Cops Drag Woman Having Diabetic Episode Out of Car After Minor Car Wreck, Leave Her Limp and Handcuffed on Asphalt on Summer Day in New Mexico

Protecting and serving! Revina Garcia rear-ended another vehicle while having a diabetic episode. She was unable to extricate herself from her car….so friendly helpful police smashed her window, dragged her out, cuffed her, and left her face down on asphalt on a summer day in New Mexico. That's what you get for getting in a car crash, perp!

Report and video from KOAT-7 TV in Albuquerque:

A deputy shattered Garcia's car window and pulled her out of the car. Garcia was then thrown on the street face down and handcuffed.

"In this case there was no resistance. We are looking at that very seriously," Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia said.

With Garcia's face on the ground and her not moving at all, deputies walk away. Garcia said her blood sugar was so low that she could have gone into a coma….

"What concerns me is there is no need to lay someone on the ground for that amount of time. There were other deputies around that could have assisted in at least sitting her up or having her placed in a cruiser," said the sheriff….

Garcia was face down on the pavement for more than a minute, and the Sheriff says he's going to look into just how hot it was that day and how hot that pavement could have been….After 10 minutes, paramedics arrived and Garcia was treated for the diabetic episode.

It's just officer safety folks: when arriving at an accident scene and waiting for medical help, the survivors have gotta be cuffed and face down on asphalt. If you don't face death in your miserable job every day, you don't really have the right to ask questions.

Comments

[The Late P Brooks]

If you don't face death in your miserable job every day, you don't really have the right to ask questions.

These heroes are our last line of defense against the apocalyptic abyss.

[Pro Libertate]

If it's that bad, get another fucking job.

[Episiarch]

Except cop isn't even close to making the list of most dangerous jobs. Not even fucking close. Yay for bullshit!

[Live Free or Diet]

Nighttime convenience store clerks are more likely to face the muzzle of a gun.

[WTF]

Hell, sanitation workers have a much higher job mortality rate.

[fish_remote]

Nighttime convenience store clerks are more likely to face the muzzle of a gun.,/i

Indeed! Often from off duty Tucson Cops.

[Agammamon]

Ironically, from a cop.

[JW]

Hey! Those cops wrestle with 800 lb crab pots in the freezing Bering Sea, every day, and could be washed overboard and die in the cold water in minutes, or get dragged underwater to a watery grave, by an errant rope!

What? They don't? Never mind.

[Careless]

Those terrorists and drug dealers find the most creative places to hide.

[Ted S.]

I think the diabetic woman faces death every day. She certainly has the right to ask questions.

[sarcasmic]

There's no excuse for disobying one of the king's men. No excuse at all.

[Cancer]

It is well-known that the police hate diabetics.

Just ask SugarFree, who receives the Abner Louima treatment every day, sometimes multiple times.

No one let The Boys in Blue know that SF has come to enjoy his purported "abuse," or they will think of some other, more cruel way to torture him.

[Fluffy]

I bet the New Mexico cops said, "It's just some crazy / drunk / high spic. Stupid fucking spic. Fucking MOVE the next time I tell you to move!"

[John]

This case and the one earlier this morning about the cop who shot the kid are obviously disturbing. But my question is how the fuck can cops go around that hopped up on adrenaline? In the one case the cop was so amped up and terrified he shot the for reaching for his belt. In this, they respond to a minor accident and go berserk and drag a woman out of her car. No person, even a sociopath, in a normal state of mind would do that. Only someone totally out of their minds on adrenaline would do that. But how in the world do they work 8 hours a day in that state? They must all be on meth or something.

[Pro Libertate]

John, I think you've stumbled on to something important. We know that athletes use performance-enhancing drugs. Why not cops? It would explain so much, the 'roid rage, the inability to make rational judgments, their tendency to fire lots of bullets while missing targets, and so on.

I demand regular, random tests of cops.

[John]

They test for steroids in the military. And I bet anything cops are not subject to steroid testing. I seriously wonder if that is not part of it.

[sarcasmic]

They get one pre-employment screening and that's it. No testing after that. My stepson's father is a cop and he's been on and off steroids all his life. By the looks of him and from what I've heard about his dangerous mood swings, I'm thinking he's back on them.

...And nothing else will happen.

[Agammamon]

They don't test for them as part of the normal urinalysis - only on suspicion.

[Episiarch]

Except "roid rage" is potentially a myth. The more likely explanation is much simpler: the people who become cops do so because they want to be able to be uncontrolled and aggressive if they are so inclined. They don't need steroids to do it.

[John]

But to be that aggressive all of the time would drive anyone insane. They must be popping meth or something. The thing about these cases is how unremarkable they all are. They were an ordinary traffic stop and an accident. That these incidents happened in such garden variety stops tells me cops are nearly always so hyped up they are on the verge of killing someone.

[Fluffy]

Maybe they aren't that aggressive all the time.

Just when they're annoyed.

99% of the time, I hold the Playstation controller in a totally normal way.

1% of the time, I throw that motherfucker down on the ground as hard as I can.

Occasionally, it breaks and I need a new controller.

But it's not like I'm walking around super-enraged all the time. I just become annoyed once in a while, and throw the controller because there's nobody who can discipline me for it other than myself, and I can buy a new one if I need to.

[Scarecrow Repair]

Yes, but the game was what got you hyped up. What about an ordinary traffic stop would hype up a cop? It shouldn't be the fact that the driver didn't respond; if anything, that should trigger the response of OMG I gotta help this victim.

Maybe that should be part of the acceptance and retention policy. If your first reaction to an unresponsive accident victim is to handcuff them face down on the, you're not a human being.

[Episiarch]

I knew someone whose father was epileptic. Twenty years ago he had a seizure while driving and drove into a house near his house. When the cops showed up, they almost beat the shit out of him because they thought he was drunk, but luckily a neighbor who new he was epileptic ran up and shouted at the cops that he probably had a seizure. This wan't steroids, this was...cop. The people who become cops are always looking for an excuse to beat someone down, that's why they become cops. It has nothing to do with taking steroids.

[John]

Yeah. Fuck it she was drunk and hit someone, beat the shit out of her. What a bunch of fucking animals.

[derpules]

THIS. The whole "steroids" canard is like liberals blaming guns for violence, or socons blaming sodomy for economic failures.

[fish_remote]

....socons blaming sodomy for economic failures.

Read up on enonomics man....it's right there, in Chapter 4!

[Robert]

Better analogy: The whole steroids canard is like blaming drugs...oh, right.

[ShagNasty]

I used to be a meth user, including daily IV use for the last 9 month of my descent into the hell of stimulant addiction. I gotta say the behavior of these cops bears a striking resemblance to that of many tweakers that I met. It is also worth noting the insane level of access that they have to FREE (aka stolen) meth, especially in New Mexico.

[Agammamon]

Well you'd be popping meth too. I mean you've just spent a 10 hour shift on the streets followed by an overnight shift working security at the nightclub the city forces to hire police to work at and now its time to get in the cruiser again.

[derpules]

it is a myth, I'm speaking from experience

[Pro Libertate]

Look, let's not get bogged down in the details. Clearly, cops are using, which explains their totally nonstandard behavior. These performance enhancers are dangerous and unfair to criminals.

[WTF]

Or maybe they're just a pack of stupid angry baboons with no accountability.

[tarran]

IT's the culture.

I just tangled on facebook with the wife of a cop and her social circle over the whole Tsarnaev picture on Rolling Stone fiasco.

These people are emotionally stuck at the age of 4. They get away with it because they don't face the consequences normal people do when they throw a tantrum for not getting their way.

They lost their shit when I pointed out that the cop wasn't fired for doing something heroic but for in effect losing his temper and petulantly violating policies his employer felt were important. Apparently they were texting my high-school classmate they were so offended.

It's not drugs (unless the wives are taking roids too). It's power, barely restrained power, the worst, most devastating intoxicant known to man.

[John]

Temper fit is a good description. "The bitch didn't get out of the car like I told her to, WHAAAAAAAA!!!" You are right, they are like really violent spoiled three year old kids.

They texted your high school friends? Did they think they would give a shit? Really?

[tarran]

Actually, my classmate sent me a very polite note explaining why she was removing my big comment ripping into the cops. She mentioned a flood of angry texts and emails as being the cause, and said while she disagreed with the thrust of my arguments she would ordinarily have left them up.

She said the woman was her best friend. I felt sad; if it ever came to a choice between supporting the police or my classmate, I know in my bones the friend would turn on my classmate in a heartbeat, best friend or no, decades of friendship or no.

Since then they've been talking about what a bad person I must be.

It will be interesting to see if I start getting pulled over.

[JW]

You need to stop arguing politics on FB. There's no upside to it, except for uptick in business for the local bartenders.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I take pleasure in someone's admitting to giving in to mob rule or deleting something she can't refute rather than leave it there for people to see. That's an upside.

[JW]

Life's too short.

I'd rather spend that time enjoying life than pointlessly arguing with raving lunatics.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Then that's what you should do.

[JW]

Um, thanks?

[Dr. Frankenstein]

From what he says about his ex-wife and now his facebook friends, I think he just needs to stop attracting crazy people.

[tarran]

True 'dat!

[Pro Libertate]

Of course, I was joking about them being on performance-enhancing drugs. At least, they may be, but that's not why they let essentially unlimited power go to their heads.

[JW]

"He tested positive for powdered sugar and creme filling, the evidence of which was still present around the mouth and on the front of his shirt."

[Pro Libertate]

Excellent, you have identified the vector for their drugs!

[The Last American Hero]

There were other deputies around that could have assisted in at least sitting her up or having her placed in a cruiser," said the sheriff....

See the bad cop is the hero the dragged her out of the vehicle, but the good cops are the Dunphys that sat around and watched the abuse, did nothing to stop it or help this woman, and will do nothing to see that something like this never happens again.

[Robert]

Why does Dunphy come in for characteriz'n like that around here?

[Scarecrow Repair]

It's routine procedure, which was followed. It's HyR policy, which was followed. No laws were broken. No one important was hurt.

[Hugh Akston]

"In this case there was no resistance. We are looking at that very seriously," Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia said.

That's the only reason she didn't come down with a case of lead poisoning too.

[Brett L]

"We know that because our officers failed to shout 'stop resisting'. However, it may be a training failure on our part."

[Pro Libertate]

Maybe we need Censors for local government, too. "Officer, you are hereby removed from office by order of. . .THE CENSOR!"

[JW]

"We was too late... The Ofc. Neuk saw the nightstick."

[Pro Libertate]

We've been commenting together far too long. Indeed, that was exactly what I was thinking.

Church of England Productions.

[mr lizard]

I think I have figured out the motivation behind these incidents of dragging unresponsive people out of vehicles: Revenge for DUI avoidance. If the police believe you are drunk, but are forced to extricate you from your car then that destroys all of the probable cause that a field sobriety test generates. The DUI arrest just turned into an Obstruction charge. And missing out on a DUI quota has consequences thus it must have secondary consequences.

[The Late P Brooks]

They must all be on meth or something.

Fear.

[DenverJay]

fucking incredible. How much more of this bullshit by these jackasses before the rest of society finally realizes that these pigs are not the heroes they are made out to be by the news and entertainment media?

[sarcasmic]

Most people never deal with the police for anything other than a traffic ticket, so they believe the fiction. It's only after they've been the victim of a crime or been accused of a crime that they understand that police are little more than animals with the power to commit acts of violence without consequence. But by then it doesn't matter. They're just disgruntled. Their friends and family figure it was a freak occurrence and that the rest of the cops out there are really nice people who just want to help. Until they see it for themselves.

So it's never going to happen.

[ShagNasty]

Its truly depressing that these stories have become so common that they don't really inspire any outrage in me anymore. Diabetics are just one of the many groups that have become victims in the war on drug users.

[The Late P Brooks]

I have said this before. If I looked out a window and saw a uniformed police officer getting curbstomped into unconsciousness, I wouldn't lift a finger to help him. I'd assume he deserved it.

[tarran]

The problem with that attitude is that they'll go after you on an accessory charge if they place you nearby.

That's why I keep a vial of weaponized pink-eye bacteria handy. For generating reasonable doubt.

[Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)]

Nice.

"I was contagious, and I did not want that hero to get pink eye and miss a day of serving and protecting!"

[Killazontherun]

I have said this before. If I looked out a window and saw a uniformed police officer getting curbstomped into unconsciousness, I wouldn't lift a finger to help him. I'd assume he deserved it.

Deserves to be bolded.

[Paul.]

Garcia was face down on the pavement for more than a minute, and the Sheriff says he's going to look into just how hot it was that day and how hot that pavement could have been....After 10 minutes, paramedics arrived and Garcia was treated for the diabetic episode.

Let's not ask why the woman was dragged out of the car in the first place.

[Hyperion]

Let's not ask why the woman was dragged out of the car in the first place

She could have been on the pot, you know. Pot makes people super strong, like Spider Man or the Hulk, or both combined. Little women high on pot have been known to pick up a police cruiser, cops inside, and hurl them for 100 yards in the air.

Officer Safety!

[Episiarch]

Because they thought she was driving drunk, and people who are drunk can be beaten or mistreated because they broke the law. Remember, if in a bad mood, they are just looking for someone who gives them an excuse. And drunk driving is certainly an excuse in their minds.

She is lucky she is female. I have a feeling a male would have gotten worse treatment.

[sarcasmic]

She is lucky she is female. I have a feeling a male would have gotten worse treatment.

I doubt it. Cops are all about equal opportunity when it comes to giving a beat-down.

[sarcasmic]

It's standard procedure. When they order you to get out of the car, you better get out of the car immediately. If you don't then standard procedure is to smash the window, drag you out, and slam your face into the pavement as hard possible. I think they get a bonus for every tooth that they knock out. That's what they're trained to do, and they fucking enjoy the shit out of it.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Heh.

Troll-o-meter : .01

Pretty weak sauce.

# of people I have dragged from vehicles (usually either DUI or they have warrants): Several dozen

# of teeth lost or complaints made about that use of force: ZERO

[sarcasmic]

You're doing something wrong.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

No. I am doing the right thing, which is what most cops do, which is why the rate we use force is so low (less than 3%), the rate we use deadly force is low, and its part of the reason the public respects us.

[WTF]

You're assuming he is to be believed.

[The Late P Brooks]

I just tangled on facebook with the wife of a cop and her social circle over the whole Tsarnaev picture on Rolling Stone fiasco.

You know what I see in that photo? The ultimate manifestation of the "banality of evil". That could be any kid you've ever seen, but something deep inside this particular kid is horribly broken.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

All the silly snark aside, sounds like a good incident for some suspensions. Granted, I have background as a medic, so it's always the first concern on my mind, and should have been for the officers, that there was a medical issue going on.

Diabetics can be mistaken for drunks if you aren't careful, but the odors are quite distinguishable ime.

[John]

Even if she was drunk, dragging her out of the car was still not justified.

And this shouldn't result in suspensions. I should result in jail as in go to jail and get your ass pounded every day in general population jail.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

dragging somebody out of a car who is nonresponsive to commands to get out of the car is entirely justified. You can't "magick" them out of the car. If you order a person out of a car and they refuse, you drag them out. Especially if you suspect they are a drunk driver, you want to seperate them from the car, as it can cause further carnage if they drive off.

THe drunkest guy I ever had to drag from a vehicle registered a BAC of .464. The car also happened to be stolen but that's another issue.

Dragging somebody out of the car is superior to (for example) pepper spraying them while they are still seated because then they drive off half blind.

Refusing to exit a car is passive resistance and the use of force continuum (and again, especially considering they are in control of a potential deadly weapon) does justify the drag from a vehicle

[John]

If they are non-responsive, wait until the EMTs get there. Moreover, once they did, they cuffed her and left her on the hot pavement. They could have killed her. That is a crime. If I were a judge, we would start at three years plus two or three more supervised release and then maybe go down a bit if he had some mitigation. But he would definitely be doing some time in prison over it.

[sarcasmic]

All the cop has to say is that he's following his training. That's it. They're not trained to figure out why the person doesn't exit when ordered, they're trained to drag the person out while inflicting as much compliance inducing pain as possible. Once they say they're following training then the investigation is over. Blame the training, not the cop.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Well, fortunately real judges tend to be pretty reasonable as do prosecutors. Cops get a fair shake in this country. In this case, they did wrong and should be punished. They won't get jail time, because that's an unreasonable excessive punishment

Suspensions are in order.

[Calidissident]

"They won't get jail time, because that's an unreasonable excessive punishment"

I'm sure you'd say the same thing if a "civilian" did the same thing

"Suspensions are in order."

You mean paid vacations, right?

[Bill Dalasio]

Jinks, buy me a coke.

[Bill Dalasio]

So, in short, paid vacation.

[Calidissident]

Beat you by 12 minutes. Nice Try

[Bill Dalasio]

Okay, then I owe you the coke.

[Agammamon]

"Cops get a fair shake in this country. . ."

Cops *don't* get a fair shake in this country - they get favorable treatment.

[Zeb]

Wouldn't reaching into the car and turning off the ignition and perhaps setting the parking brake have less potential for danger for the driver, the police and innocent passers by than violently dragging the driver out? Seem to me there is a lot more potential for the car to move uncontrolled in the dragging scenario.

[Agammamon]

I was a security guard (in Tucson!) and one night at the place I was working a drunk driver drove into a small building.

When I showed up, he was non-responsive and the car was running.

You know what I did? I call emergency services and reached into the car and turned it off and removed the keys. I left the guy in place.

You know why? Because even security guards are smart enough to know that you don't move someone who's unresponsive after a car crash unless there's a damn good reason - as you don't know what sort of spinal injury that person has.

It was a fething car crash Dunphy. Even if the cops thought she was drunk, securing the keys and checking her out should have been first priority - not 'compliance'.

[Finrod]

This was exactly my first thought as well.

Guess cops aren't paid to use their brains.

[The Bearded Hobbit]

dragging somebody out of a car who is nonresponsive to commands to get out of the car is entirely justified

I've been to a picnic, two World Fairs and a rodeo and that's the stupidest thing I think I've ever seen written on a blog.

Jesus Jones, she was just in an accident! What if she had a neck injury and couldn't get out?

And an extra "bite me" for making me break my vow to never respond to you.

... Hobbit

[sarcasmic]

They're trained to smash the window and drag you out by the neck if you don't immediately exit the vehicle when ordered. Man, woman, child, elderly, frail, diabetic, epileptic, deaf, retarded... it doesn't matter.

If you disobey then you're going to get hurt. Period. No excuses.

[Fluffy]

It's funny how you and Dunphy posted exactly the same thing.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

No, we didn't. You don't drag them by the neck.

Cops are supposed to protect people. If you have a person you suspect is a drunk driver (reasonable suspicion) and they refuse commands to exit the vehicle, you drag them from the vehicle. This seperates them from the means to hurt or kill people (their car).

In this case, what they did AFTER they dragged her from the car is why they deserve suspensions, but I have dragged a LOT of people from cars who refuse to exit and I will continue to do so when necessary to protect people. Sometimes you can "verbal judo" them (persuade) them to exit, but many times you can't.

[JW]

You must be ready to rub one out over this one.

Funny how the Cop Magic 8-Ball always comes up "Presume malicious intent and beat accordingly" instead of the occasional "Render assistance and then determine criminal intent."

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Except it doesn't always come up that way.

There's a reason why the public overwhelmingly respect us and thinks us honest and professional

http://www.gallup.com/poll/165.....ons.aspx#5

Suck on the stats.

[JW]

They love us! They really do!

Wow, daddy didn't hug you enough?

[sarcasmic]

My mom just looooooves cops. They can do no wrong and anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about.

How many times has she been the victim of a crime and needed assistance from the cops? Zero.

How many times has she been accused of a crime? Zero.

How many times has she had the opportunity to read a police report of something she witnessed (only to discover it's a work of fiction)? Zero.

She loves cops because she doesn't know any better.

[sarcasmic]

All that proves is that a majority have never dealt with the police for anything more than a traffic ticket.

[Joe M]

Yep. And the majority don't pay enough attention to notice the pattern. It's all "isolated incidents".

[Whahappan?]

Telling how you leave out the reason the public supports the police and mistakenly believe them honest and professional. Of course you know it's because they've been propagandized their whole life by the government, schools, and all aspects of the media to believe so. Your appeals to polling data aren't as persuasive as you imagine. You should know that people on this site aren't as ignorant and easily deceived as the general population.

[Ted S.]

Except it doesn't always come up that way.

Sometimes it comes up "shoot the dog".

[sarcasmic]

Cops are supposed to protect people.

Yeah. Each other. Peasants don't count as people.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Nope. I've committed myself to doing so, and cops routinely do so. And the public recognizes this. Cops routinely do heroic things, save people, etc.

[Joe M]

Has anyone watched the video to see precisely how she was removed from the car?

[Jose Chung]

I'm sure you realize that with the decisions in Castle Rock v. Gonzales and Warren v. District of Columbia that the courts have determined that there is no duty for police to protect anyone, even where a restraining order is involved.

While I don't subscribe to the "all cops are thugs" mentality that is often bandied about in the Reason comments section, it is obvious from the numerous incidences of police brutality and abuse of power (and the difficulty in removing these offending officers from duty) that there is an "above the law" mindset present in the system that must be dealt with.

The concept of qualified immunity needs to be scaled back or done away with entirely so that cops, prosecutors and other public "servants" can be held liable for their actions when they result in damage to life, limb, and property in the line of duty.

[Agammamon]

Dunphy you're missing a crucial piece of info here - she didn't 'refuse* to get out - she was UNRESPONSIVE.

[Cunctator]

---"and they refuse commands to exit the vehicle"---

It's strange, but the article I am reading says---"She was unable to extricate herself from her car"

I don't see a refusal to comply, but an inability to comply.

A lot of times Dunphy, you are on the right track and I may partially agree with you, but this seems like one of those "bigorati" moments you accuse libertarians of having. You just refuse to admit that sometimes cops are dicks and deserve to be fired.

[Robert]

My guess is that they saw she was in trouble, so smashed and dragged to get her away from danger, then changed their minds and thought she was more dangerous to them because of her erratic movement, so handcuffed her & left her face down while EMS came.

Just an aside, but some of these sugar-lowering drugs have the potential to cause dangerous situations like this in a way even lente insulin never did.

[Live Free or Diet]

Diabetics can be mistaken for drunks if you aren't careful, but the odors are quite distinguishable ime.

Metallic banana, sort of, for low blood sugar.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Yea. The odor is very fruitlike.

[JW]

Like schnapps!

[Robert]

Smell isn't going to help diagnose a situation like this. A diabetic on sugar-lowering drugs who goes into hypoglycemia isn't going to smell like anything. She's not ketotic.

[The Late P Brooks]

Apparently they were texting my high-school classmate they were so offended.

Somebody's going to have to eat lunch with the nerds tomorrow.

[Hyperion]

I was going to post the daily dog shooting, but I am sure someone beat me to it. And this time, it was a double dog shooting.

[Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)]

The two Huskies? That was in the AM links, IIRC.

[JW]

She was unable to extricate herself from her car....so friendly helpful police smashed her window, dragged her out, cuffed her, and left her face down on asphalt on a summer day in New Mexico. That's what you get for getting in a car crash, perp!

Don't be so cynical. They're providing her with an introductory session of "Scared Straight," at no charge.

Fucking ungrateful civilians.

[Episiarch]

Scared Straight Anywhere?

[talis4]

The police in this country are completely out of control. One way to improve their performance is to require that all cops have an IQ over 90. This would eliminate more than 75.9% of the force nationwide.
They act as judge, jury and executioner in so many cases, that they are rapidly becoming the modern day gestapo. Their stupidity, ignorance and downright meanness almost cost this woman her life. As a stop-gap measure, the general public should always keep fresh donuts nearby. It appears to have a calming effect on the police.

[sarcasmic]

At some point people are going to get fed up and start shooting cops.

I will smile a broad smile when that day comes.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Again, I have already posted the polling data.

It is a lie that people are getting "fed up" with cops. Again, we rank near the top of professions in terms of the public's respect for our honesty and professionalism.

go to page 5 especially and you will see the public continues (the stats are remarkably consistent) to give cops high marks

"tell me how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields -- very high, high, average, low, or very low? "

58% of people rated cops "high" or "very high"

Only 7% rated them low and only 3% rated them very low.

Heck. yesterday some guy approached me (and this is pretty common) told me that he wanted to thank me for serving the public. Random people walk up to me and express that quite frequently. It's one of the reasons my job is so rewarding. Most people respect and admire us as the polling data shows

http://www.gallup.com/poll/165.....ons.aspx#5

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Random people walk up to me and express that quite frequently.

I wonder if there's any reason the people with different opinions don't necessarily express it to you in person.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

ANd as the polling data shows, those with negative opinions of the police are a very small minority.

But the fact that people go out of their way to express their admiration for what we do is very rewarding.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Fuck tha police and Ren said it with authority
because the niggaz on the street is a majority.
A gang, is with whoever I'm stepping
and the motherfuckin' weapon
is kept in a stash box, for the so-called law
wishin' Ren was a nigga that they never saw

Lights start flashin behind me
But they're scared of a nigga so they mace me to blind me
But that shit don't work, I just laugh
Because it gives em a hint not to step in my path

To the police I'm sayin fuck you punk
Readin my rights and shit, it's all junk
Pullin out a silly club, so you stand
With a fake assed badge and a gun in your hand

But take off the gun so you can see what's up
And we'll go at it punk, I'ma fuck you up

Make ya think I'm a kick your ass
But drop your gat, and Ren's gonna blast
I'm sneaky as fuck when it comes to crime
But I'm a smoke em now, and not next time

Smoke any muthafucka that sweats me
Or any assho that threatens me
I'm a sniper with a hell of a scope
Takin out a cop or two, they can't cope with me

[Dunphy (the real one)]

It's great music. But the data doesn't lie

http://www.gallup.com/poll/165.....ons.aspx#5

You can ignore the real world all you want. But people like us, overwhelmingly so . The stats don't lie

It's one of the reasons I enjoy my job so much.

All the warm fuzzies I get from the public.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sampling error.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

By your own citation 42% think cops are average or worse. That's not the ringing endorsement you think it is.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

It's a strong endorsement. Look at it comparatively to other professions. We rank quite well.

Considering what we DO - which is often having to use deadly force, take away people's liberty, etc. it's quite heartening. We have to, as a function of our job do things that WILL make us unpopular with many people even if we did it with perfect restraint (which is far from the case).

I'm quite happy with our rankings although I certainly wish they were higher.

[Dibbler]

Considering what we DO - which is often having to use deadly force, take away people's liberty, etc.

Straight from the horse's mouth.

[Anonymous Coward]

That poll would be better if it was conducted at the county jail. You know, people who have intimate knowledge of "police professionalism."

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Not really. Because people who have been arrested, even if the arrest was done with perfect professionalism and restraint naturally have a reason to resent police.

Yet despite our nation's high rate of arrests and incarceration, we still have overwhelmingly positive support from the public. That's quite telling and quite heartening

[Clich? Bandit]

He is truly a parody of himself. Unbelievable, yet, entirely believable.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Yep. That's why one of the most well-known and popular songs of the past few decades is "Fuck tha Police.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

I bought the CD too. I own Rage Against the Machine CD's too. It doesn't mean I agree with their marxist politics.

Great music is great music. Aside from the politics.

You can ignore evidence all you want. That's what ideologues do when faced with evidence that runs contrary to their prejudice.

But the facts are out there. 58% high or very high.

3% very low

7% low

We rank high amongst professions (nurses and military are the top ones)

Facts.

[Heroic Mulatto]

See the point? It's flying above your head.

I'd like to see those results by race and ethnicity, capiche?

[sarcasmic]

How many of that 58% have never dealt with the police for anything other than a traffic ticket?

I'd thinking most if not all.

[Fluffy]

I would be perfectly satisfied if "only" 10% of the people started randomly shooting cops.

So I'll take those figures as a good base to start from.

[Fluffy]

I would be perfectly satisfied if "only" 10% of the people started randomly shooting cops.

So I'll take those figures as a good base to start from.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

This is pretty weak trolling. But thank you for outing yourself as the bigot you are. I actually don't believe you REALLY want people to shoot cops. But it's amusing to see you sputter.

And I'll continue to enjoy serving the public and recognizing that the vast majority of same respects what we do

[Jose Chung]

Off topic, but are there any laws you resent having to enforce? Is your fealty to legislation as written or to the Constitution? Do you feel conflicted when faced with having to enforce a blatantly unconstitutional law? What is the general attitude about your oath to uphold the Constitution among your peers?

[Bill Dalasio]

Except, Dunphy, as many have pointed out and you don't want to acknowledge, many of those 58% have never had any meaningful interaction with law enforcement. It's no more a legitimate evaluation than that of the inmates at the county jail.

[sarcasmic]

That's only because most people never deal with people in your profession for anything other than a traffic ticket.

I trusted the cops until I had to deal with them on a professional level. And I'm not just talking about that stupid DUI where the report made no mention that the person who hit me ran a red light.
I'm talking about when I watched cops brutally break up an impromptu outdoor concert by some band of roommates in their own driveway. Cops gratuitously smashed their instruments while smashing the players' faces against the side of a white van until it was red with blood. I was shocked. Then one of them ran up to me as I watched and threatened to give me the same treatment if I didn't go away. I went away. I'd hate to think of what would have happened to me if I'd recorded them.
Or when my apartment was broken into and the cops just wanted to search for drugs. They had no interest in the actual break-in.
Or even more recently when a coworker's neighbor had a bunch of cds stolen from her car. She reported it to the cops who of course did nothing. So she went to the store down the street that sells used disks, and sure enough there they were. When she took that info to the cops they treated her like shit for doing their job that they wouldn't do.

So put me in that 3%.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

I realize you are butthurt because you were justifiably prosecuted for a crime.

But you can try to 'splain away the stats all you want. The point is it's a lie that the public is getting "fed up" with the cops. That is demonstrably true, for whatever reason.

There has never been a time where cops have been under more scrutiny, since everybody walks around with cell phone cameras and we are CONSTANTLY being videotaped. I get videotaped, that I know of, many times every week.

That's a good thing.

And despite all this constant video'ing of cops, iow the means are there to catch us doing bad shit, the stats remain that people totally respect us. Because excessive force and bad behavior is pretty rare. If cops were the thugs you think we are, it would be in evidence.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Where "totally"

[sarcasmic]

I realize you are butthurt because you were justifiably prosecuted for a crime.

This is a great example of a typical cop being typically dishonest. I was "butthurt" because the report made no mention of the fact that the person who hit me ran a red light, and as a result I was force to pay to fix the car that hit me. THAT is what pissed me off, you dishonest piece of dogshit.

[Whahappan?]

He's a cop. Lying is viewed as a right, nay a sacred duty when done in the service of the state.

[sarcasmic]

If cops were the thugs you think we are, it would be in evidence.

Yeah. Just a bunch of "isolated incidents." Every incident is isolated. There is no pattern. Nothing to see here. Move along.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Generally speaking that's true. And the public clearly believes that or they wouldn't hold us in such high regard. Cops sometimes do the wrong thing. People recognize that. But they recognize it's outlier behavior which is why they admire us so much.

You can suck on that and keep sucking on that because the stats don't lie.

[Bill Dalasio]

"You can suck on that and keep sucking on that because the stats don't lie."

Actually, yes, they do. As people here keep pointing out to you, a large portion of the survey respondents have minimal interaction with the police. Would you take a review of a product or service seriously if you knew the reviewer had never made use of said service? So, why should we take your poll seriously.

[Anonymous Coward]

I realize you are butthurt because you were justifiably prosecuted for a crime.

The police would never charge innocent people with a crime. That's just a lie by the bigorati.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

ANd again, some cops do bad things. Some cops commit murder, and some cops frame people.

I'm the first to admit that. THere are BAD cops out there. We agree. But people recognize that most cops are good people doing their best to help people.

That's why , despite the prevalence of video cameras to keep an eye on us (a good thing), the public continues to admire us, as the stats prove.

And I love it. It's part of the reason being a cop is so rewarding and I love that it shows cop haters to be a niche minority and you aren't gaining ANY traction with your viewpoints, as the stats show. 3% very low 7% low. Those #'s have remained pretty consistent. There is no trend of people becoming "fed up" with us

[Finrod]

Your problem is you think the bad cops are just the ones that do bad things. The rest of us here count all the cops that don't do anything about what the bad cops do as bad cops too.

[Robert]

The cops did that to their own roommates? In that case I think there was something more, personal, going on that you don't know about.

[Robert]

Intelligence is not the problem, talis4.

OTOH, you gotta be at least slightly nuts to be a fireman.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Speaking of dog shootings, thank god this video exist because despite the protests it shows the cop was clearly justified in shooting the dog.

http://www.policeone.com/Offic.....-shooting/

[Night Elf Mohawk]

You're a fucking sociopath.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Waaaah!

The video doesn't lie.

Justified shooting.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

No, it doesn't lie. The cop provoked the situation and then shot a dog when his power trip went a way he didn't like.

If shooting that dog was justified, shooting the cops who illegitmately initiated force in the first place was justified.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Ha ha ha.

Again, I'm glad I live in the reality based community.

The cop didn't provoke jackshit. The dog leaped out of the vehicle, circled him many times, and the cop exercised restraint. He only shot the dog, as the video shows, when it lunged at him at point blank range. It's a tragedy because the dog isn't at fault. The dog owner is an asshole for not securing his dog in the vehicle properly, which led to his dog's death

[Whahappan?]

Again, you are indisputably caught in a lie, but you just don't think it matters. All your years of being conditioned to lie, and other cops and prosecutors, as well as the rest of the system backing you up when they know it's a lie, has broken your brain. The guy wasn't in a car, he had the dog on a leash, restrained. When the cops cuffed him, obviously he couldn't maintain control of the dog. And the cops wrongfully arrested him, which you well know, but chose to leave out for some reason. The fact that you can't control you're lying when anyone can just watch the video and clearly see that you're lying is disturbing. Seek help.

[JW]

Well now, that clearly justifies all future puppy shootings.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

No, it's just good that there were people filming this incident because it exonerates cops.

I am sure there are plenty of shootings of dogs where the cops go overboard. I am sure there are many others where the assumption is made, and unfortunately, there is not video to support the cops' actions.

That's why I say - RECORD COPS. I have done it dozens of times myself. Helps punish bad cops and helps exonerate good cops

[wheelock]

Hahaha. Record cops... Excellent way to get your face and your phone smashed in one go! Probably get a "obstruction" charge while you're at it. You know what would be a lot more effective in rooting out bad cops? If the less sociopathic ones actually gave enough of a shit to stand up to them.

[Agammamon]

OMG you're an idiot.

1. The police started the whole fucking thing, harassing a guy who was watching them work.

2. When securing the guy they're arresting for 'insufficient respect' the failed to secure the dog.

both of those things lead to the 'necessity' to shoot the dog.

3. The dog jumped on the officer. It did not lunge, bite, threaten in any way. If not for the shape of the damn thing you'd have thought it was a Labrador for the way it was acting.

[The Late P Brooks]

Refusing to exit a car is passive resistance and the use of force continuum (and again, especially considering they are in control of a potential deadly weapon) does justify the drag from a vehicle

This is why parody is dying.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

If you're trained to understand that "being unable" is the same as "refusing" it makes perfect sense.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

I totally agree. Sometimes, you can distinguish the two, like if the person says "fuck you, I;m not getting out of the car"

This case clearly seems to be excessive force. We agree on that.

My point is that in many cases, dragging somebody from a vehicle is justified.

These cops probably thought (erroneously) she was drunk. RegArdless, the way they handled her was inappropriate and they should be punished. Placing her face down on the hot pavement etc.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Then, yeah, we agree on this.

[sarcasmic]

So it's perfectly acceptable to place a drunk face-first on the hot pavement. Got it.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

It is if it's necessary to get them into handcuffs. But you don't LEAVE them facedown on the hot pavement. Once you get them in handcuffs you REMOVE them from the pavement. But yea, when you are pulling somebody from a vehicle, you pull them and take them down to the ground (usually) so you can handcuff them.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Rules and guidelines exist. Use of force continuum exist. Dragging somebody from a vehicle who refuses to exit is reasonable force. That's what the court, the prosecutors and the internal affairs departments, who investigate and hold cops accountable for UOF believe.

QUite often I can persuade a resistant motorist to exit his car, but sometimes they just refuse and won't exit. In that case, dragging them from the vehicle is entirely justified.

I've done it dozens of times, documented it in my reports. It's the right thing to do. You can't magick them out of the car. It's reasonable force.

This case is not reasonable force. They should be punished

[Fluffy]

Something tells me that if I was allowed to tape the manner in which police remove diabetic shock patients from cars, and the manner in which EMT's remove diabetic patients from cars, that these two would not be the same.

That is because one group has a much higher percentage of assholes who deserve death in it than the other group.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Oh spare me.

Cops aren't ominiscient. Sometimes a diabetic can appear like a drunk (slurred speech) etc. and cops act reasonably the vast majority of the time.

That's why the public holds us in such high regard.

In this case, they went way overboard and deserve punishment

Fwiw, EMT's /AID etc. call us routinely when dealing with resistant subjects and won't go hands on until we render the scene safe. They rely on us.

I say that as a former EMT/Firefighter.

And with experience in both professions, I have seen at least as much compassion and empathy in my current job as a cop as I saw when I was a firefighter/EMT

[wheelock]

Wow. So what you are saying is that proper procedure for approaching someone who has just been involved in a car accident that doesn't ask "how high?" when you tell them to jump is to violently pull them out of the window? Spinal injuries be damned? That is what you are SUPPOSED to do??? Holy fuck...

[Aresen]

"This is why parody is dying."

Poe's Law.

[creech]

Yet again, more evidence that Hispanics can avoid getting into trouble by just not getting out of their vehicle.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Fact: the public is not becoming "fed up" with the police.

DEspite the prevalance of video to catch cops in the act, doing wrong shit, it hasn't happened. Why? because cops doing the wrong thing is relatively rare, and people recognize this.

[Dunphy (the real one)]

Joe M:Has anyone watched the video to see precisely how she was removed from the car?

Is there a link to this? Like I said, the cops here should be punished because they LEFT her lying facedown on the hot pavement. Once she was in cuffs, they should have gotten her up. THey may or may not be justified in dragging her from the car, it depends on the facts and circumstances. In other words, did they reasonably believe she was REFUSING to do so, or was she merely unable to do so AND they should have recognized same (reasonable person standard). There is no way to know from the article.

Details matter.

[Brian Doherty]

Video is at the link.

[Robert]

You know, come to think of it, with someone having a grand mal or a Jacksonian seizure, if handcuffs are the only restraint you've got, they might help. And face down is safer than face up, because with the face down gravity is pulling the tongue away from the throat, and vomit will run away. Best is sideways.

[Robert]

I just got a horrible vibe from this whole thread. I can't see the video, but now I believe that what's gone on here is that the whole event has been mischaracterized. If you can see the video and show this is not the case, please write something. Until then, here's what I believed went down:

Hypoglycemic lady has car crash. Police arrive, determine her condition as one where she's seizing or likely to go into seizure. Break glass, drag her out of car. Put her face down using the only restraint available to prevent her doing herself serious bodily harm in case she does seize. Wait for EMS.

[darius404]

Ok. You're retarded. There was no reason to break her window, there was no reason for them to expect a seizure (and no statements that they expected one), and no reason to cuff someone face down on hot pavement in the heat and leave them. You are not, by the way, actually supposed to restrain someone who's having seizures.

In short, you make assumptions about their behavior that are not supported and which make no sense even if those assumptions were true.

[Robert]

I think my explanation of why they acted that way is better than that they're sadists. I wouldn't take their absence of an official statement as the bottom line on whether they knew she was in hypoglycemia. Why not break a window to get her out quickly? If they'd wanted to injure her, they'd've broken the window closest to her to increase the chances she'd get cut. And although it'd be foolish to try to restrain someone who's already seizing, it is a very good idea to restrain someone who might seize but hasn't started yet. Why do you think we use restraints for electro-convulsive therapy? Only thing is, they should've cuffed the ankles too.

And as to leaving someone on the pavement, did they have a better place to leave her? The pavement is flat & featureless. Face down is not as good as on the side, but it can be difficult to balance a restrained body on its side just out in the open. If she'd seized, she could easily have involuntarily flipped onto her back from her side, but not easily from her tummy.

[wheelock]

Cops are going to be very sad if automated cars ever become the norm. Where else will they get the opportunity for charming little interactions with the public like this?