Are the Police fit for purpose

[PHXPhlyer]

NYPD officer, twice arrested for alleged brutality, fired gun at Atlantic Ocean, police say
But was he able to hit it?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ny ... n-n1261757

NYPD officer, twice arrested for alleged brutality, fired gun at Atlantic Ocean, police say
David Afanador, 39, was carrying a loaded pistol and three loaded high-capacity magazines when officers investigating a report of shots fired in Long Beach, police said.

March 22, 2021, 11:37 AM MST / Source: Associated Press
By The Associated Press
A New York City police officer who’s been arrested twice for alleged brutality was arrested again Sunday after police on Long Island say he fired a pistol into the Atlantic Ocean while off duty.

David Afanador, 39, was carrying a loaded pistol and three loaded high-capacity magazines when officers investigating a report of shots fired in Long Beach saw him walking off the beach with three other people around 6:50 a.m. Sunday, police said.

Afanador was charged last year with putting a Black man in a banned chokehold while responding to a call at a Queens boardwalk. The NYPD suspended him without pay after that arrest and then placed him on restricted assignment. He was not authorized to carry firearms, police said.

An NYPD spokesperson, Sgt. Edward Riley, said Afanador has again been suspended without pay.

Afanador is expected to be arraigned Monday in Long Beach City Court on charges of criminal possession of a weapon, prohibited use of a weapon and possession of alcohol, which is banned at Ocean Beach Park.

A woman stopped with Afanador was also accused of firing the pistol into the ocean and faces charges of weapon possession and prohibited use of a weapon, police said.

Online court records didn't list a lawyer for Afanador. A message seeking comment was left with the lawyer representing him in the chokehold case.

Afanador, who’s been with the NYPD for more than 16 years, pleaded not guilty last June to strangulation and attempted aggravated strangulation charges after cellphone video showed him putting his arm around a man’s neck on the Rockaway Beach boardwalk.

The man, 35-year-old Ricky Bellevue, appeared to lose consciousness. Bellevue was arrested in an unrelated incident in the Bronx a few weeks later after police say he flashed a box cutter and made anti-gay statements in an attempted robbery.

Chokeholds have been prohibited by the NYPD for years and were banned statewide last year. Afanador is scheduled for a court appearance in that case on Wednesday.

In 2016, Afanador was acquitted on charges he pistol-whipped a 16-year-old boy during a marijuana bust, breaking two of his teeth. The beating, seen on video, continued until the boy dropped to the ground and was handcuffed.

PP

[G-CPTN]

Just the sort of guy to uphold law and order.

[PHXPhlyer]

Shirtless man taken by officers after shooting at Boulder supermarket

They take the
NO SHIRT
NO SHOES
NO SERVICE
policy very seriously.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/colora ... b00ac80710

Shirtless man taken by officers from Boulder supermarket
From CNN’s Keith Allen

CNN affiliate KMGH’s helicopter filmed a shirtless man being taken from King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, this afternoon.

It is unclear if the man was involved in the reported active shooting inside the store. The man had what appeared to be blood on his arm and right leg and his hands were cuffed behind him as two officers escorted him away. The man was taken away in an ambulance.

Ambulances and multiple law enforcement agencies are currently outside the store.

A CNN producer also reported that police were heard over speakerphone tell someone in a car to please sit up straight and turn themselves in.

[PHXPhlyer]

Multiple people dead, including police officer, after shooting at Colorado grocery store

This is much worse than what was in my earlier post.
TV news says man with AR style rifle took out multiple people in the parking lot before going into the store and shooting more including a Boulder PD officer.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/la ... e-n1261771

Multiple people dead, including police officer, after shooting at Colorado grocery store
Boulder Police Department commander Kerry Yamaguchi said a person of interest was in custody.

March 22, 2021, 2:34 PM MST / Updated March 22, 2021, 6:14 PM MST
By Tim Stelloh
Multiple people are dead, including a police officer, after a shooting Monday at a Colorado grocery store that the state’s governor called an “unspeakable tragedy.”

Kerry Yamaguchi, a Boulder Police Department commander, said it was unclear how many people were killed but that an officer who worked for his agency was among the victims.

A person of interest, who was injured during the shooting, was in custody, he said. He did not identify the person or provide details about a potential motive.

There is no ongoing public threat, Yamaguchi said, adding that it was unclear if the person had a connection to King Soopers, the grocery store where the shooting occurred around 3 p.m.

Earlier, a witness, Dean Schiller, said he was about to go grocery shopping when he heard gunfire at the store and saw three people who appeared to have been injured. Two were outside the store, one was inside.

An employee from the store told him there was a shooter inside.

Another man told NBC affiliate KUSA that his granddaughters had gone with their father to the store to get vaccinated for Covid-19 when the shooting occurred. He said they hid inside a coat closet for an hour until authorities entered through the roof and rescued them.“This is heartbreaking,” he said.

Live video from outside the King Soopers showed SWAT vehicles and dozens of police officers, many in tactical gear and camouflage, around the store. Some of its front windows appeared to have been shattered.

At one point a man with his hands behind his back could be seen leaving the store with authorities. It wasn’t clear if the man, who had no shirt or pants and blood streaming down his leg, was the person of interest.


Several minutes later, a line of people who appeared to have been inside the store could be seen leaving surrounded by officers.

A spokesperson for the grocery store said the company was "horrified by the senseless violence." Colorado Gov. Jared Polis called the shooting an "unspeakable event" and said he was "closely watching" the situation.

"I’m incredibly grateful to the brave men and women who have responded to the scene to help the victims of this senseless tragedy," he said.

Aerial Images from NBC affiliate KUSA showed a large police and emergency medical services presence outside the King Soopers store.

PP

[PHXPhlyer]

10 dead in Boulder, CO shooting.
Total includes a Boulder PD officer.

PP

[Pontius Navigator]

If they didn't tackle them why were so many injured then?

And

In one incident, a female protester was filmed bending over, taking down her trousers and urinating on the shoes of a police officer who refused to retaliate.

Anyone guess what I am thinking?

[prospector]

The other side of the coin perhaps??

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/519029-uk-poli ... aign=Email

"“I’m done with the public, their violence, their lying, their abuse, their spitting, their constant screaming for instant gratification and destruction of anything and everyone around them if they don’t get their own way, like a bunch of petulant adolescents. I’m done with their demand for every right, real or imagined, and their utter lack of personal or social responsibility to each other."

[Pontius Navigator]

And the previous prime minister banned the use of water cannon.

Almost 60 years ago I watched the novel display of of riot control police exercise in Malaysia. They got out of a 3 tonner, no police van, and formed up like a Roman Testudo shields to the front and those being providing a top. They advanced in short steps, left foot leading. Behind an armoured water cannon, commander overseeing the advance.
Most impressive as I had never seen the like before. Then came Northern Ireland and the genie was out of the bottle. Riots became entertainment, an opportunity to commit mayhem with little risk af arrest and the chance of a little looting on the side.
Now, with equal opportunity, women are as bad as the men. Men? and affront to humanity.

[PHXPhlyer]

Can you spot the outlier?

Gunman shoots two Salt Lake County deputies outside sheriff's office
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/gu ... s-n1263737

Police accused of threatening, pulling gun on Black Army lieutenant during Virginia traffic stop
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/po ... a-n1263731

State trooper killed during standoff with barricaded suspect in Iowa
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/st ... a-n1263735

PP

Consecutive articles on MSNBC.com

[Pontius Navigator]

Yes, the one in the middle, no guns fired.

[Bob]

Iv'e lived on both sides of the tracks, something most on here clearly haven't (thats not a criticism)
How you perceive anyone including a police officer is entirely dependent on your observation of their behaviour and how they treat you and those around you, Police officers do not treat everyone with anything near the same levels of respect which is why you will always hear middle class professionals and upwards in the social scale be largely supportive of the police, the police are there to protect their property and privileges.
A teenager on a housing estate gets treated like ***** right from the start.

Below is something Ive known for decades, its a bit like politicians anyone who wants to become one should never be offered the position.

Fuentes said when he watched the video, Chauvin's behavior told him he is a classic sociopath, exhibiting extreme narcissism.

“You have someone who has no regard for anybody else. He has no regard for the subject he's trying to arrest – no regard for the public at large, no regard to the reputation of his fellow officers that are with him at scene, as well as the 800,000 police officers across the country. He doesn't care about anybody except himself,” Fuentes said.

In the general population, Fuentes said research shows about seven percent of people exhibit some sociopathic behavior, but in applicants for law enforcement that number jumps up to more than 40%.

Fuentes said the key to stopping police brutality is preventing these types of individuals who seek out power over others from being hired in the first place.

“This officer is a sociopath. He never should have been hired as a police officer,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes said, unfortunately, all of law enforcement is being stained by the bad actions of a few.

He said part of the answer is for police departments to be more proactive in screening applicants, so they don’t hire individuals with sociopathic tendencies.

“You cannot train a pit bull to become a French poodle. If you hire somebody with those kind of character traits, they’re still going to have that character trait and they’re going to be a ticking time bomb on the street,” Fuentes said.

[Pontius Navigator]

Bob, on a University course many years ago the problem of policing in the 19th Century, and to a large extent today, is that police are recruited from the same class that need policing.

Today that is a slight simplification as online fraud, white collar crime abs and so on needs police with similar intellect and training.

At the Bobby on the beat level though it probably remains true.

[ian16th]

Don't the UK police recruit university graduates these days, and 'fast track' them to Inspector?

[Pontius Navigator]

Ian, yes, but that tends to be on a level above the beat bobby. Interesting on TV about the real anti corruption work. Have you watched Line of Duty? The boss of AC12 has a hard time with his Chief Constable and Crime Commissioner. The real life detective had a similar problem as his superior was corrupt.

One route to corruption was demanding money from the criminals. They rationalized that they took more money off them for not booking them than they would pay in fines. The error should be obvious.

In my last job I was offered a back hander to allow illegal mussel digging. When I declined an offer of a bottle of scotch he pulled out a wallet stuffed with £20 notes. Maybe short term gain appeared attractive but long term pain.

Same with smuggling. We were on a Nile cruise. Just 52 passengers and we saw what they were all buying. On return only us and a retired policeman went through the red channel. Risk -reward, no contest.

[PHXPhlyer]

DC cop cars totaled after officers drag race in NE, says commander

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/

DC cop cars totaled after officers drag race in NE, says commander

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - Two D.C. police cars were totaled after officers decided to drag race each other, according to an internal email obtained exclusively by FOX 5’s Lindsay Watts.

"Yesterday two 6D scout cars were totaled because officers decided instead of fighting crime, patrolling their beats, or engaging the community – they decided to drag race each other on Anacostia Avenue at 5 pm in the evening," reads the email from 6D Commander Durriyyah Habeebullah.

Sources say the email was sent to command staff following the crash Thursday.

"What does this say to all the members of MPD who are passionate about their job and work hard every day to make a difference. This is not fair to any of us," the email goes on to say.

DC Police would not provide the incident report Sunday because the department only provides traffic reports through FOIA.

Sources tell FOX 5 the officers involved, who are new to the department, started racing each other on Anacostia Ave. NE near Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Garden and reports indicate they were traveling at least 60 mph.

FOX 5 has requested a statement from Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chief Robert Contee regarding the incident and the employment status of the officers involved.


Habeebullah’s email goes on to say that when she talked to Chief Contee about what happened, he told her about a citizen who witnessed an MPD van heading to a shooting scene Thursday traveling at least 90 mph.

"What good are officers to their fellow officers if they don’t arrive safely or they total vehicles that we need to do our job," she wrote.

Habeebullah said she was holding command staff responsible to have discussions about speeding and driving recklessly with officers.

PP

[Bob]

90mph?, they wouldn't catch many 16 year olds round here if they go pottering around like that

[PHXPhlyer]

Around here the big thing with kids is to take over a major intersection , ie. 6-7 lanes wide each, with enough room to do burnouts, doughnuts and, drifting. All the while being videoed with kids hanging out windows, in the back of trucks, on hoods and roofs, etc.
These are pop-up events set up on social media. Like whack-a-mole, never in the same place.
When the cops finally show up it is like cockroaches scurrying away when you turn the lights on. They never catch more than one or two in spite of all the videos posted on social media.
They even claim to have multi-jurisdictional task forces that don't seem to really make an impact.
They are one wreck away from taking out a sidewalk full of spectators, much like the rallies in the past.

PP

[G-CPTN]

Apparently, human bones have been found under the cafe where a young girl who was thought to have been a victim of Fred West worked.
It is said the FW did some work at the cafe.

[Pontius Navigator]

When holidaying near Much Markle we bought a flagon of the local cider. They said it had much body in it.

[OFSO]

No, the bones have not been found, it was a scrap of material resembling the dress the disappeared Lady was wearing. But with digging underway it won't be long now.