Cop throws family to the ground at traffic stop

[microsoft windows]

http://autos.aol.com/article/cop-throws-family-to-ground-during-traffic-stop/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058&

Any thoughts?

Seeing this really pissed my off. The cop threw a family to the tround and aimed his gun at their heads over a traffic stop. What is this world coming to?

[SpAmRaY]

Who still uses aol??

If they would have been black or mexican he probably would have shot them.

Looks like that cop been eating too many donuts anyway. He didn't want to have to run.

I'm surprised the officer didn't arrest the person recording the video also.

OK this video gets much better if you turn volume off and use the cc captions.

[dante]

Who still uses aol??

I would like a @compuserve email account but you can't get those anymore

[meiosis]

this isn't in caps lock? must really piss you off :c. So much bad cop news these days now since the public cares a bit more

[SpAmRaY]

somebody make sure demik sees this.

I seen lot of bike riders quickly turn and go the other way.

[Krogenar]

http://autos.aol.com/article/cop-throws-family-to-ground-during-traffic-stop/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058&

Any thoughts?

Seeing this really pissed my off. The cop threw a family to the tround and aimed his gun at their heads over a traffic stop. What is this world coming to?

Pfft. The police officer isn't worried -- talk to his union rep if you don't like the way he does his job.

[microsoft windows]

You can tell who the unions are REALLY protecting here.

[baldgye]

OK this video gets much better if you turn volume off and use the cc captions.

This applies to all YouTube content

[metalliqaz]

Everyone should read "Rise of the Warrior Cop".  We live in a police state, and no one is watching the watchers.

[demik]

His union or a corrupt judge will wave their finger at him and tell him what a naughty boy he is. With a raise and a pat on the back behind closed doors.

See, racism isn't always the problem. Swine hates you if you aren't behind a badge.

[eth0s]

http://autos.aol.com/article/cop-throws-family-to-ground-during-traffic-stop/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058&

Any thoughts?

Seeing this really pissed my off. The cop threw a family to the tround and aimed his gun at their heads over a traffic stop. What is this world coming to?

Pfft. The police officer isn't worried -- talk to his union rep if you don't like the way he does his job.

I'm not a right-wing cop lover, so don't get me wrong.  In fact, I'm more of a liberal ACLU-type person.  But I'm worried about the cop bashing.  I have two friends who are cops, and they are very good and decent people who would never harass a family or shoot an unarmed suspect.  One is a veteran cop who is nearing his 20 year retirement.  The other is a young woman, who was recently promoted to detective.  What I'm trying to say is that just like every profession, there are a few really bad ones, who make the news, while the vast majority of cops are hard-working and conscientious people who are trying to do a good job every day. 

Now, with that said, we have to work harder to get rid of the bad cops.  Why is it hard to get rid of them?

1.  The Thin Blue Line:  Cops everywhere develop an "Us vs. Them" mentality.  With "Them" being everybody who is not a cop.  This is bad.  And they tend to over-protect their own fellow officers.  Also there is the anitpathy for "ratting" on fellow officers who are committing crimes.  What can be done?  Better training.   And I would propose a Disciplinary Code of Conduct that every police officer has to learn and pass a test on (at the Police Academy, or in college, yes some cops have college degrees).   The Code of Conduct would have a section that requires dismissal of the police officer for violation of the law, including violating the civil rights of any citizen.  Also the failure to report illegal activity by a fellow officer would also result in dismissal.   

2.  Labor unions are NOT the problem.  The problem with the police is not that they have a union.  In fact, most Police Unions are ineffective and impotent for the most part, in getting better pay and benefits for their members, mainly because they are prohibited by law from going out on strike, just like Firemen, Ambulance Drivers, and Transit workers.  In NYC Mayor Mike has made the cops work for 12 years without a contract, and without a pay increase.  That is a problem.  And it affects the morale of the officers, and the quality of the recruits.  If you pay better, you get better people, it's pretty simple.  If you pay a slave's wage, you get lower quality people, who cannot get any other job.

3. Require all police officers to have a college degree.  Most of the police departments in rich, white suburbs require a college degree.  As do most State Police Departments, and the FBI.   A super rich city like NYC should be able to afford and attract college educated police officers.  I say NYC is super rich because it is home to the most billionaires of any city on Earth.  And the number of mere millionaires is astounding. 

4.  The biggest problem with the police, especially in NYC, is the management.  We have Ray Kelly as Police Commissioner, who is an old-school white guy who only knows to beat up and harass minorities.  That is what he was taught is "policework", and that is all he knows.  Mayor Mike Bloomberg is a 70 year old billionaire who also wants to see black and hispanic kids harassed and beaten at every opportunity, as this is the basis for his onerous "stop & frisk" policy.

5.  Another huge problem is the attitude of the public.  Most people in 'Murica feel that the police, and other govt. authorities, need to violate people's civil rights in order to catch the "bad guys".   This is a false assumption.  We can catch the bad guys, and still maintain civil rights for all citizens.  But until the general public sees that civil rights are important, and that one need not give them up to be "safe", we will continue to have a problem with the police.

6.  Expand the right to sue Police Dept.'s for violations of civil rights. 

[Krogenar]

His union or a corrupt judge will wave their finger at him and tell him what a naughty boy he is. With a raise and a pat on the back behind closed doors.

See, racism isn't always the problem. Swine hates you if you aren't behind a badge.

All public sector unions should be dissolved, period. Firefighters, teachers, police officers, trash collectors, corrections officers -- make them all more accountable by prohibiting them from unionizing. Not only would public employees be more accountable, their extravagant pensions and benefits packages would be curbed.

[metalliqaz]

There may be good ones, ethos, but the system is still broken.  Police hold a special kind of power.  People who abuse that power should be punished even more than normal folks when they break the law.  Instead, the powers that be bend over backwards to protect the interests of the cops and the system they function in.  They act badly with impunity.  This leads to even worse behavior.

Today's police are trained to wield lethal force against any threat.  The citizens they are supposed to protect and serve suffer that wrath more than they benefit from it.  When the only tool you have is a hammer, every task starts to look like a nail.

[eth0s]

All public sector unions should be dissolved, period. Firefighters, teachers, police officers, trash collectors, corrections officers -- make them all more accountable by prohibiting them from unionizing. Not only would public employees be more accountable, their extravagant pensions and benefits packages would be curbed.

This is what the billionaires behind the Tea Party want you to believe.  They have destroyed private-sector unions, and are now telling the working people of 'Murica that it's unfair that public-sector unions still have decent wages, benefits and pensions.  The answer of course is that private-sector workers should be brought up to a higher level of wages, benefits and pensions, not that public-sector workers should be brought down.   More money for billionaires is not the best thing for average people in 'Murica, despite what the Tea Party tells you.  Class struggle is a political struggle.  The rich people know this and are waging an all-out class war on the poor and middle class right now here in 'Murica.  The poor and middle class seem to be oblivious to this fact, or maybe are just too beaten down to fight back.  I don't really know.

There may be good ones, ethos, but the system is still broken.  Police hold a special kind of power.  People who abuse that power should be punished even more than normal folks when they break the law.  Instead, the powers that be bend over backwards to protect the interests of the cops and the system they function in.  They act badly with impunity.  This leads to even worse behavior.

Today's police are trained to wield lethal force against any threat.  The citizens they are supposed to protect and serve suffer that wrath more than they benefit from it.  When the only tool you have is a hammer, every task starts to look like a nail.

Well, I agree, and that is why I was talking about better training and better pay, to get better police officers.  I was also talking about more accountability from our police officers, and better methods of policing.  I forgot to mention that we also need better community relations between the cops and the neighborhoods that they patrol.  And I also forgot to mention that in addition to summary dismissal from the police force, offending officers should be turned over to the prosecuting attorney for criminal charges.  Also the individual police officer and the Police Dept. should be subject to civil lawsuits to recover money damages. 

The biggest problem is of course public opinion.  Most people in 'Murica don't think like us.  They think like Bill O'Reilly on Fox News.  They want more police brutality and less civil rights.  If public sentiment ever changed, then the Mayor's office would change, the Governor's office would change, and then judges would change, and prosecutors would change, and eventually the police would be forced to change as well.  The "system" as you call it would change.  But it has to start with the people.  What can you do?  Get active in a political way.  Or just give money to candidates or even the ACLU.  The last two Obama presidential campaigns proved that even $20 donations can make a difference (this is not an endorsement of Pres. Obama btw, just his online fund-raising). 

[demik]

We have to remember that cops aren't here to protect us. They are here to uphold the law by any means necessary.

Treat interactions with them as you would a rabid dog. Proceed with caution and always have it in your mind that they can snap at any moment.

[microsoft windows]

All public sector unions should be dissolved, period. Firefighters, teachers, police officers, trash collectors, corrections officers -- make them all more accountable by prohibiting them from unionizing. Not only would public employees be more accountable, their extravagant pensions and benefits packages would be curbed.

This is what the billionaires behind the Tea Party want you to believe.  They have destroyed private-sector unions, and are now telling the working people of 'Murica that it's unfair that public-sector unions still have decent wages, benefits and pensions.  The answer of course is that private-sector workers should be brought up to a higher level of wages, benefits and pensions, not that public-sector workers should be brought down.   More money for billionaires is not the best thing for average people in 'Murica, despite what the Tea Party tells you.  Class struggle is a political struggle.  The rich people know this and are waging an all-out class war on the poor and middle class right now here in 'Murica.  The poor and middle class seem to be oblivious to this fact, or maybe are just too beaten down to fight back.  I don't really know.

There may be good ones, ethos, but the system is still broken.  Police hold a special kind of power.  People who abuse that power should be punished even more than normal folks when they break the law.  Instead, the powers that be bend over backwards to protect the interests of the cops and the system they function in.  They act badly with impunity.  This leads to even worse behavior.

Today's police are trained to wield lethal force against any threat.  The citizens they are supposed to protect and serve suffer that wrath more than they benefit from it.  When the only tool you have is a hammer, every task starts to look like a nail.

Well, I agree, and that is why I was talking about better training and better pay, to get better police officers.  I was also talking about more accountability from our police officers, and better methods of policing.  I forgot to mention that we also need better community relations between the cops and the neighborhoods that they patrol.  And I also forgot to mention that in addition to summary dismissal from the police force, offending officers should be turned over to the prosecuting attorney for criminal charges.  Also the individual police officer and the Police Dept. should be subject to civil lawsuits to recover money damages. 

The biggest problem is of course public opinion.  Most people in 'Murica don't think like us.  They think like Bill O'Reilly on Fox News.  They want more police brutality and less civil rights.  If public sentiment ever changed, then the Mayor's office would change, the Governor's office would change, and then judges would change, and prosecutors would change, and eventually the police would be forced to change as well.  The "system" as you call it would change.  But it has to start with the people.  What can you do?  Get active in a political way.  Or just give money to candidates or even the ACLU.  The last two Obama presidential campaigns proved that even $20 donations can make a difference (this is not an endorsement of Pres. Obama btw, just his online fund-raising). 

The Tea Party didn't destroy private sector unions. The unions destroyed themselves by bankrupting companies and rendering others uncompetitive by putting too many rules and bureaucracies in place, and asking for compensation that was high above the market norm, especially in pensions.

It's only a matter of time until public-sector unions do the same. Look at the states and municipalities who have unionized workforces. California, Illinois, Connecticut, Detroit, Chicago, etc. They're already nearly bankrupt, and it's just going to get worse once they're on the hook for the all those pensions that the public-sector unions bargained for.

That cop who abused the family there will probably just get a slap on the wrist. If the police dept wishes to do anything more, the union will fight it TOOTH AND NAIL. The legal fees for actually terminating the guy would cost more than just keeping him on the workforce. So that's what they do. The worst that will happen is the worker in question will get paid leave or they'll stick him in a rubber room.

Public sector unions are on their way out because they abused the priveledges that were granted for them by collectively bargaining for compensation that the government agencies just simply CANNOT afford.

[tjcaustin]

http://autos.aol.com/article/cop-throws-family-to-ground-during-traffic-stop/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058&

Any thoughts?

Seeing this really pissed my off. The cop threw a family to the tround and aimed his gun at their heads over a traffic stop. What is this world coming to?

Pulled his taser, too.

[iri]

http://autos.aol.com/article/cop-throws-family-to-ground-during-traffic-stop/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058&

Any thoughts?

Seeing this really pissed my off. The cop threw a family to the tround and aimed his gun at their heads over a traffic stop. What is this world coming to?

Pulled his taser, too.

also, according to the news source, pulled out his handgun (though i can't see it on the video).