If this thread isn't cop bashing, what is it?
Criminal bashing.
The "day job" of a criminal should be inconsequential to the disgust that law-abiding citizens feel toward their criminal activities. And law-abiding citizens have a RIGHT and DUTY to inform their fellow citizens of lawless gangs who are conspiring in an organized manner to violate their rights, their safety, and their security.
If the people who were doing these things were plumbers or pharmacists, would someone accuse us of plumber or pharmacist-bashing? Would discussing John Wayne Gacy be perceived as "clown bashing"? Would discussing the anti0gun policies of Phillipe Calderone be perceived as "Mexican-bashing"? (well, by someof the more irrational race-bating types, it probably WOULD...) I maintain however, those instances are not "bashing". The same "yardstick" should apply here...
What makes these instances of particular interest to
this forum, and something that should be researched in-depth is that:
1) LEOs are SWORN to uphold the law. When they act in a manner that contradicts their very job requirements, their badge becomes invalid, and they are just another criminal committing murder or assault, or perjury. The MINUTE they "cross the line", they are NO LONGER a "cop", and therefore calling out and researching their behavior is NOT "cop-bashing",
2) When specific LEO's have a KNOWN track record of disregard (and even disdain) for the law and FUNDAMENTAL human rights, people who live in their jurisdictions have a RIGHT to know, so that they can prepare for possible interactions with such lawless, color-of-law wielding sociopathic impersonators. By informing people of the CAREER-LONG trends of illegal behavior of such people, we help prepare our OC brothers and sisters for possible harassment, abuse, or brutality. Maybe these stories will prompt OCers in the Pittsburgh area to carry voice recorders and video cameras more frequently, and as actively-engaged citizens, they can perform THEIR duty of reining in corrupt government and purging the LE community of these rare "bad apples" through civil and criminal prosecutions, backed up by voice and video recorded evidence,
3) Since OCers are more likely than non-carrying citizens (or even CCers) to draw the attention of LEOs, and perhaps have a slightly higher chance of LEO interactions than an average citizen (because of their OCing), it is our DUTY to be aware of any threat to our safety. If there is an increase of Bloods and Crips activity in a specific city, we would report that. If there was a spike in carjackings, we'd want to know. If there was a serial rapist on the loose in a given city, then THAT would be on-topic for ALL people who carried for self-defense, so that we could prepare ourselves, educate our families, and know that we needed to be, perhaps, a little more "aware" of our surroundings than usual.
If ANY specific demographic is seeing a spike in illegal activities, brutal assaults, or disproportionate use of force against the public, then that should be something that ALL people who carry should want to know about, so that we can conduct ourselves in an appropriate manner.
If that means elevated situational awareness, then good. If it means going out and buying a voice recorder, then so much the better. If you think that means you need to install a video surveillance system in your vehicle, or secure a good lawyer on retainer, then knock yourself out.
But to say that this topic is somehow "cop bashing" is just tippy-toeing a little too close to "political correctness" for me, and I find such accusations to be offensive, counterproductive to the safety of my fellow OCers, AND a direct infringement on another right that I cherish JUST AS MUCH as my 2A rights--and that is the Right to Free Speech and Press.
If the moderators want to toss me off this forum for collating news reports and condensing the lawless histories of these "police impersonators" into an easy-to-read format, so that my fellow OCers in the Pittsburg area can get the "big picture" more easily, then so be it.
I would hope, however, that they would not view the Bill of Rights as some sort of "Chinese Menu" where they can pick and choose only the rights they are most comfortable with...