Hey Guys,

I know alot of you here are fonds of or are real poice officers but I was wondering what you thought of The Occupy Movement.

It is quite apparent that there is many cases of police brutality during the peacful protests, I could quote many videos and bring evidence. It happend. These violent gretuitus police crackdowns are inhumane and even against the very foundations of american law. Unarmed peaceful protestors shot in the chest with rubber bullets, then flash granaded if anyone tryed to help, it is disgraceful, this police state of America. The Bourgeois 1% scum cut police budget and the police beat civilians for it. This is wrong America WAKE UP!

I wont get into where I am on either side of this but I will say, Yes police brutality happens. And not just in the states.

But, most photo or video evidence allthough on the face of it seems clear cut I take with a pintch of salt. I have seen the same pieces of video footage in the past used to argue different points and sides of an argument.

As to the "occupy movement" again this isn't just happening in the states. In London the same thing went down. I will always fight for peoples right to protest, and in this case I do believe they have a genuine case but things have gotten out of hand.

Mainly by "middle class" people who think the law don't apply to them as they are law abiding and demonstrating a point but putting up tents and ocupying public spaces is not in the spirit of what free speach is meant to mean, in any country.

That's where things went too far. It seems now no one can express themselves or demonstrate without putting up a tent and moving to a public place to live for a few weeks.

So, the protesters have a genuine issue, but imo a genuine issue don't give people the right to do as they please. Only to say what they please.

It would be a crappy place to live if every one with an opinion set up tent and camped. Where does it stop ? Outside of hospitals to protest health cuts. outside of schools for education reforms. I think you get what I am saying.

Well, redbull, you started good...But the second half of the post was...Not so good...

The thing with "video evidence" is that it rarely shows the full picture. Unless we were right there, there is no way to know what could have provoked it. As for these protests being 'peacefull,' I am not entirely convinced of that.

Regarding your comment about the "police state of America," you've gotta be kidding. See, we have these things called laws, rules, and regulations. In many places, for instance a city nearby me, the protesters have been told that they cannot be in these locations during certain times, which as far as I can see, is well within the rights of the citys. Yet, the protesters don't seem to care, and thus they are trespassing. If trying to enforce a reasonable law makes us a police state, then so be it. But if you want to see a real police state, there are better places to look.

I'm totally against all forms of police brutality, but sometimes during mass demonstrations and protests like these, you have to put yourself in the officer's shoes and try to imagine how you would feel when surrounded by thousands of protesters, a small minority of whom are resorting to using violence. Sometimes I imagine that the cops on the ground feel that they have to take control of the situation and therefore use varying levels of force to try to remain in control. It's a hard one really, because you see things like the 87 year-old grand mother in Seattle who was pepper sprayed, but then there are hooligans throwing rocks, bricks and whatever else.

Not that I approve of the police brutality that may have happened, but put yourself in the position of the officers.

You've been given strict orders to clear public places from tents and camps but when you get there, you get sweared at, people throw stuff at you and some are even violent towards you.

I'm sure a lot of officers agree with the views of the occupy movement but they have their job to do and unfortunately, some of these people can't be persuaded to leave unless force is used.

Edit: Damn, Ninja'd :ph34r:

Edited November 17, 201114 yr by kjel0112

I don't approve of police brutality, but if more people were beaten for committing felonies instead of being slapped on the hand with a few months in jail, they may learn their lesson.

The Occupy movements are nowhere near peaceful or organized and seem to be more of a joke. They do not represent the 99% of Americans who are actually tired of hearing about their pathetic need for government handouts on the nightly news with the news broadcasters supporting them. They have no clear goals and the protests have become an excuse to break the law. They interfere with traffic laws, pollute the city streets, hamper local businesses which they say they are for, shit on police cars and other public property, keep residents up all night with their constant noise, interfere with people trying to enjoy a public park, been "supported" by the millionaires they are protesting against like Michael Moore, and camp out in public parks (just because it has the term public in it does not mean you dictate what you can and can't do in it), all of this using the excuse of protesting without even having permits to protest.

Most of those alleged cases of police brutality were done after the "protesters" were told numerous times to vacate an area, and if someone isn't smart enough to leave by then, they are asking for trouble, with a lot of people provoking officers. I've read countless articles with headings that would suggest police brutality with mere sentences deep in the middle of the article stating that the protesters were fighting with the police, which there is no excuse for. Look at Occupy Oakland for example: They shut down a city port, interfering with businesses in the area, and they expect to be allowed to do whatever they want simply because they are "protesting". In Occupy Seattle, "protestors" blocked several intersections during rush hour, then started throwing their crap at officers and assaulting them with sticks. In a riotous situation where even a few people are causing trouble, the policy of any rational department is to disperse the area so there is not anyone left, and as I have said before. If someone sticks around after being warned they will be forcibly removed, they are asking for trouble.

Also, on your bit on how this is against the American law to break up a protest, you are missing several things. First, the constitution is not the law, it is a set of guidelines that the government must follow. Also, you seem to have forgot the two words before assemble, "peacefully to". There is nothing peaceful about what has been happening at the protests.

Edited November 17, 201114 yr by c13

Also, on your bit on how this is against the American law to break up a protest, you are missing several things. First, the constitution is not the law, it is a set of guidelines that the government must follow.

That's not quite right. It's not right at all, actually. The Constitution IS the law, and the government can't violate it. Ever. Now, there are exceptions to everything in the Bill of Rights (classic example: you can't shout "Fire" in a crowded theater if you know there isn't one). For protests, it has been ruled you can regulate where, when, and how they can be done. This doesn't mean you can control what they say; the regulations have to be the same for everyone, and are usually pretty permissive (police will often even close off streets, as long as you have a permit). That is why they are clearing people out - they are breaking the restrictions on where and when they can protest.

police do their job, and their job is to keep peace, and protect and serve. if some people want to bs around with the police well... some have short tepures ( ha ha ) and most of the suspects deserve it... people should leave the police alone...... 100th post! :)

Edited November 18, 201114 yr by JACK

police do their job, and their job is to keep peace, and protect and serve. if some people want to bs around with the police well... some have short tepures ( ha ha ) and most of the suspects deserve it... people should leave the police alone...... 100th post! :)

So you want no action towards police brutality, and they dont keep the peace they are mostly the ones who start it. I have seen a video where american riot police stand tumping their shields prevoking attack.

I won't form an opinion based on a short video clip that only shows an officer, or anyone for that matter, using physical force, that only shows the image the creator intended, not the objective truth, they can leave out protesters masking up and throwing missiles at officers, yet uses the police reaction.

The media lies, they do, they really do, journalists makes stuff up or manipulates what actually happened if it suits the narrative better, that applies to every news media out there, news papers television news, internet news etc.

I am not the most informed about the "occupy"movements, but one thing is clear to me, and that is that they lack direction, they seem to want to change the world, yet they don't know how, simply sitting around and getting beaten by cops won't change anything, they need to figure out some form of leadership, figure out what their goals are, and how they are going to achieve it, simply sitting around in their camps smoking weed andwhatnot will not get them results.

The role of police in situations like this is a tricky one, the police are here to maintain law and order among the citizens, which is where things gets tricky, because you have a right to demonstrate, yet police has to maintain order in society, it's a fine line, and it's not always executed the right way, they have to use enough force to accomplish the task at hand, yet not use too much force against civilians.

Where there's a large demo or protest, there's bound to be the black core that are only there to cause trouble, they will be there regardless of the main protests objectives.

Furthermore:

There will be a reaction from police when you decide to use physical force against police a prime example of our guys during the COP15 summit in 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puiAD69B5v4

The prostates tries to storm police lines, but are met with a nice round of baton whipping, followed by them screaming at cops, the bear WILL bite if you poke it.

That video also shows how important it is to get a bigger picture, had it started at 0:10 instead of 0:02, then it would be the police that were beating on innocent protesters, always have that in mind when you watch "police brutality" videos from events such as this.

I have seen some footage that seemed to contain excessive force, one showed an officer throwing or shooting a flashbang grenade into a group of people that was trying to provide first aid for a seriously injured protester.

Some of the reactions from the police to the "occupy" protesters have been a little heavy handed. The pepper spraying ay UC Davis seems to me a perfect example. The problem is the supreme courts in the sates and federal level have justified the use of pepper spray and tasers for passive resistance. I personally believe a Taser to be a semi deadly or at least a potentially deadly weapon and I would like to see the use of it limited. The thing is in order to change these practices used by police departments you need to lobby your representatives to change the laws.

Everyone jumps on the police as if they're the bad guys in this but you have to understand they have a job to do and orders. I know the Nazis were only following orders but there's a difference there. Overall the police in this country do a pretty good job, there are some bad apples but thats going to happen it's unfortunate but a fact of life. The blame should fall on the protesters as much as anyone they provoke the government into actions they would rather not take. Do you think the police make these decisions alone? I'm pretty sure that for the most part the cops could care less what the protesters do. The problem is the chief gets a call from the mayor who probably got a call from the governor if it was a big enough issue. If you want someone to blame look to the top of the totem poles not to the police officers they don't call the shots.

There is no news reporting that is completely objective or unbiased. It's impossible to do anyway.

When I first saw the orange substance being sprayed, I thought of something very sinister. But it turns out it was nothing more than pepper spray. It wasn't VX Nerve gas or some other chemical agent, it was pepper spray. They refused to move, so they should be sprayed. I don't care how peaceful a demonstration is, if you have been given a lawful order by a police officer to move on and you refuse to move, you should be sprayed at the very least. Using pepper spray was a good idea, we could've seen officers using batons and hitting people. Before being sprayed and while being sprayed, the demonstrators had the opportunity to leave their "human barricade", but they remained. Now they are complaining and launching "lawsuits". What a just society we live in. You can refuse to obey an instruction from a law enforcement officer but launch a lawsuit for "damages" and "pain" whilst failing to observe the law.

Don't see any ''Police Brutality'' there. Just Riot Enforcement who does their job. Seems like this is one big protest. And protests are only allowed if the judge says so, and has informed the actions you may take. Because also that has their limits. If you haven't asked for permission, like in this case, I don't see what is going wrong. They shouldn't be doing that then... They must behave like we all do. Police just does their job and we must respect it.

Before being sprayed and while being sprayed, the demonstrators had the opportunity to leave their "human barricade", but they remained. Now they are complaining and launching "lawsuits". What a just society we live in. You can refuse to obey an instruction from a law enforcement officer but launch a lawsuit for "damages" and "pain" whilst failing to observe the law.

This is the good ol' USA at its best. People give you dirty looks for saying "hello" in a public place, civilians accuse LEOs of being brutal because civilians failed to follow the law, and people complain that undercover police cars are "entrapment" and is also an abuse of power.

[sarcasm]

Oh, I just love this country!

[/sarcasm]

Edited November 20, 201114 yr by Iconography

Absolute disgrace that the officers have now been suspended.

This is the good ol' USA at its best. People give you dirty looks for saying "hello" in a public place, civilians accuse LEOs of being brutal because civilians failed to follow the law, and people complain that undercover police cars are "entrapment" and is also an abuse of power.

You nailed it there. You could even say that's the society we live in today, unfortunately. I am in no way against standing up for your rights but I think people of today have become too cocky. They think they can sue you for just about anything, even if they clearly didn't obey the law.

I can't speak for other countries, but out here there is almost no respect for LEO's. It's a shame really, since respect is one of the most important values I think.