Comments on: North Carolina Officer Stops Bus and Arrests Kids for Making Faces and Obscene Gestures at HIm

By: Alastair

Alastair — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:46:07 +0000

Police need reminding they are public servants and that their power only derives from the consent of those that ultimately employ them.

(Mistaking Latin for modern Spanish is unforgivable, though!)

By: mespo727272

mespo727272 — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:40:06 +0000

Susan:

Sorry for the oblique Latin reference, but it just seemed to fit.

By: mespo727272

mespo727272 — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:37:42 +0000

Patty C: Right again and certainly not merely rhetorical.

By: Patty C

Patty C — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:21:04 +0000

If I may, rhetorical but nonetheless valid
- “who watches the watchman?”

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:18:23 +0000

Mespo727272
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

–Juvenal
*******************

I’m afraid I’m Spanish-language-challenged, Mespo, so I don’t even know if this is a rhetorical question or not.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:41:53 +0000

It seems that we Amercians have become over-sensitized to others’ opinions. Luckily, this police officer did the right thing – he “retired” because of the stress from this incident.

By: mespo727272

mespo727272 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:47:20 +0000

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

–Juvenal

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:40:47 +0000

I sometimes wonder if holding such abusive behavior up to ridicule in the public eye by calling them “Mickey Mouse arrests”

********

Ugh, I didn’t finish the sentence properly. I’ll just go on by saying that calling them “Mickey Mouse arrests” might make more cops stop and think about what consequences such an arrest will mean for THEM. Like suspension, loss of pay, possibly being asked to resign from the force permanently. Maybe THAT would bring this kind of blatant abuse to a swift end.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:35:01 +0000

Good grief, JT, this abusive (there’s NO other word for it!) behavior by cops is becoming an epidemic! I sometimes wonder if holding such abusive behavior up to ridicule in the public eye by calling them “Mickey Mouse arrests.” The term simply means that the arrest is being made for no other reason besides an arrogant and abusive police officer choosing to be “offended” by behavior that can hardly be called “criminal.”

I know that abuse by police officers is no laughing matter, and that citizens of that town should be calling for that cop’s speedy removal from the streets. But what worries me is how many other cops are rationalizing and even approving such abuses, saying they are somehow “necessary.” Necessary to WHOM? Only to their egos, which anyone can see. Maybe holding their behavior up to public ridicule, and those officers who participate in it, will make certain law enforcement officials see that we find such behavior unacceptable, and we’ll start standing up to these bullying tactics when they occur. It certainly can’t hurt to try.