Quote Originally Posted by Major Robert Dump View Post
I try to maintain a friendly, professional relationship with my local police. I'm not scared of them, but I also don't trust them unless it's one that I know very personally which, incidentally, means I'm part of the problem because in essence I'm getting preferential treatment from cops I grew up with or hung out with before they were cops.
Indeed. It never ceases to amaze me how a local cop will let someone off for a traffic ticket if the person pulled over can name drop. I know many people who've done it. Things like that seem innocent enough, but preferential treatment is preferential treatment and it shouldn't happen in our justice system whether it's a speeding ticket, a DUI, or a serious crime.

I think "tech up" is a good starting point, but just having police watching each other isn't good enough. Police need to expect that everything they do while on duty is being watched and possibly taped by the public and they need to act with accordingly. Even though I think some of those cop watch groups can be obnoxious, I absolutely support what they're doing.