this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2023
464 points (97.7% liked)

News

23274 readers
3138 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 196 points 10 months ago (11 children)

It’s been proven time and again that the cops don’t need to know or enforce actual laws. Suing cops is almost impossible, and when you sue the department, the taxpayers got the bill with little impact on the offending officer.

Police reform now.

[–] superduperenigma@lemmy.world 75 points 10 months ago (1 children)

when you sue the department, the taxpayers got the bill with little impact on the offending officer.

Police officers and departments should be required to carry professional insurance policies to cover these payouts, just like doctors are required to carry malpractice insurance.

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 25 points 10 months ago (4 children)

My son is a cop and I’m completely for this. He’s an intelligent empathetic man that would definitely speak truth to power if called upon to do so. And I would say he agrees that the job attracts ignorant belligerent bully types that love pushing people around. And this behavior needs to stop for sure.

[–] Old_Dude@lemmy.world 21 points 10 months ago

It was about 10 years ago, but someone had interviewed a panel of police officers of different ranks from the counties in the bay area of California. When asked how many cops shouldn't be cops, one officer responded 75%. The others agreed with that figure.

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

How long until he's out for doing the right thing?

The thin blue line won't tolerate him forever.

[–] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 5 points 10 months ago

You might be right.

…there are more than 12,200 local police departments nationwide…

Nearly half of all local police departments have fewer than 10 officers.

The guy could work with five or ten other normal people.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] grue@lemmy.world 21 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Part of the problem is that police unions retaliate against any politician that tries to reform them.

At this point, the police themselves are literally organized crime.

[–] AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Why do the police get powerful unions but we get fuck all

[–] grue@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Because police are enforcers for the ruling class, not labor. Their union is categorically different from a labor union.

[–] Sylvartas@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Turns out it's pretty easy to get concessions from your rulers when you're quite literally the last line of defense between their beloved status quo and the other peasants' revendications

[–] drmeanfeel@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

At this point, spelled "from inception"

[–] Psychodelic@lemmy.world 15 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Don't forget the last bit, "and taxpayers continue not to care and blindly support the cops"

[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 14 points 10 months ago

You forgot to add cry about taxes

load more comments (7 replies)
[–] originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com 84 points 10 months ago (2 children)

and these guys think they should be allowed to carry lethal armament their entire shifts. fuck you. this guy couldnt handle a finger

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 39 points 10 months ago

"you have no idea how hard our jobs are!!"

Meanwhile, a 15 year old is opening up a target store on black Friday.

Grow a pair or don't be a cop. Preferably the latter.

[–] wildcardology@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

That finger looked like a gun, I was fearing for my life.

[–] Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world 69 points 10 months ago

Clearly the cop fears for his an the publics safety. He could poke an eye out with that finger

[–] BigMacHole@lemm.ee 48 points 10 months ago

Republicans want these Snowflakes ARMED and in your Child's School!

[–] NounsAndWords@lemmy.world 43 points 10 months ago

This is a very common example of freedom of expression in law schools. Unfortunately, law enforcement education on what the law is is shorter than this post.

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 37 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I honestly wouldn’t expect a different response.

[–] TheFriar@lemm.ee 26 points 10 months ago

thats the problem.

[–] YoorWeb@lemmy.world 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Well, he didn't get shot (yet) so there's that.

[–] Slwh47696@lemmy.world 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah it's because he's white, if he was black the cop would've killed him

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

All I gotta say is thank fuck for the proliferation of cameras.

Can you just imagine the shit cops in places like the South especially got away with pre-video?

[–] mjhelto@lemm.ee 3 points 10 months ago

Yes, yes we can, because what evidence did come out during those "dark ages" told the same exact thing, but with more racial slurs and the word, "boy" a lot.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] fathog@lemmy.world 32 points 10 months ago

As far as I can tell, the lawsuit is still ongoing? This is the most recent court document I could find, but it’s more than a year old: https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/sites/default/files/documents/bombard%20v%20riggen%20mello%2021-cv-176%2011-2-22.pdf

Very interested to see how much the taxpayers have to pay for another cop abusing his power

[–] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 18 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I remember this one time Bush got the shoe. It ended up with many lenghty trials before the guy got sentenced for a year for what amounts to one of the biggest personal fuck-you acts in a recent history. And what would be the sentence for throwing a shoe at a random nobody officer from Vermont? Lemme guess...

[–] extant@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Instant one at that. There are like millions of people working forces on the ground, and even a slight chance of having 'the bad one' and being put to death over a little conflict would bring a regretful amount of lives lost, like a little town of dead people. Cops who don't usually have a job more dangerous than a speeding ticket shouldn't have guns, there are SWAT, FBI, other units to handle big crimes, who are specifically trained for that, and cops should endure as much checks as other laborers do when using dangerous tools. Most big industrial toys I enjoyed had two buttons so I would need to place my two hands in safe spaces to press them before they start, because their predecessors ate that much limbs and whole people it became a problem. Why having a gun, a tool made to right-click-delete people, is so unregulated? Why cops are even trusted to have one, or even a couple? These said symbols of law and order are half a century back in regulating that law and order themselves.

[–] GooseFinger@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I understand where you're coming from, but a lot of violence that police encounter is spontaneous and unpredictable.

Say they pull someone over for speeding, but the driver has a warrant for their arrest or something like drugs in their car. The cop begins this encounter expecting to issue a ticket and nothing more, but the driver knows more is riding on the line than that. Violently attacking the cop to increase their chance of getting away might sound like a good option, otherwise they'll spend years in jail for the additional charges they're avoiding.

A lot of this behavior wouldn't exist if our prisons focused on rehabilitation instead of cruel punishment. A simple drug charge can ruin someone's finances and career, which almost everyone agrees is unjust. If they're already facing many years in jail for crimes a cop would arrest them for, what's risking some additional time in jail for a chance to avoid an arrest altogether?

Prison shouldn't be something that people want to avoid at all costs, and the conditions we live in shouldn't push people to commit crime to get by. Currently, our prisons are cruel and our living conditions are terrible, pushing people to steal, sell drugs, and avoid prison at all costs.

Edit: And just to clarify, I'm only highlighting that police encounter violence in situations where people wouldn't expect it. A simple speeding ticket can end with the cop getting stabbed or runned over. Our justice system motivates people to violently avoid arrest, and our living conditions push people to commit crime. So not only do our police need reform, but we need to fix the underlying issues that push people to commit crime and avoid prison to begin with. If that's done, then police encounters that begin non-violently would more frequently end that way too.

[–] Aleric@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Goddamn, you make a great point about the severity of treatment in prison driving extreme avoidant behavior. I had never thought of it that way before.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] Aleric@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I found out Iraqi police required it to be removed after only two days. How disappointing.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Oh boo! Absolute fun sponges.

Edit: amazing quote at the end of that article...

Throwing shoes at someone is a sign of extreme contempt in Arab culture.

I mean I think that's a sign of extreme contempt anywhere :D

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] DanglingFury@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago (2 children)

"Gregory Bombard was driving through St. Albans, Vermont, in February 2018 when"....

Bro this story is like 3 years old

[–] EisFrei@lemmy.world 28 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Bro, 2021 was 2 years ago.

[–] problematicPanther@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

What do you mean? It's still 2020.

[–] irmoz@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago
[–] Wildman22@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago

What a douchebag

[–] carbonprop@lemmy.ca 8 points 10 months ago

I guess Mr. Vermont man made his point.

[–] reverendsteveii@lemm.ee 6 points 10 months ago

The cop: "So here’s the issue: Although it may be freedom of expression, it’s so unusual that it requires intervention to make sure you don’t need help of some kind."

Tom Jones intensifies

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

Sigh. I wish I could convince people not to use sources like the New York Post or Fox News even if the story is correct. Don't give them money by going to their websites. They're Murdoch companies.

Here's an alternative link to the story that isn't right-wing trash media: https://lawandcrime.com/lawsuit/it-looked-like-you-flipped-me-off-driver-alleges-trooper-wrongfully-pulled-him-over-for-giving-him-the-finger/

load more comments
view more: next ›