As far as the cop identifying himself, what relevance does it actually have. He’s off duty and not even close to being in his own jurisdiction. He’s LAPD, but he’s in Anaheim, not even the same county. I’m not sure how that works, does he have more rights as a sworn officer of the law then any other citizen? If so how far do these privileges extend? What if he’s out of state or in another country? Or is his status just “professional courtesy” from other police people? If he has special privileges outside of his duty status and jurisdiction then that’s just bonkers. I’m no law talking guy, I’m not even an unfrozen caveman, but I’m curious to know why his rights would supersede those of any other civilian in this instance if they do at all.
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And now he might be busted for possession of grass.
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Would pay to see this.
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Isn’t that irrelevant though - he wasn’t acting as a police officer in that moment, he was just being a typical arsehole homeowner/2nd amendment dickhead. Identifying himself as a police officer would just be a feeble attempt at a get-out-of-jail-free.
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This guy’s neighbors should file a child abuse report against him. No children should be left in his custody without further investigation.
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I agree with you. It’s interesting you never mention additional responsibilities that go with being a LEO, only the additional rights and privileges.
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First, let me state unequivocally; I do not believe the officer identified himself in this video. I also don’t think that he acted appropriately or legally in this situation. My comment is not intended as a defense of his actions in any way.
So, having cleared up that we’re not talking about this incident but police powers in general, I think the short answer is yes. As a police officer, he does have a higher status whether that’s in his own jurisdiction or not; assaulting a police officer, whether they are off-duty, out of their jurisdiction, or in just about any situation is going to result in a higher penalty than assaulting an ordinary citizen, legally speaking. Also, speaking practically, it’s going to bring a world of hurt in other ways too. A police officer’s ability to make an arrest outside of his jurisdiction is basically the same as any citizen’s - he can do so for any crime taking place in his presence and even for felonies that take place outside of his presence. And while that authority is not greater than an ordinary citizen’s, the deference he would likely be given by other officers would almost certainly give him privileges. And of course, as an officer, he has the right to carry a concealed firearm when off duty, not just in CA but in all 50 states. So again, short answer to “does a police officer have rights that supersede a civilian’s when they’re off duty or out of their jurisdiction” is yes, both legally and practically.
@JonS: My only point in bringing up the identification issue was that if he had actually thought there was a crime committed, he should have (would be required to?) identify himself AND state that he was making an arrest. Had he done that, he would have had the authority to lay hands on the boy, and he would have been protected under the laws against assaulting a police officer. But he didn’t do that (at least as far as I can tell) and therefore did not have the right to do what he did, nor can he claim special protections.
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Jesus fucking wept.
… So I grew up on the border, had a lot of friends who were technically first, second, third generation, because that border didn’t exist until 1853, or 1912, depending on definition, and the people with brown skin who had lived in the area for hundreds or thousands of years had issues getting citizenship, even though the border changed, not their land ownership. So many times I had friends at my house because the green La Migra Broncos were roaming their streets and they were just scared to go home or their parents told them to go to the gringa’s house and stay there until they got a call. So many parents and grandparents and aunties and uncles would disappear for weeks or months. La Migra/ICE is the purest example of evil we have ever produced. And apparently, it’s gotten worse.
I’m going to go throw up, and then get back to work on our local sanctuary project.
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What the fucking fuck did I just read?
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So, waetherman, given the same level of ability to make an arrest of an off-duty, out of jurisdiction cop as any other citizens, other adults who were present would been within their rights to arrest the violent white guy for abusing and abducting a child?
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I wish they had. Guy with a cane looked like he was ready to do that.
Citizen’s arrest is something that doesn’t happen very often by actual civilians, and it almost seems like something made-up. I think the reaction most people would have if a citizen tried to arrest them would be “yeah, right.” I can only imagine that things have gone even worse if someone had tried to make a citizen’s arrest on the cop…
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I didn’t take your comments as a defense at all. You just seem knowledgeable on the subject and reasonable so I thought I’d ask. Thanks for the answer.
In general I’m concerned by the extension of privileges outside of their job. I understand the need for some extra protections as police can be the targets of violence for all sorts of reasons related to their job. What bugs me is that these protections seem to be automatically applied in all situations. The kid who was charged with assault of an officer didn’t know he was hitting a cop and in order for that charge to be fair it should require proof of knowledge beyond the cops word. Beyond that off-duty cops should be held to the same standards as non-cop citizens, unless I missed that in the Constitution. Privilege leads to corruption and distrust.
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CBP emails and CBP union twitter post.
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Same union that supported 45.
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I live in Texas. That’s our substitute for doorbells.
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I had a friend who lived in Travis Co. but outside the city limits. They had a neighbor who would deliberately fire a gun on his property – like wait until they were at home, and/or could see them. They called the sheriff who said “Well, as long as he stays on his property, and isn’t actually shooting at you, there’s nothing we can do.” My friend eventually just moved into town, where that would’ve indeed been illegal (at least then – we’re talking 20 years ago – maybe now one is required to use one to dip queso in a restaurant).
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Kids keep walking across your lawn after school? You have two options:
- Turn on the lawn sprinkler every day from 3:00-3:15.
- Grab a gun, drag the kid across several yards and then fire your weapon.
What kind of nut picks option two?!
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