Not exactly what Sunil Dutta said in a Washington Post column a couple days ago, but the import is there. Dutta is a 17 year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and has been an instructor in homeland security at Colorado Tech University. While the column is more even-handed than the quote below from Dutta’s column, it encapsulates the problem which this Views post is about–too many police officers have an attitude problem of their own:
Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you. Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my badge. Don’t scream at me that you pay my salary, and don’t even think of aggressively walking towards me. Most field stops are complete in minutes. How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?
Continue reading Don’t Cop an Attitude with a Cop Who Has an Attitude