re: Teen in Georgia killed, officer related shooting

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I think there are a lot of good LEOs out there, and I've never had any problems with police. But, I'm pretty law-abiding.

I have seen some things that really bothered me though. As a part of a leadership program, I did a couple of ride-alongs with police. Over the course of those 2 nights, I witnessed racial profiling, abuse of power, excessive use of force, and just general being dicks because they could. It was disappointing. But those guys were uniforms in a patrol situation, not detectives. I'd like to think they get better as they move up the food chain. Maybe I'm naive.

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Count yourself lucky because being law-abiding has little to do with it. Bully cops are like regular bullies -- they know how to select victims that can't fight back and that means going after po' whites, blacks, and other people of color they have reason to believe are poor, less connected, less willing and less able to get the media, courts, and lawyers necessary to fight back and expose them.

Even though, you're presumably middle class or above, white, and female you too can experience what it's like. All you have to do is drive a really beat up car or truck and make sure you look very poor and you'll see a world of difference in how you're treated. Hell just go into a dept. store looking poor and you'll see the difference.

The reason you see bully cops treating black folks badly is because there's an association with class and color in this country with people of color automatically presumed poor. The assumption is that they're what I listed above: unable/unwilling to fight back in court, lacking in the money, connections, and resources to do so in a way that matters. Those are the things (and the assumption that you have access to those things) that protect folks from abuse.

That said, I got nothing but love for the cops who truly are good guys. But damn do the bully cops that are a part of almost every force/dept. give the good guys and gals in blue a bad name.