# Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942 "2014-10-10T07:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 313
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6241 "2015-09-12T23:13:07Z")
If it were a perfectly justified shooting with no questions whatsoever, they wouldn’t have offered her $900,000. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6242 "2015-09-12T23:14:05Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Anyone can have a gun on them. Anyone can have a lethal weapon on them that the police don’t know about. Yes, but if the police don’t see a weapon on you as you are running, they can have no **reasonable** suspicion that you present a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to people. At least not from the fact of your running away alone. In this case, the guy swung the sword at the police. As confirmed by the policemen themselves and [two eyewitnesses](http://www.sltrib.com/home/1777527-155/hunt-sword-schauerhamer-affidavit-officer-fired): Asked why Hunt became violent, Buhman said investigators did “some digging” but ultimately, they don’t know. “It’s unlikely we will find out,” he said. Witnesses also noticed the rapid change in Hunt’s demeanor before he unsheathed the sword, Buhman said. Melanie Wride told investigators that she saw Hunt move his hands “like he was laughing,” and that his conversation with an officer lasted 30 to 60 seconds before he pulled a sword and swung it " ‘very hard’ at the officer who had just pulled up in the police car." The other witness was Leonard Zogg, who saw Hunt unsheath the sword and swing it at an officer, according to a previously-released affidavit. Zogg told KUTV 2News last week that the affidavit misrepresents his statement, and that he only saw Hunt unsheath the sword, not swing it. But Buhman read aloud what he said was Zogg’s handwritten statement from Sept. 10: “The guy appeared to be laughing and smiling and then pulled out the sword and took a swipe at the interviewing officer and began to run to the northeast.” ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6243 "2015-09-12T23:15:31Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > If it were a perfectly justified shooting with no questions whatsoever, they wouldn’t have offered her $900,000. The settlements are often a cost-analysis calculation. If they know it will cost more than $900K to defend this in court, then it is cheaper to offer a settlement, even if they would win in court if it goes there. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6244 "2015-09-12T23:24:40Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Anyone can have a gun on them. [no](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18372262&postcount=2706) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6245 "2015-09-12T23:37:41Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Ok. Let’s look at the situation. You’re a police officer. You are called to a place because people see a guy with a long samurai sword walking around and are a bit concerned. You get there. Y **ou call to the guy, and he runs away from you.** Cite for the bolded part? Or are you just making shit up? > [@Terr](#): > > Now - do you think the assumption that the guy with the sword is a danger to others (not just to you) and needs to be stopped, with deadly force if necessary, is “reasonable”? Is it illegal to have a sword? Cite? > [@Terr](#): > > What if the guy is a lunatic, and after you let him get away from you because you don’t want to shoot him, he kills several people with that sword of his? Don’t you think you will be (rightly) blamed for your behavior in not preventing those deaths? What if he’s the second coming of Jesus and the sword is to protect him from demons, but now you shot him and now all of humanity’s souls will burn in Hell? Don’t you think you will be rightly blamed for your behavior in not preventing all of humanity from being doomed to eternal suffering? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6246 "2015-09-13T00:36:27Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Is it illegal to have a sword? Cite? IIUC, some cities have or had code that says you are not to walk around with an 8"+ knife. You can _have_ one, but outside the edges of your property, you might get in trouble for having one on your person. A sword is basically a knife, only bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6247 "2015-09-13T03:37:49Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Cite for the bolded part? Cite for the hypothetical? No. > [@](#): > > Is it illegal to have a sword? Cite? The legality of having a sword has nothing to do with it. See the Supreme Court decision I cited. It doesn’t depend on whether the person fleeing the police has a legal weapon on him. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6248 "2015-09-13T13:36:48Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > If it were a perfectly justified shooting with no questions whatsoever, they wouldn’t have offered her $900,000. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6249 "2015-09-14T00:13:47Z")
Kamilah Brock says the New York City police sent her to a mental hospital for a hellish eight days, where she was forcefully injected with powerful drugs, essentially because [they couldn’t believe a black woman owned a BMW.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kamilah-brock-nypd-bmw_55f2c9aae4b063ecbfa3e60d) > [@](#): > > Medical records also show that over the course of her eight-day stay, personnel at the hospital repeatedly tried to get Brock to deny three things before she could be released: that she owned the BMW, that she was a professional banker, and that President Barack Obama followed her on Twitter. Those questions came from an old book entitled, _Accessing a Patient’s Mental Competency: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Soviet-style Psychiatric Care_. You could purchase it from the back of **Boy’s Life** –located between"Amazing X-Ray Glasses" and “Sea-Monkeys” ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6250 "2015-09-14T01:07:09Z")
If that turns out to be true, those are some dumb cops. That’s a $6000 car. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6251 "2015-09-14T01:19:37Z")
Get’cher program! Get’cher program here! [**Can’t tell the cops from the suspects**](http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/09/13/court-case-offers-new-details-on-durham-cop-who-threatened-to-plant-cocaine-on-suspect.html) without a program! ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6252 "2015-09-14T07:46:25Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > The settlements are often a cost-analysis calculation. If they know it will cost more than $900K to defend this in court, then it is cheaper to offer a settlement, even if they would win in court if it goes there. First: You’re wrong. Even in the unlikely event the legal fees would run to $1 million, fighting in court and winning sends a very different message to potential future litigants than settling. You did know it’s about _future_ litigation, didn’t you? Second: It’s hypocrisy for you right-wing blowhards to offer this justification. Poor people will often plead guilty (for time served) even when innocent, rather than stay in jail. You score those innocent people as “convicted criminals.” It’s inconsistent to dismiss settlements by guilty police forces. ---
**Author:** ![bosbfdsfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@bosbfdsfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bosbfdsfd)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6253 "2015-09-14T08:46:43Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > First: You’re wrong. Even in the unlikely event the legal fees would run to $1 million, fighting in court and winning sends a very different message to potential future litigants than settling. You did know it’s about _future_ litigation, didn’t you? > > Second: It’s hypocrisy for you right-wing blowhards to offer this justification. Poor people will often plead guilty (for time served) even when innocent, rather than stay in jail. You score those innocent people as “convicted criminals.” It’s inconsistent to dismiss settlements by guilty police forces. Settlements never include admissions of wrongdoing. Pleas are agreed to under lesser charges. So your “poor person” is still guilty. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6254 "2015-09-14T09:57:23Z")
> [@bosbfdsfd](#): > > Settlements never include admissions of wrongdoing. Pleas are agreed to under lesser charges. So your “poor person” is still guilty. Sorry. …so Mr Gamergate, that makes Brad Wardell guilty as charged. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6255 "2015-09-14T13:41:50Z")
> [@bosbfdsfd](#): > > Settlements never include admissions of wrongdoing. Pleas are agreed to under lesser charges. So your “poor person” is still guilty. Sorry. “Doesn’t matter if you did it or not, you plead guilty because you’re too poor to fight it, so that MAKES you guilty”, right? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6256 "2015-09-14T21:44:42Z")
Why do we have bad police officers? We have bad citizens. Stupid and bad. [Mistrial declared for Alabama cop who paralyzed an Indian grandfather because jury couldn’t reach a consensus](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/mistrial-declared-alabama-cop-who-paralyzed-indian-grandfather-n426216) How is it possible that people can watch this [video](https://news.vice.com/article/video-emerges-as-alabama-cop-is-arrested-for-paralyzing-57-year-old-indian-man) and come to different conclusions? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6257 "2015-09-14T21:46:03Z")
[Former officer Michael Slager was denied bond today; Slager is the former cop who shot and killed Walter Scott in April. > [@](#): > > “After careful consideration of all the evidence presented and the nature and the circumstances of the offense, the court finds that the release of (the) defendant would constitute an unreasonable danger to the community and the request for release on bond should be denied,” the order said. ]([http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4caa5cfc17a640c79f03e3d1a079f69f/ex-officer-charged-fatal-shooting-seeks-release](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4caa5cfc17a640c79f03e3d1a079f69f/ex-officer-charged-fatal-shooting-seeks-release)) Good. Lying murderous jackass. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6258 "2015-09-14T22:07:58Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Why do we have bad police officers? We have bad citizens. Stupid and bad. > > [Mistrial declared for Alabama cop who paralyzed an Indian grandfather because jury couldn’t reach a consensus](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/mistrial-declared-alabama-cop-who-paralyzed-indian-grandfather-n426216) > > How is it possible that people can watch this [video](https://news.vice.com/article/video-emerges-as-alabama-cop-is-arrested-for-paralyzing-57-year-old-indian-man) and come to different conclusions? Alabama + Brown Person Half of them were probably trying to figure out how the old man could be charged with a crime based on what they were seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6259 "2015-09-14T22:42:37Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > How is it possible that people can watch this [video](https://news.vice.com/article/video-emerges-as-alabama-cop-is-arrested-for-paralyzing-57-year-old-indian-man) and come to different conclusions? Because some people actually believe that things need to be proven beyond reasonable doubt, not by what looks probable from a video where you can neither see nor hear exactly what was happening. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/6260 "2015-09-15T10:37:17Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Why do we have bad police officers? We have bad citizens. Stupid and bad. > > [Mistrial declared for Alabama cop who paralyzed an Indian grandfather because jury couldn’t reach a consensus](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/mistrial-declared-alabama-cop-who-paralyzed-indian-grandfather-n426216) > > How is it possible that people can watch this [video](https://news.vice.com/article/video-emerges-as-alabama-cop-is-arrested-for-paralyzing-57-year-old-indian-man) and come to different conclusions? I ask myself the same question every time I watch that. Maybe it’s just my bias, but I think even the cop knew he’d fucked up. His glance to the camera after he threw that harmless old man to the ground just speaks volumes to me. I would really love to hear from one of those jurists. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=312) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=314)