Maybe,but the general public doesn't know what we at opencarry.org knows......:lol:
THat's the usual argument of people who don't trust cops and people in general who hold a niche position, or for that matter 911 truthers...
"if only the general public KNEW what MY GROUP knows, they would agree with me"
I realize you are joking, but it's a common viewpoint one sees in all sorts of issues. It's most common ime with progressives, the idea that they hold "special knowledge" that justifies their positions and the general public is ignorant of same. If only they could teach them (see: consciousness raising), they would change their minds. There's that whole "speaking truth to power" thang.
I am the first to agree that cops on the whole have done a craptastic job in dealing with OC, and dealing with filmers. Out of al the things cops do, dealing with OCers is one of the very rare areas where they have just been in the wrong way too often.
But when it comes to honesty, etc. I really am glad that such a high percentage of the public perceive cops as honest (58% rate us good to very good, 32% rate us average 7 % rate us poor and 3% rate us very poor - this puts us in a favorable position in relation to most other careers, with nurses, teachers, and several other careers outclassing us!)
I've witnessed cops do stupid things, reckless things, incredibly brave things, etc. I've seen excessive force, laziness, etc.
But I've never seen /witnessed dishonesty by any cop I work with. I know it happens, but imo and ime it's pretty rare. Granted, I chose to work for an excellent agency (i've worked for two others as well).
Some agencies have a well documented history of shady stuff - new Orleans PD comes to mind (historically one of the worst paid dept's also)
Regardless , not only does filming cops tend to keep them honest, it also protects them from false complaints, gets evidence against them for bad acts, etc.
Win/win/win
cheers