Posted on 05/20/2012 1:35:59 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
The case involves Malaika Brooks, who was seven months pregnant and driving her 11-year-old son to school in Seattle when she was pulled over for speeding. The police say she was going 32 miles per hour in a school zone; the speed limit was 20.
Ms. Brooks said she would accept a ticket but drew the line at signing it, which state law required at the time. Ms. Brooks thought, wrongly, that signing was an acknowledgment of guilt.
Refusing to sign was a crime, and the two officers on the scene summoned a sergeant, who instructed them to arrest Ms. Brooks. She would not get out of her car.
The situation plainly called for bold action, and Officer Juan M. Ornelas met the challenge by brandishing a Taser and asking Ms. Brooks if she knew what it was.
She did not, but she told Officer Ornelas what she did know. “I have to go to the bathroom,” she said. “I am pregnant. I’m less than 60 days from having my baby.”
The three men assessed the situation and conferred. “Well, don’t do it in her stomach,” one said. “Do it in her thigh.”
Officer Ornelas twisted Ms. Brooks’s arm behind her back. A colleague, Officer Donald M. Jones, applied the Taser to Ms. Brooks’s left thigh, causing her to cry out and honk the car’s horn. A half-minute later, Officer Jones applied the Taser again, now to Ms. Brooks’s left arm. He waited six seconds before pressing it into her neck.
Ms. Brooks fell over, and the officers dragged her into the street, laying her face down and cuffing her hands behind her back.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
So what is wrong with requiring someone who has been cited for an infraction to promise to appear in court before releasing them on their own recognizance?
Also as an aside, legislators are not "faceless". The people who elect them can readily learn who they are and how they vote, if they so choose.
But you’re ugly.
Its time to remove the Taser from the police arsenal, and give them training in application of common sense.
Since they had full identification of their victim, there was no reason to “arrest” her. All they had to do was photograph her for proof of identity and mail the citation to her home.
Anything beyond the above is insane.
What you say here is totally stupid. Signatures are not mere "formalities" (whatever the hell that is supposed to mean). Signatures are signatures. They are commonly used in society to create legal obligations. Post less dumb please.
They need to take the tasers away from all cops. Period.
So how would you prefer that officers force someone from their car if not with a taser? Please answer intelligently.
As least they did not shoot her. At one time, the officer explained that signing a citation was not an admission of guilt, but,was just saying that they would appear in court. I suppose like everything else, that is gone with the wind. One now only must obey the master’s command without questioning.
For reasons that are very simple and obvious and are well understood by millions and millions of Americans.
The real question for you is, why can't you figure out why the signature is required?
Thank you for posting reasonably on a FR anti-cop derangement thread.
You have served civilization and promoted liberty here today.
Thanks again.
This "fact" is less than crystal clear and obvious from the linked article.
The parents sued for $40 million each and the case was settled. the size of the settlement was not stated and was probably much less than even $40 million for one parent.
nor can I. Could it be that the “pigs”[your term] began hating the citizens first?
Forcing someone to comply with a lawful order (e.g. in this case the order that the detainee must exit her vehicle) is not meting out punishment. It is enforcing a lawful order.
So as soon as a female becomes pregnant the laws no longer apply to her?
She can drive however she wants and if the cops stop her she can just tell them to shove off?
You weren’t even there and you’ve got the whole step-by-step.
Pretty slick.
Everyone who posts anything other than deranged cop-hating garbage on a FR anti-cop derangement thread is either a cop or fetishises cops.
That is a given.
“The city’s insurance settled for $40 million for the girl.
This “fact” is less than crystal clear and obvious from the linked article.
The parents sued for $40 million each and the case was settled. the size of the settlement was not stated and was probably much less than even $40 million for one parent.”
No argument. Did you have anything to say about the substance of my post, namely LE seems to be far too trigger happy these days?
Kelly Thomas beat to death in Fullerton, this girl in Huntington Beach shot to death, an off duty marine a few weeks ago shot to death in San Clemente?
My general point is maybe the citizen-taxpayers would expect the officers to be better trained, and use better weapon options.
I think the residents of Fullerton are absolutely NOT in favor of their PD beating mentally ill people to death.
The frequency and severity of these incidents appears to be spiking up rapidly, and that concerns me, as a long time resident of this area (ie. have lived in Fullerton, San Clemente and Huntington Beach).
Signing the citation is a promise to appear. Then if the person cited fails to appear, the court can issue an arrest warrant for failure to appear.
These procedures are logical and straightforward and standard across jurisdictions. Do you really think you’ve discovered some shortcut here that all of the pros have overlooked?
It’s called excessive force. She wasn’t a threat to anyone.
It has been years since I was issued a citation but the officer explained it at the time. Are you claiming that the procedure has changed everywhere? How do you know that in this instance the officer did not explain to the woman that her signature was just a promise to appear, not an admission of guilt?
My understanding is that the officers lawfully ordered the woman to get out of her car and she refused. Some amount of force was thus justified. They used the taser. Why exactly was this excessive? Isn't the whole point of the taser that it is a less-dangerous means of forcing uncooperative arrestees to comply with lawful orders than the alternatives?
Why not just mail the traffic ticket to her home address? They already had her driver’s liscence and had written down her name and address.
The answer to your question is common knowledge and has been provided several times on this thread as well as in the linked article.
Here it is again:
Signing the citation is a promise to appear. Then if the person cited breaks their promise and fails to appear, the court can issue an arrest warrant for failure to appear, which a separate and more serious charge.
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