Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread #2

[puzzlegal]

@Roderick_Femm

What was the motivation of the police for stopping the band?

That is not clear from the information currently available.

@Roderick_Femm

What was the band leader doing when he was tased?

He was standing still, with his arms at his side, arguing with the police about being arrested, and refusing to comply with their order to put his hands behind his back to be cuffed.

And I’ll give my opinion, too, copied from the other thread:

@puzzlegal

Anyway, here’s my scorecard, so far:

1. Police were wrong to issue an arbitrary order in an overly aggressive way.
2. Mims was right to question it, but wrong to then resist arrest. He should have gone quietly to the station after the game.
3. police were wrong to tase a non-violent man standing in front of them.

Honestly, 1 & 2 are boring routine things. People fuck up all the time. Police are impatient to clear the field, director knows he was wronged and argues instead of meekly submitting to arrest. People are assholes. It’s common.

But 3 is horribly dangerously wrong. 3 implies we are are living in a police state. 3 is the police violating the trust the people put in them when issuing those weapons.

And that’s why i think the police should be clearly, strongly, and publicly punished for overstepping their appointed role.