Bob CollinsA fairly new Web site has got some people in the law enforcement community a tad upset. RateMyCop.com lists police officers and allows registered users to leave comments about them. The person who built the Web site says all of the information, which in some cases includes badge numbers and personal information, comes from public data.
Many departments in Minnesota — I checked Woodbury, St. Paul, and Ada among others — do not have any officers listed. Minneapolis has most listed but doesn’t have many reviews and no personal data is listed.
The reviews can be entertaining. A sample:
This “officer” and her “partner” nearly killed me w/their brand new taser gun on 3/5/05. They state in their report that I was kicked out of Pizza Luce in downtown Mpls and that they had to restrain me after I was forced out. My boyfriend was a bouncer at Pizza Luce and was there when this happened. I look forward to seeing them both in court.
An all around good cop, very friendly to the GLBT community, a respected black man in a very white department.
Jim came to our block party and dished out punch. he is very nice and sweet and tender and i hear he has a masters degree.
He treated me like dirt.
This “officer” nearly killed me on 3/5/05 w/his brand new taser gun and I was doped up and restrained thanks to the EMTs of HCMC who allowed me to choke on my vomit before adopting any sense of urgency. He never filed a report but once the MPD received a letter from my lawyer a report conveniently fell from the sky. ALL LIES/I WILL FIGHT THIS.
It’s not entirely clear what value the the Web site has other than entertainment. Aside from crooks, chances are its biggest group of visitors will be cops. But what is anyone supposed to do with the information. Unlike teachers or lawyers, you don’t get to shop around for a cop.
