I find it ironic that they are complaining about the results of their mistreatment of the public. They caused this, now they have to deal with the outcome.

Respect and trust are earned, If you want it back, start earning it back.

We, the local cops they have seen and contacted in the past, have not changed. We have done nothing different.

The big change in the cops is the use of cars for patrols, which isolate them from the people, and reliance on radio to summons other cops to their assistance, rather than a whistle to summon the local populace to their assistance. They have become a reactive force, rather than a proactive force, and have isolated themselves from the people that they are meant to serve.

The mainstream media did botch the whole Ferguson incident and the public did overreact to it.

I think much of the problem is that the public focuses on the wrong issues. The mainstream media is partly to blame for this. Most cops are good and the Ferguson incident isn’t really an example of something worthy of the attention it received. It’s example of the public directing their anger at cops for something that happened that doesn’t deserve that much anger.

OTOH, when it comes to other cases, there is the perception that cops often get away with more than what a normal citizen would be allowed to. When doing something wrong they have often escaped the same punishments that a citizen would receive had they done the same thing. The system is partly to blame for that perception (though in recent years the situation does appear to be improving slightly, often due to public pressure on police departments to ensure that police are reprimanded). Often times judges punish cops less, perhaps because it’s a first offense. This is not always the case. There are incidents where cops with a history of misconduct are allowed to continue and they perform more acts of misconduct.

I think the biggest issue is an issue of trust. Cops have a long reputation of sticking together when it comes to telling their story even if what they’re saying is a lie (and yes, this does make every cop involved guilty though it could be the case that a cop that doesn’t go along will be blackballed by the other cops and the police department may later somehow find bogus reasons to release the cop from the department). The public doesn’t trust their trustworthiness and, often times, for good reason. When trust breaks down everything begins to go wrong (for everyone) and everything becomes a game of hearsay. I think one potential solution is to require cops to hold more of the burden of proving their case. They should carry cameras around and record incidents themselves and the uncut footage should (non-selectively) be released to the public.

“Deputy Matt” might do well to educate himself on the subject of history, particularly the revolutions and violent citizen uprisings all over the world that were instigated by heavy-handed policing. One such example was the Boston Massacre, which took place right in this deputy’s own country, before it was a country, and helped make it a country.

“it’s because — generally-speaking — police officers aren’t worthy of the public’s trust.”

I’m not a cop, but I’m guessing a significant number of encounters with the public end up going off without a hitch. Perhaps it’s traffic stops that end with a ticket, but no other incident. Maybe it’s a domestic call that ends peacefully. I don’t know the percentage, but I’d think it’s in the 90’s.

Most people, even those who have ‘earned’ an encounter with LEOs, can probably be trusted to handle the situation without violence.

Still, every officer is trained to handle every situation with great care, because those 5% (+ or -) who do react negatively can have a huge impact on the safety of the officer or the public.

That’s the same lesson we all have to learn. Most officers are out there doing a good job. Generally speaking, they deserve our trust. BUT, the bad apples are bad enough that we still have to be careful in every interaction.

I understand how that can be frustrating for ‘Deputy Matt.’ Maybe he and his department are truly the noble good guys, and his good name is being dragged through the mud through no fault of his own. What else is he to do besides all the right things? We don’t know enough about him to say that he has to rebuild the public’s trust.

Again: every LEO encounter should come with some level of caution and skepticism, from BOTH parties. That’s hardly enough to say for certain that this particular Deputy is worthy of scorn, and that most officers are corrupt, as this post (and the comments) strongly suggests.

I think officer Matt is right when he says that cops have not changed, the people have.

Do what a cop tells you and you will be fine. Question his authority and you may be in trouble. I grew up being told to say yes sir no sir if talking to a cop. Today, it is different. Some wench jumps in a cops face screaming, time to get pepper sprayed or worse. Funny, today, people think that they have rights, when they should just go along, do what the cops tell them.

A cop tells kids to quite blocking traffic and get out of the street. If they do as asked, no one gets shot.

Seems to me this about much more than Ferguson. You have touched on such a wide range of concerns there is no way such a short op-ed could address them.
First, Ferguson a finely crafted false narrative from the start by community activists for the public. NOT a case of police brutality or over reach.
Second, DOJ ramped up the situation and made quite sure that police were mad the “enemy” after their “loving” donations of equipment to departments all over the country of gear and tech.
Thirdly, every officer I have spoken to tells me that the normal dress uniform with belt weighs near 40lbs, in changing to tactical gear they lose all that bulk and now the governments save not just in having happier, healthier officers who function better but they aren’t having the hip, back and knee issues either.
Funny no one ever addresses this issue, where’s the media?
The one thing I will say is the longer it is hyped BOTH sides will be nervous and on a hair trigger. However, police officers receive training, the general public do not.