this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2026
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THE POLICE PROBLEM

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    The police problem is that police are policed by the police. Cops are accountable only to other cops, which is no accountability at all.

    99.9999% of police brutality, corruption, and misconduct is never investigated, never punished, never makes the news, so it's not on this page.

    When cops are caught breaking the law, they're investigated by other cops. Details are kept quiet, the officers' names are withheld from public knowledge, and what info is eventually released is only what police choose to release — often nothing at all.

    When police are fired — which is all too rare — they leave with 'law enforcement experience' and can easily find work in another police department nearby. It's called "Wandering Cops."

    When police testify under oath, they lie so frequently that cops themselves have a joking term for it: "testilying." Yet it's almost unheard of for police to be punished or prosecuted for perjury.

    Cops can and do get away with lawlessness, because cops protect other cops. If they don't, they aren't cops for long.

    The legal doctrine of "qualified immunity" renders police officers invulnerable to lawsuits for almost anything they do. In practice, getting past 'qualified immunity' is so unlikely, it makes headlines when it happens.

    All this is a path to a police state.

    In a free society, police must always be under serious and skeptical public oversight, with non-cops and non-cronies in charge, issuing genuine punishment when warranted.

    Police who break the law must be prosecuted like anyone else, promptly fired if guilty, and barred from ever working in law-enforcement again.

    That's the solution.

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Our definition of ‘cops’ is broad, and includes prison guards, probation officers, shitty DAs and judges, etc — anyone who has the authority to fuck over people’s lives, with minimal or no oversight.

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RULES

Real-life decorum is expected. Please don't say things only a child or a jackass would say in person.

If you're here to support the police, you're trolling. Please exercise your right to remain silent.

Saying ~~cops~~ ANYONE should be killed lowers the IQ in any conversation. They're about killing people; we're not.

Please don't dox or post calls for harassment, vigilantism, tar & feather attacks, etc.

Please also abide by the instance rules.

It you've been banned but don't know why, check the moderator's log. If you feel you didn't deserve it, hey, I'm new at this and maybe you're right. Send a cordial PM, for a second chance.

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ALLIES

!abolition@slrpnk.net

!acab@lemmygrad.ml

r/ACAB

r/BadCopNoDonut/

Randy Balko

The Civil Rights Lawyer

The Honest Courtesan

Identity Project

MirandaWarning.org

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INFO

A demonstrator's guide to understanding riot munitions

Adultification

Cops aren't supposed to be smart

Don't talk to the police.

Killings by law enforcement in Canada

Killings by law enforcement in the United Kingdom

Killings by law enforcement in the United States

Know your rights: Filming the police

Three words. 70 cases. The tragic history of 'I can’t breathe' (as of 2020)

Police aren't primarily about helping you or solving crimes.

Police lie under oath, a lot

Police spin: An object lesson in Copspeak

Police unions and arbitrators keep abusive cops on the street

Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States

So you wanna be a cop?

When the police knock on your door

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ORGANIZATIONS

Black Lives Matter

Campaign Zero

Innocence Project

The Marshall Project

Movement Law Lab

NAACP

National Police Accountability Project

Say Their Names

Vera: Ending Mass Incarceration

 

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Right after ICE Agent Johnathan Ross executed a US citizen in cold blood

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[–] zeppo@lemmy.world 201 points 2 days ago (6 children)

"When citizens are accused of a crime, they are given the presumption of innocence as afforded by due process. When there is an incident involving law enforcement, politicians and activists immediately condemn those involved and are scrambling for sound bits. They do not afford them the same due process but rather convict them in a public court of opinion while an investigation is barely beginning"

Well, that's an absurd claim. Simply being arrested for a crime is often enough for the public to believe that a private citizen is guilty, and they can lose employment, business deals, a marriage or relationship long before any "due process" occurs. When police are accused of a crime, often they face no consequences at all, and if they are charged, they get the exact same due process as any other citizen.

[–] BussyGyatt@feddit.org 113 points 2 days ago (2 children)

also, cops are immune to prosecution, so the court of public opinion is like, all they have

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 46 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The ruling in Harlow v Fitzgerald was actually illegal according to the full text of the law as written and passed. SCOTUS was given an illegally amended copy of the law.

http://web.archive.org/web/20230520080201/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/15/us/politics/qualified-immunity-supreme-court.html

Qualified Immunity is illegal.

[–] BussyGyatt@feddit.org 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

no that can't be true, obviously a just and honorable institution like the supreme court would have caught a mistake in the time since and corrected it. are you trying to besmirch the supreme court's honor? you know theyre the SUPREME court, right? how dare you

[–] Archer@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago
[–] zeppo@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They're not completely immune. If the action is egregious enough or unpopular enough with the public (which seems to be what they're complaining about), police can be convicted of crimes. Derek Chauvin, for example.

[–] cucumberbob@programming.dev 2 points 1 day ago

It took me way too long to realise it’s the immunity that’s qualified, not the officer.

[–] duckCityComplex@lemmy.world 46 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Also ironic since in this case the President and Secretary of Homeland Security immediately came out stating that the victim was a domestic terrorist and tried to murder the ICE agent with her car before any investigation was conducted, and both of which turned out to be false.

[–] egrets@lemmy.world 27 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Also ironic because they executed her on the spot by shooting her in the face.

[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 days ago

Yeah, I feel like that's a rather large thing to have overlooked. How the fuck do you release a statement saying citizens have a presumption of innocence when the guy literally judged and executed a citizen on the spot?

[–] Mist101@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

~~exact same due process as any other citizen~~ treated like an innocent person and are often moved districts for a fresh start FTFY

[–] zeppo@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

In the "we're going to investigate ourselves" phase, yes, of course. However sometimes police are charged with crimes for their actions. Clearly far, far less often then anyone else would be prosecuted in court for the same crimes.

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 5 points 2 days ago

When its public enough and visible enough that it can't be avoided, sure.

And then once things die down, they get pardons, or a win on appeal by a friendly judge, whatever, and back on the street in anither district. From DUIs to manslaughter and more, and fully reinstated. Some aren't as lucky and just end up with a suspended sentence and probation.

The number who actually go to prison for their crimes is miniscule.

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I’m curious about the due process of getting shot in the face…

[–] stylusmobilus@aussie.zone 1 points 22 hours ago

If you live there you’ll find out first hand soon enough, I guess.

But yeah it’s a valid question.

[–] axexrx@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There are also two glaring problematic assertions with that part that imo should bear removal of those involved in this statement from law enforcement:

'Citizens are afforded.... ' categorically false. All people in the USA are afforded due process, regardless of citizenship.

Becoming a politician does not lessen ones right to free speech. The very fact they have the balls to make this statement about their bosses (the state and local governments) shows an inherent insubordinatio and lack of respect for the structure from which they derive their authority: the states laws and governance.

Fire these fucks, and threaten a Regan style retaliation against any cops striking or protesting their dismissal (ie any cop protesting or striking over the decision is bamned from seeking LE employment in the state, for life)

[–] zeppo@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Good point that per the constitution, it’s everyone, not just citizens. I had a discussion with a deluded conservative coworker about that recently and he couldn’t accept that’s what the constitution says.

I agree that it’s really inappropriate for them to be making these claims and discussing politics at all. Not surprising as the police union has been a problem in general for decades.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 4 points 2 days ago

But people say mean things about them online :(