TheAgitator.com
Bonus Afternoon Roundup of Criminal Justice-Themed Links
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011- Cop shoots at unarmed man, arrests unarmed man. Unarmed man somehow still charged with “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.”
- Deaf man held in jail for 25 days because police department didn’t bother to get a translator.
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers: It’s time to reform the grand jury system.
- Finally . . . 5-year-old arrested, zip-tied at the hands and feet, and charged with battery on a police officer.
I’m sure that the officer who zip-tied the five year old just needs more training on dealing with children. After all, without a written policy in place, who would know that it’s not okay to hogtie a small child who is having a temper tantrum?
Hmmm. How can one be charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and “resisting an officer without violence”? Those sound exclusive to me.
Well, it is Florida…the only state that makes California look good.
Every day that goes by we seem to move closer to the old Soviet-era type of policing. How much longer until we have an American version of this:
Soviet Prisoner #1 : Comrade! Tell us, how many years did you get?
Soviet Prisoner #2 : I was given 20 years.
SP#1 : 20 years! Tell us, what is it that you did?
SP#2 : Comrade I assure you, I did nothing!
SP#1: That cannot be. For nothing they only give you 10 years!
(It loses something in the translation, but you get the idea)
The cop who went full-felony-arrest on a 5-year-old who kicked him in the knee: the only guys who could play him in the movie would be Will Farrell or Jack Black (whoever has the closest body type.) Chevy Chase is too old, and Chris Farley is dead.
So, it would seem that we are liable for any item a police officer imagines we might have, and any actions he believes we may take with said imaginary item, irrespective of reality.
“resisting an officer without violence”
The most defense-proof charge ever conceived, popular in FLA.
How do you prove that you didn’t commit a crime
that’s so self-contradictory it doesn’t even make any sense?
Also, too, how long before a cop tasers a 5 year old for kicking him.
“An internal investigation has determined that Officer Kidshocker followed all policies on the use of less than lethal force. Little Billy is actually quite lucky that the officer showed some restraint, as his training indicates the use of firearms when an officer is being assaulted.”
In it, the officer, Lt. Frank Gordo, says he placed his hand on Michael’s and, “the boy pushed my hand away in a batting motion, pushed papers off the table, and kicked me in the right knee.”
Well then Lt. Gordo initiated the physical contact, didn’t he. Maybe he should have known better than to touch a kid who was already worked up. And the rest of this is just pathetic and sad. Frank Gordo, you are officially a pussy!
Put Gordo on the sex offender list.
This school system is so whipped that they have to bring in a police LT to talk to a 5 year old, to scare the kid straight?
Maybe they could have brought in a police dog to bite the kid, to let him know who was boss.
I am NOT DEAD! Of course, I’m not an actor either…and I’m tall…and thin…and a computer nerd. Anyhow, I’m still alive.
#2 Powersox
SHHHHH! Don’t ask questions. I asked how can someone only be charged with “resisting arrest.” Don’t they have to be arrested and charged for something before they can resist it? I was told I was an idiot.
I still don’t get it, perhaps someone here can explain it to me.
I keep reading articles about elementary school aged children being restrained and even arrested by police officers. This is my number one reason to homeschool. It’s atrocious that school personnel would initiate these kinds of actions against young children, and that police officers would use such extreme methods in dealing with kids. I don’t know how much is laziness or anger at having to deal with challenging children, how much is avoidance in meeting the special needs of some of these kids, and how much is ignorance of child development on the part of school personnel. The police should have clear directives not to get involved in these situations at all! These kids are too young to be considered criminals by their actions! Train the teachers and aides in safe restraint methods, and call the parents! Public schools are often underfunded, and will do everything in their power to avoid arranging evaluations and writing IEPs for kids who need them. I guess it’s cheaper to throw them away. Shameful.
My wife thinks I am crazy – and sometimes I must admit that I think that too – when I react skeptically to the Officer Friendly stuff for my 1st Grader and Kindergartner. And as white kids in an upper middle class suburb, it’s probably true that most of the time the police would be more help than hindrance if they had an emergency.
Parents – how do you reconcile the daily stories from Radley with the reality that many cops are good guys and that kids should seek help from authorities in an emergency?
“Officer James Falbo ordered Brooks to stop but he kept running so he discharged his Taser unsuccessfully.”
So that should at least mitigate some of the concerns about what happened in this case.
I’m very much struggling with that thought right now. Daughter’s too young to understand (2.5 years). But it’s going to come up sooner than later. Most of my family thinks I’m nuts for wanting to teach her that police officers aren’t anything but wonderful beings of shining light who should be trusted always. Luckily my wife seems to agree with me for the most part.
Eric (#15) –
My four year old knows to go to a uniformed police officer or (preferably) a woman with kids or a firefighter if he gets separated from me. I haven’t started teaching him the other realities of police officers yet. (Both kids know to call 911 in an emergency.) My 9 year old, however, is learning that the police are only good for certain situations, and you have to be careful when dealing with them. I teach him that if he gets into trouble and the police are involved (whether he did what he was accused of or not), to stay silent except for asking for his parents and a lawyer. He knows that the police don’t have to follow the law, and in fact often break it. He knows that there are some really stupid laws, so he has to be aware of them. He knows that even kids are arrested and can get locked up. And I’ve taught him to do what the police officer tells him to do (except that he is to remain silent), even if it’s an unlawful order, because it’s better for him to cooperate than to be shot.
I grew up in the Prince George’s County, Md that Radley often posts about. I’ve seen how bad cops can get. I’m not going to shelter my kids from that reality. Unfortunately, in some situations, you have no choice but to deal with them anyway. I have not personally met many good cops, and I’ve met my fair share of cops. I live in Anne Arundel County, Md now, and the cops here are only marginally better than the cops I grew up with. I’d prefer for my kids to never encounter them.
Eric asks:
“Parents – how do you reconcile the daily stories from Radley with the reality that many cops are good guys and that kids should seek help from authorities in an emergency?”
Eric, whatever you do don’t lie. Your kids are smart. They’ll see right through you if you lie, and then ignore your subsequent lessons as lies. Don’t lie to you kids about the police, or it may cost your children their lives.
The greatest threat to an American child’s life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is an encounter with Law Enforcement. Teach your children to avoid the police like they would a poisonous snake. It may save their lives one day.
There are no good cops. Period. Either they commit crimes, or they cover up for their fellow officers who commit crimes. They are all criminals now.
Protect & Serve (Themselves!)
Nice link off the deaf guy being held for 25 days: guy gets out of the hospital to find that somebody has fraudulently rented his house, and a group of people are trespassing on his property and living in his home. Guy calls the cops, and the cops refuse to get involved, even when the guy has clear documentation of his ownership of the property– claiming that it’s a civil matter.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/11/23/man-returns-from-hospital-to-find-his-house-stolen/
@20 – It IS a civil matter.
You bring eviction proceedings and sue the “agency” which let it for damages.
Unless you think it’s fine that landlords can toss renters out the house by calling the police.
#13 Doubleu
#2 Powersox
In many jurisdictions, “resisting arrest” is the cover-all charge for contempt of cop, just like “disorderly conduct”, “interfering with law enforcement”, or “failure to comply” is in others.
For example, in Galveston, TX from 8/07 through 8/08, 88 people were charged with resisting arrest. In 41 out of those 88 cases, the charge of resisting arrest was the only charge filed.
http://tinyurl.com/c53uuma
In the “Which moron decided this was a good idea?” category:
http://mashable.com/2011/11/29/jaime-kennedy-ultrabook-pranks/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29
Let us assume that the 5 year old is a bit out of control. At home he throws papers on the floor and kicks his mother.she then wrestles him to the floor and ties both his hands and feet upon arrival of authorities who would be leaving in handcuffs? Correct it would be Mom. If our police officers are so ill equipped physically as not to be able to handle small children what can be expected for full grown felons? I guess that we all should be thankful that the child was neither tazed or shot.
@ #10 – that’s easy enough to do (get an arbitrary person put on a sex offenders list); you need their details, and a decent hacker. FreeNet and TOR vengeance portals are chock-full of folks who can do stuff like that.
In the fullness of time, this will hopefully lead to sex offender registries being seen as doing more harm than good: they already ruin the lives of people whose only offense is “mooning” during their adolescence or something equally benign (by ‘benign’ I mean something that does not involve coercion, abuse of authority, or physical or psychological harm to counterparties: e.g., flashing).
I’m not blind to the fact that they also contain genuine predators – but they are the wrong mechanism for public awareness of that sort of scumbag… and on top of that they’re badly administered (like everything else the government does).
Plus, there’s no doubt in my mind that the Penn State clique is the tip of the iceberg (google “Franklin Affair”) and that there is a paedophile-sadist streak that is over-represented in politicians and other ‘acceptable’ sociopaths: was Sandusky on a registry?
More to the point – how did a life-long kiddie-fucker get to be his age, and NOT be on a registry? Nobody complained? Ever? REALLY?
So let’s see…
An unarmed man is charged with assault with a deadly weapon because the deadly weapon was discharged at him?
This sounds like the felony murder rule run amok.
Lets see, now, someone discharged a weapon and we’re gonna blame you!
I have no training, but I have dealt with 5 year olds in a better way than that pig (and the system that logged the battery charge).
Question: Should I write “hero” instead of “pig”?
#21 | Leon Wolfeson |
I don’t think that is a fair comparison. Somebody stole his property and then rented it. A landlord actually owns the property. Theft is is actually a crime.
Re: Debi, #18:
Just one problem with that obedience thing. What if the officer orders him to sign a confession?
Re: c andrew, #26:
It’s not terribly unusual for cops to get out of control, realize they’ve gone over the line, then charge their victims with the crimes actually committed by the cops. Then there’s the concept of felony murder – if a cop fires a gun at a fleeing suspect but misses and kills a bystander, the suspect the cop was shooting at can be charged with murder, on the grounds the cop wouldn’t have fired if not for the criminal act of fleeing. Put them together, and it doesn’t surprise me at all for the victim of an unjustified shooting to be charged with pulling the trigger.
#18 | Debi
I think your instructions to your son are accurate and age appropriate.
However I would advise you to instruct your son to behave the same when “interacting” with “school officials” as they have proven themselves to be equally dangerous and often rely on the police with horrific consequences.
The bondage freak who attacked a five year old child should be tarred, feathered, and put on the sex offender’s registry. Goddamned pervert.
The case of the deaf couple is infuriating, but not just because of the police. Apparently they are “culturally deaf”, meaning their sole means of communication is ASL. They cannot read lips, naturally, because they don’t know English. They can neither read nor write any verbal language, because doing so is unacceptable in the deaf culture.
Now, as inexcusable as the police actions were, being unable to communicate, as a deliberate choice, is downright stupid.
#29 Bergman – I’m sure I’ve missed a number of things. We continue to discuss dealing with the police as my eldest gets older and is more independent, and we cover more ground. Most of what I’m teaching him now is for the future, not the present, since he’s still too young to spend much time far away from where I am. (Thankfully, I live in a neighborhood where parents talk to each other rather than call the cops when the kids do something stupid.)
#30 OBTC – If my kids went to school, I’d have to consider that issue. But, we homeschool, and plan to continue homeschooling. Both of my kids have special needs so I’m especially reluctant to consider the public school system for their educations.
@Steamed McQueen
The version I heard which I think is better:
Prisoner 1: “What did they give you?”
Prisoner 2: “10 years.”
Prisoner 1: “What did you do?”
Prisoner 2: “Nothing.”
Prisoner 1: “Nothing? That can’t be. For nothing they give you 15 years.”
Not in socialism (if you are the state).
Wait, let me fix that for me “Not if you are the state–period.”
@#21:
He’s not a goddamn landlord. He owns the property, but he never authorized the property to be rented, and he’s not receiving rent checks.
If you move in to my house while I’m on vacation because Radley says it’s cool, and you’re sending the rent money to him, that doesn’t mean that I am somehow your landlord– it means that you need to get the hell out of my house, and we should TEAM UP to beat the shit out of Radley.
I get that there might need to be an investigation into whether or not the property owner actually did or did not rent the property to prevent abuse (there are landlords who are big enough dicks to pull that kind of shit), but, goddammit, isn’t that something cops are supposed to do? INVESTIGATE?
@21 – Leon –
If I am away from home for a few weeks and people break into my house, their buddy moves in and starts living there, are you saying that the only proper legal recourse I have to is begin the arduous 6-month-long (at a very minimum) eviction process to remove them? If that’s the case, why don’t homeless people do this all the time? Case out a neighborhood for a little while, wait for them to go away for a few days, and move right on in? Boom, 6 months, rent-free, no police involvement, and the only consequences are an eventual eviction. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me…
@28 – The landlord waived his rights to occupy the property to the tenant. That’s what renting the house out IS. Why should the police be able to unilaterally abridge that contract on the Landlord’s word?
(Worse, what happens when the landlord is disputed, and one side abuses that?)
@36 – The people who signed the contract which the “agency” had no authority to offer also have a civil legal case against the “agency” as well, of course.
But making civil matters automatically criminal when it touches on a matter which offends you…you’re just showing how selective YOUR libertarianism is.
@37 – They *do*. Strangely, the answer is not to have massive amounts of homeless people.