Well, here in Canada that simply is not so.
I have never been a peace officer, but I was trained by cops with a capital "C". I took a course in Toronto on Crisis Management, Law and Use of Force, Handcuffing, Effective Communications, sharp-edged weapons defense, and use of the baton. I was qualified as an instructor to pass these skills on to private security.
I was also, in a completely different setting, trained and qualified as a firearms instructor for private guards (armoured car services)
Our head instructor at the first school mentioned had been an instructor at the OPP Police Academy, and the head instructor at the Toronto Police Academy....he had also been a Toronto street cop for 22 years.
He said something to us that amazed me coming from a police officer: "There is something about police work that attracts exactly the wrong type of person"
He went on to reflect on how difficult it was to weed out the dangerous, the sadistic, the dishonest,. as many would never reveal their tendency in any test........until that test was a situation on the job.
That always stuck with me.
I will take your word for it.
Unfortunately, that's just not the case in the U.S. Cops dismissed from departments for being the wrong type easily find work in other departments, and the training and tactics are increasingly military. As I said, read Radley Balko. He wrote a book, but if you google "Radley Balko police training" you can get lots of free info from him.
There are, of course, exceptions. A few departments emphasize community policing, building relationships, de-escalation of hostilities, and non-lethal force. But the overall trend is to military vehicles, military weapons, and military mindsets. And what's the salient feature of the military mindset? It has an enemy. With that as the operative mode, is it any wonder our cops shoot people left, right, and center?
As I said, I feel sorry for Slager. He acted according to his training, right down to the lying and covering up. Not saying that's in the formal training, but surely you know that after the formal training, you get the "real deal" from your elders on the force.
well that explains people who think they need to be armed for when they come for us...
I thought that was just a Rambo wet dream...sounds like it isn't, and yet they are the very ones who think cops can do no wrong but yet they are armed to the teeth for "when they come for us"
I'm glad I'm old...
going to go google
*sigh*
sometimes ignorance is bliss
Look on the bright side. It's Radley Balko, not John Smith. Can't be that many Radley Balkos on the Web. As I said to Colpy, if you google "radley balko police training," you'll get lots of free info. And Balko backs up his assertions with facts and stats. When he's sure of something, he tells you why. When he's not so sure, he'll identify areas where he's making a leap. He's honest. That's pretty rare in the discussion of crime and punishment.
