It's way higher than it should be because social media has changed so much. Every time a police officer is perceived of doing something wrong it hits BGP in a matter of hours or days. It doesn't matter if the police officer actually did anything wrong, most of the initial comments condemn them without any proof other than a statement from someone they don't even know. Look no further than the thread about Daniele Watts and her boyfriend.

 

I posted some statistics a while back from a website that appears to be dedicated to exposing police misconduct. Even their statistics support the statements that 99% of police do their jobs correctly. I found the numbers on another website. Here they are...

 

In 2010 there were 705,009 sworn police officers in the United States.

 

According to the CATO Institute's "National Police Misconduct Reporting Page" in 2010, there were 4,861 unique reports of police misconduct. According to the same page, 6,613 police officers were accused of misconduct in 2010. Keep in mind this is officers that were ACCUSED. This isn't proven cases of police misconduct.

 

So with 705,009 police officers and 6,613 officers accused, that is .0938% of police officers accused of misconduct.

 

FWIW, 1,575 of the officers accused of misconduct were accused of excessive force. So 0.223 % of police according to this report were accused of excessive force.

 

These numbers aren't 100% accurate as I'm sure they don't have all allegations, but they also don't narrow it down for us to actual cases of police misconduct or excessive force, so in the end it might even itself out.

 

I don't think I've ever said that I think the majority of LE are dirty, or even close to that number. If I have, or if I've said something that might cause someone to assume that's what I mean, I apologize. I certainly don't think that's the case. I do, however, think that there are more bad cops than some might want to believe.

 

I understand that it we will never have 100% good cops (or any profession for that matter), there's just no way to tell how people will react in certain situations. I think the issue that makes police incidents so much more visible is that we as a society look to police to help protect us, rather than harm us. We look to L.E. to be of a higher standard, and to uphold our laws. When one of those people does something negative, it gets blown up because of the standard we hold police to. I am more than grateful for the job police officers do, but at the same time, I expect them to hold themselves to a higher standard than a civilian. So yes, I do think it's a bigger deal when something negative happens with a cop.

 

Just my two cents.

I don't think I've ever said that I think the majority of LE are dirty, or even close to that number. If I have, or if I've said something that might cause someone to assume that's what I mean, I apologize. I certainly don't think that's the case. I do, however, think that there are more bad cops than some might want to believe.

 

I understand that it we will never have 100% good cops (or any profession for that matter), there's just no way to tell how people will react in certain situations. I think the issue that makes police incidents so much more visible is that we as a society look to police to help protect us, rather than harm us. We look to L.E. to be of a higher standard, and to uphold our laws. When one of those people does something negative, it gets blown up because of the standard we hold police to. I am more than grateful for the job police officers do, but at the same time, I expect them to hold themselves to a higher standard than a civilian. So yes, I do think it's a bigger deal when something negative happens with a cop.

 

Just my two cents.

 

I don't think I accused you of saying that.

 

The problem with it blowing up is that there are far too many people who want to judge without having really any facts what so ever. Police are definitely and should be held to a higher standard. I also think the overwhelming majority of police do things the right way. But the ones who do something wrong (or even something that is perceived as wrong) are the ones who get all the attention.

I don't think I accused you of saying that.

The problem with it blowing up is that there are far too many people who want to judge without having really any facts what so ever. Police are definitely and should be held to a higher standard. I also think the overwhelming majority of police do things the right way. But the ones who do something wrong (or even something that is perceived as wrong) are the ones who get all the attention.

 

To the bolded, you didn't... I was just saying.

 

And to the rest, I think that is just life in general. Far too often the negative stories get more publicity than any positive ones. That's not just isolated to police incidents. As wrong as it is, that's just the way things are unfortunately.

To the bolded, you didn't... I was just saying.

 

And to the rest, I think that is just life in general. Far too often the negative stories get more publicity than any positive ones. That's not just isolated to police incidents. As wrong as it is, that's just the way things are unfortunately.

 

I agree that life in general focuses on negative things. I think it's a little magnified with police considering there are websites dedicated to reporting alleged misconduct. Not that I have a problem with that. I think bad police who do something wrong should be exposed, fired, sued and/or arrested.

Same with Teachers as well, we only hear negative stories.

 

People hate on Police and Teachers in very similar ways.

Same with Teachers as well, we only hear negative stories.

 

People hate on Police and Teachers in very similar ways.

 

People hate on people in very similar ways. :lol2:

But wasn't the one report from the folks the Brown family lawyers hired?

 

I thought I read somewhere that guys "credentials" are little to none?

Very interesting article from The Washington Post.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-evidence-supports-officers-account-of-shooting-in-ferguson/2014/10/22/cf38c7b4-5964-11e4-bd61-346aee66ba29_story.html

 

Experts told the newspaper that Brown was first shot at close range and may have been reaching for Wilson’s weapon while the officer was still in his vehicle and Brown was standing at the driver’s side window. The autopsy found material “consistent with products that are discharged from the barrel of a firearm” in a wound on Brown’s thumb, the autopsy says.

 

Benjamin L. Crump, an attorney for the Brown family, said Brown’s family and supporters will not be convinced by the autopsy report or eyewitness statements that back Wilson’s account of the incident.

 

“The family has not believed anything the police or this medical examiner has said,” Crump said. “They have their witnesses. We have seven witnesses that we know about that say the opposite.”

 

Seven or eight African American eyewitnesses have provided testimony consistent with Wilson’s account, but none have spoken publicly out of fear for their safety, The Post’s sources said.

 

The source also told the newspaper that Wilson told jurors he was trapped in the front seat and could not use his pepper spray to subdue Brown because the officer would have also incapacitated himself. His baton was also out of reach, at the back of his utility belt, pinned between his body and the seat. He also did not have a stun gun, so he drew his gun, the Post-Dispatch reported.

 

In interviews with The Post, sources said blood spatter evidence shows that Brown was heading toward the officer during their faceoff, but analysis of the evidence did not reveal how fast Brown was moving.

 

Those are some parts of the article that I had not seen anywhere else.

Does anyone think Brown would have killed the cop or just beat him up really bad?

I know we will never know but.

There's still no explanation as to how or why he ended up on the ground so far away from the vehicle...

Sad story all the way around, and it appears that people seeing misconduct and law breaking here may have been crying wolf.... If people want to make changes in the world and protest, and point fingers, that is a good thing but just wait for a Just cause. Again I say that in passing my final judgement will be when this is all settled.

I thought I read somewhere that guys "credentials" are little to none?

 

I think he was the ME for NYC and has worked on several high profile cases. I've never heard anything that would suggest he doesn't have high credentials. In a case like this it would not be the smart thing to do for the Brown family to have hired someone who isn't acknowledged as very capable.

There's still no explanation as to how or why he ended up on the ground so far away from the vehicle...

 

Maybe that's where he finally collapsed.

Maybe that's where he finally collapsed.

 

Right... But what happened between the supposed encounter at the vehicle to him ending up so far away? That's what I'm looking for.

Right... But what happened between the supposed encounter at the vehicle to him ending up so far away? That's what I'm looking for.

 

IDK but if someone is shooting me, I'm going to try to run away from them. If I'm fatally wounded, I'm only going to get so far.