Quote Originally Posted by Lady's Human View Post
Just read an article of Ferguson detailing the DOJ report on the municipal police and court system.

There are 16,000 outstanding warrants in Ferguson out of a population of 21000.

In other words, 3/4 of the population of that fine, upstanding midwestern town have warrants for their arrest. The place is either hell on earth, which I doubt, or the PD and court system are out of control.

One of the more disturbing charges is one person charged with destruction of Government property. How did the individual destroy Government property? After the cops beat the heck out of the arrestee, they had the audacity to bleed on the arresting officer's uniform.
Not to side with either faction?

I'd see a guy from the old 'hood' after he'd be gone for a week or two-maybe longer? He'd talk about going to jail over some stupid charge/warrant and I'd shake my head and wonder about how they could 'navigate' the court/legal system with little or no worry.

Now, I knew these guys weren't on the up and up, but some of the things that they were pulled over for/jammed with were sometimes overstated - like the bleeding on a cop's uni???

Some cops would overstate a charge to get someone off the street or to 'get even' if a guy gave them any lip or acted up..my pals would see a ticket - for some stupid minor infraction - as a exactly what it was - A way to inconvenience someone who wasted the cop's time.

Not to say that those tickets/violations weren't deserved - it was just the way that the officer or violator acted - sometimes a simple traffic stop turned into a peeing contest.....and someone was going to get peepee on their pants?

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I bet that many of those warrants are multiples - people that just can't seem to keep their nose clean - but when they are finally caught and put into jail, that fuels the 'debtor's prison' idea.

Well, if those people took care of a simple ticket - not let it go to warrant or get an extension, or JUST STOP DOING THE THINGS THAT put you in a situation where a cop is going to interact with you?? There wouldn't be such a high number of warrants/people being jailed?

I can bet dollars to donuts that a good percentage of those warrants are for stupid shat like a burnt out turn signal, not following traffic laws? Stuff that can be avoided if you pay attention to stuff like that?

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The topic of PO behavior and 'thug life' is always a lively one in the house.

I grew up with some savory and unsavory people in the neighborhood and I was a first hand witness to some of the stupidity that put you on the law's radar...I come from the place of 'if you are stupid, you deserve whatever you find at the end of the road'. Doris, being a former cop, sees things differently...

IF you behave, keep your nose clean and stop being an AH in your neighborhood, you won't have any problems. If you go ahead and pile up the tickets/warrants - please do not cry that you are being targeted and jailed 'for no reason'. By the same token? If you MUST deal with the dregs of society everyday of your life, I don't expect you to walk up to my car door thinking about puppies, unicorns and rainbows?

I do expect a ticket/summons, but sometimes, by just being a nice guy and co-operating with them? I get my license back with a stern warning and a "have a good day"..

Sometimes it's all about a mindset, manners and not being a jerk.