Sure maybe Elizabeth would disagree after dealing with Louisiana cops as a public defender. But not all police are as bad as them. As you said, they do a whole lot more than this.
But what happens when these skills are required? Would you feel confident if you were being held hostage if those tasked with attempting to rescue you were untrained? Yeah it isn’t anywhere near as often as action flicks portray, but it does happen. Whether it’s local police, state cops, or the FBI, someone has to have the training.
My dad was a city firefighter for 43 years. Yeah they practiced their skills all the time at the training facility. Imagine if opposition to an all in one facility also eliminated their ability to train.
It’s not an either/or situation. It’s risk/reward analysis, the good of all vs. the good of individuals. It’s all shades of gray.
Like I said, I have mixed feelings about such a structure… (I can make arguments on both sides, and saying both is also a mistake for I can do far more than two)
And how I resolve this ambi-valence is to not get lost in the fetish. For people are for Cop City both for and against, for exactly the same reason. Other areas are likely more important, such as various forms of reform. Yet this one thing sucks up all the energy,
Yet I say all this, but focused on this prosecutorial over-reach, for saying any form of mutual aid or donating to a third party is a conspiracy is a farce. And the catch 22 / Orwellian aspect of it saying you were organised prior to it is pure rabid nonsense / show of force and using the law in a way no ethical use of the law can be.
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Stops here, but I have more thoughts about other things that are happening with this, but I said enough without feedback.