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Eighth Circuit Says Cops Can Come With Probable Cause For An Arrest AFTER They’ve Already Arrested Someone (www.techdirt.com)

submitted 9 months ago by geosoco@kbin.social to c/politics@lemmy.world

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Well, this is a bit of a doozy. This case — via the Institute for Justice — involves a possible First Amendment violation but somehow ends with a judicial blessing of cops who make things up after the fact to justify an arrest that has already taken place.

That’s literally what happened here. Mason Murphy was walking down a Missouri road when he was accosted by Officer Michael Schmitt. From the opening of this very unfortunate decision [PDF]:

Schmitt stopped his car, approached Murphy, and asked Murphy to identify himself. Murphy refused to identify himself, and Schmitt put Murphy in handcuffs after nine minutes of argument. Murphy asked why Schmitt arrested him, and Schmitt refused to answer.

So far, it would appear no criminal act was committed and that the cuffing of Murphy by Schmitt was in retaliation for Murphy’s refusal to identify himself and, First Amendment-wise, his refusal to shut up.

...

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[-] Staccato@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago

You're not wrong in your assessment, but part of the point of holding your government to account is that you hold the institution to a higher standard than the individuals it governs.

That doesn't show through in your write-up at all.

[-] mo_ztt@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago

Yah, I agree with that. I think the penalty for, e.g., the police attacking someone illegally, should be a lot greater than the penalty for some random person attacking someone illegally. Like I say, I actually do think the cops in this particular case should face some kind of penalty for overstepping their bounds.

I'm just trying to say that, these two statements are both true for more or less the exact same reason:

The police really should be more aware of the psychology of how their behavior will be perceived and take on a common-sense responsibility to not just come in and say "Stop walking, come over here right now, give me your ID." They should be aware that being a dick in their demeanor will impact the effect of that technically-legal statement and how people react.
This dude should really be more aware of the psychology of how his behavior will be perceived and he has a common-sense responsibility to not just come into the encounter saying "Go fuck yourself, you don't need my ID." He should be aware that being a dick in his demeanor will impact the effect of his technically-legal statement and how people react.

I don't think either one is contingent on the other. Common sense dictates that for any person walking around, it's in that person's own best interest to be aware of how others are going to react to them and interact in a way that is productive.

this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2023

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