# Teacher pepper-sprayed while talking on the phone **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 30, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330 "2015-01-30T14:45:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/21 "2015-01-30T17:43:34Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And she was the _only_ cop that was ranting and raving and brandishing a weapon. And spraying it randomly at the crowd. Isn’t she a little short for a stormtrooper? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/22 "2015-01-30T17:49:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > When one officer takes point, people complain. When every officer brings out their weapon at once, people complain. > > I don’t see anything inappropriate in the officer’s actions here. Look again. For one thing, it wasn’t much of a crowd. For another thing, you can see just about everyone who is there, and they are all peaceful. The people in the foreground, including Mr. Hagopian, are clearly leaving the area. _All_ of the other officers are calmly manning their bicycle barricade, some unconcernedly turning their backs on the… I can’t call it a 'crowd, as there are too few people there… ‘gathering’. There is exactly _one_ person who is freaking out, and she is the one brandishing a weapon and yelling like a crazy person. _No one_ was approaching her when she attacked. The officer’s actions are blatantly inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/23 "2015-01-30T17:51:56Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You’re seeing what you want to see. Reality? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/24 "2015-01-30T17:55:57Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You’re seeing what you want to see. He’s ignoring the officer and continuing to walk in a straight line through the area the officers are trying to clear. > > There is insufficient data in this clip to determine whether “everyone around was being completely peaceful”. And a public protest in Seattle is exactly the kind of place where one needs to be hyper-aware of the police. “Trying to clear?” _That’s_ what you see? The cops are standing still behind a line of cross-parked bicycles! As for being “hyper-aware” of cops - I guess we should, just like we should be hyper-aware of any mindless animal that needs to be on a leash. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/25 "2015-01-30T17:57:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > just like we should be hyper-aware of any mindless animal that needs to be on a leash. Ouch! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/26 "2015-01-30T18:16:38Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > For one thing, it wasn’t much of a crowd. For another thing, you can see just about everyone who is there, and they are all peaceful. The people in the foreground, including Mr. Hagopian, are clearly leaving the area. _All_ of the other officers are calmly manning their bicycle barricade, some unconcernedly turning their backs on the… I can’t call it a 'crowd, as there are too few people there… ‘gathering’. There is exactly _one_ person who is freaking out, and she is the one brandishing a weapon and yelling like a crazy person. _No one_ was approaching her when she attacked. Behind a barricade, you say? Turning their backs just before pepper spray was deployed, you say? Why, that almost sounds like a professionally coordinated crowd control procedure and not just one crazy person freaking out. Please give your source for claiming that everyone was being completely peaceful before the 15 seconds of video, or that the people visible in the camera’s field of vision constituted the entire crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/27 "2015-01-30T18:23:46Z")
That is a lunatic hair trigger cop who should be removed from the force right now. If she’s so terrified of a few people milling around and actively walking away from her “Step back! Step back!” she does not have the correct disposition to be a police officer. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/28 "2015-01-30T18:25:35Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Walking _away_ from the cop. Yes, he was walking away from the cops by walking up to and within two feet of the cops while the cops are telling everyone to get back and brandishing pepper spray. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Reality? Yes, the reality of him walking up to and within two feet of the cops while the cops are telling everyone to get back and brandishing pepper spray. Dipshit got what he deserved. Instead of walking away in the opposite direction of the cops he walks up to and within two feet of them. He’s an “activist”. I’d wager money he was playing the “I’m not touching you. I’m not touching you.” game. When he got to the woman instead of going to the right and away from the cops when he wanted to go around her he went left and towards the cops. Also he deserved getting sprayed just for being on the phone and not paying attention to his surroundings. A few weeks ago I saw an idiot looking down at his phone, probably texting, while he entered a crosswalk, that was not a part of a stop sign or red light, without even looking up. Luckily I was paying attention and he entered from the other side of the road so I had plenty of time to brake for him. As he approached he put his phone in his pocket and then noticed me and looked at me with a retarded look on his face like, “What? Cars drive in the streets? Since when?” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/29 "2015-01-30T18:27:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Behind a barricade, you say? Turning their backs just before pepper spray was deployed, you say? Why, that almost sounds like a professionally coordinated crowd control procedure and not just one crazy person freaking out. > > Please give your source for claiming that everyone was being completely peaceful before the 15 seconds of video, or that the people visible in the camera’s field of vision constituted the entire crowd. You need to look at the whole picture. You can’t only look at the rabid cop and nothing else, and decide that it was justified. The cops turning their backs are not turning their backs because she’s about to unleash the gas. Look at the ones in the background, and you can see that they are simply unconcerned about the few people who are there. My source for claiming that everyone was peaceful before the clip? What, you think they were ranting and throwing things, and then everyone said ‘Time out! Everyone stand still! We need to get this shot!’? Or do you mean like three days before? Or perhaps last year? Unlike you, I watched the entire clip. You know, where the field of view widens and you can see how many people are there. There’s like 40 or 50 people. Or are you counting the entire population of Seattle? There’s a bunch of them, and technically they were all surrounding the cops. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/30 "2015-01-30T18:33:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Unlike you, I watched the entire clip. You know, where the field of view widens and you can see how many people are there. There’s like 40 or 50 people. Or are you counting the entire population of Seattle? There’s a bunch of them, and technically they were all surrounding the cops. A group of 40 or 50 people surrounding the cops and refusing to disperse, you say? No, I can’t imagine why they’d go for the pepper spray. No sirree Bob. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/31 "2015-01-30T18:42:06Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > A group of 40 or 50 people surrounding the cops and refusing to disperse, you say? It does look to me like people walking down the street. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/32 "2015-01-30T18:44:34Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > A group of 40 or 50 people surrounding the cops and refusing to disperse, you say? No, I didn’t say. There are 40 or 50 people _in front_ of the police line, none of whom appear to be doing anything provocative, and most of whom are just standing around, spread across a line that totals 40 or 50 feet. The cops aren’t surrounded – unless you’re counting the population of Seattle. > [@Smapti](#): > > No, I can’t imagine why they’d go for the pepper spray. No sirree Bob. Based on the video showing the behaviour of the protesters and all but one cop, I can’t imagine why this woman went for the pepper spray. I don’t know what it’s like in Olympia, but the scene is very uncrowded for downtown Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/33 "2015-01-30T18:58:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I don’t see anything inappropriate in the officer’s actions here. Wow, that one came out of left field. I never would have guessed. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/34 "2015-01-30T19:24:41Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > “Teacher and activist Jesse Hagopian said he was leaving a peaceful Martin Luther King Jr. Day protest” > > Protest? MLK Day protest? This is a thing? Yes, it was an appropriate day for “Black Lives Matter”. > **[Martin Luther King’s Birthday Marked by Protests Over Deaths of Black Men...](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/us/king-holiday-events-include-air-of-protest-over-deaths-of-black-men.html?_r=0)** > > In several large cities, protests were organized by activists who wanted to use the day to denounce injustice and to point out social inequality. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/35 "2015-01-30T19:36:53Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Yes, it was an appropriate day for “Black Lives Matter”. > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/us/king-holiday-events-include-air-of-protest-over-deaths-of-black-men.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/us/king-holiday-events-include-air-of-protest-over-deaths-of-black-men.html?_r=0) Oh, I thought they where protesting MLK Day. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/36 "2015-01-30T19:44:06Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Geez, everyone gets pissed off about unjustified police shootings. So they try to step it down and settle for unjustified pepper sprayings, and you still get pissed off? The poor police can’t win! If you can’t shoot or pepper spray people, what reason is there to be a cop? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/37 "2015-01-30T19:44:25Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > [QUOTE=Smapti] > Or, maybe, people could pay attention to their surroundings. Do you honestly, sincerely believe that this guy was in any way at fault? [/QUOTE] Did he stop ? Did he smile ? Did he kneel ? Did he give the salute ? > [@Smapti](#): > > Walking through the middle of a protest area, in a town where protests are frequently disrupted by violent anarchists, feet away from a police officer giving a stern command to get back? > > Yes. This is what happens when you pay more attention to your precious cell phone than to the world around you. Tell us more about the violent anarchists of Seattle. > [@Shakes](#): > > Wow, that one came out of left field. I never would have guessed. Snerk. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/38 "2015-01-30T19:51:11Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Tell us more about the violent anarchists of Seattle. [Do the letters “WTO” mean anything to you?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Seattle_WTO_protests#.22N30.22) ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/39 "2015-01-30T19:56:03Z")
Put her on desk duty; she has no business interacting with the public. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330/40 "2015-01-30T20:09:10Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > If you can’t shoot or pepper spray people, what reason is there to be a cop? You get to drive your car fast and shoot guns. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teacher-pepper-sprayed-while-talking-on-the-phone/711330.md?page=3)