"We're here just to look for some drugs and clean up the bad people off the street. I gotta go arrest somebody. It's a game out there, a cat and mouse game. Sometimes they win, sometimes I win, that's all it is."
"Don't you know what happens over here to white guys like you?"
"No, sir."
"What happens is they usually get yanked out of the car...then they'll put a gun to your head, pistol whip you, and take your car. Is that worth ten dollars worth of grass?
"Since you're license is good, I'll give you a little slap on the wrist, then you'll be on your way, and then I don't want to see you around here again."
"You see me? I'm the only white face in this area besides other cops. You don't belong here, ok? It has nothing to do with white or black, it has to do with crimes against persons. People that come over here to buy drugs and get involved in serious crimes."
The wisdom of Deputy Jerry Wurms of the Broward County, Florida, Sheriff's Department. I'm not sure that the producers of COPS today would show an officer chasing an unarmed suspect, arrested from buying drugs, yell, "Stop—or I'll shoot you in the back." If you listen closely, Wurm's superior is not happy with him.
You are sitting down with Deputy Wurms after seeing this clip assessing his performance based on what you have seen. Tell Deputy Wurms what you see him doing well, being very specific about the actions we see in the clip. Tell the Deputy what he did that was okay, again being very specific about his actions. And tell Deputy Wurms what he did that was bad—and why? How would you ultimately assess his performance—and why—and decide whether he should stay on the street, take time off to get help, or be possibly disciplined or even fired. Write 200-250 words.
We'll watch this again tomorrow, as well as some other clips from COPS. Remember: have this done by 10PM. Good first day, folks.
Deputy Wurms didn’t actually fire the weapon so I don’t think he should be fired, but he did threaten a suspect with a gun. Considering the context of the threat I think he should be suspended and after serving his suspension there should be personnel changes so that he can’t be in that situation again. Like for instance, they could make him stop working that area where there are so many arrests. The suspect was just that, a suspect, not yet convicted of a crime. He was suspected to be buying drugs, a crime which only puts himself in danger. It isn’t like the policeman was threatening to shoot someone putting others in danger. The reason he should be suspended, given a psychological evaluation, and moved to a different area, is that the next time he’s in that situation the threat coupled be more than just a threat, but he could actually pull the trigger. I think it’s also important to note that it isn’t like Wurms stepped in to keep a suspect from escaping, he was just trying to save his own butt. It’s his fault that the man he was arresting because instead of staying occupied with the suspect he went to go put the man’s wallet on the car. He had to much trust in the man he was stopping.
ReplyDeleteDeputy Wurms did not immediately get overly physical, or even touch, the first man we see him approach. He is very calm and asks to look inside the man’s car. In multiple clips, he tells people who he is arresting to “relax.” This seems like a good attempt to calm somebody down, or at least make him or her feel at ease. When he approached another two men in a different clip, Wurms used the valid reason of smelling marijuana to search their car. He didn’t appear to search it for no reason. It was okay that he sometimes used his clearly stressful job to make jokes. It was not okay that he sometimes appeared to be racially profiling people on the streets. In the first clip of Deputy Wurms and the first man he approaches, Wurms appears to target the man for no reason. He did not state, at least not to the camera, any legitimate reasons for wanting to search this man’s car. Additionally, Deputy Wurms has some obvious racial bias. He stereotypes the people he approaches and it definitely affects the way he does his job. For example, when he approaches the white men, he just assumes that they are in these neighborhoods to buy drugs. He tells them “You don’t belong here”, as if only a certain type of people should be committing crimes. However, when he approaches black people, he almost seems to be expecting them to be doing something illegal. I think that simply because of his racial bias, Deputy Wurms should no longer be a policeman. For a position with that much power, and as someone who could change another person’s life forever, he is too eager to stereotype people.
ReplyDeleteI think that Wurms had great timing throughout the clip. When the white guy (in the blue pants) started running, Wurms radioed others and correctly identified the man in case he needed backup. Wurms also had good “policeman courtesy” when going through the whole “Is everybody okay?” type thing with the people surrounding the black man who was being searched. Wurms had the decency not to really rough up the people he checked or arrested in the clip, which I think was something that he did that was okay. However, another officer did get pretty physical with the woman who was screaming in the background, even pulling her shirt halfway off. I think the threat to shoot the man who tried to escape was done poorly, as this was not something extreme like a murder, and it was Wurms’ fault for being careless enough to idly turn his back on that man. The threat was not necessary despite the fact that I would not want to use the energy to run after someone for a simple drug bust either. I am not entirely sure what I think should happen to Wurms as a result of this incident, but I think that he should not be allowed to work in that area because he seemed pretty paranoid about the oh so overwhelming number of (black) arrests.
ReplyDeleteWhen working in the Sheriffs Department, unprofessionalism has no place. I'm sure there were many other (and much better) ways for that situation to be handled, rather than a threat to shoot the suspect in the back. It seems as if Wurms was open and ready to use excessive force on an unarmed suspect. Wurms also brings race into his point, but then immediately contradicts himself by saying that it's not about that, but rather the fact that people are in that area to commit serious crimes. For those reasons, I couldn't promote him. The way in which this situation was handled reflects the less-than-professional way Wurms operates. While the manner in which Deputy Wurms handled the situation was indeed unprofessional, it seemed to be very effective. What he did do well is the fact that he indeed stopped the suspect and hopefully made sure to scare him enough to remain out of bad areas such as these, all without arresting him. I would tell him that his performance was undesirable and shouldn't be seen again, but I would't fire him. I would see to it that he went through a basic training course in handling suspects with small amounts of paraphernalia.
ReplyDeleteIn the clip of Deputy Wurms pulling over and eventually arresting the man with blue pants and a white shirt there are some problems that should definitely be addressed; however, there were certain parts Wurms performed well. Overall, the deputy is very careless when inspecting this man and arresting him. He leaves him without handcuffs for the majority of the time, including when the suspect is out of the police car. It almost seems as if he has placed his faith in the suspect when he lets him out of the car to pat him down. Although this is relatively trivial, Deputy Wurms does not escalate the situation. For example, he guarantees that the man will be free to go if he is clean. Finally, Wurms’ threat to shoot the suspect in the back is questionable, but because it was not actually carried out, not a prevalent problem. He did well at subduing the man without using violent force, and instead using his baton. Deputy Wurms should be re-assigned to an area with less crime, as he cannot be trusted with handling more adept criminals at that time. He needs a review on protocol when detaining a suspect, and perhaps a brief suspension although that may not be necessary.
ReplyDeleteDeputy Wurms never pulled out his gun or fired it. I feel as though that is the most positive thing he could have done in any of those situations especially in the one with the man running away. He seems to be very calm for the most part and not too over aggressive with most of his suspects. He says "relax" a lot in a very calm tone which is a way of showing the people he is dealing with that he may not be very aggressive or come off as intimidating. A decent thing that we see he did is letting the people go when they are honest with him about going to buy some weed. That shows that he isn't only about wanting to arrest and he was glad they are straight up with him. Something bad he did was getting one of his fellow cops to arrest the wife of the man that rna off when she didn't do anything wrong. She was very scared to see her husband get tackled and in much pain. I personally would have said he should at least be suspended but not kicked off of the force. If he was in a different area I would like to see if he would treat people differently.
ReplyDeleteI praise Deputy Wurms for his confidence and quick decision making; but at the same time, his cocky and arrogant work ethic makes me question his evaluation. An example of his confidence and quick decision making would be when he spotted another white man driving through and flagged him down, confident that his experience would hold true. We would later find out that it did, as this man was yet another drug dealer. But, his confidence can also cloud his judgment, forcing him to make poor decisions that often lead to a situation where Wurms is seen as somewhat arrogant and even abusive. An example of this would be when he arrests the probable girlfriend of the drug dealer who ran away. The manner in which he threw her on the car, nearly ripping her shirt off, and holding her by the bra strap makes this situation more abusive. Overall, I think Wurms is a fair enough cop, especially for this time period. He is very real and straightforward, he cuts the crap and tells you what he really thinks. His methods could be improved for sure, but overall he did well.
ReplyDeleteI like how Deputy Wurms did not immediately become physical or over aggressive. Whether he was with the white guy or in the black neighborhood, his firearm, initially, was not discharged and talked to the victims before making any sudden movements. The deputy’s demeanor started off calm. Deputy Wurms could improve on his reasoning of why he stops people. It seemed to me that he was just stopping what he thought were suspicious looking people, with no actual evidence. I didn’t see any legitimacy for patrolling the black neighborhood, but to just try and arrest as many people as he could. This type of policing is unlawful. I also noticed that Deputy Wurms talked to the first white guys in the car with a more friendly manner than his tone of voice in the black neighborhood, even giving the white men advice saying, “I don’t want to see you around this area anymore.” Lastly, I didn’t like how the deputy allowed his fellow officers to throw that woman on the car and almost undress her. That was completely unnecessary, irregardless of the fact that she did nothing wrong. I think Deputy Wurms should be moved to a different area, one where he feels more comfortable patrolling.
ReplyDeleteOne of the more positive things that Deputy Wurms did was not use a violent force on the suspects. He also wasn’t really aggressive when arresting people or putting them in the back of a police car so I thought that was also positive. Something that was just okay about him was his calm manner. In some cases it may be fine to be calm and laid back but in this case it wasn’t because as a result, the drug dealer guy got away. A negative thing about Deputy Wurms was his reasoning for stopping or searching people and their cars which was really no reason at all. He went mainly off of assumptions. Yes, he was right at times but doing this all the time could be dangerous and lead to unnecessary scenarios. Also, the ending was really disturbing. One of the other officers threw the lady against the car aggressively, arrested her, and threw her in the back of the police car for no reason at all. While all of this was going on, Deputy Wurm didn’t acknowledge it at all so this could mean that he’s okay with this happening and I don’t think you should have that kind of mindset as a police officer. With that being said, I would suspend him, if not fire him.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think that Deputy Wurms acted unjustly in most of the clips we saw. His approach in dealing with the people he was searching or talking to felt pretty fair to me. I do feel like he was more lenient towards the white people than the black people that he interacted with. That being said, the black guy at the very beginning did lie about having a firearm in his car which I do think merits a less friendly interaction from the point of view of the police officer. I definitely think that he overstepped by threatening to shoot the man that was attempting to flee the police. Even if it was just an empty threat that had the desired affect, it is unjust and unlawful to police through fear. I thought the arrest of that woman was especially unjust. And while Deputy Wurms wasn't directly involved in arresting her, he still casually looked on as his fellow police officers roughly slammed the woman onto the car and proceeded to hold her down as they cuffed her. As far as we know, she didn't actually do anything illegal and it feels incredibly wrong for them to have detained her in such a barbaric manner. Regarding the Deputy Wurms himself I only think that he should be transferred to an area in which there is less criminal activity. He doesn't seem like a especially bad policeman, but there were several situations that he could have handled better. I definitely do not think that his actions are grounds for dismissal from the police force.
ReplyDeleteI think in the beginning of the clip what he was doing was very good. He never seemed to be physical with any of the people he had stopped. He originally came off as a good person because you can hear him trying to calm down people by saying to just relax. I didn't like how he treated people of different races. He said "I'm the only white face in this area besides other cops. You don't belong here, ok? It has nothing to do with white or black, it has to do with crimes against persons," and it just seems like he's trying to cover for what he just said. He said that he was the only white person in that area but then said it had nothing to do with race and I can't help but feel like that's a lie because why would he bring it up in the first place? I would say he was completely wrong for how he treated the wife of the last man he stopped. First off she didn't do anything wrong and wasn't in any legal trouble, she was just concerned for her husband. And on top of that the way that she was pushed up to the car was so violating of her personal space and he was too physical with her I think. I really hated the way her shirt was almost completely taken off. I don't think that he should be fired because he never fired that gun, but I do think he should review protocol and maybe be suspended for a while or review a course.
ReplyDeleteA positive thing about Deputy Jerry Wurms is the way he behaved in situations. In other words, his calm nature. He wasn't aggressive towards the suspects during the arrest. He often said things like “relax” in a non aggressive manner and that comes off as less intimidating. However, the things Deputy Wurms did in a negative aspect was the reasons he gave for stopping people. When he says, “You see me? I'm the only white face in this area besides other cops. You don't belong here, ok? It has nothing to do with white or black, it has to do with crimes against persons. People that come over here to buy drugs and get involved in serious crimes." He makes the situation about race but he falls back and makes it about people being in that area to commit crimes. Since that area is so sketchy being in that area can get you pulled over. In some cases, Deputy Wurms reasoning helped find suspects, but in other cases it will not. Situations can escalate and problems can be made due to a big misunderstanding. Overall I like how Deputy Wurms acted towards the situations. In this environments officers can show no mercy.
ReplyDeleteI could not get the video to play so I might be injecting my own bias into the dialogue.
ReplyDeleteFrom the transcript, the only good part of Deputy Wurms is his intention. He wants to get those committing crimes off the street but the way he’s doing it is way too “reality tv” for an actual cop. The varying tones and tactics he uses are odd, the way he was really aggressive to the white guy buying weed versus the person with a good license who he just gave a slap on the wrist. Plus when someone is running a cop should chase them down, not threaten to shoot them down. I don’t believe he should be fired but overall aggressive language is not a good representation or message to the public about the police and that strengthens the negative stigma the surrounds police.
I don’t think Deputy Wurms should be disciplined or fired for his threat. The previous clips show he’s definitely not perfect, but he’s legally doing his job in respect to the law. He’s not very professional, which I think would be the main problem out of this besides the threat he made. As long as he didn’t act on that threat, it would be too far to punish him for making the guy stop running away. It was clear the threat was said to stop the guy from resisting arrest, so the main issue should be Wurm’s unprofessionalism. He was very lenient with keeping the person in place, and this allowed him to slip away. Additionally, he had the viewpoint that his job as a cop was a game against criminals, and although it makes sense for cops to enjoy the adrenaline in action during law, it should be controlled. Perhaps it would help the deputy to be relocated for a period of time. Doing so would relieve the problematic feelings he takes in arresting people in that jurisdiction, and perhaps he would come back a better cop.
ReplyDeleteDeputy Wurms was consistently respectful in his conversations with the people he was searching. He used words such as “please” and “thank you” when dealing with people. For example when in the parking lot addressing the young man with the gun under his seat. He was calm and collected telling him to calm down and that it would be okay. He began to lose his consistency when speaking to the young white boy attempting to buy drugs. He began to speak about his race and then told him that if everything checked out then he would be allowed to leave with just slap on the wrist. Though this was inconsistent he was still stern but respectful in his tone and actions. The problem arose when the young man began to run away and Wurms got angry and chased after him. He yelled that he would “shoot him in the back” if he did not stop which was inappropriate and uncalled for. Once he caught the man he used unnecessary violence on him and then later used violence on a woman trying to defend the young man. The violence was not needed and Deputy Wurms lacked consistency when dealing with a person of color versus a white man. His performance is overall harmful due to inconsistencies in both his actions and his words. He should take time off and we will later asses if that time has helped him better himself. He will also receive proper punishments in the form of probation from field work. After some time we will have him put back on patrol but he will be accompanied at all times by a superior in order to make sure he is doing what is fair and correct.
ReplyDeleteDeputy Wurms you begin by stating "things could turn at any moment, which I completely agree with you on and admire your willingness to do such a unpredictable and sometimes dangerous job. However you take little to no caution in approaching the citizens. From what I can tell you approach the black people in this neighborhood with no probable cause. You do not observe or access situations before throwing yourself into them. You tend to approach people very abruptly and operate in a tense rushed manner. This will likely cause the people you are approaching excess stress. They may become less likely to cooperate, behave irrationally and feel they have automatically done something wrong and therefore may unnecessarily lie. I understand how you may think your behavior is going to intimidate the citizens and therefore make you more powerful and in control but in reality you are putting yourself in greater danger. You assume you know every situation like when you stopped the car that just happened to drive. Instead of listening to what this driver may have to say you immediately told them you know they are doing something illegal. While I agree that they were most likely doing something illegal, you do not know and it is wrong to assume. You see things in black and white when I believe most things are grey. You treat the black people living in this poor environment as the problem and not a symptom. You then treat the white people that are funding this environment as the symptom and not a contributing factor to the problem.
ReplyDeleteIf I were running from someone and they told me "if you keep running I'll shoot you in the back", I would assume they are unstable and continue to run but in zig zag lines. I understand needing to rough with someone in order to get them under control and in custody but when someone is on the concrete in fetal position there is absolutely no logical reason to hit them with your baton. I also saw no reason to be rough with the girl accompanying the man in that scenario.
You stated "It's all a game out here some days I win some days they win that's all it is". This is no game to these people this is their lives. When they don't win their life and the lives of those close to them become more distraught, while you return home from another day at work.
It’s nice that Deputy Wurms wants to get crime to stop but he isn’t really preventing it from happening. Its bad that Deputy Wurms is trying to get the “bad people” “white kids” out of the neighborhood because it seems as if he’s protecting them.Throughout the clip, it’s very obvious that Deputy Wurms has been lied to multiple times specially when the guy at the small market was asked if he had anything like drugs or weapons and the guy responded no but 10 seconds later there was a pistol under the seat. Which is a bad thing because Deputy Wurms need to earn that trust from the community so he can help out and engage in stopping crime. It was not good when he was assuming things before he even knows what is happening. in the clip he might have gotten all the assumptions right about those people but Since the clip is VERY edited out we don’t see him having the wrong assumption. But if he continues with the assumptions he might end up in a worst problem assuming about the wrong people. I think he should stay off the streets for a while (even though he got a promotion) and think about how he as an officer and the rest of the team can do to help reduce crime for example by offering jobs for a beginning and help out the community. It is as if Deputy Wurms is only doing the job because of the Adrenaline and not for the the right reason. In addition, the clip Eva’s very edited out which means it’s really hard to make decisions of Deputy Wurms because it is as if the producers wanted to show viewers how good of a person Deputy Wurms was.
ReplyDelete