In a Cop Culture, the Bill of Rights Doesn't Amount to Much

Not only are officers given a 10-day "cooling-off period" during which they cannot be forced to make any statements about the incident, but when they are questioned, it must be "for a reasonable length of time, at a reasonable hour, by only one or two investigators (who must be fellow policemen), and with plenty of breaks for food and water."

Among the most common rights afforded police officers accused of wrongdoing are the right to be given a heads up about a complaint, have one's accusers identified, have the complaint reviewed by a hearing board made up of one's fellow officers, not be disciplined if more than 100 days have passed since the incident, and have one's salary, benefits, as well as the cost of the officer's attorney paid for by the police department.

It's a pretty sweet deal if you can get it, I suppose: protection from the courts, immunity from wrongdoing, paid leave while you're under investigation, and the assurance that you won't have to spend a dime of your own money in your defense. And yet these LEOBoR epitomize everything that is wrong with America today.

Once in a while, the system appears to work on the side of justice, and police officers engaged in wrongdoing are actually charged for abusing their authority and using excessive force against American citizens.

Yet even in these instances, it's still the American taxpayer who foots the bill.

For example, Baltimore taxpayers have paid roughly $5.7 million since 2011 over lawsuits stemming from police abuses, with an additional $5.8 million going towards legal fees. If the six Baltimore police officers charged with the death of Freddie Gray are convicted, you can rest assured it will be the Baltimore taxpayers who feel the pinch.

New York taxpayers have shelled out almost $38 million every year to address charges of misconduct against NYPD officers. Chicago taxpayers were asked to pay out nearly $33 million on one day alone to victims of police misconduct.

That's just a small sampling of the most egregious payouts, but just about every community--large and small--feels the pinch when it comes to compensating victims who have been subjected to deadly or excessive force by police.

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