Here's an interesting discussion topic. Unnecessary police brutality. It's a big problem in every country, including our own. The vast majority of cops are good upstanding people. But I've heard former officers say that about 10% are there for the wrong reasons.
With each passing year, there are more camera phones out there capable of recording video. So it's getting recorded more frequently now. Most of the time, the police officers either don't get disciplined, or they get a slap on the wrist (a reprimand and a couple of days suspension with pay, for instance).
There's an interesting video on facebook (you might have to have an account to see it), where four cops run down someone running across a sports field. I'm not sure what country this was recorded in. Anyway, they pin the guy, and afterward start hitting the guy with a baton. One of the cops tries to motion the guy to stop, but it's too late, and an enraged audience floods into the stadium and runs the cops off, apparently knocking one out. Here's the link:
I can't condone having angry mobs, of course. But what do you do when there's little recourse? When police officers frequently aren't disciplined for harming the people they're supposed to be serving?
In this case, we don't know what happened from the video alone. We don't know if the guy was resisting and being belligerent. We don't know what happened before the video begins, including the cultural context that might have led to a general anger towards the police. Nothing is there, except the incident.
But I have a feeling this is going to become a big issue soon. With the whole "Occupy Wall Street" thing going on, there are lots of stories and video clips coming out of there about police brutality. Such as shooting a marine vet at point-blank with rubber bullets, fracturing his skull. Another case was a couple of young women cordoned off by a retaining fence, clearly upset but staying in place and not at all dangerous, a cop walks up, pepper-sprays them, and walks off. In another one, you see a police motorcycle run over some guy's leg after he fell (at a very controlled 3 MPH or so).
These videos are becoming quite common with this event going on, but they've been growing in frequency anyway due to camera phones. Frequently instead of the cops getting busted, what happens is the police charge the person who recorded it as "illegal wiretapping". Usually, but not always, the judge comes down on the side that recording a police officer who is on duty is perfectly legal. But how many people can successfully deal with a criminal charge and afford a good lawyer for a bogus charge like this? Many, but not all, of course.
What are your feelings on the matter? Where do we draw the line between police doing their duty and taking things too far? What recourse should there be?
