Quote:Solution, don't arrest someone selling non-stamped smokes? Citations if you have to do something? Seriously the guy was selling cigarettes....

 

Are you OK with the police not enforcing laws, or just the ones YOU want enforced?

 

Garner was arrested more than 30 times since the 80s. The reason people get tickets instead of posting cash bonds is because the State / City is taking their word that they'll appear at their court date. What incentive do they have give a ticket to someone that was arrested as many times for the SAME offense? What reason do they have that he wont commit the same offense or even show up at all? None.

 

The Magistrate usually sets conditions on their release when they are bonded out. Considering his lengthy history, I'd be surprised if one of those conditions wasn't to avoid selling anymore loose cigarettes. What's even more likely, as trivial as it sounds, is that the Magistrate usually requires that they not violate any State / County / City laws... if that was a condition, then his bond would've been revoked, and they would another reason to take him in.

 

Quote:Sergeant's are not officers? 

 

Yes, fact is a homicide was committed by police and not a thing is going to happen. People should be outraged. 

 

 

Sergeants are considered supervisors and hold different responsibilities. The Supreme Court has ruled that they have different obligations, and she could have stopped the (lawful) arrest. I think that's where people are using her ethnicity as a factor when bringing up her proximity to the situation.

 

Quote:That's how we've ended up with illegal checkpoints, polices tactics such as stop and frisk, illegal search and seizures and so much more. I'm sorry but the simple mentality of, " the law is always right, do what it says and if its wrong we'll fix it later ", has lead us down a road of damn near a total police state.

 

I'm not arguing this man in this case was justified for resisting arrest. I am arguing that the notion of just do what the police say is wrong and extremely dangerous. 

 

The police are not above they law, they are in charge of enforcing the law. The police do not create the law, it is our individual responsibility to know the law and stand up for ourselves when we are given unlawful orders. Sadly this man was being given a lawful order, now we can debate if the law is reasonable/constitutional and so on, but he was breaking a law so I agree he should have listened to the officer and taken his lumps. That however is in no way a justifiable means the officers (all of them) used in apprehending the man, when enforcing the law the police are responsible to use reason, was this violation even worth an arrest? You don't even get arrested for having pot in New York anymore, give the man a citation and move on. 

 

All that said, I can't disagree more with the people saying "just comply with the police". No sir, if they're wrong do not comply, maybe it means immediate harm or discomfort, but if everyone just comply's regardless of the order simply because a man in blue gave it to you, then you might as well accept the TSA at your local walmart and start leaving the blinds open for HS to peak in, and hell no more moaning about the NSA spying on you.

 

There you go... that has nothing to do with this situation. Establishing an otherwise stupid law about loose cigarettes was not unconstitutional, and that falls on the politicians who have used this incident as a platform for their own agendas. If the officer didn't have reasonable suspicion or probable cause, then your post is completely applicable. It doesn't apply to this situation, however. 

 

The US isn't a police state... not on the local levels at least. People like you always use the actions of the federal government, which operates with almost impunity, and applies it to local law enforcement. Have local guys violated the 4th Amendment? Sure. Have they violated their oath? Sure. With tens of millions of encounters a year, that's bound to happen but it doesn't happen a lot. 

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