Yup. I live in Portland. A lot of the animosity between the police and the community is rooted in a feeling of a lack of accountability. There's a citizen oversight board, but it's historically been nearly toothless. Even when it does hand out firings, officers often sue successfully to get reinstated.

[–] southerntofu@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

In France most police officers who committed abuse and sticked through the entire process are in fact promoted. There's a "meme" (not a graphical gag) about murderous police officers from northern France being relocated to sunny mediterranean parts as a thank you for abusing the population, and there's some historical truth to that.

By abusing the population, a cop fulfills their duty to the State. If they can successfully stick to their version of the story and support the police/State apparatus while under media pressure and scrutiny, they have successfully demonstrated their loyalty to the powers in place. That's why you often see cops who orchestrated massive abuse being promoted to higher ranks in the hierarchy in the next years.