In case it escaped the notice of most of you, I am very libertarian in respect to civil liberties. You can assume (without the consequences of normal assumption) that I wish government was much less involved in our daily lives--upto and including the magistrate. Magisterial authority is needed, as in certain cases crimes against humanity, against a community, are perpetrated. While I may not agree with all items that fall under magisterial authority, magisterial authority does and ought to exist.
Recently two great examples of failure to respect magisterial authority have occurred. One involved the arrest of a woman in Texas (who subsequently, as supported by the reports of the official autopsy available to the public, committed suicide in her jail cell). The other arrest involved the 19 year-old who created a gun firing drone and then made video of it in action for the world to watch. Both of these arrests stem from an individual disputing magisterial authority in the wrong manner. She was stopped for a minor traffic infraction and became verbally abusive and uncooperative with the officer involved. He was arrested on warrant because he refused to answer a questions about his presence in the area of a burglary.
In the case of the woman in Texas. The office does have the right to ask you to get out of your vehicle. This particular officer possibly exceeded his authority in ordering the lady to put out her cigarette in her own vehicle. The officer might have been too ardent in his telling her to get out or he would "light her up" (referencing using a electric shock device to subdue her). What would probably have happened if she had not run off at the mouth at the officer--he would have informed her of the violation, written a ticket or a warning, and both would have moved on to the rest of their day.
In the case of the young man in Connecticut, he was stopped by an officer seeking to determine why he was present where a burglary had been reported. The young man was correct that he did not have to answer any questions asked by the police unless he was properly informed of his rights. However, the young man attempted to drive off without addressing the officers, a watch sergeant told the officers present to let him go and get a warrant to bring him in for questioning. The warrant was issued and the young man was requested to simply come to the station on his own. The young man came to the station and for all appearance (hidden cameras on his person, hidden cell phones on his person, camera in his hand during the confrontation) came prepared to make a scene. Instead of stating he would answer questions or not (with or without the presence of an attorney) the young man created a situation where police used physical force.
For my two cents, most instances where police are involved should not involve the police. However, laws exist and we have hired the magistrate to enforce the laws. Cooperation--not self-incrimination, not accepting undue abuse of authority--simply acting with self-respect, dignity, and recognizing the magistrate is a human doing their job--in most instances--would go a long way to avoiding the ugliness we have recently witnessed.
Recently two great examples of failure to respect magisterial authority have occurred. One involved the arrest of a woman in Texas (who subsequently, as supported by the reports of the official autopsy available to the public, committed suicide in her jail cell). The other arrest involved the 19 year-old who created a gun firing drone and then made video of it in action for the world to watch. Both of these arrests stem from an individual disputing magisterial authority in the wrong manner. She was stopped for a minor traffic infraction and became verbally abusive and uncooperative with the officer involved. He was arrested on warrant because he refused to answer a questions about his presence in the area of a burglary.
In the case of the woman in Texas. The office does have the right to ask you to get out of your vehicle. This particular officer possibly exceeded his authority in ordering the lady to put out her cigarette in her own vehicle. The officer might have been too ardent in his telling her to get out or he would "light her up" (referencing using a electric shock device to subdue her). What would probably have happened if she had not run off at the mouth at the officer--he would have informed her of the violation, written a ticket or a warning, and both would have moved on to the rest of their day.
In the case of the young man in Connecticut, he was stopped by an officer seeking to determine why he was present where a burglary had been reported. The young man was correct that he did not have to answer any questions asked by the police unless he was properly informed of his rights. However, the young man attempted to drive off without addressing the officers, a watch sergeant told the officers present to let him go and get a warrant to bring him in for questioning. The warrant was issued and the young man was requested to simply come to the station on his own. The young man came to the station and for all appearance (hidden cameras on his person, hidden cell phones on his person, camera in his hand during the confrontation) came prepared to make a scene. Instead of stating he would answer questions or not (with or without the presence of an attorney) the young man created a situation where police used physical force.
For my two cents, most instances where police are involved should not involve the police. However, laws exist and we have hired the magistrate to enforce the laws. Cooperation--not self-incrimination, not accepting undue abuse of authority--simply acting with self-respect, dignity, and recognizing the magistrate is a human doing their job--in most instances--would go a long way to avoiding the ugliness we have recently witnessed.
Chris Rock has a great sketch on this topic:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65zXlytv01c