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0 pointsdfxm122y ago0 comments

We can't pretend this is the first time something like this has happened. The problem is we see this abuse of power all the time and no one pays the consequences. The problem is qualified immunity is baked in to our legal system, so it is all too easy for those responsible to evade justice.

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andsoitis2y ago

> we see this abuse of power all the time and no one pays the consequences

Where there is no consequence to the police departments go after the press who are investigating them?

I don’t know that we see that all the time! In fact, that’s why this story is news!

petsfed2y ago

A quick search revealed at least 10 distinct incidents in the US over the last 4 years (mainly in summer 2020) of reporters identifying themselves as such, and then being attacked by police. I haven't done the work to see how often there were repercussions for those attacks, but I'm willing to be its pretty rare.

sanderjd2y ago

Your quick search doesn't seem to have revealed something that is the same as the story we're discussing.

Like, I totally agree with you about qualified immunity and law enforcement abuses of power, but come on, you're using this story to make extremely tangential points.

This isn't an example of law enforcement attacks on the press going unpunished. I saw this on the Today show this morning. This is mainstream national news. The criminals who perpetrated this are no longer the beneficiaries of a system that is corruptly stacked in their favor, they are f'd. They will be speaking to the US DoJ, and soon, and the conversation will not go well.

For sure, when abuses of power don't get widespread attention, they can easily go unchecked. And that's bad. But this isn't that.

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