Police Corruption: Protecting Yourself Part 1

Intro

The police have so many tactics and little tricks they use against innocent people that it becomes difficult for an ordinary person to come out on top in the end. Back in the day, police departments practiced torture and coercion to get their way. Tens of thousands of people were forced to admit to thing they never did. This practice continues as police officers lob threats against you and your family. They're allowed to get on camera and make their case against you so that even if you do win, you're still guilty or tainted. It's because of these tactics that I wanted to discuss some ways to protect yourself against corrupt police officers.

Shut Up. Keep your cool.

Police officers like to provoke and escalate situations. They'll say and do anything to get that rise out of you. Don't fall for it. They want the altercation. They want a reason to fight with you. Think about it. They already have the upper hand - semi-automatic gun, baton, pepper spray, tazer and a walkie talkie so they can call their friends to join in on the fun of destroying your life.

Don't be the man that falls for this trick. Not only will they "knock your teeth in" but you'll end up going to prison for protecting yourself against harassment and abuse. Even worse, they may end up killing you and be treated as heroes for cold-blooded murder. This is why these police murders are so prevalent in society.

Personal Surveillance

As an African American male living in New York City, it becomes necessary to go the extra mile to protect yourself. While it is illegal for us to wear bullet proof vests although we're the ones mostly in need of such protection from police, we can at least maintain some sort of recording device on our person in the event that we are stopped by the police for any reason. I've been looking into mostly spy devices which are pretty costly. But, if I can wear something that will definitely record audio and video of police harassment at the time it's occurring, I'll at least feel that I can come out on top in the end.

Never expect a situation in which a police officer won't find a way to harm you. So, don't worry about trying to prevent it. Your best bet is to simply minimize it and use the evidence gathered from your personal surveillance to defend yourself in the future.

We all can't afford personal surveillance. It gets quite expensive, especially if you want to use devices in your car or property. However, we can afford stickers for our cars or pins on our chests that will allude to it. One thing police are afraid of is being caught on tape as is the nature of any criminal. If enough people can afford surveillance devices, it will play enough of a deterrent to police officers seeking to harm innocent people. I remember years ago a tenant set up a camera and a motion detector in front of the door to his apartment. He'd be alerted when anyone was near and could simply check the camera. It was big and bulky and very obvious but it worked and that's how he felt safe.

Reinforce your life

Many times police officers lie to get search warrants (and the judges know). Other times, it be a mistaken no-knock raid. Either way, they will bust in your door and destroy your life by either outright murdering you or splitting up your family - put your children in foster homes and try to get your spouse to turn against you.

• In case of Kathryn Johnston [link], a grandmother in Atlanta, she was mudered in her own home by police officers. And, they planted evidence in a botched cover up attempt.
  
• In the case of Alberta Spruill [link], a church going woman in Harlem, she was simply scared to death by no-knock raiding police officers.

And there are many more cases of these situations where the police or DEA may simply come into your home and ruin your life. These are things you want to prevent in your life because these women were elderly grandmothers just enjoying the rest of their days. And, they could be any one of us.

Get a heavy metal door that is reinforced into the house or apartment. Another good idea is to set up a double door situation in which they may break into the first one and be met with another much stronger door. Do not be afraid to put full-sized bars across all of your windows as well. None of this will stop the police from coming into your house. But, they will provide you enough time to protect yourself.

to be continued...