
Dallas Police asked public for videos of protesters–it didn’t go well - samizdis
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/06/dallas-police-asked-public-for-videos-of-protestors-it-didnt-go-well/
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samizdis
> K-pop-themed submissions apparently flooded in after a Twitter user urged
> K-pop fans to "download the app and send all your fancams" in order to "make
> their jobs as hard as possible" ...

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downerending
Fake news--they asked for evidence relating to illegal (i.e., criminal)
activities.

A riot shouldn't make murder and theft "freebies".

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pmiller2
Nobody's getting any "freebies" here. Dallas PD has as many or more tools to
use in this scenario as they would have before practically everybody carried a
video camera around with them. If cops have no duty to protect the public, as
the Supreme Court has ruled, citizens have no duty to make their job easier
unless legally compelled by subpoena. This is just forcing them to do actual
police work, rather than trying to get protesters to do it for them.

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downerending
> citizens have no duty to make their job easier unless legally compelled by
> subpoena

You can stand by and watch a house burn down as well--no law compels you to
help. Not the America I want to live in, though.

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pmiller2
Firefighters don't shoot journalists and peaceful protesters.

Edit: changed the subject of the sentence from "burning houses" to
"firefighters," because the former didn't make any fucking sense.

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downerending
Not sure what to say to that. If some idiot shows up in your neighborhood and
starts beating on your kids, you're not going to call the police because they
"shoot journalists"?

The police aren't perfect, but we need them, and they need us. Nobody can just
walk away.

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pmiller2
That depends. Are my kids journalists covering a protest?

I don't need bands of state-sanctioned armed thugs roaming my neighborhood.
But, yes, if the situation warrants it, and the risk is low enough, I will
call police in the situation you posit. I should note, however, that I am
white. Were I black, I would have to put some extra thought into that
decision.

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downerending
Where I live, the police that showed up would likely all be black. Are you
saying I should reconsider calling them? I'm repelled by that idea.

~~~
pmiller2
Show me your local department's statistics on police brutality, and I'll let
you know what I think. If you want an even better opinion, tell me your race
and the races of any victims.

