“Well your recommendation would result in power grabs in local communities across this nation. A strong man would emerge and essentially rule the community. Translation, the criminal element would replace the police.”
Um, the strong-man criminal element right now IS the police. Instead of one man it is a national gang loosely tied by that “blue line”. Organized crime under color of law
At least with open criminals, I can defend myself without being judged for “killing a hero”.
With cops, they do anything they want and are ALWAYS right until you prove them wrong in court (good luck). This is where the corruption stems from.
“Have you experienced a number of ride-alongs with police officers?”
Yes, two during college but it was before the insane police overreaches of recent times.
“Have you had a family member that was a police officer? Have you ever had a friend that was one? Have you had more than a thirty second conversation with one other than when you were being sited by one?”
I have one immediate family member and 4 friends who are NYPD. One friend MPDC and one friend SDPD. Believe me, talking to them and overhearing their conversations does NOT improve my perception of cops AT ALL.
I live in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the USA, get very dark skin in the summer and frequently stay out late while driving nice cars. Believe me, I have had MUCH more than a “30-second conversation”. If I didn’t have a PBA (get-outta-jail-free) card, I’d probably be in prison by now.
Screw these gangs. They have NEVER helped me in ANY way each time I needed them in 25 years. They’ve caused me nothing but fines and trouble! Screw them!