Do you think that most Police officers these days are overstepping their bounaries?

SSG Jay OConnor — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 02:37:34 -0400

As I sit and watch "COPS" on TV. I find myself getting angry because a Cop is exaggerating an incident to his boss or just flat out lying about what he saw. A lot of the time it seems they use excessive force for the situation and the biggest violation in my eyes, entering someone's house without permission or warrant or even reasonable suspicion.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Aug 12 at 2014 2:34 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:34:49 -0400

In general no. I think you have to look at real world incidents individually and w/o the media and the public throwing up a race flag before everyone gets all the facts in the case. Also every shmoe on the street with a camera who only catches part of the incident neither adds to or detracts from the credibility of the incident. Showing partial films of what happened only inflames people when taken out of context - like showing crying people on the street offering opinions and commentary who may not have not seen the actual incident.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 5 at 2015 10:18 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 22:18:44 -0500

For the record no, I don't believe that officers are overstepping their boundaries. Also if these officers were committing excessive force and rampant violations of the 4th Amendment these tapes are a matter of public record and we'd see tons of law suits.

What appears to be excessive force may in fact be legitimate uses of force and when entering homes their may be exigent circumstances to enter a home without permission or a warrant.

Most times you can and do enter a home without approval to apprehend (arrest in civilian speak) a perpetrator, prevent the destruction of evidence and/or you believe a crime is being committed.

Response by SSG Tom Pike made Sep 27 at 2016 12:48 PM

SSG Tom Pike — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 12:48:18 -0400

Most, no.
Some, yes and it's not just these days there always have been some bad apples. And I think overall there is less of it now than in the past.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jan 10 at 2020 6:05 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 06:05:56 -0500

Only the really rotten apples do from what I've seen, other than that, they pretty much follow the rules.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 10 at 2020 6:09 AM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 06:09:10 -0500

Yes, and some more than others, but they all want to go home after their watch. There are some bad hombres out there, but we mostly see the bad calls rather than the daily struggles.

Response by LCDR Joshua Gillespie made Jan 10 at 2020 7:54 AM

LCDR Joshua Gillespie — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 07:54:33 -0500

It's hard to judge someone doing a difficult job made even harder by bad policies. That being said, yes...I think many are, but perhaps not without some understandable influence. Depending on where they work, police officers are going to work in a virtual war zone every day. They are potentially outgunned and outnumbered, and clearly encumbered by both the unblinking eye of official scrutiny and public opinion. Add into that equation the fact that starting salaries in most departments are abysmally low...training possibly inadequate, and I think it's easy to see that there's more than meets the eye to this problem. One thing that sticks out to my mind is that officers seem to "escalate" situations that could potentially be handled less aggressively. I "get" that they may be going for "intimidation factor", but sometimes it may be counterproductive to back someone into a corner who might respond better to a different approach.

Response by SSG Carlos Madden made Jan 10 at 2020 11:59 AM

SSG Carlos Madden — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 11:59:46 -0500

Some but not most.

Response by CPL Daniel Lotito made Jan 10 at 2020 12:25 PM

CPL Daniel Lotito — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 12:25:09 -0500

No. It’s similar if you think about it to combat the rules of engagement make no sense. Most officers try not to get physical with suspects but unfortunately sometimes it turns bad I think on average the police do a pretty good job of handling situations with what they’re given

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Jan 10 at 2020 12:35 PM

SGT Ben Keen — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 12:35:55 -0500

While I know this post is old I figured I would comment on it.

I would say "Yes, some do overstep." However, I would be very careful of anything I saw on shows like "Cops" and "Live PD". Just like any other reality tv show, the image may be skewed in the hunt for higher ratings and such.