Quote:
Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA
It's probably nothing more than a simple question:
which do you trust more, police or random civilian
Given what I think of the average civilian my answer is quite consistent with my overall beliefs.
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I think all of our views on this are jaded by our regional experiences.
In my hometown, for example. I'd trust the average street walker in the worst neighborhood before I'd trust most LEO.
I'm trying to organize my thought into a coherent post, and as horrible as this analogy is Im going to use a numerical representation on "quality of person" as flawed as that is.
Around here in the civilian pop ulation we have 1-100s just like everywhere.
In a worse, more crime inflicted neighborhood the average probably skews into the 30s...with a few 100's and a lot of 0's.
On our police force we probably have a range on 35-50...its a rural area, very economically depressed. I think starting deputies are still under $25k/yr...you only go into Law Enforcement if you literally cant do anything else.
So if I encounter a "thug" in a bad neighborhood. He may be a 0 but he may also be a 100. When I encounter a cop I know AT BEST (again around here) he is a 50 and more likely to be worse.
All that is said with family and high school friends who are those cops. Its just damn old small town politics. Arrests, seizures then the seizure auction is poorly advertised and the cop who arrested youis now driving your old car he paid $1 for.
Obviously I dont live in St Louis, so that is different.
However I also think that as a cop you probably tend to observe behavior patterns. The fact that a large % of a community would devolve into the looting we see, probably means they encounter this behavior daily for weeks , months and years on end. So when they engage a situation they bring those expctations and prejudices to the party. That probably causes them to react overly aggressive.
Not saying its right, just saying human nature being what it is it likely happens.