(05-29-2020, 09:03 PM)jj82284 Wrote:

(05-29-2020, 07:37 PM)mikesez Wrote: Very well said.  But to be fair, JJ keeps telling us he's black.  And I believe it.  So he should have some of this lived experience, but he never talks about it.

I've talked about it before, but I'll bring it up again.  

I'm not a big fan of police.  It's not because I think there is a universal racial bias.  It's because I know that the state is a poor check on it's own powers.  Police officers are the most dangerous form of state authority that 99.999999% of citizens will ever see.  For a Judge to Impose a death penalty it will take a trial and 20 some odd years of appeals, verdicts etc.  A police officer can kill based on reasonable threat of life or great bodily injury.  Police officers are always going to be given the benefit of the doubt by prosecutors and judges.  That's just the way it is.  That's why I think that their role in society should be limited to protecting the property rights of citizens.  

As for my personal experience I was falsely arrested, falsely charged with a Felony, and essentially robbed by two police officers who didn't look like me.  The level of misconduct would make Sydney Powell blush.  They were literally conspiring to charge me with theft because I had the title to a car I had just purchased in my pocket.  Think about that.  They wanted to charge me with theft because I had proof of ownership!  Luckily that charge was not approved by prosecutors.  Instead they tried to charge me with a third degree felony because they alleged that I scraped the vin off of a piece of equipment that never had one in the first place.  Luckily I had the money for a lawyer and had the case thrown out.  Most people who didn't have a lawyer would have been forced into copping a plea like 90% plus of the criminal cases in this country.  I am no fan of the criminal justice system or the state exercising this level of power.  I just recognize that the problem is actually BIGGER than one or two cops prejudice cops.  

I was also injured during my Arrest.  When they put the cuffs on me they crushed my nerve in my right wrist and I still have a deformation because of it.  But during that experience I learned something that stuck with me.  At the time, i had a hole in my back pocket and when they lugged me out of the car, my wallet fell out of my back pocket and to the ground.  I asked the arresting officer to pick it up and put it in my pocket.  He did.  when he knelt down he put his forearm on my knee.  Why?  Because most of the time when someone asks for them to pick something up they plan on kicking them in the teeth or something to that affect.  They crushed my wrist with their handcuffs because I'm 6' 300lbs and they knew if i wanted to hurt them that I could.  Now I'm biased!  My first few semesters of College I thought I wanted to be a criminal defense attorney and took a couple courses in criminal justice.  In that environment I was exposed to the thought process that permeates in law enforcement that in reality ANYONE can be a threat.  

So in summation, I am black.  I have had a very negative experience with police officer.  I have no illusions that just because you have a badge on makes you a saint, but at the same time i can empathize with the stresses and realities of doing that job.  I can also understand how those stressors added to a life or death situation can cause tragedy.

I really appreciate you sharing that experience.
In real life, none of my friends have ever shared an experience like that. But the few black friends I have are more likely to say, "yeah something happened with a cop but I don't want to talk about it" than my white friends are.
I totally agree that cops need to be more accountable and that we need to reform the way prosecution works in most states and counties, 
I just think it's foolish to deny that black people are disproportionately the victims of the crappy system we have.

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