A Look At The Coffee Shop Incident In Portland

[mrjarrell]

Since the last thread on this subject...derailed....here's a new look at it from J.D. Tuccile, The Civil Liberties Examiner. As I stated in the previous thread, it wasn't about that particular officer. It was about Portland cops in general. They are disliked by the general populace, with good reason. As J.D. points out, even their mayor recognises that they have severe problems with the public, (and he booted the chief enforcer). If any of us lived in a place where the enforcers were as bad as Portland's are we would be more than justified in shunning them and the only outcry would be from ultra statists who support these [STRIKE]bad guys[/STRIKE] enforcers.

National Civil Rights Examiner

If you're an ideological supporter of government power, it's easy to fall back on unreasoning support for the state's servants (and, ironically, validate objections to government power in the process).
Given time to ponder, Langley came up with clearer articulation of his concerns:

I don’t have anything against this particular officer and I don’t know anything about him…A police officer in uniform makes people feel unsafe because of previous experiences...
We’re gonna value the people that have been victims of police violence. Some of them have talked about having their belongings being taken away or sprayed with water. It is exacerbated by the situation in Portland right now. The response to the mental health crisis is shooting people and beating people to death.
​

The anarcho-entrepreneur didn't pull his reasons out of thin air. Less than a month ago, after a series of police shotings and complaints about the official response, Portland Mayor Sam Adams booted the city's police chief and took direct control of the police department. In a press conference, he said (PDF), "Despite the extraordinary efforts of the courageous few who wear the badge, the relationship between the citizens of Portland and their police officers is not what it needs to be. Too many Portlanders express concern about their own safety--not because of crime, but rather fear of their own police force."

More at the source.

 

[Fletch]

As I said elsewhere, fear of cops is something I can understand. Organizations like those in Portland, Prince George's County Maryland, Maricopa County Arizona, and others do absolutely nothing to allay those fears.

There are certainly good cops out there... Massad Ayoob comes to mind, for example, and a fair number of our officers here seem like generally reasonable people. That certainly helps, but the ever-expanding grasp of the law and ever-more-brutal attitudes of those who drive policy make it easy to believe the cops-vs-citizens situation is getting worse, not better.

 

[serpicostraight]

As I said elsewhere, fear of cops is something I can understand. Organizations like those in Portland, Prince George's County Maryland, Maricopa County Arizona, and others do absolutely nothing to allay those fears.

There are certainly good cops out there... Massad Ayoob comes to mind, for example, and a fair number of our officers here seem like generally reasonable people. That certainly helps, but the ever-expanding grasp of the law and ever-more-brutal attitudes of those who drive policy make it easy to believe the cops-vs-citizens situation is getting worse, not better.

you are absolutely correct. but until the good ones stand up and break the thin blue line things are never going to get better. there are plenty of good ones out there no doubt about that. but as long as they tolerate the bad ones and wont take a stand against them this whole situation can only get worse. i understand backing a fellow officer but when they are totally wrong and breaking the law and other cops support them that i dont get.

 

[Joe Williams]

Sounds like it's time for Portland's officers to take a vacation for a couple weeks. All of them. Doesn't sound like the public would mind, and I'm guessing the cops would enjoy the opportunity to get some fishing done.

 

[jbombelli]

When you go around stepping on people's necks, don't be surprised when they shun you. When your buddies do it, and you back them, don't be surprised when people shun you. All of you.

From what I've read, Portland cops are damned lucky they haven't found themselves in a real shooting war. They're lucky most people are sheep who avoid violence at nearly all costs.

One of these days they're going to step on the wrong neck.

 

[Expat]

I see cops quite often at different places I go too. They don't bother me in the least. In fact I usually get a sense of relief knowing that if something bad goes down, I am not the only armed good guy on the scene. I do admit to getting an uncomfortable feeling when I am speeding and see one, but I know that is on me if I get stopped. There was one sitting down the road from our house clocking people one day as they do off and on. I pulled up to him and thanked him for keeping an eye on things.

 

[9lock]

"When I first started in this job 30 years ago, police work was never about revenue enhancement," Utica Police Chief Michael Reaves said. "But if you're a chief now, you have to look at whether your department produces revenues. That's just the reality nowadays."

There it is, Money is more important than a human life.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Never understood it myself until IMPD pointed a gun at me for obeying the law.

Sometimes you have to experience yourself what others complain about.

 

[E5RANGER375]

you are absolutely correct. but until the good ones stand up and break the thin blue line things are never going to get better. there are plenty of good ones out there no doubt about that. but as long as they tolerate the bad ones and wont take a stand against them this whole situation can only get worse. i understand backing a fellow officer but when they are totally wrong and breaking the law and other cops support them that i dont get.

RIGHT ON!!!! thats what i always try to say, but it doesnt sound as nice. Im not anti-LEO, im anti-abusive and law breaking LEO's. and if the good ones dont flip on the bad ones then they are just as bad, even if they arent the one who pulled the trigger. guilt by association. with all of the abuses by the LE community, they should be doing everything they can to win hearts and minds, instead of cursing at us and strong arming us into submission. because a hand shake goes a lot farther than a gun muzzle in my face. because once ive had a gun put in my face by a badge, i will NEVER forget it, and i WILL associate every other LEO for the rest of my life with that experience. Hearts and minds, or just give up, because people arent gonna take the abuse much longer. which means a lot of LEOs will lose their jobs due to budget cuts. instead of kissing azz to their bosses and councilman etc, they need to kiss the civilians azzes, cause WE control the money in the end.

stand up or get out.

EDIT: maybe the term "kiss azz" isnt proper, what i realy mean respect us, more than i mean bow down to us. I dont need anyone to bow down to me, but please give me the courtessy of respect that i deserve just by being a citizen.

 

[Phil502]

I lived in Portland for 2 months 10 years ago, I had a traveling job back then.
I was surprised by the amount of people living on the streets pan-handling. Then there was the big free breakfast given to anybody who would stand in the line on Sunday mornings. These were young people too, not just degenerates. It's a different world out there, more like California then here. The media is always on the "victims" side so the reporting is usually skewed towards the cops are bad guys deal. I think the cops get a bad rap for doing their job, not always, but mostly.