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Comment by whatsdowndog | Hacker News Reader

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Most police aren't the enemy. Unfortunately it only takes a few that are or one that is having a bad day. Black and white distinctions 'they are all good' or 'they are all bad', are a core problem. Recognizing that we need to hold police accountable and limit their authority and actions isn't saying police are bad, it is proper and necessary oversight and is what is best for citizens and police.

I have long said, and I will stand behind, that by and large the % of police which are assholes is about the same as the % of the overall population who are assholes.

The only difference is that a random asshole on the street can't really do anything to me, I can just walk away.

A random asshole cop has a crazy amount of discretionary power over me, even without him stepping outside departmental procedures or the law.

I don’t expect that’s true. I think there is a self-selection for certain personality types (authoritarianism, thrill seeking, military cosplay fantasies, etc.) that make cops more abusive overall than the general population. By what percentage I can’t say.

Edit: seems this is partially true for personality but this study shows a correlation with holding more right wing views. (college students who expected to pursue law enforcement careers) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40768353/

I would only agree with this if supposedly good cops were willing to throw their fellow bad officers under the bus, but that practically never happends, so they are essentially all bad.

Help yourself to the long list of "people with a monopoly on force and who cannot be trusted."

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2026/01/26/police_miscondu...

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/06/05/policekillings/

https://www.policedatainitiative.org/datasets/

https://policecrime.bgsu.edu/Home/Crimes

https://ij.org/the-ij-database-of-alpr-abuse/

https://ndi.iadlest.org/home

"And some, I assume, are good people."

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