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The vast majority of those killed by police in the
U.S. (over 99% actually) are killed attacking police officers.
There is NO
state in the U.S. that allows a citizen, ANY citizen to even question an arrest
or any police action without verifiable permission.
A LOT of
people are somehow surprised to hear this. “You
mean, I can’t, as a citizen, question a police officer on the street over an
action like cops closing down a block, or what seems like an unnecessary arrest?”
Yes, that is correct.
There is no mechanism for such on-scene encounters.
Police generally (and correctly) respond by arresting the questioner for “obstructing
justice.”
The ONLY
venue that government makes available to question its authority and the use/abuse
of that authority by its law enforcement is the court system.
It’s the same with the confusion over what
constitutes “Resisting Arrest.” LEGALLY,
merely backing away and claiming, “I didn’t
do anything,” amounts to a charge of “Resisting Arrest.”
Struggling with a cop as he/she tries to handcuff
you and effect that arrest is generally charged as “Assaulting a police officer.”
Yes, the two are closely related in that the former
(“Resisting Arrest”) is often followed by the latter - “Assaulting a police
officer,” as the arrestee struggles against what he/she perceives to be a false
arrest.
It’s easy to see how a naïve and ignorant citizen
might become frustrated and feel that the police are (A) unregulated and (B) overstepping
their authority and abusing the citizenry.
It’s also easy to see that given these erroneous
assumptions, some of these naïve citizens might feel justified in “attacking
the police,” or “fighting back against this abuse.”
The law is clear...very clear, either comply with
existing laws, or risk injury or death.
ANYONE
who assails a police officer with or without weapons SHOULD be shot, given that police are generally NOT equipped with non-lethal weapons
(like Tasers or fast-acting tranquilizers)...but don’t worry, they’re coming.
When the 6’5” nearly 300 pound Michael Brown first resisted arrest by Officer Darren Wilson, he (deliberately, or not) escalated that
incident. When he reached inside that patrol car to struggle over that Officer’s
weapon, he ratchetted up the charge from mere “resisting arrest,” to “attempted
murder of a police officer.”
Once that act was initiated, Michael Brown had to be
shot.
Officer Wilson, allegedly (according to all court
evidence) did the right thing in firing three times until Michael Brown went
down. The last three shots were allegedly fired after Michael Brown rose and
again charged that Officer.
A far more sympathetic character was Eric Garner of Staten Island, who
actively resisted arrest while selling loose cigarettes in front of a store.
Mr. Garner’s was a non-violent crime. The police crackdown
on the sale of “loosies” (loose cigarettes) was initiated from the Mayor’s
office because of a perceived massive loss in tax revenues due to that practice.
Mr. Garner’s arrest was supervised by a black,
female NYPD Sergeant (Sgt. Kizzy Adonis),
who’d sought every option NOT to
endanger Mr. Garner’s health. The local precinct was very familiar with Eric Garner
and knew of his numerous health issues. (http://nypost.com/2016/01/08/nypd-sergeants-discipline-over-garner-death-draws-backlash-from-union/)
ALL
NYPD Sergeants carry Tasers. In this case, Sgt. Adonis eschewed the use of the
Taser (due to Mr. Garner’s history of heart problems) and the use of Pepper
Spray (due to his documented asthma), BUT
Mr. Garner HAD to be arrested.
Selling “loosies” is against the law, so is effectively blocking entrance to a
place of business (the store he was in front of) and even if those weren’t
enough to warrant an arrest (they were), once he began “resisting arrest,” Mr.
Garner had to be brought in and “processed.”
While Mr. Garner was NOT acting in an aggressively violent manner, he DID engage in “assaulting a police
officer” when he pushed arresting officers away.
THAT’S
why Sgt. Adonis decided that a “quick take down” needed to be initiated and Officer
Daniel Pantaleo jumped on the back of Mr. Garner and “horse collar” tackled him.
Mr. Garner DID
NOT die on-scene, as he would have had he been choked to death by Officer Pantaleo,
as many still believe. According to reports, Mr. Garner had a heart
attack while being transported to Richmond University Medical Center. He
was pronounced dead at the hospital one hour later. The preliminary autopsy showed no damage to Garner’s windpipe or the
bones of his neck/throat. (http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2014/12/03/actual-facts-eric-garner/)
It has been documented that no CPR was done at
the scene. Was that a failure of the EMS crews to properly assess Mr. Garner’s
condition, OR did police refuse
access to EMS personnel? In any case, Mr. Garner seems in obvious distress
while on the ground and there was no indication that any medical aid was given.
Either of those would be grounds for a Civil case.
That might seem to be a quandary, but it’s not.
Had Sgt. Adonis ordered the use of a Taser and Mr. Garner subsequently died of
a heart attack, he would’ve died while actively resisting arrest, the same if
he’d succumbed to an asthma attack if pepper spray was used, BUT in this case, Mr. Garner was already subdued and medical attention was not given. Mr.
Garner had a right to a basic “standard of care.”
The courts have remedied that “Wrongful Death”
suit AND had Mr. Garner felt his
initial arrest was unlawful, but had complied with Officers and then filed a “false
arrest” claim, that claim would’ve been heard in the courts, although probably NOT to Mr. Garner’s liking, as what he
did that day was illegal.
There are, without question, cases of improper
and poor police procedure, like that of John
Crawford, killed in an Ohio Walmart while carrying an air rifle in that
store.
An apparently malicious 911 call was made that
resulted in an “Active Shooter” response in which John Crawford was subsequently
shot and killed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqZ-teZsZmo)
The caller has admitted he lied and almost
certainly SHOULD’VE been charged
with making a false report to police. The outrage in that case was that the
malicious caller, Ronald Ritchie, hasn’t
(so far) been charged (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3546376/911-caller-wont-charged-Ohio-Wal-Mart-police-shooting.html).
But WHY
have we heard so much less about the John Crawford killing then the Michael
Brown and Eric Garner deaths? Mr. Crawford’s death was more preventable AND the circumstances far more
egregious. In fact, you COULD argue
that despite Ronald Ritchie’s false information, police SHOULD’VE done a much better (more professional) job of threat
assessment relative to John Crawford, who had his back turned to approaching
police and was on his cell phone at the time.
The Crawford family has a number of “Wrongful
Death” lawsuits filed (http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/crime-law/beavercreek-responds-to-john-crawford-family-lawsu/nkC3c/).
It is more likely than not that they will be successful, given the
circumstances.
Even
the Walter Scott shooting in South
Carolina got less attention then the Michael Brown and Eric Garner deaths. In
that case, Officer Slager was
immediately terminated and charged with murder (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym4tE0SQCZY),
as was South Carolina State Trooper Sean Groubert, now facing 20 years in prison after pleading guilty this past March in
the shooting of Levar Jones (in the
hip) during a September, 2014 traffic stop in Columbia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yEQDBSt58w).
There
are others as well, but who’s ever heard of James Boyd?
James
Boyd was a homeless man, shot and killed by Albuquerque, New Mexico police
while “illegally camping.” Here’s the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tpAZObNZfI)
Yes,
unfortunately for Boyd, he was white, so his shooting by police doesn’t fit the
scripted media meme, but thankfully, like in the case of Walter Scott, two Albuquerque
police Officers were charged with murder in this case (http://www.koat.com/news/closing-arguments-begin-in-james-boyd-case/34777938).
The
courts are the ONLY venue for claims
of governmental abuse (false arrest, police brutality, etc.). Officers can and
often are charged with crimes and Civil suits (even easier to prove) are almost
always heard.
In
an environment where, according to author Larry
Silverglate, we each (even the most “law-abiding” among us) commit at least
Three
Felonies a Day (https://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent-ebook/dp/B00505UZ4G?ie=UTF8&btkr=1&ref_=dp-kindle-redirect)
it is impossible for us, as civilians, to know all the laws.
There
is absolutely NO mechanism for negotiating
in the street. Police are NOT there
to adjudicate disputes, but to bring potential lawbreakers (“suspects”) before
the courts.
The
government DEMANDS that they carry
out that sworn duty. Body cams are becoming a mandatory, standard part of
police equipment, but the vast majority of police encounters caught on such
body cameras and dash board cameras condemn the suspects and exonerate police.
Notice how few dash board camera videos are used to prosecute police?
The
reason: such videos almost always show “suspects behaving badly.”
Non-lethal,
but highly effective weaponry IS also
on the way. In the near future, suspects who confront police in any way will be
almost immediately rendered unconscious and “packaged” and transported to
holding in order for them to be assessed as either criminal or psychiatric
cases (or both), but challenging police WILL
and SHOULD become a thing of the
past.
And
that’s a good thing, especially for urban communities. To date, homicide
remains the leading cause of death for black males between the ages of 16 and 36
and over 92% of those deaths are at the hands of other black males.
In
Baltimore, post-Freddy Gray, the homicide rate in that city has jumped to
unprecedented levels, nearly all of it consigned to poorer, urban environments
(http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bloody-end-of-2015-sees-baltimores-murder-rate-reach-all-time-high/).
When
the police do their jobs and take down violent felons, those communities are
far, FAR safer!
