The myth of the hero cop

The myth of the hero cop: Police unions have spread a dangerous message about America’s law enforcement officers.:

It’s hard to prosecute cops. There are two main reasons for this: The first is the special deference that jurors, judges, and prosecutors show officers thanks to the widespread perception that they are heroic public figures valiantly trying to protect us. The second is the bevy of special laws around the country that are designed to shield police officers from the very tactics the police regularly use on ordinary suspects.

Thank you, David Feige of Slate, for your in-depth review of all the reasons why (in your mind) police are not subject to the same scrutiny as 'common citizens' are ... because of "special laws .. to shield police ... "

One thing:  yes, there are "Bad Cops", and as we are all human I'm pretty sure that most cops are flawed.

So .. three questions:

One:  Do you have a gun to protect yourself?  Or do you rely on 911 in case you are assaulted?
Two: Have you ever been mugged?
Three: have you ever been arrested?

The thing is, you appear to reside in New York City.
And .. the bromide is:

A Liberal is someone who has been arrested.
A Conservative is someone who has been mugged.

So, although you have not offered any "full disclosure", we're assuming that you were arrested for drug charges?  Marijuana?  Or a more mind-altering substance?  (I'm guessing something more powerful than Weed .. cops generally trend to ignore Grass arrests, because there are too many of them among the Liberal Community to do anything more constructive than issue a 'ticket', which can incur nothing more onerous than a fine.  Which would explain the grudge you obviously have against police officers.)

Getting back to Question 1:  I'm guessing that you rely on the police to protect you.  Which they cannot do, of course, because those "highly paid" public servants have too many clueless citizens to
"Protect and Serve".

So, you don't have a gun.  Well, of course you don't.  You live in New York City, the town that FORCES you to rely on local police to protect you.  But you don't appreciate that, because you know that there are 10,000  (plus)  police who are paid FAR too much money for giving you very limited protection.

Please note that the reason why you cannot have a gun to protect yourself is because your liberal friends made it illegal.  Not the cops; your Liberal Friends.

Clue-bat notice:  The police aren't there to protect you.  They are there to solve crimes, and arrest miscreants.  Perhaps you are uncomfortable with that situation.  I don't blame you.  If I relied on the cops to protect me, I would be similarly disappointed that they are NOT liable for failure to protect you from assault.  Or robbery, or anything else.  Is that the reason you're so down on cops, Binky?

Given the restraints on cops, it's no wonder that you are disillusioned.  That's okay .. it's not their fault.  Your Liberal Representatives have made sure that you can't sue cops when they can't protect you.   Someone seems to think that personal protection is YOUR job, not the cops.

Let's get to the part where you claim that the police are corrupt and .. what was your term?

Unfairly protected

Oh, yeah; we just covered that.  You think they are "unfairly protected"; but the fact is that if you are mugged, the cops don't much care.  The same if someone steals the radio out of your car (which you don't OWN, because you know it's too dangerous and too expensive to own a car in NYC because .. theft) the cops have no way to deal with minor thievery.  Beat Cops take reports, and pass them on.  Beat Cops are also the first responders, and when it's the murder of an infant in her crib (for example), they have to go home and tell their wife that it was 'just another  day on The Job", and hope they don't keep her awake when they can't sleep that night because of the images that they can't wipe out of their memory .. which lasts for decades.

Yep.  It's an easy job, and they are certainly overpaid.

You complain that:  " ...  the average beat cop costs the taxpayers more than $150,000 per year."
Sounds like pretty good bread.  So, why didn't you apply to the police department, go through the training regimen, and become a cop?  By your perception, it's an easy job with little or no risk, and the pay is great!

Could it be because you just don't have the guts to put your life on the line for your fellow New Yorkers? Or you don't care to deal with the 'seamy underside of New York" on a daily basis?

Strange .. you don't seem to consider that it's a risky business, underpaid and under-financed, and the only way cops can make a decent living it to volunteer for overtime hours.  Often this is just standing in the rain for hours on end, directing traffic.  But sometimes that's actually facing people who are violent, insane, vengeful and .. oh, did we discuss that POLICE ARE TARGETS FOR BAD MEN?

But you're pretty well focused on that $150,000 per year paycheck ....
... even though you don't seem to have considered the horrible working conditions they regularly endure to feed their family.  And BTW .. $150,000 year is pretty much what sanitation workers in major cities draw.  They all get The Big Bucks because nobody would take that nasty-ass job if they didn't get compensated in proportion to the unsavory nature of the job they accept.

The reason for the one hundred fifty dollar paycheck (which requires a TON of overtime in the cesspool which is a major city) is that it's a crappy world, and these folks are on the front line .. they see the disincorporated body of the 29-year-old executive who just jumped from the 80th floor of his executive condominium, and they go scour the block to pick up the pieces.  

Then the detectives wander by, take reports, and go back to talk to the Captain.

And then some asshole like you writes an article complaining about cops who are not heroic at all.

You are SUCH a jerk.  If you spent one day doing what these stolid men and women do EVERY DAY, you would puke your guts out and spend the next week in bed.  With the covers over your head.

And you would hate yourself.   Rightfully.

Baltimore’s streets are quiet again. Baltimore’s state’s attorney Marilyn J. Mosby moved quickly in securing indictments against six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, and her decisive action has calmed the city for now. But getting a grand jury to indict police officers is a lot easier than getting convictions at trial. That’s because like any prosecutor trying to hold cops accountable, Mosby will be working on an uneven playing field. To prove her case, she won’t just need sufficient evidence. She will also have to overcome a number of deep-seated structural impediments to convicting police officers of crimes—no matter how guilty they are. 

No matter how guilty they are.  Do you hear yourself?  No trial, and you have already proclaimed them GUILTY, because .. because you can.

Asshole.