BTW, when he refers to cops not doing anything to save a person’s life, I don’t think he’s talking about crime victims or other innocent people in this rant. He is probably talking about cops not doing anything to save the life of a criminal they’ve just shot or beat up. Not saying that that’s okay, just trying to get a better understanding of what he’s trying to convey. Not sure how this would end up in more overtime, as they would have to go to court even if the person didn’t die (might have to spend more time in court if the suspect didn’t die and they have to proceed with a criminal case against the suspect).[/quote]
Oh that’s just horseshit… Anyone that’s ever lived in LA like I have know that cops have the persona of being bullies. Serve and protect my ass. And his rant about apathy of a cop when someone dies. Totally accurate. I recall when a friend was in high school and was involved in an accident…Cop was on seen and didn’t do shit… And before you go off and say you be glad cops exist, because you never know when you might need them…. That’s a bunch of crap too.
When someone broke into (walked into our offices) and stole a bunch of stuff (making it beyond petty theft) it too 3+ hours for a cop to show up to take a 15 minute report, of which we handed over a security tape showing the perp, the phone numbers he called from one of the stolen cell phones i traced, a rough pin-point of where he lived, his street name. This case was almost a slam dunk case… What happened? Absolutely nothing…Probably too busy writing a bunch of stupid parking/speeding tickets…and charging overtime…
It doesn’t justify this guy’s homicidal rampage, but still, serve and protect.. Um… sure….[/quote]
I’m quite sure he was referring to “not doing anything” WRT helping criminals, not victims of crimes or accidents. In the case of an accident, the paramedics would be en route right behind the cops, and they’re the ones who have advanced paramedic training (most cops just have basic first aid training, most of them are not even EMTs). The cops could easily make things worse, so it makes sense for them to wait for the paramedics. Besides, I know of many stories where cops did indeed provide medical aid on scene. In one case, the cop unknowingly exposed himself to AIDS and hepatitis (the patient did not at all look like the “type” to have these diseases, so he took his chances).
Anyway, not here to defend all cops because I have my own issues with them, especially when they abuse innocent protestors (why no outrage from you when they did this?), or when they behave abusively toward innocent people in the regular course of their business. I was born and raised in L.A., and had a number of friends and acquaintances who worked for the LAPD. Some were exceptionally good people who had a lot of integrity and joined for all the “right” reasons. Others were more power-hungry (IMHO) and tended to be jerks. It’s an extremely stressful job, especially in high-crime cities with a lot of racial/demographic tensions (more stress than you could ever experience in your job), and it tends to do things to people, IMHO. They see things and deal with situations that you will never experience in your entire life. Not trying to justify it, just saying that it’s hard to judge from this side of the fence. You need to understand what they’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis.
As for your office theft, I’ve had something similar happen to me in L.A. (credit card number theft) and knew exactly who did it, etc. LAPD also did absolutely nothing, and gave me the impression that I was bothering them with trivial B.S. when I reported it. You’re right about them needing to change how they handle crimes. They need to devote more resources to solving these crimes instead of passing out tickets and harassing peaceful protestors (always plenty of cops available for that!).
Also agree that the cops scare me every bit as much as a lot of the criminals out there…which is why I so strongly support the Second Amendment and the right of people to own semi-automatic guns and “assault rifles.”
