Gangsters in Blue

Police and their supporters always talk about how policing is such a difficult and dangerous job. As with most things related to police, this attitude is derived from general misconception, ignorance, and a tendency of people to arbitrarily worship those in fancy uniforms. Year after year, policing fails to make the top ten list of most dangerous professions. The dangers they face on the job consistently fall below that of pilots, loggers, sanitation workers, farmers, fishers, etc.

Further, much of the dangers they face on the job are self-imposed, which lends even more reason to withhold sympathy or respect with regard to the “dangers” of their profession. Despite the incessant whining from the media and police community about increased violence against police, officer deaths have been on the decline in the last 25 years.  40 percent of their deaths are due to police failure to wear seatbelts during traffic accidents (more here). Basically, the local garbage man has a more dangerous job than a cop, and when a cop dies, there’s a huge chance he died because he was an idiot, not because the scary people out in society were out to get him, as most people would have you believe.

But what is truth to the police and their cronies? They continue to drone on the tired bit about bravery in the face of danger, and heroic efforts to “protect” the public. Yes, they are so brave – this must be why they have special laws to protect them when they mistreat, beat, or kill ordinary people, but demand special punishment when people mistreat or injure them. When a police officer abuses, mistreats, or kills an individual, he is subject to qualified immunity, which is a substantial hurdle for the victim to overcome, if he seeks to sue the officer.

On the other hand, police face no such hurdle when others injure them. They are taking great delight in this as the Occupy Protests continue. Police sergeants in New York have stated they are planning to “pursue legal action” against demonstrators who injure police. Of course, if they injure the protesters, no harm, no foul.

Ed Mullins, President of the NYPD’s Sergeant’s Benevolent Association, stated that, “any assault on a police officer is not only punishable as a felony in the State of New York, but will also be met with swift and certain legal action…”. Right. When the police wrongly arrest people, or otherwise abuse them, it’s business as usual, and the victims have no recourse. When the police shoot a man peacefully standing around in the head (see picture above right) with god knows what, and crush his skull, then throw flashbang grenades at people who attempt to come to his rescue, it’s no big deal.

But if ordinary people so much as touch a hair on an officer’s head, there will be “swift and certain legal action.” These threats clearly are coming from bullies who are trying to squash free speech, not the heroic protectors police claim to be. But they’ll keep telling you that it’s all to protect and serve.

Police promise to take legal action if they are injured by OWS protestors is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

- Tim Dunkin

One of the fundamental premises upon which any truly free society must be based is the notion that the government is open, transparent, and accountable to the citizens. To the extent that this is not the case, a society cannot be called “free,” and it is a notable, and lamentable, fact of modern America that our government at all levels has been growing more and more secretive, less and less accountable for blatant wrongdoing on the part of its officers and employees.

Instead of government activity being exposed to the disinfecting light of an informed citizenry, we are routinely kept in the dark about most of what our government does, as it tries to hide the corruption and injustices that would bring the system crashing down around the ears of our “betters” if we the people were to find out about them.

At the federal level, many laws—in the form of “administrative regulations,” and lacking wholly in legislative sanction—are created by an executive branch run amuck, something true regardless of which Party holds the White House. Whether by executive orders that the public rarely if ever knows about, or by the myriad of rules generated by an alphabet soup of unelected bureaucrats in unaccountable agencies, our lives are impacted detrimentally by the coercive powers of the state through means that have completely bypassed the legislature elected (supposedly) to be the close representatives of the people directly in government. Law and regulation are often made at our expense for the good of the favored few who constitute an incestuous circle of lobbyists and influence-peddlers, corporate donors, politicians, public unions, and career bureaucrats.

Just look at the current Solyndra scandal that has finally started to see the light of day (despite the best efforts of the leftist MSM to squelch the story): a “green” company, which just so happened to be an investment opportunity for a certain President and his associates, which received hundreds of millions of taxpayer “stimulus” dollars and ended up collapsing because there was nothing ever really there—it was just a cash funnel for corrupt corporate executives and corrupt politicians working hand in hand. Or what about the LightSquared scandal: revelations that another company (which just happens to be a major donor to high profile Democrats) was to have its open broadband product fast-tracked through the FCC’s approval process, allowing it to bypass the maze of regulations that hinder and afflict its less-favored competitors, despite concerns that said product almost certainly would interfere with civilian and military GPS applications. We all get to suffer degraded GPS performance and military protection so that a corporate Friend of Barack can save some bucks

At the state level, the same applies. Corporate and union corruptions drive much of the closed-door decision-making, and have worked to strangle much of the economic recovery that could have been seen in many of the states across this land. Take, for example, Texas Governor Rick Perry’s executive order a few years ago in which he mandated the vaccination of all pre-teen girls in his state with the anti-HPV (human papillomavirus) drug Gardasil. Thus, just as with all those people who would rather continue to fight the failed War on (Some) Drugs than accept that it’s a catastrophe that does nothing but shred our Constitution, the liberty to decide what goes or doesn’t go into your body takes a back seat to “safety.” As it turns out, Perry had just received thousands in campaign donations from Gardasil’s manufacturer, Merck.

State governments routinely bypass legislatures, create unelected bureaucracies, encourage empire-building, give free reign to its agents to “enforce laws,” and discourage too close inspection by interested and concerned citizens. It is especially at the state and local levels that government agents—police, judges, and so forth—have been actively trying to discourage citizen oversight of their behavior. One or the major means in which this is done is by misusing existing wiretapping laws to criminalize the taping of police and court officials in the performance of their public duties. These laws were most often originally intended to protect citizens against secret taping of privateconversations on phones in places (like their homes and businesses) where there wasthe reasonable expectation of privacy. In other words, some third party, say a business competitor or nosy neighbor, couldn’t install a tap on your phone line without your knowledge and subsequently record your conversations. However, the incidence of police officers arresting (and prosecutors prosecuting) citizens for videotaping the police in their public duties is increasing, relying upon these anti-wiretapping laws as a buttress.

Before exploring the nuts-and-bolts of this issue, the question any citizen should ask his or herself is why a police officer would feel threatened by someone videotaping them. Why do many police officers get so bent out of shape that they will smash cell phones and cameras, arrest, and beat up people taping them, and threaten them with decades in prison? This pattern of behavior suggests that many police officers believe they have something to hide, something they don’t want going onto a camera that they can’t control and alter at a later date. All too often, that something is some form of official misconduct, often revolving around violence or intimidation done under color of authority. In short, cops don’t want citizens recording them when they harass people, rough them up, or otherwise do things they shouldn’t. And even when police are not doing these things in any particular encounter between officers and citizens, they don’t want the precedent to be set that private citizens could videotape them, hence the many times where police will escalate otherwise peaceful encounters once they realize they are being taped or filmed.

And let’s face it—there are a lot of times when police overstep their lawful authority and abuse their positions. Such as when six officers beat and taser an unarmed homeless man to death in an ordeal lasting 10 minutes. What about when they strip, handcuff, beat, and taser an unarmed suspect after he’s already been “immobilized”? Or whenthey’re shaking down out-of-state travelers and stealing their cash and other property? How about when they’re pointing guns at and pepper spraying the family of a scared teenage driver who ran from a minor traffic stop and hid out at his parents’ home, after forcibly busting into the home without a warrant? And of course, nobody likes to be videoed when they’re pulling over random vehicles and threatening to kill the passengers. Then there’s the case where Massachusetts cops handcuffed and then beat up a pro-life activist for handing out fliers at a public fair. What about the cop in Ohio who threatened to beat and execute a motorist who informed him of his concealed weapon, like concealed carriers are supposed to do by law? How about when they shoot a Marine in his own home, admitting later that they found nothing illegal going on?

And these are really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to stories of police brutality, excessive force, and official misconduct.

One thing that several of the stories above have in common is that by one means or another they were caught on tape, and therefore saw the light of day. The police couldn’t cover them up. In several cases, the official police testimony of the events was radically contradicted by the actual video evidence, indicating that the officers involved were lying to investigators. It’s no wonder that police officers, especially those involved in shootings, will go to great lengths to prevent uncontrolled citizen recording of their behavior. For instance, there’s the case of a man in Miami Beach, Florida, who recorded the shooting of a suspect by police on his cell phone. When the police figured out what he was doing, one of them pointed a pistol at his head, smashed his cell phone, and handcuffed him (video here). Fortunately, the owner of the phone had the foresight to hide the memory card in his mouth.

Not an isolated case, of course. A woman in Rochester, New York was arrested for videotaping police officers making a traffic stop in front of her house, while she was doing so from her own front yard. In Concord, New Hampshire, a lemonade stand operator was assaulted and threatened with arrest (for wiretapping) for videotaping a police officer at a farmer’s market. In Maryland, police arrested and charged Anthony Graber with violating state wiretapping laws because his helmet camera captured a state trooper pulling a gun on him and ordering him off his motorcycle. The charge carries with it the possibility of a 16-year prison sentence, while the speeding and pop-a-wheelie that got him pulled over originally only merited a ticket. Police in Suffolk County, New York even arrested a news cameraman for videotaping the tail end of a police chase.

Do the police have such a bugaboo about “civilians” recording them because they know that they may often have something to hide? After all, the police tell people whose vehicles and homes they want to search without a warrant that “if you don’t have anything to hide, then you don’t have anything to worry about.” Why go to such lengths to keep people from recording you in public, unless you think you might be doing something you don’t want people to find out about?

Fortunately, recent rulings are showing this to be one area where the courts, surprisingly enough, are getting it right. Last month, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a man who had recorded police during an arrest of a suspect (which included an officer punching the arrestee) had a constitutional right to do so, and in fact, that the police should have known this (PDF of the decision here). In Illinois, a state judge ruled as unconstitutional a state eavesdropping law that was used to prosecute a man who had recorded his interactions with police and with a judge in a closed session, saving him from 75 years in jail. Earlier this year, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the public has the right to record police in the performance of their public duties. Back in 2005, the U.S. District Court in eastern Pennsylvania ruledthat a citizen who was arrested for videotaping Pennsylvania state police as they performed truck inspections had his 1^st amendment rights violated. This case was later used by the 3^rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to decide a case in favor of a man who had been arrested on wiretapping charges for videotaping an encounter with state police as a passenger in the detainee’s vehicle.

As such, there does seem to be a good deal of broad-based precedent being built for affirming the constitutionality of videotaping or otherwise recording police as they perform their official duties. This has led at least one state (Connecticut) to consider a bill before its state legislature that would make it illegal for police officers to hinder or harass citizens who videotape them, provided the citizen isn’t directly obstructing the officer’s performance of his or her duties.

As much as liberty lovers criticize our elected officials, we should at least give credit to our legislators when they do the right thing and work to restrict the ability of out-of-control police and other executive agencies to take away our rights and to hide their activities in the shadows. While lovers of liberty have a lot of work to do across the board as far as fighting to regain lost freedom and to keep what little we still have, codifying the right of citizens to “keep tabs” on public officials, including (or perhapsespecially) police officers, is a lynchpin in gaining and keeping liberty. With greater authority and the ability to exercise the raw power of state-sanctioned violence necessarily come the need for greater oversight and control by the group who really form the basis of all legitimacy for government—the people themselves. If government agencies and their officers cannot bring themselves to accept citizen oversight and accountability, then those agencies and officers lose their claims to delegated legitimacy, and should rightly be removed. It’s time for lovers of liberty to make this point explicitly clear.

Tim Dunkin

Most recent columns

Tim Dunkin is a pharmaceutical chemist by day, and a freelance author by night, writing about a wide range of topics on religion and politics. He is the author of an online book about Islam entitled Ten Myths About Islam, and is the founder and editor of Conservative Underground<, a bi-weekly email newsletter focusing on foundational conservative worldview and philosophy. He is a born-again Christian, and a member of a local, New Testament Baptist church in North Carolina. He can be contacted at : patriot_tim@yahoo.com

The Right to Keep and Bear Cameras is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This past Saturday, demonstrations against police brutality took place across the country. While Ademo and Pete of Cop Block attended a rally in New York City (videos coming soon), I attended one in Greensboro, NC. Over forty people set out carrying banners and signs to walk through the projects, educating, bringing awareness, and encouraging people to get involved. By the time we returned after about a thirty minute march, nearly one hundred people were participating.

There will be more to come from Carolinas Cop Block. You can contact us at info@carolinascopblock.org or visit our website:www.carolinascopblock.org.

Stolen Lives is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

This is a submitted post by a Cop Block fan describing his police encounter with the San Jose Police

The other day, I had just left my house and was driving down my street, when I got a phone call. I pulled over and parked my car under a tree for shade and answered the phone. While talking on the phone, I noticed a patrol car coming from a side street. I continued with my call as the patrol car drove past me. The patrol car drove up the street a ways and then made a U-turn and pulled alongside of my car and one of the officers inside asked what I was doing. I stated that I was talking on my phone. He again asked me what I was doing and I again said I was talking on my phone. He then said (in a raised voice) “I said what are you doing here?” I again stated I was just talking on my phone and don’t know what else you want me to say.

He then asked for my ID, which I handed over to him. I asked why I was being harassed, since I was clearly not violating any laws. The officer (Officer Jennings of the San Jose PD) then said, “That’s it, get out of your vehicle, I’m gonna put you through the whole routine and that I was going to get a ticket for talking on my cell phone with my motor running” I got out of my vehicle and went to the back and put my hands on the back of my car. Officer Jennings proceeded to tell me that there had been robberies in the neighborhood and that he figured I was calling my accomplice that could have been behind the house I was parked in front of and was warning them that the cops were in the area.

He then proceeded to pat me down and in the process kicked my leg out from under me trying to knock me off my feet, but was unable to. I then said that this was total harassment and that I wasn’t doing anything wrong and that I lived right up the street, as my ID clearly showed. He again proceeded to tell me about robberies in the area and that I was a suspect…..somehow. I told him that was bullshit, since I live on this street and know most of my neighbors and the ones I don’t know see me driving up and down the street every day, so no one could have called the cops on me since I had only been parked there for less than 2 minutes before they started harassing me.

Officer Jennings got right in my face and said, “why would we be harassing you, you’re white?” He then looked over to his partner and said, “He’s too stupid to get it. He doesn’t get it, we’re wasting our time.” He then asked me if I like to resist arrest or fight with the cops, just trying to provoke me into a fight. I was biting. His partner finally chimed in saying that I needed to just be saying yes sir and no sir to the officers’ questions. After about 15 minutes of harassment and verbal and physical abuse, I got my ID back and they said I was free to go. I asked Officer Jennings for his business card. He said he and the other officer did not have one, so I asked for their badge numbers. He gave them to me verbally and proceeded to get into his car.

I then went to open my car door to get back inside and grab a pen to write their badge numbers down and was pushed with a two hand shove and told, “I told you to stand there until we drive away. After they drove away, I immediately called 911 and told them I had been harassed and assaulted by a couple of police officers. I also filed a complaint with Internal Affairs, even though I and everyone else knows nothing will happen to this sack of shit officer Jennings.

If you have a police encounter you would like to share, please feel free to write about it and send it to us using our SUBMIT tab.

Harrassed for Nothing is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

A couple of months ago, we covered the story of police in Helena, Montana who shot a fleeing man in the chest. Brian Temple, who had committed no crime at the time, was shot in the chest as he was driving away. He was subsequently charged with felony assault on a police officer. (Funny how that works, isn’t it – the man who gets shot in the chest gets charged with felony assault, while the officer who was allegedly assaulted strangely has no injuries to report).

We recently received correspondence from his father, John Temple -

Just wanted to let you know that justice has prevailed.  The judge in Brian’s case informed his attorneys yesterday that he is throwing the case out of court.  The evidence against the Helena police department was just to overwhelming to allow the case to proceed to trial.  The Helena police department did their best to do the standard “cover-up” and manipulating of the facts but in the end, fortunately for Brian, justice prevailed.

Again, thank you for your interest in Brian’s case and all your great writing.  Please, continue with your great work of enlightening people about all the injustices that occur in this country.  I look forward to reading more of your articles.

Mr. Temple’s family would like to see the officer involved charged and prosecuted, and will keep Cop Block updated on the matter. Although this story could have ended with far worse scenarios, it is still important to note that Brian Temple should not have been subjected to this kind of abuse to begin with.

All charges dismissed against Brian Temple, shot while fleeing police is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

According to CBS Atlanta 

CLAYTON COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -

A Metro Atlanta police officer is accused of being out of control and assaulting the citizens he was sworn to serve and protect.

CBS Atlanta News has obtained more than 500 pages of internal affairs complaints lodged against Clayton County police officer Michael Hobbs in the last five years.

Chief Investigative Reporter Wendy Saltzman found dozens of use-of-force reports brushed aside by Clayton County internal affairs, including claims Hobbs is terrorizing citizens.

One of those citizens is Brian Hoolihan.  Hoolihan passed out in his car along side a road in Clayton County in a diabetic coma back in 2007.  He had a sticker on the window of his car, warning about his life threatening medical condition.

A police report shows Officer Hobbs arrived at the scene and wrongfully assumed Hoolihan was drunk. Hobbs forced himself into the car and struck Hoolihan twice with a closed fist to the face and another blunt elbow blow to his head.

“My face was all beat up, my ribs were either broke or cracked,” said Hoolihan.  “I had black and blue marks on the back of my legs, you can tell it was from the baton. There were, I think, seven stitches above my one eye.”

CBS Atlanta obtained the gruesome pictures of Hoolihan, bloodied and beaten on the side of the road, at the hands of an officer who was supposed to protect him.

“He was out of control,” said Hoolihan.  “The next thing I remember is waking up in the ambulance.”

Full Article HERE

Officer accused of terrorizing citizens, still on force is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

A few weeks ago some active with Anonymous called for people to gather and do a sit-in called Occupy Wall Street, defined by Wiki as:

an ongoing peaceful demonstration opposing what participants view as negative corporate influence over U.S. politics and a lack of legal repercussions over the global financial crisis. It was inspired by the Arab Spring movement, particularly the protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square which resulted in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. The aim of the demonstration is to begin a sustained occupation of Wall Street, the financial district of New York City. Organizers intend for the occupation to last “a few months.”

Since most of the lamestream media had thus far ignored the event my bud Tommy and I left the ‘shire and traveled to NYC on Friday to document the situation on the ground first-hand.

The first of three videos below shows the scene at Zuccotti Park (aka Liberty Park), where protesters have gathered, and at nearby Wall St.

Though many present rightly vilified the actions of banksters and corporations, the reality of the situation is that such people and companies could never have such a negative impact were it not for the size and scope of the State. The solution then, is not a new “leader” or oversight board or internal review, it is to simply stop granting others arbitrary authority. (For more on this, check out Larken Rose’s The Most Dangerous Superstition and do some self-education on Austrian Economics.)

The second video was taken yesterday, Sat., Sept. 24th. It depicts some of what unfolded as protesters walked north to Union Sq. It’s clear that some of those wearing badges acted as if they had the right to use aggressive force.

For me personally, it was a whirlwind experience that was both empowering and frustrating. The energy of those in the march, as well as the vocal support of tourists and shop owners, was contagious and demonstrated just how deep runs the disillusionment with the Statist Quo. Conversely, the utter lack of independent thinking or personal responsibility exercised by those with badges only underscored for me why Cop Block exists.

The third video documents the police state now common in NYC and includes a plug from me for people to stand up for their rights and to document the actions of those wearing badges.

Though they purport to “serve and protect,” or in NYPD’s case, have “Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect,” the double-standards created by a “legitimate” monopoly of force causes such widespread rights-violations to occur without accountability. (For more on this, check out our interview with Bruce Benson.)

NEW VIDEO MADE LIVE SEPT. 27TH, USING USTREAM.TV FOOTAGE: 
Hey NYPD: Think For Yourself!

For more:
Pete Eyre, of CopBlock.org, is LIVE from Occupy Wall St Today post on CopBlock.org with embedded livestreamed videos
Ustream.TV/channel/Voluntaryists for all livestreamed content
Voluntaryism entry on Wikipedia
Private Defense Agency entry on Wikipedia
First Time Here? page on LibertyOnTour.com with videos and text about Voluntaryism

NYPD Turns Violent at Occupy Wall St. is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

As Ademo posted earlier, two Fullerton PD officers have been charged in the killing of Kelly Thomas. Prosecutors have begrudgingly dealt a couple of charges to appease the angry masses, months after Mr. Thomas’ death.

Officer Manny Ramos was charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter. It should come as no surprise the murdering scum was not charged with first-degree murder (because clearly, when you engage in a gang-like beating of a mentally ill man with 4 of your friends, you did not intend to kill him). Another officer, Police Cpl. Jay Cicinelli, was charged with one count each of involuntary manslaughter and excessive force.

“The cause of death in this case is mechanical compression of the thorax, making it impossible for Kelly Thomas to breathe normal. In other words, with the chest being compressed, Kelly Thomas was unable to inhale,” District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told reporters. “Over time his brain was deprived of oxygen.” Or how about, he died because he was murdered by the cops? That’s a little more intellectually honest. Even as he (likely against his will) charges these brave men with heinous crimes, Rackaukas still attempts to act as the ultimate police PR machine by describing a gruesome murder as oxygen deprivation.

Because, you know, when people suffer at the hands of police, it’s never because the police did anything wrong; it’s always the result of bizarre external circumstances. For instance, a family that was brutalized by a SWAT operation gone wrong was “inadvertently affected.” Grandfather Eurie Stamps was “struck by a bullet which was discharged from a SWAT officer’s rifle.” Or of course, the good old excuse used time and time again when people die from Taser deaths – the police officer didn’t do it, the Taser did! The victim just had a terrible and unexpected reaction to the Taser!

Local protester, Merijoe, has been to every Saturday protest since July 30 (see her protest sign to the right). She believes the charges were a good start, but are not enough. She believes all officers should have been charged. “We’re all aware of the fact that if Kelly’s dad, Ron,  hadn’t taken those hospital pictures of Kelly and released them to places like the Fullerton’s Future Blog and the Daily Mail in England, which then had John and Ken screaming for days about this horrific murder, it would have been totally swept under the rug,” says Merijoe. She is also angry about the fact that it took 75 days for charges to be brought up, and meanwhile, the 6 officers involved continued to work until August 2nd.

Merijoe feels spokespeople for the FPD continually failed to be forthcoming, and even lied about officers breaking bones when this was not the case. “The fact that all these animals were put on paid leave inflamed us more,” says Merijoe. “Evidently they’re still on this paid leave so tax payers are still on the hook for their salary and they get time accumulated for their pensions.”

Update on Kelly Thomas murder is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

A lawsuit filed recently by the parents of Allen Kephart alleges Mr. Kephart was killed by police after he honked at a patrol car. Mr. Kephart’s parents have filed claims of assault, battery and negligence against three deputies of the San Bernadino County Seriff’s Department.

The suit indicates Mr. Kephart honked when a patrol vehicle turned in front of him. The sheriff’s deputy circled his patrol car behind Mr. Kephart, and proceeded to pull him over. Kephart was ordered out of his car at gunpoint, forced to the ground, and another sergeant and deputy joined in on the gang murder.

The three officers repeatedly Tasered Kephart for about 10 minutes, according to the lawsuit. The victim was heard screaming for help as he was killed by Deputies Ismael Diaz and Michael Gardea, and Sergeant Bryan Lane. A member of the gang department issued a statement claiming Kephart “became combative and uncooperative” (because obviously, if someone is uncooperative, they deserve to die – more here).

This story clearly demonstrates that from time to time, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, the punishment for disrespecting authority is death. Well, let’s be fair. At least one news article claims Kephart had possibly run a stop sign. At any rate, no one, not even the police, claim the appropriate punishment for running a stop sign is death, so it’s fair to conclude Kephart was killed at least in part because of his unfortunate failure to kiss the ring kiss ass suck cock show respect to the relevant authorities.

Yet, for anyone who has briefly perused the criminal code, this should come as no surprise. The act of punishing people for mere disrespect is not only alive in practice, it is deeply enshrined in American law. Thoughtcrime is not just a looming threat predicted by Orwell; it is an everyday reality of American criminal law.

The California criminal code for example, is rife with Wobblers. These are crimes that could either fall under the category of a misdemeanor or a felony. Similarly, a Wobblette is a crime that could either fall under the category of infraction or a misdemeanor. With both Wobblers and Wobblettes, the sole determining factor of what someone is charged with is prosecutorial discretion.

This means the prosecutor, who was not there at the scene of the crime, and who witnessed nothing, gets to decide how someone is charged. Many times, this is based off of whether (according to the cop’s report) the defendant properly groveled was respectful, nice or polite – or whether they were “uncooperative” or “combative,” as Mr. Kephart perhaps was. In effect, a defendant is judged and punished according to the manner in which they conducted themselves in relation to the police, even though that conduct is entirely irrelevant to criminality.

For instance, this attorney describes laws regulating yard sales in San Bernadino County. Yard sales are allowed only on the third weekend of each month, and signs are not allowed on public property. These laws are purportedly wobblettes. If you are having a garage sale (god forbid!) on the second weekend of a month instead of the third, and the police catch you, and you apologize profusely and beg forgiveness for your severe transgression, you will probably be charged with an infraction. But if you are angry that you aren’t allowed to conduct a goddamn garage sale in your own goddamn property in the so-called land of the free, and tell the officer to fuck off, you might be charged with a misdemeanor instead.

Such is also the case for urinating in public. If a person urinates in public, gets caught, but obediently grovels at the feet of police, an infraction will likely be in order. But if the unfortunate defendant instead has unkind words for the arresting officer, he or she may be charged with a misdemeanor.

Violating yard sale laws is usually an infraction. Urinating in public is usually an infraction. But after examining the other circumstances that may exist – such as  failing to show respect for an officer, or telling an officer to fuck off, prosecutors frequently decide these infractions are to be misdemeanors, even though the acts of disrespect and saying “fuck off” are not themselves crimes.

Prosecutors will claim that they take a variety of circumstances into consideration, such as the defendant’s past criminal history, when deciding on such charges. There are two problems with this kind of reasoning. Either someone committed a certain offense or they did not. Pointing to offenses of the past, which the defendant purportedly already paid his debt for, is not a logical reason for more severe punishment. Either a defendant peed in public or he didn’t. Either he stole $500 or he didn’t. Either he conducted an illegal garage sale, or he didn’t.

The fact that the defendant may have peed in public, stolen, or conducted illegal garage sales on prior occasions, doesn’t alter the amount of damage or the harm done in this particular instance. Any way you twist it, when it comes to wobblers/wobblettes, prosecutors have the power to charge a defendant with the worse offense based completely on hatred, prejudice, or just because the defendant said something unpleasant.

The effect is the law punishes failure to grovel, and penalizes free speech with criminal sanctions. These are characteristics we have been told are only found in monarchies, dictatorships, tyrannies and other forms of government allegedly less free than the American brand. Yet it is difficult to imagine what kind of free society can tolerate the criminalization of bad attitudes, rude behavior, and disrespect.

In America, free speech, disrespect, and dissent are criminal is a post from Cop Block - "Something must be done about vengeance, a badge, and a gun"

.

I don’t have any description to go with what happened between the NYPD and the people they were going after. If you have any information please email me and I will update this post.

NYPD vs the Citizens of NY is a post from Cop Block - "Something must be done about vengeance, a badge, and a gun"