# 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:** 749
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14963 "2019-07-31T19:24:27Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > So, Positive Gun News thread? Careful, you have to run it through the resident gun people first, to get their blessing on whether or not they think it’s positive enough to go into the Positive Gun News thread. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14964 "2019-07-31T19:31:03Z")
Any posts about that Indiana cop who blamed fast food employees for eating his burger…before remembering he was the one who ate his own fucking burger? I see you don’t necessarily have to be a Mensa to be a cop these days but FFS can we at least hire people with a room temperature IQ? They grow 'em dumb in Indiana, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14965 "2019-07-31T19:35:55Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Any posts about that Indiana cop who blamed fast food employees for eating his burger…before remembering he was the one who ate his own fucking burger? > > I see you don’t necessarily have to be a Mensa to be a cop these days but FFS can we at least hire people with a room temperature IQ? They grow 'em dumb in Indiana, I guess. [Link](https://www.local10.com/news/weird-news/cop-who-accused-mcdonald-s-employee-of-taking-bite-of-burger-admits-he-did-it) Also: hahahahahahaha! moron. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14966 "2019-07-31T19:36:12Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > He was sent to check on a health monitor going off, and his primary thought is “_I_ might be in danger”? :rolleyes: It’s the world we have made for ourselves. Every person a cop meets could have a weapon powerful enough to kill him in an instant. It wouldn’t be the first time knocking on the wrong door got a perfectly innocent person killed by a gun toting homeowner. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14967 "2019-07-31T19:49:47Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > It’s the world we have made for ourselves. Every person a cop meets could have a weapon powerful enough to kill him in an instant. It wouldn’t be the first time knocking on the wrong door got a perfectly innocent person killed by a gun toting homeowner. This was why I was wondering if he had announced himself. Seems like the homeowner was unaware. Did he say ‘Hello? Sheriff’s Department’? Or was he trying to use stealth. If he was trying to use stealth…why the fuck was trying to use stealth??? ---
**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:** [July 31, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14968 "2019-07-31T19:53:09Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > [Link](https://www.local10.com/news/weird-news/cop-who-accused-mcdonald-s-employee-of-taking-bite-of-burger-admits-he-did-it) > > Also: hahahahahahaha! moron. If this guy thinks so vociferously that the general public is out to get him, he prolly shouldn’t be “serving” the general public in a law enforcement capacity. I don’t want paranoid, fearful and/or vengeful cops. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14969 "2019-07-31T19:54:49Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > It’s the world we have made for ourselves. Every person a cop meets could have a weapon powerful enough to kill him in an instant. It wouldn’t be the first time knocking on the wrong door got a perfectly innocent person killed by a gun toting homeowner. [It more often happens that the cops knock on the wrong door and then kill innocent people, tho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Wichita_swatting), IMO. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14970 "2019-07-31T21:51:05Z")
> **[2 TSA officers on administrative leave after 'offensive display' found at MIA](https://www.local10.com/news/2019/07/30/2-tsa-officers-on-administrative-leave-after-offensive-display-found-at-mia/?__vfz=rtw_top_pages%3D5333300019174)** > > Two Transportation Security Administration officers have been placed on administrative leave after an "offensive display" was discovered in the baggage screening area at Miami International Airport. Nice to know TSA’s finest airport cops are protecting and serving the public without bias. > [@](#): > > The TSA didn’t identify what was found in the private portion of the screening area, but CNN released a photograph of the display in question – two stuffed gorillas tied together and hanging by a noose. And people wonder why minorities are skeptical that officers are here to “protect and serve”. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14971 "2019-07-31T22:18:55Z")
[Oklahoma Woman Refuses to Sign $80 Ticket, Is Tased by Cop](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/oklahoma-woman-refuses-to-sign-dollar80-ticket-is-tased-by-cop/ar-AAF8EZ9) Is brute force all the understand??? Do they not train cops at all in diffusing situations? Who gives a fuck if they sign the ticket or not? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14972 "2019-07-31T23:42:58Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > [Oklahoma Woman Refuses to Sign $80 Ticket, Is Tased by Cop](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/oklahoma-woman-refuses-to-sign-dollar80-ticket-is-tased-by-cop/ar-AAF8EZ9) > > Is brute force all the understand??? Do they not train cops at all in diffusing situations? > > Who gives a fuck if they sign the ticket or not? That’s strange, i had no problem with that. So she gets tazed. Better than getting killed. She started driving away and was kicking the officer and whatnot. He didn’t start punching her in the face after she was handcuffed or put 25 bullets into the car. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14973 "2019-08-01T00:16:50Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > [Oklahoma Woman Refuses to Sign $80 Ticket, Is Tased by Cop](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/oklahoma-woman-refuses-to-sign-dollar80-ticket-is-tased-by-cop/ar-AAF8EZ9) > > Is brute force all the understand??? Do they not train cops at all in diffusing situations? > > Who gives a fuck if they sign the ticket or not? Yeah, sorry, but while I think he should probably have been able to control a 65-year-old woman without tasing her, she basically deserved what she got there. She refused to sign the ticket and refused to get out of the car when ordered, then she drove away, and then after she stopped she again refused to get out of the car, and struggled with the cop when he tried to drag her out. As for why you have to sign the ticket, this is the rule in a lot of states. Signing the ticket is not an admission of guilt. It simply constitutes an acknowledgement that you have received the ticket, and that you will take care of it one way or the other, either by mailing in your penalty payment, or appearing in court to contest the ticket. They do basically exactly the same thing in California, and in California, just like in Oklahoma, if you refuse to sign the ticket the cop can arrest you and bring you in front of a judge to hear the traffic charge against you. The signature is basically what you have to provide so that you can be on your way and deal with the infraction at a later date. Edit: Here is the signing thing explained for: [California](https://www.courts.ca.gov/8452.htm) [Oklahoma](https://www.ok.gov/dps/What_to_Do_and_Expect_When_Stopped_by_Law_Enforcement.html) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14974 "2019-08-01T00:36:28Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > [Oklahoma Woman Refuses to Sign $80 Ticket, Is Tased by Cop](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/oklahoma-woman-refuses-to-sign-dollar80-ticket-is-tased-by-cop/ar-AAF8EZ9) > > Is brute force all the understand??? Do they not train cops at all in diffusing situations? > > Who gives a fuck if they sign the ticket or not? Your link had a description of the video, but not the actual video. The footage can be viewed on [this page](https://www.insideedition.com/oklahoma-woman-refuses-sign-80-ticket-tased-cop-54889). After viewing the video, I will say that I’m now a little more critical of the cop. The woman acted like a fucking idiot, but he had a couple of opportunities to deal with the situation much better, and de-escalate it, especially at the first stop, before she drove away. For example, when she refused to sign the ticket, and said that that she was refusing “because I don’t think that I deserve to pay $80 for something that is fixable and I can fix it,” that was a perfect opportunity for him to tell her that the signature is NOT an admission of guilt, and that she would have an opportunity to make her case to a judge if she wanted to context the ticket. Once she heard that, she might have signed the ticket. He also could have explained [Chapter 11, Section 12-101.H](https://law.justia.com/codes/oklahoma/2014/title-47/section-47-12-101/) of the Oklahoma Statutes to her, which says: > [@](#): > > Any person producing proof within forty-eight (48) hours that a condition or equipment for which the person was cited as defective, missing, prohibited, improper, unauthorized or otherwise in violation of this chapter has been remedied by the person shall be entitled to dismissal of such charge without assessment of court costs. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol website has a link on [its own page](https://www.ok.gov/dps/ohp/dpslinks.html) to this text, under the heading “Fix-It Ticket.” You’d think the cop might have started with this explanation, so she knew from the get-go that she could get the ticket dismissed by getting the light fixed. After she flees, all bets are off, but I still think he’s pretty fucking hopeless not to be able to get the cuffs on her without using the taser. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14975 "2019-08-01T00:37:46Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > That’s strange, i had no problem with that. So she gets tazed. Better than getting killed. She started driving away and was kicking the officer and whatnot. He didn’t start punching her in the face after she was handcuffed or put 25 bullets into the car. Was she kicking him as she drove away? How did she manage that? Was the whatnot before or after the kicking? > [@mhendo](#): > > Yeah, sorry, but while I think he should probably have been able to control a 65-year-old woman without tasing her, she basically deserved what she got there. :dubious: > [@](#): > > The cop gives chase and when he catches up to her, he approaches with his gun drawn. Why was his gun drawn? He was gonna shoot a 65 year old woman over 80 dollars? And you think that’s reasonable? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14976 "2019-08-01T00:53:09Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Was she kicking him as she drove away? How did she manage that? Was the whatnot before or after the kicking?:dubious: > Why was his gun drawn? He was gonna shoot a 65 year old woman over 80 dollars? And you think that’s reasonable? In order: No. She didn’t. After. Not sure. Doubt it, because she is white. Yes. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14977 "2019-08-01T00:58:39Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Why was his gun drawn? He was gonna shoot a 65 year old woman over 80 dollars? And you think that’s reasonable? His gun was drawn because she had shown herself combative enough that she was willing to drive away from a traffic stop and lead him on a chase. I think that police draw their guns far too often. I think that he probably could have done his job without drawing his gun on this occasion. But still, plenty of people in Oklahoma, including women, carry guns with them, and if she’s willing to flee from a traffic stop over a broken tail-light, then he’s got to wonder what else she might be willing to do. As I said in my second post, above, I still think he could have handled the whole thing much better, but she bears a lot of the blame for getting herself tased. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14978 "2019-08-01T01:01:38Z")
IMO she bears no blame for the tasing; that action is solely the officer’s responsibility. I have always been against the inflicting of excruciating, debilitating and possibly lethal pain by law enforcement to gain compliance. It’s torture, plain and simple IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14979 "2019-08-01T01:17:39Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > IMO she bears no blame for the tasing; that action is solely the officer’s responsibility. > > I have always been against the inflicting of excruciating, debilitating and possibly lethal pain by law enforcement to gain compliance. It’s torture, plain and simple IMO. I’m against shooting people, but tasering seems a good tool to use to gain compliance. How do you advocate law enforcement gain compliance? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14980 "2019-08-01T01:19:01Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > After viewing the video, I will say that I’m now a little more critical of the cop. The woman acted like a fucking idiot, but he had a couple of opportunities to deal with the situation much better, and de-escalate it, especially at the first stop, before she drove away. > > For example, when she refused to sign the ticket, and said that that she was refusing “because I don’t think that I deserve to pay $80 for something that is fixable and I can fix it,” that was a perfect opportunity for him to tell her that the signature is NOT an admission of guilt, and that she would have an opportunity to make her case to a judge if she wanted to context the ticket. Once she heard that, she might have signed the ticket. Also, she offered to sign the ticket - but the officer apparently felt that she had refused and disrespected him, that that was too late. Once she drove off and started kicking him after the second stop because she is “a country girl”, the Tasing was probably not out of line. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14981 "2019-08-01T01:33:53Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I’m against shooting people, but tasering seems a good tool to use to gain compliance. > > How do you advocate law enforcement gain compliance? Through other suitable means. The answer to every “no officer, I will not” shouldn’t be the infliction of excruciating, debilitating, possibly lethal pain. I wouldn’t tase a dog, even a stray dog, for anything less than a bloody, snarling attack. Tasing a person because they refused to sign an $80 ticket is way out of line. Tasing a girl because she refused to be quiet is way out of line. Tasing a person for refusing to walk is way out of line. IMO. I’m just not into torture as a compliance tool, even when it doesn’t leave permanent physical damage. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/14982 "2019-08-01T01:38:25Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Through other suitable means. The answer to every “no officer, I will not” shouldn’t be the infliction of excruciating, debilitating, possibly lethal pain. I wouldn’t tase a dog, even a stray dog, for anything less than a bloody, snarling attack. Tasing a person because they refused to sign an $80 ticket is way out of line. Tasing a girl because she refused to be quiet is way out of line. Tasing a person for refusing to walk is way out of line. IMO. I’m just not into torture as a compliance tool, even when it doesn’t leave permanent physical damage. I agree. Can you link to a video where the police tased someone for refusing to sign an $80 ticket? I’d be against that. There is one video I saw linked in this thread, where the cop tased a women for pulling away, and then after she stopped again, she was kicking at the cop and refusing to lay on the ground and put her hands behind her back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=748) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=750)