The UK has a notable tradition of police work. There is a civility, they used to not even carry guns, they were protect and serve on the front lines. I would suppose that perception of UK police would be coming from those traditions. This is apples and oranges to the militarized police, dressed in black for combat, nervous, drawing their weapons at ready as they make traffic stops. An encounter with an American trained cop is most likely to be, a control, subdue, guilty until proven innocent, even humiliating and often a scary threatening experience. This is not a few bad cops, this intimidation is their training. Sadly, a friendly, or reasonable civil encounter with an officer happens in spite of the training. It does happen, but in spite of training.
I'm in process of writing a letter of thanks, for sheriffs officers who responded to DF's concerns, because I was saving battery in airplane mode, very sick with Covid in a tent and alone, out in the middle of nowhere. They drove out into the wilderness to find me and check on my welfare. They were attentive to DF, who was hours away in Tucson, with Covid herself. Their intentions were simply and obviously SINCERELY to "Protect and Serve." They were just glad to not find me in serious danger. We were both deeply touched. They wore green and brown uniforms.
When Federal officers are deployed as an occupying force, suppressing freedom of speech. When protesters are voicing intolerance for heavy handed militarized police tactics and racism, and then getting more heavy handed militarized tactic in response, it gets me very uppity. I'm sworn to uphold the Constitution, but these powers, sworn to the same, are spitting on their duty and need to be fired, or hung, stripped of their positions and the system overhauled.
Even UK is in cahoots with the NSA and its spying and creation of an anti-democratic police state data base. Seems that UK people are much more tolerant of CCV surveillance. Here, it is just the manifesting of "1984."
So, the sheriffs were more rural. They don't need a swat team to raid a home, flashbang grenades, teargas, Ron Rea-gun's no knock warrants, or intimidation, or any other abuses of power.
However, we have a community of 25,000 retirees in Oro Valley, out by Tortolita. They have a swat team, surveillance, full military equipment, armored personnel carriers and riot gear that they got from the Federal government. When we were protecting our borders in the Town of Tortolita, they had 24 hour clandestine watch on a road sign, that we had a court order to pull. They swarmed down on me, after I inspected it to see what it would take to pull. I came back with a 150 Tortolitans to show up and pull that sign as they watched. I think that this is a fair example of how out of hand armed force has become in the USA. My next door neighbor, Mexican-American with an cool old Chevy P/U truck, got stopped in that town over thirty times, for no reason, but what he looked like. I had "Tortolita" plates on my van. I was regularly stopped and harassed to be intimidated. I think that these bad elements will be found in both rural and city situations. It is common and an abuse of power. I might add many other examples, particularly out of sleepy suburban Oro Valley.
Jbee
