Thanks. I read your earlier posts, but still, it seems to me that *just* because something is written in a state law it doesn’t mean that it allows a police officer, or anyone, to violate the rights of a citizen. That’s my point.
-BTW, you may have me confused with someone else claiming the cop was racist, I didn’t. However, racism these days does NOT need to be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, at least WRT the media and the real world repercussions.
I must say, respectfully, that if you think the cop was being reasonable and lawful (or that the laws under which said cops actions would be considered reasonable is just)you have a very different view of the role of police and the State than I do or would want to; I see a thuggish A-hole who gives all cops a bad name and a really good example of why so many citizens do not trust cops these days.
Respectfully..
I agree that the law doesn’t allow anyone to violate a person’s rights, but in this case, the cop did not violate her rights. Being rude does not equal a violation of rights.
For some reason, a reason not yet known to any of us, the cop felt the need to ask her more questions. It could be due to her behavior, because of her history, or just because he wanted to do it. His motives are unknown.
Asking her to put out the cig is not a violation of her rights, is reasonable, and does not violate the law.
Was she swinging the cig around wildly while she was complaining to the cop? Was he worried about getting burned? Did he want the smoke gone so he could see if he smelled MJ since she had a history of possession? Did he want the smoke gone so he could see her eyes more clearly to determine if she was high since her behavior was odd, especially since the autopsy did later show that she WAS stoned? All of those are valid, legal reasons to tell her to put out the cig. Since cigs are not covered anywhere in the Constitution or any civil right (if they were then all public places would have to allow smoking) and telling her to put it out does NOT violate any laws then she should have complied and complained to his superiors later about it.
She chose NOT to comply, which is a violation of TX law so the cop told her to exit the vehicle. Again, she refused, which is a violation of law. He also attempted to cuff her for officer safety, which SCOTUS has ruled is legal and does not violate any rights. She chose to fight him instead, which is against the law.
If you think any of those things violated her rights then I challenge you to provide the law or statute and section of that law/statute to support that claim.
Had he ordered her to give him a bj then that would violate her rights and the law. If he used his authority or position to force her to give him money then that would be a violation of her rights and the law. Had he called her a racial slur then that would violate her rights and the law. Just being rude or gruff doesn’t violate any laws or any rights. If it did then all of our bosses would be in jail right now.
I apologize if I confused you with another poster. You’re right that racism doesn’t have to be proved to the media, but it does have to be proved in court. For criminal prosecution it would have to be “beyond a shadow of a doubt” and civil prosecution would have to be “based on the weighted evidence”. In either case, the cop is safe because he never used any slurs and he never made any indication that he pulled her over or arrested her for being black. Absent any evidence, criminal or civil prosecution is not likely.
I don’t think cops should have ultimate authority, but I do think they should have the authority granted to them by the people that they serve. This cop was granted the authority, by the people of TX, to make this traffic stop, give lawful orders, and to arrest people for violating those laws or for assaulting the officer. Had he acted outside of the authority granted to him, then I too, would side against him. In this case, he acted well within his authority. Again, rudeness is not illegal even if it is bad practice.
I still maintain that she was still accountable for her own actions though. Even if the cop was rude, but didn’t violate the law, then she could have remained calm as well and complied with his lawful orders. She chose not to. That is on her. Had she complied, even with her bad attitude, then the stop would have probably ended or at the very least, she would have a better argument against the cop because she could prove that she complied with all of his lawful orders, but was still harassed. She lost that argument when she chose to violate the laws of TX.