November 16, 2006
From the "not understanding the concept" department
What we have here is a UCLA student getting tazed in a computer lab by the cops for producing an attitude in place of an ID. Granted, the cops in this situation weren't being particularly reasonable here. But not complying with the orders of an officer of the peace, for any reason, is a crime in and of itself, which is something this particular punk and the students nearby don't seem to comprehend. When the cops ask you to do something, you do something. Screaming about the Patriot Act and abuses of power is not particularly likely to make the officers sympathetic, and is quite likely to get you tazed again. Which is hilarious.
As unpleasant as this incident was, the officers were probably acting within their rights. They found an individual in an educational area that could not prove he had a right to be there, and they asked for ID. He couldn't produce ID. We don't have the tape of what transpired before he got tazed, but it's pretty clear that he refused to leave. So the cops took action.
What these kids don't seem to get is that, yes Virginia, there are authority figures out there that can make you do things you don't want to do, and you don't get to act out just because you don't like it. Just because you're a college student doesn't make you any more immune to the law than a high-school dropout who knocks over a 7-11. If you fight the law, the law will win.
Sit down, punk.
While I'm inclined to agree with you to an extent, just wait until you've had to experience what it's like to be unjustly manhandled by the Police, the feeling of powerlessness, to know you're being treated unfairly and in an unwarranted fashion, and knowing that you have absolutely no avenue of recourse.
The experience would certainly temper your viewpoint and tone.
Though you seem to be arguing that one out to comply with the Police simply for pragmatic reasons. Fair enough. But not everyone is as gifted as you are with such a malleable and submissive personality.
All that being said, I would agree that there is by and large a lack of a clear understanding by the general public of the powers that the Police wield. I deal with the Police on a regular basis, and I certainly don't posses a full comprehension of what they can and cannot do.
Could a police officer as I walk down the street tell me to stop moving? Am I allowed to demand that he show cause? Can he follow me home into my driveway? Is he allowed to badger me for over an hour asking that I turn over any drugs I have (even though I continue to insist that I do not, in fact, have any drugs)? Can he handcuff me, throw me into the back of his car, etc.? Can he then do the same to my wife, aggressively, while I'm forced to watch? Can he then, after 90 minutes, let us go and then give us a ticket for a taillight being out because "after all that, I have to give you something."
The fucked up thing is that technically, yes, he probably can do that and will get away with it. The great thing about America is that we at least attempt to operating under the idea that just because the government can do something, it doesn't make it right and it doesn't mean they should be allowed to do it.
It's important to remember that these Police-abuse situations aren't simply abstract legal ideas. They're real situations with actual human beings involved. All the cliche's about the psychology of the average Policeman are largely true (in my experience with a couple dozen officers). These are not the kind of people that we think of as being the grandfatherly but strong, kind, caring, public servants.
They're a wholly different animal.
Posted by: Josiah at November 17, 2006 12:27 PMWell-made points. I'm hoping the comments you made about my disposition are in jest.
What jumped out at me in this particular instance is the gut feeling that things might have gone quite differently had the "perpetrator" in this case been a marginally-employed high-school dropout who's been in trouble with the police before. The student in this case seemed to be acting under the mistaken assumption that the police really weren't allowed to do anything to him and that he didn't really have to follow their instructions. What's most amazing to me is that after getting tazed once he got more belligerent. I'm not defending the officers here. They were clearly jerks. I am criticizing the student.
A word on "abuse". Most states have statutes such that citizens are not permitted to use force to resist arrest, even when they believe the arrest to be unlawful. This may sound unjust, but there are good policy reasons for it.
- First, the officer is a much better position to know whether or not the arrest is lawful. He'll know if a warrant has been sworn out for your arrest, but you won't.
- Second, though "probable cause" is by nature a discretionary term, it's the discretion of the officer, not the citizen, and again, he's more likely to know what's going on than you are.
- But third, and most importantly, if it was legal to resist an unlawful arrest, every single punk on the streets would resist, because everybody thinks that while most arrests are okay, their arrest is clearly an abuse of power. So we'd have chase scenes and gun battles for every pickup, which is clearly sub-optimal.
In my limited experience with the police, it's always worked to my advantage to just give them whatever they want. Having spent even a little time in law school, this seems to be the correct response for two reasons.
- First, the cops are less likely to give you a hard time if you don't give them a hard time.
- Second, if you don't make any threatening moves to the officers or anyone else, and you comply with all of the officer's requests, any use of force on the officer's part will be unjustified, and grounds for a cause of action against him. But if you do resist in any way, you case is more than likely shot.
In the instant case, the police officers clearly had probable cause. The student was in a private area without ID, and campus officials had called them to the scene to intervene. They may have gotten carried away, but when the guy you're trying to arrest is screaming about the Patriot Act, encouraging those around him to "join the resistance" and a large crowd is gathering, they'd also have probable cause to fear for their safety.
As a side not, though it's been a while since college students rioted about anything, UCLA is as good a place as any for that to start up again.
Posted by: ryan at November 17, 2006 3:35 PM