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Joshua Marquis's avatar

Please tell me, if you have spent any time riding in a police car ()(n the front seat) how on earth an officer is able to easily determine the race of the registrant or operator of a car from often several car lengths behind?

1) At night it's virtually impossible

2) "Registered owner" dta in DMV doesn't indicate race

3) Listen to dispatch tapes, even when dispatch says the car is "owned by "Brown, Katherine, DOB 101051, address in Salem," they do not report race

If you start at a place of fundamental hatred and profound distrust of cops there is a baked in bias that will affect all your"research."

The alternative, the sad results of which we have seen in Portland, are massive "de-policing" where officers are too scared or disinterested to effect "traffic stops" (versus the major felony stops you imply are the only real justification).

The overwhelming victims of violent street crime are people of color and poor people, but we gotta keep those cops from doing ANYTHING!

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Tim Larson's avatar

My blood pressure goes through the roof every time I read this type of unfortunate, misleading, fictional account of what our Police Officers are thought to do when making traffic stops! What once happened back in Portland’s dark days no longer occurs as we have the most highly trained officers in the Nation thanks to the Department of Justice’ close supervision of their actions and the continued screaming of a few minority voices who have much larger problems in their lives than worrying about a now highly unlikely traffic stop for a faulty taillight.

I spend around 30 hours per week at night driving the streets of every neighborhood in Portland as a Lyft driver. I frequently see the same low slung cars with all their windows blacked out and often without license plates driving around and obviously up to no good. The Police who patrol the different sections of the City also see these cars all the time and they know who the real “bad guys” are. We should applaud these officers for stopping them for even the smallest infraction, and for doing whatever they legally can to search the vehicle.

Even the dumbest anti cop knuckle draggers have to admit that if you can’t see the driver because of illegally tinted windows you can’t harass them because they are black! Who the fork knows what color they are since they are purposely hiding their identities,

For those of you who like stories I have one that explains the absurdity of over policing in minority neighborhoods.

Let’s say that you and I have the opportunity to win a $Million prize for catching the most fish in a 12 hour period. We both have exactly the same kind of equipment, bait, experience, etc., you know, we both have complete equity for the contest regardless of what our backgrounds have been.

The contest begins and while I am heading to the ocean to try my luck, you feel that this is very unfair to the fish and drive to the desert to try your luck. You have a tremendous day in the desert, find a small stream and catch a dozen fish, a truly remarkable feat!

Your outstanding efforts are rewarded with 12 fish, and I am rewarded with a check for One Million Dollars!! You see, and any fool could tell you, that there are far more fish in the sea than in any desert, and my haul of 1,200 pounds of fish is proof of just that!!

The same goes for catching criminals, you can spend your time on duty in the lily white suburbs, and you may catch a criminal or two. But if my job is to catch criminals and to protect the people they are most likely to prey on, then I am heading straight to the ghetto where the sea is filled with predators, and the poor people who live there are the most likely to be victimized!

Who is the better fisherman? Clearly the guy with the Million Dollar check!

Who is the better policeman? Also clearly, the guy who is risking his life in the worst parts of town to protect the people who need it most, you know, the racist cop who only arrests black men!

The End

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