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CP Gopher

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Let me offer a few words about the UMPD.
Anyone doubting these are "real" cops need to do one thing: Go on a ride-along in a squad car.
I've done this with a few departments, including the UMD (Duluth) patrol. It's hardly a job with no risks or tension. UMD is a school of 11,000, many of whom are inter-mixed within the city. Calls to houses, bars, etc. are filled with the same idiots who create the same problems faced by police officers employed by the city.
I would imagine at a school of 50,000 that the job is even more intense. These officers are highly-trained professionals with schooling and degrees at various levels of law enforcement. They are not the uneducated "security guards" you see at malls, social functions, etc.
Don't believe me? Go for a ride-along. All you have to do is call and ask. They will arrange a time for you.
If you don't like the slow process of the "lap-top investigation," perhaps you should take that into consideration when you vote. Believe it or not, police departments also want to settle things quickly, but they're handuffed (pun) by the system created by lawmakers.
 

Law enforcement officers, of any type and description, are generally good people with a tough job on their hands. But let's not put them on too much of a pedestal. There are plenty of bad apples in police departments, and there are plenty of police officers who are lazy, power hungry, and/or publicity-seeking. I hope we can separate criticism of specific officers or investigations from general anti-police sentiments. Those who have criticized this investigation, including me, are not necessarily doing so while jamming to a collection of vintage vinyl recordings of N.W.A.'s greatest hits, if you know what I'm saying.
 

Nowhere did I say there are no bad-apple police officers. That's true in every profession.
Go on a ride-along....or spend a day in their offices.
I've done it in Duluth, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Scottsdale.
Until you do it (and I used to include myself in this mix), you have little idea how difficult a job it is.
And there's nothing wrong with vinyl!
 

My problem is that, as a defense lawyer, I see more than my share of bad apples in the police department.
 

CP Gopher said:
Nowhere did I say there are no bad-apple police officers. That's true in every profession.
Go on a ride-along....or spend a day in their offices.
I've done it in Duluth, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Scottsdale.
Until you do it (and I used to include myself in this mix), you have little idea how difficult a job it is.
And there's nothing wrong with vinyl!
Click to expand...


You're comparing apples to oranges. Your ride along experience has nothing to do with this incident. Yes, I'd agree that going to a domestic dispute or pulling over a drunk driver may be difficult and dangerous. But for the love of god, they're investigating an effin laptop getting stolen. What is so dangerous or difficult about going to a dorm room and figuring out who stole a laptop? Did they teach you during your ride along about how to be a dick and prolong a minor crime that they should have solved over 6 weeks ago?
 


jmag21 said:
My problem is that, as a defense lawyer, I see more than my share of bad apples in the police department.
Click to expand...


there are quite a few bad apples yes, but i think youre seeing a biased sample, as when theyre in the courtroom opposite you, they are a bad apple, whereas the good ones keep themelves out of court..

i think this is a result of some cop deciding he was going to do everything in his power to nail royce, or royces friend, and hass held royce accountable if the friend does not step forward.

circumstantial evidence.

if they really only have video of him entering and leaving the building, is there any way to force a ruling to let him go or find out on how long they can hold him in limbo like this? (seeing as they havent officially named him a suspect? - the DA thing troubles me thought)
 

No one on this board, including me, knows the facts in "the case of the stolen laptop." This renders all speculation irrelevent.
My original post was directed at the people here who have little idea of what police officers actually do.
I never said my ride-along experiences had anything to do with Royce's dilemma. A dilemma, by the way, he brought on himself. (That IS a fact)
But feel free to pile on.
 

gopherphan said:
there are quite a few bad apples yes, but i think youre seeing a biased sample, as when theyre in the courtroom opposite you, they are a bad apple, whereas the good ones keep themelves out of court..

i think this is a result of some cop deciding he was going to do everything in his power to nail royce, or royces friend, and hass held royce accountable if the friend does not step forward.

circumstantial evidence.

if they really only have video of him entering and leaving the building, is there any way to force a ruling to let him go or find out on how long they can hold him in limbo like this? (seeing as they havent officially named him a suspect? - the DA thing troubles me thought)
Click to expand...

If this is really a case of an over-zealous UMPD cop then that's where Maturi is failing at his job. He has the power to move this along with one phone call to his boss, who both he and the cop ultimately report to. I'm not suggesting he throw weight around for his star athlete for no reason. But this is dragging out an awfully long time.
 

wow busting house parties and interviewing drunk college kids is really scary. LOL. They are a joke dude.
 



Good Cops:

1. Those that get KILLED in the line of duty

2. Those that PREVENT you, your relatives, and your friends from being the victims of crime

3. Those that ARREST criminals who are not you, your relatives, and friends.


Bad Cops:

1. Those that ARREST you, your relatives, and your friends.

2. Those that ARREST important players on your favorite sports teams.
 

>>...as a defense lawyer, I see more than my share of bad apples in the police department.<<

Moreso than among attorneys?
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
Good Cops:

1. Those that get KILLED in the line of duty

2. Those that PREVENT you, your relatives, and your friends from being the victims of crime

3. Those that ARREST criminals who are not you, your relatives, and friends.


Bad Cops:

1. Those that ARREST you, your relatives, and your friends.

2. Those that ARREST important players on your favorite sports teams.
Click to expand...


From 2005 - present Minneapolis has settled $9.5 MILLION in lawsuits directly tied to police officer conduct.

No one is doubting that being a police officer is a dangerous job, but there are bad cops out there who get off on the power that society grants them just because of their position.
 

Brew recruit
A late entry for "Ignorant Post of the Year"
 



Brew Recruit. Let me guess, you got in trouble with the U police. These guys dont just deal with incidents only on campus, they are all over the U area and are essentially a part of the MPD as they work very closely to them. These police officers deal with a lot more than most suburban police departments. Dont believe me? Then check out the weekly emails they send out to students and faculty about the many crimes they are dealing with in the area. As a former employee of the athletic department, I had a chance to work with all of these officers at various events. Almost all are great guys/gals and do take their job seriously. You sir are the joke, and have proven so with your many ignorant posts.
 

DLguy said:
Brew Recruit. Let me guess, you got in trouble with the U police. These guys dont just deal with incidents only on campus, they are all over the U area and are essentially a part of the MPD as they work very closely to them. These police officers deal with a lot more than most suburban police departments. Dont believe me? Then check out the weekly emails they send out to students and faculty about the many crimes they are dealing with in the area. As a former employee of the athletic department, I had a chance to work with all of these officers at various events. Almost all are great guys/gals and do take their job seriously. You sir are the joke, and have proven so with your many ignorant posts.
Click to expand...


They are a joke compared to the city and suburban police - just look at their stats. Go look at their own website and look at their stats. In 2008 they dealt with 19 serious crimes, serious being defined as sexual assault, murder, etc. Compare that to the 566 campus thefts and it'll show you where most of their time is spent.

Compare that to the city of Edina, which in 2008 had 156 serious crimes reported.

You sir need to get your facts straight.
 

It's hard to see how this debate on whether a highly prized/very troubled recruit should play for the U changed into a indictment of the U's police force.

I agree that we don't know the whole story. We don't know that Royce White would be playing for the team right now even if the lap-top theft had never happened. Those of you blaming the UMPD for your frustration about a basketball recruit, that's really weird. If the Gophers were undefeated and Trevor Mbakwe was ably starting at the 4 spot, would you still have this outrage toward the police?

As with most things, this whole deal tells us more about ourselves than Royce White, Maturi, or the UMPD.
 

Not that it matters in this particular case, but last year there were several student-athletes' laptops stolen out of their house and the cops showed up and did their thing, but it was the kids that found their own stuff with their own "investigation". Apples and oranges? Probably...but there are good and bad cops everywhere. It's a crapshoot as to which shows up on the initial call...
 

Yea we didnt hear about them holding suspects for 3 months after colton had his stuff stolen and i dont believe he got it back. great work UMPD
 

gopher_alum_2005 said:
They are a joke compared to the city and suburban police - just look at their stats. Go look at their own website and look at their stats. In 2008 they dealt with 19 serious crimes, serious being defined as sexual assault, murder, etc. Compare that to the 566 campus thefts and it'll show you where most of their time is spent.

Compare that to the city of Edina, which in 2008 had 156 serious crimes reported.

You sir need to get your facts straight.
Click to expand...

So because crime is lower on/near campus, the police force is a joke? How does that make sense? You are an idiot for even saying so. Just because they deal with less crimes, doesnt make them a joke.
 

Originally Posted by UpnorthGo4
Good Cops:

1. Those that get KILLED in the line of duty

2. Those that PREVENT you, your relatives, and your friends from being the victims of crime

3. Those that ARREST criminals who are not you, your relatives, and friends.


Bad Cops:

1. Those that ARREST you, your relatives, and your friends.

2. Those that ARREST important players on your favorite sports teams.
Click to expand...

Hmmm It would seem that when UpnorthGo4 gets arrested it will be by a bad Police Officer. When he gets a speeding ticket it will be issued by a bad police officer. Maybe the same one Royce White got arrested by... oh wait ... Northern Podunck, MN has no bad police officers. So speed away UpnorthGo4. You have a free pass.
 

gopherphan said:
Yea we didnt hear about them holding suspects for 3 months after colton had his stuff stolen and i dont believe he got it back. great work UMPD
Click to expand...

Has Royce White been held for three months? How is he producing all of those videos from jail?
 


Ooh your wit is incisive. Unfortunately your reading comprehension skills are not. The poster was implying that Royce White had been held (usually means in jail) for three months. I did not believe that he had and sarcastically pointed that out. You should stick to race baiting. You are much better at that.
 

Cops take their lives in their hands on every call they make. The deal with the unknown and want to go home at the end of the night.

They have my thanks and respect for what they do.
 

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