Crazy Case of Police Abuse

gooddad409 · 2022-01-20T15:38:34.231Z

Samm:

In the 50s and 60s this practice used to be a cliché, particularly in the south … small towns using speed traps to catch unwary Yankies to fund local government. I’m not surprised at all that the practice still exists.

I lived in one of those town for a couple of years in the early 70’s.

You would get a speeding ticket for doing one mile over the limit. You just had to learn to actually do the speed limit. They didn’t care if you were yank or local.

People didn’t particularly like it but i don’t see any justification for bringing in feds.

Eagle-Keeper · 2022-01-20T16:06:48.682Z

From the link:

“Brookside is a poster child for policing for profit,” said Carla Crowder, the director of Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, a nonprofit devoted to justice and equity. “We are not safer because of it.”

They need to fire/replace the mayor and police chief ASAP!

WuWei · 2022-01-20T16:10:41.478Z

Maybe they like it.

Snowfinch · 2022-01-20T16:11:37.963Z

Eagle-Keeper:

They need to fire/replace the mayor and police chief ASAP!

I have a feeling the townies don’t get many tickets and enjoy the revenue.

Probably they are more concerned that the scam had poor PR management and has drawn attention.

“Hey, back off until the publicity cools down, then business as usual”

gooddad409 · 2022-01-20T16:14:11.411Z

Snowfinch:

Eagle-Keeper:

They need to fire/replace the mayor and police chief ASAP!

I have a feeling the townies don’t get many tickets and enjoy the revenue.

Probably they are more concerned that the scam had poor PR management and has drawn attention.

“Hey, back off until the publicity cools down, then business as usual”

It was almost all “townies” getting the tickets where i used to live.

DougBH · 2022-01-20T16:24:52.486Z

Eagle-Keeper:

From the link:

“Brookside is a poster child for policing for profit,” said Carla Crowder, the director of Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, a nonprofit devoted to justice and equity. “We are not safer because of it.”

They need to fire/replace the mayor and police chief ASAP!

Why would they do that? They get their city expenses paid for by out of towners. Police power and local judiciary are properly derived from the state. The state is where this should be handled.

conan · 2022-01-20T16:49:41.338Z

Well in this case is that not abuse? Abuse of power? It’s no different whether they’re trapping people for revenues or for political power, it’s still abuse of power IMO.

Snowfinch · 2022-01-20T17:49:14.069Z

conan:

Well in this case is that not abuse? Abuse of power? It’s no different whether they’re trapping people for revenues or for political power, it’s still abuse of power IMO.

You didn’t detail a specific case, but I did assume you are talking about a abuse. The point isn’t that it’s not abuse. The point is that my response to a thread on that abuse would be to criticize it directly and specifically rather than say:

“It’s no different than police using their power to abuse motorists”

At best that is an irrelevant response, but more than likely will be read as justifying the abuse that is the topic.

You need to match the axe to the grinding station so to speak.

Cratic3947 · 2022-01-20T18:17:31.357Z

Sounds like Ferguson Illinois. Somehow I bet it’s a dem town also…

Guvnah · 2022-01-20T18:26:55.027Z

Samm:

In the 50s and 60s this practice used to be a cliché, particularly in the south … small towns using speed traps to catch unwary Yankies to fund local government. I’m not surprised at all that the practice still exists.

This was what I was going to contribute. You beat me to it.

I recall a story (or legend?) of a guy who got stopped in a Georgia town like this. Cop asked if the driver knew how fast he was going. Guy replied, “Probably not as fast as General Sherman passed through here…” And he ended up spending a weekend in jail before getting bailed out.

Snowfinch · 2022-01-20T18:35:12.623Z

Cratic3947:

Sounds like Ferguson Illinois. Somehow I bet it’s a dem town also…

gimme an “R”!, gimme an “E”!,… ,Goooooo Team!

conan · 2022-01-20T19:58:47.920Z

When you’re getting hit with axe, how sharp it is is irrelevant. You’re still got hit with axe.

Snowfinch · 2022-01-20T20:07:18.437Z

conan:

When you’re getting hit with axe, how sharp it is is irrelevant. You’re still got hit with axe.

And if you are getting attacked by many axes I would advise defending against the one about to hit you rather than the one that got to you earlier and then left.

conan · 2022-01-20T20:17:37.202Z

Now you’re just justifying governmental abuse to suit your needs.

Snowfinch · 2022-01-20T20:37:58.794Z

conan:

Now you’re just justifying governmental abuse to suit your needs.

That’s ridiculous. I’ve justified nothing. I simply rejected the value of your comparisons.

This topic brought up a specific case of police abuse and you did not criticize or address it, but rather compared it to some unrelated abuse that bothers you.

All the comparison does is move the focus to your unrelated political axe grinding and bypass criticizing abuse at hand.

To that end it is a simply a change in subject and adds no value to this thread in my opinion.

It’s as if someone contributed to a discussion on which football team is the greatest by saying “golf sucks”.

Guvnah · 2022-01-20T22:08:53.222Z

Snowfinch:

This topic brought up a specific case of police abuse and you did not criticize or address it, but rather compared it to some unrelated abuse that bothers you.

Seems to me that the police abuse that started this thread equally bothers him. It’s why he made the comparison. “Not much different…”

I agree that introducing the comparison generated a rathole that consumed half the thread from that point on, but it’s a comparison that spotlights egregious abuse of authority in each case.

Snowfinch · 2022-01-20T22:27:00.714Z

Guvnah:

but it’s a comparison that spotlights egregious abuse of authority in each case.

I saw more of shifting the spotlight than focusing it. There is very little in common between these abuses and the presentation seemed designed to bring in R/D partisanship rather than say anything at all about the Brookside police.

There are all kinds of abuse of authority, but I don’t think I’d be adding much to the thread by bringing up how China abuses it citizens, even though it also bothers me.

A lot of discussion here decays into tribal mudslinging and I oppose driving this topic there needlessly.

But It’s a free forum and I’ll drop the issue.

thinkingman · 2022-01-20T22:34:14.607Z

some cops are ■■■■■■■■■ what can ya do

gooddad409 · 2022-01-20T22:39:20.135Z

Samm:

In the 50s and 60s this practice used to be a cliché, particularly in the south … small towns using speed traps to catch unwary Yankies to fund local government. I’m not surprised at all that the practice still exists.

Sounds more like a myth to me. There weren’t enough yankees coming through those small towns to pay for the sodas the towns police would drink in a years time i dare say.

Have you ever even been to the South?

I’ve been here my whole 68 years.

Small towns ticket folks regardless of who they catch most of whom are town residents.

Snowfinch · 2022-01-20T22:43:27.577Z

thinkingman:

some cops are ■■■■■■■■■ what can ya do

Problem here is that these cops are not necessarily ■■■■■■■■■ They are doing the job they were hired and directed to do… fleece motorists for city revenue.

The problem is the chief and whichever city leaders directed him to design a force to operate this way.

This is a top down abuse, not rotting eggs at the bottom.

Allegedly.

What can happen in these cases is for control to be taken away from city leaders with policies supervised through convent decree or other mechanism. This case is getting a lot of press so I would not be surprised to see the state or DOJ opening a case on this.