damnum absque injuria » So That’s Why Some Call Them “Pigs”

May 19, 2006

So That’s Why Some Call Them “Pigs”

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Scum

by Xrlq @ 12:19 am

Unbelievable.

Comments (10)

10 Responses to “So That’s Why Some Call Them “Pigs””

nk Says:
May 19th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
The title of your post says all the reasons why this lady should no longer be allowed to be a police officer. Her conduct reflects on all the police. The victims here look like nice kids but if she pulls this nonsense on some sociopath the odds are that she will get away with it but some other cop down the road who has to deal with the sociopath will get hurt. On their first day in the police academy cadets are told that they are all one color — blue. The corollary to that is that all police just look blue to the public too.
Xrlq Says:
May 19th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
I was (and remain) a bit ambivalent regarding the title. On the one hand, I hate the implication that cops generally are pigs. On the other, in this particular case the name fits all too well. It’s kinda like the individual postal worker who “goes postal.”
See-Dubya Says:
May 20th, 2006 at 6:10 am
Unbelievable that two arrestees don’t like the way the police treated them?

I think I’d like to hear the police version of this story before I call anyone pigs. I think there may be more to it than these two let on.
Xrlq Says:
May 20th, 2006 at 10:35 am
Unbelievable that two arrestees don’t like the way the police treated them?

Two arrestees who were never charged with anything, and who, as best we can tell, never should have been arrested in the first place. If there was a legitimate reason to arrest them, the cops have yet to let on what it is. Meanwhile I see no reason to take the cops’ side solely because they are cops.
Joel Says:
May 20th, 2006 at 11:18 am
Cops and DAs get far far too much praise in our society. As with Mike (need to get reelected Difong or here, the opportunity for misuse of power is so great, and then so much of society defends terrible behavior.

One of my main frusterations with “cops” is the way the don’t write traffic tickets for one another. Quite frankly, that is corruption. And they should be called on it. But so few people do, many view it as a ‘perk’ of being a cop. I find it appalling.
See-Dubya Says:
May 20th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
I’ve got a friend who was an ADA for a while and she sure didn’t get a break on traffic tickets.

Not taking the cops’ side here yet, X. Just waiting to hear it.
Joel Says:
May 20th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
That makes sense See-Dubya, Cops don’t write tickets for other cops, that and often state legislators. Willie Brown was notorious for flagrently driving at pretty extreme speeds down I-80.

My impression is that most cops and most DAs and the like are honest folks just trying to get by. But must people who ended up falling into trouble were very decent folks at one time see e.g. Duke Cunningham.

My complaint about speeding tickets was directed to the general code of conduct other cops give to other cops, not “law enforcement personnel” generally. Which quite frankly just does not seem appropriate to me.
Doc Rampage Says:
May 21st, 2006 at 1:54 am
If the story is as described, I would hope the cop faces more than just firing. She kidnapped those people and held them prisoner and she should be tried for kidnapping and illegal imprisonment. The fact that she is a cop doesn’t make it less bad; it makes it worse, because if the victims had defended themselves against her, they would have been committing a real crime.

Her supervisors and the people who kept the prisoners, assuming they tried to explain what was going on, those people need to be fired. And her partner, if he witnessed it, needs to be fired also.
Milhouse Says:
May 22nd, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Trespassing? Where? On the street? Is this really what the cop told them they were being arrested for? And if that’s so, would they have been entitled to resist? I mean, that isn’t even theoretically a possible charge, is it? What did this cop write down as the grounds for arrest? Surely not that!
nk Says:
May 22nd, 2006 at 4:11 pm
Milhouse, #9:

I doubt that Maryland, or any other state for that matter, allows resistance to an arrest (whether lawful or unlawful) except in cases of threat of death or (great) bodily harm. We don’t want OK Corral’s over every police pullover for running a stop sign.

On the trespassing issue, as a previous commenter pointed out, we only have the kids’ side of the story. They may have pulled into a private driveway to make the phone call or just to make a three-point turn (as I did one hour ago.) Trespassing is one of those crimes where the police officer cannot be the complainant. It requires the property owner to testify that he did not allow violation of his property rights. Which may be why the kids were released without being charged.

Nonetheless, the officer mishandled the situation. Badly. For no valid public safety reason. Making all police look bad. How about if she had just said, “Certainly. I’ll be glad to give you directions after giving you a ticket for running that stop sign. It’s my duty. Now, may I please see your driver’s license”?