

How I Ended Up in Solitary After Calling 911 for Help  - hythloday
https://medium.com/p/9f53ef6a1c10

======
Torgo
It's already been said, but again: DON'T TALK TO COPS.

THIS is why you don't talk to cops. Remember all those people that said "what
if you're not the person they're looking for? What if you see an accident?"

This is what happened. Do you understand yet? If you have to talk to cops,
despite everything you've now read or heard, then talk to them as little as
possible. Follow their orders and get the hell away. The cop told him to
leave. He should have left. His civic duty was done at that point.

------
cryoshon
Looks like another episode of the aggressive police state flaring up and
hurting a citizen with their transcendentally puerile inferiority-complex
driven thuggery. We'll see more of this as the economic conditions deteriorate
and police militarization continues to ramp up. I think it's pretty safe to
say that a lot of normal people are more or less in fear of the police, with
more becoming fearful every day. This is a problem without an easy solution.

It'd be great if we could hammer down the officers/departments that conduct
themselves in this way by firing and charging the officers in question, but
there's no political appetite for it. The complaints process isn't going to
accomplish anything-- I think the author knows that very well by now.

I suggest complaining to the mayor or trying to round up some sort of
political action campaign flush with cash. Donate to candidates who campaign
on being tough on cops. Make it a campaign issue.

It's either that, or be left with this infuriating feeling of helplessness and
disgust.

------
mjklin
I feel for this guy but:

Lots of talking to cops here. Don't talk to cops.

Lots of rights-demanding. We don't know how aggressive he was with it. If the
cops think you are a threat, then who is going to change their mind?

Several counts of not doing what a cop says. Do what a cop says.

Just saying he could have saved himself a lot of grief.

------
sgentle
And this is one of a couple of reasons why, despite my generally pleasant
experiences with the US, it would take an extraordinarily good opportunity to
get me to live there. I am scared of your seemingly unaccountable quasi-
military police.

The solution to the situation presented to the author of this article was, of
course, simple: do whatever the people with guns say. Don't talk back. Don't
make eye contact. Wait until it's over and hope it doesn't get worse.

But maybe sometimes I won't do that. And maybe then this will happen to me.

~~~
jblok
I agree. The amount that law enforcement in the US seem to get away with is
quite staggering.

I can understand the night prison officers actions a bit better than the
arresting officers, as from their perspective, everyone they have in the cells
has already been deemed to be a menace of some sort and it's not their place
to get into who is right and wrong. But from this account, it seems there's
nothing this guy did to deserve any of the shit the arresting officers put him
through.

What happened to the cyclist? Did she get arrested for staining the street
with her blood? Or causing a public nuisance?

------
ackydoodles
This is what happens when police officers get confused about their job. Their
job is to serve and protect, but sometimes they think their job is to pound
down the nails.

~~~
smsm42
Too bad nobody ever told them that.

------
ChrisBland
Just wondering, why not file a civil complaint against the officers as well
and then you can use the discovery process to get the results of the POBAR
complaint?

------
ijk
I'm no expert, but shouldn't he have requested a lawyer? That would seem to be
the legal system's prescribed defense against this. It may not have worked any
better, but it seems like an oversight.

------
cordite
> I asked them where they lived. And they responded in unison: "Far away! We
> can’t afford to live here."

That is something I had not considered. But what can you do about it?

~~~
csense
Maybe the author was unlucky and the responding unit was corrupt. They thought
he was a rich guy, so maybe they were trying to ask for a bribe, without
coming out and saying it in case he had a hidden cell phone recording audio?

No bribe, they give you as much brutality and poor treatment as they think
they can get away with.

Then again, bribing the police is probably a crime worth a really long
sentence, so I wouldn't have risked it even if I'd had the money.

~~~
mahyarm
Even attempting to directly bribe a police officer in the USA is going to get
you thrown in jail fast. It's far less risky as a police officer to over-
zealously write tickets for the smallest thing and commit bogus asset
forfeiture left and right than to directly ask for bribes.

~~~
drpp
Coincidentally, I (the author) have had experience bribing officials in
countries where it's not against the social norm:
[http://www.offsilkroadin.com/2009/11/the-last-
hurdle/](http://www.offsilkroadin.com/2009/11/the-last-hurdle/)

------
jpeg_hero
Yup, I am sure there isn't a second side of this story.

~~~
cryoshon
You're referring to the side of the story told by the police and jail
officials.

In criminal law, their side of the story comes out as their testimony in the
trial. In criminal defense practices, their testimony is known as
"testilying". The juries eat it up-- after all, we should trust the cops,
right?

The fact that there is a "second side" does not mean that the second side is
true, valid, or not-fabricated for the convenience of the police.

------
gala8y
Just as of now 695 comments are here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7233730](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7233730)

