Police

Political Correctness Kills?

No. My buddy Ron Smith has a column with the headline: “Fort Hood massacre shows how political correctness can kill.” (just for record, columnists don’t write headlines.) I’m not a fan of political correctness (though I like being polite) and don’t consider myself very politically correct (though I try and be considerate). But I’m pretty certain that political correctness does…

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Police

Update from Seattle. Funeral of Officer Tim Brenton.

Seems like they got the guy! Right in the middle of the police funeral. “Largest regional response to a scene ever.” The story in the Seattle Times and from a comment left below: Today, was a very long and emotional day starting at 9 AM with a 1500+ LE, fire, emergency vehicle procession from the UW to the Key Arena…

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Police

Shut yer mouth, dude!

Why is it so hard for some people to just shut up? Some people are using this video as anti-cop propaganda. I see an officer acting in an incredibly professional and even patient manner. He’s doing his job. He follows the rules. He tells his name and badge number when asked. A little skateboarder calls him a dick. To his…

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Police

The Murky World of CIs

Peter Hermann has a good story in the Sun. “It is a murky, secretive place where cops and crooks mingle and exchange information for money, a place where the line dividing law and disorder often blurs.”

Police

Good Cops, Bad Cops… and Bad Emmys

Randy Cohen writes in his New York Times blog: The Emmys will be awarded this Sunday, Sept. 20. As ever, among the nominees are various police programs (“C.S.I.,” “Life on Mars,” “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” “The Closer,” “Saving Grace”) built around the Hero Cop. It might be a Hero Cop with a flaw — a drinking problem, a…

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Police

Houston police beard ban legal

“U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal determined the policy violated no state, federal or constitutional rights and dismissed the lawsuit Sept. 3.” That may or may not be true. But I’ve never understood why beards are banned by most police departments. Why do police departments care? Are we still living in 1960? Are people with beards inherently untrustworthy? Are we afraid…

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Police

Police Suicide

Buried in a story about an LAPD narcotics officer killing herself is this information: “Between 1998 and 2007, 19 LAPD officers committed suicide.” That’s a lot. More, in fact, that the 11 LAPD officers who have died in action.

Police

PocketCop

Baltimore experiments with new smart phones.

Police

Don’t Tase Me, Sis

A nice articlein Reason by Radley Balko. This one on police TV shows and use of force. Of course, there isn’t “always a good time to use a Taser,” as the multitude of viral web videos depicting taserings of grandmothers, pregnant women, and children will attest. TLC’s ad campaign is offensive, though merely the latest iteration of a genre of…

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