Not to mention those first 4 cops that got this all started arrested and in jail just to see what it’s like.
Where is the f’ing justice?
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These cops need to be fired as well, and I hope that CNN sues them. They can’t be allowed to abuse their power to prevent the public from seeing what they’re really like. Cops are all too often a de facto paramilitary enforcement mechanism for racial, political and economic oppression. They did the same things to anti-Iraq War and Occupy Wall St. protesters. Those who do this need to be fired. They protect no one who actually needs protection and spare us the Colonel Jessup defenses. Cops need to be policed and if they can’t handle it then they need to find another line of work.
Most of them are also incredibly stupid. Look at that cop without a mask standing right next to Floyd. I see such cops here in NYC, enforcing mask and distancing policies but themselves not practicing it. I’d ask them why they’re not, but it’s futile and dangerous to argue with gun-carrying idiots with the power to do some serious shit to you–and they will. Cops are thin-skinned and insecure and can’t handle being challenged. Not all, but many. It’s why they became cops.
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So the Minneapolis PD has BIGGER problems than we’ve been led to believe. ‘I’m the POLICE and you’re not!’ Hmmmmmm.
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When I worked in broadcast news - I had a Press pass. Photo, and THUMBPRINT on it, signed by the Chief of Police.
It would take a split second to verify the person was a journalist.
These cops knew EXACTLY what they were doing.
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At least in Baltimore they call this kind of arrest a “humble”; I’ve also heard of “say-so” arrests. It’s a known thing in the city. You look at a cop two seconds too long, you talk back, he doesn’t like your face, you’re going in so you can think about it. It’s just to jerk you around. The idea they had to identify him is bullshit. This was a straight-up humble.
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There were several other CNN and crews reporting throughout MPLS for the past several days and were not arrested or detained. Only Jimenez and his crew. Reporting while black & Latino.
Imagine how the rest of the summer is going to go. Then, imagine hurricane season coming up, and wildfires through the West. Throw COVID-19 into the mix, too. It’s gonna be a long, hot summer, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
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Are there viable legal recourses to such abuses of power, that might offer one some sort of restitution on the one hand and potentially discourage such behavior on the other due to its effect on a cop’s career and the cost it incurs to PDs and their cities? I mean, can someone sue a cop, their PD and city for unlawful arrest and other forms of police brutality, and how do such suits usually end?
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Look, they were dark-skinned and probably asked the cops to leash their dogs, so obviously they had to be arrested for making white people uncomfortable. That’s a crime, right?
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Technically, were they “arrested”? because so far there has not been even a lame utterance as to what the charge would have been - what would have been written on the citation?
This was scary in that it appears that very little “Thinking” was going on -
just a lot of “only following directions” … and the real questions have to focus on the sources of the “directions”
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Good luck with that. There are enough ordinances and laws out there that you’re always violating or being suspected of violating at least one of them, no matter how obscure.
The cops know what they’re doing. They’ll have the excuse ready.
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And, just think, if the person with the phone hadn’t been videoing what happen to George Floyd, this would all be able to be swept aside more easily. No dismissed cops, no buildings on fire and no reporting while black/latino arrests.
This is not going to end well for Minneapolis.
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And lawsuits are good at clarifying which laws are lawful and whether they were plausibly properly invoked. The “At the time it appeared to me that a crime was in progress” excuse can’t be allowed to be abused. I realize that it’s an uphill battle especially with the far-right tilt of most courts these days, but it’s a worthwhile long-term project that I believe in time will reduce such incidents, if only because of the legal costs to cities and PDs and the bad PR it gives PDs.
I utterly reject your cynicism and defeatism, which is a classic and EASY excuse to do nothing.
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Increasingly, this seems like standard operating procedure: if the police are doing something sketchy, arrest the witnesses. If they’re quiet and comply, you can ‘drop the charges’ and act magnanimous and even-handed.
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And lawsuits cost money, and with likely nothing to show for it.
Plus, you want to sue the cops in your city/town. Where you live. And you don’t think that that could possibly get you put under a microscope.
Again, wish you luck in your endeavors with this. It’s nice to be a dreamer, but it’s not very in touch with the reality of the world we live in.
I think the key word there is “viable.” This is part of the system. It’s pretty inconsequential—like I said, they felt like hassling this guy. The cops get the benefit of the doubt most of the time. If they claim they weren’t sure he was legit, that’s that. They embarrassed the governor, so there’s that, and they’re state boys so letters might go back and forth. The word is probably out today for Christ’s sake don’t pull in any more reporters. But again, this kind of thing is part of the system.
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“The three were released once they were confirmed to be members of the media.”
Gee; that camera he took off and handed to you (still rolling) didn’t give ya a clue? But…why wasn’t CNN reporter Josh Campbell arrested-will-reporting?
Blacks: *Arrested while studying;waiting to order coffee-while reporting the news…: Harassed while barbecuing, studying, going into their own home…Killed while:Breathing,walking,driving,running; just being Black & Alive…
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"I’m the POLICE and you’re not!"
That happens only in a city in Maryland.
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Well, we’re the most powerful laughingstock in the world. If I were Peru, and had to leave earth temporarily, I wouldn’t let the United States take care of my llamas.
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Someone needs to ID the cop in that photo where he is arresting the reporter. He needs to be outed and not given anonymity by the police force as a "personnel investigation’’ matter.
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Apparently they didn’t, it could be a training issue. Or the wrong people were hired in the first place, and the training they received just didn’t factor into their decisions. Add to this the adrenaline and you have a toxic combination.
Regardless, they are cops, they are held to a higher standard, and they failed to meet that standard.
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