Why do so many people dislike the police?

I've noticed that many people seem to dislike if not outright hate Police Officers. My question is "why"? Police Officers can be conceited, obnoxious, over bearing, nasty and mean... just like people in any other profession, but can you really imagine our world without someone to protect it from those who don't or won't respect the rights of others? I can't. I'm proud to be a daughter of retired officer and I think he was a damned good one, I believe that in all things I should treat others as I would want to be treated (I think that's called "The Golden Rule") and he tries to teach this to younger Officers when he assists in training them.

How do you feel about Law Enforcement Officers as a whole?

People hate cops because they are seeking to break the law? I think cops who do their job right are pretty cool.

It's great that your dad was a good cop but history has created a long line of dirty cops and sometimes the bad has a habit of making more of an impression than the good. I think most people are leery of cops because they have a habit of being condescending and feeding off their own power. Getting pulled over by a cop feels the same as a kid getting sent to the principals office. That kind of overbearing authority is annoying.

Well for one thing, they have no LEGAL obligation to protect anybody, so if you call them, it's like betting a number on a roulette wheel if they'll even show up, then, if they do anything, that's a whole other ball park too. And the way luck goes is if YOU call them, they won't come or they won't do anything, but if somebody calls about YOU, they are there as fast as possible.

Just like lawyers, everyone hates cops until they need one.

I have nothing but respect for New York's finest. They have a tough job, especially these days with the threat of terrorism over our heads. I guess the people that don't like them are the criminals that are afraid of being caught by them.

RobbieFTW wrote:It's great that your dad was a good cop but history has created a long line of dirty cops and sometimes the bad has a habit of making more of an impression than the good. I think most people are leery of cops because they have a habit of being condescending and feeding off their own power. Getting pulled over by a cop feels the same as a kid getting sent to the principals office. That kind of overbearing authority is annoying.

. Add the fact that a lot of them think they're above the law.

I'll never forget this one time....about eight or nine years ago....this cop car follows me for miles on a street. I clearly wasn't doing anything wrong, else he would have pulled me over. So instead he just follows behind me for about five to ten minutes.....probably hoping I would eventually exceed the limit so that he COULD do something. Every lane change I made, he made. Wouldn't let me out of his sight....until I finally cross the city line into another, at which point he had no jurisdiction and then turns around. Things like that make me hate cops. If that wasn't a case of racial profiling, I don't know what is.

There are bad cops, just like any profession. I think it is so immature for people to blanket it and say all cops are bad. There are so many who do amazing things all the time. When a cop approaches a car, or a scene, they don't know what they will find. That is bravery. None of us like to have to answer to a cop, be it speeding or whatever, but without them we could not maintain civility.

Except when you call them how are you going to know if you get a good one or a rotten one? You won't, until they show up, IF they even bother showing up.

You don't know. But if it is that much of a risk to anybody, then they shouldn't call.

What I know is that in all the times that we have called over the years, they showed up a grand total of three times and were of help only once, and this is with new guys coming into the force all the time so it's not like the same old ones just sit around all day.

TPP's thread reminded me of this one. Anyone else?

Most cops I've met seem to be on this power trip.

Rockbird wrote:Most cops I've met seem to be on this power trip.

Just like doctors, lawyers, athletes, etc., so many of them think because they're in the position they are, that they're entitled to do anything that they want, and that they can get away with it, and in a lot of cases they do just that.

Every high profile profession with any amount of authority has rotten apples. No need to judge the profession by the rotten apples, IMO.

Yeah, but some professions have NO power (like athletes; if anything, they work in the cattle industry). Cops have enough power to really fuck with somebody. Makes me sick.

Rockbird wrote:Yeah, but some professions have NO power (like athletes; if anything, they work in the cattle industry). Cops have enough power to really fuck with somebody. Makes me sick.

Indeeeeeeeeeed, like the Sean Bell case, if any normal person plugs a guy 50 times, he's going to get the needle, a cop does it after a night of drinking and failing to identify himself as a cop, oh well that's just his job it's not so bad.

RobbieFTW wrote:… history has created a long line of dirty cops and sometimes the bad has a habit of making more of an impression than the good. I think most people are leery of cops because they have a habit of being condescending and feeding off their own power. Getting pulled over by a cop feels the same as a kid getting sent to the principals office. That kind of overbearing authority is annoying.

Tony Marino wrote:… I guess the people that don't like them are the criminals that are afraid of being caught by them.

Not necessarily. Anyone who the cop takes a dislike to or is prejudiced against has reason to fear them and their abuse of authority.

It’s a long read but this is my history with pigs.

http://home.earthlink.net/~robwrites/id11.html