Case Dismissed Against Woman Arrested While Videotaping Police

Originally posted by Xcathdra
reply to post by butcherguy

 

So let me ask you this question.. Based on your pesonal story, and the way its written, do you think all cops are exactly the same? We talk about building trust, yet people refuse to step forward.

Are you against this officer because of the merrits of the case, or are you against this officer simply because he is a police officer?

I feel that he was worried about the camera. He wanted the woman gone. He should have went about his business finishing the 'nonproductive traffic stop'. There were four officers there, if one of them felt uncomfortable with the situation regarding bystanders, then one of them should have faced the direction of the perceived 'threat' and kept an eye the 'threat' while the other three officers took care of the 'traffic stop'.

Nothing required her to be arrested, or herded out of her yard, for that matter.

Originally posted by Xcathdra

Originally posted by butcherguy
reply to post by Xcathdra

 

Now look for silliness:

Is the residence the drivers house? Is it where his friends hang out? Is it possible the guy used a cell phone to let people know he was being stopped and where he was going to park in order to ambush the officer?

You talk about being paranoid.

look at that quote.

OMG, they're going to ambush me!

Like I said, wimps. Now I guess I can call them paranoid wimps.

So if you were a Police officer why would you not ask yourself those questions? Why do you think its paranoid?

Have you ever considered that traffic stops are one of the more deadlier actions we do? I view it as a safety precaution so I dont become complacent on traffic stops. Assuming the person we stopped is Red Riding Hood coming back from Grandmas can get us killed.

Its easy to make those comments from behind a computer screen.

Or are we not suppose to take precautions?

edit on 28-6-2011 by Xcathdra because: (no reason given)

Police officers do not get to trample peoples' basic rights for "their protection". If they were employed to "be safe" all the time, they wouldn't be doing a damn thing we pay them to do, now would they? Use your head.

Dont know if this has been posted or not, but heres more on Emily Brown:

www.theblaze.com... ontation/

Originally posted by coop039
Dont know if this has been posted or not, but heres more on Emily Brown:

www.theblaze.com... ontation/

Just adds to the theories of LE priorities: Personal vindication > Justice.

Bias is not a defense.

reply to post by butcherguy


I find it intresting you point out the number of officers present, and then completely ignore that fact. We hav e no idea what the traffic stop was for yet. We have no idea what occured prior to the stop itself. The presence of 4 officers could, oh I dont know, be a clue that there might have been someting that occured the required a larger police presence?

Maybe its possible that the officer who conducted the traffic stop was by himself, when people started coming out of their houses to watch. The last thing im going to do is deal with a traffic stop while at the same time trying to watch whats going on around me.

If you think a situation that involves groups of people watching cant go south fast, here is an example for you.



So yes, we do keep an eye on people who are watching us for that exact reason in the video. If the guy in the OP was arrested, and it turns out the guy stopped in front of his house, the potential exists for an occurence like in the video. We would prefer to avoid it at all costs, which is why we want people a safe distance from us.

Originally posted by TheOrangeBrood
Police officers do not get to trample peoples' basic rights for "their protection". If they were employed to "be safe" all the time, they wouldn't be doing a damn thing we pay them to do, now would they? Use your head.

An intresting answer, but it did not answer my question. Why is it offensive / problematic / whatever for officers to run through a mental checklist so to speak in order to prevent us from becoming complacent and maintaing situational awareness?

Officers taking those questions into account does not trample anyones rights, you missed my point. These are the thought process, not actions taken.

Originally posted by TheOrangeBrood

Originally posted by Xcathdra

Originally posted by butcherguy
reply to post by Xcathdra

 

Now look for silliness:

Is the residence the drivers house? Is it where his friends hang out? Is it possible the guy used a cell phone to let people know he was being stopped and where he was going to park in order to ambush the officer?

You talk about being paranoid.

look at that quote.

OMG, they're going to ambush me!

Like I said, wimps. Now I guess I can call them paranoid wimps.

So if you were a Police officer why would you not ask yourself those questions? Why do you think its paranoid?

Have you ever considered that traffic stops are one of the more deadlier actions we do? I view it as a safety precaution so I dont become complacent on traffic stops. Assuming the person we stopped is Red Riding Hood coming back from Grandmas can get us killed.

Its easy to make those comments from behind a computer screen.

Or are we not suppose to take precautions?

edit on 28-6-2011 by Xcathdra because: (no reason given)

Police officers do not get to trample peoples' basic rights for "their protection". If they were employed to "be safe" all the time, they wouldn't be doing a damn thing we pay them to do, now would they? Use your head.

Again, officer safety does give officers the right to trample some of your rights. Why would the courts favor your individual liberties that extend only to your person over an officers right to LIVE?

As I stated earlier, there are multiple exceptions that the courts have carved out:

1) A cop can have you in a custodial interrogation situation where Miranda is required before asking questions and ask questions if they pretain to the officers safey.

2) A cop has to knock and announce his presence before executing a valid search warrant on someone's house unless doing so would be dangerous for the officer.

3) And officer can commence a terry stop and frisk if they have reasonable articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot. Meaning, they can stop to ask them questions and pat them down to look for weapons for the purposes of officer safety.

4) An officer can make a traffic stop and if they have reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity they can ask the person to get out of the car pat them down for weapons and then search the car for weapons, and this includes opening containers and the trunk, or anywhere else a weapon may be reasonably located, again for officer safety.

5) An officer, while executing a valid search warrant, can place everyone that is in the house in handcuffs, even if they are naked and not the people suspected of a crime, while they search the house pursuant to officer safety.

6) An officer, while executing a valid arrest warrant in someone's house can search the persons entire person AND the reasonable grabbing area surrounding the person, even if it includes opening up drawers and moving around stuff in those drawers. Again, officer safety.

This is not even all the circumstances. Officer safety does trump your individual rights because they too have a right to live. You being arrested for 24 hours beats the officer being in a coffin forever.

reply to post by Xcathdra

I thought, it was a bit odd that the officers issuing the parking tickets on the Good supporters were parked much further from the curbs than any of the vehicles they were ticketing. No lights to warn approaching vehicles of them doing their "duties". They were parked and measuring vehicles that were parked in a safer manner than their own. Clearly, these officers put themselves above the laws they "enforce".
I don't have anything against those that enforce the laws, as long as they themselves follow those same rules.

Originally posted by coop039
Dont know if this has been posted or not, but heres more on Emily Brown:

www.theblaze.com... ontation/

Its been brought up. Those who think the cops are to blame just ignore that info since it undermines their argument.

reply to post by Xcathdra

Its easy to make those comments from behind a computer screen

It is as just as easy as you making your comments.

I have never been arrested, but...

I am a criminal, only because I never wear my seatbelts. I have refused to put them on when requested by an officer... he didn't make me put them on, and I never met the guy before. I guess he could have pushed it, but he made the right choice. My freedom won out that day.

I think you would rather have me on your side in a real one than on the other side though. As far as me being a cop-hater, I would shoot the criminal if the chips were down, not you.

Originally posted by Pitt
reply to post by Xcathdra

 

I thought, it was a bit odd that the officers issuing the parking tickets on the Good supporters were parked much further from the curbs than any of the vehicles they were ticketing. No lights to warn approaching vehicles of them doing their "duties". They were parked and measuring vehicles that were parked in a safer manner than their own. Clearly, these officers put themselves above the laws they "enforce".
I don't have anything against those that enforce the laws, as long as they themselves follow those same rules.

The laws are for us peons to follow, not the police.

They have their own set of rules.-

reply to post by Ryanp5555

As I stated earlier, there are multiple exceptions that the courts have carved out:

Like I said,

the cops have their own set of rules. They're not like us peons.

reply to post by Xcathdra

The presence of 4 officers could, oh I dont know, be a clue that there

..... may be a gang mentality among police officers?

Is that what you were thinking? Maybe subconsciously?

reply to post by Pitt


A valid point for sure. What needs to be done is to check New York State LAw, specifically the section that covers the authority of law enforcement. There should be a section that spells out under what circumstances police are allowed to ignore traffic laws.

For us if we are performing our duties, and the situation is not violent (which can require a code run - lights / sirens), and provided our patrol vehicles arent stopped in blind / limited sight distance roads, then we can park where we need to to perform those duties.

However, I get what your saying though and I agree to an extent. I will not cite a person for driving in the same manner I do, unless thae actions become dangerous.

reply to post by butcherguy


Yeah, because when a group of heavily armed people are robbing a liquor store, you aren't the one who is called. When someone is putting your life in danger by flying down the interstate trying to escape from a crime, you aren't the one who is going to have to stop them are you? You aren't going to have to bust open a house filled with drug dealers who have weapons in the couch are you? Remind me: are you going to chase down the gang members in their neighborhood today, tomorrow, or never?

reply to post by butcherguy


Seat belt laws I do find funny. I dont mind a requirement for safety devices in vehicles, however I dont agree with mandatory enfrocement of it. People can make their own decisions. The one area I do draw the line at is children and minors.

As far as a seat belt ticket.. I have never written one. It would be a waste of not only my time, but the person I stopped as well since its like a 10 dollar fine.

The difference regarding the computer screen comment is I do this for a living. My point was its easy for a person to throw rocks in from the outside because they have never experienced first hand some of the stuff we deal with.

Its like the milk jug toss game and the amusement park. You hear people say all the time, oh thats easy, anyone can do it. Then, when they actually go to do it, they lose.

Its nice to see the justice system actually work for the common man (or woman)

This is a topic that pisses me off, as I can relate.

I was pulled over for going 6mph over the speed limit on an empty highway. My lady was in the car next to me, we had just come from a nice meal.

The officer asked if I had been drinking, (and being naive) I was truthful and informed him I had drank wine with my meal. I was ordered to step out of the vehicle, and knowing what was coming, told my girlfriend to film me with her phone, as the way our vehicles were positioned the dash cam on the squad car was facing away.

I know how strict police are with drinking and driving these days, but as I am not a criminal, and know for a fact what my limits are when drinking, knew I had nothing to hide or worry about.

I remained calm the whole time, and was polite, answering every question, not giving any attitude, and being 100% honest. (which I thought would go a long way)

To make a long story short, two more patrol cars pulled up and I had 6 cops surrounding me. I agreed to do any test they wanted, and I rocked them all. I literally balanced on one foot for about 5 minutes. I was thinking in the back of my head, thank god my girlfriend was filming the whole thing, because once the cops were in a group, they all developed very abrasive attitudes, and even mocked me while I was doing their ridiculous tests.

Then one of them spotted her with the phone and immediately things went bad. They ordered her out of the vehicle at gunpoint, and made her drop the phone on the ground, treating it like it was a deadly weapon. They made her kick it away from her and lay down on her stomach while they proceeded to hand cuff both of us and stomp the $%#T out of my phone, destroying it.

They eventually let her go, after making her lay face down on the pavement, crying and shivering because it was cold and raining (December) while they proceeded to sexually harass her while I sat fuming in the back seat of the patrol car.

Of course the police report said I was uncooperative, clearly intoxicated, and failed every one of their tests. After spending the night in jail, spending over $10,000, and having my license suspended, I lost my job and now have three years of probation. All because of a stupid iphone, and some over zealous cops.

Up until that point, I had never had a bad experience with the police. I had always been a hard worker,a law abiding citizen, and was active in my community, coaching a youth hockey team in my spare time. I know most police are decent and use their discretion. I just got unlucky and it left a VERY bad taste in my mouth.

Oh yeah, and I couldnt wait for my blood tests to come back because I knew it would vindicate me.......they never showed up. Somehow they were lost. ......interesting.

Originally posted by Ryanp5555
reply to post by butcherguy

 

Yeah, because when a group of heavily armed people are robbing a liquor store, you aren't the one who is called. When someone is putting your life in danger by flying down the interstate trying to escape from a crime, you aren't the one who is going to have to stop them are you? You aren't going to have to bust open a house filled with drug dealers who have weapons in the couch are you? Remind me: are you going to chase down the gang members in their neighborhood today, tomorrow, or never?

Did someone force you into your job?

NO? Then quit whining!

Something tells me that the majority of the police officers today aren't really chasing down gang members either. If you are, you're not putting a big dent in their population.

reply to post by Ryanp5555


Being arrested and booked and spending 24 hours locked up may be as good the same as having been put in that coffin. Now you have a criminal record, which will haunt you for the rest of your life. I know, she had a prior arrest.... for a public demonstration. She is a demonstrator.
I just feel, it's a shame, that an officer would arrest someone and use whatever lame excuse they can come up with just because she didn't obey him. She was no threat. His safety was never an issue. Honestly...
She just needs to be glad for the video. Otherwise, it would have been her word against whatever trumped up charge he decided to put in his report. His official opinion would have prevailed over her rights.

reply to post by butcherguy


I'm not a police officer or any other law enforcement officer.