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In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

nytimes.com

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Re: In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

#51

Post by skellera »

jacquesm wrote: post #34
youdontknowtho wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ummm...I don't know if 'vast' is what I would use there, but there's a difference.

The difference is that a secret police is used by a dictatorship to keep the dictator in power by systematically attacking the opposition and any grass roots movements. Plainclothes detectives are simply police that are not in uniform ('undercover'), they are still part of the regular police force.

Obviously not to the same extent but, in that general area, you seem to have described what’s going on there. The police there are a mafia and people who look to damage them have ended up dead.

Re: In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

#52

Post by grasshopperpurp »

jacquesm wrote: post #34
youdontknowtho wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ummm...I don't know if 'vast' is what I would use there, but there's a difference.

The difference is that a secret police is used by a dictatorship to keep the dictator in power by systematically attacking the opposition and any grass roots movements. Plainclothes detectives are simply police that are not in uniform ('undercover'), they are still part of the regular police force.

>The police were not created to protect and serve the population. They were not created to stop crime, at least not as most people understand it. And they were certainly not created to promote justice. They were created to protect the new form of wage-labor capitalism that emerged in the mid- to late-19th century from the threat posed by that system’s offspring, the working class.

Really not that different.

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17505/police_and_poor_...

Re: In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

#53

Post by duck »

mcny wrote: post #50
SteveNuts wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The conservatives will come for them at some point too... I really really doubt that. All the conservatives I know love the police and think they can do no wrong.

> I really really doubt that. All the conservatives I know love the police and think they can do no wrong. I hate to agree. Just an example https://archive.fo/QjtoQ > A Minnesota prosecutor said on Thursday he needs more time to decide whether to charge a police officer who fatally shot an Australian woman who called 911 for help. > Minneapolis officer Mohamed Noor shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond on 15 July, just minute…

The only problem with this reasoning is Minnesota is one of the most liberal states in the Union.

Re: In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

#54

Post by leesalminen »

patmcc wrote: post #49
southphillyman wrote: post #35

Baltimore police were stealing drugs from Baltimore dealers and selling the stolen drugs to dealers in Philadelphia. Hard to believe actions like that were taking place in the U.S. Sounds like something straight out of a Narcos episode.

>>Hard to believe actions like that were taking place in the U.S. Is it? I'm a Canadian and everything I hear about the US police terrifies me - SWATing leading to innocent people being killed, unarmed black men being shot, no-knock warrants, civil forfeiture, the impossibility of convicting police for just about anything. If the worst thing they were doing was selling drugs that'd be an improvement as far as I can t…

Has anyone been charged with the false report of the scissors hijab attack?

Re: In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

#55

Post by ransom1538 »

southphillyman wrote: post #35

Baltimore police were stealing drugs from Baltimore dealers and selling the stolen drugs to dealers in Philadelphia. Hard to believe actions like that were taking place in the U.S. Sounds like something straight out of a Narcos episode.

Cases like these tend to involve narcotics officers. Since they work undercover, don't wear body cams, and don't checkin with their station as often as a beat cop. AND that is where the money is.

Re: In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

#56

Post by olivermarks »

Adding to this common problem in larger metropolitan police forces in the US is their rapid militarization.

Shaking down kids while cruising around in a black and white is one thing. Being equipped with military gear including armored cars opens up a whole new level of control issues.

http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-the-rook-armored-cater...

Re: In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

#57

Post by rhino369 »

gr3yh47 wrote: post #22
bob_theslob646 wrote: post #12

Why is there not more transparency? It makes zero sense. What is going to stop something like this occuring again? Officers going to jail?

>What is going to stop something like this occuring again? Officers going to jail? wrongdoings by officers are mostly handled internally with administrative leave aka paid vacation

I have no idea if they do get sanctioned with admin leave. But people often confuse "suspension with pay until a determination of guilty" as a punishment. However, it's really just a way to suspend them until guilt can be determined.

Unlike a regular job, government employees have a due process right to their job. You cannot suspend them without pay without due process.

I don't think they should have a due process right to a job, but the courts disagree. Trump sort of suggested removing that right during the state of the union, but it won't happen.

Re: In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

#58

Post by ronilan »

patmcc wrote: post #49
southphillyman wrote: post #35

Baltimore police were stealing drugs from Baltimore dealers and selling the stolen drugs to dealers in Philadelphia. Hard to believe actions like that were taking place in the U.S. Sounds like something straight out of a Narcos episode.

>>Hard to believe actions like that were taking place in the U.S. Is it? I'm a Canadian and everything I hear about the US police terrifies me - SWATing leading to innocent people being killed, unarmed black men being shot, no-knock warrants, civil forfeiture, the impossibility of convicting police for just about anything. If the worst thing they were doing was selling drugs that'd be an improvement as far as I can t…

I’m a Canadian too. The 49th is just a line in the sand.

Here’s a reminder: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Dziekański_Taser_inci...

Re: In Baltimore, Brazen Officers Took Every Chance to Rob and Cheat

#59

Post by probablynot »

gr3yh47 wrote: post #48
acchow wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have data to support this claim? What proportion get paid leave vs. fired (or jailed)

no empirical data, just following news and seeing overwhelmingly that officers do not get jailed and almost never get fired

You have to figure if the most public and controversial cases result in a halfassed investigation and some paid vacation, the ones that never make the news probably don't even go that far.
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