# 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:** 790
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15783 "2020-04-29T11:43:52Z")
In movies, people _always_ move from car to car. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15784 "2020-04-29T12:35:21Z")
Not allowed in DC either. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15785 "2020-04-29T13:05:38Z")
Either way it is clearly a justified shoot. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15786 "2020-04-29T14:23:12Z")
My God! What if that guy had boarded another subway and \ _went from car to car on that one_?? Thank God for Chicago’s finest! I think it’s disallowed in NYC, too, or at least strongly discouraged, but people do it all the time. On the PATH train between NY and NJ, I don’t think there’s a prohibition. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15787 "2020-05-07T01:35:00Z")
Lethbridge, Alberta: [the Fourth wasn’t with her.](https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/alberta-stormtrooper-bloodied-during-blaster-related-police-response-on-may-the-fourth-1.4925260) ---
**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:** [May 7, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15788 "2020-05-07T18:21:24Z")
[Video of violent LAPD arrest in Boyle Heights sparks outrage, internal review](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-05/video-violent-lapd-arrest-boyle-heights-internal-review) > [@](#): > > In a 50-second video, two officers can be seen ordering a man to turn around near a fence outside the church. A male officer tells the suspect to “stop fighting,” and the suspect responds, “Ain’t nobody fighting.” > > The officer then begins throwing overhand punches to the back of the suspect’s head while shouting profanities. At one point, the suspect attempts to take a few steps away from the officer, who follows and continues to punch the man in the head and body. A female officer stands by, occasionally reaching her hand out but otherwise not intervening. Asshole’s Lawyer says _what???_ > [@](#): > > “The use of force is justified because the officer believed he was under attack from the suspect … even though you might think the suspect wasn’t fighting back at that time, he wasn’t complying either,” Winslow said. “He didn’t go to the ground. He didn’t say ‘I give up.’” So remember, the secret phrase you must utter to stop getting beat is ‘I give up’. In LA, at least. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15789 "2020-05-07T18:57:47Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > [Video of violent LAPD arrest in Boyle Heights sparks outrage, internal review](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-05/video-violent-lapd-arrest-boyle-heights-internal-review) From [another article](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/lapd-officer-boyle-heights-witness-video/2358593/): "The LAPD officer recorded on cellphone video repeatedly punching a man during an arrest in Boyle Heights previously shot three people in three separate incidents, including the 2010 killing of a day laborer near downtown LA that prompted three days of public demonstrations and unrest. Officer Frank A. Hernandez was named in lawsuits as a result of at least two of those shootings, both alleging civil rights violations and excessive force." ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15790 "2020-05-07T20:45:58Z")
In a disturbing story from yesterday, police in Indianapolis shot a man, Sean Reed, after a chase that apparently live-streamed to Facebook. The video shows the police chasing a man for serious traffic violations resulting in a brief high-speed chase. The man left his car; at this point what happened is _partly_ unclear, but it does not look very good for the police. It appears they tazed the man, then shot him after he was already on the ground. The officers claim that Reed fired at them first, but that… still wouldn’t allow them to empty their firearms into him after he was down? Second, a gun was found at the scene, but I don’t think any part of the video shows that Mr. Reed had a firearm. Yeah. Because I want to think the best of the police I hope the officers had video of their own and that it shows a better picture for their sake, but… well, it does not look good. At all. Additionally, it looks very much as though the officers immediately turned off the livestream. I am not an expert, but would that not be a violation in and of itself? Finally, it should be pointed out that it does look as though Reed was driving erratically and dangerously. The officers appear to have been correct to follow and arrest him. However, there is no excuse for killing the man, and unless considerable evidence that he attempted to fire back is found, justice demands that the officers face real punishment. CBS news link: [Police fatally shoot man in Indianapolis after high-speed pursuit - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP24VaZ4NMk) ---
**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:** [May 7, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15791 "2020-05-07T22:05:19Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > [Video of violent LAPD arrest in Boyle Heights sparks outrage, internal review](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-05/video-violent-lapd-arrest-boyle-heights-internal-review) > > Asshole’s Lawyer says _what???_ > > So remember, the secret phrase you must utter to stop getting beat is ‘I give up’. > > In LA, at least. YMMV. Before that part, the story says that the suspect refused to be [del]groped[/del] searched and “struck the officer in the chest, knocking his body camera to the ground”. Of course, in blue-talk, “struck” is used for any type of physical contact, and if the officer was crowding the suspect, hey, he absolutely must allow that and cannot push him back, even lightly. You must comply. Also, how convenient is it that the body cam was the thing that fell off? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15792 "2020-05-08T20:55:20Z")
A large group of white people, some of them armed, including a city cop in uniform, terrorized a black family demanding they be allowed in the house to look for a missing girl. They were looking for a boy who had lived next door, and thought that the family’s teen aged son was the boy they were looking for. Even though there was a sign on the lawn congratulating the boy who actually lived in the house for graduating high school, with his name in big letters on the sign. The family called the sheriffs, who didn’t take any names or follow up. > **[High school senior, mother say large group of armed people, including...](https://www.wect.com/2020/05/07/high-school-senior-mother-say-large-group-armed-people-including-off-duty-deputy-terrorized-them-their-home/)** > > "We obviously cannot have armed groups of citizens patrolling the streets of Pender County or New Hanover County terrorizing innocent families," stated the attorney representing a Pender County family. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15793 "2020-05-08T22:07:09Z")
Yeah, and there was no likelihood that those vigilantes would have harmed the teenage boy in the house, right? God, I hate racists and vigilantes with a purple passion, especially because so damn many of those vigilantes are racists. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15794 "2020-05-09T02:02:11Z")
Reuters has a whole section today on qualified immunity and cops who kill. [For cops who kill, special Supreme Court protection](https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-immunity-scotus/) [Taking the measure of qualified immunity: How Reuters analyzed the data](https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-immunity-methodology/) [When cops kill, redress is rare - except in famous cases](https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-immunity-outliers/) [Before the court: A united front takes aim at qualified immunity](https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-immunity-opposition/) [Six takeaways from Reuters investigation of police violence and ‘qualified immunity’](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-immunity-scotus-snapshot/six-takeaways-from-reuters-investigation-of-police-violence-and-qualified-immunity-idUSKBN22K1AM) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15795 "2020-05-09T19:53:36Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > A large group of white people, some of them armed, including a city cop in uniform, terrorized a black family demanding they be allowed in the house to look for a missing girl. They were looking for a boy who had lived next door, and thought that the family’s teen aged son was the boy they were looking for. Even though there was a sign on the lawn congratulating the boy who actually lived in the house for graduating high school, with his name in big letters on the sign. > The family called the sheriffs, who didn’t take any names or follow up. > [High school senior, mother say large group of armed people, including off-duty deputy, terrorized them in their home](https://www.wect.com/2020/05/07/high-school-senior-mother-say-large-group-armed-people-including-off-duty-deputy-terrorized-them-their-home/) Two, one of them a former sheriff’s deputy, have been arrested. > **[Two people, including former deputy, to be charged in 'terrorizing’ incident](https://www.wect.com/2020/05/08/pender-sheriff-da-address-investigation-into-armed-group-allegedly-terrorizing-family/)** > > Two people, including a now former New Hanover County Sheriff's Deputy, will face charges in relation to a "terrorizing" incident in a Pender County neighborhood last weekend. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15796 "2020-05-09T20:37:24Z")
The missing 15-year-old girl [has been found safe](https://www.wect.com/2020/05/04/pender-county-sheriffs-office-searching-missing-teen/). ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15797 "2020-05-13T03:20:44Z")
Louisville police went into a woman’s house while she was asleep. It was the wrong house. And then they shot and killed her. The controversy is over whether the police announced their presence and whether the woman’s boyfriend fired at them thinking the house was being invaded. > **[Woman shot and killed by Kentucky police in botched raid, family says](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/black-woman-shot-killed-after-kentucky-police-entered-her-home-n1205651)** > > Louisville police officers forced their way inside and "blindly fired," killing Breonna Taylor, according to a lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15798 "2020-05-13T05:23:21Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Louisville police went into a woman’s house while she was asleep. It was the wrong house. And then they shot and killed her. > The controversy is over whether the police announced their presence and whether the woman’s boyfriend fired at them thinking the house was being invaded. > [Woman shot and killed by Kentucky police in botched raid, family says](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-woman-shot-killed-after-kentucky-police-entered-her-home-n1205651) “The officers were looking for a suspect who lived in a different part of the city and was already in police custody after he was arrested earlier.” Only the best… ETA: I think this story has already come up. If not, there’s multiple instances of police busting into residences looking for people already in police custody and killing innocent people. Of course, the officers involved get desk duty and no punishment. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15799 "2020-05-13T14:45:54Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Reuters has a whole section today on qualified immunity and cops who kill. > > [For cops who kill, special Supreme Court protection](https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-immunity-scotus/) > [Taking the measure of qualified immunity: How Reuters analyzed the data](https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-immunity-methodology/) > [When cops kill, redress is rare - except in famous cases](https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-immunity-outliers/) > [Before the court: A united front takes aim at qualified immunity](https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-immunity-opposition/) > [Six takeaways from Reuters investigation of police violence and ‘qualified immunity’](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-immunity-scotus-snapshot/six-takeaways-from-reuters-investigation-of-police-violence-and-qualified-immunity-idUSKBN22K1AM) Yeah, that’s an excellent piece. I’ve actually been disappointed, over the past ten years, at how little attention the mainstream press pays to the issue, especially considering how much attention has been devoted to police misconduct more generally, and how often bad police are protected by this doctrine, which has no basis in the Constitution, and which the Supreme Court created out of whole cloth. This Friday’s conference at the Supreme Court will actually see the justices consider almost a dozen cases related to qualified immunity, and observers think that there’s a pretty good chance that at least some members of the court are ready to consider significantly reducing the scope of qualified immunity, even if they’re not willing to eliminate the doctrine altogether. I think it’s pretty likely, if they take up any or all of these cases, and if they end up setting stricter limits to qualified immunity, that it will involve an alliance of liberal and conservative members of the court. If I had to guess, I would think that the most likely votes to take up the cases would come from Sotomayor, Thomas, and Gorsuch. The most likely justices to pass on the cases, or to maintain the current system if the cases are considered, might be Alito and Roberts, and it could be that Elena Kagan’s recent decisions affirming the importance of _stare decisis_ might also predispose her to leave precedent intact. As for the others, I’m really not deeply enough into their judicial philosophies to make any sort of educated guess. It only takes four justices to take up a case, so I’m reasonably hopeful that this issue will end up on the docket. And if it does, I really hope that they make some radical changes to this terrible policy. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15800 "2020-05-13T15:16:13Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Louisville police went into a woman’s house while she was asleep. It was the wrong house. And then they shot and killed her. > The controversy is over whether the police announced their presence and whether the woman’s boyfriend fired at them thinking the house was being invaded. > [Woman shot and killed by Kentucky police in botched raid, family says](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-woman-shot-killed-after-kentucky-police-entered-her-home-n1205651) It seems strange to me that in situations like this, the police don’t immediately release body-cam footage showing that the police did, in fact, announce their presence. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15801 "2020-05-13T15:39:53Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > It seems strange to me that in situations like this, the police don’t immediately release body-cam footage showing that the police did, in fact, announce their presence. Gee, ya think maybe such footage doesn’t exist? ---
**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:** [May 13, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/15802 "2020-05-13T16:03:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Gee, ya think maybe such footage doesn’t exist? Probably not, but don’t they realize how bad that looks after all these incidents? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=789) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=791)