Web Site Draws Cops' Wrath

RateMyCop.com Enables People To Rate Police Officers; Names Names; Many Cops Crying Foul

(CBS)  A new Web site is prompting outrage among many police officers.

RateMyCop.com lists cops' names -- some 140,000 and counting -- as well as the badge numbers of many of them, and enables people to rate them.

That, say many law enforcement officers, violates their rights, in part because there's little or no -- policing -- by the site of the information posted on it.

The Early Show took a look at RateMyCop.com and spoke to its founder, as well as a police representative, as part of its new series, "Caught in the Web." Every week, the show will look at controversial Web sites that find new ways to monitor people's behavior.

Until now, says Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen, there hasn't been a place for people to post comments about cops they encounter.

But registered users of RateMyCop.com can search for officers by name, department, or state, provide comments, and rate them based on professionalism, fairness, and overall satisfaction.

And what are some users of the site saying about "their" cop?

One wrote, "He has an extremely aggressive behavior issue involving any issue he feels he is not in control of," while another said, "He is a very exceptional cop in all known incidents."

But Hector Basurto, vice president of the Latino Police Officers Association, says, "Having a Web site like that puts a lot of law enforcement in danger, because it exposes us out there."

Kevin Martin, vice president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, lists several things he worries about: "Will they be able to access our home addresses, our home phone numbers, our marital status, whether we have children-- which is always a big concern."

But the site's founders say all of the officers' names and badge numbers were obtained through public records, and claim the site doesn't disclose any private information about them.

Still, some police representatives want legislation to shut down the site, but legal experts, citing the First Amendment, say that could be difficult.

"Any kind of publication is protected, as long as it is not publishing privileged information," observes constitutional law Prof. Peter Keane, of the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

On The Early Show Monday, RateMyCop.com founder Gino Sesto told Chen, "Our hope ... is to be able to create some transparency between officers and the citizens they patrol, to be able to create a communication way for people to talk to each other."

But Ron Cottingham, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California and a lieutenant with the San Diego Sheriff's Department, called the site, "one of the most insidious things to come along in a long time to denigrate the services of peace officers that are out there trying to serve the public and do public good. I don't think there's any good that can really come from it. There's nobody really being responsible to police this Web site and censure the information that's going on the Web site.

"I'd be concerned about my safety, the safety of my family, the safety of my children, my reputation within my community. Anybody can put anything on this Web site. They claim that there is some monitoring going on, but I've been looking at this Web site for several days. I've seen officers accused of sex crimes. I've seen officers accused of child abuse. I've seen officers accused of lying."

Sesto countered that, "We do have a mechanism to monitor the system, if there are comments like he said. We want to know about it, and we'll delete them as soon as possible, and we have. So I would ask him to send that to us, and we will delete them. As far as the safety of his family, we're not posting anything on this Web site that's not available on an everyday traffic ticket."

"This Web site doesn't publish anything other than the officer's name and sometimes their badge number. And we won't let people post any personal information."

"I think Mr. Sesto is incorrect in what he's saying," scoffed Cottingham. "Just the fact that I've seen this information posted on there for several days with no policing, no censorship. Anybody can go on there and make a connection. I mean, if someone has a specious allegation against myself and maybe a neighbor or someone that doesn't know me, because we do live in the communities that we work, see that, they can start posting information saying, 'I know this person, I know where I lives. This is his address.'"

To which Sesto said, "We had this happen once before, and we deleted in immediately, so I don't know what you're speaking to."

[honestabe8]

marcpcbs sure seems to have his panties in a bunch over pot. marc...if you want prohibition, this is what you get.

[cnjcc]

I believe the vast majority of law enforcement personnel are sincere and dedicated to an orderly society, however some of them clearly are motivated by some combination of low self esteem, were teased or bullied growing up, or have some other psychological need to be the one in charge. Those are the ones that get incensed when a suspect doesn''t do exactly what the officer says - that end up on tapes of beatings - that lie in court - that cover up for fellow officers - that otherwise abuse the authoritive positions they have been given. It''s a crappy world out there that needs to be policed, but some of them are just not right for the job. Maybe better pre-hire screening and psychological evaluation could eliminate many problem individuals.

[lastsaneone]

If cops did their job then they wouldn''t have anything to worry about, but that is exactly the problem.
Most cops are not doing their job , they are just taking the pay.
There are more drugs and crime now than ever and we are running out of room in our prisons and all they want to do is write tickets , eat doughnuts and
arrest pot smokers and incarcerate them . We have real criminals running the streets, becuase of this and do they care ? no they don''t ! why ? becuase they are getting paid, you see it is ( Law Enforcement ) just like the medical/heathcare system in this country, the money is not in the cure, or in this case there IS NO MONEY IN IT FOR THE SO CALLED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IF THEY STOP DRUGS AND CRIME ! if they did that they would all be out of jobs. So why on earth would they want us to know what they are really doing or to grade them on their performance, they don''t.
Cops and the so called law enforcement ARE THE CRIMINALS, and their bu!!$hit system is about to come crashing down on them.
Something else has been lost here as well and that is the fact that all police and law enforcement people work for US, you are public servants and we will do anthing we want to do to police the police and if you don''t like it we will have you removed from the position WE GAVE YOU , and we will remove the athority WE GAVE YOU, PERIOD.
Pesonally I think all of them should be fIRED.

[lastsaneone]

If cops did their job then they wouldn''t have anything to worry about, but that is exactly the problem.
Most cops are not doing their job , they are just taking the pay.
There are more drugs and crime now than ever and we are running out of room in our prisons and all they want to do is write tickets , eat doughnuts and
arrest pot smokers and incarcerate them . We have real criminals running the streets, becuase of this and do they care ? no they don''t ! why ? becuase they are getting paid, you see it is ( Law Enforcement ) just like the medical/heathcare system in this country, the money is not in the cure, or in this case there IS NO MONEY IN IT FOR THE SO CALLED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IF THEY STOP DRUGS AND CRIME ! if they did that they would all be out of jobs. So why on earth would they want us to know what they are really doing or to grade them on their performance, they don''t.
Cops and the so called law enforcement ARE THE CRIMINALS, and their bu!!$hit system is about to come crashing down on them.
Something else has been lost here as well and that is the fact that all police and law enforcement people work for US, you are public servants and we will do anthing we want to do to police the police and if you don''t like it we will have you removed from the position WE GAVE YOU , and we will remove the athority WE GAVE YOU, PERIOD.
Pesonally I think all of them should be fIRED.

[tucano2]

Why on earth would a cop be afraid of a public job rating? Is a "chef" in a beanery afraid of the Health Inspector''s rating? Maybe such public rating is immune to ''doctoring'', ''politicing'', or ''spinning''? We have news for the cops; they are on the public''s payroll and it is the public that rules, not the cops, and individual cops are increasingly being put in the spotlight by the public. When there are cops who like cockroaches run from the light that means they''ve got more than the usual stuff to hide.

[berniepeders]

Don''''t they tell us that if were doing nothing wrong we have have nothing to fear? So why are they so afraid? maybe the public finds out how they really operate?

Posted by gopack443 at 10:17 AM : Mar 24, 2008

Bravo and Amen to that!

[quetzal0666]

that would be great to have the ability to go online in real time next time you get pulled over and have the Officers information handy,
that way you can see if hes had any complaints against him and if so, start recording his every move, so you can use it later when you sue....

[marcpcbs]

kansas1946

Were not in Kansas any more and this ain''t 1946. I spent the last 22 years watching this county be overtaken by drug dealers. Where the hell you been?
Probably selling pot to kids in Kansas.

Did you read anything I said? You go do some research.
boy, drug dealers are stupid.

[unamiat]

This sounds like invasion of privacy to me. If anyone I know, or their children or other family members come to harm, a lawyer will be contacting Julie Chen, CBS and anyone else connected to this low life play for attention.

[kansas1946]

Here%u2019s what happened in Mendocino County CA. The board of Supervisors who are pro marijuana manipulated the vote and the laws to unleash thousands of local drug dealers.
*************************
I doubt they are "pro marijuana" and imagine they are anti-drug war. The drug war is the problem, not marijuana. Do a little research before you fall apart over marijuana.

[dylanxxv]

What a bunch of worthless crybabies...I''m joining this site today...

[brendan havel]

why is motto "to protect and serve" no longer read on side of police cars?

[farmerbb]

I note the Ron Cottingham , on the San Diego Police, complained that officers were "accused of X, accused of Y, and accused of Z". Note he did NOT say they were FALSELY accused. I agree with the previous comment, the police have only themselves to blame. The GOOD cops often protect & hide the BAD cops. If they threw them out, their reputation would soar. But they don''t. I have often said there are more criminals INSIDE the police force, than outside, and that is NOT on a percentage basis.

[marcpcbs]

"killtheliars"

Good name!

[nlm2383]

"Peace officers that are out there trying to serve the public and do public good."

HAHA!!!

[kennedy7955]

It is amazing that the last voices heard, if at all regards crime, are from police officers. Our police departments across the country should be the first voices heard on what is going on in our communities - about who is committing crimes, where crimes are committed and what is happening in real time when the system breaks down.

A great example of this is the release of criminals on our streets, the constant arresting and re-arresting of criminals. The chief of police of each town should be holding press conferences warning the public of such dangerous occurrences. The Police should be openly critical of judges that endanger the public.

It is time the police end their silence and abdication of responsibility to the politicians, and tell us all what is really happening in our communities. If that sounds too political, then let the police unions hold the conferences.

This openness would save the lives of police and the public alike, and would provide a welcome dose of common sense and support for our police.

[marcpcbs]

Here%u2019s what happened in Mendocino County CA. The board of Supervisors who are pro marijuana manipulated the vote and the laws to unleash thousands of local drug dealers. Now all the cops have been instructed to see, hear and smell nothing. So they obey. Now we have a forty billion dollar a year pot industry in our county that fills most of the schools in the nation with pot. Thousands of people have moved here from all over the nation and the world specifically to profit from poisoning kids with drugs and all this is county sanctioned. New industries are popping up that just support growing pot like nurseries that advertise nothing but indoor grow scenes. There%u2019s a new college in Berkley that specializes in the growing, processing, sales and distribution of pot.

And all along the cops just went along. Some cops became growers and some just said nothing cause they were afraid of loosing their jobs. If there%u2019s pot in your kids school, don%u2019t just thank the cops, thank the system.

Our kids don%u2019t have a chance.

[killtheliars]

timetrips1,

if anyone calls 9-11 regardless of who they are and what their oponions are, and nobody answers someone is getting fired and charges will be pressed as well as one hell of a lawsuit filed against the boro or disctrict where this happened.
The cops and emergency response personel are hired public servants, they work for us the tax payers. We can have any oponion we want and it is no concern of theirs. They just need to shut up, do their jobs and answer the phone. Also as a tax payer I always insits that the police in my area call me sir, since they work for me.

[killtheliars]

cops are public servants, they are paid b the taxpayers in their areas, therefore they should be monitored and rated accordingly.

[thisisfunny]

These cops are so tough aren''t they? Cry babies and I do agree with another comment above regarding the fact that there are many good cops but once they protect the bad ones, they they all become bad. In order for this profession to be more acceptable, the good cops and good depts MUST drive these knuckleheads out of the profession because many are a danger to themselves with guns.