Charlie, my God, I read this article this morning with my Cheerios and "funny" and "amazing" were not the words that came to my mind.

Did you read the whole story? You know, the bits about how all the arrests are in limbo, how quite probably innocent people were terrorized, how multimillion dollar federal civil right lawsuits have been filed? Funny.

Mike Withington, charged with nothing to this day, but dragged from his bed and shackled, now afraid to go outside, shops in a different town, and is being harassed by his neighbors and is considering moving? Funny? Well, he wasn't lynched or beaten, so it's okay? Amazing.

The police department should give him a job? Well, I suppose t...

Charlie, my God, I read this article this morning with my Cheerios and "funny" and "amazing" were not the words that came to my mind.

Did you read the whole story? You know, the bits about how all the arrests are in limbo, how quite probably innocent people were terrorized, how multimillion dollar federal civil right lawsuits have been filed? Funny.

Mike Withington, charged with nothing to this day, but dragged from his bed and shackled, now afraid to go outside, shops in a different town, and is being harassed by his neighbors and is considering moving? Funny? Well, he wasn't lynched or beaten, so it's okay? Amazing.

The police department should give him a job? Well, I suppose there's room on the force now as 3 of the 5 officers have been fired because of this. The mayor might be impeached. Funny.

Merrie, how would you feel about this joker with the fake badge if he knocked down your door at 3 in the morning, pulled you out of your bed, and led you in handcuffs to your front yard? Still think you'd feel the same way about this "crime fighter"? Amazing.

Jakob is the criminal, he's under federal investigation, and he belongs in a cell for impersonating a federal officer and civil rights violations, if not home invasion, kidnapping, and unlawful restraint.

Dulios, you didn't laugh when you read how the vigilante boasted that he did not need search warrants to enter [presumed suspects] homes because he worked for the federal government? Or how, to confirm his identity as a federal agent to local authorities, he had them call his "supervisor’s" telephone number, which a woman — whose identity is unknown — answered with the words “multijurisdictional task force,” a name the town's Mayor suspects came from the Movie “Beverly Hills Cop” starring Eddie Murphy?

I can easily imagine Jay Leno getting some good mileage out of a story like this, despite the nasty downside you quite rightly zeroed in on, and to which I alluded in general terms. You'r...

Dulios, you didn't laugh when you read how the vigilante boasted that he did not need search warrants to enter [presumed suspects] homes because he worked for the federal government? Or how, to confirm his identity as a federal agent to local authorities, he had them call his "supervisor’s" telephone number, which a woman — whose identity is unknown — answered with the words “multijurisdictional task force,” a name the town's Mayor suspects came from the Movie “Beverly Hills Cop” starring Eddie Murphy?

I can easily imagine Jay Leno getting some good mileage out of a story like this, despite the nasty downside you quite rightly zeroed in on, and to which I alluded in general terms. You're right, I didn't read the whole story, only the first page, otherwise I would have tempered my remarks more.

Really, Charlie, I never laughed. I snorted a few times, including at the two incidents you brought up, if that counts a little bit.

I live in a big city and I witness on a consistent basis abuse of power by the real police. Cops here enter homes without warrants all the time.

Sometimes they steal from homes they've entered.

Sometimes they torture black suspects.

Sometimes they shoot unarmed people.

I've...

Really, Charlie, I never laughed. I snorted a few times, including at the two incidents you brought up, if that counts a little bit.

I live in a big city and I witness on a consistent basis abuse of power by the real police. Cops here enter homes without warrants all the time.

Sometimes they steal from homes they've entered.

Sometimes they torture black suspects.

Sometimes they shoot unarmed people.

I've personally been harassed numerous times. I once saw police drag a young man down 3 flights of stairs by his hair after he pissed them off by making them run after him.

Police abuse is real, and stories like this turn my stomach more than they make me laugh.

Off topic, your avatar has me curious. My late partner was very Norwegian; a big, red, hairy Viking to tell the truth. He wore a Thor's Hammer. Why is it inverted in your avatar? Christian Viking, perhaps?

Dulios, I guess snorting a few times does count a little bit .

But, seriously, police brutality sucks, and is probably a growing problem, as is crime in general.

As for my avatar, I wanted to use a hammer, and thought the quickest way to find a usable one would be to google "Thor's hammer." I know it's usually displayed the other way up (maybe because it hangs better that way as a pendant?), but a real hammer's more likely to be handle down, or sideways. Wasn't meant to be Christian. It doesn't look very hammer-like in any case; will probably change it.

What a coincidence that you were wondering about my avatar, because I was wondering about yours. It looks like a "propaganda" po...

Dulios, I guess snorting a few times does count a little bit .

But, seriously, police brutality sucks, and is probably a growing problem, as is crime in general.

As for my avatar, I wanted to use a hammer, and thought the quickest way to find a usable one would be to google "Thor's hammer." I know it's usually displayed the other way up (maybe because it hangs better that way as a pendant?), but a real hammer's more likely to be handle down, or sideways. Wasn't meant to be Christian. It doesn't look very hammer-like in any case; will probably change it.

What a coincidence that you were wondering about my avatar, because I was wondering about yours. It looks like a "propaganda" poster, with the woman holding a red flag. I couldn't make out the text. Is that a communist flag?