this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2025
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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.

♦ ♦ ♦

ALLIES

!abolition@slrpnk.net

!acab@lemmygrad.ml

r/ACAB

r/BadCopNoDonut/

Randy Balko

The Civil Rights Lawyer

The Honest Courtesan

Identity Project

MirandaWarning.org

♦ ♦ ♦

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

♦ ♦ ♦

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

 

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[–] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 points 45 minutes ago

I don't have any context for this so that speech just sounded bizarre tbh.

[–] whalebiologist@lemmy.world 10 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Thanks for posting about this I never learned all of the details that came out after the incident happened. I will remember my enemies have no mercy for even the gentlest souls and try to become harder.

[–] meowmeowbeanz@sh.itjust.works 148 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The image only shows a portion of his last words, complete audio transcript from the police body cameras:

"I can't breathe. I have my ID right here. My name is Elijah McClain. That's my house. I was just going home. I'm an introvert. I'm just different. That's all. I'm so sorry. I have no gun. I don't do that stuff. I don't do any fighting. Why are you attacking me? I don't even kill flies! I don't eat meat! But I don't judge people, I don't judge people who do eat meat. Forgive me. All I was trying to do was become better. I will do it. I will do anything. Sacrifice my identity, I'll do it. You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful and I love you. Try to forgive me. I'm a mood Gemini. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Ow, that really hurt! You are all very strong. Teamwork makes the dream work."

After he was forced to vomit, he added: "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to do that. I just can't breathe correctly."

These words paint an even more heartbreaking picture of his gentle nature - apologizing for being sick while being restrained, expressing love even in his final moments, and maintaining his compassion until the end. The body camera footage preserves his complete final statement, showing his remarkable character even in such a traumatic situation.

[–] uis@lemm.ee 5 points 7 hours ago

Did Americans kill Fluttershy?

[–] theangryseal@lemmy.world 29 points 21 hours ago

This is just heartbreaking. It hurts me when someone gets killed and it turns out they weren’t exactly A+ material, but I grew up around people like that and experienced the world that made them firsthand so I empathize with them.

This dude though, this just crushes me.

[–] nick@midwest.social 20 points 20 hours ago

Jesus fucking Christ. Heartbreaking, I wish i never learned this.

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 176 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

The paramedics injected him with Ketamine. I'm a paramedic. I initially felt that the crew had done what they were supposed to do, but after the details came out in court, it is clear to me that they neglected important duties as healthcare providers. They should be (and were) held accountable, and the fact that the whole damn system of cops being able to request Ketamine didn't get its legs blown off after this is a miscarriage of justice.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 31 points 1 day ago (2 children)

As a Brit, hearing the disgusting way American law enforcement treats people is genuinely something I would only expect of 3rd world countries.

[–] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 13 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

From a 3rd world country and visited several others. We are not savages.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 1 points 16 hours ago

Well yeah I wouldn't even expect it in every 3rd world country.

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I once heard a German call the US their favorite third world country, and that has never left me.

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 15 hours ago

The richest undeveloped country in the world.

[–] amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone 84 points 1 day ago (2 children)

this is simply an extension of how y'all treat Neuro divergent people in hospitals and psych wards. I assume the fact that it happened in the open made people outraged compared to when it happens behind closed doors

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 39 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I'm neurodivergent, too. I know what you're talking about. I've seen how people get treated in hospitals and psych wards. I've seen some really nasty behavior from other paramedics. We're sadly not a bunch of paladins; we've got a lot of washed up cop wannabes in our ranks for starters. There's a lot to unpack here, and it's deserving of criticism, but I don't think I agree that's what happened to Elijah.

[–] amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 1 day ago (1 children)

obviously the main factor was cops and paramedics being racist against Black people but Black Neurodivergent people have way higher murder rates.

I don't wish my initial comment to be interpreted wrong, people were rightly furious that a Black man was lynched.

I disagree with your initial statement that the lynchers were brought to justice as 2 of them escaped conviction

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm specifically referring to the paramedics here. As I recall, they were both convicted. Are you talking about the cops, or the non-medical firefighters that were also present?

[–] amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

both of them got probation which is just a sick joke. if it were a Black man killing cops or paramedics he probably would've gotten a life sentence, if he survived the encounter

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 7 points 1 day ago

Oh, crap, I thought they got jail time

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[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 7 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

What does ketamine even do?

[–] CptEnder@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago

Basically just spaces you out and roots you in place. It can be fun at home, not with murderous cops.

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 5 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Idk, tbh, probably something to do with magnets.

Edit: I thought this was a further down comment chain asking for pharmacokinetics details, which I haven't bothered learning for Ketamine as it's not relevant to me yet. Ketamine is a sedative drug, so it's used to basically zonk people out.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Ahh thanks. I'd heard of it before Elon, but never really knew what it was used for.

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

It used to be known as "the horse tranquilizer".

Basically the fastest acting knock-out thing we have. If you've ever been in a procedure that they put you like slightly under for, just an hour or two, complete knockout, for like a orthopedic surgery or something.

The recreational way is to do less of it than that, so you actually recall something. It's a dissociative. What some pscyhonauts chase is "the K-hole" meaning a state where your light of consciousness is still on, you're sort of awake, but your brain doesn't even know what existing means or what a person is.

That kind of use isn't what people generally do at parties, they just half zonk out and look like they don't know what the fuck is going on.

Like Musk, very clearly. He's teetering on the edge of still being on this plane in some of those images from the inauguration.

I can't find the gif I mean but holy fuck he was blazed at the inauguration.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago

I know exactly the gif you're talking about lol

[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

How often is ketamine used? Isn't there other better alternatives? I'm curious since from what I understand, K holing is really not enjoyable and it seems like quite an extreme sedative, almost bordering on torture. How often do paramedics use it over a year?

Just in case my tone comes off as accusatory, I'm genuinely curious. Thank you for doing such a tough job, I know it isn't easy.

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Well, it's come into much more wide usage over the last five years as a non-opioid alternative for pain management and non-benzo sedative. For stuff like burns, I understand that it's much more effective than opiates for pain management. As for how extreme it is, I suspect that that's dose dependent. I've never administered it, as my service doesn't carry it. Generally, EMS Medical Directors are overly conservative (imo) and usually won't put stuff that's SUPER dangerous out in the field, so I'd be pretty surprised if that were the case here. That is, we absolutely carry stuff that can kill you if we fuck up, but it's usually stuff where it would have to be a pretty significant fuck up (as these guys did here), not "whoops I got the dose wrong by 0.001 mg"

[–] cobwoms@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 23 hours ago (1 children)
[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 16 points 22 hours ago
[–] blindbunny@lemmy.ml 45 points 1 day ago (2 children)

How was he injected with ketamine?

[–] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 92 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Syringe by paramedic, urged by police who didn’t like that he was struggling against an illegal search.

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 65 points 1 day ago

Illegal searches tend to include violent restraint as well, because cops love to call someone that falls over when shoved 'resisting arrest'.

[–] midnight_puker@sh.itjust.works 24 points 1 day ago (8 children)

Damn, paramedics are pigs too?

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (9 children)

Unfortunately, the police complex is coopting a lot of stuff it has no business coopting.

I've had cops (and firefighters, for that matter) help me control aggressive patients until we could get them restrained or medicated so I didn't get my ass beat. I've taken over from cops when they determine that it's a medical call rather than a legal concern. Chemically sedating people for the cops, though? That should have never been happening, and IIRC it was official FD policy in Aurora.

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[–] amino@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 day ago

all the paramedics that don't wear respirators for COVID are cops

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[–] Album@lemmy.ca 25 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Paramedics came and gave him more then a therapeutic dose to sedate him.

[–] tgm@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Why was he sedated with ketamine? Surely, there are better options?

[–] uberdroog@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I don't think, "Dont harass innocent people." is on the list.

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[–] psyklax@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 day ago

I remember Elijah.

[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Why did he say, "Try to forgive me. I'm sorry."?

Edit: Why downvote an honest question?

[–] HappyFrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 29 points 1 day ago

Because he was panicking as he was being murdered.

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