Do you believe that most of the comments/judgments made by the general public about law enforcement are ignorant?

SSgt Charles Edwards — Sat, 23 May 2015 14:11:11 -0400

http://m.richmond.com/news/ap/article_424ed90d-09bb-5343-a8a2-816c6511f756.html?mode=jqm

A Cleveland officer was acquitted of murder after a high speed chase ended in the deaths of two unarmed individuals with a criminal record.

Naturally, people in the city (and likely across the country) are raising hell over the verdict.

My question to those who have worked law enforcement, whether it was military service or in the civilian sector, do you believe that most of the comments/judgments made by the general public are ignorant? Especially, if they have never lived the life. Or is it a race issue and not a use of force matter?

In my opinion, people want to get upset about how much force was levied against someone, yet these are the same people who've never put their life on the line. It's not just this case, it's anything involving police anymore. Unfortunately, race always seems to be at the forefront. I have no problem with opinions of others, but when something goes down that results in the death of a suspect, the public loses its mind and says another course of action should have been utilzed. Apparently, everyone in this country knows all about being a cop and how to go about each response.

Thoughts?

Response by SFC Collin McMillion made May 23 at 2015 3:27 PM

SFC Collin McMillion — Sat, 23 May 2015 15:27:50 -0400

Just take a look at those who are raising hell. They were not there, they don't know the facts, they don't put their life on the line for the unknown circumstances. Our crime rate is rising quickly be cause police officers are afraid of the repercussions of doing their job. Not all decisions are right, not all are wrong. To me, though more serious, it is like taking a test, you get 95% right, but should you dtill fail for the 5% that were wrong?

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Dec 4 at 2015 1:34 PM

CPT Ahmed Faried — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 13:34:28 -0500

Even the way some folks are conditioned to present incidents shows that despite the cries, the bias is still in favor of law enforcement personnel. I'd like to point out what I mean.

"A Cleveland officer was acquitted of murder after a high speed chase ended in the deaths of two unarmed individuals with a criminal record. "
-case in point. We are told that two unarmed people are dead. Were they killed by police? were they victims of an accident? It is ambiguous enough so that whoever is at fault is not truly known. Also we are reminded that even though they died, they had criminal records. Oh good, I guess they deserved to die then.

"My question to those who have worked law enforcement, whether it was military service or in the civilian sector, do you believe that most of the comments/judgments made by the general public are ignorant? Especially, if they have never lived the life. Or is it a race issue and not a use of force matter? "
-Not all comments or grievances are unfounded. But I will concede that it is easier to dismiss these concerns when one is not a member of the demographics most affected.

"In my opinion, people want to get upset about how much force was levied against someone, yet these are the same people who've never put their life on the line. It's not just this case, it's anything involving police anymore. Unfortunately, race always seems to be at the forefront. I have no problem with opinions of others, but when something goes down that results in the death of a suspect, the public loses its mind and says another course of action should have been utilized. Apparently, everyone in this country knows all about being a cop and how to go about each response."
-Race is always an underlying factor. The FBI has admitted it, research has attested to it, and disproportionate incidents in criminal justice are a constant reminder of this truism. Also you don't have to have put your life on the line for your opinions or grievances to have merit.

Respectfully.

Response by Capt Chris McVeigh made Dec 5 at 2015 11:31 PM

Capt Chris McVeigh — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 23:31:56 -0500

Personally? I believe that most comments made in general are ignorant, not just those about law enforcement. Take a stroll through the comments section of any news article and see if your opinion is different. It takes personal effort to actually be informed about an issue/event and that is something that a large amount of people are not willing to do. Additionally, the public really only has the media portrayal to go off of and many news agencies enjoy sensationalizing things to draw in viewers, often leading to a distortion of the events and an introduction of the personal views of the reporters versus actually reporting the facts.

When your entire opinion is based on third-hand knowledge from a potentially biased source and you don't make the effort to compare different sources, you are going to end up with an ignorant opinion.

Response by SFC David Dean made Feb 8 at 2020 3:14 PM

SFC David Dean — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 15:14:02 -0500

No, ill-informed yes. Remember this, most often the media presents only a tidbit of information. Most call this a sound bite. It is intended to engender interest in the upcoming news stories they want you to watch. Many times they fail to vet their information or sources. In some situations the immediate reaction of persons involved is an emotional viewpoint and not generally objective. That can be reasonable to a point. And in spite of what some here may wish to conclude, I do not ascribe to the position that every circumstance that law enforcement is correct or does not make errors. I do make the absolute assertion that the media, the public, and politicians are not the courts which is the venue to make such determinations. Too a large extent our society finds it convenient to convict and/or try someone in the former venues.