Comments by "SmallSpoonBrigade" (@SmallSpoonBrigade) on "Cities End Minor Traffic Stops So Cops Won’t Kill People" video.

@gregorsamsa1364 Yes, but you do have the option of just sending the ticket back with the payment. Seattle is becoming a world class S-hole city because we let people ride the bus for free because we have non-law-enforcement officers approaching people and we give several opportunities to understand what's happening before we issue tickets, but we don't necessarily get the right name from people caught not paying, so nobody knows how many warnings they've got. The result being that basically somewhere around 40% of the people that use the light rail actually pay.
3
@toobnoobify Those tickets help them to assess the relative risk of various drivers. If they aren't being ticketed, they won't be able to apportion the risk to them until there's an actual crash. But, since the number of crashes will probably be about the same, or possibly worse, that means that more responsible drivers will wind up paying for it. Locally, the state insurance commissioner decided that credit scores shouldn't be used, which means that people that are less likely to have crashes are now having to pay more money for those that aren't as capable of behaving responsibly and may have more of a reason to engage in insurance fraud for financial reasons.
3
@staceymoore779 Yes and if the driver does wind up paying the ticket, it's usually equivalent to a parking citation rather than a moving violation. I assume that's because they don't want to be subjected to countless drivers contesting the situation under which they got the ticket.
2
@marqicewalker1766 Yes, I used to work security and in all honesty, most cops are kind of meh, they're not exactly saints, but they're not exactly the T-1000 looking to terminate all the black folks they encounter either. For the most part, if you simply don't screw with them, they won't screw with you. If you don't escalate it, chances are excellent that they won't escalate it either. Yes, more should be expected of them than random citizens, but that's no excuse for people not wanting to be shot to create excuses to do it.
2
@peterwelby And there was a guy recently here who was vaulted over the top of the fence of one of our bridges when a drunk driver crashed into his car and his car pushed him over the edge. Doesn't mean that we need to install netting just in case another drunk driver hits another car that pushes another guy over the edge. Sometimes things are just rare accidents and the like and trying to nerf everything to address those corner cases just makes it worse for everybody involved. We typically spend more money trying to catch welfare fraud that we actually lose in welfare fraud. We'd be better off just letting it go and only going after individuals where there's evidence of something weird going on.
2
@lashlarue59 He was reaching for a knife, he wasn't simply disobeying orders. I wish people would pay more attention to the circumstances of these deaths rather than immediately jumping to conclusions. Some cases, like George Floyd, are clearly murder by cops. Other cases like Tamir Rice are clearly the result of the deceased doing something incredibly stupid. Anybody that points a realistic looking gun replica or similar at somebody with a real firearm has no right to be shocked about being shot. That is always going to be legal so long as you're allowed to have the firearm in the first place.
2
Catania Momma Italia 40% of practically nothing is still practically nothing. It's always worth considering what changes could be made to improve the situation, but we're not exactly back to the bad old days of Jim Crow and weekly lynchings which is more or less what some people would have us believe. The majority of people shot by cops are still white, and the total is a lot less common than one would typically think from the hyperbole.
1
Usually not. Mentally ill people are rarely dangerous. Especially if you aren't so stupid as to corner them. And usually, when it is somebody that dangerous, they're already known to be dangerous by law enforcement.
1
@Rosannasfriend Most of the time, the person that winds up getting killed made serious errors that led to their death. You can't go back in the car to retrieve a weapon and expect not to get shot. For those really concerned, just havin the license, proof of insurance and driver's license where you can get to them quickly and have them sitting on the dashboard before the officer gets to your window. Then just place the hands on the wheel and wait for instruction. It's typically overkill, but for folks that afraid, it's worth the effort. Cases of people legitimately following the officer's orders being shot are rare. Even amongst these fatal encounters.
1
That's always been the case. There's a lot of laws on the books and most people could be arrested or ticketed for something during the course of the week. If the police went after absolutely every infraction, they'd run out of space in jail. As it is, only roughly 5% of all charged crimes actually proceed to a full trial as most of them are pleaded down for lower charges and just receive a sentencing. That being said, it is dangerous and needs to be done carefully, I work at a grocery store and the same individuals come in and steal pretty much every day because there's not going to be a police response and even if they are arrested, they won't see any jail time for it. Meaning that it's effectively just an unethical way of grocery shopping and an illegal side hussle to sell the proceeds.
1