by miraclesinprogress

Created on: July 22, 2007

There are a few reasons why we should report bad cops, and I will expound from some of my former experiences with one or two (not bad odds out of the many I have seen, actually).

To begin with, my parents both worked for the police for many years, and the officers that used to visit our house had, for the most part, outstanding manners and compassionate and caring personalities.

However, any profession can contain its bad apples and police work is no exception. As a pastor once said, when cops are good they are really good, and when they are bad, they become really bad. What I have come to realize is that sick ones definitely bank on the thought that you are afraid of them. Yes, that is REALLY sick, but like other offenders and unhealthy people they love to wield their power over others, and perhaps their coworkers also reap the effects of their ill personalities, so I have come to realize that it is extremely important to do what I have done: challenge them as you would any other human being, whether face to face, or by reporting them to their superiors.

I admit I felt very unsafe when doing so, and I was followed for some time afterward, but it is a satisfying feeling to stand up for yourself when you are living right, and I now realize that I expected a lot from these officers' fellow workers. I often wondered why none would defend me (and I do not know for sure that they didn't) because I expect people to facilitate healthy change whenever possible. Fact is, these coworkers might have said something, but why would coworkers necessarily find it easier to get a satisfactory response when they report ill behavior around them, particularly in this profession? (The man's sergeant admitted to me the guy did not get where he was on his personality, for sure.) I absolutely believe it becomes easier to identify a pattern of inappropriate behavior in any person/professional when one person starts to break the chain of abuse. Others begin to find it easier to speak up, and police are trained to understand this: sick ones understand it as well, or better, than the healthy ones, or they at least apply this wrongfully.

Another reason you should report bad cops is what I call "future ramifications:" imagine what might happen to people down the road if one of the bad cops is allowed to go on unrestrained...harassing more people for the sheer joy and power of it? Do not think it will end well, and I think we all have a responsibility for keeping a "clean" force, just as we have a responsibility when casting a vote for a politician we feel should be in power. Crime is no more attractive in cops than in anyone else; it is actually uglier and most good cops will heartily agree with this.

Another reason you should report them is this powerful fact: if we allow harassing cops to stay in position, then we subject all the good ones to their contaminating behavior, and I would much rather have the good ones know we support and respect them, even if they have that unique, sequestered culture that sometimes makes us feel isolated from them as a unit. Trust me, the good ones appreciate your courage and class, and they will only benefit from the removal or discipline of those who do not uphold the oath and morals the rest of them try to uphold.

A final reason you should report bad cops is so that down the road you will be gradually enabled to trust the good ones again. You will forever after be acutely able to identify which is which.

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