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

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

#331

Post by chillwaves »

rhino369 wrote: post #264
exstudent2 wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Americas biggest problem in the inner cities. This is absolutely not true. Have you ever lived in an inner city? Yes some people are fighting with each other but if you act respectfully, you'll be left alone. The police aren't cracking down because they "have to". They're cracking down (e.g. stop and frisk) because they're power hungry and ignorant. As someone who's lived in all manner of socioeconomic areas of the…

>This is absolutely not true. Have you ever lived in an inner city? Yes some people are fighting with each other but if you act respectfully, you'll be left alone. I've lived in downtown areas of Chicago and DC, but never what people mean when they say "inner city" (i.e. ghetto). They won't leave you alone. They'll rob you or break into your car. Criminals murder and steal from the people who live there at alarming r…

Doesn't count when it's a $3000 deductible.

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

#333

Post by cant_kant »

"The head of the police authority review board just resigned.

An off-the-books police facility where over 7,000 people were taken and had their rights trampled was uncovered.

So many people were tortured by the Chicago Police Department that a reparations fund was created.

So many people were wrongfully convicted that the city has now been labeled the "false confession capital of the world.""

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-chicago-police...

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

#334

Post by rXoX »

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…

>I would love to see public sector unions eliminated in the city, if not nationwide. They just make things worse for everyone. Society needs an alternative to the union system in the public sector.

That's because you aren't familiar with what life looks like without unions. You know those Chinese factories, where they have to put up nets to prevent people from throwing themselves off buildings? Or maybe read up on the Triangle factory fire. Unions are like any other community organized around a cause that isn't purely profit-driven; they become political in nature. You might be sitting pretty money-wise, but there's a huge swath of people in America that aren't. And because of the bullshit they have to put up with from their employers, unions look pretty good. Final note: You probably know that Apple, Google, Facebook et al colluded to hold down salaries and reaped billions in savings from that. Though there is a class action suit being brought forth to recoup those losses, you really, really need to ask yourself this: If multi-billion dollar multinationals are doing that to 'respectable' professions like engineers and developers, what do you think smaller caompanies are getting away with doing to their employees every single day?

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

#335

Post by kazagistar »

phil21 wrote: post #175
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.

Some of these posts here are a joke. Chicago is like any other major US city, probably better than the mid-tier cities I've spent time living in in terms of police and crime. It's simply very much two cities and you only hear news stories about one. Just like anywhere else, don't act like an idiot or seek out trouble in rough areas and 99% of your interactions with police will be fine. You're on HackerNews so presuma…

Sure, I'm safe. That does not make it remotely acceptable. Just because I am in the "favored class" does not mean abuse of the other classes is OK.

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

#336

Post by vacri »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #323
vacri wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Police in the US are very much not like police in other Anglo countries; they are much more adversarial. Not to say the other police are perfect, but it seems much worse in the US. Example: I'm from Australia, and was recounting a story here on HN about how I don't like that subtle power play when police pull you over and talk down to you in the car. So I get out (I'm very tall) and wait for them in a friendly manner…

But see, in the US, the occupants of cars are much more likely to try to use force on police officers, too. (And remember how many Americans are armed.) The police officers are literally in a position where they have to evaluate each move you make in (I'd guess) about half a second. If they shoot when they shouldn't, it may destroy their career. If they don't shoot when they should, they may die. I don't know, but I…

I agree with you in that part of the issue is the armed populace in the US (Australia is very much an unarmed populace, and always has been; ignore most of what you hear about the 1996 gun bans from anyone). Another part of the issue is the 'us vs them' attitude that appears to be more prevalent in US policing (and in US politics in general). In contrast, the UK's police tries to follow the Peelian Principles, which are designed to avoid the 'us vs them' mentality.

For my money, I'd rather have a population without guns, if it means we don't have to be scared of the people we hire to keep our cities orderly. The armed population in the US doesn't seem to be rising up against government transgressions there any more than the unarmed population does here, so it doesn't seem like the rationale for amendment #2 holds water.

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

#337

Post by Aloha »

trophycase wrote: post #298
entropicmind wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just speculating but I'd say that with the recent death of Ian Murdock and how that situation played out, tensions are high between the HN community and the police in America.

Yeah, great. A bunch of tech nerds and programmers commenting on a job where your safety is constantly on the line and you have to make split second decisions and you're under enormous stress and there is no black and white. This board is so anti-police it's just disgusting.

I work in an industry that supports public safety.

Yes, being a police officer is dangerous, but their safety is not /constantly/ on the line - yeah, maybe once a day, maybe a couple times a day, an officer is going to have to make a choice that could endanger them - its not every second of every day.

The cameras in the end are supposed to protect the officer as much as the citizens, it makes the officers accountable, as well as provides backup for their version of events. Now I get the desire to not be recorded all the time, no one wants a surveillance state - but when the methods of redress for a corrupt officer are so few, body cameras are a reasonable precaution in the eyes of the public.

HN is generally anti-authority, and right now, I can of very little visible authority wise than the police, so right now the police are there as a focus point.

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

#338

Post by galtwho »

minusSeven wrote: post #246
Juz16 wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing to keep in mind is that America isn't as homogeneous as a European country, it's as diverse as the entire European continent. Would you say that Denmark is a dreadful mess because of the crime rate in Serbia? Probably not.

Same is even more true about India, yet it doesn't stop many people from calling it rape capital of the world.

this is inspite of it having extremely low rape incidences as a %.

People have no clue how large and diverse the place is and are always generalizing.

and I have very rarely come across police misbehaving the way I read here or even come across violent street crimes. I am sure it occurs though as the films love portraying the extreme scenarios but the ordinary person isn't scared for his/her life or safety.

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

#339

Post by drdeca »

jpambrun wrote: post #254
WaxProlix wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. But it doesn't mean that, given a random sampling of 100 cops in relationships, you could expect ~40 of those to be currently abusive of their partners.

This is also what I initially understood. But still, it means that if I get 100 cops in a room, about 40 have been or will be in an abusive relationship. That is still very telling/surprising.

Does this also mean that of 100 randomly selected people (of whom an ordinary proportion are cops), that about 20 of them have been or will be in an abusive relationship?

I don't mean to downplay the 40 number in the police case (which is very high and kind of terrifying), but, 20% is still a lot! (and so, 40% is even more).

That's, for every 5, 1, on average! That is shockingly high.

wow?

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

#340

Post by trhway »

mbesto wrote: post #182
finid wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Heh, the elected officials are exactly the problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_history_of_Chicago#C... I grew up in Chicago, my family is still there, and most of my colleagues are based there. There is weird pseudo-Stockholm syndrome phenomenon where people just accept that the corruption is widespread and unavoidable.

when i visited Chicago, it was felt like it is a matter of local pride when journalist on radio was telling something about corruption in the school district. Like "look how big! how brazen it is! we can do corruption like the best out there!"... pretty much like Jon Stewart in that bit about New Jersey corruption.
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