6 Atlanta police officers charged after students pulled from car and shot with stun-guns

I don't know what to say. My mum brought us up to have trust in the police. If we were ever in trouble we were to go to a policeman and ask for help. We carried that respect and trust into adulthood.

Somewhere down the track I learned that trust cannot be blind. At some point I lost my innocence and I was angry that my childhood belief in the goodness of all people in authority was unreliable. Soldiers and police can descend into brutality, teachers and clergy can abuse children, bankers and financiers can cheat their clients.

I'm beginning to think that some of the rage of the young people who are taking to the streets right now, not just in the US but also in other countries in Europe and elsewhere, is a symptom of their disappointment in a system that is unjust and corrupted from top to bottom. This is hardly surprising when law enforcement can kill in plain sight and when mostly they are not held to account. Those of us who are older, who have learned to shrug and look away, must wake up and listen to the youngsters, even the angry and destructive ones, because they are right to be angry.
 
Warrigal said:
I don't know what to say. My mum brought us up to have trust in the police. If we were ever in trouble we were to go to a policeman and ask for help. We carried that respect and trust into adulthood.

Somewhere down the track I learned that trust cannot be blind. At some point I lost my innocence and I was angry that my childhood belief in the goodness of all people in authority was unreliable. Soldiers and police can descend into brutality, teachers and clergy can abuse children, bankers and financiers can cheat their clients.

I'm beginning to think that some of the rage of the young people who are taking to the streets right now, not just in the US but also in other countries in Europe and elsewhere, is a symptom of their disappointment in a system that is unjust and corrupted from top to bottom. This is hardly surprising when law enforcement can kill in plain sight and when mostly they are not held to account. Those of us who are older, who have learned to shrug and look away, must wake up and listen to the youngsters, even the angry and destructive ones, because they are right to be angry.
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You've captured my sentiment to a T. Well said, Warrigal.

There truly is a disconnect right now, and until that disconnect is addressed, anger, frustration, mistrust, disbelief, and a lack of overall respect will continue to bubble and brew in the people.
 

Aunt Marg said:
Two of the officers were fired Sunday after Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and police Chief Erika Shields determined they had used excessive force. The other four have been placed on administrative leave.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/worl...pulled-from-car/ar-BB14Vk2C?OCID=ansmsnnews11
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They would have likely been future Derek Chauvins in the making. And he other four will likely be, if they're not fired.
Chauvin had 18 or more complaints against him; he wasn't disciplined. That's what made him feel that he could get away with anything.
 
@Warrigal and @Aunt Marg my sister and I were told from young if we were in trouble to find a Policeman
I have carried that tenet with me through nearly 68 years but when I look and see what a little power can do I am horrified
Soldiers and Police can descend into brutality and Teachers and Clergy can abuse children and Bankers....don't get me started
The Medical Fraternity, Doctors, Nurses and Health Funds have a lot to answer for....corruption is seen everywhere
As Edmund Burke said "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"
We must all protest this horror which is undermining everything that has been accomplished to ease Racial Tension
all over the world but Peaceful Protests please because there has been enough violence already šŸ˜“
 
As a child, I was also wired to trust & respect police officers; most of us were. But with age, comes learning.
I remember this like it was yesterday.

At 19, my girlfriend & I had a picnic planned in a park. I went to the restroom. When I walked in, I saw a man on the floor, slumped against the wall next to a urinal. I thought, "He'll probably never get drunk again when he realizes he passed out on a dirty restroom floor."
After a few seconds, I realized how quiet it was & took a closer look & saw that he wasn't breathing; he was dead. And the brown swede jacket he was wearing was soaked in dried blood. And the zipper on the gym bag was partly open & there was a bunch of cash in it.
I ran out, told my girlfriend about it & we walked across the street to a gas station & called police. They told us to meet them at the park.

One cop went in the restroom & the other one stayed with us. The cop came out of the restroom & said, "Yeah, that's the 211."
He told us the guy tried to rob the liquor store a block away & the clerk shot him.

The cop asked me if I touched anything in the bathroom. I said, "Only the urinal handle to flush it."

The cop asked me, "Did you see the money in the bag?" I said, "Yes."

The cop asked me, "How much cash did you take?"

I answered, "None, sir. How much cash did YOU take?"

The cop asked me, "Why are you being a smart ass?"

I said, "Because you accused me of being a thief."

The cop says, "No, I didn't; I asked you if you touched the money."

I said, "No, you asked me how much cash I took. Don't you see the difference?"

He said "Pfffft" & walked away, mumbling something about "Long-Haired Freaks." The other cop took our names & addresses.

After I calmed down, I asked my date: "Where do they find such dickheads?"
 
Almost without exception my interactions with the police have been nothing to be concerned about. I have always encountered courtesy and a helpful attitude.

Except that one time when I escorted a young girl to our local police station to hand in the human skull that she had found in the trash outside an apartment where she lived. She was only 12 or 13 years old but intellectually was much younger.

She had brought it to school in a plastic bag and no-one had taken it seriously all day. I was her science teacher and she showed it to me during the last lesson of the day.

There was no doubting that the skull was human but how recent it might be was not something that I could judge. Against explicit orders from the principal I drove the girl to the cop shop to hand it in and tell them how it came into her possession. For that I was in big trouble with my boss but that is a different story.

We were taken upstairs to the detectives room and the girl began telling her story. One of the men was very good and understood her intellectual limitations but the other seemed to want to play the role of bad cop. He was held in check by the good cop but I sensed something dark in the encounter.

At that time I had no idea of the widespread corruption that infected the NSW police force but we now know that it reached all the way to the top and into the parliament itself.

If that was all possible in the past, why are we so hesitant to accept that it could happen today?
 
If anyone saw "Changeling," keep in mind, it was a true story. Los Angeles Police Department's corruption goes a long way back.
In 1928, a woman's son was kidnapped & the Los Angeles police wanted good publicity to counteract their corruption, so they found another child & tried to convince the woman that that was her missing child. When she wouldn't accept that, they declared her insane & had her committed to a mental hospital where she was drugged & tortured.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changeling_(film)
 
win231 said:
They would have likely been future Derek Chauvins in the making. And he other four will likely be, if they're not fired.
Chauvin had 18 or more complaints against him; he wasn't disciplined. That's what made him feel that he could get away with anything.
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A zero tolerance policy should apply. One strike - you're out.
 
Video here

6 Atlanta officers have been charged in violent tasing incident

A 22-year-old student was left with a fractured arm and needed 20 stitches from the encounter, according to his attorney.

Arrest warrants have been issued for six Atlanta police officers who were caught on video tasing two college students Saturday. The students were stopped for violating curfew, Georgiaā€™s Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. said Tuesday.

The officers stand accused of aggravated assault, illegally pointing a taser, and criminal damage to property, said prosecutors. Video of the brutal arrest went viral over the weekend, leading to the firing of two officers involved; three others were placed on desk duty.

ā€œThe conduct involved in this incident is not indicative of the way that we treat people in the city of Atlanta,ā€ Howard said in a news conference on Tuesday.
 
win231 said:
As a child, I was also wired to trust & respect police officers; most of us were. But with age, comes learning.
I remember this like it was yesterday.

At 19, my girlfriend & I had a picnic planned in a park. I went to the restroom. When I walked in, I saw a man on the floor, slumped against the wall next to a urinal. I thought, "He'll probably never get drunk again when he realizes he passed out on a dirty restroom floor."
After a few seconds, I realized how quiet it was & took a closer look & saw that he wasn't breathing; he was dead. And the brown swede jacket he was wearing was soaked in dried blood. And the zipper on the gym bag was partly open & there was a bunch of cash in it.
I ran out, told my girlfriend about it & we walked across the street to a gas station & called police. They told us to meet them at the park.

One cop went in the restroom & the other one stayed with us. The cop came out of the restroom & said, "Yeah, that's the 211."
He told us the guy tried to rob the liquor store a block away & the clerk shot him.

The cop asked me if I touched anything in the bathroom. I said, "Only the urinal handle to flush it."

The cop asked me, "Did you see the money in the bag?" I said, "Yes."

The cop asked me, "How much cash did you take?"

I answered, "None, sir. How much cash did YOU take?"

The cop asked me, "Why are you being a smart ass?"

I said, "Because you accused me of being a thief."

The cop says, "No, I didn't; I asked you if you touched the money."

I said, "No, you asked me how much cash I took. Don't you see the difference?"

He said "Pfffft" & walked away, mumbling something about "Long-Haired Freaks." The other cop took our names & addresses.

After I calmed down, I asked my date: "Where do they find such dickheads?"
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No small wonder why so many today choose to not get involved.
 
Never had many interactions with police (except for a few speeding citations). As far as I was concerned, they were just folks like myself, doing a job that, sadly, caused them to be in contact with people that the rest of us really had little interaction.

I was never a smart-ass and was probably better off for it. Some folks seem to have a life-time of problems no matter where they go or who they meet. Tells me that many among us have a lot of "built-in" problems that are too easily brought to the surface.

Talk to acquaintances or follow people's posts. A pattern develops, no matter what the subject. Maybe it's the "poor me' syndrome but don't take anyone else's word for it - - - just follow their conversations. Someone's always treating them badly?
 
It seems with every issue with police the reason the police got involved is the civilians were breaking the law. So I am just keeping things in perspective granted in some cases the police overreact but if you choose to break the law then the consequences may not be what you had hoped. The media never seems to explore that fact. George Floyd was passing counterfeit $20 bills. Did anyone ask how long he was doing that? How many did he pass? That money has to be paid by the businesses that he passed the fakes to. Did he have any fake 50's or hundred dollar bills? Of course he did not deserve his fate but stop cuddling the persons assaulted by the police ignoring the fact that they were performing criminal acts. Perhaps the first step in reducing police brutality is to stop breaking our laws.
 
fmdog44 said:
It seems with every issue with police the reason the police got involved is the civilians were breaking the law. So I am just keeping things in perspective granted in some cases the police overreact but if you choose to break the law then the consequences may not be what you had hoped. The media never seems to explore that fact. George Floyd was passing counterfeit $20 bills. Did anyone ask how long he was doing that? How many did he pass? That money has to be paid by the businesses that he passed the fakes to. Did he have any fake 50's or hundred dollar bills? Of course he did not deserve his fate but stop cuddling the persons assaulted by the police ignoring the fact that they were performing criminal acts. Perhaps the first step in reducing police brutality is to stop breaking our laws.
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Well said ... I agree !
 
Here are some interesting statistics from the FBI Crime Report dated April 29, 2019. I don't know if it is available on the internet or not, but if you care to check, be my guest. I was thinking this may give some people pause for thought and not meant to provoke the masses.

In 2019, there were just over 10,000,000 total arrests by all police departments in the United States. (The report does not state any demographics as to race or gender.)
Of those 10,000,000 the Police were involved in 1004 fatal shootings.
Of those 1004 fatal shootings, 41 involved unarmed people.
Of those 41 involved unarmed people, 19 white people were shot and killed by police.
Of those 41 involved unarmed people, 9 black people were shot and killed by police.
Also, 89 police officers were killed while in the line of duty. (Again, no demographics were given as to race or gender.)

The following are facts from a crime report of larger U.S. cities dated June 2, 2020. The following statements apply to Chicago only.

Going a step further and for comparative purposes only, on the weekend of 5/29 and 5/30 in Chicago, 82 people were shot and 19 were killed. This is in only two days in Chicago

The following weekend of Saturday and Sunday, 84 people were shot and 23 were killed in Chicago.
 
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Warrigal said:
I don't know what to say. My mum brought us up to have trust in the police. If we were ever in trouble we were to go to a policeman and ask for help. We carried that respect and trust into adulthood.

Somewhere down the track I learned that trust cannot be blind. At some point I lost my innocence and I was angry that my childhood belief in the goodness of all people in authority was unreliable. Soldiers and police can descend into brutality, teachers and clergy can abuse children, bankers and financiers can cheat their clients.

I'm beginning to think that some of the rage of the young people who are taking to the streets right now, not just in the US but also in other countries in Europe and elsewhere, is a symptom of their disappointment in a system that is unjust and corrupted from top to bottom. This is hardly surprising when law enforcement can kill in plain sight and when mostly they are not held to account. Those of us who are older, who have learned to shrug and look away, must wake up and listen to the youngsters, even the angry and destructive ones, because they are right to be angry.
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I am shocked that you, of all of the posters on this forum, would support rioting, looting, burning and now killing. You have no idea what these people are capable of, if let go unchecked.
 
911 said:
I am shocked that you, of all of the posters on this forum, would support rioting, looting, burning and now killing. You have no idea what these people are capable of, if let go unchecked.
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The frustration is understandable. Our legal system is already pathetic; even more so when it comes to criminal thug cops.
Besides, it's quite obvious that police officers support murder. We already have an idea of what cops are capable of, "if let go unchecked."
 
win231 said:
The frustration is understandable. Our legal system is already pathetic; even more so when it comes to criminal thug cops.
Besides, it's quite obvious that police officers support murder. We already have an idea of what cops are capable of, "if let go unchecked."
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I agree. All cops should resign immediately. The world would be a better and safer place.
 
fmdog44 said:
It seems with every issue with police the reason the police got involved is the civilians were breaking the law. So I am just keeping things in perspective granted in some cases the police overreact but if you choose to break the law then the consequences may not be what you had hoped. The media never seems to explore that fact. George Floyd was passing counterfeit $20 bills. Did anyone ask how long he was doing that? How many did he pass? That money has to be paid by the businesses that he passed the fakes to. Did he have any fake 50's or hundred dollar bills? Of course he did not deserve his fate but stop cuddling the persons assaulted by the police ignoring the fact that they were performing criminal acts. Perhaps the first step in reducing police brutality is to stop breaking our laws.
Click to expand...
No one is "breaking any law" until they are tried and convicted by a court of law. Until then, they are suspects. Police officers do not determine innocence or guilt; that's the court's job. And, I'm sure you know that police officers don't have the right to determine punishment, either. Pulling a handcuffed suspect out of their car & killing him is the act of a dirtbag psycho.
I have probably passed counterfeit cash. I'm not an expert & wouldn't be able to tell that it was counterfeit if it was a good reproduction. Anyone who is given change, then uses it to buy something else has probably passed counterfeit cash.
The only lawbreakers here are the criminal cops who committed murder.
 
JaniceM said:
"Yup.....the "All or Nothing" complex.
Frequently used in desperation."
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LOL... This what losers say when they have to cop out. (Oops! No pun intended.)
Once a cop hater,.... well, you all know the rest.
I'm outta here.
 

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