Unit74 watches too much law and order. Edit to add; The thing the blue liners don't understand is the police and prosecutors lost the default moral high ground a long time ago.
Unfortunately, no.... My TV is usually stuck on Nick Jr. the original Law and Order was a great show. But when they went from real proceedings to scripted studio work it lost its appeal(pun intended)
As far as the moral ground, well, if you can figure out how to stop people from stealing your, sheet, making, selling, doing drugs, stop hurting other people I am all ears. I'm tired of it all too. Working in a constant state of, "That makes me sick. I can't believe he/she did that" makes a person realize how cruel people really are, and also how numb society is to what really goes on. Society has an expectation for the police to arrest, prosecutors to convict, jails to punish and society to prepare for the return of one of their own. The checks and balances are built into the system.
But, I agree that the system is broken. As a case and point, take a look at California's new Prop 47. It's a cluster F- by all standards. But the voters ask for it, so instead of the judicial system dealing with California's criminals, communities get the privilege of being victimized over and over. Touted as a "safe schools" measure, the wool was thick and warm when it was pulled over their eyes.
The majority of people go about their happy lives not caring about much until it affects them. Then all the sudden it's a big deal and something must be done. What the cops are doing on the street is trying to keep you from having that moment. That call in the middle of the night. That 7am walk to your car to find it has been burgled. That job forces those who choose the "Thin blue line" to walk a tight rope every day.
So, back on track, Andrew had dilated pupils, the cop noticed, inquired and left him alone. He had no right under Terry to conduct a pat frisk of his out clothing, no PC for an arrest which would trigger an SIA for this interjected Baggie of dope and certainly no right no detain Andrew based on the given circumstances.
And I'll leave this here.......
99% of cops are moral, hard working, patriotic citizens who want nothing more than to keep their "Beat" safe. They will run into a gun battle to protect the people, the next call they will be comforting a child who was beaten or molested and finish out the day investigating who the hell stole your jewelry and big screen TV while you were diligently working so your taxes could pay for it all.
The 1% are sht bird, no good dirty rotten crooks who somehow could not keep their hands out of the cookie jar, or became so jaded that they sold their morality for a fist full of dollars. These types are typically discovered sooner or later. Because they are held to a higher moral standard than say, the guy who is stealing scrap stainless steal from his employer, they deserve every last ounce of their punishment.
The problem with society is they base their opinion on the 1%, not the 99%. And thus, we get the opinions that cops are all bad and out to screw the world.
Post script....
One of my mentors used a phrase one time that stuck with me; opinions are like Aholes- nobody wants to hear it and someone will always tell you it stinks. You can stomach your own, but another's becomes revolting and nauseating at first breath. :wink2:
