Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Before you head to Tybee Island, you might want to read this - especially the comments.

http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2010-05-24/tybee-police-apologetic-injuries-incurred-tased-autistic-teen
Posted by Jay Moreno at 7:25 AM

1 comment:

hannah said...

The objective of police "training" is to provide cover and protect them against charges of being "out of control"--a situation that would make them liable for the adverse consequences of the use of force.
All law enforcement agencies carry liability insurance. The carriers, not unlike homeowner insurance underwriters, insist on certain safety provisions (fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, occupancy permits) being met, if they're to pay out for an adverse event. In the case of law enforcers, it's training, certification and supervisory direction that insure that "qualified immunity" pertains. What that means is that, if procedures were followed as directed, then the individuals are considered to be immune from personal prosecution and the agency which employs them will not be liable for mistakes or errors.
Unfortunately, when law enforcers are accused of unequal treatment of one population (discrimination on the basis of appearances rather than actions), it's not unusual for them to respond by targeting a more varied population with the same abusive behavior. It's as if they're saying, "see, we don't profile."

In the present instance, there was another component -- i.e. police responding to court rulings against stopping people without probable cause by telling people to "move along" and then charging them with violating a "lawful order," consistent with the belief that "keep 'em moving" is a good crowd-control strategy--one they've been taught at police training seminars. See, if it's not lawful to stop people, then it must be lawful to keep them moving. That the agents of government are not to interfere with people who haven't committed a criminal act is not appealing to people who equate "keeping order" with "giving orders."

May 26, 2010 at 4:33 AM

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