NYPD Officials Tell Lawmakers to Make Resisting Arrest a Felony

[ariesgem]

In a development that could have alarming implications for Black people in New York, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton and Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch called on the state legislature to stiffen the penalties the public faces for resisting arrest in New York.

The legislators indicated that they may be in the process of changing the penalty for resisting arrest from a misdemeanor to a felony during a hearing on public security convened by several committees of the the New York State Senate. Asked about such a change, Bratton suggested it’s an idea he enthusiastically supports.

Association President Pat Lynch called on the state legislature to stiffen the penalties the public faces for resisting arrest in New York.

The legislators indicated that they may be in the process of changing the penalty for resisting arrest from a misdemeanor to a felony during a hearing on public security convened by several committees of the the New York State Senate. Asked about such a change, Bratton suggested it’s an idea he enthusiastically supports.

snip...

Lynch also called for enhanced penalties against protesters, asking the legislature to make assaulting a police officer at a public assembly a Class B felony, which would carry a penalty of up to 25 years in prison.

“We believe this change in law is necessary to deter the type of conduct we saw during last month’s demonstrations,” Lynch said, according to his prepared remarks.

http://atlantablackstar.com/2015/02/05/move-spell-trouble-black-community-ny-police-officials-tell-state-lawmakers-stiffen-penalties-resisting-arrest/

[bluestateguy]

1. I have a better idea

Strip away police "union" collective bargaining rights.

I want a Scott Walker law, applicable only to police and prison guard "unions".

[salib]

28. Clever right-wing talking point.

Because the problem here are those corrupt Union bosses. Right?

[MohRokTah]

32. Not where cop unions are concerned.

I support every type of union but one.

Cop unions.

I would support busting every last cop union in the country.

Of course, cop unions will not be busted because the cops in those unions are aiding and abetting the busting of every other union in the country.

Their unions won't be busted until all the rest have been. Then, there will be nobody left to support them keeping their unions.

[salib]

33. Unions are not the problem here.

We may even find that it will be and often is unions who defend honest cops from retaliation through workplace protections.

Again, it is an easy right-wing talking point. I recall when PATCO was demonized and broken up.

[MohRokTah]

36. The cop unions consistently get bad cops off the hook.

Look no further than Darren Wilson who is now a millionaire because he murdered a black kid. All with the help of the cop union.

[salib]

39. The only thing that is going to protect honest cops from retaliation is a union

The blue wall of silence and corruption and abuse by the police is not the result of unions. Breaking up unions is not going to resolve the problem. It will only make manipulating the cops easier by the PTB.

[MohRokTah]

40. Screw that, the only thing that is going to protect EVERYBODY from the cops is busting their unions

All of them.

The blue wall of silence ONLY EXISTS BECAUSE OF THE UNIONS!

BUST THEM ALL!!!!!!

[salib]

45. Yep, as I said

Convenient right-wing talking point.

Just like all those teachers who are mediocre/terrible for our kids but protected by those corrupt/inept unions

Yep. Yep. Yep.

[MohRokTah]

48. You can only give convenient cop-apologist talking points.

Fuck 'em.

Bust their degenerate corrupt criminal unions.

Cop unions are why there's no such thing as a good cop.

Bust their unions, it's the only answer.

[Katashi_itto]

34. +1000

[PoliticAverse]

2. So every minor arrest can then be turned into a felony...n/t

[QC]

5. That's not a bug. It's a feature. n/t

[99th_Monkey]

20. Exactly.

This is such a vile idea, that I struggle to find words.

Resisting arrest is one of the most common bullshit
charges used to incriminate innocent people already.

I already knew Lynch was batshit crazy, but thought
the chief would know better than to buy into this kind
of draconian racist idiocy.

[salib]

29. Yep. So, if you resist arrest you are felon.

You can't vote, find it difficult to get a job, probably will never hold public office, etc.

Great way to keep the rabble in line.

[woo me with science]

43. Exactly. You can't resist, EVER.

[NutmegYankee]

47. Most resisting arrest charges are trumped up.

No doubt this would be abused heavily.

[woo me with science]

50. [phone] It cements the police state. Period.

For them even to consider this is antidemocratic, unconscionable, totalitarian, an OUTRAGE.

[pipoman]

3. Hmm 25 years eh?

I would advise them against increasing the penalty to something so close to the same as killing the cop....for instance if we increased the penalty for driving on expired tags to the same as running from the police, there will be a lot more runners..

[salib]

30. Points out that it is not about discouraging bad behavior.

It is about keeping people people in line.

[daredtowork]

4. This is aimed at criminalizing protesters

Many college students will be affected.

Parents ought to think before signing on to this one.

[woo me with science]

37. This is police state. And, yes, it will make protest a felony.

Every protester threatened with arrest who sits down...

[adigal]

46. That's so true!! The nonviolent protestors in MLK's day would be felons

Bratton need to go, and DeBlasio had better do it soon, but he won't. Another coward.

[pkdu]

6. So Cops with attitudes like asshole Lynch can claim every encounter leads to a Felony ( if they feel

like making it one)

No fucking thanks.

[MineralMan]

7. A very bad idea. The police use "Resisting arrest" all the time to

deal with people they have beaten up. Making it a felony will only increase the false use of this charge, and will subject many to long-term prison sentences for doing nothing at all.

The NY state legislature should reject this suggestion out of hand and, instead, institute a law mandating body cameras on all police officers and mandate that they be on during all interactions between police and the public.

In most cases, such "resisting arrest" charges end up being the word of a couple of cops against the word of a poor person. Guess who wins that argument in most cases. Such a law making it a felony would lead to numerous unjust imprisonments.

[msongs]

8. how bout being on the NYPD = a felony? nt

[giftedgirl77]

9. Fuck the NYPD & their entire organized crime unit.

They all should be investigated for civil rights violations, strong arm robbery, a multiple charges of murder & assault throughout the years.

The deserve less power not more.

[99Forever]

10. Supurb! Turn NY, NY into a complete Police State.

That ought to do wonders for the tourist industry.



Yet another place I'll never go to again, if this happens.

[dissentient]

11. The NYPD continues on with their racist and fascist agenda

What's next, females who get stopped will have to disrobe for the officers or be given a possible felony?

[catnhatnh]

12. My son "rioting" and "assaulting" NYPD

I guess 72 hours in detention-(48 for refusing a "voluntary" iris scan&quot , the loss of his job and 2 years of legal proceedings before the charges were dismissed is considered no big deal. Nor the part where they gang tackled him and stole his camera. Because, after all he WAS filming their first arrest...

No chance they would abuse the power to put an innocent person in jail for 25 years, right???

[rug]

13. Here's the scenario.

A guy is on the corner with some friends saying something a cop doesn't like.

So he charges him with disorderly conduct, a noncriminal charge, alleging he was casing a public disturbance. The guy objects and steps back.

Now he can be charged with resisting arrest, now a felony carrying a four or seven year maximum sentence. The cop grabs him and the guy pushes back.

Now he can be charged either with attempted assault of a police officer, now carrying a maximum fifteen year sentence or assault on a police officer, carrying a maximum of twenty-five years. Depends if there's witnesses,

[Downwinder]

14. People have been arrested for resisting arrest

Last edited Sat Feb 7, 2015, 04:00 PM - Edit history (1)

when there has been no other basis for arrest and no other charges were filed. The law has been abused and should be rescinded.

The same is true for the avoiding arrest statutes.

[grasswire]

15. it's a good day to donate to the ACLU

Become a member -- it is inexpensive and it joins your voice in the chorus of opposition to tyranny.

www.aclu.org

[woo me with science]

19. [phone]

And "tyranny" is no overstatement re: the implications of this.

[procon]

16. In others words, they want a license to kill with no consequences. nt

[Turbineguy]

17. Tax people for being dark skinned.

that works too.

[woo me with science]

18. This is important. This is ominous. This is a trial balloon.

I think "lawmakers" want to know how the public will respond to this idea before they propose it themselves. They want backup. They want to be able to justify the next step in the police state.

And make no mistake about it. This is the next step of the police state. And it won't just stay in New York.

There needs to be massive, outraged pushback to even the idea of this.

And, yes, donate to the ACLU.

[99th_Monkey]

21. K&R - for exposing this travesty. oh and Fuck the NYPD & Pat Lynch

Calling them fascist pigs is not an exaggeration

[markpkessinger]

22. Bratton has tried to anwer his critics by saying . . .

. . . that CompStat could be expanded to track excessive use of the resisting arrest charge. That is all well and good for tracking the charge after the fact, but it does nothing to help the person against whom the charge, which would now be elevated to a felony, had already been improperly filed. Any cop with half a brain could figure out that if he wanted to abuse the charge, all he would have to do in order to evade detection by CompStat is to be a bit selective in when and where to abuse it. So long as that abuse were not frequent enough to identify a trend, the cop woulld be free to use it.

[Downwinder]

35. Who is operating and evaluating CompStat?

If people could be self-policing you would not need police.

[markpkessinger]

41. Indeed!

And if police could be self-policing, we wouldn't even be having these discussions!

[Hutzpa]

23. The method to this madness is

if you can't kill blacks unnecessarily you create a racist law that will put them in abomination.

I hope the Mayor is strong willed to see through the nastiness of this law.

The bad guys keep getting away with everything while the innocence continue to suffer.

[edhopper]

24. Also

police forced allowed in stopping a felony is more than a misdemeanor.

[Iggo]

25. Fuck.No.

[SomethingFishy]

26. We won't abuse it... "Trust Us!"

[IADEMO2004]

27. Like the little lady lawyer from San Francisco woud be a felon?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/06/jami-tillotson-arrest-san-francisco_n_6631480.html

I think charges would not have been dropped without the videos.

[11 Bravo]

31. Fuck that noise! I have been accused of being a cop apologist ...

on this board, and I will admit to a certain softness in my heart for LEOs. But when is the last time anyone saw a video of an arrest where the officers involved were not shouting "STOP RESISTING" at people who had already been proned out and subdued?
Hell, if suspects are actively resisting, officers don't waste a lot of breath yelling at them to quit; they're too busy trying to get them under control. This is bullshit.

[truebrit71]

38. Yeah, fuck that.

What a fascist suggestion.

[Ramses]

42. This shit should be front page news

They are trying to criminalize dissent, one of the hallmarks of a fascist nation. And it will give people permanent felonies, thereby making them an economic underclass for the rest of their lives. America, thy name is Corporate Fascism. Wake the fuck up, people.

[Liberal_in_LA]

44. exactly

[woo me with science]

49. K&R The police state being constructed around us.

[Warren DeMontague]

51. Yeah, the all-purpose thing to charge people with when they can't get them on anything else.

Like a get out of jail free card, but in.

Make it a felony. Great idea.

[Dawson Leery]

52. Bratton needs to resign.

The NYPD is corrupt and broken.