[OuTcAsT]

this arguement collapses under it's own weight.

Does it indeed ?

I believe my statement was ;

"Street Guilty" that is a judgment plain and simple.

Your exact words are ;

I am a judge,

and;

"street guilty" is a temporary judgement

That would appear to be , by your own definition , a "Judgment" in the same context I was using it.

I said;

certainly one which is going to effect the manner in which a suspect is treated.

So your own judgment is not going to have an effect on what happens next ? or the "manner in which a suspect is treated" ?

I never said that the suspects actions were not going to play a part. Certainly I would think someone resisting or being violent would have it's own consequences.

I decide who is going to jail.

I would think the law plays some part in that determination? Ah yes, I see it does;

My Watch Commander has to approve the arrest, The SA has to approve felony charges, an actual judge and or jury has to find said offender guilty or innocent.

So it would seem the law decides who goes to jail, as it should be.

The whole premise of this discussion is not about trying to limit the ability of a police officer to do his job, and is not an attack on the street cop's ability to make an arrest as necessary, or even use force as necessary The problem lies in what happens when the officer does his job by "other than legal" means. If you "judge" someone to be "street guilty" of an offense that warrants an arrest, that is fine, If he lays down and gives up and then you kick him in the head, that is a crime. If you have been issued a warrant to serve and you kick down the wrong door, that is a crime. If someone pulls a gun to defend himself from this invasion and you shoot him, that is a crime, is it a mistake?
Possibly, but a crime none the less. If I kick someone in the head it is a crime, if I walk into the wrong house and the owner pulls a gun and I shoot him I will likely be charged with a crime. Why should the "color of law" be able to protect someone from being held to the same standard ? And how would doing so make a police officer less effective in doing his job? You don't have to be perfect, just equally culpable when you go beyond the law. If the handful of cops out there no longer had the blue shield to hide behind, I suspect that responsible officers such as yourself, might actually have a better rapport with the public at large.