One thing you can say about 2014: it’s been a bad year to wear a badge. People around the world are fed up with abusive, militarized police—as a new memo to St. Louis police about a class designed to help officers “win the media” after shooting someone makes perfectly clear.
Public ire spilled over once again yesterday, with the 17th annual “Thank a Police Officer Day” going about as well as the #MyNYPD hashtag campaign did back in April. The observance, conceived and promoted under the banner of lawyer Andrew M. Hale’s Whole Truth Project, is meant to further that group’s aim of combating negative assumptions about cops.
Instead, social media users took the opportunity to reinforce those unflattering stereotypes.
It's #ThankAPoliceOfficerDay, if you're in LA come to the #LAPD protest at 3pm today 65th and Broadway pic.twitter.com/OeSkwwk47e
— Cassandra (@CassandraRules) September 20, 2014#ThankAPoliceOfficerDay Thank you for providing an ongoing example of militarized fascism in the United States
— Colin Dickey (@colindickey) September 20, 2014#ThankAPoliceOfficerDay Oscar Grant, murdered by BART police in San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/JmCp0kVAQe
— Nicholas (@DaHomieNick) September 20, 2014#ThankAPoliceOfficerDay thank you for confirming my worst suspicions about you on a weekly basis.
— Elon Green (@elongreen) September 20, 2014
All violence against any woman is wrong regardless of your profession pic.twitter.com/cZKvThsQ4Z#ThankAPoliceOfficerDay Via @drama_deedee
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) September 20, 2014
For killing a guy selling loose cigarettes while ignoring the guy plundering pension funds #thankapoliceofficerday
— Tainted Bill (@taintedbill) September 21, 2014
For the even handed Justice meted out by an intelligent, evolved & enlightened constabulary. #ThankAPoliceOfficerDaypic.twitter.com/hBwxiN3ETb
— Justice Putnam (@justiceputnam) September 21, 2014
It hasn't gone unnoticed that you harass & interrogate my black friends when they visit my "white" neighborhood. #ThankAPoliceOfficerDay
— Michael Salamone (@MichaelSalamone) September 20, 2014
Is this what we should be thankful for? #ThankAPoliceOfficerDaypic.twitter.com/3cJcp4GMcz
— Jonathan Barrett (@kungnepilsung) September 20, 2014
the SWAT that showed up to my apt with guns drawn to arrest a man who didn't live there and pulled us from our home #ThankAPoliceOfficerDay
— Joseph Charmer (@JosephCharmer) September 21, 2014
Let's all be white police officers so we can murder civilians & get paid vacations #ThankAPoliceOfficerDay#Fergusonpic.twitter.com/hZXK2Oie3b
— Teh Pwner (@IllestBrownKid) September 20, 2014Although an American invention, “Thank a Police Officer Day” quickly took on global proportions:
Today is #thankacopday! So #thankapoliceofficer in #Ottawa for driving drunk, not getting charged and getting off. http://t.co/FkLRtHLvmV
— Rachel Décoste (@RachelDecoste) September 21, 2014
The homies back in Mexico taking part in #ThankAPoliceOfficerDay. Soon that shit will go worldwide. The planet, Earth pic.twitter.com/FsnBgbCctI
— ⒶTony☭ (@MexicAnarchist) September 20, 2014
For more than 1496 deaths in British police custody since 1990>> http://t.co/SNmHjlhBv0#ThankAPoliceOfficerDay
— J L Schumann (JLS) (@debatingculture) September 20, 2014
From Spain we also join the #ThankAPoliceOfficerDaypic.twitter.com/BICbQBZpaE
— CNT Madrid STSI (@cntmadridinform) September 20, 2014
Brazilian Policeman Executes Street Vendor in Broad Daylight | http://t.co/TEd9msYgoE#ThankAPoliceOfficerDaypic.twitter.com/4bmOv2xDT9
— ACSA Collective (@acsacollective) September 20, 2014
IN CHINA THE GOV'T KILLS THE BAD COPS. #THANKAPOLICEOFFICERDAY#PIGS#MYNYPD#MYLAPD#MYRCMPhttp://t.co/LPRAQc89mf
— blood.tribe.election (@bloodtribeelect) September 21, 2014Funny how this sort of thing never happens on Administrative Professionals’ Day.
Photo by Paul Sullivan/Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)