If We had a "Cops in America doing a good job" thread with "a detective succesfully solving a murder case" going viral, the picture might be a bit more nuanced but I've seen Dexter, so I doubt it ever happens.
We have lots of those programs and they are usually cold cases. I don't know if they are decent cops in these shows but it's those couple of cases that they can't and won't let go of. With a little help and fresh eyes they show new lines of inquiry leads to people of interest. They are so sad to watch and I'm always astounded by the lengths people go to for a bit of insurance cash.
But just look at the amount of rape kits that went and still go untested. It's things like these that highlight the bullshit and that's without going in to the legal system.This isn't just about violence, it's about destroying lives and not doing enough to bring justice or help victims heal.
Rotten to the core and it doesn't have to be. A majority do a fantastic job, an important job but it's not enough right now.They are the abusive spouse and the public are the abused. They could have all the resources possible with complete faith in them by the public. They don't, and to show they don't care they came out to bash skulls of people, 99% unarmed, during a time of international protest in solidarity of people if color, yet a few weeks before ignored a majority white public demanding haircuts and grass seed during a pandemic lockdown while brandishing high powered weaponry.
The police in America have pinned their flag to a mast that the world wants to tear down. Their recruitment should reflect that. They also need to man up and get over the fact that not everyone wants to kill them. Empathy and an understanding that if a person is dragged in to the legal system over something minor it tends not to be pretty and very fecking expensive. The public has a right to be pissed sometimes and not be spoken down to by cops. And credit where it's due, I do see a lot of higher rank officers showing the same frustration as us but then the union steps in to defend the indefensible and we are back to square one, making excuses that a grown man whose only authority is a badge bestowed to him by us the public, is ok to electrocute a pregnant woman in the stomach.
They are not a private entity or security company. They are employed by us and should act as such. If my local fire department refused to answer emergency calls in protest because my municipality had an issue with their hiring practices would we have a problem? I would say so. Should police who say they fear for their life get to execute or seriously assault unarmed people for minor crimes and misdemeanors that should be handled by a legal system? I say no fecking way. Do the job, protect and serve.