Dana Myers wrote:
> Yes, you *are* required to follow a police officer's legally-given
> directions. Failing to do so is just going to make your life
> worse and never make it better.
Yep, even when those directions are screamed at you for no good reason.
I would not, however, say it has never made life better for anyone.
Some people have won decent-sized money settlements after being
brutalized by the thugs in uniform like Officer Taser.
> Of course not, but a pattern of refusing to comply with the officer
> and physically belligerent behavior may in fact cause the officer to
> conclude that he is in danger. You're not required to be polite to
> an officer, but it is always in your best interest to do so.
If that "officer" felt in danger in that situation, then chalk up one
more reason that he should never have been given a badge.
This screaming hothead who looks like a steroid-abuse poster boy does
not command respect from anyone, only fear.
I don't want to put my own neck out on the chopping block in a situation
like that, but I have to have respect for someone who has the balls to
say, "hey, I am not to be treated like this in a supposedly free country".
> You're not watching the same video I am, which happens to have the
> time displayed in the upper right-hand side. 43 seconds elapsed
> from the first time the officer asked for paperwork and when the
> officer tazed the driver, plenty of time for the driver to say
> "OK officer, let me get my paperwork out" without an argument.
The uniformed criminal was aggressive from the get-go. He screamed at
the driver, commanded him to leave the vehicle, hit him with the car
door, and then tased him, all in under a minute.
This true danger to society then left the victim in a position of
extreme danger, on the ground between two cars that were parked on the
shoulder of a busy highway.
Sure sounds like defense of this uniformed thug to me. He should be
serving jail time right now, but instead he is still out there
endangering the drivers of Austin.
> Am I defending the heavy-handed tactics of the officer? No.
> Am I suggesting that drivers are legally compelled to cooperate
> with police officers when asked for paperwork? Yes.
>
> Dana
Pat
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