A Cop's Advice on Dealing with Cops (Slideshow)

[Eric Perez]

I wish police were less militant. In my perfect USA, the county sheriff and his deputies would be all that were needed. I think the problem of militant policing is pretty obviously a product of the "war on drugs." What we could do, in order to combat unnecessary violence, is pass legislation that makes sure video/audio recordings of police officers on duty are admissible as evidence during trial. In that same vein, there should be no "benefit of the doubt" given to police officers in use of force situations and they should not be shielded from scrutiny any more than the people that they are trying to police.

Youre talking about the war on drugs but taping police officers? it makes no sense

[Matt "Gumby" Glach]

Rather than taping police officers how about just institute a more rigorous and appropriate screening process for joining the force in the first place. I know a LOT of guys who graduated from the Criminal Justice Department of Univ of Maryland with me who were ushered right into local police departments, the FBI, the DOD, and even the CIA who I can tell you first hand are not qualified to enforce any laws nor are they intelligent enough to make the important decisions on the fly that law enforcement need to make. Not to mention they have broken countless laws that they are now being paid to enforce?? THAT in my opinion is one of the biggest problems with law enforcement right now. Yea they do background checks and drug tests and some departments do polygraph tests, but even after all that, extremely unqualified graduates are still being given these jobs merely because they have the appropriate degree. Let me tell you, earning a BA in Criminal Justice can be done by a stoned primate, trust me, I did it in 2 years after changing majors, and got virtually all As without any effort, at the best crim school in the nation, just because I'm good at memorizing. Do I remember ANY of what I "learned"? Nope. I remember the few details that I found pertinent to my life and that's it. Basically, I'm saying law enforcement should be a much more exclusive and much more coveted job, and that means higher salaries, and if that means higher taxes then so be it. You simply aren't going to get the cream of the crop with the current law enforcement salaries. That's one of the main reasons I chose to go to law school rather than join the force. I wanna make money!

[Don Quinn]

Sunlight is the best disinfectant. If the public is scrutinizing the police, they won't push their limits. Look at the notoriety that the Rodney King incident received. When the camera is rolling people are more likely to be restrained; which is the ultimate goal anyway. I want appropriate levels of force to be the norm and those levels need to be redefined. Half the time you see these types of discussions on a forum, a cop will comment that the level of force used was perfectly acceptable and he will cite policies. Yet watching the videos, I'm still appalled.

Another thing: if you are the subject of an officer's abuse of power you would have a nearly impossible time fighting any allegations that the officer makes. However, some bystander with a camera can save you.

Ryan, I completely agree with you, I encourage video and audio recording to be used, I did have both in my cruiser and the people that installed it seemed to have broken my modem so now I'm without however I have video of several pursuits and it is used as a good tool as well as training aid. It also helps me in court when people try to complain about use of force, I'll tell you right now I'm 5-7 and I weigh 180 and I have had 6-6 250 guys coming in saying i'm too rough on them, explain that? Also I agree with Matt that we do need stiffer guide lines because hiring is getting worse we get bottom of the barrell officers with no business on the job, but pay sucks, and you get what you pay for. I hate it that people have the negative look on law enforcement, but sometimes I do as well. I will just continue to try my best and do what I can and maybe one day things may get better.