this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2026
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THE POLICE PROBLEM

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    The police problem is that police are policed by the police. Cops are accountable only to other cops, which is no accountability at all.

    99.9999% of police brutality, corruption, and misconduct is never investigated, never punished, never makes the news, so it's not on this page.

    When cops are caught breaking the law, they're investigated by other cops. Details are kept quiet, the officers' names are withheld from public knowledge, and what info is eventually released is only what police choose to release — often nothing at all.

    When police are fired — which is all too rare — they leave with 'law enforcement experience' and can easily find work in another police department nearby. It's called "Wandering Cops."

    When police testify under oath, they lie so frequently that cops themselves have a joking term for it: "testilying." Yet it's almost unheard of for police to be punished or prosecuted for perjury.

    Cops can and do get away with lawlessness, because cops protect other cops. If they don't, they aren't cops for long.

    The legal doctrine of "qualified immunity" renders police officers invulnerable to lawsuits for almost anything they do. In practice, getting past 'qualified immunity' is so unlikely, it makes headlines when it happens.

    All this is a path to a police state.

    In a free society, police must always be under serious and skeptical public oversight, with non-cops and non-cronies in charge, issuing genuine punishment when warranted.

    Police who break the law must be prosecuted like anyone else, promptly fired if guilty, and barred from ever working in law-enforcement again.

    That's the solution.

♦ ♦ ♦

Our definition of ‘cops’ is broad, and includes prison guards, probation officers, shitty DAs and judges, etc — anyone who has the authority to fuck over people’s lives, with minimal or no oversight.

♦ ♦ ♦

RULES

Real-life decorum is expected. Please don't say things only a child or a jackass would say in person.

If you're here to support the police, you're trolling. Please exercise your right to remain silent.

Saying ~~cops~~ ANYONE should be killed lowers the IQ in any conversation. They're about killing people; we're not.

Please don't dox or post calls for harassment, vigilantism, tar & feather attacks, etc.

Please also abide by the instance rules.

It you've been banned but don't know why, check the moderator's log. If you feel you didn't deserve it, hey, I'm new at this and maybe you're right. Send a cordial PM, for a second chance.

♦ ♦ ♦

ALLIES

!abolition@slrpnk.net

!acab@lemmygrad.ml

r/ACAB

r/BadCopNoDonut/

Randy Balko

The Civil Rights Lawyer

The Honest Courtesan

Identity Project

MirandaWarning.org

♦ ♦ ♦

INFO

A demonstrator's guide to understanding riot munitions

Adultification

Cops aren't supposed to be smart

Don't talk to the police.

Killings by law enforcement in Canada

Killings by law enforcement in the United Kingdom

Killings by law enforcement in the United States

Know your rights: Filming the police

Three words. 70 cases. The tragic history of 'I can’t breathe' (as of 2020)

Police aren't primarily about helping you or solving crimes.

Police lie under oath, a lot

Police spin: An object lesson in Copspeak

Police unions and arbitrators keep abusive cops on the street

Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States

So you wanna be a cop?

When the police knock on your door

♦ ♦ ♦

ORGANIZATIONS

Black Lives Matter

Campaign Zero

Innocence Project

The Marshall Project

Movement Law Lab

NAACP

National Police Accountability Project

Say Their Names

Vera: Ending Mass Incarceration

 

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

The X post showed police detaining a teen at a Walmart after managers asked for her vest back. The video captured officers repeatedly urging the teen to hand over the vest and leave peacefully.

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[–] enphurgen@lemmy.world 25 points 14 hours ago

Why the fuck are police getting involved over a single vest? Absolutely ridiculous

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 8 points 12 hours ago (3 children)

I'm divided myself about this...

Let her keep the vest, it's a 5 dollar loss, is it really worth the publicity, the work, the crap that comes with it?

The girl was constantly breaking basic rules, which I also understand isn't a good thing. She's still young, and needs to learn, but we all have rules. This rule "no eating at the cash register" I understand and agree with, I would not like it if a cashier takes my groceries with dirty chocolate hands or something

Then, police over a fucking 5 dollar vest? I'm guessing this is the USA?

Listening how the girl responded I feel like she has some anger management issues, I wonder how her home situation is. Most kids don't respond like she did when being fired.

Then the US police being US police, what can I even say about that that hasn't been said a million times already?

Just overall a lot to say about everyone in this video, I guess my takeaway is that she needs help

[–] godsammitdam@lemmy.zip 3 points 11 hours ago

You have more empathy than the management, legislators, and law enforcement.

And that's the problem. You looked for a cause, talking about her home life potentially being difficult. You treated her as a human being and are looking to help her.

That's not "tough on crime" policy nor does it help for profit prison systems nor law enforcement meet their quotas. She's not a human to them, she's a statistic. Those with capital are the people they protect and serve.

MFs won't stop buying in Walmart because of this.

[–] OldChicoAle@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago

It's not about the vest. It's about making sure the people know they are nothing

[–] x00z@lemmy.world 45 points 18 hours ago (6 children)

Why does the US police always escalate?

[–] orbitz@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 hours ago

I think they get a higher score the more they act like a complete douche and shitrag. Unsure what the score is for but seems to be a safe assumption

[–] Notyou@sopuli.xyz 19 points 15 hours ago
[–] Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 21 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

They are taught nothing else.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 17 points 17 hours ago

Yes. They get training from psychopaths who tell them that every citizen is armed and trying to harm them.

[–] flandish@lemmy.world 18 points 17 hours ago

because they exist for the purpose of protecting capital.

[–] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 3 points 14 hours ago

They get to kill with impunity. You miss every shot you don't take, so escalate!

  • Michael scrote
[–] whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Poor quality or no training because there are no training and education standards & no filtering for violent candidates

poor quality or no internal affairs oversight to prosecute unnecessary escalation and police crimes

police unions that abuse the idea of worker unions to protect police from facing charges for committing crimes while wearing a badge

no charges for turning off body cams during arrests or interrogations

immunity laws that privilege police to protect them from facing liability for crimes they commit while on the clock

failure to hold trainers and leaders accountable for the ill prepared and violent individuals they pay to put on the street with a badge who constantly escalate

no licensing to revoke so when a violent criminal is fired they can move a state or county over and get hired into police again

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 10 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I kept all my vests when I quit. I had collected almost all of them.

  • blue
  • maroon
  • white
  • green
  • brown

I worked almost every single department in the store at one point or another.

[–] Rubanski@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 14 hours ago

Nice, got the shitty 🟫🟥🟩🟦⬜ rainbow collected

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 156 points 1 day ago (1 children)

One commenter who sided with the teen wrote, "To beat up a human being mercilessly for a dirty plastic vest. The cops will never arrest a tax-dodging millionaires but spring into action like Viagra fed hares and jump on a hapless person and try to escalate it into a slaughter." They further called out the original poster for supporting the arrest...

"This is f—— stupid. You take it out of her last check since you still owe her money, it is impossible for her to steal from you," one comment said, "Charge the company with creating a false police report."

Only decent comments in the article.

[–] pdxfed@lemmy.world 21 points 23 hours ago

Depending on the state the (ex)employee is in, it can be illegal to withhold wages of any reason not prior authorized by the employee. As this was an involuntary termination(firing) the employee likely did not known it was coming. Depending on how she was normally paid it may have required payment at time of termination(depending on state again) so the employer may not have been able to deduct anything from a final check already processed/created.

With that said, everything ever in any company, security and HR basics book ever says you let the person walk with something and if you want to pursue theft charges you do so as a company. Most companies know people who are being fired experience a lot of emotions and it can put them in a state where they may act unpredictably. It may escalate into violence, retaliation by the (ex-employee), cause a scene, etc., none of which are anything approaching "worth it" for a company unless you're talking about trade secrets or the like and not a $1.14 vest. Many employees/humans, when given the chance to take a breath and leave the situation would have returned the vest, but being treated like a caged animal yields predictable results for corporations who sees their employees as such.

Horrifying and unsurprising from Walmart where customers are/were funneled into violence chutes(black Friday) to save $50 on TVs each year with no thought to the bigger picture or safety basics.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 33 points 1 day ago

I didn't read the article, and I don't know anything factual about this situation at all, but I 100% support the kid, and Wal-Mart and the police should give her a million bucks.

Or burn the store down.

[–] logicslayer@lemmy.zip 28 points 1 day ago

To protect and serve...the corporations.

[–] HeyJoe@lemmy.world 61 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yet I see shit all the time where things like someones thousand dollar bike is stolen and they are just told by police to eat dirt because theres nothing they can do.

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 37 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

someones thousand dollar bike is stolen and they are just told by police to eat dirt because theres nothing they can do

For anyone who finds themselves in that situation, here's the cheat code:

No: "Hey, police? My bike was stolen and I know exactly who took it and where it is. Can you get it back for me?"

Yes: "Hey, police? My bike was stolen and I'm going right now to get it back. You can come along and watch if you want."

And then they'll actually show up. Which can be nice because the thief is unlikely to try shit if the cops are there observing things.

Source: I've had to do this several times myself. Worked every time.

[–] ContactClosure@lemmus.org 5 points 11 hours ago

Can confirm, they are completely incapable of doing anything unless it is to stop you from retrieving your property.

[–] Madison420@lemmy.world 69 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Walmart vests are company property, and refusing to return one after termination can lead to criminal charges.

No they can't, that's civil and theft is almost always strict intent.

[–] Eric_Pollock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I have two of them. I worked for Walmart for about six months when they swapped the dark blue vests for the light blue ones. I initially got one dark blue vest, but they gave me a light blue one, and never asked for either back even after I finished out my two weeks. Why is this only just now a thing?...

[–] athatet@lemmy.zip 12 points 15 hours ago

Because the teen is a POC.

[–] pivot_root@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

In a world where cops will harass individuals to stop them from being able to serve the owners of a store and shit like section 1201 of the DMCA exists, giant corporations will find a way to inflate a civil issue into a criminal one.

One hand, I have never wanted to keep any of the nasty clothes I had working such shit jobs. But HEAVILY on the other hand fuck the police, ACAB. That thing probably costs the company $1 at most.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

ESH but Walmart sucks a lot more. By all Means fire him because he quit? But sue him for the $12.99 for the vest. There shouldn’t be criminal charges over something this small, and let them see what it costsnto recover their $12.99

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 18 hours ago

There is no fucking way that those vests cost Walmart more than like $2 each

[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (3 children)

What the fuck is a '16-year-old employee'???

[–] EggInDisguise@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Child labor that people jump to defend because it somehow normalized.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 24 points 1 day ago (3 children)

There is nothing wrong with a 16 year old having a job. The problem is that they are only paid minimum wage, by a company owned by three of the Top 10 wealthiest people in America.

[–] Virtvirt588@lemmy.world 6 points 19 hours ago

Agreed, a teenager should have the rights to work - that means, along side their studies if they desire. Saying otherwise, is abuse, not the other way around - that's because they are not children but soon to be adults (teenagers), that are expected to have some experience in the world.

Like you said the real problem is the ageism which causes poor pay - discrimination is the key here. This is what we should focus on, solidarity and work conditions of all workers regardless of age.

[–] stray@pawb.social 4 points 18 hours ago

They also pay taxes without the right to vote. I'm in favor of kids working because I think occupation is fun and healthy, but labor is married to exploitation in current society.

[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 0 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

If the conditions are good (they are not), then I can agree it's okay.

However, I have another question. Why on earth would a 16-year-old want to work? Maybe some of them are curious and wanted to give it a try. But I'd wager the answer to most cases is that they need money badly.

No family should be in a situation where a child has to help support the household financially, even occasionally.

[–] Virtvirt588@lemmy.world 8 points 18 hours ago

I'll have to disagree with you - since this is not particularly true everywhere. You're forgetting that teenagers are also people - they have needs and wants. This doesn't necessarily mean they have a whole family to support but maybe themselves, their hobbies, or even other things that dont mean the whole family is in financial trouble.

Self reliance is an important topic within teenage years, and supporting teenagers while they become less financially reliant on parents is important. At the end the objective is to support themselves, and buy whatever the hell they want without judgement.

[–] AngryRobot@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

A teenager who was employed by that store? Its pretty self-explanatory.

[–] Virtvirt588@lemmy.world 2 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

A 16 year old employee. Or simply, an employee.

Discrimination isnt helping no one, the problem is unfair treatment of workers.

[–] tomiant@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago

What does Jah think? Where is he, anyway.

[–] Pieisawesome@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Is there a mirror for the video?

[–] Triumph@fedia.io -1 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] Drusas@fedia.io 14 points 1 day ago

Agreed, but nobody should be arrested for this. Just issue her a fine or something.

[–] heydo@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago

everybody, suck homies

spoilered for sexual explícitnessHomies kiss homies I imagine there are some homies that might even go so far as to hold hands