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Soundwave on 08 July 2016
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Nuvendil said:
Peh said:

I have to correct myself. This could have been avoided if the cops had a gun.

If you permit everyone easy access to guns and even ones which I question myself in what way do they need those do defend themself, then there you go. You reap what you sow.

But this is not the main problem. The main problem is the badly educated police officers not trained enough.

How to become a cop in Dallas:

"Becoming a cop in Dallas requires that candidates first meet some basic prerequisites. First, all applicants must be US citizens and hold a valid driver’s license. Unlike many other cities, police officers at the DPD are required to have completed some college by the time they apply, substituted only by having served at least three years in the military with an honorable discharge. With 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university and a minimum GPA of 2.0, candidates must be at least 19 years and six months old at the time of application. With 45 credit hours from an accredited college or university and a minimum GPA of 2.0, applicants must be between the ages of 21-44.

Prospective Dallas cops should have a vision in each eye of at least 20/100, no pending court cases, and no more than three hazardous traffic violations in the past 24 months. The DPD also has a tattoo policy, which can be explained by a recruiter.

The first step for joining the law enforcement team in Dallas is to have a preliminary screening interview. Then, applicants must pass a board interview with DPD police officers and supervisors. Following the interviews, a polygraph, psychological and medical exam, and a background check will be performed. Next, a physical test will be administered, which includes a bench press, run, sit-ups and push-ups. Upon passing these evaluations, candidates will attend a 35-week academy, for which they will be paid, followed by 24 weeks of field training."

http://www.how-to-become-a-police-officer.com/cities/dallas/

So, you can become in less then a year a cop in Dallas? Wow. In Germany you need 2 and a half year at minimum to become a police officer. I don't see german police officers shooting citizens, because they feel like it.

Almost no cops shoot civilians cause they feel like it.  And this is 11 officers shot by two civilians who had the brilliant idea that gunning down 11 innocent cops who did absolutely nothing will somehow make all the bad cops in the world suddenly behave.  Say what you want about cops in Dallas but at least they don't go into a crime ridden neighborhood, round up eleven innocent people and shoot them in hopes the criminals will behave.  In fact, the recent shooting wasn't even IN Dalas.  The cop who shot someone was in Minesota for goodness sake so bringing up the competency of Dallas's police force here seems rather out of place. 

As for why ALL cops carry guns, the way the system works here is that all cops are equipped to be first responders to any call.  If you call 911 and tell them some guy is shooting at your house or a man broke in with a knife, they don't dispatch someone from the station they dispatch the nearest unit.  If your standard police officer was armed with piss all, they wouldn't be too effective in responding to deadly threats.

As for rights to bear arms, not going into that here.  But my point was people like this who want to shoot in cold, calculated measure or in completely crazy way a bunch of people will not care if they are allowed to carry a gun.  The illegal gun trade is there and is accessible to those who don't really care about consequences.  Which people like this rarely due.  Sure, they'll get caught if they would likely not go long after purchasing the gun without being caught but the reality is they aren't going to sit on the gun, they're going to shoot people with it. 

Finally,  I never said it was a perfect system and that EVERY city has perfect standards for police recruitment.  However, the generatioin of a mostly entirely artificial "us vs them" mentality is what is making cops increasingly nervous and angry around many civilians and making civilians unwilling to cooperate with and even behave agressively towards police officers.  Which will only make this worse and perpetuate the violence.  Cause police officers ARE people, no matter how much you educate them they are people and this kinda stuff does effect people. 

PS: do your math again.  Years have 52 weeks.  35 week academy + 24 week field training + all the other interviews and examinations = 60+ weeks.  It's not the highest standard in the States much less the world but at least get your complaints right.

Cops are people, and just like regular people ... some of them are assholes, even if the majority are brave and good people. The issue is that they don't ever call out the bad ones, and as such they've built up an institution where there is virtually no accountability. 

Which then leds to pent up anger when people see a person get shot to death on camera (thanks to smartphones, there's no hiding it anymore), the cop gets off scott free after a 2 month suspension of whatever and the cycle repeats again and again. 

This happening in a way was fairly (and sadly) predictable.