a friend of mine, who is also a police officer, really wanted to reply to the conversation that was had between me and [redacted] the Chicago Officer/Law Student. As a police officer its not good for him to tie his name to everything, so I told him I would post his comments here anonymously.
[redacted]: I would make several important points...
1) One Police Officer is the same as one human being, he does not necessarily represent anyone but him or herself.
2) We must be very careful with semantics. In law, many times people in debate and controversy get lost in semantics. For example...Communication is 99% of a Police Officer's job. If you consider what previous people stated, and many people agree with, 100% of people lie (not necessarily 100% of the time).. that makes an officer's job difficult and takes a toll on their morale. An officer will do his best to analyze a situation, but after analyzing 100 situations similar, it's hard not to assume (as is human nature).
This is not to defend an officer who is "lying" in his report. But.. I do believe that there is a significant difference between "lying" and "wording reports intelligently".
1) One Police Officer is the same as one human being, he does not necessarily represent anyone but him or herself.
2) We must be very careful with semantics. In law, many times people in debate and controversy get lost in semantics. For example...Communication is 99% of a Police Officer's job. If you consider what previous people stated, and many people agree with, 100% of people lie (not necessarily 100% of the time).. that makes an officer's job difficult and takes a toll on their morale. An officer will do his best to analyze a situation, but after analyzing 100 situations similar, it's hard not to assume (as is human nature).
This is not to defend an officer who is "lying" in his report. But.. I do believe that there is a significant difference between "lying" and "wording reports intelligently".
3) Courtrooms and lawyers have a tendency to do what is best for who they represent. Many defense attorneys will get their client off on a grammatical or semantic technicality. Officers repeatedly see themselves put in the line of danger (danger, by the way, commonly unimaginable by an average joe citizen, and for very little pay) and then work long hours putting together a case, with a report, an arrest, supporting documentation... in many instances, this work is being completed at 2, 3 or 4am... after 15 hours of work..
And ultimately, for what? To see a lawyer walk into the courtroom for 15 seconds, say a fancy motion, and watch the entire case get dropped. Maybe the case got dropped because a small oversight on behalf of the officer who does NOT have law school, who did his work at 4am after 15 hours of work.. .and who was dealing with a dangerous person and/or situation at the time.
And ultimately, for what? To see a lawyer walk into the courtroom for 15 seconds, say a fancy motion, and watch the entire case get dropped. Maybe the case got dropped because a small oversight on behalf of the officer who does NOT have law school, who did his work at 4am after 15 hours of work.. .and who was dealing with a dangerous person and/or situation at the time.
Some consideration and respect needs to be given to the type of work and to the type of working environment that we all expect Police Officers, or rather, human beings working as police officers, to deal with 24/7
And once again, I reiterate point #2...
And once again, I reiterate point #2...
One mistake or statement by one police officer, COMMONLY makes every COP look bad.. and it's a damn shame for the honest and hard working ones because I can guarantee you that the defense attorney billing $350 per hour,... would not have spent one second in the house with his defendent when the original incident began.. maybe it was a 911 call for a woman being stabbed to death, or maybe it was a neighbor complaint of a man beating his wife with a golf club... Would that defense attorney, judge, or courtroom audience kick the door in at 4am with blood on the walls and screams coming from inside, for $28/ hour?
me: I like what you have to say. Though I think you over estimate lawyers really going for what is good for the person... many states attorneys are just looking for numbers of convictions. As do many Officers. And many people convicted for these crimes do not turn to a private defense lawyer, but the public defender's office which is innodated with claims, and not paid by the client at all.
[redacted]: true
I agree
CPD... especially in some of those "ghettos" or "bad areas"... are inundated with some of the most horrible, heart breaking experiences every 10 minutes on their shift..
It's hard to expect any human being to handle that professionally.. especially when 99% of human beings couldn't be paid enough to work his job.
I'd love to see one of the people who takes the time to write out long and critical statements on these subjects, to TRADE places with the officer, for 2 years.. and actually put their money where their mouth is and attempt to make a difference.
I agree
CPD... especially in some of those "ghettos" or "bad areas"... are inundated with some of the most horrible, heart breaking experiences every 10 minutes on their shift..
It's hard to expect any human being to handle that professionally.. especially when 99% of human beings couldn't be paid enough to work his job.
I'd love to see one of the people who takes the time to write out long and critical statements on these subjects, to TRADE places with the officer, for 2 years.. and actually put their money where their mouth is and attempt to make a difference.
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