If you see the cops, start recording • Hacker News Board

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#121

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:08 PM UTC

martythemaniak wrote: post #42

pjc50 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They resigned in protest at being held accountable: https://twitter.com/DaveGreber4/status/1268977512320819203?s...

> I’m told the entire @BPDAlerts Emergency Response Team has resigned from the team, a total of 57 officers, as a show of support for the officers who are suspended without pay after shoving Martin Gugino, 75. They are still employed, but no longer on ERT They "resigned" but are still employed? It's not a resignation if you keep getting a paycheque.

It’s kind of like the “virtual walkouts” that tech employees due.

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#122

Post by sremani » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:08 PM UTC

staticassertion wrote: post #30

chrisco255 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cops carry guns because the situation can always get out of hand. Violent criminals still exist in society. EDIT: the ignorant people claiming average police officer does not deal with violent criminals have obviously never worked as a first responder. They deal with rape, suicide, murder, assault, domestic abuse, robbery, every week unless they're some small town cop in a gilded neighborhood. The cops in St. Louis,…

How much of our police force deals with legitimate violent crime? The vast majority of police do not need guns. edit: > hey deal with rape, suicide, murder, assault, domestic abuse, robbery, every week unless they're some small town cop in a gilded neighborhood. Can you back this up? Statistics I've seen do not support your claim, and put violent crimes under 5% of police investigations.

How do you know before hand if a domestic violence case does not escalate out of hand? How would you access the danger or lack there of in a particular situation before walking into it?

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#123

Post by eloisant » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:08 PM UTC

rectang wrote: post #9

> But before action was taken by city leaders, Buffalo police lied about the incident. In an initial statement, the department said that a person was arrested "during a skirmish with other protesters," and that "during that skirmish involving protesters, one person was injured when he tripped and fell." The video clearly refutes the statement, showing that there was no skirmish around the elderly man, and that the of…

There is one "almost good cop" who tried to check the man when he was lying on the ground, but quickly one of his colleague pulled him by the vest to tell him they don't do this kind of thing.

Unfortunately he didn't have to courage to stand up for his first feeling.

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#124

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:09 PM UTC

downerending wrote: post #112

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a pilot. This isn't remotely a fair comparison. There are lots of very complex and nuanced situations in aviation that require judgment calls. People are going to get it wrong sometimes. We're human. That's a far cry from this situation. There is no "judgment call" here: don't violently shove elderly people to the ground for no reason. If you accidentally do, help them up. If you pass by an elderly person lying o…

It's not a fair comparison. Pilots don't have to deal day in and day out with the sort of hostility and abuse we're seeing here. It's a godawful, thankless job, and I admire those who do it anyway.

[deleted]

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#125

Post by sacred_numbers » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:09 PM UTC

oaue0823 wrote: post #61

ssklash wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you could, you know, protest police brutality and misconduct and support police reform. Respect the reality that police are public servants, accountable to us, whose job is to keep us safe, and who have been endowed with great powers to do that job. The second they stop doing that job, they become incredibly dangerous because of those powers. I've always been amazed at the law and order, respect my rights, follow…

Ok but it's a pretty hard job and mistakes are unavoidable just like with any job. I'm pretty fine here, when I make a code mistake I can fix it, and I'm paid so much more than a cop. I suppose that would be a good reason for me to bitch about cops in general right ? At least, that's what it seems when I read comments on hn the last days.

The problem is that cops (and prosecutors and judges) protect each other from accountability. If you saw your co-worker hit a pedestrian because they made a mistake driving would you lie for your co-worker and say that the pedestrian jumped out in front of the car? I hope not. Likewise, if you saw your co-worker intentionally hit someone with their car would you lie to protect them? If you did, that would make both of you bad, even though you never hit anyone with your car. That's what people are protesting: the fact that police can brutalize people without consequence.

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#126

Post by jcampbell1 » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:09 PM UTC

Yetanfou wrote: post #55

tbabb wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plenty of departments in other countries do not carry guns and do their jobs just fine.

Don't bring a knife to a gun fight. The US is saturated with firearms so it would be foolish for the police not to carry. In the UK the situation used to be different and to a certain extent still is, the police used to be unarmed (are they still?). It should be noted however that the number of knife crimes there is high - people tend to use the weapons at hand. This has led to a call for a ban on pointy kitchen kniv…

I was once reading budgets for the NHS, and I had no idea why there was a line item for glass injuries. Apparently, smashing the bottom of a beer bottle and stabbing someone in the stomach is a popular activity in the UK.

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#127

Post by neilv » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:10 PM UTC

werber wrote: post #2

I almost always wear a shirt with a pocket so I can record without it being obvious.

My layperson understanding is that there might be legal implications of the "without it being obvious" part. For example, I don't know whether that could be a problem in Massachusetts:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_call_recording_laws#...

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#128

Post by driverdan » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:10 PM UTC

wayneftw wrote: post #7

I haven't had a run-in with the police since I was in my twenties, but I think just for fun - I'm going to get a bodycam, a dashcam and a bunch of security cameras for my property. You never know when they might come in handy. Anyone have any general advice for building them yourself with a Pi or Arduino?

There's a Pi distro just for this: https://github.com/ccrisan/motioneyeos

I recommend buying commercial IP cameras for outdoors.

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#129

Post by Vysero » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:10 PM UTC

I haven't had a run in with the police in a long time. Based on a lot of the video footage I have been seeing revolving around these riots I would say the problem of police brutality is exceptionally larger than I was giving it credit for being not just a few weeks ago. I hold out hope that the majority of officers aren't like those I have seen in the media (left and right) committing acts of unprovoked, and unnecessary violence, but I am starting to loose some confidence in my conviction.

I have to be honest, I am not sure what the solution is here. On the whole, I think they need better training, but what that would look like.. I am afraid to say that topic is over my head.

Re: If you see the cops, start recording

#130

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC » Fri, Jun 05, 2020, 8:10 PM UTC

heavyset_go wrote: post #51

dominotw wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is parallel with pilots and airplane crashes. There is a tendency for airlines to put the blame on a pilot in case of a crash, this disincentives pilots from speaking the truth. Unfortunately the 'anti cop' sentiment would have the same effect. Imgaine how hard it is for us to admit a mistake at work which brings the website down but here someone's life is at stake. What happens if a cop makes a mistake and cau…

Somehow professionals under the constant threat of malpractice lawsuits and criminal/civil liability are able to operate and flourish in their industries just fine.

For medicine, that probably co tributes a lot to the expense of healthcare in the US