Red Mosquito

E.H. Ruddock wrote:

theplatypus wrote:

E.H. Ruddock wrote:

McParadigm wrote: comments clearly aimed at a person or group of people who remain unidentified, a'la "If you don't like my attitude then maybe you should DO YOUR DAMN JOB and stop telling me how to do mine,"

Oh man i hate this so much

wtf who are you people friends with?!

Old high school acquaintances who never left small town America. That and apparently people who like drama.

Those are the people you friend but unfollow.

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

Such a sad and fucked up situation.

A teen-ager is fatally shot by a police officer; the police are accused of being bloodthirsty, trigger-happy murderers; riots erupt. This, we are led to believe, is the way of things in America.

It is also a terrible calumny; cops are not murderers. No officer goes out in the field wishing to shoot anyone, armed or unarmed. And while they’re unlikely to defend it quite as loudly during a time of national angst like this one, people who work in law enforcement know they are legally vested with the authority to detain suspects - an authority that must sometimes be enforced. Regardless of what happened with Mike Brown, in the overwhelming majority of cases it is not the cops, but the people they stop, who can prevent detentions from turning into tragedies.

Working the street, I can’t even count how many times I withstood curses, screaming tantrums, aggressive and menacing encroachments on my safety zone, and outright challenges to my authority. In the vast majority of such encounters, I was able to peacefully resolve the situation without using force. Cops deploy their training and their intuition creatively, and I wielded every trick in my arsenal, including verbal judo, humor, warnings and ostentatious displays of the lethal (and nonlethal) hardware resting in my duty belt. One time, for instance, my partner and I faced a belligerent man who had doused his car with gallons of gas and was about to create a firebomb at a busy mall filled with holiday shoppers. The potential for serious harm to the bystanders would have justified deadly force. Instead, I distracted him with a hook about his family and loved ones, and he disengaged without hurting anyone. Every day cops show similar restraint and resolve incidents that could easily end up in serious injuries or worse.

Sometimes, though, no amount of persuasion or warnings work on a belligerent person; that’s when cops have to use force, and the results can be tragic. We are still learning what transpired between Officer Darren Wilson and Brown, but in most cases it’s less ambiguous - and officers are rarely at fault. When they use force, they are defending their, or the public’s, safety.

Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my badge. Don’t scream at me that you pay my salary, and don’t even think of aggressively walking towards me. Most field stops are complete in minutes. How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?

I know it is scary for people to be stopped by cops. I also understand the anger and frustration if people believe they have been stopped unjustly or without a reason. I am aware that corrupt and bully cops exist. When it comes to police misconduct, I side with the ACLU: Having worked as an internal affairs investigator, I know that some officers engage in unprofessional and arrogant behavior; sometimes they behave like criminals themselves. I also believe every cop should use a body camera to record interactions with the community at all times. Every police car should have a video recorder. (This will prevent a situation like Mike Brown’s shooting, about which conflicting and self-serving statements allow people to believe what they want.) And you don’t have to submit to an illegal stop or search. You can refuse consent to search your car or home if there’s no warrant (though a pat-down is still allowed if there is cause for suspicion). Always ask the officer whether you are under detention or are free to leave. Unless the officer has a legal basis to stop and search you, he or she must let you go. Finally, cops are legally prohibited from using excessive force: The moment a suspect submits and stops resisting, the officers must cease use of force.

But if you believe (or know) that the cop stopping you is violating your rights or is acting like a bully, I guarantee that the situation will not become easier if you show your anger and resentment. Worse, initiating a physical confrontation is a sure recipe for getting hurt. Police are legally permitted to use deadly force when they assess a serious threat to their or someone else’s life. Save your anger for later, and channel it appropriately. Do what the officer tells you to and it will end safely for both of you. We have a justice system in which you are presumed innocent; if a cop can do his or her job unmolested, that system can run its course. Later, you can ask for a supervisor, lodge a complaint or contact civil rights organizations if you believe your rights were violated. Feel free to sue the police! Just don’t challenge a cop during a stop.

An average person cannot comprehend the risks and has no true understanding of a cop’s job. Hollywood and television stereotypes of the police are cartoons in which fearless super cops singlehandedly defeat dozens of thugs, shooting guns out of their hands. Real life is different. An average cop is always concerned with his or her safety and tries to control every encounter. That is how we are trained. While most citizens are courteous and law abiding, the subset of people we generally interact with everyday are not the genteel types. You don’t know what is in my mind when I stop you. Did I just get a radio call of a shooting moments ago? Am I looking for a murderer or an armed fugitive? For you, this might be a “simple” traffic stop, for me each traffic stop is a dangerous encounter. Show some empathy for an officer’s safety concerns. Don’t make our job more difficult than it already is.

Community members deserve courtesy, respect and professionalism from their officers. Every person stopped by a cop should feel safe instead of feeling that their wellbeing is in jeopardy. Shouldn’t the community members extend the same courtesy to their officers and project that the officer’s safety is not threatened by their actions?



Dutta, a professor of homeland security at Colorado Tech University, has been an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department for 17 years. The views presented here are his own and do not represent the LAPD.

Tonight was 'opening day' at Security Field where I'm working at the Fox Den for the baseball season. This was the first night that I worked in the store, and wow was it freaking busy. I sold so many blankets, sweatshirts, and beanies! This was because of fans that came to the game unprepared for the cold weather. I swear I must have sold over 100 blankets. At $32 a pop for a blanket? whewwww.


For the first 30 minutes after the gates opened they had bag pipes playing, which sort of made sense because earlier in the afternoon I wondered why the hell some guy would wear a kilt to the game considering how cold it was.

The highlight of my night was two guys that patronized the den. One was swapping out his Detroit Tigers cap for a Sky Sox cap. We talked about both having moved to Colorado and how we'll probably have to become Rockies fans now. I asked about which cap he would wear if both the Tigers and the Rocks go to the World Series, and he grinned and waved his Tigers hat at me as he went out the door.

Nice.


The second was a guy from southern MI. He was swapping out his Red Wings beanie for a Sox beanie. He told me about how his Irish grandparents got off the boat and found themselves in an all Polish neighborhood in Detroit, so that's how his family learned how to fight and play hockey. His uncle and another relative of his played for the Wings is what he told me. So I told him where I was from and he said "oh I know where that is! It's right here!" and he held up his hand and pointed right to the Saginaw Bay.

It was nice to talk to a couple of strangers with a familiar place in common.



Most retail jobs are grueling. But this one isn't. It's light hearted and fun.


To sum it up. I really really really hope I get to meet Fox the Sox at some point.

Strat wrote:

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

Such a sad and fucked up situation.

theplatypus wrote:

Strat wrote:

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

Such a sad and fucked up situation.

Why the hell are all the cops in these videos just walking around aiming rifles at people? Did they receive any training at all?

https://medium.com/race-class/im-black- ... 4e16018e5a

I thought that this was worth reading.

zeb wrote:https://medium.com/race-class/im-black-and-im-not-afraid-of-police-im-more-worried-about-america-384e16018e5a

I thought that this was worth reading.

Breh?

Strat wrote: Such a sad and fucked up situation.

Could get worse if Fox News has this right (don't laugh):

Wilson was coming off another case in the neighborhood on Aug. 9 when he ordered Michael Brown and his friend Dorain Johnson to stop walking in the middle of the road because they were obstructing traffic. However, the confrontation quickly escalated into physical violence, the source said..

“They ignored him and the officer started to get out of the car to tell them to move," the source said. "They shoved him right back in, that’s when Michael Brown leans in and starts beating Officer Wilson in the head and the face.

The source claims that there is "solid proof" that there was a struggle between Brown and Wilson for the policeman’s firearm, resulting in the gun going off – although it still remains unclear at this stage who pulled the trigger. Brown started to walk away according to the account, prompting Wilson to draw his gun and order him to freeze. Brown, the source said, raised his hands in the air, and turned around saying, "What, you're going to shoot me?"

At that point, the source told FoxNews.com, the 6 foot, 4 inch, 292-pound Brown charged Wilson, prompting the officer to fire at least six shots at him, including the fatal bullet that penetrated the top of Brown's skull, according to an independent autopsy conducted at the request of Brown's family.

Wilson suffered a fractured eye socket in the fracas, and was left dazed by the initial confrontation, the source said. He is now "traumatized, scared for his life and his family, injured and terrified" that a grand jury, which began hearing evidence on Wednesday, will "make some kind of example out of him"

broken iris wrote:

Strat wrote: Such a sad and fucked up situation.

Could get worse if Fox News has this right (don't laugh):

Wilson was coming off another case in the neighborhood on Aug. 9 when he ordered Michael Brown and his friend Dorain Johnson to stop walking in the middle of the road because they were obstructing traffic. However, the confrontation quickly escalated into physical violence, the source said..

“They ignored him and the officer started to get out of the car to tell them to move," the source said. "They shoved him right back in, that’s when Michael Brown leans in and starts beating Officer Wilson in the head and the face.

The source claims that there is "solid proof" that there was a struggle between Brown and Wilson for the policeman’s firearm, resulting in the gun going off – although it still remains unclear at this stage who pulled the trigger. Brown started to walk away according to the account, prompting Wilson to draw his gun and order him to freeze. Brown, the source said, raised his hands in the air, and turned around saying, "What, you're going to shoot me?"

At that point, the source told FoxNews.com, the 6 foot, 4 inch, 292-pound Brown charged Wilson, prompting the officer to fire at least six shots at him, including the fatal bullet that penetrated the top of Brown's skull, according to an independent autopsy conducted at the request of Brown's family.

Wilson suffered a fractured eye socket in the fracas, and was left dazed by the initial confrontation, the source said. He is now "traumatized, scared for his life and his family, injured and terrified" that a grand jury, which began hearing evidence on Wednesday, will "make some kind of example out of him"

HOW DARE you bring another side of this story that contradicts everything everyone has been led to believe

Peeps wrote:

broken iris wrote:

Strat wrote: Such a sad and fucked up situation.

Could get worse if Fox News has this right (don't laugh):

Wilson was coming off another case in the neighborhood on Aug. 9 when he ordered Michael Brown and his friend Dorain Johnson to stop walking in the middle of the road because they were obstructing traffic. However, the confrontation quickly escalated into physical violence, the source said..

“They ignored him and the officer started to get out of the car to tell them to move," the source said. "They shoved him right back in, that’s when Michael Brown leans in and starts beating Officer Wilson in the head and the face.

The source claims that there is "solid proof" that there was a struggle between Brown and Wilson for the policeman’s firearm, resulting in the gun going off – although it still remains unclear at this stage who pulled the trigger. Brown started to walk away according to the account, prompting Wilson to draw his gun and order him to freeze. Brown, the source said, raised his hands in the air, and turned around saying, "What, you're going to shoot me?"

At that point, the source told FoxNews.com, the 6 foot, 4 inch, 292-pound Brown charged Wilson, prompting the officer to fire at least six shots at him, including the fatal bullet that penetrated the top of Brown's skull, according to an independent autopsy conducted at the request of Brown's family.

Wilson suffered a fractured eye socket in the fracas, and was left dazed by the initial confrontation, the source said. He is now "traumatized, scared for his life and his family, injured and terrified" that a grand jury, which began hearing evidence on Wednesday, will "make some kind of example out of him"

HOW DARE you bring another side of this story that contradicts everything everyone has been led to believe

The thing that I don't understand about this is if it's true, why are we only finding out about it 10 days after it happened? If the cop had a fractured face, that would be known immediately. So why wouldn't they report that right away, since it's pretty credible and justifiable that a cop with a broken face had to shoot a much bigger guy attacking him?

and turned around saying, "What, you're going to shoot me?"

Great last words.

Fuck You Jobu wrote:

Peeps wrote:

broken iris wrote:

Strat wrote: Such a sad and fucked up situation.

Could get worse if Fox News has this right (don't laugh):

Wilson was coming off another case in the neighborhood on Aug. 9 when he ordered Michael Brown and his friend Dorain Johnson to stop walking in the middle of the road because they were obstructing traffic. However, the confrontation quickly escalated into physical violence, the source said..

“They ignored him and the officer started to get out of the car to tell them to move," the source said. "They shoved him right back in, that’s when Michael Brown leans in and starts beating Officer Wilson in the head and the face.

The source claims that there is "solid proof" that there was a struggle between Brown and Wilson for the policeman’s firearm, resulting in the gun going off – although it still remains unclear at this stage who pulled the trigger. Brown started to walk away according to the account, prompting Wilson to draw his gun and order him to freeze. Brown, the source said, raised his hands in the air, and turned around saying, "What, you're going to shoot me?"

At that point, the source told FoxNews.com, the 6 foot, 4 inch, 292-pound Brown charged Wilson, prompting the officer to fire at least six shots at him, including the fatal bullet that penetrated the top of Brown's skull, according to an independent autopsy conducted at the request of Brown's family.

Wilson suffered a fractured eye socket in the fracas, and was left dazed by the initial confrontation, the source said. He is now "traumatized, scared for his life and his family, injured and terrified" that a grand jury, which began hearing evidence on Wednesday, will "make some kind of example out of him"

HOW DARE you bring another side of this story that contradicts everything everyone has been led to believe

The thing that I don't understand about this is if it's true, why are we only finding out about it 10 days after it happened? If the cop had a fractured face, that would be known immediately. So why wouldn't they report that right away, since it's pretty credible and justifiable that a cop with a broken face had to shoot a much bigger guy attacking him?

Yeah, that doesn't make any sense at all.

tommymctom wrote:

and turned around saying, "What, you're going to shoot me?"

Great last words.

The thing that I don't understand about this is if it's true, why are we only finding out about it 10 days after it happened?

This was a situation with two distinct but intertwined issues. One is about the actual incident involving the shooting, and the other is about the police response to public upset. The former is in question, but our ability to evaluate it has been screwed with by the latter (which is not).

The entire reaction on the part of police can be basically summarized by four main points, which I would argue are not unique to Ferguson:

1. You don't have a right to know, and we don't have any obligation to tell you, anything.
2. Violence and intimidation are perfectly reasonable responses to ANY unwanted civilian displays.
3. This is OUR community, and....
4. ...its primary enemies are citizens and the press.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/2 ... 96546.html


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oh boy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/2 ... 96546.html

St. Louis Police Release Video Of Kajieme Powell Killing That Appears At Odds With Their Story

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department released cell phone footage Wednesday of the police shooting of Kajieme Powell, a 25-year-old black man killed on Tuesday in St. Louis, according to St. Louis Public Radio.

A convenience store owner called 911 on Tuesday when he suspected Powell stole drinks and donuts from his shop, according to a recording of the call. Another woman called to report Powell was acting erratically and had a knife in his pocket.

Two officers in a police SUV responded to the calls, the cell phone video shows. When the officers got out of their vehicle, Powell walked in their direction, yelling and telling them to shoot him already.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said Tuesday that both of the officers opened fire on Powell when he came within a three or four feet of them holding a knife "in an overhand grip."

But the newly released cell phone footage undermines the statement, showing Powell approaching the cops, but not coming as close as was reported, with his hands at his side. The officers began shooting within 15 seconds of their arrival, hitting Powell with a barrage of bullets.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department released the video and 911 calls, telling St. Louis Public Radio that it plans to act transparently.

The shooting death occurred less than four miles from where Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in the suburb of Ferguson on Aug. 9.



The St. Louis Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

Dotson defended the officers in a television appearance later Wednesday, acknowledging the discrepancies between his Tuesday account and what the video revealed. Though Powell's hands were down by his sides, Dotson told CNN, he was moving toward the officer with a knife.

"The officers did what I think you or I would do, they protected their life in that situation," Dotson said.

CNN's Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo pushed Dotson on the officers' decision to use lethal force, rather than opting for an alternate form of defense like a Taser.

"Certainly a Taser is an option that's available to the officers, but Tasers aren't 100 percent," Dotson said. "So you've got an individual with a knife who's moving towards you, not listening to any verbal commands, continues, says, 'shoot me now, kill me now.' Tasers aren't 100 percent. if that Taser misses, that [individual] continues on and hurts an officer."

"In a lethal situation, they used lethal force," he added.

Listen to the 911 calls at St. Louis Public Radio, and watch the video below. Note that both contain graphic images and language.

Warning: The below video includes graphic content.

Strat wrote:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/20/kajieme-powell-shooting_n_5696546.html


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oh boy.

Sorry, starting making my post and then had to step away and didn't notice yours....

Tasers aren't 100%


Isn't that the point?