Why is a cops life worth more then who is not a officer?

Question

Unless you imply you are above the law then I don't think your life should be valued more then anyone elses. This is a democratic country not some communist country.

Then why do people who kill police officers get the death penalty while other murders get life or less?

Don't try to say your job is dangerous and your better then everyone else. You don't have to do it if you don't want too... You can always be lawyer or doctor that makes more money.

Answer 1

The idea is that if criminals begin killing police officers, there's nobody to stand between the criminals and the citizens being protected. The death penalty is a means of deterring anyone from thinking they can wipe out all the cops in an area and take over. There has to be *something* to make it harder to kill the police.

I don't believe in the death penalty, but as long as we have it, I have no problem with cop killers being prime candidates.

Answer 2

Now if we would only hold them to this standard in criminal and liability cases! Less than 50 miles from my house a fleeing suspect was shot in the back. They had chased him over 50 miles in a car but when he bailed the cop says he was trying to take away his weapon. The cop had actually shot himself with his own weapon. This was in the OKC paper if you wish to look it up. It's quite amazing to think that he'll probably never see a day in jail, & will be paid while an investigation is happening. Guess we should send drive-by killers home and pay them while they check into things, huh? There was a jailer in Oklahoma county who was charged with beating on inmates who had the nerve to say it would be unfair to send him to jail or prison as most of the people he had beaten were there waiting for him. We all know that it happens but most of the world thinks it was only him, how many more do you think were involved? I have seen some guys brought into the jail looking like they were in a fight with a buzzsaw. We would hear them downstairs yelling and being loud for a bit, then you hear the keys, then the banging and screaming, the next day when he was put in GP he would be fu#$ed up like polio. This s#$t must stop. It will only make criminals commit worse crimes. There was a post here a few days ago where a cop said if the cops kill 2 cons and capture the third then he is charged with the 2 murders even though he didn't commit them. Do you think that man has anything to lose by killing everyone in his sight?

Answer 3

Shift the emphasis.
It's not that the officers life is worth more, it's that the criminal off his rocker more.

Those who are willing to kill an officer - a figure of authority, will not even hesitate to kill a citizen. The mindset is that there is no authority over you & you can do anything you want.

Ultimately, only you can stop you, because no amount of laws or officers can stop people. The ones that are damaged, like Dalmer or the immature are the ones most suseptable to this mindset.

Sure, you can do anything you want, anyone can, but what stops you, is how well defined the line between right & wrong is & your willingness to submit to the laws of society.

Answer 4

I understand your question; you’re just asking the wrong one. The punishment has little to do with the officer as an individual. You’re correct in that we could have chosen a different profession. But throughout history, those who chose to protect people, property, and public order are an extension of the government and an attack on them is seen as attack on a societies fundamental structure. It is for this reason that killing a police officer, fire fighter, judge, prison guard, etc. is seen as being more heinous. The basis for the law actually has very little to do with the individual. Just like a man who offered remuneration for his wife’s death not automatically elevate her life more worthy than anyone else’s.

As for why is your view is in the minority, you answered your own question. We could have chosen a different profession. We could be something that doesn’t entail the dangers to protect the community that we also chose. Most people are aware that police and firefighters are not killed protecting their own property and family. Would you feel the same way if an officer of fireman lost his life saving you or someone you care about? If not, you would probably say it’s their “job”, which would answer your original question.

Answer 5

The rule of law generally sets a higher standard on those who would kill an armed policement. This is not a higher value on the officer's life. The rule is based on the idea that someone whjo would kill an armed police officer, is more likely to kill an unarmed civillian. All murder cases are judged separately and sentences depend on many factors. Intent is the major factor in deciding punishment.

Answer 6

The answer is that a police officer's life is not inherently more valuable, but that an attack on a police officer doing his duty is an attack on the fabric of society itself. The attacker not only offends against the the victim officer, but the society whose mandates he is carrying out. If a police officer is a victim outside of his work, the penalty is usually the same. It is nly when the officer represents the society the the harsher penalties kick in.

Answer 7

WE are worth more.. people are so obsessed with making cops look bad, because they dont understand the things we have to do.. for example re: your example on the cop that shot the guy that shot into a crowd, people out there dont understand that the cop is doing his job and he shot that person because he was protecting others, because his life and the life of others was in danger, i would have done the same.. but COPS ARE WORTH THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE I WOULD EVEN THINK MORE BECAUSE WE PUT OUR LIVES ON THE LINE TO KEEP EVERYONE ELSE SAFE!!!!

Answer 8

David, that's ignorance talking. Money isn't everything. I'm a caring person and if my life is on the line for you you should be more thankful rather than a jerk. Don't you agree? Maybe you don't think it's fair, and maybe it isn't. A cop is there to serve and protect. If you kill an officer, you've taken away someone who was an asset to the community. Hello?

Answer 9

Well i am sorry but that job is dangerous and those men and women chose to put themselves in that position, same as firefighters and the armed forces. If they wanted to be doctors and lawyers then they would've been doctors and lawyers. Why would choose to be a cop if you wanted to be a doctor in the first place? No one would ever do that unless there stupid.

When they put on that badge, wear that American flag, or choose to wear that fire badge, they all choose to lay down there lives for all Americans. Which makes the value of their lifes go up one notch.

Answer 10

I take serious offense to Tanni N response. first of all we are BY FAR, UNDERPAID!!!!! not overpaid. my check every two weeks is $523.60. THATS IT!!!!! i am on the SWAT team, assigned to a narcotics unit, and dispatch when we are shorthanded in dispatch. i don't get over time, i get comp days that i don't get to use. i know for a fact there are many more departments like this.

Why do you laugh when an officer gets hit? you gonna laugh when someone hits you? you gonna laugh when someone kills your mother, father, brother, sister, children and we catch the bad guy and he hits us? you gonna laugh then? its people like you that make our job harder than it needs to be. its people like you that i take to jail everyday, its people like you that put a drain on society and lower the average intelligence level of the world.

I chose this job because i love it. I love catching the bad guy, i love putting a smile on someones face after i arrested the person that broke into their house. it gives you a good feeling inside to know that you are the only one capable of helping someone, if i don't help them then no one else will.

I have worked very hard to get where i am at and it really makes me mad when someone has the kind of attitude as Tanni N.