Cops....do they abuse their position?

Question

I believe that cops only see things one way Good Guy (the officers they work with) -Bad guy(everyone else) & I believe they treat everyone else badly.
I have seen cops that have prejudice & stereotypes. For instance I heard one cop say he would "pull over anyone with a raiders sticker on their car & chances are he is on parole" What do you think about cops in general?

Answer 1

I think they are the bravest people on the planet.

They face danger, discomfort and disgusting situations on a daily basis and are still professional enough to be nice to people who have nothing better to do than criticize them and second guess them.

Answer 2

Abuse of position is hard to define. It depends on whose definition. Officers are held to several differing definitions. Foremost, they are held to the definition provided by the Supreme Court. But the Court's definition [the one officers are taught] may not always be the same one officers are held accountable to. It could possibly be a jury's definition instead.

Do officers abuse the positon? Some do, most don't. Officers are held accountable for their actions. There are thousands of attorneys just waiting for an officer to abuse their position so they can sue. A few get a jury to agree. The majority do not.

Do officers see things one way? Kind of. They see people's actions as legal v. illegal. Your tax dollars (and votes) put in place legislators to create laws. Then your tax dollars hire, train, & pay officers to enforce those laws. It is the American system & those who do not like it, can always find a country with a different system or work within the system to change a law they feel is unjust.

Do some cops have prejudices? Probably no more so then the majority of people. You have stated one of your own prejudices - against cops. In the process you have also stereotyped cops. The very thing you complain about, you exhibit yourself.

It would be interesting to conduct a study of citizens who complain about law enforcement stereotyping & prejudices to see the general public's stereotypes & prejudices - against law enforcement as well as other groups.

My personal experience is people who stereotype cops have had bad experiences with law enforcement & they tend to paint a very broad picture of all cops as a result. Also, people living on the fringe of illegality [fringe, didn't say they are gangsters or not], tend to have prejudices against law enforcement. Makes sense, doesn't it?

In general, I think cops are pretty good people doing what amounts to a near impossible job - in general. I do not argue there are some bad ones. But the hiring process actually tries to keep out the unfit for the pressures. There are very few jobs that require a psychological examination as part of the hiring process but law enforcement does.

One answerer stated cops are not very smart. Actually, statistically, officers have a higher IQ then the general public. As a citizen, you better hope they are smarter than the crooks.

Answer 3

Have you met every cop in the country? Every single one sees things that way? Every single one treats people badly?

Try not to make broad, sweeping and ignorant generalizations about people. It makes you look stupid. Saying you "believe" or that it's your "opinion" doesn't save you from being criticized, either.

I think police officers work a dangerous and tedious job. It's also often a thankless job. People hold law enforcement up to a higher standard (and they should), but often forget that police officers are also human. They can make mistakes, have a bad day and say things withouth thinking. They are not robots.

Yes, there are some people that should not be police officers. There are people in ever profession that probably shouldn't be where they are, but not all police are "bad" because you've seen or heard of one doing something wrong. They're also not all bad because your experiences with them have sucked.

Answer 4

Ok well the ones that you do see on the news are just overplayed. cops do not abuse their position in fact they are barely aloud to do anything. I could never be a cop because if i pulled someone over and they drove off on me i would have a gun aimed at their tires in less than a second and i would be shooting rounds. If the think they have the gaul to run from me im gona take down there car... so i could never be a cop. They aren't aloud to even arrest someone if they are obviously guilty but not enough evidence. The whole bad cops is just a news scandal.

Answer 5

I will not only suggest a ride along, but a lot of cities are offering Citizen's Police Academies. Ours is 12 weeks, one night a week and one Saturday. You will learn all aspects of the department from training to duties. You will meet police officers and get an idea of what type of people we are as a whole. Saying that "COPS" abuse their position is a generalized statement, some do, but most do not. Hope that you get a chance to get to know some of the good ones to help with your opinion.

Answer 6

Being that I was one, you have to take into consideration what they go through on a daily basis, knowing at any moment that could be their last day on earth! I am not making excuses, I was never a bad cop and there are many! Some think they have a GOD syndrome because they have a badge they rule the world and they do not! its hard to say why the ones that are bad are that way, but just remember everyone in Law Enforcement has to answer to someone, they can get fired or go to jail just like everyone else!!!!

Answer 7

OVERALL COPS are good people. Do you get that one bad one every now and then, YES. But as a rule what you have described does NOT happen. But even if a cop does stop you for a sticker, as long as you have NOT broken any laws then he can't do anything to ya. And he does have to be justified in stopping you.

Answer 8

In general, I believe some are like that. They think everyone is a criminal, treat people like crap, arrest people who didn't do anything...I got this all from experience watching and hearing the things they do..especially when they are from big cities like Los Angeles...some though are pretty cool and easy to get along with..so it can be a mixed bag....I myself have never ran across an ****** cop...but some people just have all the bad luck I guess. :/

Answer 9

I personally know a police officer who would stop cars for miinor traffic violations and ask to search the car. Most people do not know that you can say "no" to this. He would then search and take their drugs.....etc and keep them for himself and not turn the people in. Lucky break for the people to had drugs on them however the cop was abusing his authority to support his habit. So yes there are bad cops. Just wish the good ones would catch the bad ones and get them out of the jobs that we pay for by our tax dollars!

Answer 10

I believe there are some people who abuse their position no matter what it is. I also believe there are more good cops then "bad" cops. Police officers, State Troopers...etc, put their lives on the line every day for our safety. Could you imagine your town without them? I have gotten pulled over before and I don't give them a hard time, I was speeding; however, when I smiled at the cop and told him thanks when he handed me the ticket, he looked at me and said, "Ma'am I don't ever think I have had any one smile and say thanks when I was giving them a ticket. Usually I get cussed or they start crying. " He took my ticket and gave me a warning instead. They are humans, not robots, we should treat them with respect. Most of them give us the respect right back.

I am thankful for our police officers, troopers, firemen/women, and our soldiers without them we would not be safe!

Answer 11

well the raiders jacket, sticker or anything with it used to be a worn by certain gang members back in the early 90's when they were still around. and it sounds like you don't like the police anyway but there are good cops and bad ones. one might say ill give you a warning and one might give you a ticket. one might scream at you like your 5. so on and so on. but generally if you say yes sir or mam and co-operate with them your not going to have an unpleasant experience. probably helps too if there's no warrants, drugs or weapons on you.