Posted on 05/22/2015 7:56:15 AM PDT by Enlightened1
Dude flipped cop off to test his 1st amendment rights to freedom of expression = not a good idea
Saratoga Springs police released the camera they had confiscated on Saturday, showing officer Nathan Baker pepper spraying a man sitting in his car before grabbing the man’s arm and twisting it out the window. Officer Baker claimed he was arresting Adam Rupeka for disorderly conduct.
Rupeka had flipped him off while driving past him. And while the New York statute for disorderly conduct includes a line about making an “obscene gesture,” the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which encompasses New York, ruled that flipping cops off is protected by the Constitution.
(Excerpt) Read more at liveleak.com ...
Perfect description of a police state.
That attitude must end.
A cop who "shot his ass" should either
1) Be shot himself (self defense)
OR
2) Be hanged by the neck until dead.
Cops need to get through their thick heads that they are SERVANTS, not masters.
“That cop is out of control, like so many cops today he is indulging himself, on tax payer’s time, while on duty.”
He’s also indulging himself on the taxpayers DIME, because his actions are going to cost the good citizens of Saratoga Springs a bunch of their hard-earned coin. Just where do we get these “children” and give them a badge and a gun? But this guy’s chef is probably saying “good boy,” we will “protect you.”
I think his best legal angle would be a Graham v. Connor challenge of the OC deployment as not being necessary.
Agreed. But I also firmly believe that you don't go around provoking cops. If you keep poking a grizzly with stick then don't go crying when you get bit.
By itself, the man's Constitutionally protected freedom of expression doesn't justify chemical and physical assault and deprivation of property (known in some circles as "theft").
Either there is more to this or the police officer is seriously out of line.
No, I’m probably over reacting to the Ferguson, Baltimore, Sharpton, Zimmerman etc ‘war on cops’ thing.
I didn’t look at the video... I could be wrong... this might be one of those times... (OK it is one of those times)
Cops are a bit edgy nowadays...and rightly so.
When I was a teen a passenger in my car flipped off a cop. He radioed for support and another cop pulled me over a block or two away. The original cop dragged me out of my vehicle and pounded on me for several minutes. Then they arrested me and charged me with disorderly conduct. I was 17.
My dad hired an attorney who got the charges dismissed but I still got a stern warning from the judge about showing proper respect. To this day I still puzzle over which part of the respect lesson I’m not grasping.
It’s not illegal to express your opinions, but the 1st Amendment cannot magically protect you from getting a bloody nose as a result of it.
“The cop should have shot his ass.”
Really? Maybe you need to head on out to the outhouse and think about what you said for a while Homer. That possum you ate last night has affected yor thinkin! You are giving decent rednecks a bad name!
They tend to shoot any grizzly bears who attack.
Cops have always bent the rules and thumped down a punk or two when they needed it. It keeps society in balance. When they go too far - Society recoils and reacts and like they did in Ferguson, Baltimore and now Waco.
I wouldn’t have provoked the situation in the first place... but if I were presented with that opportunity after being assaulted, that cop would have minimally been punched right in the yamsack as I was dragged out of the car.
Kind of like the TSA strip searching little old ladies when we know who the real enemy is.
If I’m on the jury when the guys sues.... I give him the money. And If I’m the mayor of that town... I fire the cop. If the guy flips off any of us... we don’t have the right to pepper spray him and yank him out of his car. Neither does the cop.
Sure...kinda like the IRS and the Tea Party...it's an unwritten rule of government employment. Make sure the rubes know their place.
It’s not a crime. But being a jerk to people that are better armed than you is survival negative. Certainly doesn’t justify the officer’s conduct, but it doesn’t justify the “victim’s” either.
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