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Do I Hate the Police?

Sunday, May 17, 2015 9:41

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(Before It's News)

The views I am about to share in this blog are mine and do not necessarily represent those of Cop Block as a whole or in part.

Something happened today that made me reflect about what I do and how I do it as a Cop Blocker. I was visiting family today for a birthday party of one of my relatives. Earlier in the day I had sent a text with a link to the story I did on the OVI Checkpoint in West Virginia to my mother so that she could read it. Even at 45 years of age, I want my mother to be proud of me and whatever I do in my life. While sitting with her at the party, I asked her if she had a chance to read it. She said, “No, I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I’m not really into the whole cop hating thing.” My first reaction was to get very angry with her and lash out. How dare she say that what I’m doing is hating on cops? I don’t hate on cops, I just want accountability and for them to follow the same laws that they enforce. How could she misunderstand my goals in my activism? I got so angry that I left the party after driving 2 hours to get there. I didn’t just leave, I sneaked out like a coward.

On my drive home, my anger started to wane and then my emotions changed to confusion about how she could possible think that what I am doing is about hating on the cops and just looking for dirt on them. A light bulb went on inside and I started thinking of other conversations I had with her regarding my activities with Cop Block. I started thinking about how I have told her excitedly how during one of my videos how angry two cops got at me because they tried to intimidate me from recording and that there was nothing they could legally do to stop me. Eureka! It was my own fault that she thought that was what I was doing when going out filming the police. It’s how I presented it to her and that is what caused her to perceive that I was just out trying to catch cops doing bad things and that I hated them. I never took the time to sit down with her and explain what I do and why I do it. I had simply given her cliff notes versions of my activities and I was truly at fault for her perceptions of what Cop Blocking was.

I have a growing number of viewers of my videos that support my efforts in keeping police accountable, but I also have quite a few that view what I do as just going out and stirring the pot to piss off cops just to get views on my YouTube channel. When they post negative comments accusing me of doing those things, I get angry and lash out before thinking about why they feel the way that they do; just like with my own mother. In my eagerness to get that next video up, I haven’t been giving thought to how I am presenting myself to those out there viewing my content. Pride is a terrible thing and I think my need to show others how, “I showed those cops who is boss” has gotten in the way of what my true intentions are.

Example Video

I will use a recent video as an example. (link above) I made a lot of mistakes on this video and I’m not proud of them now that I have sat back and watched how I acted. My viewers also pointed out what an ass I was with this U.S. Marshal. I totally disregarded what the true purpose of what a First Amendment Audit was supposed to be. Instead I insulted the guy even though the only thing he did wrong was to not show me his credentials. I called him an asshole in the title of the video and called him an asshole in the video. My actions really hurt the credibility of that video and I came across like what I am so against the cops behaving like. Had I stuck to the format of the audit and not let pride and emotion get in the way, this would have been a really good video. They passed the audit. The Marshal came right out and said that my filming of the Federal Building was not against the law, but that was all lost because of how I reacted to him.

I thought about my actions for a couple of weeks afterwards and decided to make adjustments to how I was presenting myself to my audience and to the officers that I encountered. The next two encounters that were uploaded to my channel were totally different from the Audit video. In the “Speeding Bethlehem Officer” video, I made sure to remain courteous when I confronted the officer about his speeding. I did not shout at him or try to belittle him. Even being courteous with him didn’t cause him to be accepting that he was in the wrong for violating the laws that he writes tickets for on a daily basis. What I believe I showed in my video by being courteous in my confronting him, was that my words or actions did not cause a distraction to his blatant lack accountability for what he had done.

The next video was my first story that I had written for this page. It was the OVI Checkpoint video. I had a voluntary interaction with the Trooper in charge that was professional on both sides and I was able to show an officer that seems to clearly want to maintain transparency in his operations with the public. Sure, I took some heat from some people who felt that I was lying about some things in the video even though I was not. The important thing is that I changed my behavior to make sure that the video spoke for itself whether my viewers agreed with the information presented or not.

To answer the question in the title of this story, no, I do not hate the police. My intentions are not to make other people hate the police either. In the beginning I was going about it the wrong way. I want nothing more than to educate others on their rights and to bring to light the underhanded things that a great number of officers do on a daily basis and get away with. I want to help open the eyes of others that do not see or choose not to see the injustices being carried out by those that we pay to protect us. My wish if for there to be end to “Law Enforcement” and see a return to “Peace Officers.”

Many people will say that there is corruption in all walks of life and that it’s not only the police that are doing wrong. I would totally agree with that assessment of our society. The difference is that police officers have the power to permanently change the course of a person’s life by way of unjust incarceration, injury, or death. Their actions stand to cause the most immediate and permanent damage to a person. That is what motivates me to go out and do what I do. Many say that I have an agenda and I have to totally agree. My agenda is accountability and to ensure that people’s rights are not being violated. My biggest challenge in doing this is how I present myself and my content in the future. Since beginning as a Cop Blocker, I have made many mistakes and have failed at times, but with failure comes knowledge and growth.

I now have to be aware of how I describe what I do when discussing my activism with others. My pledge is to continue my growth so that I do not become the person that I am out there filming. I owe it to each and every one of you to present you with an unbiased record of police interactions so that you can make your own decisions about the police.