[quote]nephorm wrote:
NDM wrote:
On another note, there seems to be a lot of cop haters on these boards. Stop hatin’.
My father was a police officer. I have a lot of respect for most officers, and I would never advocate using violence against them or obstructing them unless I were completely sure that the officer was in the wrong, and they were using potentially lethal force against someone who did not deserve it.
I think that our forefathers would be appalled to know that we have such a hands-off sentiment, as though officers of the law were above it, and as though courts could restore lives.[/quote]
While my understanding of the forefathers political beleifs is fairly limited, (I just learned that Washington was a mason, and had 4 testicles) I would think that Jefferson would be appaled at the level of policing that we have now. I think he probably rolls over in his grave everytime someone gets popped for jaywalking.
And I think that Alexander Hamilton would be appalled that police don’t break down doors in the middle of the night and lead the accused away in shackles. (well, normally they don’t do it that way).
If It makes you feel any better, even though I am studying to be a police officer, I do beleive that if an officer is making an illegal arrest, it should be legal for the person being arrested to defend, including the use of lethal force, against being arrested.
In my opinion, the deprivation of liberty is equivalent to the deprivation of life. In truth, I would be happy if a person had to be proven guilty before they could be arrested to begin with, and that the courts were handled entirely by subpeano’s. Police officers are really given too much power, especially considering that a very big share of them are just high school graduates, and the bar to become a police officer is not terrribly high. They are government entities that are empowered to deprive others of liberty and if need be, life. And some police academies are as low as 12 weeks.
At college, one of the first things we are taught is loopholes to the constituion. The deputy director of a state agency, (and I wont say which one) presented at one of the investigations class. He told us that the statute read that the area within a persons wingspan could be searched incident to an arrest. And then, he proceeded to tell us that they used to just make the person walk into any area they wanted to search, till a judge stopped them. So, Then general attitude of the police is that civil liberties are to be taken away, and the constitution to be gotten around.
I know that the police in my hometown have arrested people before when they didn’t have probable cause to do so. I understand its a bit hypocritical that I don’t really like cops, but I want to be one.