“When the verbal provocations escalated further and crossed the line into illegal conduct, I slapped the handcuffs on the man and hauled him down to the station house, without thought of the cost to the public for a completely pointless arrest that I knew would never reach court. I never thought about the impact my actions–or the actions of the thousands of police officers like me who waste the money and time of America’s citizens–would have on our ability to uphold the peace and maintain order. It never occured to me that with ever arrest on such charges as “resisting arrest” or “disorderly conduct”, that even if technically “legal”, serve no purpose, that the public loses confidence in the intent and training of police officers. I was happy to waste the time, money and good-will of the public so that I wouldn’t have to cry my insecurities to sleep that night.
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