Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

catsmash t1_iz1p84d wrote

Reply to comment by ProgMM in Why aren't more traffic tickets written? by cmndo

it didn't "neuter" them, it straight up turned a broad swathe of these grown-ass professional adults into sulky little "we'll show YOU" type diaper babies who deliberately withhold some degree of effort on the job because nobody appweciates them.

29

Sweaty_Conclusion_80 t1_iz2j8y9 wrote

Have you ever spoken with a cop in New Haven? You should do a ride along, I’m betting it would be an eye opening experience.

0

mariegalante t1_iz3fnl4 wrote

Have you ever called a New Haven cop for assistance? They are horrific to deal with.

5

Sweaty_Conclusion_80 t1_iz4lxev wrote

I am a New Haven cop, so I’m pretty familiar. That sucks that’s been your experience, but in my science there’s different degrees and causes of “horrible.” Some of those are the fault of the officer, some are more bureaucratic, state law, etc.

1

mariegalante t1_iz7aycf wrote

I appreciate you identifying yourself. I’ve lived & worked in and near New Haven most of my life. I wish things were different but I have never found NHPD to be helpful, at best neglectful and the worst was having to report a crime and then getting literally screamed at by the responding officer that I was lying. It was terrifying.

You are right, there are a lot of factors at play in my experiences and within the policing environment in New Haven. But I can’t really imagine a scenario where I would call the NHPD and not worry that it was going to blow up in my face.

I wish it were better for all our sakes.

3

Sweaty_Conclusion_80 t1_iz7gfea wrote

Yeah, that sounds like a shitty experience, I’m not going to pretend otherwise. Without knowing the details, I can only speak in generalities: we get lied to on an if not daily basis then certainly with regularity and it can be very frustrating. What’s also tough to convey to people is how much we’re exposed to and how much that can wear on a person. It’s not uncommon for us to handle a critical incident such as a shooting, clear the call, and immediately get dispatched to whatever is holding. Imagine stepping in brain matter, trying to secure a scene with a crowd of upset people and comfort grieving family members, then getting dispatched to someone’s parking complaint…and for that person it’s super important because “that cAr AlwayS PaRks liKe tHat!!!” (that’s my best approximation of an irate neighbor.) I’m not excusing what happened to you because I’d like to think we should be able to control ourselves better. However, it feel like society expects us to be some combination of navy seals and social workers but only want to pay for the national guard (no offense to my guard members!)

2

mariegalante t1_iz80lck wrote

I’m not going to get in my details because I don’t know you, but your point about one call bleeding into another is valid and I think points to the whole reasoning behind the defund the police movement. The only thing I will share is that I was a victim of a crime on a Sunday night, I realized it and reported it Monday morning and didn’t get to talk to the officer till he came back to work on Wednesday when he completely flipped out on me.

To your point, police should not be in the roles of navy seals, social workers and national guard. We should put some mental health workers on the streets to take the load off the cops. Cops try to (or are expected to) do too much and it seems like many of them don’t know how to de-escalate a situation or even their own moods. A frazzled officer puts everyone at risk.

2

catsmash t1_iz2orcy wrote

oh, assuredly. it's been such an incredibly fascinating experience for so many other people, why would i be any different?

1

Sweaty_Conclusion_80 t1_iz2utm1 wrote

Because it seems like your experience is filtered through other people. You should try out a shift for yourself. 🤷‍♀️ Just a thought.

1

catsmash t1_iz4t06m wrote

in fact my "experience is filtered" through my own personal experiences with cops, my own loved ones' direct experiences with cops, & state/national statistics, but go off.

1

Sweaty_Conclusion_80 t1_iz4uyx8 wrote

Treating all cops in every state as if were the same seems pretty silly. I’m guessing if someone said that they didn’t like doctors or lawyers because some of them are terrible, you’d think that person needed some perspective.

What I find most interesting is that the police are constantly accused of having a closed culture. But I’m here suggesting that you come get to know us and your response is that I “go off” because you’ve had bad experiences in the past, as if those are the only possible experiences you could have. Are you afraid of having your mind changed?

1

catsmash t1_iz5g0hw wrote

>Are you afraid of having your mind changed?

https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/CT-state-police-accused-of-wrongdoing-17220971.php

https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Lawmakers-call-state-police-misconduct-a-17242943.php

https://www.ctpost.com/projects/2021/police-misconduct

lmao, nope! in fact what i'm afraid of is cops. it's a pretty normal way to feel about a professional class that has the power to completely alter or even end my life with limited, if, any, consequence - & who routinely, documentedly abuse that power. maybe you should be concerning yourself with the behavior & actions of the folks who inhabit your profession rather than coming at civilians grousing about rightfully earned negative public perception. your real problems are in-house.

3

Sweaty_Conclusion_80 t1_iz5nhjq wrote

I’m certainly not “coming at” you, I’m simply pointing to my invitation to having you learn a bit more about a profession you don’t seem to have much personal experience with, or at least alter your perspective if not change it entirely. I’d call that welcoming rather than adversarial. For a profession accused of being close minded, it seems you’re the one with an entrenched position.

And yes, of course there will be cases of misconduct, we’re human beings and we’re going to make mistakes, it’s inevitable. I’d be concerned if data showed that there was no misconduct because that would mean the data was wrong. Taking a tiny subset and using it to impugn the entire profession is statistically incorrect however; compare police related misconduct to the aggregate of police interactions and you’ll see it’s a tiny fraction. By way of example, medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in America: how many doctors/nurses do you know of who have been fired?

0

catsmash t1_iz6e9vj wrote

oh okay. systemic problems that are severe and rampant enough to be reported routinely upon and that weigh heavily on public perception of this entire profession across the entire united states are, like, good actually. my bad.

i think you'll find that doctors pay out the ass for things like malpractice insurance. who pays out the ass when a cop fucks up? let me know. like, sure, yes, thank you, it is an unquestioned fact that cops are "human beings and we’re going to make mistakes", that's certainly not something most people particularly question. the issue lies in the level of personal accountability and consequence a police officer typically faces & the extreme ways in which that differs from consequences incurred under anything resembling similar circumstances by anyone inhabiting virtually any other profession despite the outsize level of power involved. i don't think you're at all making the point you hope to make by drawing a close comparison between health care and law enforcement.

(and for the record: https://news.yale.edu/2020/01/28/estimates-preventable-hospital-deaths-are-too-high-new-study-shows ["you're filtering all this through your own experience!" "how many doctors/nurses do you know of who have been fired?" i... know of a fucking ton, actually? maybe make up your mind about your stance on anecdotal evidence within this conversation.])

anyway, ultimately: hard pass to a free ride in your cop car, lmao. nice try.

1

Sweaty_Conclusion_80 t1_iz6hogn wrote

Actually, I retract my invitation, I deal with enough mental illness to see you don’t seem particularly stable.

0

catsmash t1_iz6mqvh wrote

yes, this kind of kneejerk assessment of an individual giving you quantifiable pushback on unsubstantiated assertions certainly tracks.

1

Sweaty_Conclusion_80 t1_iz6mwat wrote

I hope you get the help you need.

0

catsmash t1_iz6say4 wrote

hey, thanks for dragging this down fully into the Personal Insult Zone so you can feel like you don't actually have to address anything i said to you in any substantiative way, but let's end with this: the onus is not on the civilian to solve your job's massive and catastrophic public relations crisis. i'm a middle class, white, professional adult and in theory my demographic is among the force's least adversarial. people like me are among the least at mercy of that power structure. no one should have to take a little spin in your cruiser to have basic faith in the police as a basically positive force. until non-offenders on the police force are willing to grapple with the institution's serious problems in good faith, the problem will continue to fester. later skater!

1

c4r_guy t1_iz307e7 wrote

Are you offering a ride along during one of your shifts?

Be the change you'd like to see, brother!

1

Sweaty_Conclusion_80 t1_iz39xe1 wrote

I’m always available for a ride along! My suggestion is to pick a fri or sat evening though.

2