Police tactics-getting out of hand?

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t3#/video/us/2012/09/22/ac-rowlands-robbery-suspect-search.cnn

Guy robs bank. Guy speeds off. Cops go after him.

Cops shut down an entire street, stop 19 cars, handcuff almost everybody, and point shotguns at kids.

Yes, they caught the guy. But crap like what they did here is why I have no respect for police departments.

No Kidding!!!! This was a complete violation of the constitution and everyone of these citizens should sue the police department. Cops should lose jobs over this. Personally I would call the ACLU for representation!

Quote :

Yes, they caught the guy.

Unconstitutionally...The judge may very well set him free.

Quote :

crap like what they did here is why I have no respect for police departments.

I agree...most cops are jerks, unconstitutional and many times the law-abiding citizens worst nightmare.

Well we have about a dozen cops in our little town and while some of them may seem a little terse (or gruff) they are all stand-up guys. I have had to call them more than once and I have no problem with the police in my community.

Maybe if the general population would cooperate with the cops a little bit they might not need to use such tactics to catch the criminals.......

I really disagree with that. This was a clear violation of several peoples' 4th amendment rights. However professional the police might have been to those is really irrelevant. If they'll do it once, they'll do it again, and tactics like those are just begging to be abused by people in power. I should not have to give up my rights as a citizen for police to do their job.

I hate cops. With very few exceptions, they are all criminals with badges.

I definitely think that as times are getting more evil, that many cops are getting more extreme.

However, though I just paid 200 bucks to some hick town I've never heard of, for getting picked out of several speeders on a remote highway that has nothing but farms on it... I don't harbor anything against cops. Sure there's a few crooked ones, but I would never say all cops are bad - especially since I know 4 cops locally who are upstanding Christians, 1 of which is a good friend (who's had to risk his life on several occasions to prevent the loss of life for others).

Let's put it in perspective and try not to have a "hate-cops-fest" here at CHM since statistically speaking, a hard-rock-loving Christian cop may stop by here someday and not feel welcome.

Quote :

a hard-rock-loving Christian cop may stop by here someday and not feel welcome.

Some on here might already wonder how welcome they are..

Quote :

I really disagree with that. This was a clear violation of several
peoples' 4th amendment rights. However professional the police might
have been to those is really irrelevant. If they'll do it once, they'll
do it again, and tactics like those are just begging to be abused by
people in power. I should not have to give up my rights as a citizen for
police to do their job.

I agree

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

Let's put it in perspective and try not to have a "hate-cops-fest" here at CHM since statistically speaking, a hard-rock-loving Christian cop may stop by here someday and not feel welcome.

I completely agree. Let's try not to turn this into a cop bashing thread.

Why not? How many times do we have to have our rights trampled before we stop defending these thugs?











Are there good cops? Sure there are. But more and more are not. It's already been bad, and it's only getting worse. I'd trust your average drug dealer over your average cop any day of the week.

Tall Tyrion wrote:

Why not? How many times do we have to have our rights trampled before we stop defending these thugs?

Primarily because it is counter productive and sounds exactly like the tripe spewed from the mouths of the parents who's children I have taken care of for years (people who were so neglectful or abusive to their children that the kids had to be given to strangers for safe keeping.)
Also because the primary source for information regarding these "thugs" is televised media...the same media who have been telling us for nearly four years now that we have the best presidential administration our country has seen since the Carter administration. I have seen first hand (more than once) how that very same media has over sensationalised even the most trivial and mundane news just to make it exciting enough for television.
Im not saying that there are no incredibly bad cops out there (I am certain there are plenty. But for every"thug with a badge" you can point out on youtube, I can show you at least 2 officers I have been involved with personally that are great people trying to serve their community.

And if you need another reason how about this. Because I asked everyone here (and nicely I might add) not to. I've already shut down one thread this month I'd rather not do it again.

So what your saying then staybrite is that free speech and opinion do not exist here at the chm site and if anyone disagrees with you or aldat (& in my experience a few others) then you just shut down the thread?

I hate to speak for staybrite but I think what he's saying is if we discuss this calmy that's okay but if people get ugly and, to use his words, it becomes a "hate-cops-fest" it will not be positive.

I think there are plenty of bad cops out there. I've met some. I've also met some really great people who work their butts off and try their best to protect people. Where there are people given power, there is abuse of that power.

But let's remember that there may be non-Christians who stumble onto this site. What kind of message do we want to send them about the type of community we are here at the board? And what type of witness do you guys want to send to any of these folks?

Free speech is afforded to us as citizens of America (albeit it's getting lesser and lesser every year)... however, free speech DOES have a limit on a board that has RULES. Rules you agreed to when you signed up to be on this board.

We love you and welcome all and any subjects to be discussed here. But realize that this entire board has it's foundation on Scriptural truth and the love of Jesus.

Please see the logic of this- we are not saying that ALL cops are good and that we should blindly obey and uplift ALL cops. What we are saying is that we would appreciate it if this thread didn't turn into a "Cop Hater Thread", as there are many officers who are doing their job appropriately and some cops who are brothers and sisters in the faith, and to say that all Cops are crooked is to group those good officers in with a paranoid belief that demonizes everyone in law enforcement. This is clearly incorrect and would obviously go against the rules set forth for CHM.

The reason this thread would be shut down by a mod is cuz it's not balanced:
The title says Police Tactics- Getting out of Hand? = question mark. The discussion that follows should be a discussion of that: YES they are getting out of hand, Youtube videos prove it, stories prove it, experiences prove it....
BUT where it crosses the line is by saying ALL cops are crooked. My best friend is retired LAPD and he happens to be a better Christian man than I'll ever be. If he were to stumble upon this thread, he would be hurt to hear his brothers in Christ lump him in with other cops who have clearly crossed the line. I have another cop friend who's a local cop and who likes Christian rock, if he read this, he would immediately think EVERYONE on CHM feels this way about cops and would not want to be any part of this. You see where I'm coming from ? I know some crooked medical workers who drink on the job, bad Doctors who screwed up surgeries, lazy firemen who let a house burn down, etc... my inclination is to point out those incidents but NOT to say all Dr.s are bad, all firemen are crooked. Come on, you're smarter than this.
The reason it upsets the mods is cuz here at CHM we're REPRESENTING. The criteria to the best of my knowledge is that, if a thread goes off into a tangent that ignores Biblical commands to be loving and to handle issues tactfully with integrity, and becomes argumentative for the sake of arguing- then it should be removed.

Help me out Mods: aside from cursing and causing division, why would threads like this break a rule ?

Regarding forum rules, this site existed harmoniously for about a decade with little need to enforce specific rules. A few recent threads have caused the staff to come together and hammer out some rules for membership on this board. This actually makes me rather sad and I resisted suggesting a set of hard rules for some time, primarily because I thought a community that consisted mostly of Christians should not need it. Those rules will be posted today and amended as needed.

I won't address the personal attack made on Alldat (and myself) but I will address the "free speech" comment. This forum is privately owned by Forum-motion and privately run by Alldat. There is nothing in the constitution requiring that Forum-motion or the staff of this board granting anyone the right to say anything they want on CHM. I politely asked that the members of board refrain from turning this into a cop bashing thread, and more than one of you refused. This is the type of "Christian attitude" that leaves non-Christians shaking their heads at us in disgust. You are more than free to exercise your "free speech" rights on your own public pulpit (or forum). The constitution does not guarantee you the right to do it here.

For the record I actually agree (given the information available) that the police in the original account behaved in a manner that did indeed infringe on the rights of the people involved. But the discussion on this thread has progressed into something more hostile.

Please keep in mind that there are more than 20 active posters, at least another 20 more who post on occasion, and many more that just lurk in the shadows reading (there are 13 "guests" at the board as I am posting this). Less than 10 people have posted on this thread. It's been my experience (having been here for more than 7 years) that argumentative and hate/anger filled posts are not enjoyed by the majority of people here. Out of respect for that I asked that this thread not turn into something ugly (so much for that).
As a point of reference here is the list of rules for our board that used to be posted somewhere (I can't seem to find them now). Sadly the new list will be longer.

Quote :

This board exists to showcase great hard rock &
metal bands that use their art to testify about our Lord Jesus Christ. Please
keep musical discussions on these artists. Be civil! No need for petty arguments
here. No use of profanity. Use of such language will definitely be censored,
and could lead to your dismissal. Keep it clean, please! No linking to web
sites or posting of pictures of any immoral or pornographic. This is an all
ages board, and it is a community that wants to live for Christ. Keep that
garbage out of here! Failure to heed by this rule will lead to immediate
removal of your posting rights. Have fun!

I apologize for any hard feelings, if anyone feels the need to vent their anger or completely disagreement with me feel free to send me a PM. I will be more than happy to discuss it with you further.
Gary

First, let me thank you, Gary, for how you have handled this. I have picked an awesome set of individuals to represent the board. This thread proves that to me. Kudos to you!

As to the personal attacks against the staff and myself, those need to stop. All I can say is this: if a person really disagrees with how this or any other board is run, then you can delete an account just as easily as you opened it. Posting here in this board is a privilege--not a right. Attacking the staff--any of them--will get you removed. It is unappreciated. If you have issues with the way we do things, try being civil and discussing through private messages. Badmouthing the staff publicly without trying to discuss this privately with us is just really lame.