Plainclothes Chicago police officers fired nearly 100 gunshots over 41 seconds during a traffic stop that left one man dead and one officer injured, according to graphic video footage a police oversight agency released Tuesday.

Five officers from a tactical unit who were in an unmarked police vehicle surrounded an SUV last month driven by Dexter Reed, allegedly for failing to wear a seatbelt. Video shows the 26-year-old Black man briefly lowering a window and then raising it and refusing to exit the vehicle as more officers arrived, yelled commands and drew weapons.

  • sepulcher@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    edit-2
    7 months ago

    If they don’t have a duty to protect then they’re just a well funded gang and they should be disbanded

    Not really. If police departments just sit around and do nothing, then the communities funding them would (hopefully) do something different after enough crime goes unpunished. This isn’t a guarantee, but is typically what happens in Western societies.

    We’ve already experienced life without cops. It was called CHAZ and it wasn’t long before the upstanding citizens inhabiting it started murdering each other over petty things like respect and material goods.

    Like it or not, without cops real criminals would have their way with you. This is because you can’t fight and you don’t own guns. That means anyone who can fight or has a gun can take what they want from you because you can’t defend yourself. All the mental health care in the world won’t stop them or protect you.

    It’s a pretty simple concept, but reality tends to get warped if you just believe whatever is upvoted on these forums.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      7 months ago

      Ah yes because the only options are an official gang that can do whatever it wants and Anarchy. There’s nothing at all between the two and the cops are the only thing protecting us from the horrible no good criminals. Sure thing buddy.