TheAgitator.com
Snowballs and Bullets
Saturday, December 19th, 2009Off-duty cop unwittingly drives into middle of D.C. snowball fight. Snowballs pelt his Hummer. So he does what any reasonable person would do. He draws his gun and starts making threats.
Good on the snowballers for not backing down, and sticking around to tell him what a douche he is.
Any other person would be going to jail for felony assault.
In Bizzaro World the cops pulling guns would be fired immediately and then charged with several felonies. You see because Bizzaro is the opposite and we have it wrong here so…
My guess it that the police union immediately stated that the cop was following training…because they’re trained to pull their gun on civilians in EVERY situation.
Bill, any other person would’ve been shot dead by responding cops, handcuffed, and then shot again.
That asswipe cop is lucky nobody popped a cap in his ass.
Isn’t that just like a cop? Brings a gun to a snowball fight.
This one is not quite so clear-cut, and a bit interesting I think. It seems that the cop (initially) is attempting to protect his property (Big Ass Hummer). Yeah, he’s being a complete prick about it (but he’s a cop, so that should be expected).
As Bill said, anyone other than a cop would probably have been tossed in jail.
But when does a person cross the line from protecting property to committing a crime (and abuse of power, to me, is perhaps the worst crime out there)? And yes, I think this fits with the cricket-bat incident from the earlier post.
I mean, we can take the view that cops are pricks and therefore the cop is in the wrong. That would be right about 99.9% of the time and maybe this time, too, I think. But put yourself in this guy’s position – snowballs can actually do some damage. But you know, the dude is in a Hummer. The snowballs shouldn’t do any more than maybe a scratch or dent if they’re packed particularly solid. But if you’ve got a Hummer without scratches or dents then you’re either an old lady who only drives it on Sunday afternoon to go grocery shopping or you’re a pretentious asshole.
You know, as I reason this out, I keep coming to the conclusion that the cop (though there may be a tiny amount of merit to his anger) is a complete douchebag and it makes me wish that Cracked would bring back The Week in Douchebaggery vids.
Ah well. None of that changes the central question. At what point does someone go from legitimate protection of life, liberty, and property and become a criminal and/or douchebag?
We all agree that the cop was an asshole.
That being said, I am glad that none of those kids got shot.
Tsu Dho Nihm | December 19th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
You’ve put your finger on the only quibble I have in this situation. A snowball striking a car can be a dangerous distraction, considering that it necessarily arises when there is snow, slush or ice on the road making driving conditions poor.
It can be doubly dangerous if a snowball strikes the windshield, obscuring the driver’s vision.
Maybe the kids were being stupid. I will not claim that they could have been reasoned into keeping the snowball fight amongst themselves rather than pelting cars.
But the cop was still a fucking asshole.
But the cop was still a fucking asshole.
No argument there, Areson. No argument whatsoever.
Apparently it was a huge snowball fight that had been planned in advance and was going on for hours, involving a large number of people. The crowd was good natured and helped out people stuck in the snow. Then some guy in a hummer gets out and waves a gun around, causing the crowd to call 9-11 (crazy guy with a gun). Even the other cops who came along later thought it was stupid.
It’s so sad that there can be no Christmas in Whoville because this Grinch’s penis was three sizes too small.
they should’ve gotten a permit for the snowball fight- how else could the cop possibly know he wasn’t in danger?
good thing there weren’t any dogs!
A Hummer? We pay cops too much.
Nah.
He probably seized it from a
grandmother who bought too much cold medicinefiendish drug queen.Aresen wins the post
@Class Action: “It’s so sad that there can be no Christmas in Whoville because this Grinch’s penis was three sizes too small.”
Brilliant and funny as hell! (lifts glass.)
Woulda figured the Military Industrial Complex coulda designed the Hummer to withstand assaults heavier than an 8-12 ounce snowball…or is that hardened steel merely designed to protect one prick’s ego?
“This one is not quite so clear-cut, and a bit interesting I think. It seems that the cop (initially) is attempting to protect his property (Big Ass Hummer).”
Perhaps the rules are different in DC, but where I live I’m not sure it is legal to use deadly force to protect property. So pulling a gun to prevent somebody from damaging your property still isn’t legal. I don’t particularly agree with that statement but it seems like DC would be one of those places as well.
I’d say if your in an unmarked car, not in uniform you are a civilian under almost all circumstances. Clearly calling the cops to break up the fight may not have been uncalled for, and in my small town new england (lots of snowball fights) experience would have just had a few marked cars come down and the peaceful crowd would have dispersed without any further escalation.
Jonathan Ayers’ killers cleared by grand jury:
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/27344/
Widow will commence with lawsuit.
The hummer cars you see people driving around actually have nothing in common with the military vehicle of the same name, other than having been styled to look similar. It’d be like sticking fake wings and a tail on my Mercury and wanting to call it an F-16
#20 | Stormy Dragon | December 20th, 2009 at 3:37 am
The hummer cars you see people driving around actually have nothing in common with the military vehicle of the same name, other than having been styled to look similar. It’d be like sticking fake wings and a tail on my Mercury and wanting to call it an F-16
Having worked on the F-16, this is actually a fairly bad analogy, since that bird basicly IS just a mercury with fake wings tail.
The Hummer that the military uses IS available in a standard civilian model. It just lacks the armor, such as it is, and has a far less utilitarian interior. Tires are different as well. Aaaahnuhld had several of them; I guess he had them either for publicity, or to try and salvage back what the Kennedy – Shriver clan hacked off years ago.
The Hummer II is a model designed to sell the brand, and has all kinds of looks-military tie-down loops, hook points, and other stuff to help the driver imagine himself with a set that clanng and one that goes out further than a ruler.
Can you get the civilian Hummer version with the “ma duce” on top option?
http://www.defense-update.com/images/RCWS-Hummer.jpg
I think this could seriously reduce my commute time. Not to mention discouraging those pesky tailgaters.
The most important question yet to be answered: DID HE HAVE TRUCK NUTS!?!?!?!?
http://www.truck-nuts.com/index.html
If the snowball fight had been in southeast dc the detective would have kept driving or the 911 call wouldn’t have been answered.
“The most important question yet to be answered: DID HE HAVE TRUCK NUTS!?!?!?!?”
Yeah, that joke never gets old. I think it is more of a redneck thing though.
“This one is not quite so clear-cut, and a bit interesting I think. It seems that the cop (initially) is attempting to protect his property (Big Ass Hummer).”
People who drive 4×4s without scratches, dirt, or dents are douche bags.
It is clear-cut. Next time try responding to a snowball fight with a gun and see how fucked YOUR life becomes…if you survive when they take you down.
The Chris Ayers things makes me so fucking mad. I saw it on the local news this morning. I can’t believe there isn’t more public outcry over this. This is the Bible Belt. A Decent, God fearing preacher was gunned down and the cops had the balls to insinuate that he was involved with prostitution and worse. You know, if an Imam was gunned down in Iran by trigger happy cops, you damn better believe that those cops wouldn’t have been let go by a grand jury.
There’s other perfectly legitimate reasons to own a 4wd or AWD car. Like driving around all the rear wheel drive cars stuck in snowbanks.
Funny you should ask… If you have $55k and don’t mind driving to Texas, then yes, you can:
Twin Ma Deuce’s on Battleship Mount FOR SALE
There’s other perfectly legitimate reasons to own a 4wd or AWD car. Like driving around all the rear wheel drive cars stuck in snowbanks.
I’ve seen a lot more 4×4s in the ditch on snow days than regular cars. The drivers apparently can’t grasp the fact that there is no such thing as good traction on wet slush or black ice.
Bad Driver + Rwd = Trouble in Snow
Bad Driver + 4wd = Trouble in Snow
Good Driver + Rwd = Trouble in Snow
Good Driver + 4wd = Good in Snow
If people throw snowballs into moving traffic they should be arrested and hauled off to jail.
Although the snowball might not break windows or cause physical damage, it could cause a driver to swerve and cause an accident. It could also blind a driver at a very critical moment.
I love how the story now is that it was “masked anarchists” and “people with protest signs”.
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/12/20/In-Washington-even-snow-gets-political/UPI-41431261292784/
Guess that makes it OK to pull a gun on them, because they’re weirdos. Not normal people like the rest of us.
Good thing Cynical’s in California, or he probably would have been the first arrested.
“Funny you should ask… If you have $55k and don’t mind driving to Texas, then yes, you can:”
Awsome! Now I just need to figure out how to mount them on my Kia.
4 wheel drive helps you go in the snow, but it won’t help you stop.
“D.C. police have said they are investigating the incident. Assistant Chief Pete Newsham, who leads the department’s investigative services bureau, has said the detective in question “was armed but never pulls his weapon.”"
From the Washington Post.