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Man stopped by cops for walking with hands in his pockets (Original Post) marym625 Nov 2014 OP
The cop was just responding to a call. FLPanhandle Nov 2014 #1
Do you honestly believe marym625 Nov 2014 #2
It's their job to respond to calls. FLPanhandle Nov 2014 #3
It's not their job to respond to nuisance calls marym625 Nov 2014 #4
The call was for a suspicious person in an area that had recent robberies. FLPanhandle Nov 2014 #6
I am. marym625 Nov 2014 #7
I agree. PsychGrad Nov 2014 #15
exactly. Thank you. n/t marym625 Nov 2014 #23
It took 7 hours for Oakland PD to respond to all of the Starry Messenger Nov 2014 #31
I know! PsychGrad Nov 2014 #32
There's racism behind the police even receiving the call in the first place gollygee Nov 2014 #10
Thank you. n/t marym625 Nov 2014 #11
Lower odds of a call coming in on a white guy, I agree with that. FLPanhandle Nov 2014 #13
Sounds like a set-up Android3.14 Nov 2014 #5
Yeah, that's why the Raw Story published it marym625 Nov 2014 #34
Post removed Post removed Nov 2014 #36
Yes he did marym625 Nov 2014 #37
Nuh-uh. Uh-huh repeat ad nauseum Android3.14 Nov 2014 #38
Wow. what a child marym625 Nov 2014 #40
"You have no idea what you are talking about. The cop never violated anyone's rights in that video." uppityperson Nov 2014 #39
Thanks for all that marym625 Nov 2014 #41
Because "there've been some burglaries lately." Hmm... Zenlitened Nov 2014 #8
Thank you. marym625 Nov 2014 #9
It's racism, plain and simple. Zenlitened Nov 2014 #12
It's making me very sad marym625 Nov 2014 #14
Especially sad to see on a site like DU. nt Live and Learn Nov 2014 #19
yep. just don't expect it here n/t marym625 Nov 2014 #22
I noticed that too. PsychGrad Nov 2014 #16
Me too marym625 Nov 2014 #27
The fact the cop started filming the guy marym625 Nov 2014 #33
+1 nt Live and Learn Nov 2014 #18
Utterly ridiculous. This man has every right to be upset. Live and Learn Nov 2014 #17
As I said up the thread marym625 Nov 2014 #24
And with a Republcain majority coming in Jan I think things will get worse INdemo Nov 2014 #20
and they're probably right. marym625 Nov 2014 #25
I believe the reason was walking while black. nt Logical Nov 2014 #21
No doubt in my mind. Thank you. n/t marym625 Nov 2014 #26
I tell the cop that I saw a suspicious person wearing a skull cap. Festivito Nov 2014 #28
That's what the cop said, that marym625 Nov 2014 #29
glad he wasn't shot during the hi five ecstatic Nov 2014 #30
This message was self-deleted by its author marym625 Nov 2014 #35

FLPanhandle

(7,107 posts)
1. The cop was just responding to a call.
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 10:43 PM
Nov 2014

McKean pointed out that both he and the officer were both being “respectable” — at which point the officer high-fives him — before adding, “I’m really mad at the situation, whoever called. That’s crazy.”

Even the cop was embarrassed to have to respond.


marym625

(17,997 posts)
2. Do you honestly believe
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 10:48 PM
Nov 2014

That call would have been taken seriously if the person walking with hands in his pocket was white? And why stop him? He did nothing suspicious, call or not.

I am grasping at anything I can to try and figure out your point. This was yet another illegal stop for walking while black

FLPanhandle

(7,107 posts)
3. It's their job to respond to calls.
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 10:55 PM
Nov 2014

Sometimes the calls are for stupid things.

This wasn't a situation of some cop stopping a black man on his own.





marym625

(17,997 posts)
4. It's not their job to respond to nuisance calls
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 11:04 PM
Nov 2014

And a call about a guy walking with his hands in his pocket is a nuisance call.

Even if they found it to be worthy of investigation, there was no reason to stop the guy. Walking down the street with hands in pockets on a cold winter day is not suspicious activity.

FLPanhandle

(7,107 posts)
6. The call was for a suspicious person in an area that had recent robberies.
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 11:10 PM
Nov 2014

It wasn't until the officer arrived did he determine the call was silly.

The officer behaved like we want them to. He was polite, respectful, quickly agreed it was a stupid call, apologized and moved on.

Maybe you just want to be angry, if so, there are plenty of real police incidents to be mad about. This isn't one of them.

If you still want to find someone to be mad at, be mad at the person that called in the "suspicious person".


marym625

(17,997 posts)
7. I am.
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 11:19 PM
Nov 2014

And just because there was a call doesn't mean that the cop had to stop the guy. It's a violation of his rights. Walking down the street is not suspicious activity.

IIt's excusing these small incidents of violations that allow the big ones to happen

PsychGrad

(239 posts)
15. I agree.
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 12:23 AM
Nov 2014

I have had cops not respond to calls I made about happening-at-that-moment break ins and a neighbor shooting a handgun into the sky in the middle of my densely populated residential street. They seriously never even showed up! If I was the dispatcher, I would say, "Yeah, people can walk down the street with their hands in their pockets - what are they doing that is suspicious?" Because, it was ONLY suspicious bc someone has a touch of the racism plague.

Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts)
31. It took 7 hours for Oakland PD to respond to all of the
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 02:50 AM
Nov 2014

auto windows being smashed in the parking lot of where I lived at the time. The idea that cops swoop in on call is a riot.

PsychGrad

(239 posts)
32. I know!
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 05:04 AM
Nov 2014

And I'm not even kidding. We had a guy, in the middle of the night, a known meth addict - shooting a hand gun up into the air in the middle of the night from the middle of our street - and they NEVER showed up. We called the next day and asked where they had been - why hadn't they come - what were we supposed to do about this guy (he was also the guy burglarizing a house that they never showed up for when we called, he has moved, thankfully) - and they said, "sorry, we just couldn't get around to it". Um, what? I consider that pretty serious!

And even more recently, I had a man pull a knife on me and another person, threaten his own life and mine and the other person's - and they took 38 minutes to show up. I mean, seriously, in 38 minutes, he could have hung us and butchered us like deer. If they can ignore those types of calls - a "suspicious person" call seems fairly negligible.

gollygee

(22,336 posts)
10. There's racism behind the police even receiving the call in the first place
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 11:55 PM
Nov 2014

I can assure you that at no time would anyone call the police on me for simply walking with my hands in my pockets. You must admit that wouldn't happen to a white person, right?

And I think you're kidding yourself if you think they wouldn't have said, "No, there's nothing to see here." Responding could be driving by and saying, "nothing to see here." I know police don't have to actually talk to the person because I've had friends on Facebook complain that they call the police about something and the police respond with, "We drove by and didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

FLPanhandle

(7,107 posts)
13. Lower odds of a call coming in on a white guy, I agree with that.
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 12:06 AM
Nov 2014

However, once the call was made, I can't blame the police for responding to the call and checking it out and doing it politely and respectfully.

Could the cop have just ignored the guy once he saw him? I don't know their policy on that. Some places probably would require him to just for liability reasons. If a cop ignored someone and that person then went on to commit a crime, then there could be a lawsuit.

Other cities may allow the officer to drive by and ignore.

Either way, this is an example of how police should interact with citizens and on the list of things police do wrong, this isn't even on the radar.



 

Android3.14

(5,402 posts)
5. Sounds like a set-up
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 11:08 PM
Nov 2014

This is obvious troll bullshit. As if the cop wouldn't respond to a call of a suspicious person.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
34. Yeah, that's why the Raw Story published it
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 08:32 AM
Nov 2014

To troll DU.

If you have nothing to hide you shouldn't care that your phone calls and emails are listened to and read? If you peacefully protest it's OK to be bombed with tear gas?

If your rights are violated it's wrong. Just because the cop violated rights nicely doesn't make it ok. It's because we dismiss any violation that we'll never be able to stop any violation. Stopping a person and questioning without reasonable cause is against our 4th Amendment rights. A call about someone walking down the street is not suspicious activity or reasonable cause to violate those rights.

Response to marym625 (Reply #34)

 

Android3.14

(5,402 posts)
38. Nuh-uh. Uh-huh repeat ad nauseum
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 06:27 PM
Nov 2014

I'm sorry, I don;t have time to argue with someone like you. Good bye, and welcome to ignore.

uppityperson

(115,674 posts)
39. "You have no idea what you are talking about. The cop never violated anyone's rights in that video."
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 06:28 PM
Nov 2014

4th amendment says :The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized

http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-involved/constitution-activities/fourth-amendment/fourth-amendment-mean.aspx

When an officer observes unusual conduct which leads him reasonably to conclude that criminal activity may be afoot, the officer may briefly stop the suspicious person and make reasonable inquiries aimed at confirming or dispelling the officer's suspicions.


What was this man doing that led the officer to reasonably conclude criminal activity may be afoot? What made this man suspicious beyond walking down the street in freezing weather with his hands in his pockets? How many other people were stopped for doing that same suspicious activity? If none, why this man?

His 4th amendment rights were violated.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
41. Thanks for all that
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 06:37 PM
Nov 2014

Unfortunately, it's wasted on someone who decides that the post is to troll. He doesn't understand nor does he doesn't want to understand.

Zenlitened

(9,488 posts)
8. Because "there've been some burglaries lately." Hmm...
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 11:46 PM
Nov 2014

That's the same thing Zimmerman said.

That's what they pretty much always say.

Always a perfectly good "reason" to hassle the black guy, huh?

Sick. Sick and sad.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
9. Thank you.
Sat Nov 29, 2014, 11:48 PM
Nov 2014

I don't understand how anyone thinks this is ok. Not like he was cutting through yards or hopping fences. Dude was walking down the street.

Zenlitened

(9,488 posts)
12. It's racism, plain and simple.
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 12:04 AM
Nov 2014

People will never admit that, of course. But the endless, inevitable excuse-making and explaining-away is impossible to interpret any other way.

PsychGrad

(239 posts)
16. I noticed that too.
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 12:26 AM
Nov 2014

I think the cop felt like he was suspicious too. Perhaps, it's a "white" neighborhood - which again, racism abounds. Bullshit. And people wonder why there are riots and looting. I can't say that if I was black, I wouldn't get so fed up with this kind of bs that I wouldn't want to cause some shit too. Hell, I'm white and I kind of already want to break some shit because of all of this crap!

marym625

(17,997 posts)
27. Me too
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 01:16 AM
Nov 2014

I am absolutely blown away at anyone defending this. Walking down the street is not suspicious activity, unless you're black.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
33. The fact the cop started filming the guy
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 08:31 AM
Nov 2014

Shows he wasn't ok with this guy walking down the street "making people nervous." Even defending that people were nervous was justification for violating his rights.

Live and Learn

(12,769 posts)
17. Utterly ridiculous. This man has every right to be upset.
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 12:26 AM
Nov 2014

He handled it very well. This chit needs to stop.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
24. As I said up the thread
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 01:06 AM
Nov 2014

If we don't stop the small stuff, we'll never be able to stop the big stuff

Thank you

INdemo

(6,994 posts)
20. And with a Republcain majority coming in Jan I think things will get worse
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 12:32 AM
Nov 2014

as the police think they will be protected by "Republican law"

Festivito

(13,452 posts)
28. I tell the cop that I saw a suspicious person wearing a skull cap.
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 01:17 AM
Nov 2014

Pontiac has a large black population. They're not stopping everyone who is black.

It makes no sense to stop someone because they have their hands in their pockets. But the message could have been badly typed by an operator or badly spoken by the caller. So, you check it out anyway.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
29. That's what the cop said, that
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 01:35 AM
Nov 2014

The call was he was walking with his hands in his pocket.

Checking it out doesn't mean you stop the person if there's no suspicious activity.

ecstatic

(32,567 posts)
30. glad he wasn't shot during the hi five
Sun Nov 30, 2014, 02:25 AM
Nov 2014

Or when taking his hands out his pockets. It's clear that the only way to solve this mess is to arm everyone with cameras.

Response to marym625 (Original post)

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