Quote:
Originally Posted by intakexhaust
Jeff- I hear you loud and clear. However, I know some really terrific LEO's, and some who've left the career. It is a different day and age but get to know a few and have them talk shop,.... about co-workers and the daily task is an eyeopener.
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I realize I painted with a rather broad brush. I have several friends and family who are ex-LEO, and all are wonderful, upstanding people. It seems, however, that their time has come and gone.
I also "grew up" hunting out of a camp that assembled every year wherein myself and my buddy were the only two non-LEO in the whole camp. The rest were all cops, as was my buddy's older brother (that's how we got in). The stories these guys would tell around the campfire, once the booze loosened them up a bit, were truly hair-raising. Not from the perspective of acts of daring-do or anything, but more along the lines of how they managed to beat the hell out of people and get away with it. Never fear, though - they all "deserved it".
All I ask, really, is that police are actually held to the standard they claim. Or at least to the standards of licensed professionals. Hold them personally accountable and liable for their misdeeds. You know, like doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, and everyone else. Eliminate their self investigation, and place citizen review boards over them, ensuring those boards have some real authority.
Lastly, maybe it's time to review how we as a society utilize and deploy law enforcement. Maybe have them stay at the station until we call them; do firemen drive around looking for fires? Do ambulances drive around looking for injured people? Are cops driving around looking for crime really finding any, or are they making their own trouble in far more cases than not? When your job is to go out and "find" criminals, maybe too many of us start to look like one. Too many bored cops driving around just looking for something to do. Maybe we should have them stop doing that.