this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2025
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THE POLICE PROBLEM

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    The police problem is that police are policed by the police. Cops are accountable only to other cops, which is no accountability at all.

    99.9999% of police brutality, corruption, and misconduct is never investigated, never punished, never makes the news, so it's not on this page.

    When cops are caught breaking the law, they're investigated by other cops. Details are kept quiet, the officers' names are withheld from public knowledge, and what info is eventually released is only what police choose to release — often nothing at all.

    When police are fired — which is all too rare — they leave with 'law enforcement experience' and can easily find work in another police department nearby. It's called "Wandering Cops."

    When police testify under oath, they lie so frequently that cops themselves have a joking term for it: "testilying." Yet it's almost unheard of for police to be punished or prosecuted for perjury.

    Cops can and do get away with lawlessness, because cops protect other cops. If they don't, they aren't cops for long.

    The legal doctrine of "qualified immunity" renders police officers invulnerable to lawsuits for almost anything they do. In practice, getting past 'qualified immunity' is so unlikely, it makes headlines when it happens.

    All this is a path to a police state.

    In a free society, police must always be under serious and skeptical public oversight, with non-cops and non-cronies in charge, issuing genuine punishment when warranted.

    Police who break the law must be prosecuted like anyone else, promptly fired if guilty, and barred from ever working in law-enforcement again.

    That's the solution.

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Our definition of ‘cops’ is broad, and includes prison guards, probation officers, shitty DAs and judges, etc — anyone who has the authority to fuck over people’s lives, with minimal or no oversight.

♦ ♦ ♦

RULES

Real-life decorum is expected. Please don't say things only a child or a jackass would say in person.

If you're here to support the police, you're trolling. Please exercise your right to remain silent.

Saying ~~cops~~ ANYONE should be killed lowers the IQ in any conversation. They're about killing people; we're not.

Please don't dox or post calls for harassment, vigilantism, tar & feather attacks, etc.

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It you've been banned but don't know why, check the moderator's log. If you feel you didn't deserve it, hey, I'm new at this and maybe you're right. Send a cordial PM, for a second chance.

♦ ♦ ♦

ALLIES

!abolition@slrpnk.net

!acab@lemmygrad.ml

r/ACAB

r/BadCopNoDonut/

Randy Balko

The Civil Rights Lawyer

The Honest Courtesan

Identity Project

MirandaWarning.org

♦ ♦ ♦

INFO

A demonstrator's guide to understanding riot munitions

Adultification

Cops aren't supposed to be smart

Don't talk to the police.

Killings by law enforcement in Canada

Killings by law enforcement in the United Kingdom

Killings by law enforcement in the United States

Know your rights: Filming the police

Three words. 70 cases. The tragic history of 'I can’t breathe' (as of 2020)

Police aren't primarily about helping you or solving crimes.

Police lie under oath, a lot

Police spin: An object lesson in Copspeak

Police unions and arbitrators keep abusive cops on the street

Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States

So you wanna be a cop?

When the police knock on your door

♦ ♦ ♦

ORGANIZATIONS

Black Lives Matter

Campaign Zero

Innocence Project

The Marshall Project

Movement Law Lab

NAACP

National Police Accountability Project

Say Their Names

Vera: Ending Mass Incarceration

 

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MODERATORS
 

You give us Bivens federally, we'll stop throwing sandwiches.

top 31 comments
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[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 97 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

“No matter who you are, you can’t just go around throwing stuff at people because you’re mad,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parron told jurors

Does that include tear gas canisters?

[–] recentSlinky@lemmy.ca 42 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

He said when you're "mad". It's fine if it's because of hate and assholery.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I assume every ICE agent is a Nazi piece of shit who gets off to videos of his buddies zip tying children. Am I justified in throwing a sandwich now?

[–] DrDystopia@lemy.lol 4 points 2 weeks ago

No because throwing sandwiches at fascists doesn't count as "assholery".

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

No, you're hating the wrong people.

[–] Naia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 2 weeks ago

No, he meant It's only problem when we are mad.

They persist on insecure anger constantly. When they are mad it is automatically justified.

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

So I should say a joke before I hurl a sandwich, to show I am both 1) not mad and 2) it's just a prank bro. Salami high fives for Mr Parron!

[–] Tenthrow@lemmy.world 31 points 2 weeks ago

Makes you wonder how the pig feels about being the victim of a felony cold cutting.

[–] manxu@piefed.social 28 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I thought they had reduced it to misdemeanor because the Grand Jury would not indict on a felony charge because it was too ridiculous?

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 15 points 2 weeks ago

That's exactly what happened. They didn't need a grand jury to indict on a misdemeanor

[–] ravenaspiring@sh.itjust.works 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

To quote another thread:

Assault with a deli weapon.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This isn't really a great time to be hamming it up.

[–] webp@mander.xyz 5 points 2 weeks ago

Bologna assault at wurst.

[–] WolfmanEightySix@piefed.social 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Clearly the federal agent should have moved out the way. Onus is on them.

[–] PunnyName@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

If it's a legitimate assault, the federal agent's body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

Pretty sure just standing there shuts down a thrown sandwich.

What a bunch of insecure children.

[–] s38b35M5@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago

This can never be said enough, even (and especially) in seemingly unrelated ways. Keep doing the good work.

[–] Spacehooks@reddthat.com 15 points 2 weeks ago

Your honor my client was mearly passing the sandwich to the pig with passion! They normally like being fed!

[–] portnull@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

"Felony assault"? Is that a new addition to the subway menu?

[–] wildncrazyguy138@fedia.io 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

No, been there at least since the Jared days. Though there’s argument that the assault to your senses has always been there.

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

No, been there at least since the Jared days.

They called it the kid's menu back then.

[–] RattlerSix@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe it only happened in the movies but I thought there was a time in this country when it was common to throw rotten tomatoes at politicians and I've long wished for it to return.

That's the problem with these bastards. They can spend their whole life going places where no common person can say anything they might hear. But get smacked in the face with some rotten produce and you know what they think of you and your bullshit.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

CBP Agent Gregory Lairmore, the government’s first witness, said the sandwich “exploded” when it struck his chest hard enough that he could feel it through his ballistic vest.

“You could smell the onions and the mustard,” he recalled.

First off, yes this was assault. Hilarious assault, but assault. But I'd be too humiliated to testify as the "victim" is quoted. Of course he felt it. He's also feel it if I lightly pushed him with my pinky finger.

[–] ITGuyLevi@programming.dev 3 points 2 weeks ago

Technically assult would be very difficult to prove unless he threatened to throw it first, I'm totally not trying to be an ass, but assault requires a moment where the victim can claim a fear or threat of it happening. I am 100% not saying battery wasn't commited (in the most hilarious way possible), but assault may be pushing it.

All this being said, I'm not a lawyer and only know the difference because I've had to look it up a few times after discussions like this. I've also not seen any footage and would love more than anything for there to be a video of some standoff between them first, a dude with a gun/tazer/baton just trying to determine his odds against a bit with a sandwich. Lol

[–] flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

I think we had a similar thing where someone threw/slopped tomato soup on a well-hated TERF(?) Pose Parker here in NZ.

But we've also got the delightful precedent of throwing Silicone dildos at our politicians, too...

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Except the grand jury said it wasn't felony assault, this hearing is for a misdemeanor. Prosecutors should get their shit together.

[–] Lucky_777@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The ham on rye equals tear gas I suppose. MAGA today.

[–] nibbler@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 weeks ago

see, throwers on both sides!

[–] its_kim_love@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 2 weeks ago

As American as baseball.

[–] hateisreality@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

If it was felony assault, one of the THREE grand juries would have voted to charge the felony

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

felony assault

*Bologna!