By way of SiteMetre, I discover that I have apparently been discovered by a forum run by the CopWatch folks.
I’ve never had any dealings with CopWatch — but I have to admit that I find the idea somewhat interesting. Being filmed by a allegedly neutral third party (more on that in a bit) during arrests seems to me to be somewhat of a godsend.
DWI? Subpoena your CopWatch guy as a witness, and let the jury view your suspect doing the Standardized Field Sobriety Exercises from the second viewpoint of his video.
Resisting arrest charges? Evading? Most of the damned time the resisting and evading takes place out of view of the cruiser dash-cam. With your very own camera dude, this isn’t going to happen again. Your arrestee takes a swing, or develops rabbit blood — that video is going to ensure that his lawyer doesn’t get to baffle the DA into a plea-bargain with ‘he-said, she-said’ arguments. Dude, we’ve got video!
When a citizen files suit claiming that you were racially intolerant; scared her puppy; tracked mud in the house; failed to say “Good Morning” or any of the hundreds of bushwa civil complaints — depose the CopWatch person.
Not to mention the fact that his video would be invaluable in a counter-suit for slander, harassment or perjury.
Happy Days!
Of course, all of the above is predicated on the assumption that the CopWatch folks truly are neutral third-party observers.
One of their Forum Staff is of the opinion that I — how did it go?
“He doesn’t give a **** about Maxima’s safety or Constitutional rights.”
“To my mind, this *** is a piece of ****.”
*blink, blink*
I’m asterisks?
Not mention I’m apparently also: “deranged”, “schizophrenic”, and “unlikely” to “actually be a thoughtful, decent person”.
Goodness. And him not even knowing me.
*sigh*
Ah, well. One more bunch of folks on the List Of People What Hate My Guts, But Couldn’t Pick Me Out Of A Line-Up.
On to more pleasant things.
LawDog
It doesn’t mater how long the list is as long as it is full of distinguished names
= )
Well, I think you’re just dandy!
Course, I don’t know you from Adam, either;)
tweaker
What’s the old saying? You know you’re doing something right by the amount of people trying to prove you wrong…..or something like that.
Keep up the great work!
Steve
Hmmm. Might not be a bad idea.
Also, of course, we should have a War Department. No “Defense Department” ever won a war.
Think about it, since the U.S. War Department became the Defense Department, we’ve never won a war.
Ooo! Ooo! An’ can we have a Department of Feeling Really, Really Good too?
How about a Department of Deranged Deputies?
Department of Law Enforcement Oversight by Critters?
Citizens Committee for the Abolition of Table Knives and Other Sharp Things?
LawDog, please just keep on keeping on. Ignore the ones you can and write about the ones who just won’t be ignored. As for the ones who write about you, consider the source…
Those Cop Watch folks are pretty much hard core leftist dirtbags. If they did have a video exonerating an officer you would have to subpoena it quickly before they destroyed it.
I have to wonder how much video they actually keep; it seems like editing their tapes would be worse than having to edit out the 6,407 hours of footage of Bill Dance not catching anything to get a 30 minute show.
Since I work security, I always make it a point to swing the cameras onto any activity happening here, (and occasionally add in a handheld of my own) and so far the closest thing to egregious behavior by anyone has been the cop picking his nose while waiting for another cop to decide where he wanted to go for dinner.
I thought about printing up a few glossy stills of that in case the local newspaper ever needs a stock photo of police inaction, but it’s more hassle than it’s worth.
Wow.
I think I’d have to have an umbrella to stand near these guys just to keep off the free-flying spittle from anybody that rabid.
Maybe a switch to decaf is in order?
Wow, LD, you’ve managed to offend people who base their world view on the fact that the cops are out to get them!
Good job, man.
I agree that it could be an excellent resource if it were used properly. The whole third party thing is always a good thing in conflicts, but unfortunately, these guys just seem to be bug nuts.
Black Helicopters about there, I think.
Fortunately, the people with an ax to grind are vastly outnumbered by the people who support you and your service to our community. The obvious bias of that group stinks on ice. An astute person would note you make a sideline of liberating kittens.
Phlegm, oh, but he obviously only rescues them to boil them in a pot of baby’s blood before biting their heads off in an arcane ritual of Copness!
People like that will assign an ulterior motive to anything, and will refuse to believe anything that’s contrary to their own beliefs.
Sigh. And yesterday we just captured the Psychocat (remember her from the dumpster?) and wickedly took her over and got her disconnected and all her shots to the tune of $117.
Now, our diabolical machinations include the capture of her brother, Junior, for a repeat.
Ya-ha-ha-ha-ha!
(That’s a shoulder-hunched, hand-rubbing, evil laugh)
I have an internationally known gesture for the CopWatch people
************ Watch this!
LawMom
The solution for the problem that Max mentioned is easy–write a law that says that any such recording of an officer by a third party must be kept whole and intact for the statute of limitations time period. This could be filled by turning over a copy to the PD. Make the fine hefty, and the prison time long, and there you go.
That’s probably not terribly practical though.
from what i’ve heard of these “copswatch” clowns they’re not to be trusted out of long rifle range. their “mission” is to “get the dirt on cops”, or create it if necessary. “gifted’s” comment about requiring an unedited copy of their tapes be saved is a good idea. i would not put it past these asshats to do a bit of creative editing, a la the rodney king tapes, which were edited for t.v. to leave out king’s actions prior to the “beating”. that they do not like you is, to me, a good character reference, and i suggest that “copswatch” direct their attention to the sprig of mistletoe attached to my shirttail.
“gunner”
“What’s the old saying? You know you’re doing something right by the amount of people trying to prove you wrong…..or something like that.”
It’s also said that “a man is known by who his enemies are.”
Man, the irony of folks making statements to the effect that “Everybody knows that cops are racists and generalize about people without taking time to learn the facts” is thick and spicy.
matt g – that irony is also full of corn and peanuts.
That’s right. “Here’s a list of everyone who likes me.”
I don’t care who likes you. I know a man by who hates him. If you tell me who can’t stand a man, that’s a real reflection of who he is.
I didn’t bother with reading the link, so I have no idea why the CopWatch people consider LD one of “THOSE cops”. I consider him a hero, one of the good guys, a cop who understands principle and honor, who felt a twinge of guilt for finding a creative way to write a punk a ticket for “improper use of turn signal”, when many others would have been proud of themselves for finding an excuse to beat the kid to a pulp.
LawDog is a good guy.
That doesn’t change the fact that there are, sadly, too many of “THOSE cops” out there on the street.
The more video of cop/citizen encounters, the better. It protects righteous cops, and indicts the do-bads. The phrase “If you don’t have anything to hide… ” comes to mind.
I’m reminded of the recent kerfluffle over an Austin PD corporal, and his overly hasty use of a Taser on a motorist. His official excuse was that he hadn’t eaten lunch, so he was cranky. A three day suspension, and all was forgiven.
The Austin PD now uses that dashcam tape for training, as an example of how NOT to conduct a traffic stop.
Remember, there ARE bad cops and good citizens, and sometimes the two will meet. Video helps keep the players straight on the scorecard.
Like KBCraig, I didn’t bother reading the link either. I’ve heard about the site before and I don’t think highly of it.
I’ve had the pleasure of conversing online with Lawdog and was even lucky enough to catch an online radio interview he did one night and I consider that an honor. Those that know him up close and personal are exceptionally lucky.
If I had to describe Lawdog in one word, it would be genuine, because without really even knowing him, it’s more than obvious he is that. 🙂
To hell with that website. They don’t know what they’re talking about.
yuh hunh, farmgirl, and see that comment after yours from LM wherein they’ve taken these kitties to be disconnected, thus cutting down on future stray population. Clearly this was a selfish act to prevent kitties from exploring their reproductive freedoms. Did anyone ask Psychokitty what Psychokitty wanted? I think not. *tsk tsk*
Y’all should set up a feline rescue fund on PayPal, LawMom.
If it would actually help to have more video, why not get yourself a personal camera?
With the popularity of “spy gadgets” and action adventure filming, there are reasonably priced options. The helmet cam from Oregon Scientific is a pretty cool gadget, and I’ve considered buying myself one for Christmas. 🙂
They come ready for SD memeory cards, which are now up to 8 GB capacity… That’s well more than a high quality DVD movie. could easiy be mounted on other than a ‘helmet’.
Turn it on at the beginning of a stop, and catch that second PoV. Anywhere you look, video is then captured. I keep thinking it would be a good gadget to have in my car for multiple reasons, but possible police stops are one of them, given that I carry concealed and some cops don’t like that…
Poor copwatch peeps. They really don’t understand, btw dawg, this was a funny question that shows how far off these guys are.
Someone asks, “Do you bow, scrape and do your best to fit in…?”
That’s one thing no one I know has accused you of.
One of the deputy sheriffs in my county… this guy carries a little tape recorder in his pocket. Any time he’s in contact with a citizen or critter in the course of his job, he’ll turn the recorder on. It’s gotten him out of several jams when somebody complained to the sheriff.
Rabbit in his blood. Thats gooooood. Somethimes nothing is a real cool hand.
LawDog,
“CopWatch” is about as ‘neutral and non biased’ as the UN is pro-USA.
“That doesn’t change the fact that there are, sadly, too many of “THOSE cops” out there on the street.”
And this explains why “those” kind of people exist. Too many of those kind of cops don’t get the treatment LawDog would surely give them, but get free passes or even tacit/overt support under the theory that “they” could do no wrong.
Every time something like that happens, a new “Copwatch” supporter or sympathizer is born. Unfortunately in the war of buzzwords (i.e. “on crime” and “for officer safety”), that fact gets lost.
Dog you just got to ignore idiots like this. Keep on doing the great job you have always done and fuck these assholes.
Don’t let them get you down. Merry Christmas.
Joe
Anagram of the moment:
copwatch/cowpatch, coincidentally both full of manure.
Rave ON, phlegmfatale! LOL!
LawMom
Sounds like you want a copwatchtrunkmonkey! ;-P
I have no affiliation with Copwatch, but have heard of the practice of videotaping police officers during their interactions with citizens / critters and it sounds like a good one to me.
I’m sure there are nogoodniks in their group, just as their are nogoodniks in uniform ( see the copswritingcops site that LD has written about in the past. ) I can’t think of a better, safer way for citizens to identify and take action aganst bad officers than to video tape them and send the recording to the appropriate authority. If there is a better way, I’d love to hear it.
There have been several citizen arrested ( some charged with felony wire tapping ) or even tasered for video taping police officers, in non-confrontational ways. It’s a shame that some of the people involved are so anti-police, but I don’t think most people would be motivated to do something like this if they hadn’t observed some kind of injustice.
-Nick
Bear in mind that Lawdog’s attitude towards being an officer (i.e. “peace officer” as opposed to “law enforcement officer”) isn’t nearly as common in most cities. Where I live (Norfolk, VA), the latter tends to be the rule. Any attempt to video tape officers violating someone’s rights will just result in them taking your camera illegally, and possibly being arrested illegally afterwards. They have no shame here.
This past June, a group of 6-8 officers tackled and cuffed a disabled war veteran who was legally open carrying while out with his wife, their 3 kids, and 2 of their kids friends. When his very pretty, and very tiny, wife tried to video tape this, they told her they would arrest her and give her kids to social services if she didn’t stop.
They knew neither he, nor his wife, was breaking any laws. But they didn’t care, because the police in Norfolk view the rest of us as servants.
Fortunately for me, I’ve known a lot of police officers like Lawdog over the years. Most of them were people I knew when I didn’t live anywhere near anything that would be considered urban. But I can understand how, for people who haven’t had that privilege, it can start to seem like the bad eggs are the only ones that want to be police officers
I have found the attitude and opinions of individuals like those who are members of cop watch to be passed down from generation to generation of cop haters much like racism is passed on from racist parents to their children. They generally come from shitbag parents with authority issues and spend their youth being repeatedly instructed on the evils of the police. Personally, I don’t care if they hate me. I won’t allow it to affect the way I do my job.
There was one incident where a young boy about 7 years old flipped me off while I was in my squad car and Dad thought that was just hilarious. What Dad forgot in his glee was that his vehicles registration was expired and he had a cracked windshield. Mom was also in the car and none of them were wearing a seat belt. Dad was also unable to provide proof of insurance. I did my job, what they pay me to do. When they left dad didn’t think it was so funny anymore. I’m sure the stack of citations I handed his father put the boy on the side of his father for life. But he would have gone there anyway and it showed him where the line is that one does not cross. His parents even received some valuable education.
Nick,
I have no problem with citizens videotaping. All of my traffic stops are videotaped anyway by the in car video system. This system has saved a lot of officers a lot of heartache. Citizens lie about police conduct all the time. So many fals complaints were uncovered when we got in car video my department instituted a complaint policy that all complaints must be in writing. At the top of the form is a statement which says that the complaint will be fully investigated. Any misconduct by the officer will be dealt with but any false statements made will subject the complaintant to charges of filing a false police report, a Class 4 Felony in my state. That has stopped a lot of the lying but some are so stupid that they still try it. They come in and make an allegation that an officer said this or did that and all they have to do is pulll the video from the car and you have everything that was said and done right there.
Video is the friend of the honest and professional officer.
When I went to the site, there was a blah blah blah about how you had to register to be able to read it because they were being harassed by cops and blah blah blah. And I don’t register for NOTHING no more because I get enough crap in my e-mail as it is.
Well, in 1978 my husband tried to kill me. The cops who came threatened to arrest ME. Then, about 25 years later, I made friends with a very nice retired cop. I would say cops are like any other group: some are saints, some are unrepentant sinners, most are in between.
Oh, joy…
Some of the “copwatch” folks ought to do a few ride-alongs… Not just for a few hours one night. More like for a few weeks straight. They can take their cameras. They can spend hours with boredom and bad coffee…
Then when some idiot attempts to do his “protected” (“Hey, I know my rights!” just doesn’t apply very well when you’ve been caught kicking random cars inbetween trying to crotch-rocket yourself beyond warp drive…) stupid human tricks, they can either watch him get arrested, or watch him get scraped off the pavement after he manages to Darwin himself. They can go see nice “domestic” arguments, where both parties are on the far side of intoxication, and attempting to keep them from killing each other evolves into them trying to kill the person who is trying to help them.
I used to live in an area of St. Louis Metro where Driving While Black was patently illegal. But I don’t fault the street cops – I blame the civic leaders and management.
In addition, I suppose most “copwatch” folks haven’t watched all that closely. They’re from cities, and they reinforce the “us vs. them” mentality.