Hello:

As you read your morning paper, you notice a complaint made by a prisoner about being punched by a cop while handcuffed. The cop denies it.

Who do you instinctively believe?

excon

Hello again,

Wassa matta? Fraid to answer?

excon

OK I'm game.
From the little information you have given I would assume the cop was telling the truth.

Id conclude the cop was telling the truth based on the information given

Knowing cops, and those they handcuff, I'd say there's a small but definite chance the prisoner was telling the truth. If the handcuffed guy was drunk or on drugs and acting stupid or squirrely that small chance gets bigger.

Some folks in handcuffs can make the most diciplined and honorable person want to slap them silly.

I know cops and I know people. Your instinct should tell you either situation is possible. Cops do punch folks, not all cops. Folks tell lies, not all folks . I try to not prejudge a person based solely on their career choice.

Hello again,

So, it's two who believe the cop, and two who MIGHT not.

I think the answers so far are telling, albeit a very small sampling.

Keep going.

excon

Excon, count again, I am a split vote. Either can be telling a lie.

Even handcuffed was the prisoner doing anything, let me see a handcuffed prisoner,
I have been
1. head butted
2. kicked
3. had them start beating their head against a light pole, the car, and even the side window to the point of busting it out.
4. spit on my

So I doubt we are getting a full story either way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

So I doubt we are getting a full story either way.

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Hello Padre:

It isn't about the story or about them at all. It's about YOU, and what you believe.

excon

Well on a whole criminals tend to be the least trustworthy of the two choices you have provided, so what were you really expecting?

I understand your logic albear but being under arrest doesn't make you a criminal, not yet.

I agree with Fr Chuck. I couldn't imagine going to work every day and have people that want to hurt me or shoot me and the scum they have to deal with. Its got to be one of the most stressful jobs there is.

If anyone has a reason to go postal I would pick a police officer. . How a officer doesn't get an attitude more amazes me.

Lets see one of us put up with some of society's worst and see how we react after a while. Officers are humans with a life and family's. I would tend to believe the officer.

The moral is if you were a good citizen then maybe you WON'T be in handcuffs. And if it was a benign thing I doubt the person handcuff would just lash out or the officer beat on him for a warrant for late tickets. They pretty much know if you are in the system and what for. It helps let them know how much danger they could be in

There is a cop in the op and a prisoner, prisoners are people who have committed crimes, hence criminal,
And yes I know our going to put forward the point that he could have been falsly imprisioned but that was not mentioned, hence the prisoner is a bad guy.

Lots of assumptions going on here. This guy in cuffs was arrested so he is a prisoner but he is not proven guilty yet. You would not believe the numbers of arrests compared to convictions. In my state you will be cuffed if you drive with a blood alcohol of over .08, that does make you a prisoner but you aren't guilty yet and are not considered a criminal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by albear

well on a whole criminals tend to be the least trustworthy of the two choices you have provided, so what were you really expecting?

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Hello albear:

I was expecting what I got... You actually clinched it for me. I don't disagree with you at all either in your assessment. Criminals do TEND to be less trustworthy than the cops.

But, I'd rather live in a country where the suggestion that the cops brutalize people would be immediately attacked. I'd rather live where we wouldn't be talking about the cops TENDENCIES, but we'd be talking about what they DO because we KNOW it to be so.

That didn't happen here. As a matter of fact, HALF of you subscribed to my proposition, and the other half didn't think my suggestion was nuts.

I don't know what that says, if anything. But, YES, I think it says SOMETHING. What do YOU think it says?

excon

Fair do's, but that's an assumption that he isn't guilty, still prisoners as a whole tend to be untrusworthy people

Hello again:

This isn't about prisoners, or cops, or who deserves to be punched, or who's guilty.

It's about a cop and his handcuffed prisoner. Plus, it's about US as a country and what we demand (or not) of our protectors.

excon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by excon

Hello albear:

I was expecting what I got.... You actually clinched it for me. I don't disagree with you at all either in your assessment. Criminals do TEND to be less trustworthy than the cops.

But, I'd rather live in a country where the suggestion that the cops brutalize people would be immediately attacked. I'd rather live where we wouldn't be talking about the cops TENDENCIES, but we'd be talking about what they DO because we KNOW it to be so.

That didn't happen here. As a matter of fact, HALF of you subscribed to my proposition, and the other half didn't think my suggestion was nuts.

I dunno what that says, if anything. But, YES, I think it says SOMETHING. What do YOU think it says?

excon

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Hooray for me clinching things

Same here on the country thing

I think it says something along the lines that people don't trust people as much as they used to, and that's not supprising at all.

[QUOTE=;]it's about US as a country and what we demand (or not) of our protectors./QUOTE]

I think we are turning into a police country because of how things are going. Its really about WHY this is happening. I'm sure we love to demand less violence. The bad dudes won't allow that. Sure nobody's perfect but why was there less officers need per capita before than now? We demanded for a long time safety and peace in our streets. To many people don't want to follow the BASIC rules in the U.S. And obviously don't respect our laws and the officers that enforce those laws. Yes there are some bad officers but by and large were doing better than most countries with straight honest cops.