Cops who respect the law need to take control of cop culture: Norm Stamper

[eridani]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/norm-stamper/police-brutality-deal-wit_b_173427.html

Apart from the question of why in the world they'd do it with today's omnipresent cameras rolling, why do certain cops resort to excessive force?

Schene claims he was assaulted (the girl maintains that she was not aiming for the deputy when she flipped off the shoe). He claims the sneaker caused him "bruising, bleeding, and pain" as well as a "blood filled pocket," though it's hard to imagine that statement passing as truth. Schene's injury appears to have been caused by his self-propelled collision with the cell's shin-high stainless steel commode--caught clearly on the tape. The deputy will no doubt assert he used only that amount of force necessary to overcome the girl's physical aggression. It doesn't take a trained observer to see he's wrong.

So, how do we prevent this kind of behavior in the future?

Please don't say through (1) more thorough screening of law enforcement candidates, or (2) better training. They're both important, of course. Critical, in fact. But law enforcement, for the most part, doesn't pick bad apples. It makes them, and not through academy training.

Forty-three years ago I was an idealistic, vaguely liberal 21-year-old when the San Diego Police Department hired me. The last thing on my mind was taking to the streets to punish people. And lest there be any doubt about the department's policy, the police academy, even then, drove it home: excessive force was grounds for termination.

So, why did I abuse the very people I'd been hired to serve?

Not to get too psychological, I did it because the power of my position went straight to my head; because other cops I'd come to admire did it; and because I thought I could get away with it. Which I did--until a principled prosecutor slapped me upside the head and demanded to know whether the U.S. Constitution meant anything to me.

It comes down to this: real cops, those with a conscience, those who honor the law, must step up and take control of the cop culture.

[tavalon]

1. Many who were at WTO in Seattle credit Norm Stamper

for keeping it in better control than it might otherwise have been. He has, over the years, been transformed by the left into a bit of a hero.

[eridani]

2. He's very active in Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Way easier to do if you are retired, of course.

[Tesha]

3. Stamper spoke at the ACLU Biennial two years ago -- I was very impressed.

He shared the stage with, among others, Rick Steves!
Who knew Rick was so cool ;) ?

Tesha

[paulsby]

4. sorry, but stamper is a putz

i was in WTO (as a cop), and stamper simply screwed the pooch on that big time. mayor paul "i am not a wuss" schell didn't help, either.

i have a friend who used to work for stamper back before he went to seattle, and he was reviled there, too.

he is a cop-o-crat, and a buck passer.

incompetence is incompetence, and he exudes it.

just because he makes some good points, those points are still coming from an incompetent putz