The Police Complaint Process

Few things in our normal, day-to-day life cause anxiety quicker than an interaction with law enforcement. Who knows why this causes many people stress? Maybe it's ingrained in us to be afraid of authority as children. Or perhaps this response has evolved in humans over millenia of dealing with unpleasant authority figures. Or maybe it's because, deep down inside, we believe the law enforcement officer is a power-hungry asshole who is going to do what they want regardless of our actions or wishes. While this isn't the way things typically go, sometimes they do. And if you have ever been subjected to a rude or lying law enforcement officer and want to file a complaint you know the road ahead of you is going to be even more stressful (and maybe cause you more problems than you have now). But why is it this way?

Holla atcher Boy

My name is Mark Bowers. No it's not, but it sounds like a pretty good pen name, right?

I am a former police officer with a major metro-area law enforcement agency. While employed in this capacity I worked in all aspects of uniform patrol, from a regular line officer to shift supervisor.

The purpose of this blog is to rationally discuss police procedures in the United States. In the last several years the citizens of this country have recognized GLARING problems with police use of force and the way law enforcement interacts with the public. What few realize is that the reason for all of these problems come from a series of poorly-written state laws as well as several important federal court cases that govern police conduct. These laws and the resulting case law have led to insane interpretations of the way authorities can interact with the public.

This blog is different from other "police outrage" websites in that I examine individual uses of force and possible constitutional violations based on years of experience doing it myself. I admit I am far from perfect, but I left law enforcement for one reason: because of the ridiculous procedural re-writes that have occurred in the last several years allowing law enforcement to justify their actions on a LAWFUL basis. The "thin blue line" is alive and well in this country.

Let me clarify that the point of this website is not to shine a light on stupid things law enforcement officers sometimes do just because they are bone heads. Every profession has idiots and this one is no different. My purpose is to expose those incidents that strike a blow at the United States Constitution while being justified, covered up or excused by department policy and complicit government employees.