Greenberg:
You can't be arrested for 'disrespect of cop'
Arkansas
Former state Rep. Dan Greenberg of Little Rock, who blogs
on a variety of subjects on which we invariably disagree, calls attention to a
subject on which we might agree — the Little Rock police arrest of Surgeon
General Joe Thompson — complete with physical takedown and handcuffs — in the
castle of Thompson's own home for, essentially, being obnoxious.
Being obnoxious isn't a crime. Greenberg, a lawyer, makes
the case that the Little Rock police had no defensible legal ground to arrest
Thompson and that Officer Chris
Johannes' own account of his action that night supports a civil action
against the police for false arrest. Greenberg contends that Arkansas law
doesn't allow the arrest of someone on their private property for refusal to
provide information (Johannes has said Thompson's refusal to provide an ID
triggered the arrest.)
Greenberg predicts that the charges will "go
away" because the city doesn't need the embarrassment of a trial and
Thompson would like to settle because he likes his job.
While more in agreement with Greenberg than customary,
I'm not so sure I'm prepared to agree police will act reasonably and fold on
the arrest or that Thompson wouldn't prefer the exoneration that full exposure
of events might bring. Greenberg fails to bring in the Stephens Inc. angle. The
actions of one of the members of its 45-member roving private security force
and his surveillance presence on Thompson's street late one night was THE
precipitating event of this farce.
Had enough? Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal
hearings into the police problem in America.
Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a
permanent DOJ office on Police
Misconduct.