I’ve been thinking about that off and on for a while. The first thought I had was of a policeman who lived next door to my family’s house when I was still a child. I remember him as a big, loud man, bellowing commands to his wife and daughters.

More recently it occurred to me that, like in some old movies, many cops might be from early environments similar to those of many criminals; environments in which belligerency and a certain degree of callousness is common among young males.

It has also occurred to me that a leaning to toward authoritarianism (including police states) may have its basis in the tribalism of humanity’s beginnings and the ease with which tribalism can be turned into distrust and anxiety and even hatred during exposure to/encounters with those of unfamiliar appearance or behaviors.

I’m more at home with rocks than people so I claim neither expertise for myself nor validity for either of these hypotheses.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and some law enforcement leaders announced Wednesday a shift in traffic stops for minor infractions: St. Paul’s chief told officers not to pull people for equipment violations unless there are public safety concerns. And Choi said he won’t prosecute most felony cases that result from non-public-safety traffic stops.

Choi said the change is overdue because drivers of color and people who can’t afford to make repairs are disproportionately affected by such traffic stops. In addition to breeding distrust, Choi said research shows that police find guns or drugs in less than 2 percent of pretextual stops — when police stop a driver for an equipment violation to seek evidence of a more serious crime.

https://www.twincities.com/2021/09/08/ramsey-county-attorney-says-he-wont-prosecute-felonies-that-result-from-pretextual-traffic-stops/

So, one it’s a waste of police resources that could be used for figuring out ways to prevent mass shootings in bars near the X now that there’s “life” downtown thanks to the Saints and the Wild.

I don’t think that the enforcement of the 15 minutes after sundown rule has been applied in winter, but I do think it is used to roust rowdies out of the parks.