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Good Samaritan Backfire

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Re: Good Samaritan Backfire

#3
Police brutality is terrible and should be eliminated from our society. Hopefully the proliferation of officer mounted, always-on cameras can help minimize it. We should continued to do what we can to minimize it and should pay attention to stories like this one.

This story invokes emotion but even after he released all the documents it still doesn't ring true. Part of it is the language used and the overly cautious structure about his thoughts and actions. The following paragraph just didn't seem like a true representation of his thought process:

"Rich SOMA, poor SOMA. My instinct was to make this distinction go away, to show them I know our neighborhood is more complicated than that. To connect on human terms. I told them that it was an early stage startup; I’m doing this because I feel it’s a way to make the world around me better, to bring people joy through better food. I live here, right on this block, in a loving home with 16 roommates. I love this community. I asked them where they lived. And they responded in unison: “Far away! We can’t afford to live here.”"

Re: Good Samaritan Backfire

#4
post #2

repost, but looks like the article was fleshed out some more since I last saw it on HN. Included recording of 911 call, which I'm curious how he obtained.

They're recorded and they're covered by the California Public Records Act. You just have to ask for it; they can withhold for privacy reasons. In this case (and as with many others), no such withholding was made. Just ask.

Re: Good Samaritan Backfire

#8
The HN lens has certainly been showing the US police force in a bad light over the last year or so. What are the origins of this strange behaviour? Why is force regularly used against people that verbally query the police? Even the army is trained to use dialogue where possible. It does sound like cameras will help but surely good and regular training programs should encourage good engagement with citizens.

Re: Good Samaritan Backfire

#9

Police brutality is terrible and should be eliminated from our society. Hopefully the proliferation of officer mounted, always-on cameras can help minimize it. We should continued to do what we can to minimize it and should pay attention to stories like this one. This story invokes emotion but even after he released all the documents it still doesn't ring true. Part of it is the language used and the overly cautious…

Yeah, this guy comes off as really smug and obnoxious in his own words. I have no doubt the police overreacted and acted unjustly, but I also think there's more to this story than we're getting.

Is there a lawsuit pending? What's the cops' account of these events?

Re: Good Samaritan Backfire

#10
post #8

The HN lens has certainly been showing the US police force in a bad light over the last year or so. What are the origins of this strange behaviour? Why is force regularly used against people that verbally query the police? Even the army is trained to use dialogue where possible. It does sound like cameras will help but surely good and regular training programs should encourage good engagement with citizens.

"What are the origins of this strange behaviour?"

It's not strange behavior. It's just that wealthy, white people are discovering what poor people and minorities have known for a long time: the police are not their friend, are not accountable to them, and are prone to violent overreaction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc

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