Exactly, forthright communication would have prevented the entire debacle.
However, I am not aware of any laws that actually prescribe or prohibit which side of the road you can walk on, although I suppose he could cite her for creating a traffic hazard.
Looks like a small lane in a small development with no traffic. I hope he feels good about tackling this lady. This was a complete overreaction by the cop because he felt his “autoritah” was disrespected.
Could... but;
There wasn't any traffic. The woman said that is why she was worried, as there was no one else around.
The Officer was more likely to be the source of any 'traffic hazard' while moving along at walking speed on an OBVIOUS police motorcyle (according to the Chief of Police).
Exactly, forthright communication would have prevented the entire debacle.
I think it was forthright at the first, then decayed as the Officer realized this woman wasn't going to make getting her address and phone number easy.
Her statement was that he first said, "hey, do you live around here ?
Had he been concerned about some supposed (yet unproven) law that says you must walk into incoming traffic, he would have said something like, "Mam, are you aware you are violating the law?"
He was hitting on her, and when he was refused, he used his "power" to take out his anger on her.
He could simply have used the "power" of his motorcycle to outrun the woman, parked it and got off, waiting for the woman to reach him.
Apparently in Texas there is a law. Which shows how we have way too many laws, and therefore the Police can pretty much stop you and detain you and waste your time and intimidate you any time they feel like it, and if you in any way ignore them, they can arrest you for “resisting”.
Interestingly, this is what it used to be like for blacks in the south — a dread fear that a cop would come up and make up some charge against them, and harass them.
Now, we live in an age of equality, where the cops can do the same thing to everybody, not just minorities.