Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show • Hacker News Board

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#161

Post by pflats » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:27 PM UTC

jbob2000 wrote: post #55

CPLX wrote: post #21

Though I agree that this behavior is reprehensible and probably criminal, the comments here seem to miss at least some of the human dynamic here. I can't hardly imagine that most people posting here would ever consider a job where literally every word or sound that came out of their mouth during their entire working life was recorded, and likely subject to public disclosure. Saying that this is what cops signed up fo…

The dash cams are for their benefit. There was a county in another state that implemented dash cams for their police force and found an 80% drop in complaints against officers. Why do officers feel like they are being watched? The dash cams are to protect them. If they fear being watched, perhaps they know they aren't doing their job?

>The dash cams are for their benefit. There was a county in another state that implemented dash cams for their police force and found an 80% drop in complaints against officers.

Baloney. The cameras are for the public's benefit.

Imagine your employer (or whatever) came to you and said, "From now on, you're wearing a camera whenever you're working. It's for your benefit; if anyone ever accuses you of slacking off, you'll have the video evidence to prove that you're not."

Would your productivity increase? Almost definitely. Is the camera really for your benefit? Nope.

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#162

Post by golergka » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:28 PM UTC

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #121

callinyouin wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm moving to Chicago in a few months. Are there certain neighborhoods that should be avoided on the basis of corrupt police activity? I wonder because I could see neighborhoods that are relatively safe in terms of civilian crime, but cops posted in that area might have nothing better to do than mess with its inhabitants.

Lifelong Chicagoan here. I've never, ever had these issues and all my run-ins with cops have been fairly uneventful, if not pleasant. Chicago cops have better things to do than give traffic tickets usually and the last time I got pulled over (blew through red from a fast yellow) and I was just let go with a warning. Recently, there is a mentally unstable person in my neighborhood and he decided to sit on my porch and…

Genuine curiosity: why is this comment downvoted?

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#163

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:28 PM UTC

CPLX wrote: post #21

Though I agree that this behavior is reprehensible and probably criminal, the comments here seem to miss at least some of the human dynamic here. I can't hardly imagine that most people posting here would ever consider a job where literally every word or sound that came out of their mouth during their entire working life was recorded, and likely subject to public disclosure. Saying that this is what cops signed up fo…

[deleted]

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#164

Post by finid » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:28 PM UTC

bilbo0s wrote: post #139

callinyouin wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm moving to Chicago in a few months. Are there certain neighborhoods that should be avoided on the basis of corrupt police activity? I wonder because I could see neighborhoods that are relatively safe in terms of civilian crime, but cops posted in that area might have nothing better to do than mess with its inhabitants.

I'll be honest with you... Chicago is very much a place where you take your chances. You can live in Streeterville for example, as rayiner alluded to in another post... but what happens when you go out with friends??? What if they want to go someplace in say... Wrigleyville... some night??? You're walking back to your car, or trying to get a taxi back to the loop, and you cross too close in front of a police officer,…

If it's that bad in Chicago, then what you have is not a police force, but a criminal organization.

Who's overseeing them? Are your elected officials powerless to do any thing?

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#165

Post by sailfast » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:29 PM UTC

branchless wrote: post #154

bbarn wrote: post #74

Let's see.. in the 20 odd years here in Chicago, the sum of my police interactions are: Hit by a white shirt (supervisor) who came out of an alley on clark st while in a bike lane - somehow my fault, detained. Hit on foot, by a car with no lights on in a residential neighborhood while crossing at a crosswalk - somehow my fault for being outside while there was "a suspect being hunted" Watching officers on foot in 7-1…

I have to say America just seems like a dreadful mess.

It seems that way, but... it's not. I don't have any real data or concrete thoughts on why, but in general I much prefer some chaos and the potential for change to a whole bunch of stability bordering on stagnation even if it seems like a big hot mess. Don't believe the messy hype :P

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#166

Post by rm_-rf_slash » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:31 PM UTC

gnaritas wrote: post #142

rm_-rf_slash wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go after pensions and overtime pay (for bs like court appearances) to compensate for lawsuits and the costs to society (hospital treatment to abused citizens) instead of regular day-to-day funds and you can hardly be called soft on crime. I think the more accurate term is "fiscally conservative."

> can hardly be called soft on crime Anything anti-police will be called soft on crime by the police union; politics doesn't care about reality, only about perception.

The opposition can easily spin the union as being soft-er on crime. Cop-on-civilian crime is still crime.

If perception is all that counts in politics (and it is), use the opportunity to smear everyone connected to crooked cops, especially politicians. Use language like "state-sponsored murder" to rile up state-skeptical conservatives, who provide most of the police union support. If you have connections to the press, run stories like "Could Your Mayor Kill You (And Get Away With It)?" or if you're buzzfeed, "6 Ways Your Mayor Could Kill You (And Get Away With It)" or even "Your City's Death Squad (And The Lawyers Who Help With Murder)"

Make people afraid for their lives and angry of the administration and it will put the administration on the defensive, which weakens the "soft on crime" tactic considerably. Once you've tapped into emotional reaction, it's hard to steer the brain back to logic.

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#167

Post by chowes » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:32 PM UTC

This seems like a good use case for https://petitions.whitehouse.gov, no? I have to imagine such a blatent abuse of the system would have to warrant more than a cookie-cutter answer from the administration.

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#168

Post by ams6110 » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:32 PM UTC

Shivetya wrote: post #88

ams6110 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry but this is hoplessly naive. It's Chicago . One of the most historically corrupt machine governments in the USA. Nothing gets done without dozens of people getting paid off if not in cash than in favors or quid pro quo. It's not even something that people on the inside find unusual. It's just how it is, and always has been. It's a much bigger problem than just mandating tamper-proof cameras.

This is why I state, these items must be tamper proof and back by regulations and laws. Likely all this must be at the federal level and it become a crime on the federal level to tamper with them. So you make it nearly impossible to break/tamper without trying and its a federal offense to do so. Simple.

Who is buying the cameras? Who is installing the cameras? Who is determining if they are tampered with? Who is making the laws concerning the cameras? Chicago city politicians or employees. All of whom are being paid and influenced to do do their jobs in a way that favors the right people.

You seem to be suggesting a federal takeover of the Chicago police department -- a city whose mayor is the former chief of staff of the president, who himself is a Chicagoan. Good luck with that.

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#169

Post by vlunkr » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:34 PM UTC

branchless wrote: post #154

bbarn wrote: post #74

Let's see.. in the 20 odd years here in Chicago, the sum of my police interactions are: Hit by a white shirt (supervisor) who came out of an alley on clark st while in a bike lane - somehow my fault, detained. Hit on foot, by a car with no lights on in a residential neighborhood while crossing at a crosswalk - somehow my fault for being outside while there was "a suspect being hunted" Watching officers on foot in 7-1…

I have to say America just seems like a dreadful mess.

The thing about America is it's huge. I believe these stories, but they don't reflect the behavior of cops where I live.

Re: Chicago Police Hid Mics, Destroyed Dashcams to Block Audio, Records Show

#170

Post by JumpCrisscross » Thu, Jan 28, 2016, 4:35 PM UTC

bbarn wrote: post #74

Let's see.. in the 20 odd years here in Chicago, the sum of my police interactions are: Hit by a white shirt (supervisor) who came out of an alley on clark st while in a bike lane - somehow my fault, detained. Hit on foot, by a car with no lights on in a residential neighborhood while crossing at a crosswalk - somehow my fault for being outside while there was "a suspect being hunted" Watching officers on foot in 7-1…

Keep in mind that is the same police department that "operates an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site."

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/24/chicago-polic...