LAist: To Rate Your Cop or Not?

Ross A. Lincoln

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:53:22 -0800

I'd like a website called Corrupt/brutal or not? Lorenzo Llamas* could host the TV version. *intentional spelling.

jrb

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:00:30 -0800

"But I still remember the days when my funny haircut got me into a lot of trouble, and I watched cops beating kids with clubs as they ran from parties and punk gigs." Well geeze Elise! Those cops were just doing their jobs! They were probably on the "kids with funny haircuts task force", and let's face it, anyone who listens to punk rock needs a good wack upside the head! (j/k of course) I saw a lot of heavy handed crowd control at the Democratic National Convention 2000, and again at an anti-police brutality demonstration that same year, (I guess they don't like being called brutal). Thank god the police attacked the main stream media at the May Day Rally last year. It seems to have forced them to take a much more humane approach to crowd control.

Elise Thompson

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:55:48 -0800

I don't know if anyone has ever asked a cop who was hassling them for their badge number, but they don't seem to like it very much. It's almost as bad as asking them what their probable cause for stopping you was. The internet is a powerful thing, and can be used for good or for evil. I do support the police department more and more as I encounter emergency situations on the job. I wouldn't want to put officers at risk. But I still remember the days when my funny haircut got me into a lot of trouble, and I watched cops beating kids with clubs as they ran from parties and punk gigs. If we had a place where we could have said "I am 14 and Officer Friendly just maced me as I peacefully walked out of a concert" (Dancing Waters, 1992) or "An officer on horseback almost stomped a 4-year old when they declared a street fair an "unlawful gathering" and stampeded through the crowd with no warning" (The LA Street Scene, 1995) some things might have changed faster.

aberrant

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:45:16 -0800

They are public employees given huge amounts of power. They should get over it.

Johnny

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:45:55 -0800

How about using just the badge #?

Andy Sternberg

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:10:55 -0800

From the little I've read into this, it doesn't seem like any opponents of RateMyCop have a legitimate privacy/safety issue worth shutting the site down. When GoDaddy shut down RateMyCop.com a couple weeks ago it was most likely another hasty knee jerk reaction by the deep-discount domain registrar and ISP. In other words, receiving a C&D or string of complaints and shutting down the site before bothering to investigate the complaints/issues at hand. But, hey, we're all guilty until proven innocent in today's with-us-or-against-us society.

jrb

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:43:34 -0800

Too bad Rachel Uranga didn't mention Laist, it would have been a nice plug for this blog. So I'd like to understand what these safety issues that the opponents of RateMyCop are. Are they giving out the cop's addresses? Where their children go to school? Or are these just cops that they who don't like the idea of letting citizens have some input?