This is what happens when they are not held accountable. We have a very real and very serious police conduct problem throughout the entire United States. The laws protecting the police such as POBAR in California must be repealed. I have read that similar laws are on the books in at least 2/3 of all the states. Once again actions that would land any ordinary citizen in jail for a long time routinely gets covered-up by those that are supposed to serve and protect us.
One does not however, have to insult all police officers by calling them pigs or other names. That does nothing to solve this very serious problem. However, a lifetime of reflection of the deficits of our police departments have lead me to the following conclusions. The majority of police want to do a good job. However, approximately half of them do not have either the temperament or the judgement or the common sense or the intellect to carry out their jobs in a satisfactory manner. After all it takes skill, judgment and smarts to respond appropriately in very tense and sometimes physically charged situations. Out of that approximate 50% I have identified there are approximately 20% of them or 10% of the overall police force personnel that just like to hurt people. These few are sadistic in nature and like to inflict pain on others. It is what drew them to this profession. What compounds the problems is that the police unions and many elected representatives have forged an alliance to protect all police even the worst among them, i.e. the sadistic ones. This creates a them vs. us mentality that is largely the fault of our police unions and our elected officials.
A few things must happen before the public will see any significant improvement in law enforcement.
First, laws such as POBAR must be repealed across the country.
Second, the fact that police applicants are turned down for being too smart must end immediately. Smarter approaches by law enforcement when dealing with tense situations with the public needs to be encouraged and implemented throughout the United States.
Lastly, after repealing laws such as POBAR, each and every law enforcement agency must clearly announce to the public that law enforcement officers have no additional rights over those they come into contact with on a daily basis. Police in the United States are allowed to carry weapons including a firearm. However, how they use that weapon should be judged the same as any other citizen. The I thought he was reaching for a weapon excuse is just that an excuse that should not vindicate unwarranted and bad police responses. I would suggest that it is almost impossible for law enforcement to treat people objectively and fairly if they believe they are better than and have more rights than the very people they are charged with serving and protecting.
It really is that simple. When a majority of politicians decide to do their jobs objectively and look at all the people they represent over the undue influence of big campaign checks they routinely receive from the police unions, law enforcement throughout this country will start to improve.
PS: I was raised in a police family. My dad and his older brother were NYC Police Officers. My dad worked in just about all of the highest crime neighberhoods throughout NYC such as Harlem, Bedford Stuyvesant and the South Bronx. I know firsthand what it is like to wait for your dad to come home and worry when he is late that something bad happened to him at work. But my dad and his brother both had a great attitude about performing their jobs. They did not worry about themselves but always were focused on protecting and serving the public. They were true public servants and will always be my number one and number two heroes. For their terrific service they always provided the public throughout their careers and the life lessons they taught me on almost an everyday basis, I thank you, I salute you and I will always miss both of you. Yet with every unique experience I had the opportunity to share with my dad and his profession, the one that always stands out in my mind was one cold snowy day in mid-town Manhattan sharing a day off with just my dad and me. We were walking across town to get to Madison Square Garden to watch my beloved Knicks play. I remember it was cold and blustery. As we were walking it started to snow. My dad saw a man who we would call homeless today, waiting by a city bus stop. He stopped and asked the man where he was going. The man stated that he was trying to get to a shelter downtown before the weather got really bad. My dad waited for a few minutes until the right bus stopped, paid for the man’s bus ticket and asked the bus driver to make sure the man got to the shelter. We then continued our walk to the Garden. My dad never spoke to me about that incident that day or any day for the rest of his life. Yet this one sweet and kind gesture by my dad that day always will be one of the nicest moments we ever shared together. Not because there were not many such moments between my dad and me, but because it gave me a special window into the heart and sole of one of many thousands of police officers in NYC, who just happened to be my dad. I guess my hope in telling you this true story is that each and every one of you who reads these comments walks away from it with one thought. We as a society can do better policing our citizens.
#1 by Barry Levinson on April 23, 2016 - 3:27 pm
Please Reality Is, stop with the split second decision totally phony excuse. It is total garbage. This horrific, barbaric treatment of this woman was done over a long period of time and has nothing to do with the sheriff’s deputies having to make a split second decision. How totally disingenuous you are Reality Is. My opinion of you incredibly and justifiably just dropped even lower. Ladies and gentlemen RI has hinted that he is a police officer in the past. How incredibly scary and dangerous for the public is that possibility?
Their policy was to have only officers of the same sex conduct a strip search and they violated that policy having more than one male officer partake of this action. I am also sure it is against the Stark County Sheriff’s policy or it least it ought to be to leave a woman in a cell stark naked for 6 full hours. That is just barbaric treatment for any person under arrest. This ended up being a misdemeanor charge no less. How utterly savage and brutaL was the conduct by the sheriffs in carrying out this arrest.
This along with the “I thought he/she was reaching for a gun/weapon” excuse has been and continues to be the get out of jail free card or should I say rarely if ever be charged with a crime card or should I say normally pay no price whatsoever for your criminal acts card. You might as well use the devil made me do it excuse. Either you are a trained professional or you are not. The above type of excuses do not work with the average parent when their young children misbehave, why does so many in the public still accept these poor excuses from law enforcement.
These are extremely well paid trained professionals and will be paid extremely well in retirement courtesy of the taxpayers. Is it so very much to ask that you carry out your duties in a professional manner and when you do not you are simply held accountable for your bad acts? It is amazing that those given so much power and control over us are held to such an amazingly low standard if indeed they are held to any standard at all.
Of course, eventually the County settled this case out of court giving away taxpayer’s monies to make this case go away. Once again, the couple who called for help became the victim at the hands of the sheriff’s department and the taxpayers not those who should have been held criminally responsible, come in and clean up the Stark Sheriff’s Department mess. These law enforcement groups too often are like little children whose behavior is more than deplorable, it is criminal and we the innocent taxpayers again have to clean up their disgusting messes. However, settling out of court only ensures that these deplorable acts by those sworn to serve and protect will only continue to occur for the foreseeable future.
A TOTALLY BROKEN SYSTEM!
#2 by Reality Is..... on April 24, 2016 - 9:13 am
LOL you rely on an incident from Stark County (wherever that is) from who knows what year as your basis for a broken system? LOL really? That doesn’t surprise me because when it comes to Fullerton you rely on things from many years ago as your basis for saying it’s one of the worst Police Departments in the nation.
To tell you the truth, I didn’t even watch the video you attached. I just read your narrative.
Yes, we will always have isolated incidents of humans being bad. You will never get rid of that. I always say that as long as it is once every billion and billion times police their jobs, we are doing a great job with the system we have in place. Robots are a great answer.
Where did I say I was a police officer in the past? Who says I’m not one now?
Love,
DannyBoy
#3 by Fullerton Resident on April 24, 2016 - 9:27 pm
You notice how RI never responds when his comments are shown to be worthless and totally deceptive in nature. He just goes on to some other baseless attack.
It is basically impossible to have a conversation or discussion or debate with the likes of RI.
He just wants to keep the public sector gravy train running down the tracks regardless of the harmful impact on his fellow citizens. If we ever come to a time in America when the likes of RI represent a majority of Americans it will be the death of America as we have known it for over 200 years.
#4 by Reality Is..... on April 25, 2016 - 10:38 am
LOL nice try buddy. I’m always right here ready to debate anything you can throw out there. Don’t get mad or say I can’t discuss or debate just because you have nothing to come back at me with. I’m a realist. I’m all factual. I’m reality. Just because you are part of the Klan that likes to use isolated incidents from years ago as facts for today, I can’t help that. I’m current. I’m factual. I’m real. Love me or hate me. I’m right here. Go ahead. Bring it on. I’m not like Joe or Barry and get all made or start calling names or change the topic quickly when facts are presented that are opposite of their views.
Love,
DannyBoy
#5 by Anonymous on April 25, 2016 - 12:47 pm
Yes I know Danny Boy just how objective you are and that you never get involved in politics. If you believe that one then I have some ocean front property to sell you in Kansas.
PS. 95% of a police chief’s job is politics, public relations and covering up the bad acts of his officers.
#6 by Telling It Like It Is on April 28, 2016 - 2:45 pm
RI you are the lowest common denominator.
#7 by Fullerton Lover on September 4, 2016 - 7:03 am
…I understand that there may be quite a bit of upheaval in the law enforcement community here in Orange County in the next few weeks.
I sincerely hope that its a change for the better.
https://voiceofoc.org/2016/08/judge-more-jail-informant-records-hidden-by-sheriffs-deputies/
#8 by Reality Is..... on April 24, 2016 - 1:46 pm
Maybe Stark County or Fullerton PD will just do this? Will this make you happy?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/04/24/residents-of-colorado-town-baffled-after-entire-police-force-suddenly-quits/
#9 by Fullerton Lover on April 24, 2016 - 4:39 pm
Here’s the contents of the article you pasted….
All four members of the 700-person town’s police force — Tim Bradley, the police chief, and three volunteer reserve officers — resigned April 14 because of an alleged policy dispute with the municipality’s newly elected mayor, according to Fox affiliate KXRM-TV.
And here’s what the response was to their actions…
Residents in need of emergency help are not without any outlets for assistance. The El Paso County and Teller County sheriff’s offices have decided to help with law enforcement by adding patrols in Green Mountain Falls, according to the Gazette.
Don’t you think the same would occur here with the OC Sheriffs stepping up to fill in if all of the Fullerton police officers decided NOT to show up to work to teach us all a lesson?
#10 by Reality Is... on April 24, 2016 - 9:36 pm
Maybe back in the 80’s. Orange County Sheriffs doesn’t have the Deputies or the money to takeover cities anymore. Plus in the end Sheriff’s end up more expensive than local PDs. Back in the 80’s and 90’s they could come in with a low bid and raise the contract each year and end up more expensive 5-10 years later knowing the city couldn’t go back to their own police anymore due to startup cost. If everyone quit I’m sure the Sheriff and local Police could provide emergency services but that’s it.
#11 by Fullerton Lover on April 25, 2016 - 9:20 am
You should probably run that by the residents of Yorba Linda, like Fullerton’s Chief of Police, Dan Hughes, who are currently contracting with the OC Sheriff’s department after they dumped he Brea police department.
Tons more resources available through the sheriff’s department in case of any sort of emergency, and the Yorba Linda residents who were recently surveyed said that they were “pleasantly surprised” with the level of service and response times since making the switch from the Brea police department.
#12 by Reality Is... on April 25, 2016 - 6:08 pm
Very broad and generalized statement.
I’m sure they are happy.
My point was they can’t do it on quick notice. To do it they hire 95% of the current staff and just make them Deputies.
My other point was in the end the cost is more than your own PD.
No doubt Sheriff and LAPD cities have unlimited resources quickly. How many times has Fullerton needed resources like that? Only for the Kelly riots? Lol
#13 by Fullerton Lover on April 26, 2016 - 7:06 am
…actually the percentage was closer to 66% of the officers becoming hired by the county to become deputies, and they’ve saved 3 million dollars a year since the switch became effective.
…thought you might enjoy this clip of my absolute favorite deputy reciting the preamble to the constitution to the best Sheriff America ever had.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBuPQgV8yBM
#14 by Reality Is..... on April 26, 2016 - 9:15 am
Good info to know. I knew some retired, some transferred to other places like Fullerton, and most were rehired. Didn’t ever look at the final numbers to know it was 66% of the force. Seems low compared to most transitions but I know there is incentive for the old guys to retire or go to admin spots.
Yes Barney is my hero. If life were only as simple now as it was back then.
#15 by Anonymous on April 24, 2016 - 10:52 pm
Oh, you’d be happy with the OC Sheriff patrolling Fullerton, and one of your main concerns is corruption?
How do you breathe with your head under all that sand?
#16 by Reality Is..... on April 25, 2016 - 9:44 am
True. Sheriff’s Departments have the most claims of corruption and force than any departments in the nation. But ignore that just for fun and keep referring back to a few isolated incidents from Fullerton from years ago.