Originally Posted by
Global_Hi_Flyer
"To Boca's point: there are a number of police jurisdictions that use arrest and threat of arrest as intimidation - or as punishment in and of itself even if there is no court appearance. Many police officers know (and some LEOs are trained to know) that *even* if a case has no merit and will be dismissed that the mere arrest and cost of defense for the person arrested will be as much or more than the punishment available under law.
If it costs $10,000 to defend youself against charges (20 hours of lawyer time at $500/hour, or 40 hours at $250/hour) + the value of your time + any loss to you for time off from work (vacation/paid time off/lost commissions/etc) from dealing with trumped-up charges, and all of a sudden you've spent more than the fine for a misdemeanor.
That's punishment in and of itself.
Further, an arrest alone is enough to keep you from getting a new job (or in some cases it's enough to lose your job) as most employers are running background checks. Employers are not bound by the "innocent until proven guilty" doctrine - and many will reject you for a mere arrest.
I'm not sure how well review boards w/ex-LEO types will work. There is a measure of "professional courtesy" granted between SOME LEO types, including retired. It would be like having mediation boards stacked with people from industry..."
Regarding your 1st paragraph, I don't argue that. However, there will be some reason why they do this, not just because they hate their job or are having a bad day. Granted, some will abuse their authority.
Regarding your 2nd and 3rd paragraphs, I agree with you here.
Regarding your 4th paragraph, no argument there. It's hard to get a job even if you have no criminal history. My sister told me of a Harvard graduate who couldn't find a job. If you are off from work for any length of time, and that includes going to school, you are going to have a real tough time getting a job. It happened to me, even though I had a 4.0 GPA. Before I went back to school, I never had a problem with getting a job. The economy is as bad as I've ever seen it in my lifetime, despite what others may say.
Regarding your 5th paragraph, yes, it can happen as you state. That's why I stated out-of-state where they, hopefully, would have no affiliation and where the board could be completely objective. I saw a news show once where they had hired a LE consultant to comment on a case where police officers had used deadly force and the consultant gave his opinion of the case after reviewing the facts. In his opinion, he stated the officers had used deadly force without cause. Granted, it was just his opinion and it had no legal implications but it showed that it could work.