I actually think that the intended audience is other police officers who might be inclined to enforce the “Blue Wall” against the officer making the arrest.
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Nobody is questioning that there are bad cops. The one being arrested is one of them. But what is the evidence that the cop doing the arresting is one of those bad cops?
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As a Washtenaw County voter, I’m a bit upset this didn’t surface before the election. Given that this wasn’t an “isolated incident” for this Deputy, I’d say this is something Clayton should’ve had to answer for prior to us going to the polls to keep him as Sheriff for another 4 years.
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Fair enough.
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The danger I was referring to was that of him driving at his level of intoxication.
Whether the police should contain him onsite til he’s sober, well… yes they could do that, but what’s the end goal? They shouldn’t simply let him go, he’ll do this again if there are no consequences and they might not catch him next time before he flattens a family. They need to test his blood level, and can’t meaningfully do that when he’s sober. He’s clearly not in favor of going through due process, and I don’t see a strong argument to suppose that being sober would change that.
As I mentioned earlier:
There are enough horrible police interactions on caught on video this week alone to make the point you want to make.
But I’m not going to get on the “basically all cops are brutal thugs” bandwagon, and I don’t think this video supports that argument.
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As to whether tasing would have been alright in this situation…
Thinking about this some more . . . the video seems to imply that taser-for-noncompliance is standard procedure for this department. That’s the part I have concerns about.
Sincere question: I thought tasers were introduced as a “less-lethal” alternative weapon to an officer’s firearm, meaning they were to be used only in situations where the supposed alternative was shooting someone. Do most departments now allow their use in other circumstances as well?
Clearly they are abused also, but I’m wondering about the official line these days.
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Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County love a drunk. Clearly, as shown by the previous troubles this officer has had.
Our civic leaders in Ann Arbor have a very casual attitude towards drug and alcohol use, unless a soapbox (or cigarette carton) is needed for political advancement. I have never seen a liquor license denied or held, except for unpaid city taxes. The DDA (Downtown Development Authority) an extra-governmental tax skimming body has been allowed to issue it’s own special liquor licenses leading to a proliferation of bars, brewpubs, etc. Drugs and alcohol played a part in their board member being forced to resign on sexual assault charges.
The city council turns a blind eye to the dozens of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries popping up in violation of state and federal law. We have 6-7-8th graders getting into trouble at school for smoking pot. All of which is to say I am not surprised a County employee was busted for DUI. We see very public, very bad behaviors all the time here in Ann Arbor, and nobody seems to much care. Hell, the judge that used to oversee the MIP at 15th District Court was run out of office (slooowly) for his own indiscretions with drugs and alcohol (Former city council member Chris Easthope) Not to mention this judge and this judge etc.
There are regular busts on the underage crowd at college bars, which lead to …what? Kids paying fines and participating in first-odffender intervention programs. From a local lawyers website:
"MIP at The University of Michigan
Washtenaw County – Ann Arbor Location
Ann Arbor and the judges in Washtenaw County are by far the best in handling MIP cases. They are firm but very fair in dealing with minor and students at U of M. They have a very good first offenders program docket where all first offenders are arraigned on the same day. The courts have a pre-printed form that explains their diversion program and a place for the student to sign at the first hearing.
The diversion program is one of the easiest as well with six months of non-reporting probation and one class."
So not exactly being scared straight around here. But that’s the liberal values kids are getting raised with in Ann Arbor. We are not isolated from any of the drug epidemics going around, although many would like to pretend we are. It’s not going to be good in the future. Some people never grow up.
Disclaimer. My in-laws were killed by a repeat offender drunk driver. The states needs to do more to keep repeat offenders off the road. I will be interested in what becomes of this DUI charge. There need to be real penalties for driving with suspended license, not a slap on the wrist. Ann Arbor even had a suspended license driver kill a girl and walk with no charges; driving with suspended license is a misdemeanor in Michigan.
These guys seem mighty professional about it. If they were the kind of cops who were basically us-v-them corrupt cops (who manifestly exist) – the kind of cops who do beat up and kill minorities – they never would have let this see the light of day.
No, these are good guys dealing with it the way all cops should deal with everyone. “If you don’t do X, Y will happen.”
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It’s worth noting, too, that this gentlemen was pulled over on the other end of the state from where he works – so none of the arresting officers likely knew the guy at all. Again, lots of reasons to be skeptical of police departments, but the fellows making the arrest should be a model of how police behave toward everyone.
Cops have jobs to do. Should they stay there all day?
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No clearly they need to take the guy into custody. The question is how much care to give to the man’s life. Tasers are less lethal but still lethal. There are other means of causing pain that are not lethal. Night sticks, tear gas, etc. It is more work than tasing but sometimes work is justified to avoid harm (and taxpayer funded lawsuits). If you are an eye for an eye person then this will not sway you, but some of us prioritize rule of law and deescalation over revenge.
Six months ago you said you said all you needed to say on this topic.
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Your logical fallacy is: Special Pleading
Not enough information to evaluate your proposition that I left something important out.
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consider if tasing is really the right response for the sake of expediency.
the mindset seems very similar to cops who want to shoot somebody rather than take the time to deescalate the situation. what would we – as taxpayers – rather pay for? which do we – as citizens – want officers to do in our names?
if they had to get him out, why not wait? the cost of a heart-attack ( due to tasing ) is far higher than the cost of an officer’s time. oto, if it was just about driving safety: why not boot his car, give him a ticket, and issue a warrant for when he sobered up?
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It doesn’t look like they have the equipment to give him a road side breath test (a normal thing here in Australia) and (again, in my environment) they couldn’t charge him without a formal breathalyzer test at a police station (or a blood sample).
On the video it doesn’t look like they have enough evidence to make charges stick, and the alternative is to let him continue to put others at risk.
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Except in Australia “refusing a DUI test” is itself an arrestable offence.
But impatience does not justify tasing. If they have to sit there all shift in order to get him out of his car, that’s what they’re supposed to do.
Even from a cynical financial POV, the cost of two cop’s salary for a shift is a shitload cheaper than a wrongful death suit.
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I must’ve speed-read something a bit too fast. I didn’t mean to imply that the arresting officer in this case is a bad guy. My (off the cuff) opinion is in fact to the contrary.
Here’s a beauty from Australia, https://youtu.be/c2nvAFOk7x0
