Not really, but I'm sure that's how it will be framed.
If the cop has his hands on you, you've already lost. Don't fight.
In related news, WTF is up with Seattle PD's takedown training, or lack thereof? Where are their Tasers? Where is their backup? Does this cop even know how to do that arm lock he was attempting for several minutes?
I understand he was playing it soft, and I understand that it was probably because so many people were around him, but that crowd could have just as easily turned ugly. (Also, no one offers to help the officer? I guess I don't know the etiquette in that situation.)
This two minute flail-fest is exactly why cops are rough in takedowns. Once he had her against the hood of the car, the head should have hit the hood to control the rest of the body. Instead, her upper body is free to move and twist. I dunno. This whole video just made me feel real uneasy about the officer's safety.
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I think that somewhere there is some case law that deems an unlawful arrest to be an assault. Good luck trying to use that defense in court when you hit a cop who is unlawfully arresting you and/or searching you without consent or probable cause.
As for that particular confrontation, it didn't seem necessary if (as the article states) all the teens did was jaywalk. Jaywalking is only a misdemeanor that gets you a ticket if they prosecute, correct? It's not an arrestable offense.
Unless the teen did something to provoke the cop (like slapping the ticket out of his hand) then I suppose the cop could argue assault and resisting arrest.
This entire situation seems screwed up.
The original reason for the stop is immaterial to the results of the stop.
Aleksandr - when the police issue you a ticket, they detain you to do so. You are NOT free to go, but they can only hold you as long as it takes to identify you, do a reasonable investigation and cite you. Attempting to leave (remember, at this point you're not free to go) is illegal.
It is perfectly legal to detain someone for jaywalking so that you can give them a ticket. As soon as you resist, you're generally subject to arrest.
Contrary to what some boneheads out there say, refuse to sign the ticket, you're subject to arrest. I'm not familiar with Washington's state laws, but if they have a stop and identify law, you could be subject to arrest for refusing to give true identification when detained.
All the state codes I've seen say that police officers have the power to make an arrest for a misdemeanor offense committed in their presence.
So no, fighting back was retarded AND illegal. It's literally on the books here in Texas that you can use up to deadly force to resist an unlawful use of force by a peace officer (and then it spells out what an unlawful use of force is), but I damn well wouldn't test that statute. I'd rather just sit back, take my beating and think about the millions that this five minutes is going to pay.
Thanks for the explanation Mike. Hadn't realised that misdemeanors involved temporary detention.
Wasn't trying to say that resisting arrest wasn't stupid or that it's better to resist an unlawful arrest than it is to go with it and get some lawsuit money; just mentioning a vaguely related idea.
Seems to me like there were plenty of bad decisions when this happened.
Mike said:
refuse to sign the ticket, you're subject to arrest.
That's because signing the ticket is acknowledging that you received the ticket - and, perhaps more importantly, are agreeing to appear in court at the specified time. Refusing to sign the ticket is paramount to saying, "I'm not going to show up in court, so screw off." Cuff'n'stuff in that situation just saves the court the effort of writing out a warrant and coming to find you.
Jaywalking is generally a "violation" offense, not even a misdemeanor. But receiving a ticket for it means you have technically been arrested.
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