Holding the cops to a higher standard isn’t ignoring the fact that they are in a different situation, it’s because of it.

Out of a cannon. Into the sun.

He also dosn’t know what “dude” means. It is a wester US term for someone from the east how vactions on a Ranch. Or a man who is overly concerned about his cloths and appearance (Badge and uniform comment). Not a cowboy who works on one.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dude

By mistakes do you mean a group of Henderson police beating an epileptic on the side of the road after they pulled him over and detained him? Yeah, I can see how that can happen.

Tonight’s the night that we got the truck
We’re goin’ downtown gonna beat up drunks
Your turn to drive I’ll bring the beer
It’s the late, late shift no one to fear
And ride, ride how we ride
We ride, lowride

It’s roundup time where the good whores meet
Gonna drag one screaming off the street

I agree with the comments…youtube got him fired, not the system. The system waited 2 years…why? What other evidence came forward? In the meantime, Baltimore had to pay to keep this idiot employed until they could fire him. Sad.

Yup … I heard it too. He threatened to kill the kid.

And yes, this is a public official and so everything he does while on duty should be public knowledge (barring any covert operations, of course).

I disagree with almost everything you have said.

“They have a soul-sucking job.”

Saying the job is hard does not excuse police abuses of power. That’s like saying because the president’s job is hard it’s OK if he bombs Chicago every now and then. It’s exactly BECAUSE of the job they have, that they need to be held to a higher standard of accountability.

“It is easy for cops to become cynical because 90%, the people they are dealing with are lying sacks of crap.”

I completely disagree with your disdain for the general public. THE PEOPLE THE POLICE ARE DEALING WITH ARE US, THE PUBLIC! Yes, some of the people of this country are part of what might be considered the criminal underbelly, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near 90%. Yes, officers do need to stay safe and protect themselves from people that might do them harm, but part of the reason those people have negative, possibly even violent reactions to their interactions with the police, is because they have learned through experience that the police only ever hurt them. Perhaps if the police weren’t such bullies, even those kinds of people would be more willing to interact peacefully, even positively, with the officers who have sworn to protect them.

“If some punk has a camera in their face, they don’t know if someone is creeping up behind them. … When a cop is try to figure out what is going on, if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”

So… because you are being recorded, you can’t turn your head? Sorry, but I fail to see how being recorded impacts one’s ability to maintain awareness of their surroundings, regardless of the distances involved. As I mentioned before, officers do need to take precautions to stay safe, but they must also be held accountable to the will of the public AT ALL TIMES, even at times when their use of physical force is necessary and justified. The people who record these images and relay them to the public are always part of the solution.

“The idea cops should be held to a “higher standard” ignores the fact they are in a different situation. … Most cops lose their temper way less than you or I would in their situation.”

As I said before, the difficulty of the job does not excuse abuse. While I can understand that the stresses of the job can get to even the best of officers at times, (they’re not machines after all) we can’t just say it’s OK if a really good officer puts a little boy in a choke hold every once in a while. We simply need to look at individual situations on a case by case basis, and make our determination from there. The people who record the police, are helping us with this task.

I have to disagree with all your points…

I don’t like slapping that bitch at home around. It’s just that after a hard day and all the stress when you get home and dinner’s not on the table and she’s yapping about this or that you’ve got to do something… otherwise you just don’t feel like enough of a man.

First, this is an incredibly insightful and well-written comment. I don’t agree with all of it, but that’s unimportant: thanks for writing it.

Second, I’m sorry for your loss. I wish it weren’t so.

Third, while you might be right that “…it does feel like all we are the ‘bad’ officers…” it’s worth keeping in mind that we’re only seeing a small fraction of ANY officers, because, so far, video recording isn’t ubiquitous. So if we see 2 videos of cops behaving badly and 3 of them being professional, we have no way to know whether these tiny samples are representative of the whole.

Fourth, one thing we do know, though, is that police often react very badly to it. VERY badly. Connecticut was finally forced to pass legislation at the state level making it possible for citizens to take action — because apparently memo after memo after memo reminding police that they are PUBLIC servants wasn’t working. Personally, I think any police officer who rejects public video recording should be fired on the spot. No hearing, no appeal: just instant, permanent dismissal from the force. If they can’t serve the PUBLIC in PUBLIC, then they’re unfit for duty.

Fifth, my own interactions with police have been cordial for the most part (including the time I pulled myself over for speeding and waited for the officer, who was laughing as he walked up to the car) but I’ve also had the experience of being bullied and screamed at by a bloated fat pig of a cop who nearly hit me (he was speeding and blew a stop sign) and decided to blame me for his lousy driving skills. Unfortunately: no video, it was a long time ago. But I’m ALWAYS respectful, cooperative and do my best to make sure they know I’m not a threat — e.g., I never make any sudden moves or anything like that.

Sixth, but…I’m white and professional. Were I black and poor, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d been beaten, tortured with a taser, had drugs planted in my car, charged with resisting arrest, or some combination of the above by now. It happens every day, and we all know it. And THAT is why a lot of us are learning not to trust the police: WE READ. And every day there’s another incident where some cop lost her cool or where one reacted violently or where a group of them responded to a minor kerfluffle with massive force and provoked an incident where none need happen. (See: “pepper spray of seated, peaceful students” — and by the way, THAT pig should be tied down and have pepper spray forced at high pressure into every orifice in his body.)

Seventh, we also all know that cops never turn on their own. So therefore we also know that if seven are standing around while two beat one of us, than there will be nine cops testifying that we threw the first punch. They LIE. They protect each other over truth, over justice, over professionalism, over SERVING THE PUBLIC. They’ll cover up murder if they have to (and they do). Until this changes, and this change can only come from cops themselves, we can’t trust them, which brings me to:

Eighth, there should be mandatory always-on video recording of police officers. It should all be posted to the ‘net at end-of-shift. And supervisors should be reviewing it, using it for training, screening, etc. We NEED the police, but we need them to live up that motto stenciled on the sides of their cars: we need them to be professional even when under duress, even when it’s a bad day, even when they’re provoked. We need to reward the good ones who do all this — pay them better, fund their retirement, take care of them when injured, etc. — and we need to weed out the bad ones who can’t handle it. And police need this too — because their best allies are the citizenry. A lot of that citizenry won’t call them, won’t talk to them, won’t help them because they’re so alienated. That needs to be fixed, but the only way that’ll happen is if police demonstrate — by action, not by word — that they’ll stand up for citizens, even against their own if that’s what’s right.

“filming police is one of the few ways to prove abuse of police power.”

but … but … but … PRIVACY!!

He’s probably a wife beater as well…

so, you ignore the kids skating where they shouldn’t be, they could run into a child or a mother holding a baby and ignore the kids constant disrespect to the PO, and yes, calling a PO man and dude is disrespectful,
but that doesn’t bother you freeloading criminals one bit

I agree for the most part. However, I would argue that police are not necessary components of an advanced society. The conflict occurs when laws are enacted and enforced WITHOUT the consent of the citizenry. If we had the ability to create laws that we like, and do away with the ones that we don’t, more people would agree with the laws, and less people would break them. Of course there will always be folks that want to do harm to others, but I feel a far more effective method of staying safe is to stay armed, and to know how to defend yourself. For example, there’s this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia

Basically, a group of women was violently attacked and raped over a 14 hour period. One of them was able to get to a phone at some point, and called 911. TWICE. The police showed up, did nothing, and left the women to continue being raped and beaten by their attackers. If they had been armed, it might have turned out differently. This example serves to demonstrate that just because you have police in a society, does not mean it is going to be a safe society. On the other hand, for those of us (such as myself) who are ready, willing, and able to defend themselves and their families, police are completely and utterly unnecessary for protection.

Roid rage on one side, inability to pronounce “officer” on the other.

Hey Officer Ravioli, You Mad DUDE!!!!

FUCK YEAH!!!!

troll harder

It’s about fucking time that asshole was canned. Took them long enough…

Its punk-ass cops like this jerk who give good honest cops a bad name. So sad to see a grown man get tough on a 14 year old boy. … Okay, everyone has bad days but police officers are held to a higher standard and rightfully ought to be so.

That kid (and his friends) may have had a fairly good-to-neutral opinion about cops before this incident. More likely they had that rebellious anti-authoritarian teenage rebellious phase that EVERYONE goes through, and they would have eventually grown out of it. Now it can be pretty much guaranteed that he (and his friends) hates cops, and will continue to hate them even after they outgrow the phase.

Cops are responsible for creating criminals.

Sure the cop is a jerk. But while cops are probably busy right now in some inner city neighborhood beating or otherwise flagrantly violating the rights of the poor and vulnerable, it hardly seems worth getting worked up over a skateboarder getting pushed. Getting outraged over this is an insult to Rodney king.

I cannot believe the responses to this article.. honestly most of you have little to no idea the shit a police officer has to deal with daily. I get frustrated and angry over things, my job is not nearly as stressful or dangerous. The kid was obviously being a punk and his friends knew it too you can hear them telling him to stop. It’s easy to assume the police officer is abusing his power because he is in a position of power, maybe the force was unnecessary but worthy of him losing his job? Personally I probably would’ve snapped myself.

I think there are plenty of police officers out there that are significantly worse than this guy. Police officers are often disrespected and are authority figures so I think calling him dude isn’t the most intelligent route. I prefer to give the police the benefit of the doubt.. we do not know what was said before the video was started as well.

He shouldn’t of been fired until he learned not to use his police position for bullying. He was right as far as this child talking back to him. But not to throw him on the ground. He was out of line but so was the child. Alot of kids these days are out of line and it’s not always the parents fault either. Society has parents working sometimes 2 and 3 jobs to make ends meet and that leaves the kids roaming the streets and getting into trouble.I have more to say but I don’t want ppl thinking I tooting my horn to make myself look like a hero, but there are more things I could talk about.

“I think there are plenty of police officers out there that are significantly worse than this guy”

Agreed, sadly most of them still have their jobs. That’s what makes this case stand out – the system actually worked, and pulled a bad cop out of the line of duty.

If cops can’t handle the pressure, they shouldn’t be cops. Period. And really, if he can’t handle pressure from a 14-year-old (and I didn’t see the 14 year old being anything other than a normal 14 year old), would he be able to cope with a *real* criminal?

While you’re correct in that we don’t know the whole story – that cop could have a whole string of earlier offenses and this was the straw that broke the camels back – this behavior on it’s own is completely unacceptable from a police officer, and appropriately resulted in the loss of his badge.

The sad part is that it took two years AND this video to get rid of him! Without this vid, he’d still be abusing his badge to bully children.

I had a close relative who spent 20 years in law enforcement. It made him a very bitter person who eventually could not see the good in anyone. His perception was tainted by daily encounters with the worst of the worst and ,unfortunately, he started to extend this view to average citizens if he felt they somehow didn’t “look right” or “act right”. His definitions for these things were vague and inconsistently applied so it was hard to talk to him about anything without it getting a bit ugly.

As many people in this situation might do, alcohol became his primary coping mechanism. The only thing that allowed him to lighten his views was a medical situation that forced him onto desk duty for the rest of his career. Only then did he begin to start to see the good in people again but it was very slow in returning. However, by then many of the personal and family relationships he once had were casualties of his prevailing attitude of negativity.

None of this is an excuse for inappropriate behavior on the job. I really don’t like it when law enforcement over steps boundaries just to prove that they are “in charge”. A true professional knows how to asses situations accordingly and pick battles appropriately. But The hot heads will always want to dominate any situation, which is what angers the public. So much of the full on physical apprehension encounters don’t need to continue after it is crystal clear to everyone that the suspect is NOT resisting in any form.

Its just playing catch up without calling it that. Dragging a suspect along the ground, kicking them, dislocating their shoulder because they didn’t use the word “Sir” – I’ve seen it all. If you have personal issues or have a perpetual chip on the shoulder then seek help. No one in society benefits from a law enforcement representative with an inferiority complex or anger issues. Get help or get off the street.

If the police are meant to be perfect and never get it wrong then all police need to quite thier jobs and become doctors and scientists. We’d have the answers to everything…

what a fat ass cunt.

Unfortunately, it didn’t. They skirted around it by “dealing with it internally”. In layman’s terms, that means “making it go away quietly without holding anyone responsible”.

He should have been charged with assault, harassment, threatening behaviour, intimidation, causing a public nuisance. The thug should be in prison.

Nice to know he won’t be out there bothering any other innocent kids, but still not justice, unfortunately.

This piece of shit must never again carry a badge, a weapon, or operate a motorized vehicle on a public roadway.

This cop should have been put in jail. For the ones who recommended anything less should not have a job either. This is a disgusting display of abuse on many levels!

10 percent wow, thats 10 innocent people out of 100. i think u are the soul sucker!!!

2016 in Chico California police were arresting a student for having a license plate light out. Another girl was filming the take down. The police department said it’s legal to film them, but somehow the manner of filming the arrest got the person filming arrested too.