• Ephera@lemmy.ml
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    14 hours ago

    My impression is that it is certainly a lot worse in the US than here in Germany. I imagine the abundance of guns means that being a cop is fucking dangerous, which means they will get uneasy in conflicts quite logically, but also that it’s not exactly a job you go for, if you have aspirations in life. I mean, why would anyone voluntarily become a cop in the US, if not to abuse your power?

    • memfree@lemmy.ml
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      14 hours ago

      I think Germany is known for serious police. In fact, I half remember a joke about that… something about the perfection of a British Cop, a German car, and an French Chef – compared to the misery of a German Cop, a French car, and a British Chef.

      Obviously not funny in the mangling, but the joke wasn’t that German cops were bad, just not the generally pleasant ‘fair cop’ stereotype of Brits.

      Personally,. the stereotypes that have stuck in my head are: that low-level officials in India (including cops) can be bribed to look the other way for minor things, Nordic cops are well trained in de-escalation and restraint techniques where no one gets injured, Brit cops might be fair or might be racist, but the laws give better protection to citizens, and that German cops are stern, and will rigidly follow and enforce all laws and rules… generally. Not sure if it is true or not, but I’ve also heard that German cops will fuck you up if you give them reason, but you’d really have to give them reason.

      • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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        13 hours ago

        German cops will fuck you up if you give them reason, but you’d really have to give them reason

        Lol I saw a video of some dude doing a nazi salute and nearby cops tackled him 🤣

          • starlinguk@lemmy.world
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            5 hours ago

            Tell that to the 93% of morons who voted AfD in my town in Brandenburg. I’m so glad I’m moving away.

        • FriendOfDeSoto@startrek.website
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          12 hours ago

          Just for some German context: the Nazi salute is not covered by any freedom of expression or opinion in a political context. What Elon did on stage would have landed him in a German court. Similar restrictions apply to displaying certain symbols, e.g. the swastika. German cops are legally required to intervene when they see them in public.

          I don’t know the video in question, I don’t know if the cops overreacted - a reaction was required though.

          • FelixCress@lemmy.world
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            10 hours ago

            the Nazi salute is not covered by any freedom of expression or opinion in a political context

            Good.

            What Elon did on stage would have landed him in a German court.

            Double good.

    • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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      12 hours ago

      Heh, it may seem like the risks of being shot as a cop are high. And I guess it is, compared to something like being an office worker.

      But cops shoot way more citizens than shoot them, and they kill way more as well. It could be argued that those are defensive shootings, but, well, we know they aren’t all justified at all. And enough of those police killing citizens are against entirely unarmed people that it’s absurd. That’s also ignoring the dogs they kill, when they kill each other, and that even the defensive shootings are often escalated by the police rather than them dealing with someone out to kill them.

      But, for real, it used to be a job you could be proud of, if you ignored al the systemic problems. There’s still people that go into it wanting to make a difference, to help people and serve their community. You’ll not get rich as an honest cop, but it’s an okay living compared to jobs requiring similar levels of training and education. There’s health coverage, paid time off, a union that backs officers well. If you only see the surface, it’s a great job.

      It’s under the surface that gets you, and since most cops start their career fairly young, they don’t know that going in. Those get weeded out fast though. Sometimes when other cops turn on them for not wanting to be dirty. Sometimes lethally

      • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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        7 hours ago

        Because they are not trained to properly deescalate. Or how to deal with intense, potentially threatening situations. They simply fall back to “gun” if they lack the power to deal with a situation otherwise.

        In my country, a police officer drawing a weapon can expect to write a stack of reports on why he or she did that. And they better have a very good reason.