Ask The Best&Brightest: Decrease The Police?
It’s been suggested more than a few times on TTAC, most recently in conjunction with an incident where police shot a mentally ill man to death, that stories regarding police interaction with motorists are, or should be, outside the purview of this blog.
* No stories about police/motorist interactions at all?
When Car and Driver basically declared war against the 55MPH speed limit lo these many years ago, they unwittingly set the universal template for automotive-enthusiast publications, both print and online. It’s long been assumed that the police are the natural enemy of people who want to drive quickly on public roads. Perhaps that’s no longer true, at least here at TTAC. Perhaps the B&B, as a majority, are comfortable with the speed limits and the manner in which police interact with motorists. If that’s the case, the content should reflect it.
Think about it and let us know.
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So what did TTAC editors decide as a result of this feedback?
I'm probably too late for this but I'll at my two bits anyway. I say dump the police stories. It's not what I log in to read. The general vibe I get from those stories is bitterness, possibly because you've he'd a couple of run ins with the law and perhaps the author was in the right and the police were in the wrong. Whatever happened, any article about the police has a venom to it that strikes me as coming from someone with an axe to grind. Like minded people will lap it up but it'll turn everyone else off.
"Only stories where the police are presented in a positive, community-focused manner?" Of course, but then you are the same as North Korean media.
Kind of late but here goes: In think you can report on anything remotely involving cars and the police as long as you have the the time and ressorces to cover the issue in sufficient depth. I think the piece on the Corvette chase did not achieve this. I would have liked to know: What are the rules for LA's police concerning the use of firearms? Did those rules get followed? I think when an unarmed person gets shot to death by police officers, that's a big problem and I want to know whether the police officers are to blame or the policies that they are told to follow.