# POLICE HARASSMENT



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

My wife found this on Facebook,I thought some of you might enjoy it, especially those in law enforcement.

POLICE HARASSMENT

Recently, the Chula Vista, California Police Department ran an e-mail forum with the local community (a question and answer exchange) with the topic being, "Community Policing." One of the civilian e-mail participants posed the following question:

"I would like to know how it is possible for police officers to continually harass people and get away with it?"

From the "other side" (the law enforcement side) Sgt. Bennett, obviously a cop with a sense of humor replied:

"First of all, let me tell you this…it's not easy. In Chula Vista, we average one cop for every 600 people.

Only about 60% of those cops are on general duty (or what you might refer to as "patrol") where we do most of our harassing. The rest are in non-harassing departments that do not allow them contact with the day to day innocents.

At any given moment, only one-fifth of the 60% patrollers are on duty and available for harassing people while the rest are off duty.

So roughly, one cop is responsible for harassing about 5,000 residents.

When you toss in the commercial business, and tourist locations that attract people from other areas, sometimes you have a situation where a single cop is responsible for harassing 10,000 or more people a day.

Now, your average ten-hour shift runs 36,000 seconds long. This gives a cop one second to harass a person, and then only three-fourths of a second to eat a donut AND then find a new person to harass.

This is not an easy task. To be honest, most cops are not up to this challenge day in and day out. It is just too tiring.

What we do is utilize some tools to help us narrow down those people which we can realistically harass.

The tools available to us are as follow:

PHONE: People will call us up and point out things that cause us to focus on a person for special harassment.

"My neighbor is beating his wife" is a code phrase used often. This means we'll come out and give somebody some special harassment.

Another popular one: "There's a guy breaking into a house." The harassment team is then put into action.

CARS: We have special cops assigned to harass people who drive. They like to harass the drivers of fast cars, cars with no insurance or no driver's licenses and the like.

It's lots of fun when you pick them out of traffic for nothing more obvious than running a red light.

Sometimes you get to really heap the harassment on when you find they have drugs in the car, they are drunk, or have an outstanding warrant on file.

RUNNERS: Some people take off running just at the sight of a police officer. Nothing is quite as satisfying as running after them like a beagle on the scent of a bunny. When you catch them you can harass them for hours to determine why they didn't want to talk to us.

STATUTES: When we don't have PHONES or CARS and have nothing better to do, there are actually books that give us ideas for reasons to harass folks. They are called "Statutes"; Criminal Codes, Motor Vehicle Codes, etc…They all spell out all sorts of things for which you can really mess with people.

After you read the statute, you can just drive around for awhile until you find someone violating one of these listed offenses and harass them.

Just last week I saw a guy trying to steal a car. Well, there's this book we have that says that's not allowed. That meant I got permission to harass this guy. It's a really cool system that we've set up, and it works pretty well.

We seem to have a never-ending supply of folks to harass. And we get away with it. Why? Because for the good citizens who pay the tab, we try to keep the streets safe for them, and they
pay us to "harass" some people.

Next time you are in my town, give me the old "single finger wave." That's another one of those codes. It means, "You can't harass me." It's one of our favorites.

Hopefully sir, this has clarified to you a little bit better how we harass the good citizens of Chula Vista.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

I'm still waiting my turn Jim.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

That's pretty good


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## Bonka (Apr 13, 2012)

I copied and sent one to my Communist SIL. She has stopped rising to the bait. I wonder if she will read it all the way though?


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## woodbutcher11 (May 8, 2014)

Thanks for the chuckle, and "Right On"


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## rad457 (Jun 15, 2013)

I think they should add anyone wearing a mask to a protest! I got harassed last year for going too fast on a back road, I asked the officer" are you kidding me"? He laughed and told me to have a safe trip home and drive carefully!


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

I think if we were to educate people on the Ten Commandments and they took them to heart and wised up, there would be no need for harassment. A lot of people say they are religious but the last 7 have to do with humans treat humans correctly!

Respect for the law need to be instill in youngsters too.

Jim


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## Bogeyguy (Sep 26, 2012)

Respect works both ways!!!


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## Chad256 (Mar 27, 2013)

I love it and after being a police officer for 10 years it couldn't be more accurate!! Thanks…..I really needed that today…I had a chance that read this in between harassing wonderful citizens


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

I also saw this on FB and really had a good laugh!


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## distrbd (Sep 14, 2011)

I always believe that police,doctors,teachers should be held to higher standard than average citizens,all it takes is a few bad apples to tarnish the image of the whole profession.
Anyhow,I had good laugh,thanks for that Jim.


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## JollyGreen67 (Nov 1, 2010)

Shucks. Next time I think about harassing a police officer, I will think twice - or more.


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## rob2 (Nov 27, 2007)

Awesome!! He said it so well!! Jim thanks for passing this along!!!


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

I like the way that is written, a sense of humor and to the point.

A police officer takes their life in their hands every minute on duty when a simple traffic stop can result in a hail of bullets injuring or killing the police officer.

The current "stampede" that is marching against police brutality is ridiculous and comes down to one simple issue, *lack of respect for our police!*


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Thanks for positing Jim. Had a good laugh.


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## TheWoodenOyster (Feb 6, 2013)

Ha! I love a good sarcastic mail response…

Thanks to all the policemen out there who continue "harassing" all of those "innocent" "good" "citizens"!


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## Pono (Mar 10, 2012)

Yeah i have very little respect for officers in my area.Our neighborhood has had to join together to get crime out of the area.The neighborhood had to clean up the crime pretty pathetic

To be honest police are more connected and more dangerous then the criminals in this state.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

Harrasing is one thing, beating people to within an inch of their lives and also taking lifes, by using illegal choke holds or as recently shooting and killing citizens for nor good reason,is quite another depressing thing.If you wish to think it's funny then *poor you* but innocent people mostly black have been dying for a large number of years at the hands of police.So most right minded people find this shocking,and feel something needs to be done about it and it is no longer found by reasonable people to be funny.I's tragic, and illegal ,see youtube and witness for yourselves massive amounts of police brutality and murder .Shocking and wrong


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

How not to be killed by a police officer: Comply.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I think you're missing the point of my post Alistair,it's meant to be humor and a clever response to criticism of the police.

The issue you bring up has valid points but there are always two sides to a story and in my opinion the press does all it can to instigate the negative side of the police to keep the story alive and cause turmoil. The police are people there are good and bad ,smart and not so smart,unfortunately, when the not so smart element makes a mistake or does something outright criminal that's when they press focuses on them and not on the Police that are good hard working,honest,caring indivigales that their lives are on the line on a daily bases.
I don't justify wrong acts by police officers but in some of the recent publicized events the police were dealing with individuals much larger in size than them that did not comply with lawful police commands,these folks paid a very big price for their error in judgement . Part of the problem is that the general public does not deal with the element that police officers deal with every day . These good officers want to go home to their families at the end of the day. On the other hand some of the ethnic groups have a big distrust of the police in general due to their treatment in history,so when they don't comply they don't understand why the police take aggressive action. I feel both groups on both sides of the problem have to have to understand where the other side is coming from. The police have to understand that some groups of people don't trust them and find the things that the police are trained to do are not threats to them but protective measures for the police officer.
As an example if you will not show your hands to a police officer he may draw his gun to protect him or herself. And the police officer has to understand that once he does that, that person may attack him or run thinking they're about to be shot by the police officer. 
I think a better understanding of both groups will come in time but in the mean time all police officers should have Tasers or some other form of nonlethal form of weapons to control people that are noncompliant to minimize any more unneeded deaths for minor offences. I also think body cameras will help weed out any unjust or reckless police too. 
My heart goes out to those individuals who lost their lives and their families.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Great post Jim. There are always a few bad apples in every barrel, but most of the officers are good people doing a very difficult job. Not resisting arrest would be a good way for the community to try to meet police officers half way to resolve this issue. I believe that as a general rule, we could agree that trapping an officer in the vehicle, breaking their face, trying to take their firearms, and rushing at an officer that is 50 to 100 pounds smaller will probably not produce a good result for anyone of any ethnic background. Of course, the media's efforts to create sensational stories are more responsible for trouble than the police. I wonder how they will be able to recruit officers in the future under the conditions they face.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

> .I s tragic, and illegal ,see youtube and witness for yourselves massive amounts of police brutality and murder .Shocking and wrong
> 
> - SCOTSMAN


Well - - -if there is a Youtube video…. it must be indicative of the majority of society. The internet is the gold standard of truth…. I'm a French Model, Bonjour!


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

I guess the guy strapped to a chair and pepper sprayed to death just wasn't complying hard enough. That will teach him.


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## NoThanks (Mar 19, 2014)

> I guess the guy strapped to a chair and pepper sprayed to death just wasn t complying hard enough. That will teach him.
> 
> - Rick M.


Why do you suppose he was strapped to a chair in the first place?
I never have been shot or beaten by a cop. On the other hand, I have never robbed a store or tried to fight a cop either.


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

..


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## mudflap4869 (May 28, 2014)

I am not a great fan of some LEOs attitudes. But I had a short term as a LEO and I understand how it is developed. Just because a LEO defends themself does not make her/him a bad person. That officers FIRST responsibility is to protect the public. When you fail to comply with the directions of the officer you remove yourself from being a part of the public and become a violator. The LEO did not do this to you, YOU are the person responsible for your actions. All the pablum puling in the world cannot change the fact that YOU alone gave the LEO cause to subdue you, and any injuries you suffer are a results of your actions. Physicaly resist and the LEO has a responibility to the public to use whatever force that is needed to subdue you. Even if you lose your life in the encounter you brought it upon yourself. Any officer can tell you that the are more disrespected by the citizens than any racial prejudice could ever approach, yet they are the first person you call upon when YOU create your own problem with your neighbor. When they arrive at the scene you demand that the hear only YOUR side of the issue, and YOUR problem is more important than than the child being murdered on the next block. Do the world a favor. The next time you have a problem, don't bother with the worthless LEO. Call you local drug cartel and they will rush some gangbangers to your aid.


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## Pono (Mar 10, 2012)

Another problem here is the prosecuters office and i feel for the police .When we cleaned up our neighborhood we caught three sets of thieves.All three were set free most had over 40 arrests.I show up to court to press charges and they ignore me all 3 times.Whats worse is they threatened to arrest me for speaking out about there incompetence as lawyers.

Its not just the police the whole system needs to re done.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

We should just do away with all the police. They cause nothing but headaches…........shooting innocent, idiotic drug addicts and other lunkheads. NOT!! We should hire more of em so we can sweep the streets and cities clean of all these idiots that have no regard for respect, human life, or anything else. The media pisses me off… can u tell….. OH and one more thing, tell those morons to pull up their frickin pants !!!


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## DrDirt (Feb 26, 2008)

C'mon Roger…. I am sure this "community leader" has the answers to a civil society…


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

After 35 years in LE, I have grown immune to this kind of critism…..
DrDirt thanks for sticking up for us, but save your breathe…or in this case your fingers….people who judge all cops, all departments as being corrurpt are not worth your time….you will never change their opinion. Most all the experienced guys in LE I know, have. Our country is based on freedom of speech, this gentleman shown above has the right to peacefully protest….I would protect him with every ounce of my being, because I have taken an oath to do so…BUT…to everyone else that complains there is NO quality LE …I have an idea….call the guy shown above when you need help….
Mike


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

What most protesters, and surely the vandals involved, forget is what Zechariah Chafee said

"*Your right to swing your arms ends just where the other man's nose begins."*

The police are there to protect the noses that, thorough no fault of their own, may get in the way!


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

One of the biggest problems is the state penal system working hard to convince out of control offenders there is no down side to their obnoxious criminal behaviors. Here is WA a family is suing the state for releasing a guy who threatened to kill his ex-girl friend among other felony acts. He was sentenced to 5 years, out in about 5 months and stabbed the woman 22 times within 2 weeks of release. Another early out gang member mistook a 12 year old for a rival gang member and shot him to death. I hope the families win enough to make the state take criminals seriously.

Why should officers have to risk their lives continuing to repeatedly arrest these people?


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

> Why should officers have to risk their lives continuing to repeatedly arrest these people?
> 
> - TopamaxSurvivor


Soooo right, couldn't agree more!!


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

First off Moke I never said or meant to imply that all officers are bad that's just not credible and I agree the vest majority do a good honest days work so accept my apologies if I implied that I certainly did not mean t.

Physicaly resist and the LEO has a responibility to the public to use whatever force that is needed to subdue you. Even if you lose your life in the encounter you brought it upon yourself.

Mudflap the statement you made is very poorly thought out ,sorry it really is for the following reasons.Before you take someones life and it may be your family member that is next ,you need to consider very appropriately whether this person has warranted his her own death which is the final decision.In the united states many people face the death penalty which I am against simply because so many mistakes are made each year and also two wrongs don't make a right imho.All people here in the uk have a right to a trial and have their day in court and of course there will be times when someone needs to lose their life as a result of their own actions, firing at officers etc.My problem in understanding this is as said in the uk we don't allow guns.Some well trained specialist police do use them and act sometimes very badly killing many innocent people.But a police officer should in general terms not set him self or herself up as judge and jury killing at will, for sometimes very minor offences.See the guys who were choked, shot ,and killed along with many more by BAD policemen and Badly trained Policing.See youtube it is full of these actual events no ambiguity. Some of these cops are just trigger happy and time after time the kill in error or by BAD judgement or just downright murder, and all the time knowing they will not get chaged or convicted.We have too many bad cops crooked cops in the uk who never get convicted and are not charged time after time,in fact I have never heard of one being convicted ever.So it is not correct to say that you should lose your life for resisting arrest or arguing with the police.USA and also The uk have become what I never dreamed the would.We kill Sadam hussein for torturing people then we do it ourselves or in the case of UK we send them out of the country to have others do our very dirty work the vast majoprity of times on innocent people.We are emulating the Chinese, north koreans turkey, iran ,Iraq etc etc.We need to have this tendency reversed and train our police much better.Nowadays being a policeman and wearing the uniform has made *some of them* power crazy killers and of course. I am talking about not a high percentage one day the people will wake up and demand we go cleanly about our affairs no more torturing or killing for the sake of it otherwise innocent people.I do understand what is being said regards sentencing My own younger brother was stabbed to death in front of his fifteen year old sone and died in hospital the person responsible changed their story five times and eventually did four years in jail .I am afraid it all has to be overhauled. Over here , we don't allow police to use foul language to members of the public as a matter of course, a lot of police have real temper problems add to that a uniform and a gun then you have what we have always condemmed,They are required to be polite when questioning unless they have no option.I could go on and on but I am getting tired. Alistair


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