5 Louisiana officers charged in Black motorist's deadly 2019 arrest MONROE, La. — Five Louisiana law enforcement officers were charged with state crimes ranging from negligent homicide to malfeasance Thursday in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, the first charges to emerge from death authorities initially blamed on a car crash before long suppressed body-camera video showed white officers beating, stunning and dragging the Black motorist as he wailed, “I’m scared!” Following an hour-long deliberation, the 11-person grand jury indicted former Louisiana State Troopers Kory York, Christopher Harpin, John Clary, Dakota Demoss and former Troop F commander John Peters, and former Union Parish sheriff deputy Christopher Harpin for their involvement in Greene's arrest that subsequently led to his death, and the cover-up of his death.
Oh, well. I might as well say. I think police are beautiful people. But I always have. You know I have been a lifelong liberal and Democrat. In HS we took a test, and it said I was a moderate liberal, which is a type of liberal not moderate. So there is a divergence of opinion here. I just want to say. But you know, I always do say: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" Voltaire (attributed)
Also you know both sides really have an exaggerated negative view of each other. Yes, police have a very stereotypical view of the groups they tend to hate. But some people have a somewhat distorted view of cops. But that's just human nature you know.
You whenever I meet police officers anywhere, there always seem to be such nice, decent people. And I've never had a bad experience with the police. Not even once. (Of course I am a middle aged white dude. So I don't know what other people's experiences might be like.)
It's the same experience for me in the UK. Bare in mind that we have just had a string of police officers guilty of serious sex offences. Fortunately crossing paths with these monsters is rare and simply not on the cards for most people. Reminds me of that Ray Liotta film.
You ought read the sordid story of the Pierce Cty Sheriff..Tacoma…who awoke one morning and “investigated” a car pulling into driveways in his neighborhood. A confrontation and call to 911 ensued after an alleged death threat. After a law enforcement response, the sheriff was charged with false reporting and prosecuted by the State AG. Turns out the guy was driving a run down truck and he looked “like a homeless guy”in the words of the sheriff in the trial….actually he was a black guy delivering newspapers. Oh yeah, a mostly male, mostly white jury acquitted the sheriff.
Police were more than twice as likely to use force against Blacks than Whites during traffic and pedestrian stops. Police searched Black people at 2.2 times the rate of white people, and that Black youths ages 15 to 17 were searched at nearly six times the rate of white teenagers. Latino residents were stopped and subjected to force at 1.4 times the rate of white people, and Latino youths were searched at nearly four times the rate of white youths.The disproportionate searches of Black and Latino people have persisted despite the fact that officers were least likely to find contraband on members of those groups compared with white people. Clearly, it's not the contraband they're after. California police more than twice as likely to use force against Black people – report
US law enforcement killed at least 1,176 people in 2022, making it the deadliest year on record for police violence since experts first started tracking the killings. Police across the country killed an average of more than three people a day, or nearly 100 people every month. Black people were 24% of those killed last year, while making up only 13% of the population. From 2013 to 2022, Black residents were three times more likely to be killed by US police than white people. The inequality is particularly severe in some cities, including Minneapolis where police have killed Black residents at a rate 28 times higher than white residents, and Chicago, where the rate was 25 times higher. “There’s a continual commitment to using violence to control people and manage problems in this country. And as we keep giving police more money and power, we’ll continue to see more police violence.” ‘It never stops’: killings by US police reach record high in 2022
Here's a different type of police activity: LISTEN as Tennessee cop-gone-wild Meagan Hall describes sex romps with fellow officers | Daily Mail Online
But you know people sometimes talk about the bad choices that police sometimes make. But you know they are under tremendous pressure and stress. They deal with situations none of the rest of us ever would have to, and they have to see the evil, that men sometimes do. It's sad really. In fact they are one of the only professions that have to retire early for this reason, the great stress that they must face. Consider that. And I am not defending anyone's wrongful deeds. But you know they deal with some situations, no one else could ever tolerate. But someone should tell them, that can make you a better person too. I sometimes think of my mother. She grew up during the Great Depression (I'll spare the trouble of doing the math—she had me in 1968, when she was 41). At one point, it looked like they were about to lose their house. At another, they had almost no food. But she told me, it was that adversity that made her a better person. Now I am not justifying anyone's bad behavior. But you should never judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes. And as I said, it can in fact make you a better person, dealing with bad situations. And then you have the right to take so much more pride in yourself. Plus you know, as I said, I really think that both sides have a distorted view of each other. We have no reason to believe that either side would be lying. But both claims can't be true. Some people claim that cops are wonderful people. They support their communities, they do charity. And I've even heard some young people make this claim. And some claim the cops are pure evil. One guy on Facebook recently told me only 10% of cops are good, the rest are pure evil. Is it really that low? I really don't know. But you know, police brutality is illegal, and cops try to be so law-abiding. So I doubt if they'd want to do this, at least on purpose. As I said, I really don't know where the actual truth lies. Plus you know sometimes people use their religion to justify hurting supposed evil people. But you know, Christians are the last people that should ever hurt anyone. And I have found online more than one Christian group that wants to help incarcerated criminals, and even fight for their rights. I am getting more and more agnotic, the older I get. But you know, I do still admire Christians so much. Atheists are getting so obnoxious these days, has anyone noticed? As I tell people, at least Christians are polite. Well, anyways these are the reasons why I do look at evil as a disease and problem. Because it is often more complicated than anyone realizes. And no one is truly purely evil, as I've pointed out. And as Socrates (c. 470–399 BC) said, “Those who are hardest to love need it the most.” And that was back at the time when people were still being crucified. Think about it.
