pws wrote:
> 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.
It's simple. I'm not defending the heavy-handed tactics of the
officer; I *am* responding to Jake's assertion:
> Too many people think that they're
> required to submit when a police officer says "boo!" and it just doesn't
> work like that.
People that think they're required to submit to a police
officer's legally-given directions are *right*; anyone who
thinks otherwise is simply mistaken - and could be endangering
themselves. We're not talking about Nelson Mandela ending
apartheid here - we're talking about license, registration and
proof of insurance.
Some cops are assholes, yes. You still have to cooperate with
them. Does this mean you might have to swallow your pride a
few times? Yes. It also means that every time some kind of
"police officer" charity calls, I start mentioning every time
that I've been rudely treated by a police officer. It's amazing
how quickly it ends the call.
Dana
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