A young, left-leaning law professor from a very liberal family decides to become a cop. Where’s that gonna go? Why, into the 2021 book “Tangled Up In Blue: Policing the American City” by Rosa Brooks.
When her mom learns her daughter is signing up as a reserve police officer with DC Metro, she is horrified: …”her memories of being tear-gassed by police at 1960s anti-war marches remained fresh. ‘The police are the enemy,’ she informed me. “They are not on our side.’”
Following left-wing script, she hates guns but somehow manages to qualify with her issued Glock 17, “But when I got home from each patrol shift, the first thing I’d do was take my gun out of its holster and put it away in its locked metal box. And each time the heavy lid snapped closed, I’d feel a small wave of relief. It was like slamming the lid on a dangerous viper.”
I’ll give her this: she at least tries to understand the Job, and in many ways succeeds. She writes, “Activists critical of policing complain, with some justification, that police effectively become occupying forces in poor urban neighborhoods…But over-policing is driven in part by the law of supply and demand – police go where people ask them to go.”
Toward the end of the book Brooks writes, “…in both older and more recent studies, police officers tend to rate the opportunity to help people as t he single largest factor in choosing their job; pay, power and authority are near the bottom of the list.” She adds, “The vast majority of the police officers I met in my time with MPD were decent, well-intentioned men and women.”
Professor Brooks and I have opposing views on many things related to criminal justice, but we are in agreement on that last quote.
Semi- off topic. I have read and agree with that the mandate for badge cams is the biggest self-own ever by leftists. For every documentation of police misconduct there are about 100,000 documentations of police dealing with belligerent a**holes. The best videos are the subset of “Do you know who I am.” But the Left has seemingly not learned their lesson as the recent demand for ICE badge cams demonstrates.
Sorry; I haven’t a clue what you are talking about.
Are you for, or against, badge cams?
What exactly are they?
If you are, why are you criticising the ‘leftists’ for wanting them?
What does the ‘subset of “Do you know who I am” ‘ refer to?
njk
I will leave for Richard to say whether he is for or against badge cams.
Badge cams are generally like “Go-Pros” worn on the chest of police officers and are generally supposed to be activated when they begin an interaction with a citizen, such as pulling someone over or approaching a suspect. Different departments have different rules for when they are activated. Most include a constant monitoring feature that allows capture of the 30 seconds prior to the activation of the badge cam.
The leftists want them because they believe they will document police misbehavior or, more charitably, to encourage better police behavior, knowing that everything is being recorded.
I don’t think it is so much a criticism of “leftists” for demanding badge cams, so much as it is an observation that badge cams far more often support the police version of events when police are accused of improper behavior. This is why Richard (and I) consider the demand for badge cams to be a “self-own”–because the video often shows that the police behaved well and their critics were the misbehaving parties. Another irony is that badge cam usage has been historically limited in part due to budgetary restrictions–but insisting that police have badge cams usually requires additional police funding, something that is anathema to “leftists”.
The “Do you know who I am” videos are those typified by arrogant, self-important scofflaws who think they are so important or connected to persons of power that police dare not ticket them or charge them with crimes that apply to “common” people. The badge cam videos often show the “suspects” to be rude people who possess a genuine ignorance of the laws that apply to all of us, including them. For example, the mayor who thinks he’s entitled to speed and is affronted by an officer who dared to pull him over.
Great answer, Jeff. About self-important people. Maybe twenty-five years ago, a judge in the next county over got arrested for drunk driving. That is the way the Law is supposed to work.
I am for them and making fun of the Left. I can’t even count the number of politicians who deployed the “do you know who I am” when pulled over for DUI.
njk, I have serious doubts that any video-based evidence is incorruptible. Computer Generated Imagery seems at least possibly difficult to detect. Any audio most likely can be redacted or embellished. Most of all video recording tends to put a subject “on stage” and surely often supports and promotes undermining some legitimate law enforcement. Point of view may never be inescapable. Younger Brother may be even worse than Big Brother. Intent is too often a prerequisite for criminality and needs to be objectively validated, not subjectively manipulated. As always, your comments are thoughtful and welcome.
Most of the officers I know don’t mind the cameras a bit. But the left will never admit this…
Well, yeah, if you’re inclined towards destruction, disorder and disruption, then the police aren’t on your side. But, that’s QED and mom doesn’t seem to grasp the concept.
While rereading a Walter Jon Williams book, one of his characters realizes that the reason a group of …beings, doesn’t recognize an issue is that they don’t have a frame of reference. That is, they live in a mental world of their own and have neither direct experience with or know someone who recognizes reality. This effectively enables them to deny/fail to recognize reality.
This may be the root cause of many of those who are clueless about how the world works. If there’s a difference it also covers those wish to transform society. At least those without a lust for power.
For those who don’t want to search it, the AI definition for “QED” = “Q.E.D. is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, translating to “which was to be demonstrated” or “thus it has been proven”. It is traditionally placed at the end of a mathematical proof or philosophical argument to indicate that the proof is complete and the original assertion is true.”
Our EE 201/202 prof claimed it meant Quite Easily Derived. OTOH, he wasn’t a Latin scholar.
Agreed on the boomerang effect of BWC’s. I’m surprised we’re not seeing more demand for BWC’s in other occupations like teaching and health care. If people can judge my actions based on last night’s “The Rookie”, we should judge health treatment based on “Gray’s Anatomy”.
John Converse, you are so very much correct. As a retired physician I have a low tolerance for most medical shows, as the major characters so often commit malpractice or profound ethical lapses in the name of their own internal sense of justice or based on horribly simplistic misunderstandings of medical science. Even the best and most entertaining police dramas have the main characters commonly surrendering their weapons to a criminal who has a gun to a hostage’s head or standing face-to-face with a criminal, both with cocked and pointed handguns as if that were a “Mexican standoff”. I remind myself that most screenwriters have no actual knowledge of police procedure, the dynamics of a lethal confrontation or the actual practice of medicine. Unfortunately, the same is true of much of the lay public as they try to make sense of dramatic news events wherein they severely underestimate the depth of their own ignorance regarding the matters at hand.
PS: Body Worn Cameras in medical settings would be a severe infringement of both privacy and patient dignity. BWCs would offer little in the field of teaching in my view. After 20+ years of teaching medicine, I strain to recall even one interaction with a student or resident that was sufficiently adversarial to cause a video of the event to be of interest. Ditto for medical practice.
Police have a much, much higher rate of “disagreement” with their “customers”–it’s the nature of the job. But, your point about the inability of lay persons to properly understand and judge police or medical actions based on a TV-based comprehension of the jobs is right on!
As I understand it most movies today are written by committees, not individual writers, thus proving the adage that the intelligence of a committee is the average of the IQs of the members, divided by the number of members.
They certainly have little knowledge of most subjects I’m familiar with, particularly including the military, firearms, instructing people in their use, and working for a newspaper.
I thought dramatists hired experts when they needed to know something for a movie. For instance, what did people wear in the 1300s in France? I bet the writers don’t know.
The same ignorance is found with journalists. Aren’t firearms in the news EVERY SINGLE DAY? Then why don’t journalists become acquainted with firearms?
I’m on the same page, paragraph, & line. Have husband LEO, family MDs. That said, Flashpoint wasn’t perfect, but they cared enough to hire a LEO Tech Advisor. One of the few LE shows my husband would watch. And, in my opinion, it actually helped the viewer appreciate some realities, instead of blurring them.
We had something like BWCs for teachers during COVID when the kids were doing zoom and the parents were working from home. It went substantially worse for teachers than the equivalent has for police officers.
The way things are going, I think the Left is writing their own epitaph. They object to law and order. They favor unauthorized aliens consuming social resources to include industrial scale fraud while resisting assimilation. They believe everything they want is a “right” even if those “rights” demand products and services from others. Last I checked, that is exploitation which is the very thing they shout they are victims of.
Independent journalists are making an enormous amount of hay these days on social media and streaming services while legacy news sources, like the Washington Post, are dying in their own feces.
The tide is turning.
“I think the Left is writing their own epitaph.” I wish it were so. I fear that what the “Left” really wants is a state with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. If you want to make omelets, then you have to break some eggs. Tragic as a few broken eggs might seem at the moment, we have to savor the prospect of the eventual serving up of a delicious breakfast some morning.
Any day now, a Utopia will emerge in Venezuela, Cuba, China, and even North Korea. We must all be patient.
Very slight issue with the second sentence. The left wants a monopoly on the ability to use force. And, since that use was by the state, it automatically makes it legitimate. Non-governmental good squads of the correct political viewpoint are in a gray area, but amongst the accepted.
What we’re seeing is an indictment of the educational system and a demonstration of just how gullible most folks are. Per my comment above, they don’t have a frame of reference that enables them to realize what the issues are.
Safety professionals have an motto that doesn’t get enough use: “Have a questioning attitude.” ALWAYS!
I do so wish that were true. Unfortunately, I am currently living behind enemy lines in Virginia. The liberal Dems are fully in control of our legislature, and are drunk on their power. They are going to ban so called “assault rifles”, and any magazine holding more than 10 rounds. There is no grandfathering for previously owned magazines, and possession after 1 July 2026 will be a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by a $2500 fine and 12 months in jail for EACH item. I will not comply personally, and only hope that the Supreme Court steps up to quash such tyranny before things take a drastic turn.
Do you know who I am? oh the arrogance on display wjth this line!!
Were I the one putting the clamps on the arrestee, I’d be tempted to respond something like:
Yes I know very well who you are. And it gives me much pleasure to have the honour to install these clamps upon your wrists and surrender you to the booking agent. Please keep me apprised as to the date your trial will be set. I promise I will take the time to be present when the guilty verdict is read and cheer you on your way to a more long term berth in the ol Crowbar Hotel.
Jeff, it seems you have never been a doctor in a NYC hospital like Bellevue.
It is rather frightening that the author was so terrified of her service weapon that she had to lock it in a metal box as soon as she got home. God help anyone in the vicinity of this officer if she ever had to fire her weapon in defense of herself or anyone else. The perpetrator would likely be safer than anyone else in the immediate area. I would imagine that the qualification standards were not too difficult and that she barely passed. The equipment used to end a deadly threat should be mastered, not merely tolerated and feared. Yikes!
Do you know who I am? oh the arrogance on display wjth this line!!
Great story I heard (I’ve no idea if it’s true).
Michael Douglas walked straight to the front of a line for a nightclub.
The doorman said “sorry sir, everyone has to wait in line”.
Douglas: “Do you know who I am? I’m Michael Douglas”
Someone in the line: “NO! I’m Michael Douglas!”.
🙂
njk
A recent meme: Stopped vehicle, woman driver, to the officer, “Do you know who my father is?” Officer, “No. Didn’t your mother tell you?”
I served as a Reserve officer with the Portland Police Bureau (yes, Portland, Oregon),from 2001 to 2011, when I retired. I just ordered the book and am interested in seeing how much actual police work they had the author do. Each city treats their Reserves a little differently. Portland had us in the field with the full time officers, as well as doing special mission support. Very educational experience.
Wait. I’m confused. Is this book fiction or non-fiction? If it is fiction, I think it is interesting. If it is non-fiction, I think it is cringe-worthy.
I am not an expert in the Legal/Law Enforcement field. But, I will give my opinion anyway, because I was raised in a country where I was encouraged to say whatever I want.
I think Civil Law in America is pretty good.
I think Law Enforcement does an excellent, almost perfect, job. They bring in the criminals, and the prosecutors and judges let them go. If anything, I think cops are required to be too wimpy. They should be given billy clubs, and they should use them. They give crooks too many warnings before they arrest them. Stop being nice to criminals. I would only be a cop if I could be like Dirty Harry.
Criminal Law in this country is sub-standard. I want first-degree murderers, rapists and child molestors executed. I want prison to be almost inhumane. Repeal the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
Yes, I know I am dreaming. We live in The Golden Age of Technology, not The Golden Age of Justice. There can never be a Golden Age of Justice in the world of human beings.
Back in 1976 a Florida criminology ” teacher” George smirk ham wrote Signal Zero. He was challenged by a student because he was teaching something, but had never been “on the job”. Much different tenor to the story.
George Kirkham. Sorry.
I question whether a cop who despises her gun and slams the kid on it with great relief would be able to use it effectively when it is necessary. Although I enjoyed shooting my .22 rifle my brother showed me how to shoot before becoming a cop, I spent one of my days off at the range every week while at the academy and after that I joined a gun club with a members only range where I could shoot among people more experienced than me who were friendly and willing to show me to shoot their guns and provide me with seasoned advice. Later on I returned the favor as I became a training officer and brought my trainees with me to show them the same. I told my trainees to wear their guns at home all the time, because this should be the safest place fire then.? My trainees told me they learned to be always aware of their guns this way, and to be comfortable and aware of them while wearing them at work. I loaned them copies of On Killing by Lt.Col, Grossman and the Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker and discussed the content with them,,with the intention of polreparinf them for a potentially lethal encounter. I taught my daughter’s to learn to shoot starting with squirt guns and then BB guns and eventually shotguns and rifles and .22’s and then.45 Glocks.
As far as bully clubs go- most departments do still issue these, although they may look more refined as expandable batons.
And as far as body cams go, I think they do show the many thousands of encounters with a-holes. My department still does not have them due to being a small er agency from a poor rural county.
As a last comment, I go to a dermatologist for removal through freezing with liquid nitrogen of pre-cancerous growths on my face due to my very light skin and white blond hair from the Northern Europe background of my immigrant parents (prior to WW11). After years of doing this, she surprised me by asking if she could record our sessions with her specially equipped glasses and this was the most accurate way to recall my case. It was and is optional, and I chose to agree to this because it is the most accurate way to recall my case.
A young, left-leaning law professor from a very liberal family decides to become a cop. Where’s that gonna go? Why, into the 2021 book “Tangled Up In Blue: Policing the American City” by Rosa Brooks.
When her mom learns her daughter is signing up as a reserve police officer with DC Metro, she is horrified: …”her memories of being tear-gassed by police at 1960s anti-war marches remained fresh. ‘The police are the enemy,’ she informed me. “They are not on our side.’”
Following left-wing script, she hates guns but somehow manages to qualify with her issued Glock 17, “But when I got home from each patrol shift, the first thing I’d do was take my gun out of its holster and put it away in its locked metal box. And each time the heavy lid snapped closed, I’d feel a small wave of relief. It was like slamming the lid on a dangerous viper.”
I’ll give her this: she at least tries to understand the Job, and in many ways succeeds. She writes, “Activists critical of policing complain, with some justification, that police effectively become occupying forces in poor urban neighborhoods…But over-policing is driven in part by the law of supply and demand – police go where people ask them to go.”
Toward the end of the book Brooks writes, “…in both older and more recent studies, police officers tend to rate the opportunity to help people as t he single largest factor in choosing their job; pay, power and authority are near the bottom of the list.” She adds, “The vast majority of the police officers I met in my time with MPD were decent, well-intentioned men and women.”