THE POLICE PROBLEM
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
① Real-life decorum is expected. Please don't say things only a child or a jackass would say in person.
② If you're here to support the police, you're trolling. Please exercise your right to remain silent.
③ Saying ~~cops~~ ANYONE should be killed lowers the IQ in any conversation. They're about killing people; we're not.
④ 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
• r/ACAB
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INFO
• A demonstrator's guide to understanding riot munitions
• Cops aren't supposed to be smart
• 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
• When the police knock on your door
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ORGANIZATIONS
• NAACP
• National Police Accountability Project
• Vera: Ending Mass Incarceration
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I don't have one either, i think a lot of what's been going on already is part of the solution. Showing up when they show up, vocally disagreeing with their actions, attending protests might all help. Clearly it hasn't been enough, but i expect that unorganized armed resistance will lead to many more bodies while it might not lead to a meaningful change in power. Perhaps some on the side of ICE, but never enough for Trump & co to just give up power. If you're willing to do lethal violence at least be smart about it. There is a reason ice chooses to do razzias in large numbers instead of spreading out across a neighborhood. I don't want to condone or promote violence, but i guess killing them in their sleep when there's no-one filming you would be the better option. Also, and i don't like saying this, the guy that got killed brought a gun and yet he still died.
I entirely agree that organization will be a big part of the resistance, and also that bloodshed must be avoided whenever possible.
But peaceful protests no matter what doesn't work as we see.
Americans will do good to learn from the black panthers. Armed men escorting ICE, protecting gatherings like protests and creating alternative power structures so they don't depend on the government as much as possible.
This might work better, but probably only as long as the group of armed men is equal in size as the group of ICE agents. Autocrats don't like their power limited, they might want to crush these protectors hard.
I don't want to curb your enthusiasm, because not resisting will not bring you anything either; but if you look at a place like Hong Kong, Russia or recently Iran, it becomes obvious the people in power tend to be very willing to pay a high price to stay in power.
Of course they don't, the hope here is that fascists are cowards and they will just leave ICE when they know they can get shot.
Going to war and harassing civilians are very different things.
Exactly, hopefully with organisation the American people can change the game entirely, but unfortunately I think it will get worse before it gets better.
Yea so do i.
If that turns out true that'd be great, but i don't expect it will unfortunately. I don't mean to insult you, but i consider that quite a naive pov.
The idea is not mine, during WW2 the Nazi cowered several times when the tide was not in their favour. Including abandoning Auschwitz against orders when the red army approached.
The same can be seen with bullies. When you push back, they give quite easily.
Of course these are not solid evidence, but they helps me sleep at night 😅
Francly I think it doesn't matter, cowards or not they must be resisted if we want to maintain freedom. I am not American so I am not involved in this particular fight, but there are plenty of fascists that would do the same in Europe given the opportunity.