People In Positions of Trust and Authority

[Nitro]

Not shoot them.

Have you ever dealt with a taser?

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Have you ever dealt with a taser?

Nope. It'd be better to tase than kill, but it'd be better if it didn't come to that. The autism alert cards here have contact numbers on them for the police to ring if they need to. Tasing should only be done if it comes to that. Not killing though.

 

[Nitro]

Tasing can kill too.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Tasing can kill too.

Which is why they should only do it if they have to. Only if someone is a threat to others or themselves. If they can prevent it from getting that way then they should.

 

[Nitro]

No,what actually needs done is accountability for improper actions on behalf of a professional who uses deadly force in an improper manner.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

No,what actually needs done is accountability for improper actions on behalf of a professional who uses deadly force in an improper manner.

That too. But they still need tasers. Just shouldn't use them if there's no need. If someone is very strong and going around attacking people and can't be restrained in any way then yeah, tase them. However if someone is sitting down flapping their arms and not a danger to anything then there's no need.

 

[Nitro]

That too. But they still need tasers. Just shouldn't use them if there's no need. If someone is very strong and going around attacking people and can't be restrained in any way then yeah, tase them. However if someone is sitting down flapping their arms and not a danger to anything then there's no need.

I really find it hard to believe that anyone has been killed for sitting down and flapping their arms

 

[Judge]

People observed by others acting "erratically" doesn't in itself constitute a crime. Stands to reason that the bulk of such occurrences may best be handled by EMTs with mental health training. In as much as society is slowly decriminalizing drug offenses, perhaps now is the time to support it with such changes in policy and approach.

EMTs sometimes face exposure to danger, so it's not as if this hasn't already been factored into the equation.

 

[ancusmitis]

No,what actually needs done is accountability for improper actions on behalf of a professional who uses deadly force in an improper manner.

Good luck with that. With all these people who worship police and authority--yes, even in "freedom-loving" America these people exist--on top of police unions donating to election campaigns, we're lucky if corrupt cops get so much as a slap on the wrist even when there is video tape proving they acted improperly. It's well to ask, "Who's watching the watchers?" but if no one in positions of influence cares what they do, they end up doing whatever they please.

 

[King_Oni]

So, from reading all comments here, I think it's safe to summarize it like this

1. There are plenty of people in power that think it's "fine" if cops take out someone by lethal force (be it corrupt officials or just in general a certain cultural bias in certain areas)
2. There are not enough resources for law enforcement to receive additional training

I believe number 1 is a big problem which wont be fixed unless people change their morality, which in most cases is something they will have to want and do themselves. It's unlikely to change unless, and that's obviously a highly undesireable option; local and federal governments (and again, I'm talking about the US here and all the media exposure I've seen/heard/read about) enforce objectively tests for everyone for a certain moral standard that takes away most biases, if you fail, you get your license revoked to wear a badge of any kind. Preferably done by a non-corrupt party, but hey... who am I kidding, right? Besides, who is going to pay for it?

As for number 2. In my experience, plenty of jobs require additional training over time to stay with it all. If you're in IT you're training for new stuff monthly or at least yearly, and plenty of it is being paid for by your boss, and sometimes yourself. That's how you make sure you keep yourself viable as an employee. Why shouldn't cops be forced to be trained, and if neccesary pay out of their own pocket to sustain the viability of being employed as a law enforcement agent by getting with the times and get schooled by what can be considered an influx of certain behaviour in society at this time. (and in a society where mental illness is running rampant and loads of people are medicated, I'd say that knowing your aspies from your suicidal borderliners among others is pretty important)

As for schooling and education, and I've did a quick search, and I've found an answer online here or there, but can someone from the US tell me how long it takes for someone to be a cop and have a badge and gun? I've read online it's less than a year in some areas in the US... which IMO is way too short. Over here in The Netherlands it's a full 4 year course... which made me wonder why it is that over here, aside from being less paranoid for shoot outs and such, we also have more time to educate cops for basics in psychology among other things. Of course I can be wrong and I've found the wrong sites through a google search...

 

[Nitro]

Good luck with that. With all these people who worship police and authority--yes, even in "freedom-loving" America these people exist--on top of police unions donating to election campaigns, we're lucky if corrupt cops get so much as a slap on the wrist even when there is video tape proving they acted improperly. It's well to ask, "Who's watching the watchers?" but if no one in positions of influence cares what they do, they end up doing whatever they please.

I agree,there probably isn't a simple answer,but murder is still murder if done in the wrong.

 

[Nitro]

So, from reading all comments here, I think it's safe to summarize it like this

1. There are plenty of people in power that think it's "fine" if cops take out someone by lethal force (be it corrupt officials or just in general a certain cultural bias in certain areas)
2. There are not enough resources for law enforcement to receive additional training

I believe number 1 is a big problem which wont be fixed unless people change their morality, which in most cases is something they will have to want and do themselves. It's unlikely to change unless, and that's obviously a highly undesireable option; local and federal governments (and again, I'm talking about the US here and all the media exposure I've seen/heard/read about) enforce objectively tests for everyone for a certain moral standard that takes away most biases, if you fail, you get your license revoked to wear a badge of any kind. Preferably done by a non-corrupt party, but hey... who am I kidding, right? Besides, who is going to pay for it?

As for number 2. In my experience, plenty of jobs require additional training over time to stay with it all. If you're in IT you're training for new stuff monthly or at least yearly, and plenty of it is being paid for by your boss, and sometimes yourself. That's how you make sure you keep yourself viable as an employee. Why shouldn't cops be forced to be trained, and if neccesary pay out of their own pocket to sustain the viability of being employed as a law enforcement agent by getting with the times and get schooled by what can be considered an influx of certain behaviour in society at this time. (and in a society where mental illness is running rampant and loads of people are medicated, I'd say that knowing your aspies from your suicidal borderliners among others is pretty important)

As for schooling and education, and I've did a quick search, and I've found an answer online here or there, but can someone from the US tell me how long it takes for someone to be a cop and have a badge and gun? I've read online it's less than a year in some areas in the US... which IMO is way too short. Over here in The Netherlands it's a full 4 year course... which made me wonder why it is that over here, aside from being less paranoid for shoot outs and such, we also have more time to educate cops for basics in psychology among other things. Of course I can be wrong and I've found the wrong sites through a google search...

All the training in the world won't weed out a mental condition

 

[King_Oni]

All the training in the world won't weed out a mental condition

So... perhaps certain people should be refused to enter the program for being unfit to participate? I mean, if I flunk a psychopathy test I'm not getting enlisted in the armed forces either (at least, over here I'm not... )

 

[Nitro]

How do you handle the ones unfit for duty during the transition phase?

 

[King_Oni]

How do you handle the ones unfit for duty during the transition phase?

Regular testing to see how they hold up? Can't be that hard to think of that, can it?

If you break during duty, you're clearly not fit to function well enough anymore in most cases. PTSD being a good example of that

 

[Crossbreed]

My severely autistic son (now 28) was normally compliant until he had a meltdown. After he got bigger than me, he came dangerously close to injuring his toddler brothers on a number of occasions. All I could do was tackle him to the ground when that happened. (I did not strike him in any way.) On one such occasion, he received a laceration to the side of his eye where he hit a plastic bucket on the way down. Our own doctors began to suspect child abuse (even though we had all kinds of witnesses), so, in that incident, I took him to the hospital where his child psychiatrist practiced, who cleared me of all wrong-doing.

I don't think that there is an easy answer.

 

[Nitro]

Regular testing to see how they hold up? Can't be that hard to think of that, can it?

If you break during duty, you're clearly not fit to function well enough anymore in most cases. PTSD being a good example of that

There were a reported nine million + sworn law enforcement officers in the USA in 2015...who picks up the cost?

 

[watersprite]

Not shoot them.

This.

 

[King_Oni]

There were a reported nine million + sworn law enforcement officers in the USA in 2015...who picks up the cost?

While I wouldn't want to go into too much politics here on a global scale, I'm sure that there's a bit of wiggle room financially if the US wouldn't be the world police like they are now. It's not really an unknown fact that the US spends a lot on their armed forces. Reduce that and bring safety to citizens on their own soil should be a bigger priority than to bring freedom to other countries.

I can see why you bring up cost more than once and it's a valid point, however, if cost is the biggest argument as to why people in their own country, and in their own home cannot be safe, there's a serious issue going on. Money should not be the main reason something in a first world country cannot be done or cannot get priority.

 

[Nitro]

While I wouldn't want to go into too much politics here on a global scale, I'm sure that there's a bit of wiggle room financially if the US wouldn't be the world police like they are now. It's not really an unknown fact that the US spends a lot on their armed forces. Reduce that and bring safety to citizens on their own soil should be a bigger priority than to bring freedom to other countries.

I can see why you bring up cost more than once and it's a valid point, however, if cost is the biggest argument as to why people in their own country, and in their own home cannot be safe, there's a serious issue going on. Money should not be the main reason something in a first world country cannot be done or cannot get priority.

Well,being a world superpower has it's downfalls as well.Our government is corrupted by greed and basically run by corporate interests who call all the shots. If the government shuts down as the world police,the defense industry will take the hit the hardest. Money talks here in the USA as our own starve and suffer. Our military veterans get the crap beat out of them as well by restrictions on medical care and denied disabilities that are restricted by red tape.

I tend to blame the media who calls a lot of the shots on how information is handled and distributed throughout the world. Most of the media in this country is controlled by major corporations who are more interested in ratings than facts.

There is no easy answer,but another thing that needs mentioning is that the focus on this discussion is about how bad the auties get treated,not racial profiling,homelessness and all the other junk that happens inside our country by people in authority to other minorities.
Yes,it is horrendous what happens to some of the autistic,but they aren't alone in their struggles,only brought to light here because we are part of that group.