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Featured Listener Comments Section: Contents List |
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Listener: John
Category: General
Date: 24 Jul 2009
Time: 11:55:39 -0700
Remote Name: 66.140.100.91
Pratt,
I’ve been a police chief twice and a federal agent. I also held police instructor license in Texas.
If one looks at the criminal law of disorderly conduct for the jurisdiction in this case, the most important element of the offense that must be proved is “in a public place.” That holds true with almost all of the other 49 states in this country. This was an unlawful arrest for a lot of reasons. Being on one’s own property can still get you arrested if the disturbance of the peace, e.g. a loud party in an upstairs apartment, standing on your own sidewalk and yelling at someone walking on the public sidewalk etc.
If you saw the news broadcasts, this house was on a large piece of land with trees on the boundary. The man was in his own house and the last time I read the constitution, free speech was still a privilege.
I would have been just as upset with this police Sergeant and I am white. We
do not live in a police state and when we are in our own homes we have a higher
expectation of our rights then when we are out in public. This was an unlawful
arrest and the police are claiming they are the victim.
John
Pratt responds:
My understanding is that the man arrested
followed the officer outside and continued the tirade there. And apparently that
space is public enough that a neighbor was able to observe what appeared to be a
breaking into the house.
I’ve read much about this, before it blew up in the public, and though I’m often
not the first to side with the police on such issues and doubt whether arrest
was warranted, I tend to side with the officer on this one in the overall
picture.
I do agree with your sentiments about false arrest and speech.
Here is a column from a fellow retired policeman you might find interesting:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/obama_is_the_one_who_acted_stu_1.html
Also, Larry Elder is right about the issue in: HWB -- Home While Black
I agree with you that words are not sufficient
for an arrest. But neither is what happened in this case an excuse to fan the
flames of racial hatred and to damage the ability of police to do their jobs –
and that is what President Obama has done by making comments when he admitted he
did not have the facts. And that is what the case has become about – something
which would not have been the case had the President kept quite until he had
more complete information.
Robert
P.S. President Obama has now said he regrets his
remarks.
link
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