Ferguson, MO

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

And that is exactly what I meant when I said you can't put all your faith in trust in the testimonies in this case. What is telling is the evidence.


Not sure what you are getting at but someone putting their head down when charging at something is not uncommon at all.



1. I'm a supporter of body cameras and recorders. I have several peers that have their own that they bring to work with them even though their agency doesn't mandate cameras or recorders. It's a great CYA measure in cases of false accusations or reports of misconduct. A lot of officers and unions are against body cams for fear that they will be used by management against officers for petty reasons (I.E. unauthorized smoke break or sitting down for a lunch) as well as privacy issues. Everything recorded should be subject to FOIA so the idea of someone requesting my recorder footage of a non incident day creeps me out but if at the end of the day it saves my career and reputation I feel it's worth it.

2. I'm not holding my breath that the public will self educate themselves on this. The things that people think the police can or can't do sometimes scare me, other times it just makes me laugh. As I've said, as long as we have the entertainment industry churning out cop dramas and action movies people will continue to be misinformed.

3. Tasers were brought onto the scene as being the magic less than deadly force solution for law enforcement but it hasn't been the case. There have been deaths and serious injuries resulting in taser use, and on the opposite spectrum I've seen police videos where a suspect is tased 6-7 times and is still up and fighting with police. There are also a lot of rules of when and not to use a taser. Just a few months ago my agency changed the taser policy so it's advised not to use the taser while the subject is standing on a hard surface or in the position to fall down and hit his head on something, so that itself is quite limiting.

Exactly.

Like you said, tasers aren't 100%. They sometimes result in death. Some suspects aren't stopped through taser (that includes suspects on "bath salts," etc.).

This is all way more complex than most people in the public recognize. That complexity doesn't mean officers are never in the wrong. That complexity doesn't mean officers don't respond differently based on factors such as gender, race, etc. It means that we don't always know what happened and we don't always know who was in the "wrong".

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Exactly.

Like you said, tasers aren't 100%. They sometimes result in death. Some suspects aren't stopped through taser (that includes suspects on "bath salts," etc.).

This is all way more complex than most people in the public recognize. That complexity doesn't mean officers are never in the wrong. That complexity doesn't mean officers don't respond differently based on factors such as gender, race, etc. It means that we don't always know what happened and we don't always know who was in the "wrong".

Tasers aren't 100% but they are MUCH safer than handguns. They cause fewer deaths that guns or physical take-downs of suspects. The use of tasers results in fewer injuries to officers and to arrestees as the result of physical altercations. They can be abused, but so can many other police tactics.

[DrPhil]

The point is that tasers are not always the savior for suspects and officers. People who believe they are a 100% alternative need to know that. Not every law enforcement officer and member of public has faith in tasers.

[Tom Earp]

Have any of you been in a COPs shoes? COPs are trained to shoot at the mass=biggest part of the body. TV in the leg and shoulder is true B S!

Not all COPs are supplied with tasers or body cams because they cannot afford it.

I was never trained to profile anyone, just the ones that broe the law.

Many of you want to talk the talk but have walked the walk.

Second guessing is easy or spouting stuff is easy.

Now the folks of Ferguson are looking at what is left for them now!

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

Have any of you been in a COPs shoes? COPs are trained to shoot at the mass=biggest part of the body. TV in the leg and shoulder is true B S!

Not all COPs are supplied with tasers or body cams because they cannot afford it.

I was never trained to profile anyone, just the ones that broe the law.

Many of you want to talk the talk but have walked the walk.

Second guessing is easy or spouting stuff is easy.

Now the folks of Ferguson are looking at what is left for them now!

Happy Thanksgiving, Tom!