Do white/black Police officers receive different fire arm training?

[s phi s]

Having said all that, I WILL say that the court system is a whole different discussion. Some of the stuff that folks keep putting in the lap of police (like the number of blacks in prison) isn't a function of the police. Once the report is taken and/or the person is arrested, the police are done with it. It's up to lawyers, judges, and juries. The average beat cop doesn't set the sentence for possession of crack cocaine. Further, the average beat cop has little discretion to turn a blind eye when they find said crack cocaine, based on agency, city, or county policies. So blaming the cops for the "war on drugs" is like blaming the clerk at the Apple Store for the deficiencies of iOS 8.0. Barking up the wrong tree.

 

[JAG89]

In my experience, I haven't HAD to, because I have not run across an officer who treats people differently because of their race. I know some officers who are sticklers and hard-asses, but they are tough on anybody, regardless of color. They police whites just as hard as they do blacks and hispanics. And these are both black and white officers. The most I find myself having to do is translate slang. I have never, in my experience, personally seen a situation that would warrant me having to step in and explain perception. Hell, I've run across more Hispanics that hate the police than other races COMBINED. Maybe it's just the area and agency that I'm with (*shrug*) and/or the people I work with.

However, when these situations arise that make national headlines, there are discussions about them amongst officers. In my experiences, officers call a spade a spade, and dislike crooked officers just as much as the public does. Just like I always say, those guys make the job that much harder for the ones that do it with integrity. Unfortunately I don't have a direct line to every officer out there, and I can't (and won't try to) speak for every officer and/or agency out there. I am blessed to work for a diverse agency who does it the right way.

BTW, I also live and work in the same community that I serve. IMO, it has its advantage, but for every advantage, I can come up with an equally strong disadvantage. I know where you are going with that, and there is something to be said for having a vested interest in a community, but there are other factors to consider that doesn't always make it the best idea.

The point I continually make that keeps getting twisted and misconstrued is really very simple. Every encounter with police that goes bad is not the fault of a crooked cop. I am simply tired of people trying everything they can to place blame on law enforcement for tragedies that could have (and would have) been avoided if not for the criminal behavior that INITIATED the contact between person and police. Does that mean the police are automatically justified in any action they take? HELL NO. I'm just saying, for better or worse, the police don't get called just to say hi and shoot the shat. The police get called when people can't handle a problem or situation on their own.

Just like the other thread (which, coincidentally, many of you folks won't touch) from the chase in Houston. Mofo ran for at least 15 minutes at 100mph from the police, crashed into 3 people (1 pretty severely), gets out of the car, reaches back into the car, and is killed by the police....Black guy, and what appeared to be white cops. And you guessed it, the next day on the news, mother is questioning why the police shot an unarmed man, instead of staying in their cars and "running demands".....With all that is going on, we are quick to deflect from our own criminal actions to blame someone. All I'm saying is that wrong is wrong, PERIOD. It has no color, it has no profession, none of that. WRONG is WRONG.

Is that enough of an answer?

Having said all that, I WILL say that the court system is a whole different discussion. Some of the stuff that folks keep putting in the lap of police (like the number of blacks in prison) isn't a function of the police. Once the report is taken and/or the person is arrested, the police are done with it. It's up to lawyers, judges, and juries. The average beat cop doesn't set the sentence for possession of crack cocaine. Further, the average beat cop has little discretion to turn a blind eye when they find said crack cocaine, based on agency, city, or county policies. So blaming the cops for the "war on drugs" is like blaming the clerk at the Apple Store for the deficiencies of iOS 8.0. Barking up the wrong tree.

Your two posts are very contradictive and prove that you are scared to say anything on your job. In your first post you said your co-workers are fair with everyone, but in your second post you said that the police are not the blame for arresting people with unfair drug laws. Basically, you are saying that you are so institutionalized that you would rather disregard the unfair laws in order to maintain your job. If that’s the case, you are right. One can’t blame the ignorance of those (police officers) that are giving bad orders to follow. Instead of using an Apple store clerk for an example, a better example would be a slave master and his indentured servant, where the uneducated indentured servant (police officers) is made to stay in the hot fields to watch over the slaves as they are forced to work, basically modern day slavery. In order to fix the problem on the police side of the equation, the individuals that are following bad orders would need to be retrained or replaced so that they don’t continue those same unfair practices. Also, if you go back and read my previous posts, I’ve always said it was the Reagan/Bush Administration War on Drug policy that has created this mindset in law enforcement agencies that most Black people are drug dealers/criminals. The system of racially unfairness is on all levels. I guess you see yourself as that police officer that is cleaning up the streets, which is similar to what the Black cop in the picture below was doing in the movie, “Boyz In the Hood”. It seems like Hollywood do get some things right.

 

[s phi s]

Umm.....what? I don't see myself as cleaning up anything. Where the hell did you get any of what you just said from. I am ONE person who does the best that I can to do a job that many people (likely including you) are too scared to do, yet want to sit back and criticize on a daily basis. You don't know ISHT about me, my mindset, and what I have done beyond what you have incorrectly assumed based on what I have typed on this forum. So if that's what you think, who am I to argue with you.....after all, you DO pay my salary. Anything short of me saying "Yes, police are trained to seek out and hunt down black people with no regard for anything else" will be met with more statements calling me an indentured servant. You got it dude.

 

[96lioness]

That may be true, but those same stats don't always tell a complete story, only the end result. Granted, there are some high profile cases of questionable shootings by police. And granted, everyone is raised differently. Since I have been in this profession, I have seen a LOT. I have been in some shoot/don't shoot situations. I have watched people BE shot by the police. I have seen people shoot AT the police. I have watched people shoot themselves rather than deal with the police. None of those were white. ALL of them had committed crimes BEFORE even interacting with officers. I'm not saying this shat doesn't happen. I'm just saying let's be honest. A number of "our" (and "their", for that matter) interactions with the police start with our own actions. And that, as you stated, starts with the way a person is raised. Some, especially in the black and hispanic populations, are raised from birth not to "fugg with 12", trust the police, or even be caught speaking to one. So the mindset issue goes both ways....a cop hell bent on showing he's the boss vs someone raised to mistrust the police (however valid or invalid their assumptions may be) is a recipe for disaster.

I've been reading a lot of your posts on this thread (and others) concerning the treatment of Black people (particularly our brothers) from law enforcement. Your comments are pretty intriguing. I don't know if you are or were a police officer, but if so, you are very loyal to your profession & fellow officers.

If I may ask (and I'm not trying to instigate or provoke debate), but honestly want to know your answer. In your opinion, and keeping in mind the treatment of the Black/African American race since slavery, why do you think "some, especially in the black populations are raised from birth not to 'fugg with 12, trust the police, or even be caught speaking to one"? Do you know if your fellow Black officers were also allegedly raised to do the same? If so, why? Me personally, my sister & I, my cousins, friends weren't raised to not trust the police; on the contrary, it was the actions, attitude, behavior, demeanor of a lot of police officers that taught me that many, many cannot be and/or are not worthy of my trust.

Again, just interested in your answer.

 

[JAG89]

Umm.....what? I don't see myself as cleaning up anything. Where the hell did you get any of what you just said from. I am ONE person who does the best that I can to do a job that many people (likely including you) are too scared to do, yet want to sit back and criticize on a daily basis. You don't know ISHT about me, my mindset, and what I have done beyond what you have incorrectly assumed based on what I have typed on this forum. So if that's what you think, who am I to argue with you.....after all, you DO pay my salary. Anything short of me saying "Yes, police are trained to seek out and hunt down black people with no regard for anything else" will be met with more statements calling me an indentured servant. You got it dude.

All I'm going to say, you need try understand basic statistical logic FIRST and maybe you'll see what others are trying say. By the way, I have had this same conversation with other police officers before, particularly my dad and my brother and neither have tried to justify those unfair laws. Unlike you, they would agree that corrupt politicians that came up with those laws need to be booted out of office, the laws revised, and cops re-trained so that they don't continue to enforce those same unfair laws.

 

[s phi s]

I've been reading a lot of your posts on this thread (and others) concerning the treatment of Black people (particularly our brothers) from law enforcement. Your comments are pretty intriguing. I don't know if you are or were a police officer, but if so, you are very loyal to your profession & fellow officers.

If I may ask (and I'm not trying to instigate or provoke debate), but honestly want to know your answer. In your opinion, and keeping in mind the treatment of the Black/African American race since slavery, why do you think "some, especially in the black populations are raised from birth not to 'fugg with 12, trust the police, or even be caught speaking to one"? Do you know if your fellow Black officers were also allegedly raised to do the same? If so, why? Me personally, my sister & I, my cousins, friends weren't raised to not trust the police; on the contrary, it was the actions, attitude, behavior, demeanor of a lot of police officers that taught me that many, many cannot be and/or are not worthy of my trust.

Again, just interested in your answer.

I can appreciate the spirit of this question. I can't speak for others. But I can speak for myself. Indeed I am a law enforcement officer. I wasn't PERSONALLY raised that way, but could not help but be influenced by the neighborhood. I never had any interactions with law enforcement growing up, but everybody around me did. Lots of my friends were in and out of jail.

Best I can figure from my observations, there are 2 different reasons they don't trust police. 1) They have had personal interactions that, for whatever reason, did not go the way they think they should have gone. 2) Personal experience of someone older in the family. IMO, both of those would be hard to shake. When a way of thinking is passed down through generations, it's like religion. The youngest folks may not even know why, but they know that this is what they were taught. And the personal experience is self-explanatory.

 

[s phi s]

All I'm going to say, you need try understand basic statistical logic FIRST and maybe you'll see what others are trying say. By the way, I have had this same conversation with other police officers before, particularly my dad and my brother and neither have tried to justify those unfair laws. Unlike you, they would agree that corrupt politicians that came up with those laws need to be booted out of office, the laws revised, and cops re-trained so that they don't continue to enforce those same unfair laws.

But what I said wasn't an attempt to justify the laws....I said that with the way the law is written and with the policy of most agencies and the city or county that they work for, they are not in a position of discretion when it comes to enforcing those very laws. And for the last time, I understand what you and others are saying. And for the umpteenth time, there are some VERY valid points, and a LOT of things worth having the discussion about. All I have EVER said is lets hold ourselves (as blacks) just as accountable for some of the encounters with law enforcement that needlessly end up going bad. That's IT....SHEESH

 

[JAG89]

But what I said wasn't an attempt to justify the laws....I said that with the way the law is written and with the policy of most agencies and the city or county that they work for, they are not in a position of discretion when it comes to enforcing those very laws. And for the last time, I understand what you and others are saying. And for the umpteenth time, there are some VERY valid points, and a LOT of things worth having the discussion about. All I have EVER said is lets hold ourselves (as blacks) just as accountable for some of the encounters with law enforcement that needlessly end up going bad. That's IT....SHEESH

I'm glad that's it, because no one should be afraid to speak out, even when they know it's not the popular thing to do. Too many choose to remain silent for various reasons. IMO, I think President Obama has done a great job of revising those unfair drug laws, but his Administration has yet to enforce re-training cops, which might be the real reason why Loretta Lynch's confirmation is being held up by the Republicans.

 

[jag4life]

Your two posts are very contradictive and prove that you are scared to say anything on your job. In your first post you said your co-workers are fair with everyone, but in your second post you said that the police are not the blame for arresting people with unfair drug laws. Basically, you are saying that you are so institutionalized that you would rather disregard the unfair laws in order to maintain your job. If that’s the case, you are right. One can’t blame the ignorance of those (police officers) that are giving bad orders to follow. Instead of using an Apple store clerk for an example, a better example would be a slave master and his indentured servant, where the uneducated indentured servant (police officers) is made to stay in the hot fields to watch over the slaves as they are forced to work, basically modern day slavery. In order to fix the problem on the police side of the equation, the individuals that are following bad orders would need to be retrained or replaced so that they don’t continue those same unfair practices. Also, if you go back and read my previous posts, I’ve always said it was the Reagan/Bush Administration War on Drug policy that has created this mindset in law enforcement agencies that most Black people are drug dealers/criminals. The system of racially unfairness is on all levels. I guess you see yourself as that police officer that is cleaning up the streets, which is similar to what the Black cop in the picture below was doing in the movie, “Boyz In the Hood”. It seems like Hollywood do get some things right.

Maskes no sense. The law is the law and it won't change if officers stop enforcing it. It changes when folks like yourself influence a change in city hall or the state legislature. Pretty much every city in America allows citizens to go to city council meetings and air their grievances and if you get enough support they make changes.

 

[JAG89]

Maskes no sense. The law is the law and it won't change if officers stop enforcing it. It changes when folks like yourself influence a change in city hall or the state legislature. Pretty much every city in America allows citizens to go to city council meetings and air their grievances and if you get enough support they make changes.

What makes no sense is trying to imply that I said he should change the laws as a police officer. Where in my post did I say he had to change the laws???

By the way, President Obama's Administration has changed some of the unfair drug laws that were created during the Reagan/Bush Administration. The biggest problem is reforming the country's police departments to enforce those laws fairly. A lot of police agencies still see crack cocaine as their top priority in the so-called War on Drugs, where a person caught with crack cocaine will get a harsher sentence than someone caught with just cocaine. What good is it to reform the laws if the people who are put in charge of enforcing the laws are still doing the same unfair practices??? The reform of unfair drug laws is similar to the end of slavery, where the Emancipation Proclamation eliminated slavery by not allowing the ownership of other individuals, but a lot of poor uneducated Whites (indentured servants) where left in place to continue their harsh treatment on Blacks.

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/20/obama_commutes_8_unfair_crack_cocaine

http://nypost.com/2013/12/20/obama-frees-21-jailed-on-unfair-drug-laws/

 

[s phi s]

Not sure about the rest of the country, but in Texas, the charge for both crack and powder follow the same guidelines, and it's by weight, not type.

 

[JAG89]

Not sure about the rest of the country, but in Texas, the charge for both crack and powder follow the same guidelines, and it's by weight, not type.

I'm sure it is now, but has every person in charge to enforce those laws treating them the same or are they still stuck in Reagan/Bush Era???