I'm fairly Establishment and a taxpayer. In other words, I pay for, and expect, police protection. And as a voter, I have my voice in City Council in how I like to see a police department operated. For the most part, I think cops are normal people doing a dirty job for less than stellar pay. Even when I get caught screwing up, like a speeding violation, I can't complain. It IS what I pay them for.
Of course, you do run into a few badge-heavy swaggering Barny Fifes who think they're the Lone Ranger intent on saving the world from itself. They're a small minority and eventually they do end up getting what's coming to them.
But I was curious, so I looked it up on the USDOJ site. There are 653,500 police officers in the U.S. If only 1% of them are abusing their authority, and they exercise that abuse with 10 citizens a day, that amounts to well over 16 million people each year. Enough to populate 2 or 3 small states.
Get to Know a Cop Today - Comments
I'm fairly Establishment and a taxpayer. In other words, I pay for, and expect, police protection. And as a voter, I have my voice in City Council in how I like to see a police department operated. For the most part, I think cops are normal people doing a dirty job for less than stellar pay. Even when I get caught screwing up, like a speeding violation, I can't complain. It IS what I pay them for.
Of course, you do run into a few badge-heavy swaggering Barny Fifes who think they're the Lone Ranger intent on saving the world from itself. They're a small minority and eventually they do end up getting what's coming to them.
But I was curious, so I looked it up on the USDOJ site. There are 653,500 police officers in the U.S. If only 1% of them are abusing their authority, and they exercise that abuse with 10 citizens a day, that amounts to well over 16 million people each year. Enough to populate 2 or 3 small states.
Posted by: Mike from Dallas | April 13, 2007 1:43 PM
Read the article that everyone's commenting on, or post a comment about it.