Comment by eof | Hacker News Reader

Comment by eof | Hacker News Reader

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In 2003 I was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt; I was in Saratoga NY; I had just moved out of my apartment.. having gone to school in Troy, NY and I was working as a "quality assurance analyist" looking for bugs in some lotus software. My license plates were from TX because I never registered in NY; I probably was supposed to, I just never did.

The cop pulled me over and was immediately convinced I was running drugs from Canada to TX. I had been across the border somewhat recenctly, maybe he could see that(?). I had no previous convictions other than a speeding ticket. My car was dirty and filled with crap; but I was pretty clean cut and just came out of an office job like 3 minutes earlier.

I did in fact have a couple pipes and a couple grams of mid grade bud; and I was dumb and didn't insist on my rights and essentially "let" him search my car. I made my mistake when he found the little jar and I got cocky; as NY had recently decriminalized.. so I just told him to give me the ticket and leave me alone.

He promptly arrested me for "driving while ability impaired"; impounded my car, nicked my license, I spent the night in jail, was humiliated, I still can't go back to Canada; I had been detained for 3 hours by the time I was given a 'sobriety' test; I was literally in the police station by then.. reflecting on it, it was clear I was being fucked with; walking a line with my arms spread out, bent ninety degrees at the waist, told to turn around without lifting my feet.

I hired the only lawyer I could afford, who basically did nothing but show up for me; paid him 500 bucks and about that in fines; but it has haunted me ever since.. and I was literally 100% sober in every way. I have never trusted cops since then as a whole; though I have personally come to know a couple that have eased my deep hatred somewhat.

My story here I know isn't directly related to the article; but it was an extreme abuse of power by a cop exerting his authority over what was genuinely a punk-kid; and I just wasn't in a position to do anything about it, both financially and because I didn't know then what I know now.

> but it was an extreme abuse of power by a cop exerting his authority over what was genuinely a punk-kid; and I just wasn't in a position to do anything about it

This brought up a big one for me. When I was 13 I snuck out of my house one night with some friends. We ran all over the neighborhood and eventually ended up in the empty parking lot of a grocery store. There were four of us, all walking together side by side. I was the youngest.

One of my friends turns around to look behind us and yells out "RUN!" The rest of us turn around to see bright headlights pointed at us. We're not in the nicest of neighborhoods and for all we know, it could be anybody looking to mess with some kids. We panic-scatter and start sprinting in every direction.

Two seconds later, a police car pulls around in front me. I'm completely out of breath, scared out of my mind, and now I know I'm going to be in trouble with my parents because this particular town has a curfew for kids under 18. Two cops get out quickly and approach.

"Why were you running?" yells the big one. This is my first non-friendly interaction with a cop. I'm still out of breath, and paralyzed with fear.

"Hey ASSHOLE! Why were you running?" He punches me in the chest. I start stammering about not wanting to get caught for breaking curfew. I start pissing myself while I'm standing there. I'm totally humiliated and scared. Why would a police officer punch a kid, I'm thinking.

They put me in the back of the squad car. We drive around to the 7-11 next door to the grocery store. They go in and come back out with one of my friends who has gone in and bought himself a Slurpy. They start questioning him. A couple minutes later, my other two friends walk up on their own and start talking to the cops. One of the cops gets me out of the car and brings me over with the others. We all tell our various stories. Where do we live, ages, parents, et cetera. They tell us to go home.

So we start walking home. I'm soaked from the waist down. And you know what I'm thinking? God, I hope my friends don't tell anyone I pissed my pants.

> I have personally come to know a couple that have eased my deep hatred somewhat.

I have quite the opposite experience if you wish. I was never personally abused or treated unfairly by the cops during a stop. But, I still distrust cops. If anything because of the ones I met in an informal settings. In my extended family and network of acquaintances there are 3 cops. And 2 of them physically abuse their wives and kids, are very brutal and scary. In fact if I didn't know they are cops they could just as well fit the profile of street thugs.

Just to throw another anecdotal counterpoint your way: I also know several cops (detectives and a Sergeant, actually), and they are the definition of good people. the conversations I have with them generally either revolve around the stuff they're doing with their kids (and me trying to get them to some of the youth programs I help with), and them dealing with the frustration of not being able to do enough.

not all cops are good, maybe most of them aren't good. But they definitely aren't all bad, and the good ones hate the bad ones at least as bad as you and I do.

The good ones might hate the bad ones but theres nothing they can do, or nothing theyll do. Look at that stop and frisk video from new york, they interview a "good" cop, he admits theres lots of wrong things but hey, thats how things are, thats what makes the "good" cops as bad as the other. In the end theyre just dogs for the states and are trained to follow orders.

They're people who have been trained to be afraid of normal citizens and feel an obligation to protect those who understand their stresses and burdens from those who don't.

You want sympathy from a cop? You want to get the good cops to push out the bad ones? Show them that you understand what they go through. Show them that you're not exceptional in that respect. Show them that they have nothing to fear from you and yours. Show them that you'll back them up if they do the right thing.

It's like hackers. They're all spoiled white neckbeards living in their parents' basements slobbily eating pizza, right? Just like all the cops are donut-munching bullies cruising around in their cars banging on doors because it's funny, right?

I don't understand how LEOs have been trained to be afraid of normal citizens? Do you perhaps mean criminals when you say citizens? I'm struggling to think of any reason a LEO would be afraid of a normal citizen, or any instance in recent memory of a normal citizen's complaint compromising a LEOs position/lively hood.

Your comment might make sense, and the attitude you suggest might be appropriate, if police ever took the initiative to take care of the abuses within their own departments. Unfortunately time and time again its been shown not to happen. When it takes people like Frank Cerpico to get anything done (at great risk to themselves) the sort of attitude you propose doesn't really cut the mustard.

Show them these things before they tase you, bro.

It's a bit different. For one thing we know that in many countries other than the US, the performance of police is at a much higher standard. It's plausible the US has a systemic failure and a unique culture problem. Society does not owe more than to demand better for what they now pay.

For another thing, the stakes are a bit lower if your problem is brogrammers and neckbeards.

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