I never fired my weapon at anyone. That is the general experience of the vast majority of police officers. In fact, in 30 years, I can think of about 2 instances of cops on my dept shooting at someone. Any cop who shoots at someone on the job is the exception, not the rule.

Also, pepper spray won't hurt you, it's only an irritation, like being called a fuckface on videosift or trying to have an intelligent conversation with voodoo.

How many times did you 'use' your gun? How many of those times would pepper spray have sufficed?
The instance I spoke of was a completely improper application of pepper spray (with cotton swabs directly to the eyeballs) was to handcuffed people sitting in front of a building (a building with other entrances, so not blocking any business or access I might add). It was all about asserting their power because someone didn't respect their authoratah.
The other recent incident was people handcuffed sitting on a bike path (with other pathways easily used to get around them)...once again, no need for violence other than frustration at not being 'obeyed'...absolutely none.
Thousands of people are treated violently by cops in their own home yearly who aren't making meth, didn't have any argument with anyone, but were simply in the wrong home when the cops either made a mistake or acted on bad information. What about them? That's why I say the cops need to be swatted at least once a year, so they remember what it's like and don't act like asshats.

Cops DO NOT always assume someone is armed and dangerous. That's why they get killed so often. Someone comes in to file a report, you don't assume they are armed and dangerous. Little old ladies...not armed and dangerous. Children...not armed and dangerous. Wives of bikers...not armed and dangerous. Shoplifters....not armed and dangerous.

Guy runs a stop sign...you don't assume he is armed and dangerous. But you have to be aware that the possibility exists. Too many cops have paid the ultimate price for not watching the hands.

Of course, sometimes you are wrong. You can find a video of a shoplifter being detained in Russia...he pulls out a gun and shoots 4 people.

As for pepper-spraying people...I carried pepper spray for 30 yrs, never used it.

If a cop is using it on 'non-violent' protesters sitting in the street, it's because his supervisor said 'clear the street, cars have to move through here'. See...because you've already told 20 people to move out of the street and guess what...they didn't do it.

As for being treated violently by other cops, the reason cop's families don't get treated violently is because they generally don't make meth in their kitchen, they don't engage in violent domestic arguments, etc.

But you yourself have said that everyone is suspect and considered armed and dangerous until proven otherwise...so who is this 'everyone else'?
Small town cops also can be much more difficult to get along with, as they develop the 'us VS them' mentality faster and to a greater severity, being more isolated. That's why they think it's OK to do things like swab pepper spray into the eyes of helpless, immobilized, peaceful protestors.
It sounds like a better idea would be for cops to have to walk in the shoes of a 'suspect' a few times a year...as in having SWAT or other police (not the force that particular cop is part of) called on them and have them and their families treated like the violent armed suspect they treat everyone else as...then perhaps you and they might see the error of your ways (once they've been visited on you and yours, I doubt you would support the violence and angry escalations).

No. That's simply wrong.
Cops MAY need to use more force than they are met with, they certainly do NOT need to escalate to violence every time they take someone into custody (as your post suggests)...if they did, why didn't they beat up and/or shoot the Governor of Texas?!?
There's a huge range of action they can take between doing nothing and using overwhelming deadly force. Cops that think they should use the maximum amount of force possible, to 'protect themselves' should not be cops, those are cowardly bullies with immunity and guns.
If the proper thing is to use the most force possible, why are cops given pepper spray, tasers, batons, hand to hand combat training, radios, Kevlar gloves, etc. ? In this instance, ANY of those could have been tried before shooting someone retreating, surrendering, and far enough away for any of them to be tried.
From my viewpoint, this was likely more about the cop being pissed he was ignored when he told them to stop than any fear he had of two youths that were leaving the scene, and about them 'respecting his authoratah'. That's not an acceptable reason to shoot a person....even if they're black.
For you, as a cop, to claim you should always be MORE violent than your suspect means YOU are the violent criminal (or at best, an advocate for being violently criminal)...so perhaps a cop needs to come to your home based on an anonymous tip and shoot you in the head?!?...why would you say not?...you're armed and angry and advocating deadly violence!
Cops are supposed to DE-escalate violent situations, not aggravate and escalate them. It's not just sad but frightening to hear you, a self professed long term cop, to say the exact opposite. Once again I'll ask, where are you located. If you are representative of the police there, I truly want to avoid your stomping grounds.
To me, your stance means I should meet officers with deadly force, because if they decide they 'fear' me, they'll use deadly force on me without hesitation, so killing them first is always self defense. I don't think you thought it through to conclusion saying they should always be MORE violent.

If you have no reason to believe they may be corrupt, then you simply haven't been paying attention.
For the action of the cop to be self defense, you must take his word as truth and ignore the witnesses (granted, they have not been consistent) and you must accept that it's the right method to attempt to manhandle a person for jaywalking (the reason for the stop in the first place) and that it's the right thing to do to escalate a confrontation from a fist fight directly to firearms, ignoring the other options made available like pepper spray, tasers, batons, and backup. If the officer was truly in fear, he only needed to shut and lock his door to be safe, how is that hard?

Your reading comprehension is terrible. He said clearly that it's NOT reasonable or condonable, but is understandable as a misguided attempt to 'lash out' at the system that keeps you down.

I saw lots of white people on TV rioting and looting too, but they don't count because they don't further your (seemingly racist) theories, right?

It seems you've ignored the majority of the protests that have been responsible, civil, and peaceful in favor of focusing on the minority of trouble makers (that insert themselves into ANY mass protest these days) and blame their actions on the entire community (while knowing that most of the rioters are not from the community but have traveled there in order to riot and loot).

As the one's in 'charge', is it not the police that have the responsibility to display 'responsible behavior'? I thought it was your position that behavior works on a trickle down system, where the behavior of the top is emulated all the way down...does that not make this the police chief's fault?

Really, so whenever someone tries to commit 'suicide by cop', they should oblige and just kill them? They should never try to de-escalate the issue, only use the maximum force possible at any opportunity?
I find total fault in them shooting him, they had many other non-lethal options but chose the most deadly response possible to a minimal, avoidable threat.
The officers had every opportunity to retreat safely, had time to pull out a tazer or pepper spray, and were in no danger. Teaching them to shoot to kill anyone 'threatening' is insane and should lead to more cops being shot in self defense. If they're going to kill any 'threat' and I think they might think I'm a 'threat', it's self defense to kill them first, right? Obviously.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Don't make me get the pepper spray out. Please keep it civil and avoid insult slinging and name calling. Thanks.

As a cop for over 30 years I can say this. Every police dept is different. They all have different expectations. If one dept is rotten, it's because the chief is rotten. The attitudes of the PD comes from the top down.

I was stunned when I heard a cop from another dept tell me he used to go around at night and spray pepper spray into a car's windshield vent because the car owner was a known shithead. That's when I began to realize that all police dept. are different.

Cops are reluctant to rat on other cops because cops know that when the chips are down, you can rely on your fellow officers to do everything in their power to save your ass from death and destruction. At the same time, some crooked cops are not going to be crooked 100% of the time, they will also stand between an average citizen and a bullet.

A cop can't be crooked 100% of the time, but he can break the law on occasion. Personally, I have no respect for an officer who will plant evidence or abuse prisoners or anyone else. But then, that's just the way we do things at our PD.

On the other hand, you have to understand that when a cop is testifying in court that he found several severed heads in a car trunk, the judge is going to want him to say it was all a legal search...whether it was or not.

Also, i don't believe cops should get special consideration. Most of them are already well compensated and they shouldn't be in it for the perks.

I'm in it for the adrenalin rush. It's the only job where you can jump over fences chasing a bad guy.

Daaaaaamn, kitteh!? WTF?? (That cat is so bad-ASSSS!)

...roommate's black lab Harley used to perforate the stack of mail with one CHOMP if you didn't beat him to the front door..traumatized by a mail carrier as a pup with the pepper-spray.

Nah, he should of just left and called security or the cops. Let them use up some of their pepper spray quota.

This type of stupidity doesn't bug me. No real damage is happening.

When fuckers throw EGGS is when major paint damage occurs. You see someone throw eggs at a car "for fun" you have my permission to smack them around. The cracking egg shells wreck paint terribly. People who egg someone's car are vandalizing it.

No.

Pepper spray usually has a safety, like a lift tab that you must move to get access to the depress button. But tazers typically do not since they are less than lethal force (You must access them quickly goes the logic.)

That is why law enforcement has to be careful--or it's a billion dollar lawsuit and their jobs if their finger slips. I wonder if this news crew can sue for emotional distress? Because they sure shit themselves

I'll add this my ever growing list of things I hate in the first world: tasers, pepper spray, omnipresent invasion of privacy, water boarding, oubliettes, and, now, shock collars.

The voice of God is Government. And now that God has been ousted, we need a new machine of terror: TECHNOLOGY. And then we'll reintroduce God. Vicious cycle.

I despise the whole concept of s****** (I can't even type the word). There was a time when you would have been ridiculed for taking so many pictures of yourself. Or been advised to seek professional help. Just as bad as seeing people's washed-out bloated faces doing their webcam monologues. If only iPhones would shoot pepper spray when they detected a s*****.

Funny, where I live dogs react very sensitive to pepper spray, and will instantly cease attacking. I guess that was too much to ask of those low life pigs.