There is a controversy in Oakland where an officer was shown spitting at a citizen who was videotaping him while questioning a group of people at a gas station. Spitting is person is considered battery under California law (Penal Code 242).
What makes this video even more interesting is that we have previously seen officers charge people with battery or assault over air kisses, bubbles, hugs, pillow fights, errant french fries, and even flatulence, snowballs, and raspberries.
The officer first appears to take something out of his mouth and toss it at the citizen and then appears to spit on him.
The men who took the videotape say that the officer was questioning them about their cars and “harassing us” and “giving us trouble.” In the videotape the officer appears calm however. One man admitted that one of their friends called the officers “pigs.” After that, they said that the officer called for back-up and the two men were surrounded. The officer on the video was reportedly chewing sun flowers and the man said that was what he tossed from his mouth. The officer reportedly says “if I had another, I’d do it again.”
While the men said that they did not give consent, their cars were searched.
The incident is under investigation. Here is the video:
The most important aspect of this videotape is reaffirming not just the importance of the right of citizens to film police but the continued hostility and threats that citizens received from police in exercising that right. While the courts have consistently upheld this right, police continue to arrest or threaten citizens who film them in public. Yet, these videotapes have proven the single most important tool in fighting police abuse in our lifetime. Before the invention of cellphone cameras, this would be likely been dismissed as a rivaling account between an officer and a suspect. It obviously cannot be dismissed when there is a videotape record.
As for the officer, I have expressed concern of lowering standards for battery (including charges brought by police for trivial touchings discussed above). The imposition of criminal charges against the officer seems a bit extreme but, if charges are avoided, the same standard should apply to citizens in their contacts with officers.
What do you think?
Source: CBS
The way they like to play it here is to charge ‘assault with a deadly weapon’ because he could have HIV.
The officer should be a former officer or relegated to answering telephones on third shift..
Issac, there is something called respect for the people who pay an officer’s wages.
Oakland cops are just city employees, nothing more, and spitting on or toward individuals who are submitting to their authority was agitation like a high school sophomore behind the bleachers on Friday night. Like many of them do these days, he was baiting his prey and waiting for a physical response
“Looks like he is engaging in a friendly needling dialogue. in other words, acting normal.” – Jane
“While the men said that they did not give consent, their cars were searched.” — Jonathan Turley
Warrantless searches? No problem. We the people tacitly give consent. Just a little “friendly” search.
Good grief, a sunflower seed hull. When do we hit bottom?
I hope you folks feel safer when these cops stop taking a proactive approach to policing
I don’t believe this would attract a successful prosecution for assault, though ironically the officer does state after spitting the sun-flower seed at the cameraman when accused of harassment by the bystanders he replies “that’s not harassment, that’s assault.” (to the agreement of the cameraman).
This is conduct unbecoming an officer and merits a letter of reprimand by his department.
He did spit something at him, not plegm, or saliva but whatever he was eating, probably whatever he had flicked at him seconds earlier yeah, maybe a pistachio or sunflower shell or something. ANYWAY, His behavior deserves… nothing. Leave him be. Looks like he is engaging in a friendly needling dialogue. in other words, acting normal. It was a little bit insulting , but I would have to see the WHOLE incident in its entirety before judging his behavior inappropriate, he may have been mirroring behavior of one of the guys who shared a bag of sunflower seeds with him and they had been flicking seeds at one another. The point is WE DON”T KNOW. What we do know is there is no violence, or threat of violence, physical or verbal. That this video got enough traction to be mentioned in this blog is surprising to me.
I’m thinking JT is back into the manic cop phase to attract the left wingers who have left this blog. Now, in the comment section, I have seen this block move far left a few years ago to right of center now. We do need more reasoned left of center comments .But, this cop hatin’ bait attracts the worst of the left. I would suggest more environmental posts. Obama is in Alaska watching glaciers melt. Of course, they’ve been melting for thousands of years. But, it’s a great visual.
The hated aren’t the cops
by Barrett Rainey
http://www.ridenbaugh.com/index.php/2015/01/04/the-hated-arent-the-cops/
I don’t know anyone who “hates” cops. No one. Oh, I’m sure there are some criminals, psycho’s and maybe a few ex-spouses who harbor some bad feelings. But “cop hating” by the general public? I don’t know ‘em.
…
The brutal fact is police officers have been getting killed in-the-line-of-duty since biblical times. It’s a risk that goes with the job. But so is this: most officers have served a full career to retirement without ever having fired their sidearm in anger. Good men. Good women. When faced with danger, they used their heads instead of their weapons. Not always possible but more often than not, it was. And it worked.
Nobody is well-served with all this “cop hatred” B.S.. It’s divisive, cruel, untrue and avoids the real issues of why people are in the streets. The NYC police union loudmouth getting too much attention is trying to feather his own re-election nest and is using a minority of badge-wearing miscreants to prop up his personal goal. Interesting that leaders of the other four NYC police unions are either keeping their silence or using much less inflammatory rhetoric.
Police professionals are not “citizen haters.” The vast majority of citizens are not “cop haters.” So why is something that doesn’t exist getting so much attention? And so many headlines?
We need to return national attention to the real criminal justice problems that brought people to the streets. We need to silence – or at least ignore – voices using division and hatred to draw us away from that original purpose. The national task at hand is not to listen to voices of hate trying to drum up ratings or advertising dollars. Or, trying to stay employed at any cost.
The honest national interest here is the singular pursuit of justice. For all. Yes, even for the haters. -Barrett Rainey
My wife has a friend in Fox Lake, where the cop was murdered yesterday. She is in lock down. Police are walking dogs so citizens are not outside during the search. Maybe JT could do a post about cops walking dogs. My wife got this info from Facebook. There’s probably some video. That would be a nice way to ridicule cops.
When spittle flies in the opposite direction, though in point of fact, there wasn’t any spitting at all:
Antonio Buehler was accused of spitting on an officer and charged with “harassment of a public servant.”
“Ultimately, Buehler’s attempt to document what he felt was apparent police abuse ended with his own arrest when the officer said he felt Buehler spit on him. He faced a felony charge of “harassment of a public servant,” and two to 10 years in prison. Last year, a grand jury cleared Buehler of the felony…” –from the Democracy Now posting, below
http://www.democracynow.org/2014/10/29/is_filming_a_police_officer_a
“A jury in Austin, Texas, is set to issue its decision today [10/29/2014] in a case that centers on a person’s right to film police officers. Antonio Buehler says he was at a gas station in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in 2012 when he used his phone to take pictures of a woman being arrested and crying out for help. Ultimately, Buehler’s attempt to document what he felt was apparent police abuse ended with his own arrest when the officer said he felt Buehler spit on him. He faced a felony charge of “harassment of a public servant,” and two to 10 years in prison. Last year, a grand jury cleared Buehler of the felony, but in an usual twist, it came back with a charge of “failure to obey a lawful order,” a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine. The order was for Buehler to put his hands behind his back as he tried to take pictures. Since then Buehler has co-founded the group Peaceful Streets Project, whose members record police and post the videos online, and train others to do the same. He has been arrested several more times while videotaping officers and has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Austin Police Department. Buehler is an an Iraq War veteran and graduate of West Point and Stanford University with no prior arrests. Just moments before a jury is set to issue a verdict, he joins us from Austin.
UPDATE: After four days of proceedings and more than five hours of jury deliberation, Antonio Buehler was found not guilty the evening of Oct. 29, 2014. Buehler sent us this this statement in response to the verdict:
“I don’t feel vindicated, nor do I think I ‘won.’ The cops who committed crimes that night were never tried, arrested, fired, disciplined, or even reprimanded. Instead, Norma and I were charged with a total of six crimes we did not commit, and it took nearly three years to make them disappear. And I still have three more trials coming up for the ‘crime’ of filming the police. The city had eight prosecutors in the courtroom trying this case, and about a dozen police officers were in there to intimidate the jury. When cops and prosecutors are willing to expend such tremendous resources to prosecute a Class C Misdemeanor for political purposes, all Americans should fear their government.”
JT needs to get some therapy regarding his cop obsession. There was a cop, just several miles from his hometown, gunned down yesterday. The cop has 4 kids and was set to retire next month. I assure you, he has been spit on, kick, hit, called every name in the book during his 30 year career.
I saw no spitting and no object being thrown or directed at the videographer. A non issue except someone trying to stir up something that isn’t there. And I’d like to see proof of who gets charged for an “air kiss”.
Why contribute to the Obama doctrine to harass and kill police officers. This is an example of that doctrine and stoking the hatred.
National Police Misconduct NewsFeed Daily Recap 08-26-15
August 27, 2015 @ 5:32 PM by Jonathan Blanks
Here are the nine reports of police misconduct tracked for Wednesday, August 26, 2015:
http://www.policemisconduct.net/national-police-misconduct-newsfeed-daily-recap-08-26-15/
That cop needs to be disciplined for his actions. While termination may be too much, he definitely needs to lose some paydays. If a civilian had done that to a cop, they would be in jail with a big case of asswhooping.
*Tasing* Damn you autocorrect.
I didn’t see any spitting either. It does appear he may have thrown a chewed up sunflower seed at him, which is gross but doesn’t seem to be as bad as spitting. I think there are far more egregious offenses cops are engaging in, like shooting people who have their hands up, or tasting people in their backs, or manhandling teen girls at pool parties, etc, etc.
NOT criminal charges. But have them hanging over his head. Have a civil suit hanging over his head but not yet filed. Then call a meeting between the local chapter of the Journalists of America (JOA) and the Police Union. Have a member of the Journalists spit the same item onto the same cop. If the cops prosecute the guy then file the civil rights assault and First Amendment case against the cop, the Police Department and the municipality. I can send a sample pleading if anyone is interested.
I didn’t see any evidence of the police officer spitting or disrespecting anybody. He seemed to be at ease as was the person to whom he was talking, whatever. Turley, you need to edit your points, whatever they are.
Regarding battery including farting etc., that is ridiculous. How does one determine who cut the rose?
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