“Police Violence Up, People Violence Down” on CopBlock Radio
Last night on CopBlock Radio, hosts Derrick J, DEO, and Severin started off the show with a good cop! He was called to a parking lot by a local business owner who complained about some teenagers “loitering.” He explains to them, while taking a relaxed, laid-back “cool guy” lean on his cruiser that he remembers being issued tickets as a young person, and he doesn’t want to be that guy giving young people tickets for stupid stuff like loitering. He asks that they please leave the private property unless they are customers and then takes time for questions. The conversation seems more “I’m on your level making a request” than “I’m your superior, and you will do what I say.” DEO points out that this law enforcer ultimately will use the tickets and the threats and force eventually if pushed, but I am just grateful that he has the decency to at least begin the interaction with a little bit of acknowledgement of the others’ humanity.
Next, Severin shared an exclusive first-look at a video he produced featuring various CopBlock groups meeting in Bethlehem PA to protest the abuses by the local law enforcers there. They sang songs of justice outside the police department. You can watch the video here.
The major story this week is that the FBI reported police violence is up while violence among everyone else is down. Despite how the media reports the alleged “War on Cops,” the facts tell a much different story. Fortunately, there’s some good news out of Glouster, MA where the police are looking the other way on the war on drugs. They are actually helping drug addicts rather than arresting them. Maybe they could teach the cops in Michigan a lesson, where a man was jailed for 30 days for an unpaid traffic ticket, but died in custody after just 17 days while suffering from untreated drug withdraw. The police there have no excuse for this tragedy since the man was on 24-hour surveillance.
We also covered the bizarre story of the youth coach who was charged with evading an officer after she walked away from an angry off-duty cop at a basketball game. She faces one year in jail for her victimless crime. At least the cop didn’t shoot her! That’s what happened to one man who was recording the police with his phone — and another man who was just holding chapstick!
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