Quote Originally Posted by PMDawg View Post
Logging, roofing, picking up garbage etc. aren't more dangerous than being a cop. Cops are just better trained at navigating the danger. They treat every single thing they do as a life and death situation, because for all they know, it is. Just because more people get hurt or killed doing something doesn't mean it's more dangerous. Think about all the rigorous training police go through, and then consider the fact that a lot of people in those positions mentioned never get training (or property safety equipment) at all. I can start a roofing company or a garbage pick up service today. I can literally hire 4 derelicts for $15/hr and have them working tomorrow. It's not a 1 to 1 comparison.

Everything a cop does is dangerous. Most of their time is spent dealing with criminals or unstable people, or simply patrolling high crime areas. Simple traffic stops end lives all the time. They don't know who may be in the vehicle, if they have a warrant, or any other reason they may be scared enough to do something stupid. Then, even if it's a little old lady, there are idiot drivers who can kill or maim them because they are too important to move over a lane or even look up from their phone. Police are trained like the military. They are always looking for who or what can kill them. They survive a lot of situations most of us wouldn't simply because they are trained to. Part of that training is to deal with any perceived threat immediately. Stats about killing "unarmed civilians" are useful to people who want to spin a narrative. Like the Michael Brown story. He was technically unarmed, but he was fighting an officer for his gun and got shot. Police don't go out each morning looking for someone to kill that day. Since I take it you don't have family in the profession, talk to any of them and they'll tell you - they all pray they never have to discharge their weapon. But, their main goal each day is to get home to their family, as it should be. It's a hard way to live. I've never done it, but I have family who has. I will never disparage them, because I haven't experienced what they experience.
First off I agree the media are awful. Great care must be taken to find the sctual facts of the case because they'll pick and choose what to share to generate outrage. That said...

Lots of carefully applied logic going on here. For instance, you say cops are careful and that's why they don't get killed often, but don't you think loggers and a roofer are careful as well?

You say cops get killed in traffic stops "all the time". At the end of the day, this country has 650k cops and about 75 are intentionally killed each year. Roughly 2 cops in MS every 3 years if you adjust for population. And that includes way more than just traffic stops. Is that "all the time"? No. Now yes, ANY traffic stop COULD go south, but so could ANY trip to the grocery store. But the rates of getting shot at the grocery store are so low I don't get to claim that stress as an excuse to harm others out of fear. And cops shouldn't either, not for routine traffic stops. Remember Philando (SP?) Castile? A lawful concealed cary holder pulled over for a routine traffic violation. Was respectful to the officer and told him he was licensed to cary. Cop asked for his ID. He took a hand off the wheel and reached back for his wallet and the cop freaked out and shot him dead. That guy should have NEVER been a cop.

You say cops get "rigorous training", but that's actually the 2nd biggest problem with policing (after the lack of accountability/oversight): police do NOT recieve good training. In my state I could go to a 9 week police academy and be an officer in my city. 9 weeks is a joke to learn department policy, the laws I'll be enforcing, procedures for how to deal with different situations, how to use my firearm/taser/handcuffs/radio etc. Also, I can become a Sheriff Deputy with literally zero training or experience. In both cases, there's no state test, no license, and the continued training and qualifications vary wildly by region and are a joke in mine. In comparison, to do electrical work I have to pass a code test every 3 years. To cut hair, I have to take 2000h of training, pass a state test, and then take continued education and testing to maintain my license.

To clarify, I'm not anti cop. I'm anti "give humans unchecked power". Power corrupts, and the ability to abuse power attracts the worst candidates. Currently, police get Qualified Immunity, control the body cam footage for their department, investigate themselves, have extremely powerful unions, have no Govt regulation (such as licenses an officer can loose if they do something bad) and the local DA has to work with the local police every day, so they are hesitant to pursue legal action against a bad cop. AND, they are poorly trained. That is all a perfect recipe for "bad apples" and incompetent police work

I have nothing bit respect and thanks to the cops who are trying to uphold the laws and make society better. I have nothing but distain for those who use the power of the badge to abuse those without it. I'm saying the overall system is very bad at removing that 2nd group, and that causes the 1st group to catch undeserved hate. We need to revamp the policing system to fix this.