- Jan 15, 2013
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By Sunil Dutta August 19 at 6:00 AM
Sunil Dutta, a professor of homeland security at Colorado Tech University, has been an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department for 17 years. The views presented here are his own and do not represent the LAPD.
A teenager is fatally shot by a police officer; the police are accused of being bloodthirsty, trigger-happy murderers; riots erupt. This, we are led to believe, is the way of things in America.
It is also a terrible calumny; cops are not murderers. No officer goes out in the field wishing to shoot anyone, armed or unarmed. And while theyre unlikely to defend it quite as loudly during a time of national angst like this one, people who work in law enforcement know they are legally vested with the authority to detain suspects an authority that must sometimes be enforced. Regardless of what happened with Mike Brown, in the overwhelming majority of cases it is not the cops, but the people they stop, who can prevent detentions from turning into tragedies.
Working the street, I cant even count how many times I withstood curses, screaming tantrums, aggressive and menacing encroachments on my safety zone, and outright challenges to my authority. In the vast majority of such encounters, I was able to peacefully resolve the situation without using force. Cops deploy their training and their intuition creatively, and I wielded every trick in my arsenal, including verbal judo, humor, warnings and ostentatious displays of the lethal (and nonlethal) hardware resting in my duty belt. One time, for instance, my partner and I faced a belligerent man who had doused his car with gallons of gas and was about to create a firebomb at a busy mall filled with holiday shoppers. The potential for serious harm to the bystanders would have justified deadly force. Instead, I distracted him with a hook about his family and loved ones, and he disengaged without hurting anyone. Every day cops show similar restraint and resolve incidents that could easily end up in serious injuries or worse.
Sometimes, though, no amount of persuasion or warnings work on a belligerent person; thats when cops have to use force, and the results can be tragic. We are still learning what transpired between Officer Darren Wilson and Brown, but in most cases its less ambiguous and officers are rarely at fault. When they use force, they are defending their, or the publics, safety.
Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you dont want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Dont argue with me, dont call me names, dont tell me that I cant stop you, dont say Im a racist pig, dont threaten that youll sue me and take away my badge. Dont scream at me that you pay my salary, and dont even think of aggressively walking towards me. Most field stops are complete in minutes. How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?
DONT ARGUE WITH ME, DONT CALL ME NAMES, DONT TELL ME THAT I CANT STOP YOU, DONT SAY IM A RACIST PIG, DONT THREATEN THAT YOULL SUE ME AND TAKE AWAY MY BADGE. DONT SCREAM AT ME THAT YOU PAY MY SALARY, AND DONT EVEN THINK OF AGGRESSIVELY WALKING TOWARDS ME.
I know it is scary for people to be stopped by cops. I also understand the anger and frustration if people believe they have been stopped unjustly or without a reason. I am aware that corrupt and bully cops exist. When it comes to police misconduct, I side with the ACLU: Having worked as an internal affairs investigator, I know that some officers engage in unprofessional and arrogant behavior; sometimes they behave like criminals themselves. I also believe every cop should use a body camera to record interactions with the community at all times. Every police car should have a video recorder. (This will prevent a situation like Mike Browns shooting, about which conflicting and self-serving statements allow people to believe what they want.) And you dont have to submit to an illegal stop or search. You can refuse consent to search your car or home if theres no warrant (though a pat-down is still allowed if there is cause for suspicion). Always ask the officer whether you are under detention or are free to leave. Unless the officer has a legal basis to stop and search you, he or she must let you go. Finally, cops are legally prohibited from using excessive force: The moment a suspect submits and stops resisting, the officers must cease use of force.
But if you believe (or know) that the cop stopping you is violating your rights or is acting like a bully, I guarantee that the situation will not become easier if you show your anger and resentment. Worse, initiating a physical confrontation is a sure recipe for getting hurt. Police are legally permitted to use deadly force when they assess a serious threat to their or someone elses life. Save your anger for later, and channel it appropriately. Do what the officer tells you to and it will end safely for both of you. We have a justice system in which you are presumed innocent; if a cop can do his or her job unmolested, that system can run its course. Later, you can ask for a supervisor, lodge a complaint or contact civil rights organizations if you believe your rights were violated. Feel free to sue the police! Just dont challenge a cop during a stop.
An average person cannot comprehend the risks and has no true understanding of a cops job. Hollywood and television stereotypes of the police are cartoons in which fearless super cops singlehandedly defeat dozens of thugs, shooting guns out of their hands. Real life is different. An average cop is always concerned with his or her safety and tries to control every encounter. That is how we are trained. While most citizens are courteous and law abiding, the subset of people we generally interact with everyday are not the genteel types. You dont know what is in my mind when I stop you. Did I just get a radio call of a shooting moments ago? Am I looking for a murderer or an armed fugitive? For you, this might be a simple traffic stop, for me each traffic stop is a potentially dangerous encounter. Show some empathy for an officers safety concerns. Dont make our job more difficult than it already is.
Community members deserve courtesy, respect and professionalism from their officers. Every person stopped by a cop should feel safe instead of feeling that their wellbeing is in jeopardy. Shouldnt the community members extend the same courtesy to their officers and project that the officers safety is not threatened by their actions?
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I thought this was a very good read, and he seems like the sort of officer who is very intelligent and full force was a very last resort.
By Sunil Dutta August 19 at 6:00 AM
Sunil Dutta, a professor of homeland security at Colorado Tech University, has been an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department for 17 years. The views presented here are his own and do not represent the LAPD.
A teenager is fatally shot by a police officer; the police are accused of being bloodthirsty, trigger-happy murderers; riots erupt. This, we are led to believe, is the way of things in America.
It is also a terrible calumny; cops are not murderers. No officer goes out in the field wishing to shoot anyone, armed or unarmed. And while theyre unlikely to defend it quite as loudly during a time of national angst like this one, people who work in law enforcement know they are legally vested with the authority to detain suspects an authority that must sometimes be enforced. Regardless of what happened with Mike Brown, in the overwhelming majority of cases it is not the cops, but the people they stop, who can prevent detentions from turning into tragedies.
Working the street, I cant even count how many times I withstood curses, screaming tantrums, aggressive and menacing encroachments on my safety zone, and outright challenges to my authority. In the vast majority of such encounters, I was able to peacefully resolve the situation without using force. Cops deploy their training and their intuition creatively, and I wielded every trick in my arsenal, including verbal judo, humor, warnings and ostentatious displays of the lethal (and nonlethal) hardware resting in my duty belt. One time, for instance, my partner and I faced a belligerent man who had doused his car with gallons of gas and was about to create a firebomb at a busy mall filled with holiday shoppers. The potential for serious harm to the bystanders would have justified deadly force. Instead, I distracted him with a hook about his family and loved ones, and he disengaged without hurting anyone. Every day cops show similar restraint and resolve incidents that could easily end up in serious injuries or worse.
Sometimes, though, no amount of persuasion or warnings work on a belligerent person; thats when cops have to use force, and the results can be tragic. We are still learning what transpired between Officer Darren Wilson and Brown, but in most cases its less ambiguous and officers are rarely at fault. When they use force, they are defending their, or the publics, safety.
Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you dont want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Dont argue with me, dont call me names, dont tell me that I cant stop you, dont say Im a racist pig, dont threaten that youll sue me and take away my badge. Dont scream at me that you pay my salary, and dont even think of aggressively walking towards me. Most field stops are complete in minutes. How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?
DONT ARGUE WITH ME, DONT CALL ME NAMES, DONT TELL ME THAT I CANT STOP YOU, DONT SAY IM A RACIST PIG, DONT THREATEN THAT YOULL SUE ME AND TAKE AWAY MY BADGE. DONT SCREAM AT ME THAT YOU PAY MY SALARY, AND DONT EVEN THINK OF AGGRESSIVELY WALKING TOWARDS ME.
I know it is scary for people to be stopped by cops. I also understand the anger and frustration if people believe they have been stopped unjustly or without a reason. I am aware that corrupt and bully cops exist. When it comes to police misconduct, I side with the ACLU: Having worked as an internal affairs investigator, I know that some officers engage in unprofessional and arrogant behavior; sometimes they behave like criminals themselves. I also believe every cop should use a body camera to record interactions with the community at all times. Every police car should have a video recorder. (This will prevent a situation like Mike Browns shooting, about which conflicting and self-serving statements allow people to believe what they want.) And you dont have to submit to an illegal stop or search. You can refuse consent to search your car or home if theres no warrant (though a pat-down is still allowed if there is cause for suspicion). Always ask the officer whether you are under detention or are free to leave. Unless the officer has a legal basis to stop and search you, he or she must let you go. Finally, cops are legally prohibited from using excessive force: The moment a suspect submits and stops resisting, the officers must cease use of force.
But if you believe (or know) that the cop stopping you is violating your rights or is acting like a bully, I guarantee that the situation will not become easier if you show your anger and resentment. Worse, initiating a physical confrontation is a sure recipe for getting hurt. Police are legally permitted to use deadly force when they assess a serious threat to their or someone elses life. Save your anger for later, and channel it appropriately. Do what the officer tells you to and it will end safely for both of you. We have a justice system in which you are presumed innocent; if a cop can do his or her job unmolested, that system can run its course. Later, you can ask for a supervisor, lodge a complaint or contact civil rights organizations if you believe your rights were violated. Feel free to sue the police! Just dont challenge a cop during a stop.
An average person cannot comprehend the risks and has no true understanding of a cops job. Hollywood and television stereotypes of the police are cartoons in which fearless super cops singlehandedly defeat dozens of thugs, shooting guns out of their hands. Real life is different. An average cop is always concerned with his or her safety and tries to control every encounter. That is how we are trained. While most citizens are courteous and law abiding, the subset of people we generally interact with everyday are not the genteel types. You dont know what is in my mind when I stop you. Did I just get a radio call of a shooting moments ago? Am I looking for a murderer or an armed fugitive? For you, this might be a simple traffic stop, for me each traffic stop is a potentially dangerous encounter. Show some empathy for an officers safety concerns. Dont make our job more difficult than it already is.
Community members deserve courtesy, respect and professionalism from their officers. Every person stopped by a cop should feel safe instead of feeling that their wellbeing is in jeopardy. Shouldnt the community members extend the same courtesy to their officers and project that the officers safety is not threatened by their actions?
---------------------------------------
I thought this was a very good read, and he seems like the sort of officer who is very intelligent and full force was a very last resort.