damn what the writer thinks. I am a person of the U.S. and I care what he thinks and what is going on in the mean streets of American cities - and so do you - give a damn - as you got so upset by reading what this writer wrote.

I get upset any time someone without a clue takes it upon himself to pontificate with presumption and prejudices.

Now look at Tywai's post above for my answer about what you said. I support the police in their very dangerous jobs.

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It's not often I disagree with you NS, but here we part ways. I do have a clue what police work requires. What the video linked below, and far too many like it, shows, isn't it.

When I started police work in the early 80's, cops were very different. There were bad apples back then, but nowhere near what we have today.

Cops today are overly aggressive, even when the situation does not call for it. They spew foul language at bystanders. We would have been suspended for using a single curse word to a suspect.

We didn't have Tasers, and the guys I worked with, with a few exceptions, wouldn't have wanted to use them. We were expected to talk down the potentially violent, and when that didn't work, grapple. We took pride in that. Shooting a person was a last resort.

Much of the problem today is caused by hiring the wrong people. Many are combat veterans. While most are good cops, there are some very unstable, emotionally immature people being given control over the life and death of everyday citizens. Many current cops are undereducated, and lack a good problem solving thought process. Many can not be challenged to any degree, they lose Face.In my day, we apologized when we stopped the wrong person.

Is America more violent than 30 years ago? Of course. But incidents like the one on this video are a regular, even weekly, example of not a more violent offender, but a more violent police officer.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/03/1390285/-Shocking-new-video-shows-unarmed-Utah-man-was-listening-to-headphones-when-killed-by-police

Not certain where you are talking about. Not the U.S. I grew up in. Do something wrong, cop was as likely to smack you around as take you to the station. Now they seem to be more handcuffed (no pun intended) into being polite(?) to violent criminals. Maybe it's their frustration at not being able to do their jobs. BTW, I'm from the Chicago area.

[ABCer]

nemrut <quote>

"Blacks make up less than 20% of a population of 300M yet according to the chart, they account for almost 1/2 crimes committed in the US? It's obvious that they are targeted by law enforcement more often and severely than white counterparts as evidenced by the numbers and documented violence and killing of innocent blacks.

I have yet to hear of any whites being shot in the back by police while running away."

______________________________________________________________________________

Wow! You must be a logic genius!

Could it be that: -

- there might be genetic differences?

- there might be socio-economic differences?

- there might be educational differences?

- there might be racial differences?

- there might be historical differences?

- whites are too smart to try running away from a bullet?

- the runners are under the influence?

- or anything else (none of the above)?

But no! you you chose the "they are targeted by law enforcement more often and severely than whites" bullsh*t of all and every possibilities.

Moreover, you claim this bullsh*t as "obvious". Sorry to disappoint, but it is far from obvious to anybody else who is not a genius in logic.

You also accuse Americans of violence and killings of innocent blacks.

I'm not an American. I'm not a great fan of USA. I'm not an apologist for US Police. But even I perceive here a black racist attitude.

In case you are not black you must be so Politically Correct that somebody at some stage must have f&cked your brains out.

Plain logic leaves a third possibility for your case (and I reluctantly concede) - inherent profound stupidity.

Edited June 8, 2015 by ABCer

[thaibeachlovers]

Yeah, that's right NS, it's all just a conspiracy...

U.S. Police Kill More Civilians in March than UK Police Killed in 100 Years

http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2015/04/07/u-s-police-kill-more-civilians-in-march-than-uk-police-killed-in-100-years/

Police killed more than twice as many people as reported by US government

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/04/police-killed-people-fbi-data-justifiable-homicides

Police in the US Kill Citizens at Over 70 Times the Rate of Other First-World Nations

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-kill-citizens-70-times-rate-first-world-nations/

There is more violence because the criminals are more violent.

Side effect of a heavily armed nation.

And of course the governments are too lilly livered to introduce the banning of guns as it would effect their voting base. Don't see them growing any gonads in the foreseeable future either.

Not lily livered at all, just want to see live cops and dead crims, not visa versa.

politicians don't do much good, but not banning guns is a good thing.