[Ben Towe]

I don't worry about who gets away with a rolling stop or with running a few mph over the speed limit. Most of us have done that and been let off for it at some point by a friendly cop (and no I'm not a cop). I'm much more concerned with the hiring of officers that are not mentally prepared or mentally fit for the job. People with a chip on their shoulder have no business with a badge and a gun. We had a local cop like that around here up until recently. He acted like he was supercop and his word was law. We're sort of independent minded around here and such attitudes are not well received. After awhile he annoyed one too many people and the city council "suggested" that the chief of police retire and gave the officer in question 24 hours to resign or be terminated. Last I heard he was campus security at a nearby community college, which I thought was fitting. My point is; public opinion matters. You want to combat these issues at the grassroots level then you report any officer who acts in an improper manner. If enough people speak up then elected officials who ultimately control the police will purge the ranks to keep the constituency happy.

The place to take out your aggression for being bullied in school or not making the baseball team is not behind a badge. All too often it happens, however. Training is part of the problem as well. Police academy in this state (from firsthand accounts) is as physically demanding as military boot camp or worse. I'd feel much more comfortable with well informed officers who know the law and how to handle situations as ones who can run 12 miles and kill someone 18 different ways with a paper clip. Training someone to be a machine who is going to spend 99% of their career writing traffic tickets isn't terribly intelligent. The fact of the matter is, PT is cheaper and easier that actually training them to deal with real world situations. Mental training is far more time consuming and expensive. Not to mention the dropout rate would go through the roof. No one answer will solve the problem.