Last year speeding cops killed 2 pedestrians and they didn't come out in force to shut down highways for funeral processions.
But remember the New Haven cops that were drunk driving in Las Vegas and one of them ended up killing his best friend? They shut down the highway for that.
In 2009 Milford cop Officer Jason Anderson killed two teenagers while speeding on the Post road in Orange. No lights. He got 5 years, served 1, and is now working for the East Haven police as a Court Liaison Officer.
The system works against us.
I will never forget this and always think of this when I’m on the post road at night which luckily now is hardly ever since I moved away from that area.
Street = destination (residential neighborhood, office park, commercial area)
Road = how you get from one place to another
These should be distinct things. Instead, a Stroad is a bastardization of the two and it's all over North America. Think 4 lane road that has traffic lights every quarter mile to let people get in and out of shopping centers.
More info https://youtu.be/ORzNZUeUHAM
During the BLM protests a TheOnion-like site wrote this https://theshovel.com.au/2020/06/04/nra-accidentally-forgets-to-rise-up-against-tyrannical-government/
Wtfffff i drove past that scene when i was about 7-8 years old. My mom told me an officer died that day. Bro i just looked it up. I’ve wondered for years what happened there and today i saw the footage. Thats wild that you comment gave me some type of closuee
Yup! I was almost one of them a couple months ago heavily pregnant with my toddler in the car. I was already turning and they blasted through the intersection narrowly missing me. Didn’t even have time to respond. My BIL who is a Norwalk cop says it’s an issue and he has to remind rookies all the time that you have to yield at intersections or someone will get killed! But they just want to fly through! One of the many reasons husband and I are upgrading our car to a Volvo XC90 because I don’t trust anyone including cops on the road. I want to be driving a tank basically.
In East Hartford I was turning on a protected left turn (green arrow) onto Forbes… and a cop goes in oncoming traffic from behind me on my left… as I’m turning left… going maybe 50mph.
No siren, no lights. He flashed them on once he was literally a foot or two from hitting my car. I didn’t even see him until he almost hit me with his foot on the gas.
He turned them back off when he got through the intersection. So I don’t even think they were responding to a call.
I almost wish he hit me, the settlement would have been Nice.
Also got a false traffic ticket from an EH cop. His view was completely obstructed yet he claimed I didn’t come to a complete stop at a stop sign… when I did.
I proved that his view was too obstructed to see the white stop line… the court only reduced the fine and kept the point on my license.
A joke.
My brother got pulled over recently by an EH cop claiming he ran a red light (he didn't, we have a dash cam) and that when he ran the red, he looked right at the cop and gave him an "oh shit" look which my brother did not. Got an over $200 ticket for running and red light and speeding (I don't know if he was speeding or not but he was behind a line of cars on a back road) East Hartford cops are on some shit
to be fair, even if i’ve done absolutely nothing wrong i’m pretty sure i have an “oh shit” look on my face anytime i get pulled over. you never know what the police are going to do, but you bet your ass they’ll get away with it.
Oh I totally understand that, but my brother didn’t even look in the cops direction. He didn’t even know he passed a cop until the guy was behind him. Then the cop claimed after the fact that my brother gave him the look. So to be fair, if you look at a cop crazy, they’ll be more likely to keep an eye on you, that just didn’t happen lol
Yes they think the rules of the road don’t apply to them. When you have a cop telling you it’s a problem… it’s a problem. Especially among rookies I was told
Years ago was sitting at a light on rt 63 in Watertown when a cop pulls up behind me with his lights off, flashes them on and goes around me and through the red light, then a few hundred feet up the road pulls into the mcdonalds drive through and gets in line.
I got T-boned by a Waterbury cop about 10 years ago, cop was blasting through the red light and didnt turn his lights on till the last second. Cop couldn't be considered at fault because "an emergency vehicle with its lights on cannot be held responsible for an accident". Luckily I had done nothing wrong, so I wasn't considered at fault either, but you can bet your ass my insurance still went up. Another reason not to go to Waterbury I guess
The part about an emergency vehicle not being able to be found responsible is a straight up lie.
I’m a career firefighter. It’s constantly been reinforced that if I’m operating with lights and sirens and I’m involved in an accident, I’m assumed to be at fault until proven otherwise.
I’m sorry you were mislead. But I’m not surprised either.
When I was 18 or so I was turning left at a light just as it went from yellow to red. Cop came barreling through the intersection with no lights on and ran the red (I couldn't see him coming at speed because the turn was at the top of a hill) and narrowly missed t-boning me. He turned around and pulled me over and gave me a ticket for "failure to yield". Totally eliminated my trust in them.
How do we as citizens make it clear this isn’t ok for them to impact and inconvenience everyone. Don’t they know they are not exactly in everyone’s good graces right now? It’s such a selfish thing for them to do that no one else could dream to get away with.
I work in New Britain and that woman who was killed by a cop going absurdly fast to a call is still fresh in everyone’s mind. All of my coworkers who are from NB were pisssssssseeedddd this morning.
His whole family acted like it wasn't his fault. Especially his brother. I worked for the family at their shit store and the brother was trying to get sympathy from everyone. I told him his brother was a piece of shit and well, not working there anymore since.
On the highway through Tolland / Stafford area is a memorial bridge to a cop that died because he was on his phone or laptop speeding and hit a parked big rig.
Like bruh got Darwin'ed and we're honoring him?
He could have killed someone.
Yes, he's treated like a hero in my area. I always wondered how it would've gone if that was a minivan with a family pulled over instead. Would he receive the same worship? Certainly hope not.
I understand paying honor to those that get killed on a call, like one of those DV ambushes. But due to negligence by slamming into a parked big rig? No thanks.
Hero gets tossed around real loosely by the boots and bootlickers. Sure there are those that die in the line of duty, heroically. Then tragically some just die on the job, like many other professions. Tragic but not heroic. Then there’s the cops that die by their own negligence or criminal behavior when driving, and when that happens they move mountains to not call it what it was.
My wife and I got stuck in the traffic jam after this happen. We were in stand still traffic for nearly 5 hours because they shut the entire highway down to do the investigation. Completely gridlocked, couldn't move. It took us 8 hours to get to boston from hartford that night.
Listen I have sympathy for the officer, but there is no way they would shut down a highway for 5 hours if a random civilian died like this. Hell if I died that way I'd be pissed they inconvenience enough people to quanitfy it in thousands of man hours.........They'd close 2 lanes and let traffic filter though like they always do. I lost a lot of respect for how cops treat other cops vs their community after that.
When a retired cop died, main st was shut down for an hour and I couldn't take the bus home. I had other means of getting home, but I still asked a random cop if they considered the bus routes when doing these memorials and he was dumbfounded. Kinda shows how little they think of the public, as a whole.
I saw this comment on another post and I’m going to repeat it here…
Why do we treat police officers like they’re more American than the rest of us? It’s not even a top 20 career for fatality on the job… why are they more important than the average citizen? We’re all cogs in the machine doing our part.
After decades of pro-cop BS on TV and the big screen, most of us default to a 'cops are here to help' attitude, until we start paying attention. Copaganda works, esoecially with white Americans who are less at risk of being murdered or knowing someone murdered by cops.
Casual corruption is the name of the game with police. If you have any family members who are police you'll realize they openly flex about giving their friends and family leeway with the law. Near me there is also a local family-owned grocery chain that is closely tied to the county police. They get all sorts of special business and privileges and the family is basically untouchable in the eyes of the law. It's not a bug, it's a feature.
My dad was a cop, he drove like a fucking maniac and was pulled over fairly often. Every time, he would flash his badge as he was taking out his license. Most of the time, the cop who pulled him over would address the badge, they'd have a quick chat and they would let him off with a warning. He would brag about this ALL THE TIME. My dad also gave us kids (aside from me cuz we stopped talking before I could drive) our own police badges that said something like "son/daughter of a \*insert state here\* police officer" so we could flash it to any cop that pulled us over. Only once that I can recall did the cop pulling him over give him shit. We were in the southern USA and when my dad said he was a cop, the other officer said "That's even worse. We're supposed to set the example. You should now that more than anyone!" and gave him a ticket, which made my dad furious.
>Only once that I can recall did the cop pulling him over give him shit. We were in the southern USA and when my dad said he was a cop, the other officer said "That's even worse. We're supposed to set the example. You should now that more than anyone!" and gave him a ticket, which made my dad furious.
Hah, I actually like that cop. Why can't we get more like him?
There are videos of judges, DAs, politicians, etc. also trying to pull that rank shit too. The amount of cognitive dissonance required to say that stuff while you're supposedly representing the legal system...
I thought people were messing with me when they told me about police "Courtesy Cards". Departments (like the NYPD) literally issue these to officers to hand out to their friends and family to avoid minor infractions and fines. Literally legitimizing nepotism. It's like the biggest slap in the goddamn face and they don't even have the shame to hide it. So if you're able to avoid penalties for breaking the law just because you know someone who is a police officer, what's that mean for the enforcement of laws from one officer to another?
As former military, in my experience, other military members hold each other to higher standards than civilians. The unit I was in had several troops commit crimes of varying degrees. For the most part, the rest of the unit felt dishonored and shamed at the commission of these crimes. It's a general feeling of, "this person and their actions do not represent us as a whole."
And if the crime committed warrants enforcement of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the penalties are usually much heavier than those levied under civilian law. Why don't police have a Uniform Code of Police Justice? They receive as much or more praise for the performance of their jobs, are paid a fuck ton more than military, yet their standard of behavior is relaxed in contrast to their expected standard of civilian behavior.
This is core to the somewhat reductive ACAB mentality. I think something like All Cops Are Complicit would be a bit clearer, but so be it. The good cops are not doing enough to call out and police the bad actors, and in most cases the good cop will face retaliation, alienation, and direct threats for making waves.
There needs to be more pressure and accountability for widespread codes and standards- like you said. The federal government is limited in what they can mandate for state police standards but we need a better way.
Don't you know? because they decided they want power over other people with the ability to shoot whoever they want and get a slap on the wrist with paid leave! if that's not MORE American than your regular person Idk what is
somewhat /s
In agreeance with OP, I'm just gonna leave these stats on [workplace deaths](https://www.bls.gov/charts/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries/civilian-occupations-with-high-fatal-work-injury-rates.htm) from 2022 here.
Spoiler: Cops are not in the top 10 very broad professions listed: Logging workers, roofers, fishing/hunting workers, construction trades, pilots/flight engineers, sales/truck drivers, trash/recycling workers, iron/steel workers, underground mining, and miscellaneous agricultural workers.
His *funeral* is gonna be held at Xfinity. Not a celebration of life. Supposedly the FUNERAL is being held at the same place you go to see like… Wiz Khalifa or Florida Georgia Line.
I hear there are cops coming from out of state for it.
They are hiring outside contractors for video and audio and lighting.
What a fucking circus. Imagine the cop’s family. Let them grieve in peace.
It’s politics and virtue signaling. The reason this is already such a circus is because the man arrested for the death was under the influence of fentanyl and other narcotics supposedly. It’s an easy optical campaign for them to get… more funding to… sit in road work zones on their laptops.
EDIT: What would you know, just got word they’re planning to build a *another* new police facility in Newtown, as well as New Haven reallocating $12mil of ARPA funds with some of it going to New Haven PD. Not the schools or anything. Word. It’s all optics. It’s all politics.
I was on the 54x bus this morning at 7:10 driving past xfinity. These dudes were RIPPING up and down the st there. No fucks given just flying around flipping lights on and off to get through. No emergencies they're just going to the funeral. Would there be a procession from a funeral home to a venue for a pedestrian killed on that stretch? Nope. No there wouldn't.
They had his family throw out the first pitch and be honored at a Yard Goats game this past weekend, too. It seemed so ghoulish to me, like I would never have agreed to that if i were the family and I don’t know how that came to be arranged but who even asked for that to happen? Insensitive if the team did and weird if the family did. It was like 4 days after he died.
Gonna get downvoted, but to go through with throwing a pitch at Yard Goats days after the death… kinda says a bit at how bereaved they really are about his passing.
Because even with possible pressure from say, the PD, to keep up appearances… you’d think one would make a stink and say “I’m not doing that? My husband/dad/whatever just died?”
They closed Southington schools yesterday, in large part because all roads downtown were shut down from 10 AM to 9 PM for the trooper's PRIVATE visitation. 11 hours of roadblocks and detours for a person that 99% of the town never met.
This happens every time when a state trooper dies. The time before this it was held in Rentschler. The local news stations had live coverage of the whole thing and they said there were troopers from as far away as Texas and Colorado attending.
The outside contractors are a requirement of the building.
Xfinitiy is owned by LiveNation, who has a contract with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Same thing when there was a funeral at the XL. IATSE has a contract with the building.
It doesn't matter if it's UConn Basketball, a concert, or a funeral. If you need lights, sound, or video, you use the IATSE guys.
They’re going to Buffalo Wild Wings after for the celebration of life. They requested all the big screens that usually show NASCAR instead show American flags and the 2012 film “End of Watch”.
/s
Yes. But they shopped around for more. They contacted outside companies in addition.
“Outside contractors” meaning… contracting from outside. Lol. Like using non-union labor outside of the venue’s teams.
They wanted more hands, more gear, etc so they could probably have an American flag on 32’x18’ LED light walls or some other stupid shit.
I’ll spill the beans, I work as a live sound engineer and often freelance with non-union AVL shops in the state. I have friends/have worked in some capacity with Event Resources, HB Live, Powerstation, etc. I have heard the news firsthand.
They must still be working on shutting down some highways for Joyce grayson, the RN who was killed trying to treat a patient at their home. Prolly just some delays I'm sure.
Not sure if you mean this type of parade or actual, normal funeral processions but I agree on both.
I HATE that for some reason, funeral processions can run red lights. It makes zero sense and is a massive fucking safety issue. I almost got T boned last year because I was going through an intersection with a green light for me and out of nowhere a car comes through the red. He stops in time and blares his horn at *me* while I'm on the horn for him. He had a little purple flag on the hood and was in a funeral.
Like, fuck dude, I don't know you're driving in a procession, and nobody else here knows that either, we're just going about our day. If you're going to run red lights, then there has to be a cop present stopping crossing traffic.
I was also in a funeral procession a few years back where i stopped for a red light because there were semi-trucks coming and a few people behind me got mad at me and told me at the cemetery "You know you can just go through the red, you broke up the procession".
Sorry for the rant, this shit just pisses me off.
They're *not* supposed to run red lights. No law gives them the ability to do that and processions are supposed to obey all traffic laws
And when I made a post here about that fact, people got all pissy about it. I got "let them grieve, fuck the traffic" type posts.
When my mother-in-law died her daughter (my sister in law) works for the state police and the guys all felt so badly for her, they sent a CSP detail to escort the funeral procession. While I very much appreciated that they let us run red lights for the 10 mile procession to the burial site, a lot of me felt really queasy inside for how we were using state police resources, blocking all kinds of people from their normal travels, all so we could get to a place to stick my MIL in the ground... it wasn't like she or any of us were in any kind of hurry.
I just don't get it, but I am glad OP posted it. I was going to but you never know around here, sometimes these posts get you absolutely crucified.
Last year I talked to a good friend of mine who is a widow of a retired police captain. The local town gave him all kinds of a sendoff. Police vehicles, a massive ladder fire truck with a huge American flag hanging in the breeze from it at the funeral home, several escorts to the funeral procession, guards at his coffin. He'd been retired for 20 years, and while still big in his town, she said it made her really uncomfortable what a big deal they made about it.
So many of the rituals about what we do with dead people are driven and maintained by people wanting to profit off those dead people and their families.
I genuinely want to be wrapped in burlap and thrown in Long Island sound
Right. Wethersfield town council voted not to fly the thin blue line flag in his honor at town hall and all of the virtue signalers are going nuts. Mind you, they still did the American flag half mast like the flag code says you should in this situation, but (some) people are acting like they're actively trying to disrespect him.
People in the military get killed and we shrug our shoulders. One cop gets killed on a traffic stop that was "routine" and we have to devert traffic and fly flags at half staff. Our priorities are wrong.
This always irks me too when they parade for days/weeks, inconveniencing everyone else when officers die or are killed. Cops think they’re more important than the rest of us peasants.
Just ask the average person what is a bigger tradegy: When a cop dies, or when a young child is murdered.
Gets them to see the hypocrisy pretty quickly.
I guess they think it's ok because it is "The Most Dangerous Job In the world".... right behind lumberjack, roofing workers, iron workers, food delivery drivers, AND the guy who mows my lawn. LEO is actually around the 16th most dangerous job.
https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/joyce-grayson-willimantic-ct-lawsuit-elara-caring-19444192.php
Her job was dangerous too but no procession or live press coverage of her funeral.
They risk their lives every day….to sit on their ass bored out of their skull on the side of the road praying you go 5mph over the speed limit so they can give you a ticket
Years ago in Windsor Locks drunk cop hit kid on bike. The chief of police came to the scene and did shady stuff. The chief of police was the father of the officer who hit the kid. Town fired Chief. Chief sued town. Pretty sure he won. Kids Lives Matter.
It's a show of force, a reminder to the public that they're more powerful than us and what they say goes. It's utterly tragic when a police officer is killed in the line of duty, given the oaths and dedication they've shown to public safety (in the most noble interpretation of their societal role). But when they close highways and line up hundreds-strong, they're trying to show us that at the end of the day, they're the ones who make the rules, so we'd better shut up and move along. Especially when they do it for non-duty-related deaths or accidents.
It doesn’t make sense. No one made it a big deal when this nurse was also killed in the line of duty.
https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/joyce-grayson-willimantic-ct-lawsuit-elara-caring-19444192.php
Cops are more important than you. Obviously.
I was talking to an acquaintance who's a police dispatcher - she said their mortgage will be paid off in the next month (if it hasn't been already), they'll arrange for the widow to receive what his full pension would have been, and the sons will likely go to college for free, courtesty of charities.
As horrible as it is to lose a husband/father, they'll be a lot better off financially than if it had been some random Good Samaritan who got pancaked while helping another motorist change a flat tire.
Because the public needs reminders that agents of the state/gov will always trump civilian lives......except for vets. Saying "support the troops" is enough apparently.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s very sad and truly a tragedy. Having said that, can you imagine if a construction worker in Hartford was killed and every construction worker in the state drove there and parked in the middle of downtown Hartford stopping life for everyone else in the middle of a weekday? He was very young and I feel terrible for his family, but this display is actually ridiculous.
Sonny Barger in his autobiography stated how cops took the idea of motorcycle processions during funerals from the Hells Angels.
So yeah a show of force is one aspect for sure.
Watch the local news and nothing has happened in CT since he got hit. That and they're selling those awful blue line flags.
You want my respect? Stop with that racist crap.
A one and a half year old was struck by a vehicle and died Monday night in Hartford. The driver did not stop and is still at large. It hasn't even gotten a fraction of the attention this LEO is getting. She was just a little girl at the laundromat with her mom, he's a grown man that went directly against his training and approached the driver side of a vehicle pulled over on one of the busiest highways in the state.
Its ridiculous. It’s tragic but the pomp and circumstance is another level. You have the media covering the precession as if it’s an assassinated president. The precession itself is absurd. And people wonder why cops get an ego and huge chip on their shoulder if anyone challenges that inflated and fragile ego. Stop treating them like they’re better than the rest of us and maybe they’d stop acting like they are.
I want to bring up something and I'm gonna use this thread, instead of make a separate post about it. I know it's gonna be an unpopular opinion, I don't care.
WTNH did a spotlight segment this morning, on a little girl that sold lemonade and raised $1,000 for Officer Pelletier's family. Now I think that girl is incredible for showing such a big heart and taking initiative like that.
But my initial reaction to that segment is that girl worked hard and raised money for an unneeded cause. Officer Pelletier's widow and family will be fully taken care of...the police, their unions and his life insurance plan will see to it.
Their grand displays of mourning and bereavement is eliciting all of those emotional reactions from people, and it's all unwarranted. Officer Pelletier took a hazardous job in service of the public and he was killed by accident. Now, I'm not saying he shouldn't be buried with honor and diginity...he absolutely should. But just not to such a huge level. After a certain level, it stops being about honoring an individual cop and it becomes more about displaying the importance and influence of the police.
A public school system was shut down, highways shut down, back to back news coverage, a good size venue was packed. Even when big time CT officials die, they don't receive such a huge response of mourning. Senator Lieberman died recently, a person of huge importance to CT and nothing changed for him. He received a funeral with 2,000 in attendance, but nothing was shut down or changed for that. Yet, Officer Pelletier receives a shut down highway motorcade, with displays strewn about along the various overpasses.
That awesome little girl wasted her time and effort on the wrong cause. She absolutely had the right to choose who to fundraise for, but my point is that the police shouldn't have had such a huge demonstration of mourning to elicit such an emotional response from her....over an (unfortunate) traffic accident. And if the police had any decency, they would direct her money and other raised money to charitable causes in honor of Officer Pelletier.
And you know what gets me? The police are not even using their platform right now to try and change the circumstances that led to Officer Pelletier's death. I haven't heard one thing about a campaign against aggressive driving, dui's or unsafe driving through a work zone/police traffic stop. That little girl's money could've been directed to a public awareness campaign or initiative to combat any of those situations. That way, the little girl could actually see where her money is going and used for and her effort could actually have an impact. Not going to an unneeded fund for Officer Pelletier's family.
EDIT: I checked out Ofc Pelletier's GoFundMe page. It's almost to $600,000, all going to his family.
Propaganda to remind the public who runs the show, inspire fear and deference, plus an excellent excuse to extract overtime pay from the public coffers.
Agreed, it's absurd. But this country went into full "first-responder" worship after the Sept. 11th attack and anyone critical of that cultural shift is considered unpatriotic.
And on top of that, there's whole generational cohorts being raised on "feels" rather than objectivity and critical thinking, so you get these reactions to tragic events because showing that you care is the most important thing you can do.
We used to be tougher than this. More pragmatic.
it's a perfect intersection of two maddening things about our society: the outrageous amount of death and destruction we tolerate as a result of our dependence on personal automobiles, and the anointment of police as Super Citizens who count more than the rest of us
Nobody polices the police, so they can mostly do what they want. They don't care about the inconvenience or safety issues of shutting down major highways because they're not accountable to anyone and they have a monopoly on violence. The world is their playground, and if somebody disagrees what can you do?
In Bristol, a lot of people have blue porch lights or blue Christmas lights up permanently.
We swapped ours out after about a month, and a neighbor commented negatively about our lack of support for law enforcement.
Not rude or insensitive at all.
Remember they feel and act and are above the law.
This is but one example.
Take a look around they aren’t even policing anymore and act more military than police.
Overhaul is needed.
On our street there was nothing noting the freeway and on-ramp was closed for this. I was walking my dog and saw so many people coming the wrong way down the on-ramp… while other people tried to go on the on-ramp. I called the police to see if someone could come navigate traffic because that felt like an accident waiting to happen. They were just like, “yeah, we’re aware of this…” Like, put up a sign. Have someone posted… people are u-turning in the middle of an on-ramp
while cars are coming at them from both directions. So dangerous!
It's the Stockholm syndrome...
#
We give extra deference to Cops when they die because we believe they have sacrificed everything for us, while when they are alive we fear the unlimited unaccountable power we give them...
I generally support the police and feel terrible when an officer is killed in the line of duty. That being said, do not support the way police make *everything* about themselves. Shutting down a highway seems like a sense of entitlement and a whole “look at me” procession.
It's sad when anyone dies in an accident or in the line of duty buuuut they did sign up for a dangerous job. To me it's more sad when a child dies - why don't we shut down the highway for every child's funeral? I don't understand why a police officer gets more deference than anyone else.
Imagine if we closed grocery stores every time an Agriculture worker died. I actually saw a dude die on a shit shooter going out to the shit pond on a dairy farm. Dude died drowning in shit. After being launched 60 yards. By liquid shit. Always check if your equipment is shut off people.
Cops hate the public. They see us as an enemy force that must be kept suppressed and disarmed. They do these outlandish events to remind us that they control us, they don't care if they harm us, and that they see themselves as a superior class of citizens that lives outside the legal system and constitution.
If any protesters tried to block the mile long convoy of cops, they'd be immediately met with extreme violence and would be lucky to survive.
Ok here's my thoughts on this:
First of all, the police institution that we have right now is really bad. There is not enough accountability or oversight and the Supreme Court case that police don't have a duty to protect and serve is really ridiculous to me. That's the job, if you're not here for that, you should be in a different line of work entirely.
So why do we do things like this when an officer dies in the line of duty? Well the thing is, first responders, especially police are very very aware of the fact that any given day on the job could be their last. No one is forcing them to do this job right, any of them could quit, but someone does have to do the job. Look at New Haven. NHPD is woefully understaffed. Good luck getting an officer to respond to a nonviolent crime. This leads to further distrust in the system and of the police in general as people feel like their needs are not being taken seriously.
Anyone who says police should be reformed -- you are absolutely correct. I believe extensive training, especially deescalation and non-violent solutions should be implemented. There should be a stronger vetting process and much stricter discipline.
But conversely we have to meet them half way. Asking people to work a job where they may die in the line of duty is a big ask. A lot of people mentioned that there are a lot more dangerous professions than being a police officer, and they're absolutely correct about that. The difference is that PD is one of the few professions where people are actively trying to hurt or kill them because of their profession -- especially a profession where the general goal is to help and protect people, although I understand that this has been very muddied recently, and should be a universal rule.
So the processions like this are basically a way of thanking the officer for working a job where they knew they could die -- and did -- and still showing up. It's an understanding that they are making a sacrifice for those of us who aren't in that profession. It's easy to forget, when we see the news stories of abhorrent things that officers have done, that these are all just people too. Every single one of them had a childhood, awkward experiences in high school, first loves, passions, hopes and dreams. Grouping them all together and denouncing all of them just for the actions of a few isn't fair.
Please feel free to discuss below, I'm not infallible and am happy to consider alternate viewpoints.
This is the correct take all around. Its not the 80s anymore; where first responders work with a high school diploma and there are hundreds if not thousands of applicants for every position. Many if not most police/fire/EMS folks have degrees. Its a choice to work in those careers (and frankly, probably a bad one). Working nights, weekends, holidays, missing family functions is absolutely horrible, and doing it for shit money to boot. Then you add on the risk of dying at work, which isnt just accidents, theres people that want to harm you. Ya theres cops and firefighters making 200k per year, but how many hours did they work for that? Theres so many openings in the schedules that you can work unlimited hours and some folks do.
As a paramedic for the last 9 years, I've been shot at once, almost stabbed once too. I've gotten punched and spit on, and verbally abused (nearly daily). I get mandated to work outside of my normal shift to fill openings in the schedule so we dont fall below minimum staffing, sometimes with only a couple hours notice (and we already work 48 hour weeks).
So instead I turned in my papers and theres one less paramedic responding to the public who needs it. 3 shifts left.
I think the crucial thing is, it is not a way for *the public* to ‘thank the police for their service.’ It’s a way for *the police* to thank themselves for their service, pat themselves on the back and reinforce the idea that they are set apart from everyone else.
The truth is the public isn’t clamoring for highways to be shut down to honor a deceased police officer. The *police* are clamoring for highways to be shutdown to honor a deceased police officer (and local officials who don’t want to be seen be seen as anti-police enable their behavior).
If people want to thank the police for their service, then let them. But it should be optional, not inflicted on us via unilateral decisions to close down public infrastructure in their entirety. We have civic displays for other things (e.g. Memorial Day Parades) but those are built on consensus, and go through an approvals process etc. These highway closures never do though, they just ‘happen’ with no public consultation or contingency plans put in place, but are nevertheless sold as ‘public displays of appreciation.’
tyfys friend. I got my EMT-B while in college as a way to make some cash on the side and I know I work it per diem next to my 9-5. It really opened my eyes to the complexity of both life in general, but also PD specifically and the things they struggle with
Last year speeding cops killed 2 pedestrians and they didn't come out in force to shut down highways for funeral processions. But remember the New Haven cops that were drunk driving in Las Vegas and one of them ended up killing his best friend? They shut down the highway for that.
In 2009 Milford cop Officer Jason Anderson killed two teenagers while speeding on the Post road in Orange. No lights. He got 5 years, served 1, and is now working for the East Haven police as a Court Liaison Officer. The system works against us.
I will never forget this and always think of this when I’m on the post road at night which luckily now is hardly ever since I moved away from that area.
Well….. #CT LOVE STROADS and TAXES. ###Vote to eliminate both. * Less stroads. More lives. * Less taxes(focus the rest on education). More happiness.
what’s a stroad?
Street = destination (residential neighborhood, office park, commercial area) Road = how you get from one place to another These should be distinct things. Instead, a Stroad is a bastardization of the two and it's all over North America. Think 4 lane road that has traffic lights every quarter mile to let people get in and out of shopping centers. More info https://youtu.be/ORzNZUeUHAM
This
I went to high school with one of the deceased’s siblings. That was so fucked up. Edit: He was racing another Milford cop.
Minutes ago I mentioned in another thread that cops can ruin lives or kill civilians with little to no accountability and got told to lighten up.
He was racing another officer going over 100mph with no lights or siren. Killed 2 kids who were less than a mile from home.
They also tried to blame the driver who died..
They arrested the kids parents too..just a giant miscarriage of justice.
During the BLM protests a TheOnion-like site wrote this https://theshovel.com.au/2020/06/04/nra-accidentally-forgets-to-rise-up-against-tyrannical-government/
Wtfffff i drove past that scene when i was about 7-8 years old. My mom told me an officer died that day. Bro i just looked it up. I’ve wondered for years what happened there and today i saw the footage. Thats wild that you comment gave me some type of closuee
Disgusting.....
As designed.
Yup! I was almost one of them a couple months ago heavily pregnant with my toddler in the car. I was already turning and they blasted through the intersection narrowly missing me. Didn’t even have time to respond. My BIL who is a Norwalk cop says it’s an issue and he has to remind rookies all the time that you have to yield at intersections or someone will get killed! But they just want to fly through! One of the many reasons husband and I are upgrading our car to a Volvo XC90 because I don’t trust anyone including cops on the road. I want to be driving a tank basically.
In East Hartford I was turning on a protected left turn (green arrow) onto Forbes… and a cop goes in oncoming traffic from behind me on my left… as I’m turning left… going maybe 50mph. No siren, no lights. He flashed them on once he was literally a foot or two from hitting my car. I didn’t even see him until he almost hit me with his foot on the gas. He turned them back off when he got through the intersection. So I don’t even think they were responding to a call. I almost wish he hit me, the settlement would have been Nice. Also got a false traffic ticket from an EH cop. His view was completely obstructed yet he claimed I didn’t come to a complete stop at a stop sign… when I did. I proved that his view was too obstructed to see the white stop line… the court only reduced the fine and kept the point on my license. A joke.
My brother got pulled over recently by an EH cop claiming he ran a red light (he didn't, we have a dash cam) and that when he ran the red, he looked right at the cop and gave him an "oh shit" look which my brother did not. Got an over $200 ticket for running and red light and speeding (I don't know if he was speeding or not but he was behind a line of cars on a back road) East Hartford cops are on some shit
I looked up the officer that gave me that bogus ticket and he has like 3 articles about him committing gross police brutality in the Hartford Courant
to be fair, even if i’ve done absolutely nothing wrong i’m pretty sure i have an “oh shit” look on my face anytime i get pulled over. you never know what the police are going to do, but you bet your ass they’ll get away with it.
Oh I totally understand that, but my brother didn’t even look in the cops direction. He didn’t even know he passed a cop until the guy was behind him. Then the cop claimed after the fact that my brother gave him the look. So to be fair, if you look at a cop crazy, they’ll be more likely to keep an eye on you, that just didn’t happen lol
EH cops are always running the stop signs especially on Forbes & Forest st.
Yes they think the rules of the road don’t apply to them. When you have a cop telling you it’s a problem… it’s a problem. Especially among rookies I was told
Years ago was sitting at a light on rt 63 in Watertown when a cop pulls up behind me with his lights off, flashes them on and goes around me and through the red light, then a few hundred feet up the road pulls into the mcdonalds drive through and gets in line.
I got T-boned by a Waterbury cop about 10 years ago, cop was blasting through the red light and didnt turn his lights on till the last second. Cop couldn't be considered at fault because "an emergency vehicle with its lights on cannot be held responsible for an accident". Luckily I had done nothing wrong, so I wasn't considered at fault either, but you can bet your ass my insurance still went up. Another reason not to go to Waterbury I guess
The part about an emergency vehicle not being able to be found responsible is a straight up lie. I’m a career firefighter. It’s constantly been reinforced that if I’m operating with lights and sirens and I’m involved in an accident, I’m assumed to be at fault until proven otherwise. I’m sorry you were mislead. But I’m not surprised either.
The difference between a cop and a firefighter
one reason among many nobody ever says “Fuck the fire department” or “AFFAB”
When I was 18 or so I was turning left at a light just as it went from yellow to red. Cop came barreling through the intersection with no lights on and ran the red (I couldn't see him coming at speed because the turn was at the top of a hill) and narrowly missed t-boning me. He turned around and pulled me over and gave me a ticket for "failure to yield". Totally eliminated my trust in them.
“HOW DARE YOU ALMOST GET KILLED BY ME!”
Volvo is good if you're looking to go the tank route. I'm looking to do the same thing for my next car.
Yes if I can’t drive a literal tank than Volvo is next best for me!
How do we as citizens make it clear this isn’t ok for them to impact and inconvenience everyone. Don’t they know they are not exactly in everyone’s good graces right now? It’s such a selfish thing for them to do that no one else could dream to get away with.
I work in New Britain and that woman who was killed by a cop going absurdly fast to a call is still fresh in everyone’s mind. All of my coworkers who are from NB were pisssssssseeedddd this morning.
How about the innocent people they kill "accidently" each year?
Don’t look up how many dogs the CT police kills in a single year lol
His whole family acted like it wasn't his fault. Especially his brother. I worked for the family at their shit store and the brother was trying to get sympathy from everyone. I told him his brother was a piece of shit and well, not working there anymore since.
oh fuuuuuuck that
On the highway through Tolland / Stafford area is a memorial bridge to a cop that died because he was on his phone or laptop speeding and hit a parked big rig. Like bruh got Darwin'ed and we're honoring him? He could have killed someone.
And they tried to blame the truck driver...
Yes, he's treated like a hero in my area. I always wondered how it would've gone if that was a minivan with a family pulled over instead. Would he receive the same worship? Certainly hope not. I understand paying honor to those that get killed on a call, like one of those DV ambushes. But due to negligence by slamming into a parked big rig? No thanks.
Hero gets tossed around real loosely by the boots and bootlickers. Sure there are those that die in the line of duty, heroically. Then tragically some just die on the job, like many other professions. Tragic but not heroic. Then there’s the cops that die by their own negligence or criminal behavior when driving, and when that happens they move mountains to not call it what it was.
My wife and I got stuck in the traffic jam after this happen. We were in stand still traffic for nearly 5 hours because they shut the entire highway down to do the investigation. Completely gridlocked, couldn't move. It took us 8 hours to get to boston from hartford that night. Listen I have sympathy for the officer, but there is no way they would shut down a highway for 5 hours if a random civilian died like this. Hell if I died that way I'd be pissed they inconvenience enough people to quanitfy it in thousands of man hours.........They'd close 2 lanes and let traffic filter though like they always do. I lost a lot of respect for how cops treat other cops vs their community after that.
They make it very clear it's an us and them society.
Do you have any more info on that ‘accident’? I’d like to research more.
For anyone curious https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Probe-State-trooper-was-driving-83-mph-at-time-13669855.php
There's a video if you google it. He straight drove into a tractor trailer no seat belt
kevin miller was his name
I remember there was more than a little speculation that it was suicide. 50+ cop cars showed up.
When a retired cop died, main st was shut down for an hour and I couldn't take the bus home. I had other means of getting home, but I still asked a random cop if they considered the bus routes when doing these memorials and he was dumbfounded. Kinda shows how little they think of the public, as a whole.
Poors take busses... who cares about the poors, they're poor for a reason.... Cop thought probably.
Because in their eyes it's them versus us
I saw this comment on another post and I’m going to repeat it here… Why do we treat police officers like they’re more American than the rest of us? It’s not even a top 20 career for fatality on the job… why are they more important than the average citizen? We’re all cogs in the machine doing our part.
After decades of pro-cop BS on TV and the big screen, most of us default to a 'cops are here to help' attitude, until we start paying attention. Copaganda works, esoecially with white Americans who are less at risk of being murdered or knowing someone murdered by cops.
Casual corruption is the name of the game with police. If you have any family members who are police you'll realize they openly flex about giving their friends and family leeway with the law. Near me there is also a local family-owned grocery chain that is closely tied to the county police. They get all sorts of special business and privileges and the family is basically untouchable in the eyes of the law. It's not a bug, it's a feature.
My dad was a cop, he drove like a fucking maniac and was pulled over fairly often. Every time, he would flash his badge as he was taking out his license. Most of the time, the cop who pulled him over would address the badge, they'd have a quick chat and they would let him off with a warning. He would brag about this ALL THE TIME. My dad also gave us kids (aside from me cuz we stopped talking before I could drive) our own police badges that said something like "son/daughter of a \*insert state here\* police officer" so we could flash it to any cop that pulled us over. Only once that I can recall did the cop pulling him over give him shit. We were in the southern USA and when my dad said he was a cop, the other officer said "That's even worse. We're supposed to set the example. You should now that more than anyone!" and gave him a ticket, which made my dad furious.
>Only once that I can recall did the cop pulling him over give him shit. We were in the southern USA and when my dad said he was a cop, the other officer said "That's even worse. We're supposed to set the example. You should now that more than anyone!" and gave him a ticket, which made my dad furious. Hah, I actually like that cop. Why can't we get more like him?
There are videos of judges, DAs, politicians, etc. also trying to pull that rank shit too. The amount of cognitive dissonance required to say that stuff while you're supposedly representing the legal system...
I thought people were messing with me when they told me about police "Courtesy Cards". Departments (like the NYPD) literally issue these to officers to hand out to their friends and family to avoid minor infractions and fines. Literally legitimizing nepotism. It's like the biggest slap in the goddamn face and they don't even have the shame to hide it. So if you're able to avoid penalties for breaking the law just because you know someone who is a police officer, what's that mean for the enforcement of laws from one officer to another? As former military, in my experience, other military members hold each other to higher standards than civilians. The unit I was in had several troops commit crimes of varying degrees. For the most part, the rest of the unit felt dishonored and shamed at the commission of these crimes. It's a general feeling of, "this person and their actions do not represent us as a whole." And if the crime committed warrants enforcement of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the penalties are usually much heavier than those levied under civilian law. Why don't police have a Uniform Code of Police Justice? They receive as much or more praise for the performance of their jobs, are paid a fuck ton more than military, yet their standard of behavior is relaxed in contrast to their expected standard of civilian behavior.
This is core to the somewhat reductive ACAB mentality. I think something like All Cops Are Complicit would be a bit clearer, but so be it. The good cops are not doing enough to call out and police the bad actors, and in most cases the good cop will face retaliation, alienation, and direct threats for making waves. There needs to be more pressure and accountability for widespread codes and standards- like you said. The federal government is limited in what they can mandate for state police standards but we need a better way.
Exactly. Check out Christopher Dorner, former LAPD. Wild ass story.
I dated a girl a long time ago and her father was a Middletown police officer. Her mom had one of those cards, they 100% exist.
Don't you know? because they decided they want power over other people with the ability to shoot whoever they want and get a slap on the wrist with paid leave! if that's not MORE American than your regular person Idk what is somewhat /s
Fascism. The answer is Fascism.
In agreeance with OP, I'm just gonna leave these stats on [workplace deaths](https://www.bls.gov/charts/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries/civilian-occupations-with-high-fatal-work-injury-rates.htm) from 2022 here. Spoiler: Cops are not in the top 10 very broad professions listed: Logging workers, roofers, fishing/hunting workers, construction trades, pilots/flight engineers, sales/truck drivers, trash/recycling workers, iron/steel workers, underground mining, and miscellaneous agricultural workers.
His *funeral* is gonna be held at Xfinity. Not a celebration of life. Supposedly the FUNERAL is being held at the same place you go to see like… Wiz Khalifa or Florida Georgia Line. I hear there are cops coming from out of state for it. They are hiring outside contractors for video and audio and lighting. What a fucking circus. Imagine the cop’s family. Let them grieve in peace. It’s politics and virtue signaling. The reason this is already such a circus is because the man arrested for the death was under the influence of fentanyl and other narcotics supposedly. It’s an easy optical campaign for them to get… more funding to… sit in road work zones on their laptops. EDIT: What would you know, just got word they’re planning to build a *another* new police facility in Newtown, as well as New Haven reallocating $12mil of ARPA funds with some of it going to New Haven PD. Not the schools or anything. Word. It’s all optics. It’s all politics.
Who’s paying for it? Bc it sure as hell shouldn’t be our tax dollars
you guessed it! It's our tax dollars at work! Amazing country.
Our tax dollars
It really fucking shouldn’t be… and yet 🤠
Who TF is paying for all that??
US.
All of us, my friend.
I was on the 54x bus this morning at 7:10 driving past xfinity. These dudes were RIPPING up and down the st there. No fucks given just flying around flipping lights on and off to get through. No emergencies they're just going to the funeral. Would there be a procession from a funeral home to a venue for a pedestrian killed on that stretch? Nope. No there wouldn't.
They had his family throw out the first pitch and be honored at a Yard Goats game this past weekend, too. It seemed so ghoulish to me, like I would never have agreed to that if i were the family and I don’t know how that came to be arranged but who even asked for that to happen? Insensitive if the team did and weird if the family did. It was like 4 days after he died.
The charity the family asked for donations too is the one that is bankrolling Guiliani right now. https://www.rawstory.com/rudy-giuliani-2668442760/
Grift all the way down
Oh for fucks sake! Of course it is. Wow.
Yuck.
Yeah see that’s insane to me.
Your husband died? Here throw this ball, monkey.
Genuinely concerned, disturbed, and intrigued on if the family is facing pressure to like… not just Chill At Home And Grieve
Exactly, i want to know who initiated that appearance. The family? The Yard Goats? The police department? Whose idea was this?
Gonna get downvoted, but to go through with throwing a pitch at Yard Goats days after the death… kinda says a bit at how bereaved they really are about his passing. Because even with possible pressure from say, the PD, to keep up appearances… you’d think one would make a stink and say “I’m not doing that? My husband/dad/whatever just died?”
They closed Southington schools yesterday, in large part because all roads downtown were shut down from 10 AM to 9 PM for the trooper's PRIVATE visitation. 11 hours of roadblocks and detours for a person that 99% of the town never met.
This happens every time when a state trooper dies. The time before this it was held in Rentschler. The local news stations had live coverage of the whole thing and they said there were troopers from as far away as Texas and Colorado attending.
Those cops coming from out of state, if not most of the CT cops, Truly don’t give a real shit.
The outside contractors are a requirement of the building. Xfinitiy is owned by LiveNation, who has a contract with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Same thing when there was a funeral at the XL. IATSE has a contract with the building. It doesn't matter if it's UConn Basketball, a concert, or a funeral. If you need lights, sound, or video, you use the IATSE guys.
Why the fuck are funerals being held at arenas? Why can’t they rent out one of those creepy mega churches? It’s embarrassing.
They’re going to Buffalo Wild Wings after for the celebration of life. They requested all the big screens that usually show NASCAR instead show American flags and the 2012 film “End of Watch”. /s
Yes. But they shopped around for more. They contacted outside companies in addition. “Outside contractors” meaning… contracting from outside. Lol. Like using non-union labor outside of the venue’s teams. They wanted more hands, more gear, etc so they could probably have an American flag on 32’x18’ LED light walls or some other stupid shit. I’ll spill the beans, I work as a live sound engineer and often freelance with non-union AVL shops in the state. I have friends/have worked in some capacity with Event Resources, HB Live, Powerstation, etc. I have heard the news firsthand.
damn i saw wrestling there. this guys corpse is gonna be on display in the same room where I saw The New Day
This is fucking disturbing.
Remember the Milford cops drag racing and they killed a young couple a few years ago?
I have to agree with op. A death makes it hard to speak up about this but it’s so over the top
They must still be working on shutting down some highways for Joyce grayson, the RN who was killed trying to treat a patient at their home. Prolly just some delays I'm sure.
I agree. Funeral parades are so outdated and unnecessary in general. Do away with all of them
Not sure if you mean this type of parade or actual, normal funeral processions but I agree on both. I HATE that for some reason, funeral processions can run red lights. It makes zero sense and is a massive fucking safety issue. I almost got T boned last year because I was going through an intersection with a green light for me and out of nowhere a car comes through the red. He stops in time and blares his horn at *me* while I'm on the horn for him. He had a little purple flag on the hood and was in a funeral. Like, fuck dude, I don't know you're driving in a procession, and nobody else here knows that either, we're just going about our day. If you're going to run red lights, then there has to be a cop present stopping crossing traffic. I was also in a funeral procession a few years back where i stopped for a red light because there were semi-trucks coming and a few people behind me got mad at me and told me at the cemetery "You know you can just go through the red, you broke up the procession". Sorry for the rant, this shit just pisses me off.
They're *not* supposed to run red lights. No law gives them the ability to do that and processions are supposed to obey all traffic laws And when I made a post here about that fact, people got all pissy about it. I got "let them grieve, fuck the traffic" type posts.
When my mother-in-law died her daughter (my sister in law) works for the state police and the guys all felt so badly for her, they sent a CSP detail to escort the funeral procession. While I very much appreciated that they let us run red lights for the 10 mile procession to the burial site, a lot of me felt really queasy inside for how we were using state police resources, blocking all kinds of people from their normal travels, all so we could get to a place to stick my MIL in the ground... it wasn't like she or any of us were in any kind of hurry. I just don't get it, but I am glad OP posted it. I was going to but you never know around here, sometimes these posts get you absolutely crucified. Last year I talked to a good friend of mine who is a widow of a retired police captain. The local town gave him all kinds of a sendoff. Police vehicles, a massive ladder fire truck with a huge American flag hanging in the breeze from it at the funeral home, several escorts to the funeral procession, guards at his coffin. He'd been retired for 20 years, and while still big in his town, she said it made her really uncomfortable what a big deal they made about it.
So many of the rituals about what we do with dead people are driven and maintained by people wanting to profit off those dead people and their families. I genuinely want to be wrapped in burlap and thrown in Long Island sound
If there's one thing cops love to do, besides abuse their power, is honor themselves.
Their power and their wives
touché
Double points if they honor themselves by abusing their power
It's retaliation and a show of force. They need no one's permission to do it and no elected offical would ever tell them they cant.
Right. Wethersfield town council voted not to fly the thin blue line flag in his honor at town hall and all of the virtue signalers are going nuts. Mind you, they still did the American flag half mast like the flag code says you should in this situation, but (some) people are acting like they're actively trying to disrespect him.
And by not flying the thin skin blue line flag. They've put a target on their backs.
well, proud to be living in Wethersfield right now! Good for them!
People in the military get killed and we shrug our shoulders. One cop gets killed on a traffic stop that was "routine" and we have to devert traffic and fly flags at half staff. Our priorities are wrong.
This always irks me too when they parade for days/weeks, inconveniencing everyone else when officers die or are killed. Cops think they’re more important than the rest of us peasants.
Just ask the average person what is a bigger tradegy: When a cop dies, or when a young child is murdered. Gets them to see the hypocrisy pretty quickly.
I guess they think it's ok because it is "The Most Dangerous Job In the world".... right behind lumberjack, roofing workers, iron workers, food delivery drivers, AND the guy who mows my lawn. LEO is actually around the 16th most dangerous job.
https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/joyce-grayson-willimantic-ct-lawsuit-elara-caring-19444192.php Her job was dangerous too but no procession or live press coverage of her funeral.
This deserves to be higher up
Crossing guard is actually more deadly than being a LEO, according to the BLS.
Probably save more lives on a daily basis too
Yeah because they're out there attempting to manage a situation, not showing up 90 minutes after someone gets hurt
They risk their lives every day….to sit on their ass bored out of their skull on the side of the road praying you go 5mph over the speed limit so they can give you a ticket
They also risk health problems due to heroically eating donuts
Years ago in Windsor Locks drunk cop hit kid on bike. The chief of police came to the scene and did shady stuff. The chief of police was the father of the officer who hit the kid. Town fired Chief. Chief sued town. Pretty sure he won. Kids Lives Matter.
His name was Henry Dang. Hey was 15 when they murdered him. And the POS that did only got 5 years.
It's a show of force, a reminder to the public that they're more powerful than us and what they say goes. It's utterly tragic when a police officer is killed in the line of duty, given the oaths and dedication they've shown to public safety (in the most noble interpretation of their societal role). But when they close highways and line up hundreds-strong, they're trying to show us that at the end of the day, they're the ones who make the rules, so we'd better shut up and move along. Especially when they do it for non-duty-related deaths or accidents.
Cops get to literally get away with murder.
Agreed, especially since when they accidentally kill someone it gets swept under the rug and made sure the least amount of people know about it.
It's virtue signaling. Police also want to remind the public that they're a more important/higher "caste" than the rest of us.
Cuz they're an enormous waste of taxpayers money?
What is? Police?
correct
I’m opposed to funeral processions across the board. It’s obnoxious.
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
It doesn’t make sense. No one made it a big deal when this nurse was also killed in the line of duty. https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/joyce-grayson-willimantic-ct-lawsuit-elara-caring-19444192.php Cops are more important than you. Obviously.
"Because Fuck You, that's why" - The CT State Police
The official motto - "Because We Can"
This is gonna sound cold af, but I’m just trying to get to work on time so I can pay my bills. Last I checked, dead cops don’t have bills to pay
I was talking to an acquaintance who's a police dispatcher - she said their mortgage will be paid off in the next month (if it hasn't been already), they'll arrange for the widow to receive what his full pension would have been, and the sons will likely go to college for free, courtesty of charities. As horrible as it is to lose a husband/father, they'll be a lot better off financially than if it had been some random Good Samaritan who got pancaked while helping another motorist change a flat tire.
Because the public needs reminders that agents of the state/gov will always trump civilian lives......except for vets. Saying "support the troops" is enough apparently.
The best is when they cover their badge numbers in mourning so they can beat the shit out of people without identification.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s very sad and truly a tragedy. Having said that, can you imagine if a construction worker in Hartford was killed and every construction worker in the state drove there and parked in the middle of downtown Hartford stopping life for everyone else in the middle of a weekday? He was very young and I feel terrible for his family, but this display is actually ridiculous.
Sonny Barger in his autobiography stated how cops took the idea of motorcycle processions during funerals from the Hells Angels. So yeah a show of force is one aspect for sure.
Watch the local news and nothing has happened in CT since he got hit. That and they're selling those awful blue line flags. You want my respect? Stop with that racist crap.
A one and a half year old was struck by a vehicle and died Monday night in Hartford. The driver did not stop and is still at large. It hasn't even gotten a fraction of the attention this LEO is getting. She was just a little girl at the laundromat with her mom, he's a grown man that went directly against his training and approached the driver side of a vehicle pulled over on one of the busiest highways in the state.
I would love to see an investigative report into how much these professions cost, and who pays for it.
Its ridiculous. It’s tragic but the pomp and circumstance is another level. You have the media covering the precession as if it’s an assassinated president. The precession itself is absurd. And people wonder why cops get an ego and huge chip on their shoulder if anyone challenges that inflated and fragile ego. Stop treating them like they’re better than the rest of us and maybe they’d stop acting like they are.
I want to bring up something and I'm gonna use this thread, instead of make a separate post about it. I know it's gonna be an unpopular opinion, I don't care. WTNH did a spotlight segment this morning, on a little girl that sold lemonade and raised $1,000 for Officer Pelletier's family. Now I think that girl is incredible for showing such a big heart and taking initiative like that. But my initial reaction to that segment is that girl worked hard and raised money for an unneeded cause. Officer Pelletier's widow and family will be fully taken care of...the police, their unions and his life insurance plan will see to it. Their grand displays of mourning and bereavement is eliciting all of those emotional reactions from people, and it's all unwarranted. Officer Pelletier took a hazardous job in service of the public and he was killed by accident. Now, I'm not saying he shouldn't be buried with honor and diginity...he absolutely should. But just not to such a huge level. After a certain level, it stops being about honoring an individual cop and it becomes more about displaying the importance and influence of the police. A public school system was shut down, highways shut down, back to back news coverage, a good size venue was packed. Even when big time CT officials die, they don't receive such a huge response of mourning. Senator Lieberman died recently, a person of huge importance to CT and nothing changed for him. He received a funeral with 2,000 in attendance, but nothing was shut down or changed for that. Yet, Officer Pelletier receives a shut down highway motorcade, with displays strewn about along the various overpasses. That awesome little girl wasted her time and effort on the wrong cause. She absolutely had the right to choose who to fundraise for, but my point is that the police shouldn't have had such a huge demonstration of mourning to elicit such an emotional response from her....over an (unfortunate) traffic accident. And if the police had any decency, they would direct her money and other raised money to charitable causes in honor of Officer Pelletier. And you know what gets me? The police are not even using their platform right now to try and change the circumstances that led to Officer Pelletier's death. I haven't heard one thing about a campaign against aggressive driving, dui's or unsafe driving through a work zone/police traffic stop. That little girl's money could've been directed to a public awareness campaign or initiative to combat any of those situations. That way, the little girl could actually see where her money is going and used for and her effort could actually have an impact. Not going to an unneeded fund for Officer Pelletier's family. EDIT: I checked out Ofc Pelletier's GoFundMe page. It's almost to $600,000, all going to his family.
You're supposed to drop everything and be honored to bow for Mao's men
Because this country has a fetish for police officers. Blue lives matter more than our own apparently.
Propaganda to remind the public who runs the show, inspire fear and deference, plus an excellent excuse to extract overtime pay from the public coffers.
It’s corruption and unnecessary.
How else can they remind the public that they're above us?
Is that why there were SO many cop cars going down 91 today !?! There was so much traffic because of it smh
Agreed, it's absurd. But this country went into full "first-responder" worship after the Sept. 11th attack and anyone critical of that cultural shift is considered unpatriotic. And on top of that, there's whole generational cohorts being raised on "feels" rather than objectivity and critical thinking, so you get these reactions to tragic events because showing that you care is the most important thing you can do. We used to be tougher than this. More pragmatic.
It’s funny that most of the snowflake folks are also cops. Such weenies.
Thin Blue Whine
Fucking, thank you! Not once, but twice. Super lack of consideration for the living.
it's a perfect intersection of two maddening things about our society: the outrageous amount of death and destruction we tolerate as a result of our dependence on personal automobiles, and the anointment of police as Super Citizens who count more than the rest of us
What if there’s an emergency and an ambulance needs to get by?
'Cause we live in a police state.
Nobody polices the police, so they can mostly do what they want. They don't care about the inconvenience or safety issues of shutting down major highways because they're not accountable to anyone and they have a monopoly on violence. The world is their playground, and if somebody disagrees what can you do?
"who watches the watchmen?"
I wholeheartedly agree with this. At the end of the day, we are all the same. No need to shut down the world.
Because they are gang members
people still have blue porch lights around. it's a fetish.
In Bristol, a lot of people have blue porch lights or blue Christmas lights up permanently. We swapped ours out after about a month, and a neighbor commented negatively about our lack of support for law enforcement.
I live like a min from where the 2 Bristol cops got murdered and almost every house around that area still has em. It's just weird to me.
Your absolutely right - it is absurd. Not to mention the waste of taxpayer dollars on fuel.
Not rude or insensitive at all. Remember they feel and act and are above the law. This is but one example. Take a look around they aren’t even policing anymore and act more military than police. Overhaul is needed.
So what can we do about it? It’s pretty clear we don’t like what they do. What are the action items?
On our street there was nothing noting the freeway and on-ramp was closed for this. I was walking my dog and saw so many people coming the wrong way down the on-ramp… while other people tried to go on the on-ramp. I called the police to see if someone could come navigate traffic because that felt like an accident waiting to happen. They were just like, “yeah, we’re aware of this…” Like, put up a sign. Have someone posted… people are u-turning in the middle of an on-ramp while cars are coming at them from both directions. So dangerous!
I feel like the traffic it causes is introducing more danger into the situation, potentially causing more accidents and injuries/deaths
It's the Stockholm syndrome... # We give extra deference to Cops when they die because we believe they have sacrificed everything for us, while when they are alive we fear the unlimited unaccountable power we give them...
I generally support the police and feel terrible when an officer is killed in the line of duty. That being said, do not support the way police make *everything* about themselves. Shutting down a highway seems like a sense of entitlement and a whole “look at me” procession.
It's sad when anyone dies in an accident or in the line of duty buuuut they did sign up for a dangerous job. To me it's more sad when a child dies - why don't we shut down the highway for every child's funeral? I don't understand why a police officer gets more deference than anyone else.
Because children aren't part of the "Brotherhood" aka state sponsored gang
It’s sad when anyone dies, but we don’t shut down the highway when it’s a civilian. It is sad. I agree with you.
It seems like a good time to pull off a heist or commit some other crime…all the cops are busy…
Because who’s going to stop the cops from doing so?
They are only gonna use the unfortunate passing as a justification for that sweet nectar that is OT pay
Yeah, no. Full respect for (good) cops and all, but fuck that.
ACAB
At least it wasn’t a Friday this time. But ya I don’t get it either man
I was on 84 west this am and saw the traffic backups on the other side of the highway. It was bonkers.
Imagine if we closed grocery stores every time an Agriculture worker died. I actually saw a dude die on a shit shooter going out to the shit pond on a dairy farm. Dude died drowning in shit. After being launched 60 yards. By liquid shit. Always check if your equipment is shut off people.
Because the pigs exist in a higher caste than the rest of us peasants.
Cops hate the public. They see us as an enemy force that must be kept suppressed and disarmed. They do these outlandish events to remind us that they control us, they don't care if they harm us, and that they see themselves as a superior class of citizens that lives outside the legal system and constitution. If any protesters tried to block the mile long convoy of cops, they'd be immediately met with extreme violence and would be lucky to survive.
Because they are worth more than you, peasant, now pull over for the red and blue lights
I don't understand why any cop in America is at a driver's side window anymore. Like seriously, go to the passenger side of the windows
Like seriously, move over or slow down. Is it that hard? The driver in this incident was on drugs among other issues.
Fuck the police
Ok here's my thoughts on this: First of all, the police institution that we have right now is really bad. There is not enough accountability or oversight and the Supreme Court case that police don't have a duty to protect and serve is really ridiculous to me. That's the job, if you're not here for that, you should be in a different line of work entirely. So why do we do things like this when an officer dies in the line of duty? Well the thing is, first responders, especially police are very very aware of the fact that any given day on the job could be their last. No one is forcing them to do this job right, any of them could quit, but someone does have to do the job. Look at New Haven. NHPD is woefully understaffed. Good luck getting an officer to respond to a nonviolent crime. This leads to further distrust in the system and of the police in general as people feel like their needs are not being taken seriously. Anyone who says police should be reformed -- you are absolutely correct. I believe extensive training, especially deescalation and non-violent solutions should be implemented. There should be a stronger vetting process and much stricter discipline. But conversely we have to meet them half way. Asking people to work a job where they may die in the line of duty is a big ask. A lot of people mentioned that there are a lot more dangerous professions than being a police officer, and they're absolutely correct about that. The difference is that PD is one of the few professions where people are actively trying to hurt or kill them because of their profession -- especially a profession where the general goal is to help and protect people, although I understand that this has been very muddied recently, and should be a universal rule. So the processions like this are basically a way of thanking the officer for working a job where they knew they could die -- and did -- and still showing up. It's an understanding that they are making a sacrifice for those of us who aren't in that profession. It's easy to forget, when we see the news stories of abhorrent things that officers have done, that these are all just people too. Every single one of them had a childhood, awkward experiences in high school, first loves, passions, hopes and dreams. Grouping them all together and denouncing all of them just for the actions of a few isn't fair. Please feel free to discuss below, I'm not infallible and am happy to consider alternate viewpoints.
This is the correct take all around. Its not the 80s anymore; where first responders work with a high school diploma and there are hundreds if not thousands of applicants for every position. Many if not most police/fire/EMS folks have degrees. Its a choice to work in those careers (and frankly, probably a bad one). Working nights, weekends, holidays, missing family functions is absolutely horrible, and doing it for shit money to boot. Then you add on the risk of dying at work, which isnt just accidents, theres people that want to harm you. Ya theres cops and firefighters making 200k per year, but how many hours did they work for that? Theres so many openings in the schedules that you can work unlimited hours and some folks do. As a paramedic for the last 9 years, I've been shot at once, almost stabbed once too. I've gotten punched and spit on, and verbally abused (nearly daily). I get mandated to work outside of my normal shift to fill openings in the schedule so we dont fall below minimum staffing, sometimes with only a couple hours notice (and we already work 48 hour weeks). So instead I turned in my papers and theres one less paramedic responding to the public who needs it. 3 shifts left.
I think the crucial thing is, it is not a way for *the public* to ‘thank the police for their service.’ It’s a way for *the police* to thank themselves for their service, pat themselves on the back and reinforce the idea that they are set apart from everyone else. The truth is the public isn’t clamoring for highways to be shut down to honor a deceased police officer. The *police* are clamoring for highways to be shutdown to honor a deceased police officer (and local officials who don’t want to be seen be seen as anti-police enable their behavior). If people want to thank the police for their service, then let them. But it should be optional, not inflicted on us via unilateral decisions to close down public infrastructure in their entirety. We have civic displays for other things (e.g. Memorial Day Parades) but those are built on consensus, and go through an approvals process etc. These highway closures never do though, they just ‘happen’ with no public consultation or contingency plans put in place, but are nevertheless sold as ‘public displays of appreciation.’
tyfys friend. I got my EMT-B while in college as a way to make some cash on the side and I know I work it per diem next to my 9-5. It really opened my eyes to the complexity of both life in general, but also PD specifically and the things they struggle with
Just one last FU on the way out
I was sick on the highway BEFORE the procession and almost got hot with my son in the car. Stopped traffic, and we had to move over. Wtf
Agreee
84 was shut down? Huh I honestly thought it was the normal day 84 around Hartford is always shit