zlacker

>>oftenw+(OP)
Folks - don't be obtuse. Police commanders know exactly what will happen when they escalate with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Pro-police forces WANT mayhem. It makes people watching on TV afraid of the protests, and it changes the subject away from the widespread peaceful opposition to racist police violence.

>>just_s+k8
Minneapolis Chief of Police: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medaria_Arradondo

Seattle Chief of Police: http://www.seattle.gov/police/about-us/about-the-department/...

St Louis Chief of Police: http://www.slmpd.org/chief_of_police.shtml

Atlanta Chief of Police: https://www.projectq.us/atlanta/atlanta_police_chief_erika_s...

Chicago Chief of Police: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brown_(police_officer)

Oakland Chief of Police: https://climaterwc.com/2019/07/17/san-mateo-police-chief-sus...

People on HN seem to have a cartoon villain view of police, so I thought I'd share a few faces of police leadership in effected communities.

>>nostro+C9
Meanwhile, in Seattle:

https://old.reddit.com/r/Seattle/comments/gu3qq1/cop_just_ca...

How would you describe the sheriff casually tossing the tear gas grenade as anything but cartoonishly evil? How would you describe his co-workers, holding the line, without even looking twice at his behaviour?

>>vkou+Fc
Seattle PD maced a child and the officer who did it faced no repercussions. Is the Chief of Police a toothless position? The only other conclusion is that maybe GP should consider removing Seattle's Chief as a supporting example.

I would consider macing children to be "cartoonishly evil."

>>whymau+Ge
> Is the Chief of Police a toothless position?

Kinda.

In big cities in states with strong union laws, the burden is very high for cause to fire an officer. Even when there is a firing, the officer can appeal and sometimes be reinstated. It opens the department up to liability if they don't wait for the normal "follow the evidence, build the case" flow.

When there are big protests in big cities, the regional police departments actually share officers. I would bet that about half of officers on the riot line in Seattle were actually from surrounding suburbs or from the state police. I don't think Seattle's chief can fire one of those officers; he would have to do an inter-agency thing that I'm sure is pretty complicated.

Also, the chief has to walk a thin line of perverse incentives. He needs the department to be functional and to do that, he can't be seen as making an example of an officer (for "morale" reasons). He also has to consider that police officers will leave a department in droves and the chief ends up with more problems if crime rises due to "bad management" of the department.