To Protect And To Bully
A man in Utah says he was arrested for the crime of not complying with a police officer's order to stop putting out a brush fire that threatened his home. From World Liberty News:
SANTAQUIN, UT -- A man was arrested for disorderly conduct and obstructing justice when he refused to stop spraying water on a brush fire that had ignited in a field behind his home.The incident happened on July 4th in a field located behind a row of houses. At approximately 9:30 p.m., some brush caught fire due to errant use of fireworks. Spectators quickly assisted and one woman called 9-1-1 for help.
"An apparent spark lit a tree over there from an old orchard on fire," said 36-year-old Santaquin resident, Jason Thornton. "Myself, my two nephews, and a few neighbors rushed to action, got our hoses out, contained the fire to one tree, waiting for the fire department to show up."
Mr. Thornton continued: "While fighting the fire, somebody said, 'stop!' I told them, 'no' in a very unpolite way. He told me again to stop. I said, 'No, I'm manning this fire. I'm not stopping until the fire department gets here.'"
"Then the man came over and put me in handcuffs and told me I was under arrest," he said. "They gave me a citation for disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice."
His wife, Kelly, told Police State USA that the arrest was totally uncalled for.
"He was out with the a lot of neighbors helping out," said Kelly. "I had called 9-1-1. They had the fire under control when a cop came up to them and told them to stop. [Jason] did not know it was a cop. He told the cop he was not stopping until the fire department got there."
"While he was spraying down the ambers, the cop told him he was arresting he put him in handcuffs and took him to his car," Kelly told Police State USA. "The fire department was not there yet. It was a crazy, intense situation. The cop did not even try to help with the fire."
I couldn't find corroborating stories from traditional media sources, but I did find the guy talking on video:
I do see more and more of this. Perhaps it's just because we have more media than ever and because we can all easily shoot footage and upload it and post stories on the web. But there's been an erosion of our civil liberties that has increased in pace and scope since 9/11, and doesn't seem to be ceasing.
What isn't increasing is police interest in actual crimes -- the sort that aren't "crimes" that are realliy about some citizen not kowtowing to them.
I write in "Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F*ck" that police officers are unlikely to solve your crime -- or even come out and take a report, unless there's a body lying bleeding on your kitchen floor. Identity theft? Car theft? Unless you need a police report for your insurance company or the credit bureaus, why spend the time yapping about something that will be noted in a report and filed away, unlikely to ever be looked at again.
via @reasonpolicy
In intemperate times, both for my aging spirit and our heavily-governed culture, I appreciate a well-tempered blog post:
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Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at July 7, 2014 10:04 PM
What am I missing? What was the cop's reason for intervening at all? I mean, he must have had one, he must have given some reason why the guy should stop spraying the fire, but this is not mentioned in the story at all.
Failing such a justification, seems to me that they guy would have had every justification for resisting arrest - even to the point of attacking the cop. In the end, he was defending life and property from a fire - surely that takes precedence over almost anything?
I would love to hear the other side of this story, if there is another side.
a_random_guy at July 7, 2014 11:48 PM
Part and parcel of the trend toward militarizing our police. Police by and large think of us (ordinary people) as civilians, and their mind-set seems to be similar to that of soldiers in a war zone. What's worse, the law assists them in this. "Obstruction of justice" can mean anything an officer wants it to be on the spot, up to and including disobeying an order to do something that the "civilian" knows is illegal or could, as in this case, result in harm to his property.
The government is following Uncle Joe Stalin's script: enough laws, and everyone's a felon. It gives law enforcement a clear field to harass anyone and march them off to the gulag for processing.
cpabroker at July 8, 2014 4:15 AM
Oh, come on. You people act like the cops hold women down and pummel them on the side of the freeway or something.
Er, wait a sec.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at July 8, 2014 10:43 AM
Speaking of which ... (wait for it)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10154330569955112&fref=nf
Bob in Texas at July 8, 2014 2:36 PM
No, for the most part this is not happening more often. And yes, with better information you are more aware of it. But more important than all of that is, THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN!
Cops should have to wear cameras while on duty. In this day and age it is not unreasonable. And for someone who is given a lethal weapon and authority to use it proper documentation should not be a problem.
Ben at July 8, 2014 2:49 PM
Just saw a post from BikeLaw.com, about a bicyclist who caught images of a roadraging motorist throwing a full bottle of Gatorade. The police refused to be bothered.
After a lot of internet shaming, enough anger was generated to finally push the right buttons.
jefe at July 8, 2014 4:56 PM
Ambers? He was spraying down the jewelry?
Oh, he meant the guy was spraying down the embers - the glowing hot coals "made of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material that remain after ... a fire."
And another functional illiterate graduates from journalism school.
Conan the Grammarian at July 8, 2014 5:00 PM
If I were his neighbors and friends I would have "accidentally" turned around with my hose and to see what the cop was doing.
A few spray downs would probably cooled him down.
Jim P. at July 8, 2014 6:36 PM
Cops should have to wear cameras while on duty.
Any arrest not filmed should be thrown out of court
lujlp at July 8, 2014 10:16 PM
Just to be safe, all sexual encounters between college students need to be filmed too.
Just to make sure there was consent.
Seriously though. There is no excuse for the police not wearing cameras, They would have a record that would protect them, making them safer from attack and abuse.
At the same time, it would keep them under control with a real time record of their actions.
I wonder how many women will be raped, when we are all wearing google glasses?
Isab at July 9, 2014 4:36 AM
http://reason.com/blog/2014/07/08/cops-show-up-in-force-at-town-hall-meeti
This seems relevant
Isab at July 9, 2014 5:18 AM
"Seriously though. There is no excuse for the police not wearing cameras, They would have a record that would protect them, making them safer from attack and abuse."
Several manufacturers make gun cameras, which can be set to activate when the gun is pulled from the holster. They aren't used, though, partly because of stuff like this.
If you're the usual juror, you have no idea.
Radwaste at July 9, 2014 6:47 PM
"Seriously though. There is no excuse for the police not wearing cameras, They would have a record that would protect them, making them safer from attack and abuse."
Several manufacturers make gun cameras, which can be set to activate when the gun is pulled from the holster. They aren't used, though, partly because of stuff like this.
If you're the usual juror, you have no idea.
Posted by: Radwaste at July 9, 2014 6:47 PM
I do have an idea.
And the cops generally have sovereign immunity from law suits, unless the act was outside the line of duty.
I also think if you are waving a gun at a cop, up close, you deserve to be shot. That would be close enough for the average cop to hit you which would be less than 50 feet away.
A visual record would exonerate the police.
Also a cop should be wearing body armor. When someone shoots at you, it gives you the clue you are not dealing with a toy gun.
However, most police abuses don't involve anyone pulling a gun, so this is kind of a straw man.
Isab at July 9, 2014 7:08 PM
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