quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

For those not following, or even hearing about, the story, Manuel Ramos is a former Fullerton California cop, currently being tried for second-degree murder in the beating death of a mentally ill homeless man named Kelly Thomas. My cynical side thinks he'll wind up maybe serving a year in protective custody.

I'm of the opinion that being a police officer should be considered a special cirumstance for a case like this, and, as we have mandatory minumums for various drug offenses, any law enforcement officer convicted of a felony should receive an automatic extension of the sentence, with a requirement that they serve their time in a maximum security facility, and without the possibility of parole.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kelly_Thomas

Thoughts?

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

Thoughts?

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

For those not following, or even hearing about, the story, Manuel Ramos is a former Fullerton California cop, currently being tried for second-degree murder in the beating death of a mentally ill homeless man named Kelly Thomas. My cynical side thinks he'll wind up maybe serving a year in protective custody.

I'm of the opinion that being a police officer should be considered a special cirumstance for a case like this, and, as we have mandatory minumums for various drug offenses, any law enforcement officer convicted of a felony should receive an automatic extension of the sentence, with a requirement that they serve their time in a maximum security facility, and without the possibility of parole.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kelly_Thomas

Thoughts?

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444


I particularly dislike the Police State where cops feel entitled to stop and frisk anyone they don't like the look of (even tho only certain cities allow stop & frisks, as I understand it) or feel they are above the law or that their job title gives them the right to beat the shit outta someone just cuz they feel like doing it that day & any minor excuse will do.. The cops that do these things (and the cops that defend their actions) give all cops a bad name, give all cops a higher risk job and create a distrust of police by (generally) law abiding people..

quote:

ORIGINAL: MsMJAY

If a military member with special skills and training kills someone (without justifiable cause) using those skills he can get a heavier sentence because of his unique training and abilities. The same should apply to cops because of their training and the unique type of power they hold.

Law enforcement officers are (arguably) the most powerful individuals in our society because they are the only ones who have the authority to approach average citizens and strip them of their inalienable rights (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness).

Incidentally they are one of the only professions in the US that does not have national standards or a national board that governs conduct.

quote:

ORIGINAL: EdBowie

All US jurisdictions allow stop and frisk for legitimate safety purposes as set forth in the original Supreme Court ruling of Terry v. Ohio, and subsequent refining cases.

Every time a locality  (like NYC or Arizona) has tried to ignore the Constitution, and let the police stop anyone based just on appearances, they've been slapped down in court, and had to pay out large sums of (the taxpayer's) money.

That's on the politicians, more than the individual cops.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444


I particularly dislike the Police State where cops feel entitled to stop and frisk anyone they don't like the look of (even tho only certain cities allow stop & frisks, as I understand it) or feel they are above the law or that their job title gives them the right to beat the shit outta someone just cuz they feel like doing it that day & any minor excuse will do.. The cops that do these things (and the cops that defend their actions) give all cops a bad name, give all cops a higher risk job and create a distrust of police by (generally) law abiding people..

quote:

ORIGINAL: thishereboi

Assholes like this give cops a bad name.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444

yeah, sure, tell that to some people (usually black males) who get stopped way too frequently, one area I read about in FL it was very common, one guy said he was stopped almost daily, and as many as 3 times in one day.. one guy was repeatedly arrested at his workplace for "trespassing".. WTF?.. when its mostly (usually poor/low income) blacks subjected to this, well, who is gonna slap the locality down?

"The paper told the story of Earl Sampson, a 28-year-old Miami Gardens resident who has been stopped and questioned 258 times in four years, searched more than 100 times, and arrested and jailed 56 times. The worst offense he’s been convicted of? Possession of marijuana.
But the truly mind-blowing thing about the case is that Sampson has been arrested dozens of times for trespassing at the convenience store where he works.
You didn’t read that wrong: He has been arrested, sometimes several times in one week, for loitering or trespassing at his workplace. And the cops know who he is and that he works there, because it is often the same cops who conduct the arrests – over and over again.
From the Herald:
One video, recorded on June 26, 2012, shows Sampson, clearly stocking coolers, being interrupted by MGPD Sgt. William Dunaske, who orders him to put his hands behind his back, and then handcuffs him, leads him out of the store and takes him to jail for trespassing.
More than once, [store owner Alex] Saleh has told police that Sampson is an employee and is not trespassing."

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/11/meet-man-repeatedly-arrested-trespassing-his-job/7676/

quote:

ORIGINAL: EdBowie

All US jurisdictions allow stop and frisk for legitimate safety purposes as set forth in the original Supreme Court ruling of Terry v. Ohio, and subsequent refining cases.

Every time a locality  (like NYC or Arizona) has tried to ignore the Constitution, and let the police stop anyone based just on appearances, they've been slapped down in court, and had to pay out large sums of (the taxpayer's) money.

That's on the politicians, more than the individual cops.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444


I particularly dislike the Police State where cops feel entitled to stop and frisk anyone they don't like the look of (even tho only certain cities allow stop & frisks, as I understand it) or feel they are above the law or that their job title gives them the right to beat the shit outta someone just cuz they feel like doing it that day & any minor excuse will do.. The cops that do these things (and the cops that defend their actions) give all cops a bad name, give all cops a higher risk job and create a distrust of police by (generally) law abiding people..

quote:

ORIGINAL: EdBowie

Being stopped for no reason, being questioned with no cause, and being harassed etc. are not the same thing as 'stop and frisk'. 
The former tactics are called 'rousting'.  Stop and frisk is a weapons pat down, when there is an articulable reason to suspect weapons.  

The way you used the term was misleading... (that only certain cities allow stop and frisk).  I took the time to offer anyone who wanted to get useful information, the name of the controlling Supreme Court ruling on 'stop and frisk', often referred to as a 'Terry pat-down'.

So instead of reading the facts, you just completely make up the straw man that I said that rousting never happens, when in fact I clearly said just the opposite, and even gave NYC and Arizona as examples... 

Why is that?

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444

the OP asked for peoples thoughts

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

quote:

ORIGINAL: thishereboi

Assholes like this give cops a bad name.

I was looking at it differently, Boi. Too often, it seems cops give assholes like this a good name.

quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

Amazing how isolated incidents...most likely lower than in the general population...bring out the hang-um high bunch. To me they should be treated as any accused and if convicted receive the same sentence.
They do not deserve a lighter OR more stringent treatment. Their profession should make no difference in sentencing. It is the person being prosecuted for a crime not the profession of law enforcement.

Butch