Michael Bennett: Police singled me out, put a gun near my head

[call_me_ishmael]

I don't really care either way but why turn the body cams off? You only turn that shit off to do some shady stuff.

[texaspackerbacker]

In other racial news, 1 1/2 of the final two playing for the women's championship of the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament are black - and AMERICAN!

Funny how good news ends up in the back of the bus compared to irrelevant shit with the damn fake news media.

[mraynrand]

In other racial news, 1 1/2 of the final two playing for the women's championship of the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament are black - and AMERICAN!

Funny how good news ends up in the back of the bus compared to irrelevant shit with the damn fake news media.

wait, they still play professional tennis?

[mraynrand]

And you think that's right? Some idiot cop could have slipped a bit and ended you. And for what? Where was the threat that justified them aiming live weapons at you? Insane.

Cops are not the best of the best. They're not the worst either, but they hardly represent our finest. Many are jags, and you're lucky to be alive after an encounter like that. If you were anything but an old white man you'd probably be dead.

I know, it's all sunshine and rainbows in your little safe corner of reality. But there are a lot of places in the US of A where crime rates are high, people rob and shoot each other, and that thin blue line exists to protect people. Even churches exist in high crime areas, section 8 housing areas, where people have stolen weapons that they use against each other and the cops. Yeah, the cops draw guns when they don't know what's inside a building they think may be being robbed by an unknown number of unknown people. Again, I recommend following police instructions. It lowers your chances of being shot dead.

[call_me_ishmael]

The police have ZERO reasons to pull a gun on someone over suspected petty theft. Get real. That is 100% delusional and you're rationalizing unacceptable behavior. In most of the developed world, police rarely pull out guns. Feel free to take it to FYI.

[mraynrand]

The police have ZERO reasons to pull a gun on someone over suspected petty theft. Get real. That is 100% delusional and you're rationalizing unacceptable behavior. In most of the developed world, police rarely pull out guns. Feel free to take it to FYI.

Like I said, you live in some fantasy world, where B&E is a television channel, not a group of guys robbing and carrying. In the real world, especially places like Cleveland where there are over 120 different gangs, all armed, cops face different circumstances than those imagined in your naive, childish skull.

[call_me_ishmael]

Doesn't matter. You as a citizen have a right to not have your brain blown in by some nervous cop who decided to prematurely pull out his piece.

[mraynrand]

Doesn't matter. You as a citizen have a right to not have your brain blown in by some nervous cop who decided to prematurely pull out his piece.

that's a total non sequitur, iow it's par for the course for you and your sophomoric rhetoric.

[3irty1]

I know these narratives aren't as interesting if they are evidence-based, but I wish they'd report the timestamp of when a body cam was last running. If you turn your camera off DURING an escalating situation then some guy ends up beaten, well that implies about as much guilt as refusing a breathalyzer.

This Bennett incident does seem like a decent litmus test for tribalism. Your options of narratives include the uncharitable Bennett whose publicly advertised the axe he's grinding, or the narrative of a police union who will reliably protect any officer no matter what.

[mraynrand]

If you turn your camera off DURING an escalating situation then some guy ends up beaten, well that implies about as much guilt as refusing a breathalyzer.

Absolutely. Any officer who does something like this should never police again and be charged with something, depending on the particular incident.

[bobblehead]

Then these whiny ass cops write a letter to the NFL mentioning how Bennett doesn't stand for the flag like that has anything to do with what happened.

And this whiny ass poster says I must be white, as if that has anything to do with what happened.

[bobblehead]

On its face, pulling guns about a property crime seems like unnecessary escalation. Did they have reason to expect you to be armed? I understand they don't want you to get the drop on them, but given you were already seen, seems like there is another way to safety approach.

I disagree Pb, and I respect your opinion in most things. An officer approaching ANY individual in a possible crime probably should have his firearm drawn until he has reason to believe he DOESN'T need it.

[bobblehead]

The cameras being off should be a fireable offense.
.

I tend to agree, but I THINK its not mandatory at this point in Las Vegas. I will say that their cameras being off lends credibility to Bennett's side of the story though.

[bobblehead]

I am not MMQ this situation. I am saying the entire approach to police conduct, from training through conduct review and correction and data collection, is riddled with holes and self dealing.

The administrators allowed to get away with this have reasons to bury bad news. Its almost the union head's job. Those who do poor police work have obvious motives. Its simply a stupid way to do the public's business. There are exceptions and model programs and departments. But the fact that the difference never even gets discussed is why this never gets fixed. And trust is not earned back. Its either with the police or against them.

I just realized you are one post from 50k.. I can be a complete dick to you and you dare not waste that post on pettiness I won't though. I respect the 50k too much.

[mraynrand]

I disagree Pb, and I respect your opinion in most things. An officer approaching ANY individual in a possible crime probably should have his firearm drawn until he has reason to believe he DOESN'T need it.

Particularly in cases where they can't see what they're facing.

Our personal perspectives are so dramatically different than the police officer. We know we're innocent, but they have to assume the worst, or they get shot. Especially in areas with high crime, high levels of gang activity, stolen gun possession, etc. etc.