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  • otoh whenever i think of svu i think of barry allen john mulaney doing ice-t being confused about everything

  • The police aren't there to keep you safe, they're there to protect the interests of the oligarchs

  • A guilty pleasure of mine is the bodycam footage channels on YouTube, its surprising how negatively/self-defeating some people react to police interactions. I steer clear of channels that have serious harm to the suspects, shootings and whatnot, but my job has me interact frequently with intoxicated or distressed community members and seeing how they process stressful situations is interesting.

    These channels are copaganda but still, somewhat enjoyable and some deescalation techniques police use when employed gently have helped me with setting boundaries in customer interactions. I also feel like learning what not to do when interacting with police is helpful for me if I ever get pulled over, etc. Midwest Safety and Lens of Law are two that are more ethically run and primarily use FOIA requested bodycam footage.

    • I also feel like learning what not to do when interacting with police is helpful for me if I ever get pulled over, etc.

      Step 1: don't be black or brown

      Step 2: be rich

      Step 3: if you are incapable of steps 1 and 2, be as stupidly polite as possible even if they get rough and hope they don't shut off their body cams as they beat you half to death for "resisting arrest"

    • You should check out Audit the Audit. They're largely focussed on covering police misconduct, but they're also not afraid of occasionally criticizing those interacting with cops. Every episode comes with a thorough analysis of the legal subtleties involved.

    • What's really surprising to me is how patient most cops are. I always said I couldn't be a cop because my temper would involve beating dumbshits with a baton.

      Look, I hate pigs far more than most of you guys. And I have personal experiences/reasons going back decades. But sometimes watching my wife's cop show I'm screaming, "Just beat his fucking ass!"

      Same goes for judges. Spent a night or two watching sovcits in court. Heysus, were I a judge I would bounce them out on their ear the second they starting talking that shit.

      In case I get called a boot licker, and I will, here's my latest cop story.

      For brevity let's just say I had words with my MAGA neighbor. No threats, well, except for him stomping down the street to kick my ass and me quietly walking inside for my Colt .45. This motherfucker call the cops on me! (First one to call wins. Every. Time. Remember that. I should have called first, but didn't think some yelling would come to that. Fucking MAGA pussy.)

      Pigs show up dressed in their finest Hugo Boss black and one fat fuck is trying to get me to talk. I would not, except to state that no threats were exchanged and that's all he needs to know. Pig threatens to get a warrant and arrest me for "causing a public disturbance" if I don't allow him to violate my 5th amendment right to STFU. I STFU, nothing happened, because of course it didn't. Because I STFU.

      • What's your old lady's cop show? My girl is always looking for new trash TV while she works.

        Like you, I hate the fucking pigs. Got stories about corrupt sheriffs and gang rape and shit. Fuckem.

        Here's a fun one from when I was a kid. Had a '65 Chevy fleet side pickup for my first truck. Worked at a tater farm. Was driving home from work and I got pulled over for the first time. I wasn't even wearing boots, just jeans and a straw hat. Complete redneck, may still have had a mullet.

        Cop walks up and tells me, "roll down your window."

        "I can't, don't have a handle."

        "Open the door."

        "I don't have a handle for the door on this side, can you open it?"

        Cop opens the door and asks me, little red in the face, "Do you know why I pulled you over?"

        "It wasn't for speeding because I can't in this truck."

        "You don't have a license plate."

        I look at the back glass where it was taped up, and sure enough, it's gone. "Hang on, let me grab it." So I search around in the passenger foot well and find the license plate, duct tape still attached. A Cheetos bag is stuck to it. I hand the assembly to the cop. "Sorry mister, it fell down."

        Watch the cop take the license plate, duct tape and Cheeto bag to his car. Could see his shoulders jumping in my rearview, I assume he was laughing his ass off while he radioed that shit in.

        Gave me my plate and tape assembly back, told me to fix it, and let me go.

        You ever end up in Yankee land, Pittsburgh way, holler at me and we'll take you out to dinner.

      • It sounds like you've been luckier than most, because in my limited experience personally and my extensive viewing of YouTube videos, it's so clear that the vast majority of cops in the US are bad cops. Remember, good cops don't let bad cops do bad things. Bad things include intimidation, lies, crimes, and civil rights violations.

        But what about patience? What if cops are only being patient because the law is not on their side? That doesn't really make them good cops, now does it. For example, if the cop pulls you over and asks you for your license and insurance, of course you have to present it. But you don't have to present it within 10 seconds. A cop might appear patient because they wait a minute or two, but actually state law probably requires them to do so.

        I think it's also fun to depart from the law and to briefly consider basic morality. If a cop pulls you over and asks you questions, you don't have to answer any of them. How many cops tell you that before they start asking questions? None. They're trying to take advantage of the fact that you might not know about, or you might be scared to express your constitutional rights. And the law is on their side, but morality isn't. We should keep that in mind, because the goal might be or could be to make the country a better place, and not merely to follow Supreme Court rulings.

      • Yeah totally agree, even the most hardcore customer service falls far short of what cops have to deal with fairly regularly. I've never called the cops on a customer and only once or twice has it come close, they have a totally different set of interpersonal boundaries they work within.

        I've also never been lucky enough to never have had any issues with cops myself apart from a few speeding tickets, I have usually lived in low crime areas and don't belong to a more at-risk group that gets undue attention. With society changing so much these days I expect things to worsen, police could become more menacing to me or people near me in the future and I find some comfort in studying effective ways of interacting with them, and avoiding conflict with them.

        I can respect how hard their job is while having deep concerns for a) the laws they enforce, b) how they are told to enforce them, c) a significant number of bad actors in the departments and leadership, d) a toxic policing culture pervasive in most areas, e) the current culture of gamification of sending the law after people you disagree with, etc...

        Occasionally I speak briefly with them in my line of work and have mentioned bodycam youtube to a few of ]them. They seem aware of it and some watch it, some don't, I figure anything that gives them more reason for self examination is a good thing, but I can also understand that some of them wouldn't want to relive work over again on their downtime.

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