Bad cops get a pass.
 

I guess they didn't do anything wrong.

LOS ANGELES, CA– Some may remember the harrowing case of cop-killer Christopher Dorner. Last year the former cop went on a rampage in California, sending people into a heightened state of vigilance. Yet the actions taken by eight LAPD officers stray from vigilance into excessive use of deadly force.

While guarding a high-ranking officer they feared was on Dorner’s hit list, the officers happened upon two women who were delivering newspapers in a blue Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. The officers apparently mistook the truck for Dorner’s, even though he drove a charcoal Nissan Titan pickup truck.

With no warning, the eight officers unleashed a hail of bullets, firing 103 times at the truck carrying Margie Carranza and her 71-year-old mother Emma Hernandez. Carranza, then 47, was cut by flying glass, her mother was shot in the back. Miraculously, both women survived.

None of officers will be fired, or even suspended for failing to identify themselves as police or to ensure the car was indeed Dorner’s before opening fire. They will only be required to take a little more training.

The Commission, after its investigation earlier this month, stated the officers were not at serious fault, even though they violated the Los Angeles Police Department’s policy.

Chief Charlie Beck insisted that this shooting was simply the result of “a tragic cascade of circumstances that led to an inaccurate conclusion by the officers.”

This conclusion is absurd. Police should be held accountable for firing on two innocent and unarmed women, and their incompetence should be outed rather than dismissed as a “tragic cascade of circumstances.”

Citing the tense atmosphere Dorner’s tirade had created as just cause for the shooting withers under scrutiny. Police are supposed to be able to deal with these increased pressures through the course of their training, but as is increasingly the case, officers often shoot first and ask questions later regardless of the circumstances.

The mother and daughter, though traumatized, received a settlement from the LAPD for $4.2 million dollars.

ftfy

Police have a tough job, but you have to be able to be held accountable for your actions. Police get away with a lot of incompetence/other bad stuff.

Recently a local sheriff said law enforcement should be held to a higher standard.

Some feel the standard should be the same as for civilians (I.O.W. no double-standard).

So which is it...higher or the same?

I'd be overjoyed if they were held to the exact same standard as are civilians. So..... what would happen if I shot up a truck with two unarmed women in it, who hadn't threatened me at all or displayed any weapon? That's what should happen to these cops.

exactly

if we won't hold them to a higher standard, I would settle for holding them to a standard

LEOs should be held to a higher standard. And in return, civilians should treat LEO with a bit more respect. But I guess that's in an ideal world.

Still, unless there are some extraordinary circumstances that haven't been made public, these cops seem to have demonstrated gross negligence. And if not otherwise disciplined, they should lose their licenses (badges) for law enforcement and have to pick some other form of employment. Because it's pretty obvious they're not cut out for this line of work.

What has been done to protect the public from these two trigger-happy, gun-toting, color-blind, and (fortunately) poor marksmanship numbskulls?

This is amazing.

I am glad I don't live in L.A. any more. That's been the police force that made me most uncomfortable anywhere in the US that I lived. Including the South.

G

At least a desk job for the rest of their time working for police.

Well, definitely NOT a job handling semi-automatic rifles.

Kicking them off the force is often not the solution either. Often they "retire" early. $$$ for the community too.

G

Absolutely. They have a difficult and thankless job. But they should be held responsible for their mistakes.

Worth the read:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518lS5g5o9L.jpg

while i think this is a problem, i think there is a MUCH deeper problem. the problem is the type of person who has increasingly becoming cops. maybe it was before my time, but i'd like to believe there was a time when cops knew they were civil servants and not hunting down john Q public. now it seems cops are rude, unfriendly, not helpful, and if you ask or confront them about anything, they will mouth off to you. they use and bend, and break the rules to there advantage, never getting investigated much less punished for there transgressions. getting caught only means someone gets away with a DUI typically, and all the times some poor dude didn't lawyer up, the cop gets away with it. i mean there has always been corruption in law enforcement, but thats not really what im talking about. im talking about the tacit understanding that the ends justify the means in the police.

i think its a personality thing honestly. i think the kind of people drawn into law enforcement are very often those types of people, who love the power, love the authority etc etc. a cop will never defuse a situation, if someone escalates it, they will go right up to that level with the person. its sick. its honestly, a bit pathetic.

id, never met a cop i liked. and i don't mean that even in the side of the road situation, i mean socially as well. they are just ... kinda dicks. idk.

idk, maybe that time never existed, or maybe i have not met the right cop or something, but thats my observations anyway.

Maybe it is just you that is a dick.

I have met several very nice likeable guys in social situations and I did not know they were a cop until much later. I have know many that are just professionals trying to do a job.

No doubt, there ane many horrible cops out there. For the cops that shot up that truck to go scott free is crazy. They need to be former cops and banned from any law enforcement job above mall cop.

Just my opinion..........

No reason to ever condone when a cop misbehaves. They should be held to a higher standard. They should be policing themselves though - and I know they do to an extent....but probably not enough. It's a fraternity and when the shtf you don't want someone you pissed off watching your back.

Not providing this as an excuse but rather as reasons there are attitudes....

1. Cops have to deal with the scum of the earth. Who wouldn't have an attitude?

2. The laws we have on the books are not being enforced by the courts. These guys do their job...they get the bad guys. Then the court lets them back out.

Again - not giving cops a pass - just sharing my opinion on WHY they have an attitude.

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That said - there are way more good cops than bad ones. Why don't we hear more about the good cops?

I salute the good cops and publicly thank them.

The bad cops --- you disgrace your shield! (and make it hard for the good guys)

Well said Baz.

I have several friends that are cops. Saying that all cops (i.e. thousands of people) are dicks is an incredibly stupid and ignorant statement. Even in the rare encounter when I'm doing something wrong, I've never felt they were anything other than professional. Of course I'm also polite and respectful to them, which I believe is called common courtesy. If you think all cops are dicks, I suspect that you are a big part of the problem.

That is exactly what the book is about (though maybe misleading by using the term militarization). It discusses cops thinking they are fighting a war against John Q Public. Raids on people's homes, bullying, etc.

I agree. There was a time when cops were very different than they are now. All I see are a bunch of uniformed people on a power trip.

Take your blood pressure meds and then head on over to Bad Cop, No Donut!

i didn't say all cops were dicks. i said i never met one who wasn't, and openly admit my sample size is far to small to judge them as a whole.