“‘Come here,’ Rags told John. John refused, earning himself a time out in handcuffs. And a ticket for littering…. There are bigger fish in the sea of criminality. But sometimes, the little fish make themselves hard to toss back into the water.” That gem of a line is from Pepper Spray Me.
Mike O’Neil has a good article in the Huffington Post. What he hopes three well intentioned men will say in the White House. I would write more. And respond to comments. But I’m in Chiapas, Mexico, on the Pacific Coast with what must be the world’s worst internet connection. On the plus side, all is…
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The 911 call is here: Part of the 911 tape is here: Here is my take on the matter. Only the first three points are new. 1) The 911 call was excellent. A woman saw something suspicious and reported it. Race was not mentioned. In fact, the caller specifically said she could not determine race…
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I wrote a short piece about the racial profiling for the New York Times. Some other good opinions there, too. And thanks to 10-8 for pointing out the article by Syracuse Professor Boyce Watkins in The Grio.
Should being an a-hole to police get you locked up? Seriously. Remember, being an a-hole isn’t technically a crime. But many people have talked their way into handcuffs. Police can always get you for something. I ask this because my wife seemed vaguely bothered by this concept. But it doesn’t bother me. John Van Maanen…
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Leave it to me to have to read another blog to find out about stuff that I’ve already written. See, there’s this book I wrote, Cop in the Hood. I hear it’s pretty good. It’s also, uh, for sale. Anyway, on pp. 117-118 I describe how officers can invite a person outside in order to…
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Apparently for pissing off a Cambridge cop who responded to a burglary call. Gates had sort of broken into his own house because the key didn’t work. A witness called police. Words are exchanged and Gates gets cuffed for dis con. It’s hard to overstate just how esteemed of an intellectual Harvard Professor Gates is.…
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