Cops are awesome people!!

[Binger]

You should stick to eating Spotted Dick, chappy. This reading and writing thing seems to be above your pay grade.

51-0

51 is the number of posts Binger has littered throughout the forum just today, so far.

0 is the number is substantive posts therein.

Wooo hoooooo! Woooooooooooo HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Get yourself some Spotted Dick! Chappy loves it, and so will you.

[Res Ipsa]

Speaking of cops, Seattle’s new Mayor and notorious white supremacist and anti-Black racist Bruce Harrell wants more cops on the streets after the city council’s progressive and enlightened action to DTP in response to the 2020 riots.

The Seattle Times reports that the City Council voted 9-0 unanimously to lay off about 100 officers as proposals to cut police-command pay and to prevent the clearing of homeless encampments are also advancing in the local legislature.

Bucking against Black Lives Matters, the veritable Grand Dragon of the Pacific Northwest’s KKK explained to a shocked public that hiring more pigs and frothing-at-the-mouths bootlickers who can’t wait to start killing black people (and white women!) again is simply a step to restore law and order.

Yeah, right.

https://nypost.com/2022/02/16/seattles- ... ing-crime/

Seattle’s police funding has shrunk by about $46 million over the last two years — and the department experienced a mass exodus of cops in the wake of the “Defund SPD” movement.

…

Shootings surged 40 percent in 2021 compared to the year prior, while arson spiked 40 percent and larceny-theft increased 15 percent.

Those shootings and arsons were clearly done by the 3%’ers, Proud Boys, Trump-supporting federal pigs, and lone wolf MAGAts trying to make the council look stupid. Oh, Seattle. When will you stop being racist, classist, sexist, and transphobic and give these underserved and oppressed victims of capitalism free apartments, free medical care, free counseling, and a stipend? Shame on you for this.

Solidarity!

- Doc

The NY Post may not be the best source for Seattle information. There’s some important context to the SPD and race issues. The SPD was sued by the Justice Department a decade ago for racist police practices. They’ve been operating subject to a consent decree since 2012. It’s still in effect today because the department hasn’t managed to fulfill the terms of the decree.

The 2020 violence, mostly incited by white anarchistic d-bags and exacerbated by Proud Boy d-bags, got ugly. And violent responses by law enforcement didn’t help. When it all wound down, instead of everybody taking a deep breath and addressing problems, the powers that be wigged out. The SPD had already been losing officers before 2020, so they were short-handed to begin with. The council went all knee jerk “defund the police” without ever thinking through what that meant.

Despite what the council tried to do, not a single officer was laid off. They forgot about silly little details like Union contracts and the content decree, which had requirements for levels of policing. They forgot that layoffs would be in order of seniority, which meant that the More recent, racially diverse officers would be cut first. Then they decided to tell the SPD to lay off “bad apples” first, which couldn’t actually be done. So, by being stupid and strident, all the council did was piss off the SPD. The chief quit, and so did a bunch of officers. The mayor tried to negotiate but was ineffective. The SPD got generally sulky, and, predictably, the criminals learned they could get away with more crime.

Meanwhile, the skyrocketing cost of housing combined with gentrification of the entire downtown area has massively increased a homelessness problem that was already bad to begin with. The council and the SPD fought bitterly over the unit that periodically cleared out the camps. It was disbanded, but the council and the former mayor couldn’t get it together enough to actually address the problem.

Meanwhile, the areas around Seattle that have continued to grow needed more officers and figured out it was cheaper to poach trained officers from Seattle than hire rookies, so they began throwing sign up money aimed at the SPD.

So, a double or maybe a triple whammy. The pandemic has hurt tourism, which has hurt downtown businesses. The SPD lost some more anti-vax officers (which is fine in my opinion) on top of everything else.

The new mayor (and I hope the council) understands that we need more officers. The SPD is hiring. But there are still hurt feelings all around that will require the City to wave some more cash around to get staffed back up to pre 2020 levels. I hope the powers that be can get their acts back together. It’s a nice city, if you like cities.

[K Graham]

The NY Post may not be the best source for Seattle information. There’s some important context to the SPD and race issues. The SPD was sued by the Justice Department a decade ago for racist police practices. They’ve been operating subject to a consent decree since 2012. It’s still in effect today because the department hasn’t managed to fulfill the terms of the decree.

The 2020 violence, mostly incited by white anarchistic d-bags and exacerbated by Proud Boy d-bags, got ugly. And violent responses by law enforcement didn’t help. When it all wound down, instead of everybody taking a deep breath and addressing problems, the powers that be wigged out. The SPD had already been losing officers before 2020, so they were short-handed to begin with. The council went all knee jerk “defund the police” without ever thinking through what that meant.

Despite what the council tried to do, not a single officer was laid off. They forgot about silly little details like Union contracts and the content decree, which had requirements for levels of policing. They forgot that layoffs would be in order of seniority, which meant that the More recent, racially diverse officers would be cut first. Then they decided to tell the SPD to lay off “bad apples” first, which couldn’t actually be done. So, by being stupid and strident, all the council did was piss off the SPD. The chief quit, and so did a bunch of officers. The mayor tried to negotiate but was ineffective. The SPD got generally sulky, and, predictably, the criminals learned they could get away with more crime.

Meanwhile, the skyrocketing cost of housing combined with gentrification of the entire downtown area has massively increased a homelessness problem that was already bad to begin with. The council and the SPD fought bitterly over the unit that periodically cleared out the camps. It was disbanded, but the council and the former mayor couldn’t get it together enough to actually address the problem.

Meanwhile, the areas around Seattle that have continued to grow needed more officers and figured out it was cheaper to poach trained officers from Seattle than hire rookies, so they began throwing sign up money aimed at the SPD.

So, a double or maybe a triple whammy. The pandemic has hurt tourism, which has hurt downtown businesses. The SPD lost some more anti-vax officers (which is fine in my opinion) on top of everything else.

The new mayor (and I hope the council) understands that we need more officers. The SPD is hiring. But there are still hurt feelings all around that will require the City to wave some more cash around to get staffed back up to pre 2020 levels. I hope the powers that be can get their acts back together. It’s a nice city, if you like cities.

That's a ton of informative context there Res, much appreciated.

[Binger]

The NY Post may not be the best source for Seattle information. There’s some important context to the SPD and race issues. The SPD was sued by the Justice Department a decade ago for racist police practices. They’ve been operating subject to a consent decree since 2012. It’s still in effect today because the department hasn’t managed to fulfill the terms of the decree.

The 2020 violence, mostly incited by white anarchistic d-bags and exacerbated by Proud Boy d-bags, got ugly. And violent responses by law enforcement didn’t help. When it all wound down, instead of everybody taking a deep breath and addressing problems, the powers that be wigged out. The SPD had already been losing officers before 2020, so they were short-handed to begin with. The council went all knee jerk “defund the police” without ever thinking through what that meant.

Despite what the council tried to do, not a single officer was laid off. They forgot about silly little details like Union contracts and the content decree, which had requirements for levels of policing. They forgot that layoffs would be in order of seniority, which meant that the More recent, racially diverse officers would be cut first. Then they decided to tell the SPD to lay off “bad apples” first, which couldn’t actually be done. So, by being stupid and strident, all the council did was piss off the SPD. The chief quit, and so did a bunch of officers. The mayor tried to negotiate but was ineffective. The SPD got generally sulky, and, predictably, the criminals learned they could get away with more crime.

Meanwhile, the skyrocketing cost of housing combined with gentrification of the entire downtown area has massively increased a homelessness problem that was already bad to begin with. The council and the SPD fought bitterly over the unit that periodically cleared out the camps. It was disbanded, but the council and the former mayor couldn’t get it together enough to actually address the problem.

Meanwhile, the areas around Seattle that have continued to grow needed more officers and figured out it was cheaper to poach trained officers from Seattle than hire rookies, so they began throwing sign up money aimed at the SPD.

So, a double or maybe a triple whammy. The pandemic has hurt tourism, which has hurt downtown businesses. The SPD lost some more anti-vax officers (which is fine in my opinion) on top of everything else.

The new mayor (and I hope the council) understands that we need more officers. The SPD is hiring. But there are still hurt feelings all around that will require the City to wave some more cash around to get staffed back up to pre 2020 levels. I hope the powers that be can get their acts back together. It’s a nice city, if you like cities.

There is a glaring omission in this, which is the effects, both real and perceived, of having the East Precinct overrun in 2020. Maybe it was no big deal, maybe it was a big deal. Maybe it was a form of de-escalation, maybe it was just plain ass stupid. No question that it led to a lot of chaos, and people died. I have a hard time believing that this happened solely because of Proud Boys. And like it or not, cops were correct to assume that the city council and many of the citizens did not have their backs, and that moving to the suburbs or Boise was a better move for their family.

Cops have families. They have kids. They have lives. It is likely that they could not afford to live in Seattle on a cop's income, so, if they could live outside of Seattle, take the signing bonus, reduce risk and eliminate the commute - they should. Seattle PD is probably struggling to get good cops to come to their department and put up with some BS. And, the stench and sting, real or not, of what happened in 2020 will linger for a long time.

[Moksha]

Sometimes cops can overstep their boundaries. Proof on video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RW8PFJTJJY&t=61s

[K Graham]

UPDATE: The past 24 hrs in this episode of "Cops are Awesome."

Another Sioux Falls police officer arrested on child porn charges

Published: Feb. 17, 2022 at 10:34 AM EST|Updated: 3 hours ago
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - For the second time this month, a Sioux Falls police officer has been arrested on child pornography charges.

Matthew Alan Jock was booked Wednesday on five counts of possession, distribution, or manufacturing of child pornography, court records show. The charges are out of Lincoln County.

Omaha Police officer arrested, facing federal child porn charge

Published: Feb. 16, 2022 at 4:05 PM EST|Updated: 20 hours ago
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Omaha Police reported Wednesday that an officer had been arrested on a federal charge of transportation of child pornography.

Police Chief Jon Thum, Mayor Paul TenHaken say they are troubled after 2 officers arrested on child porn charges

Former Pacolet police officer arrested and charged

Retired Cop, 53 faces charges of sex with a minor

West Palm Beach police officer arrested for battery, accused of breaking 65-year-old man's nose
Report: Officer Nicholas Lordi punched victim up to 11 times, jammed knee into man's head.

White Cop Arrested for Alleged Excessive Force Against Black Man

Civil Rights Leaders Rip New Jersey Cops Who Brutally Arrested Black Teen, Not White Teen, In Mall Fight Captured On Video

Allegations involving explicit video of teen boy has local police department under investigation

[Res Ipsa]

There is a glaring omission in this, which is the effects, both real and perceived, of having the East Precinct overrun in 2020. Maybe it was no big deal, maybe it was a big deal. Maybe it was a form of de-escalation, maybe it was just plain ass stupid. No question that it led to a lot of chaos, and people died. I have a hard time believing that this happened solely because of Proud Boys. And like it or not, cops were correct to assume that the city council and many of the citizens did not have their backs, and that moving to the suburbs or Boise was a better move for their family.

Cops have families. They have kids. They have lives. It is likely that they could not afford to live in Seattle on a cop's income, so, if they could live outside of Seattle, take the signing bonus, reduce risk and eliminate the commute - they should. Seattle PD is probably struggling to get good cops to come to their department and put up with some B.S.. And, the stench and sting, real or not, of what happened in 2020 will linger for a long time.

I have some very strong opinions on this issue, so if I sound riled up, it isn't directed specifically at you.

The East Precinct was not "overrun." The fact that you chose to use that term perfectly symbolizes everything wrong with the propaganda machine that right-wing media has chosen to become. It took a year and a formal investigation to determine exactly what happened, and this is a pretty good account: https://www.kuow.org/stories/we-know-White House ... er-finally.

For completely understandable reasons, the SPD created a tinderbox that was on the verge of killing and injuring citizens who weren't engaging in violence or destruction of property. By blocking the streets, it created a bottleneck that resulted in crowds that the SPD was not able to control using standard methods of crowd control. Instead of understanding what it had done, the SPD created an "Alamo," then chose defending the Alamo as the hill to die on. Luckily, a person with authority within the SPD recognized the barricaded precinct had become a hill that innocent people were going to die on, and chose to de-escalate the situation rather than triple down on defending the Alamo. It was exactly the right thing to do, placing public safety ahead of defending a building.

That left Seattle with what should have been a problem to solve, which, given the opportunity, could have been done. Instead, Trump and the right-wing media seized on what happened and inflamed what should have been treated as a problem to solve into an ideological war. They absolutely made the situation here worse by inflaming the right and pissing off the left. They treated Andy what's his name as some kind of truth teller instead of the actual lying POS that he is. That is the actual "stench and sting" of 2020 -- the political opportunism of Donald Trump and the right-wing propaganda machine that, in reality, don't give a flying anything about Seattle. So, to put it politely as I can, piss off with your moral lecture about what went on here.

The SPD and the police union did themselves no favors by making false and misleading statements to the public. Or by unnecessary use of force that led to a federal court injunction that they then violated and were held in contempt of court. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/ ... -clean.pdf. Or by engaging in this kind of juvenile crap: https://www.knkx.org/law/2022-01-05/sea ... tion-finds (taunting protesters by faking an attack threat from the Proud Boys).

Here's a news flash, Binger. Everyone has families, kids and lives. Even the idiot anarchists who break windows and set fires. The police are the ones who sign up to serve and protect. And that's not serve and protect themselves. That's serve and protect the public. And I support them in doing that job. And that starts with paying them more, training them better, and providing them with support such as mental health services, etc. to help them do a very difficult job. But I also expect them not to lie to me and not to pull juvenile pranks out of spite. I expect them to get rid of their bad apples, not cover for them. And, unlike the people who give lip service to "backing the blue" right up until it's time to pay their taxes, I am willing to pay for what I expect. Anyone can fly a flag or wear a t-shirt. I'll put my money where my mouth is.

So, in as kind a way as I am able, piss off and take care of your own problems instead of making ours worse.

[Binger]

I have some very strong opinions on this issue, so if I sound riled up, it isn't directed specifically at you.

The East Precinct was not "overrun." The fact that you chose to use that term perfectly symbolizes everything wrong with the propaganda machine that right-wing media has chosen to become. It took a year and a formal investigation to determine exactly what happened, and this is a pretty good account: https://www.kuow.org/stories/we-know-White House ... er-finally.

For completely understandable reasons, the SPD created a tinderbox that was on the verge of killing and injuring citizens who weren't engaging in violence or destruction of property. By blocking the streets, it created a bottleneck that resulted in crowds that the SPD was not able to control using standard methods of crowd control. Instead of understanding what it had done, the SPD created an "Alamo," then chose defending the Alamo as the hill to die on. Luckily, a person with authority within the SPD recognized the barricaded precinct had become a hill that innocent people were going to die on, and chose to de-escalate the situation rather than triple down on defending the Alamo. It was exactly the right thing to do, placing public safety ahead of defending a building.

That left Seattle with what should have been a problem to solve, which, given the opportunity, could have been done. Instead, Trump and the right-wing media seized on what happened and inflamed what should have been treated as a problem to solve into an ideological war. They absolutely made the situation here worse by inflaming the right and pissing off the left. They treated Andy what's his name as some kind of truth teller instead of the actual lying POS that he is. That is the actual "stench and sting" of 2020 -- the political opportunism of Donald Trump and the right-wing propaganda machine that, in reality, don't give a flying anything about Seattle. So, to put it politely as I can, piss off with your moral lecture about what went on here.

The SPD and the police union did themselves no favors by making false and misleading statements to the public. Or by unnecessary use of force that led to a federal court injunction that they then violated and were held in contempt of court. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/ ... -clean.pdf. Or by engaging in this kind of juvenile crap: https://www.knkx.org/law/2022-01-05/sea ... tion-finds (taunting protesters by faking an attack threat from the Proud Boys).

Here's a news flash, Binger. Everyone has families, kids and lives. Even the idiot anarchists who break windows and set fires. The police are the ones who sign up to serve and protect. And that's not serve and protect themselves. That's serve and protect the public. And I support them in doing that job. And that starts with paying them more, training them better, and providing them with support such as mental health services, etc. to help them do a very difficult job. But I also expect them not to lie to me and not to pull juvenile pranks out of spite. I expect them to get rid of their bad apples, not cover for them. And, unlike the people who give lip service to "backing the blue" right up until it's time to pay their taxes, I am willing to pay for what I expect. Anyone can fly a flag or wear a t-shirt. I'll put my money where my mouth is.

So, in as kind a way as I am able, piss off and take care of your own problems instead of making ours worse.

Right on, my friend. Carry on.

Sounds like a big ol' mess that came from messes and left more messes.

ETA. Ya know. I left some room for all of this with my inclusion of "real or perceived." At no point ever, have I thought I had all the facts of everything that went down in Seattle.

[Res Ipsa]

I have some very strong opinions on this issue, so if I sound riled up, it isn't directed specifically at you.

The East Precinct was not "overrun." The fact that you chose to use that term perfectly symbolizes everything wrong with the propaganda machine that right-wing media has chosen to become. It took a year and a formal investigation to determine exactly what happened, and this is a pretty good account: https://www.kuow.org/stories/we-know-White House ... er-finally.

For completely understandable reasons, the SPD created a tinderbox that was on the verge of killing and injuring citizens who weren't engaging in violence or destruction of property. By blocking the streets, it created a bottleneck that resulted in crowds that the SPD was not able to control using standard methods of crowd control. Instead of understanding what it had done, the SPD created an "Alamo," then chose defending the Alamo as the hill to die on. Luckily, a person with authority within the SPD recognized the barricaded precinct had become a hill that innocent people were going to die on, and chose to de-escalate the situation rather than triple down on defending the Alamo. It was exactly the right thing to do, placing public safety ahead of defending a building.

That left Seattle with what should have been a problem to solve, which, given the opportunity, could have been done. Instead, Trump and the right-wing media seized on what happened and inflamed what should have been treated as a problem to solve into an ideological war. They absolutely made the situation here worse by inflaming the right and pissing off the left. They treated Andy what's his name as some kind of truth teller instead of the actual lying POS that he is. That is the actual "stench and sting" of 2020 -- the political opportunism of Donald Trump and the right-wing propaganda machine that, in reality, don't give a flying anything about Seattle. So, to put it politely as I can, piss off with your moral lecture about what went on here.

The SPD and the police union did themselves no favors by making false and misleading statements to the public. Or by unnecessary use of force that led to a federal court injunction that they then violated and were held in contempt of court. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/ ... -clean.pdf. Or by engaging in this kind of juvenile crap: https://www.knkx.org/law/2022-01-05/sea ... tion-finds (taunting protesters by faking an attack threat from the Proud Boys).

Here's a news flash, Binger. Everyone has families, kids and lives. Even the idiot anarchists who break windows and set fires. The police are the ones who sign up to serve and protect. And that's not serve and protect themselves. That's serve and protect the public. And I support them in doing that job. And that starts with paying them more, training them better, and providing them with support such as mental health services, etc. to help them do a very difficult job. But I also expect them not to lie to me and not to pull juvenile pranks out of spite. I expect them to get rid of their bad apples, not cover for them. And, unlike the people who give lip service to "backing the blue" right up until it's time to pay their taxes, I am willing to pay for what I expect. Anyone can fly a flag or wear a t-shirt. I'll put my money where my mouth is.

So, in as kind a way as I am able, piss off and take care of your own problems instead of making ours worse.

Right on, my friend. Carry on.

Sounds like a big ol' mess that came from messes and left more messes.

ETA. Ya know. I left some room for all of this with my inclusion of "real or perceived." At no point ever, have I thought I had all the facts of everything that went down in Seattle.

I noted that, which is why I was careful to qualify that my rant wasn't aimed at you personally. From my perspective, the perception is the problem and there are folks making bank by actively creating misperception to rile folks up.

[Binger]

Right on, my friend. Carry on.

Sounds like a big ol' mess that came from messes and left more messes.

ETA. Ya know. I left some room for all of this with my inclusion of "real or perceived." At no point ever, have I thought I had all the facts of everything that went down in Seattle.

I noted that, which is why I was careful to qualify that my rant wasn't aimed at you personally. From my perspective, the perception is the problem and there are folks making bank by actively creating misperception to rile folks up.

Not ironically, there are more people just making craps and giggles from trafficking information than there are people making bank. Both may be nefarious.