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I watched this video and have read many articles about it. This is an example of a worst-case scenario where their information caused a horrible amount of stress and emotional loss on a family - but this was not terrorism.

Pardon me while I get a little frustrated but my brother is a police officer. A few years back he was chasing a bank robber around Indianapolis's 465 loop. The bank robber crashed striking a stranded mini van killing a mother and her new-born baby and seriously injuring the father. I saw the impact this had on my brother - he grieved for that family as much as if it had been his own. His marriage soon fell apart after that and later was removed from duty.

When my brother first started as a police office his very first day on duty he was riding with his 'trainer' and they got a call about possible suicide. They arrived on the scene and there was a car running inside a garage. A man was standing outside the house saying his father was in there somewhere. The entire house was filled with exhaust fumes but my brother ran from the front door through the house and opened the garage door. He fell vomiting on the driveway. His motive - he was hoping to save the man inside.

Another time my brother got a call regarding a domestic dispute with a report that guns were involved. My brother made a silent approach to the home and started working his way to the front door - gun holstered. He was edging his way along the garage (connected to the house) when he came around a corner next to a screened porch. Crouched down in a corner of the porch was a woman holding two pistols. Inside the house he could hear crashes, screams and yells. He could not go into that house with the woman sitting there holding two guns so he instructed her to put the guns down and step away. She refused to acknowledge him. He repeated his instructions and after the third time she said she couldn't and started to get angry. My brother then told her if she didn't drop the guns and calm down he was going to have to shoot her in order to get inside and help her husband and daughter. She refused so he aimed his gun at her and she dropped the weapons as he asked. He secured the guns and her and then went inside with backup and was subsequently attacked by both the father and the daughter. The 4 officers with him had to physically wrestle both people to the ground.

In another instance I got to ride with my brother on patrol one night. After several hours of patrol we started running a speed trap on a highway that ran through town. He would run the radar and when we caught a speeder he'd ask me if we should 'nail em' and i'd say 'go for it'. I felt so powerful... mahaha... well. Invariably we'd get up there and I'd listen to teh conversation through his microphone and watch it on video and start to feeling terribly guilty. My brother didn't write one ticket that whole night - he too didn't like to give tickets unless absolutely necessary. I was really surprised at his consideration for people. It was my expectation that he'd just simply do his job - but invariably he'd talk to people, was extremely polite and he would usually come back and say something to the effect of 'most people don't need tickets, they just need reminders'.

My brother is one of thousands of police officers. Through him I've gotten to know many police officers in many different cities. I've heard stories from them that would scare the crap out of most of us if faced with the same situation. They make decisions that effet peoples lives and bear the consequences for it. My brother is getting his life back together and is about to rejoin the police force. He'll never outlive what happened that one night when that mother and baby were killed but I know this - policemen are not terrorists or fascits or whatever. they do a hard and thankless job.

I for one saw the video and recognize that there were some horrible mistakes - but it really chaps my ass to see some of the things you all are saying in this and other threads.

That's my $2 worth.

I really enjoyed your post regarding your brother. Let him know he's in my prayers. I also have memories of calls that come back to me once in awhile.

And I know what you mean about some of the posts on these threads. It seems to me that some of the folks here are as bad as the police officers they condemn.

I'll say this to all of them.

I've been a cop for 17 years. I've seen people at their worst. I've seen them murder their spouses, their own children and their parents. I've seen them lie on the stand, cheat, steal, rape and everything else you can imagine. And probably some things you can't imagine.

I've been insulted by them and returned no insult. I've been assaulted by them just because I wear a uniform. Given them money out of my own pocket to help them out and prayed with them in their homes.

I've seen police officers do these types of things day in and day out and get no recognition for it. And they really don't care to have recognition. They do it because they enjoy helping people.

But I know all people are not evil. I know we are all human and we all make mistakes, I've made enough of my own.

I don't think it's right to condemn all cops because of the actions of some, just as I don't condemn all people because of the actions of some.