I am coming to the conclusion that the arrest is the point, not an intermediate step towards incarcerating someone.
So many Trump-fueled arrests have been made, but so few have resulted in jail time. This many not indicate a weakness in the procedure, but a known flaw that cops can exploit.
Arresting someone is traumatic, especially if the arrest is sudden, unexpected, or violent. This, too, may be intentional.
Very long time ago, I was subjected to this kind of treatment in a very trivial way compared to today’s actions, but it taught me how the system worked.
Briefly, here’s the story. I stopped to politely ask an officer why he was blocking traffic on a freeway for no apparent reason. I didn’t like his answer, so I began to write down his name and badge number, nothing else. There were no angry words exchanged, no threats made, and no brandishing of weapons. An absolutely civil exchange.
Before I finished writing, the officer grabbed my arm, spun me around, and put me in handcuffs. He refused to tell me why: “You’ll find out soon enough.”
I was placed in his police cruiser and taken to the county jail, not by a direct route, but the long way, as he had some other business to take care of on the way.
I was booked and put in a holding cell; not allowed a phone call for at least 8 hours and mocked by the officers who were watching.
I was finally able to be bailed out and went to court the following day. The judge said, “You are free to go; no charges have been filed.” I was puzzled, but came to realize that the arrest was the thing, as the cops knew that they had no charge that would stick.
But wait, there’s more. 5+ years later there was a knock on my mom’s door. A cop had a warrant for my arrest. Wisely, she did not tell him where I was, but when he left empty-handed, called me. It took some time for me to figure out what the fuss was about – I was out of state indefinitely, and didn’t think extradition was likely.
The next day, I was able to contact the judge who issued the warrant, who was very nice and conversational. After listening to me, he said that what probably happened was the original cop planned this from the start, obtained an arrest warrant long ago (on what charge?), then deliberately put the paper in his desk and falsely claimed it had been served. He knew that, given enough time, I might be stopped for anything – a minor traffic violation – and when the records were checked, I would immediately be placed in jail as an outlaw, fugitive, or bail jumper.
Luckily, none of this happened and I am no longer worried (the judge said forget it if you’re permanently out of state).
But all of this was undoubtedly caused only by the desire of a vindictive cop to “punish” me the only way he could and still get away with it. The arrest IS the thing.
