Police Vid Update – again
So, who’s in charge of hiring these guys:
… the local police chief denies charges that he sexually harassed a teen-aged driver on the job as a patrol cop seven years ago.
And it turns out that the cop in the video is himself a great story of American redemption: he was able to convince a judge to expunge his criminal record of theft and assault convictions. You know; so he could “protect and serve”.
Wow.
September 13th, 2007 at 10:10 am
So, should we start referring to this as the Lautenberg Amendment Loophole, where people who are bullies find out that they can bully more effectively when they have a badge and a gun, and the state is more than willing to help these bullies out, as long as they work for the state?
Oh and by the way, I’m going to assume that because the head police dude is a police chief, and not say a sheriff, that the tiny little zip code/speed trap that is St. George/63125 does not elect, and does not hold it’s highest ranking law enforcement officer directly accountable to the voters.
When I relocate, I’ll be sure to add the requirement that my new home has a sheriff as the local LEO to my requirements list.
September 13th, 2007 at 11:49 am
The police are destroying the “brand” of law enforcement credibility, as fast as they can. Amazing to watch with deep implications for the culture and nation.
September 13th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
There’s a huge thread on this over at http://www.missouricarry.com (in the Politics section).
St. George is one of the many tiny little communities completly enclosed by St. Louis. Unlike some place out in the sticks the only reason they have a police force is as a money maker. Some of the other little ‘wart’ towns have forces so bad they’re not even allowed to monitor the radio.
September 13th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
After reading about the cops in St. George I’m convinced that the town’s criminals are easy to identify; they’re wearing badges.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
How bad does anyone think it could actually get?
I say that most people will not imagine.
We are at the point where I say that no honorable person would be a cop, now. I maintain that the overwhelming thrust of this is due to the war on drugs. The civil-liberties implications have deeply corrupted the entire raison-detre of police forces. (Look: the Fourth Amendment is functionally a dead letter, and it has been for decades.)
Anecdotal: at least once every year, I get a call from the New York State PBA, looking for “support”. They’ll sell me one of their window stickers for my car, for twenty-five bucks. I’m not interested.
And every time I put the phone down, I wonder whether my name is going on the wrong list.
Go ahead: tell me I’m being paranoid.