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Submitted by Norm on Sun, 02/25/2007 - 3:22am.

Here is just a snippet of some of the stray comments I have found in the blog by doing a search for "police", "cop" and "pig".

 

On the streets the police are viewed as being the enemy, and many homeless people fear that an officer would beat them, steal their belongings, and leave them for dead at the first opportunity. This is not true of the majority of the police officers, but I have been in this town long enough to know that there actually are some bad cops out there who for some reason seem to get off on bullying
homeless people.

I don't think any answer to any of those questions would lead me to say: "Oh, well that cop did the right thing." The boy was 11 years old, if a fully trained police
officer is unable to restrain an 11 year old, then she shouldn't be a police officer. 

After he was tazed the first time, why was he not put in restraints? Why weren't he
and the girl put on opposite sides of the school? SO many mistakes made by the school and the police officer. I smell big fat lawsuit against the school.

And then someone got ticketed and the mass stopped. Two cruisers and and a pig SUV pulled up to intimidate us. While they were doing this, some wonderful human being snuck up to one of the parked cruisers and proceeded to slash two of the tires.

We saw the driver of the car start running towards the person and yelled warnings, but the hissing of air out of the tires or the excitement of the person's undertaking prevented their hearing it. The pig tackled him and put him in a chokehold. The mass immediately crowded around what was happening and the police pulled out their batons. The person who slashed the tires was smiling the whole time. We all started clapping in unison for a few moments until they drove the person away.

I drew a ninja jump-kicking a uniformed pig.

The "protest police", actually the die-hard liberals, heeded the pig's advice and
moved the parade the other way.

What the [I really just want to say "f*ck" here, but I'm gonna try to be chill &
civil, not like the WSP pig w/ the sticky was making ANY effort at all

The police are correctly described as being nosey, gruff, intolerant, accusatory,
inflexible, wrong, and self righteous.

If we're concerned about assault and battery, why do we tolerate armed, racist
police officers who repeatedly get into physical fights with their arrests at
a far higher rate than their peers?

The police have proven themselves less than hesitant to unleash pepper spray
on people before.

The jail cell was dead quiet as they told us this. We all sat in awed horror.
One person could be heard whispering, "Those fucking pigs."

Law enforcement is the will of the rich and powerful being executed.

There are bad cops in Olympia. There are cops that beat people up and taze
them. There are cops who threaten to run people out of town.

Being well aware of the OPD's long history of abuse of its power and weapons
, I decided to remain where I was on the sidewalk, and serve as a witness
to the incident

...it sounds like another patented "Olympia Police steriod induced rage incident."

Cops can, (and often do) arrest people without valid reasons for "payback",
because they feel insulted or disrepected.  Often, this is done in a very
aggressive, pushy and belligerent manner.

It doesn't MATTER if the COPS are offended, it's their job to ignore these things,
and they are trained to deal with stressful situations, because THAT IS THEIR JOB!!!

Guns are dangerous, especially in the hands of men that have been fed a steady
diet of power, privelege, and self-righteousness. (in referrence to police)

...that maybe they should be a little afraid if they continue the misuse of power
that has become the OPD's legacy. 

During our arrests, Cindy* and I were manhandled by officer Mayberry* of the Olympia Police Department, resulting in injury.

Instead of simply removing her hands, two police officers proceeded to use cruel and unusual tactics to remove her.

I was thinking Phil was making some really good points but now some cop is coming on and telling me who to listen to and that doesn't make me want to be obedient.

But Olycop telling me something here is exactly the same as a real-life uniformed
criminal telling me something out on the streets. (ie cop = uniformed criminal)

So now police have only 11 months to chase all the homeless out of town, instead
of being able to do this at their leisure?

He is for anti-vagrancy laws which are unconstitutional, but he's against anti-gun
laws which are also unconstitutional. Typical cop...

I do hold it against them. I would NEVER work at a job that exploited others. EVER. (job = police officer)

The sticker declares that the area is a Community Watch Area and Police Not Welcome.

I don't like cops, I'll be honest about that, I don't trust them.

They trample people's rights..... (they = police)

I dislike most cops too.

and my personal favorite:

There was an undercover cop in a red Caterpillar sweatshirt. (If you want us to
know you're a cop, wear that. )

The last one was of course false, and a huge assumption. Many of you already know that it was in fact, myself, who was wearing that sweatshirt, and I don't work for law enforcement in any capacity. It's interesting though that I can be around the mall, the hospital, walmart, lacey or tumwater, but stepping into downtown Oly I get some bad looks, and during certain events I get asked my badge number.

Obviously this doesn't account for the blog as a whole. I don't want to use a blanket statement on the subject. I didn't add all of the comments, some were positive (very few) and some were first-hand accounts that sounded very legitimate, or some form of proof was given.

Does Olyblog carry some bias toward law enforcement?

Is Olyblog very tolerant of anti-law enforcement views? Or possibly anti-establishment?

»

Thanks Norm

I know that took some effort on your part.

Also the silence on this thread is deafening, isn't it? That too speaks for itself.

"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." (emphasis added) ~~ Mahatma Gandhi

»

Hmmm...

Is Olyblog very tolerant of anti-law enforcement views? Or possibly anti-establishment?

Of course it is.  Law enforcement is inherently political.  The trouble we run into is when people mix up political views (like my view that the prison-industrial complex should be abolished), with hate speech like the use of the word "pig".

I think it is extraordinarily magnanimous of you and Olycop to stick around and participate in the blog here, given some of the verbal abuse you guys take.


Necessary Disclaimer in Convoluted Language:  Any statement I make regarding the admiration of particular persons does not in any way constitute an endorsement of said persons' political views, past statements, or preferences regarding ice cream flavors.  I remain an abolitionist.  ...of prisons, not ice cream.

The Canaanite's Call
»

Good idea Norm, I should do

Good idea Norm, I should do the same for folks in my profession. In the last week or so I've seen our kind called stupid and dumb, that we're rapists, fat and a post just reaking of elitism.

I began to post in that particular thread but decided it wasn't worth the time.

»

What is OlyBlog?

Is it a person? Is it an institution? Is it an organization? Or is it just a forum, a vessel for the thoughts and opinions of a a wide variety of people?

I keep getting the impression that you think OlyBlog has a position on some issue. Why do you think that?


When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion. -C.P. Snow
»

Rhetorical or...?

I don't think Olyblog (as an entity) has a position on an issue.

I view Olyblog as a community within a community. I suppose I'd call it an online news source, with an extra dimension added.

As any community it could also be the sum of it's parts. I viewed it as: How many negative comments toward/about law enforcement were in threads, vs positive comments? Does this mean everyone on Olyblog feels this way? Of course not. Or even that people that feel this way one day don't feel differently another day?

Could Olyblog be looked at as an institution like the Olympian? People make large statements about how the Olympian feels.

How about Olympia itself? "Olympia loves the homeless!", "Olympia wants a cleaned-up downtown!". Olympia can't make a decision like that, or an opinion like that. It is the sum of it's parts, the citizens.

That is how I view Olyblog.

»

But...

Doesn't your position as you just stated it conflict with asking questions like:

Does Olyblog carry some bias toward law enforcement?

Is Olyblog very tolerant of anti-law enforcement views? Or possibly anti-establishment?


When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion. -C.P. Snow
»

You may need to dumb this

You may need to dumb this down for me Rick.

Olyblog, is in my view, the sum of it's parts. It, as a whole, is represented by it's citizens. If a certain sentiment seems to be prevalent on Olyblog, could that not be considered to be the way that the community of Olyblog feels about that issue? I think it can.

»

But what about you?

And Olycop, and NWarty, Ehver Green, Phil, me, and who knows how many other people who have expressed opinions about the police in Olympia in a perfectly respectful manner? Most of the people who post here frequently do not use that kind of inflammatory language. It seems to me that there's a whole lot of discussion on police that is absolutely fine. Some people are angry and express that anger in inappropriate ways. But here's the deal: If you want to have a diversity of opinion, then, well, you will probably get a diversity of opinion. If folks are talking in a way you find disrespectful, you have every right to say so. But I don't think it's accurate or fair to say it's a widespread phenomenon on OlyBlog, or characteristic of the attitudes here.


When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion. -C.P. Snow
»

Nice!

You'll notice I posted those in a question form. I understand what you are saying Rick, and I agree.

Your quote:

If folks are talking in a way you find disrespectful, you have every right to say so.

That is a great quote. I think I needed to read that, and needed to read it from you specifically.

I truly think that most people who contribute to the blog have the same amount of respect toward an officer/deputy, that the officer/deputy in question has for them. Anti-cop sentiment seems to be, for the most part, pretty unquestioned, except for myself and a handful of others.

I'm not sure that makes Olyblog anti-cop. That's why I posted it in a question form. I "feel" like we are catering to the anti-cop crowd when we post some of these second-hand stories/articles that refer to cops as pigs, or accused of using "cruel and unusual tactics".

I'm not looking to place blame, or point fingers. This is a field I am interested in ( you and I have talked about this ) and before I go running into it with my blinders on, I'd love to get people's dialogue on some of the quotes above. Why is the anti-cop sentiment ( not the whole of the blog ) such an accepted thing?

»

Chief Wiggum P.I.

»

lol

I've probably seen this episode a dozen times. Yet I took the time and watched it on youtube. Am I an addict or what?!
»

Many of the main

players here have been respectful towards police, or at least refrained (remained silent) in the anti-police rhetoric.

What some can't seem to separate or understand, is the police are people too. My opinion on religious or social issues are in contrast with most here. But because my beliefs are tied to my profession, by my chosen screen name here, they seem to rile more.

If I was posting here as JT rather than Olycop, I'm fairly certain I would get a different response on a lot of issues (probably still incite passionate discussion, but likely not as harsh). But I chose to post as Olycop, to personalize a job title that typically is perceived more as an authoritarian robot than a human being.

Mike, and another poster here believe that when I post people read that as an official position of the P.D. I find it hard to believe that is true, since most who post here are intelligent and well educated. If that truly is the case, I know my fellow officers whether they be of rank or worker bees, would likely disagree with me frequently. You see, there are many that are more liberal than me and many that are far more conservative than me at the P.D. Not to mention, a police department will not, or should not get involved in issues of opinion, and certainly not opinion on social/political topics.

There is certainly a larger contingent of anti-cop beliefs here in the Olympia area than many other places. Evergreen either produces or attracts people with anti-establishment and anti-authority beliefs. Police are both of those, and we are para-military by design. So I'm not surprised by the anti-cop sentiment here, in-fact that is why I created Olycop as my screen name. You get to see Olycop more as a person. You may not like the person Olycop, but you will get to know him.

"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." (emphasis added) ~~ Mahatma Gandhi

»

OC


Sorry to be so harsh on you the other day.

I was just upset.

I also found your comments on probable cause to be informative.
»

bubbaz

no worries. I understand why you were pissed.

"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." (emphasis added) ~~ Mahatma Gandhi

»

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