Guy gets beaten up by police for calling his sister

[Toni]

Do the police have the right to stop him from making phone calls?

I tried googling for the answer on this, but couldn't find anything definitive. You're supposed to obey the officers' orders during a stop, but if they give an order outside of their authority to give, then that wouldn't apply.

Did his having the phone prevent him from answering a single one of their questions? Having an additional witness to the interaction could be a positive thing. If there's not a specific rule preventing him from calling his sister, then he'd be correct that he had the right to do so.

Phones can also be used to summon help. People do sometimes attack the cops, it doesn't surprise me that they get worried about someone who won't stop communicating with someone else.

But we know the real threat: people record encounters with police far more often than they call for reinforcements.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Do the police have the right to stop him from making phone calls?

I tried googling for the answer on this, but couldn't find anything definitive. You're supposed to obey the officers' orders during a stop, but if they give an order outside of their authority to give, then that wouldn't apply.

Did his having the phone prevent him from answering a single one of their questions? Having an additional witness to the interaction could be a positive thing. If there's not a specific rule preventing him from calling his sister, then he'd be correct that he had the right to do so.

Phones can also be used to summon help. People do sometimes attack the cops, it doesn't surprise me that they get worried about someone who won't stop communicating with someone else.

You're not addressing what Tom wrote. Did the police have a right to tell him not to use the phone?

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

He was told multiple times to put the phone away, then he starts getting all "I have a right to phone my sister" BS. Another mouthy gobshite that's still wondering what hit him

Do the police have the right to stop him from making phone calls?

I tried googling for the answer on this, but couldn't find anything definitive. You're supposed to obey the officers' orders during a stop, but if they give an order outside of their authority to give, then that wouldn't apply.

Did his having the phone prevent him from answering a single one of their questions? Having an additional witness to the interaction could be a positive thing. If there's not a specific rule preventing him from calling his sister, then he'd be correct that he had the right to do so.

I agree. I will just add that a person has the right not to answer questions at all.

 

[RavenSky]

Even if you did, that would not be a justification for getting the shit kicked out of you by a cop.

I'm smart enough to not put it to the test.

Mouthing off to a cop does him no harm whatsoever. This asshole cop punched the guy in the head. Totally unjustified and deserving of disciplinary action on the part of Mesa PD and if that doesn't happen, a lawsuit.

There are unprofessional people in all walks of life. Hopefully he has learned his lesson, don't be a dick.

Being a dick is not against the law.

 

[TSwizzle]

There are unprofessional people in all walks of life. Hopefully he has learned his lesson, don't be a dick.

Being a dick is not against the law.

Oh goody, here's the mailman who never fails to deliver a contradiction to something that wasn't said. Being a dick may get you arrested for something other than being a dick but will often times get you a punch in the mouth or worse.

 

[RavenSky]

Being a dick is not against the law.

Oh goody, here's the mailman who never fails to deliver a contradiction to something that wasn't said. Being a dick may get you arrested for something other than being a dick but will often times get you a punch in the mouth or worse.

See! Being a dick is not against the law. Nor is it a valid reason for you to get punched in the mouth or worse.

 

[bilby]

The thread title is truncated.

What did he call the cop's sister?

I think that's important to understanding why the cop beat him up for it.

 

[Will Wiley]

He does plan to file a lawsuit. Is there any point at which police departments in the USA will look at the money lost through lawsuits and hire different people.

 

[Nexus]

He does plan to file a lawsuit. Is there any point at which police departments in the USA will look at the money lost through lawsuits and hire different people.

Tax payers cover the costs of lawsuits not police.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

:mod:

 

[ksen]

Being a dick is not against the law.

Oh goody, here's the mailman who never fails to deliver a contradiction to something that wasn't said. Being a dick may get you arrested for something other than being a dick but will often times get you a punch in the mouth or worse.

and normally the one punching the dick in the mouth gets arrested for assault

 

[TSwizzle]

Oh goody, here's the mailman who never fails to deliver a contradiction to something that wasn't said. Being a dick may get you arrested for something other than being a dick but will often times get you a punch in the mouth or worse.

See! Being a dick is not against the law.

See !! I never said being a dick was against the law !!

 

[Tom Sawyer]

See! Being a dick is not against the law.

See !! I never said being a dick was against the law !!

But you do seem to be saying that it's a justification for a police officer to assault you during questioning.

 

[TSwizzle]

See !! I never said being a dick was against the law !!

But you do seem to be saying that it's a justification for a police officer to assault you during questioning.

Nope, never said that either. What I did say was you play a dangerous game when being a mouthy gobshite to the police.

 

[barbos]

Police should not have charged him with bike not having some lights.
They should have charged him with DBWS (driving bicycle while stupid)
Guy was beaten not because he called his sister, he was "beaten" because he insisted on disobeying and resisting police order.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

But you do seem to be saying that it's a justification for a police officer to assault you during questioning.

Nope, never said that either. What I did say was you play a dangerous game when being a mouthy gobshite to the police.

Ya, nobody's disputing that. The point is, however, that of the people in the situation, the police are the professionals who are on the job. If someone's being a dick to a barista at a coffee shop, that barista has an obligation to continue smiling and wish the customer a nice day. If he gets into a shouting match and starts throwing insults or punches at the customer, he needs to be fired because he has failed in one of the key requirements of his job.

It's the same with cops. They are the professionals, not the people they are questioning, so the onus is on them to be the ones acting in a better manner. If they escalate a situation into violence, as they did here, they need to be fired because they have failed in one of the key requirements of their job. Their goal in this situation was supposed to be to establish this guy's identity and see if he was the person they were looking for. Having him display proper deference to them is not a necessary part of that.

They went beyond the bounds of their authority as police officers and became regular violent thugs beating someone up on the street for no good reason. They need to be treated as such.

 

[crispy]

Police should not have charged him with bike not having some lights.
They should have charged him with DBWS (driving bicycle while stupid)
Guy was beaten not because he called his sister, he was "beaten" because he insisted on disobeying and resisting police order.

I think I know where all this blind authority worship comes from. Its from a misunderstanding that police can order whatever they want you to do, and you must obey it. Barbos, it might come as a surprise to you, but the police does not actually have that authority.

 

[TSwizzle]

Nope, never said that either. What I did say was you play a dangerous game when being a mouthy gobshite to the police.

Ya, nobody's disputing that.

There did seem to be some confusion over what I actually said but I'm glad it has been straightened out now.

They went beyond the bounds of their authority as police officers and became regular violent thugs beating someone up on the street for no good reason. They need to be treated as such.

I agree, their use of force was very, very excessive and I hope the cops are punished. But as I say, you play a dangerous game when acting like a dick in these situations.

 

[abaddon]

What I did say was you play a dangerous game when being a mouthy gobshite to the police.

Guy was beaten not because he called his sister, he was "beaten" because he insisted on disobeying and resisting police order.

Stupidly trivial observations.

The question is "Should the officer be a danger to people for minor things?" The answer cannot be along the lines of "this is how it is"; there's no good reason at all to even point it out. To be a non-stupid answer it must be an argument for or against (well, really, just against) police officers getting violent when there's no direct assault on their persons.

 

[barbos]

Police should not have charged him with bike not having some lights.
They should have charged him with DBWS (driving bicycle while stupid)
Guy was beaten not because he called his sister, he was "beaten" because he insisted on disobeying and resisting police order.

I think I know where all this blind authority worship comes from. Its from a misunderstanding that police can order whatever they want you to do, and you must obey it. Barbos, it might come as a surprise to you, but the police does not actually have that authority.

Police did not order whatever they wanted, because they really wanted to order him to get naked and then dance ballet but they realized that they can only make reasonable orders like putting that cellphone down.