Respect Mah Authoritah!
Tim Dees
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
Three things that share a common thread happened this week, and caused me to momentarily channel Cartman for my title. First the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Scott v. Harris to deny an offender who was running from the police the right to sue for the injuries he sustained in so doing. Next, LAPD officers responded to a May Day disturbance at MacArthur Park, and the disturbance escalated to a full-blown riot. Allegations of excessive force are now being investigated. Finally, a deputy sheriff in Florida is getting five days on the beach for his actions when a speed violator took off from a traffic stop and was caught by the deputy. One could find lots of things these incidents have in common, but there is a single characteristic that stands out for me.
Let’s look at these individually. In Scott v. Harris, the court considered the actions of Victor Harris, who was 19 years old in 2001. Harris was seen driving his black Cadillac at 73 MPH in a posted 55 zone, and a Coweta County deputy attempted to make a traffic stop. Mr. Harris elected not to stop, and a pursuit began that would travel nine miles over mostly two-lane roads and exceed ninety miles per hour. Harris crossed over the centerline of the road several times and ran two red lights. At one point, officers tried to box in Harris in a parking lot, but he rammed one of the squad cars and took off again. Deputy Tim Scott requested and received permission from his supervisor to use a PIT maneuver to stop Scott when it became pretty evident that Harris wasn’t going to do it himself. Scott’s PIT technique was a bit off, as he hit Harris’ vehicle square-on, rather than at the more conventional angle that would cause him to spin and become disoriented. Harris’ vehicle left the road, and Harris was rendered a quadriplegic because of his injuries. The Supreme Court case was concerned with whether Harris would be able to sue Scott, and presumably his employer, to be compensated for his injuries.
In a refreshingly favorable decision for the police, The Supremes decided 8-1 to give immunity to Scott, finding that Harris had created the hazardous situation by his recklessness and refusal to heed police orders to stop. They said, “A police officer’s attempt to terminate a dangerous high-speed car chase that threatens the lives of innocent bystanders does not violate the Fourth Amendment, even when it places the fleeing motorist at risk of serious injury or death.” This was a big one for the cops, since a decision for the other side might have meant that violators who didn’t want to stop could just flip the bird and cruise on along, and any cop that chased them would be operating at his own peril. It was also the first time that the USSC used dashcam video evidence to reach a decision, and even posted the video on their web site. But neither one of those factors contain the commonality I alluded to previously.
Next, some folks who want immigration laws made more immigrant-friendly (know that it was tough to write that and not be even more sarcastic than I usually am) were hanging out at LA’s MacArthur Park, exercising their First Amendment rights. They started to spill off of the sidewalks and onto the streets, thus coming into conflict with some elements of the California Vehicle Code. When the cops asked them to disperse, the mood got ugly. LAPD Chief Bratton posited that many of the people there came to bait officers and create a media circus, and that’s what they did. There is also an issue with the dispersal order, which was broadcast in English from a police helicopter. Many of the crowd were supposedly Spanish-speakers that couldn’t understand the order.
Beyond “put your hands on your head” and “sign your name,” I get out of my depth fairly quickly in a Spanish-speaking environment. However, if I found myself in downtown Madrid and saw cops lining up in riot gear, with helicopters overhead putting out something I couldn’t understand through loudspeakers, I would be looking for the quickest route to Someplace Else. My therapist tells me that I overthink things. Maybe this is one of those situations.
Finally, our third featured incident has to do with a Florida deputy sheriff who made a traffic stop after seeing a violator doing 63 in a 35. The woman driving the car stopped, but told the deputy that her father had suffered a heart attack and she was on her way to the emergency room to be with him. While the deputy was writing her a citation, she took off. He chased her to the hospital, and when they had stopped, pulled her out of the car and over the back of her fender, handcuffing and arresting her. The sheriff’s office decided that the deputy’s actions were excessive and suspended him for five days, while dismissing all charges against the violator.
So, gentle reader, what do these episodes in life’s rich pageant have in common? In each case, we have some variation on this theme: Cop tells non-cop (I’d say “citizen,” but it’s likely that at least some of the actors in Incident #2 were not) that the non-cop is engaged in an unlawful activity, and orders them to cease doing it. Non-cop refuses to comply. Cop kicks non-cop’s ass. I could put it in prettier language, but that’s it in a nutshell.
In each case, it is also very likely that had the non-cop complied with the cop’s lawful orders, none of these incidents would be news. The cops are blamed for the bad things that happened, when it was the offenders that turned up the heat. Anyone with a room temperature IQ knows that cops have a force option to back up what they tell you to do. The force option is rarely used. Out of respect or just fear, most people do what the nice officer says. But there always seem to be these people that didn’t get the memo that you are inviting a world of hurt if you blow off the cops, and then they act so shocked and outraged when the cops deliver on the contract.
The first “QUESTION AUTHORITY” t-shirts came out when I was in college, and I don’t think they’ve ever gone off the market in the intervening years. Questioning authority and testing limits is a part of the maturation process, and for some people it becomes a lifelong pastime. I support the questioning of authority, providing you do it in the appropriate venue. When I was teaching criminal justice to students that were often interested only in finding out how much they could get away with, I would warn them, “If you think the officer is wrong, lying, outside of his authority, crooked, stupid or otherwise off base, take it up in court. You have a right to make the state prove its case and to complain if you think you have been done wrong. But, at the side of the road, Mr. Officer Is Always Right. Do not take up the fight there. If you do, you will lose.”
I will never advocate giving unbridled authority to cops. I’ve known too many bad cops who would exploit that for their own benefit, and unlimited authority is never a good idea, anyway. But the people that insist on challenging the authority of the police would do well to watch that Chris Rock routine on how not to get your ass kicked by the police. For those who ignore such advice, well, we told ya so.
Tim, right on. Your article basically sums up what my husband and I teach our two boys (ages 10 and 12). First, take responsibility for your own actions. Second, life isn’t fair, and you’d better get used to it now. If only the individuals you write about had learned these two basic tenets of life…..
I still have a problem with Chiefs who instinctively react and side with others than his officers.
Tim:
I’ve been of the opinion that the high-speed chase drivers, at some point, probably should be taken to the local landfill or toxic waste facility and put to work there while whatever assets they have are used to try to fix the damage.
LAPD may have over-reacted a bit with the demonstrators, but it’s the same as the “Police Brutality” mess of the late 60’s. Mostly bogus…. I’m a little surprised that nobody hollered anything in Spanish - I find it a little hard to believe that working LEO’s in Los Angeles wouldn’t know enough (even if you and I don’t) to strongly suggest “run the other way”…. IAC, the suggestion that the LAPD troops didn’t have the necessary education to demand the demonstrators leave, in Spanish, doesn’t seem to justify the suggestion that charges be dropped, etc. All this does is make the demonstrators (regardless of their motives or goals) look stupid, and reinforce stereotypes.
As to the FL incident, I’m inclined to think that the Officer may have gone too far. My dad had a heart attack in the early 70’s, and I was called in off the road (rent-a-cop beat) about midnight. Nobody knew anything except that he was in a local ER. I expect I set a record getting there, but without exceeding the speed limit or running a light…. (Drive like the Chief is sitting there beside you, and thinks you drive too fast anyway.)
In any case, rationality may not be entirely there. From the video that I saw, the Hospital appeared to be “right there” - I could be wrong - in which case the Officer could easily have verified the gal’s story without “losing” the violator.
All of that said, a combination of “how long does it take to write a citation” and “the Officer could have had Dispatch call the Hospital”, makes me wonder. I’m not enough of a blissninny to assume that the Officer had no right or reason to make the stop and continue to write the citation, and I don’t expect that the violator was all that rational or remembers exactly what happened. That’s what we pay the courts for. I think I’d have taken the gal to the hospital…. (The Liability Lawyers may object to that these days.)
Regards,
Tim:
You’ll want to kill this one….
The little “put your text here” box is way too small for me. IE7 with the latest updates, and one humungous 17×19 screen at high resolution.
The result is that I see about three lines, and have to scroll around a lot….
(Yeah - you did that just for me [grin].)
Might want to ask somebody.
Regards,
Stu.
Editor’s Note: The design of Officer.com from my perspective is a bit like Hamburger Helper: “Just Add Words.” If I try to mess with anything else, there is a crew of geeks empowered to beat me senseless with their pocket protectors. Still, I may be able to help. First, get rid of IE. Almost all of us here use Firefox. For the sites where nothing but IE will do, there is a Firefox extension that will automatically open domains you designate in an IE window. Then, get the “Resizeable Textarea” extension for Firefox (also free), and you can, as the name implies, resize any text box in a Firefox window. Of course, you could just write your own blog. Your comments here would make for a healthy start.
By the way, I seldom “kill” comments. I edit out pottymouth words (and leave a note when I do), and delete the spam comments, which outnumber the real ones ten to one. Other than that, everything gets posted with the exception of those from a single mean-spirited crackpot who knows who he is. Those go to the same place as the links to Paris Hilton videos and online pharmacy deals.
BRAVO! I’m not a cop, nor do I have any affiliation with cops. I’ve been pulled over and cited by cops on multiple occasions, but I hold no grudge against them because I know I was in the wrong. I was breaking the law and I was punished. I showed them the respect they deserve, and a few of them let me off a little easy. I’m sick and tired of the crybaby America that is developing. I’m sick of cops being spit on for doing their jobs, and people that are supposed to back up their actions bend over to public idiocy, and punish officers for doing what they are supposed to be doing: Enforcing the law and keeping the rest of us safe.
I’d also like to add that I’m not some old timer who misses the old days. I’m 23 years old… I just know how to think for myself and not take the side of whatever the media shoves down my throat.
I am glad to see that the Supreme Court finally protected the right of police to chase down offenders, because in my opinion when the police stop chasing and no longer are allowed, the criminals win. As far as the incidents in LA and in Florida, I am glad that I work for an Agency that stands behind the officer and our authority. As you pointed out in your article we (the Officer) are always right on the street, and people need to realize this, as well as some brass across the country. If we are acting within the scope of our authority and in good faith then our commanders should stand behind us. By what I have seen on the video from LA and Florida, in both situations the police were right. I would like to see the citizens that these officers protect and serve stand up and protect the officers for once, and demand the Chief in LA stand firm and not bow to political pressure, and that the sheriff in Florida reinstate the Deputy immediately without any punishment.
Just a little more food for thought… In the case of the Florida deputy, the department was wrong, wrong, wrong to drop the charges (just because it was what virtually every other department administrator in the country would do as well) … The woman’s violations were pretty serious and were not negated by the deputy’s actions. It’s because of knee-jerk reactions like this that dirtbags are continually trying to complain on officers or bait them into reacting in a questionable manner… knowing the chief/sheriff/whoever will fall all overthemselves to kiss enough butt to make the aclu, naacp, lulac, AND all the network news stations happy, only to get slammed in the media and sued anyway… We need to remember that the police represent the will of the people to live lives free from crime… if dropping charges against violators when they clearly deserve to get hammered doesn’t send the wrong message, then what does???
Cops are not always right no matter where they are. Sometime they are, sometime not. About respect due cops, it is only due when they deserve it as a person, not because they are cops. Part of the problem is that good cops have a tendency to cover for bad cops because of the “us” against “them” mentality that seems to be instilled in their training. The police have rights and do not need more. What is needed is for cops to be able to do the job they are are supposed to do without polical interference, such as uphold the constitution, and have a means to resist the political requirements placed on them. We are not supposed to be a society of unquestioned obedience, nor should cops be required to fulfill duties that are anti-constitution. Anyone with an ability to think should understand the siginificance of blind obedience. If not, we deserve what we get.
Well said Mr. Dees. Oh and I never thaught Id see the day whey a quote from South park was featured on Officer.com. Nice.
Not wanting to be too quick to split hairs, but I have to disagree with something Jimmy G. said. While I agree with the basic thrust (cops should act honorably and be accountable), I would argue that the problem with much of society is that people don’t respect authority unless the respect is “earned” to their satisfaction. My credentials were earned long ago before I was ever sworn in, and until I do something to loose it, I deserve (and have every right to expect) the respect my position requires. When I pull up to the scene of a disturbance, I’m not going to debate with everyone present why they should listen to me. What I do expect is for every one of them to be thinking “Oh f***, somebody’s going to jail (or the hospital), and it’s gonna be whoever p*sses off the cop the worst.” Starting from that perspective, we can then have a meaningful dialogue regarding our various positions on the issue and hopefully come to an understanding that requires a minimum of paperwork on my part.
This may sound a little harsh to someone who’s lived a sheltered life, as I did before I started this job, but you have to understand that dealing with scumbags is a lot like dealing with children. Any competent expert on childhood development will tell you that children NEED boundries, and when they challenge authority, it is often because they seek reassurance that the boundries are in place and will be enforced. They derive comfort from that. Dirtbags aren’t much different. Let them know they can’t walk all over you, and they’re satisfied. Tell them they can accuse the cop of wrongdoing and the cops boss will be there shortly to start kissing ass, and guess what you get.
The Chris Rock skit sums it up perfectly.
Police officers in this country started fighting an uphill battle from the first day that a supervisor of any rank took the side of a non-cop over a cop without first getting all the facts. It only got worse when non-cops started running major departments with political ambitions being the main reason for taking the job. The problem won’t get any better anytime soon, unless the punishments start fitting the crimes. Starting with school age children that mess-up in school, administrators need to show the parents the rules, how they were broken and then say to the parents “Sit down and shut your mouth” because that’s the way it is. So much has been made against the institutions that promote respect to America’s youth (Boy/Girl scouting, Church membership, Sports programs at all levels, etc.) and these are the places that can begin the changes necessary to restore order to America. I say to all Police supervisors, remember your roots and support your officers, Town and City councils show your support with the money necessary to bring in the best of our young people to do this thankless job, stop second guessing every move by your officers without a proper investigation, and citizens stand up for your right to have a safe place to live. When a cop gets a bum rap speak-up and tell the arrogant jerks that “No you were wrong so, ‘Shut your mouth and start acting like a grown-up”. If we all take responsibility for our actions and the actions of our children the whole country will be a better place to live.
Tim,
First of all thanks for the great wit and humor of your articles. Love them! Just wanted to give credit where it’s due. Victor Harris is the scumbag that ran and got what he created. Deputy Timothy (Chuck) Scott is the HERO that saved numerous lives that night. He is also the one who braved the mind boggling encounter with the UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. He said walking into that building was a memory he would never forget. Just walking into and seeing the judges sitting there was awesome, but scary! Who gets to go into the supreme court? Who gets to testify to the supreme court? We have 300 million people in this country and that would be an honor! He said it was! Just wanted all of your readers to know that the HERO wasn’t Harris, it was Scott!
Editor’s Note: Ken, thank you for the kind words and for setting me straight on the swapping of names. I’ve fixed that part in the text above (one more advantage of online over print), but until Ken mentioned it, I had the names wrong.
For the past week I have been fighting an uphill battle with my friends and family over these three situations. You summed up how I feel about all of this perfectly…and made it funny.
The truth of the matter has always been and will always be that law enforcement and politics are inseparable. The police department is the fingers and hands of the elected boby in power. I remember an incident in MacKerin Park in NY City where many officers were castigated by the city fathers for abuse of authority and just as many were cited for failure to take action. Government expects law enforcement to maintain order without hurting anyone, like a Sunday school teacher calling the class to order. Unfortunately, the public we serve is sometimes far from obedient. Still, the directive to maintain order must be executed. For a politician this law enforcement dilemma is acceptable. If the incident is handled without drama then the politico can take credit for running a fine police department. If the incident requires action that is distasteful the politico can easily disown the officers involved and demand a political correction. It’s a win-win situation for the politicians in power.
I saw that riot as it began — officers running off trucks and immediately rushing a group of people who were walking away and swinging batons. And - 270 non-lethal rounds? What is this, Kent State? Could that indiscriminate firing really be justifiable? Ever? You don’t know the legal status of any of the marchers, nor did the riot police. Also, that video you linked to is copyrighted, and illegal to have online according to the DMCA. Linking to it doesn’t make you a criminal, but… well, think about it.
Also, you might want to think about what you’re trying to say when Chris Rock’s video suggests “getting a white friend” to avoid arrest.
I don’t have a problem with the other two cases, but I feel linking the May Day events with those two is not a similar situation.
Editor’s Note: Since you don’t mention actually being there, I assume you saw a video clip of officers “running off trucks.” Without having seen all of the events that led up to this (including the undisputed issuance of the dispersal order), you cannot assess the validity of this tactic or that of using batons and less-lethal projectiles to disperse the crowd. That is something to be done by the authorities who will investigate the incident, and who will have full access to all of the relevant information. The immigration status of the “marchers” is in fact not known to me (or to you), and I only offered that it was “likely” that some of them were illegals. As for the Chris Rock video, it is hosted on the iFilms web site, which is owned by Viacom. They’re a pretty big media company, and we’ll let them take their chances with the DMCA. Chris Rock’s mention of “getting a white friend” is Rock’s brand of humor. You can take take that issue up with him. He says a lot of things I wouldn’t say, but for the record, I think it’s funny.