Is Yelling at a Cop Automatically a Crime?

Thursday, July 23, 2009

BARACK OBAMA

A couple people are wondering about my comment on the Gates arrest last night, so I think I ought to elaborate.

I preface this by saying that like President Obama, I don't have all the facts. All we have to go on are the competing accounts and the police report. I have little doubt that Gates responded to the arrival of the officers in a manner that was obnoxious, or hostile, or insulting, disrespectful, etc.

A key question is whether, and when, Gates showed his ID that showed he lived at the address. But since Gates was not charged with breaking and entering or trespassing, it seems reasonable to conclude that by the time the arrest was made, the police were assured he lived there; the police report indicates the confirmation of Gates' residence occurred fairly early in the encounter.

Being obnoxious, hostile, insulting, disrespectful, etc. to a cop is stupid, unwise, antisocial, etc. I discourage it, I disapprove of it, I think less of those who behave that way. But I am not so certain that yelling at cops is ipso facto a crime. With the charges dropped, we have to wonder just how disorderly his conduct was; keep in mind that if convicted, Gates could have faced up to six months in jail.

According to the police report, Gates was "exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior, in a public place, directed at a uniformed police officer who was present investigating a report of a crime in progress. These actions on behalf of Gates served no legitimate purpose and caused citizens passing by this location to stop and take notice while appearing surprised and alarmed."

Being short-tempered, ill-tempered, shouting, etc., are all bad, but I do not think they ought to automatically trigger an arrest, a trial, and potential imprisonment for six months. (Another quite bizarre detail in the report is that the officer says he provided his name at least twice, but Gates kept demanding it. If Gates's account is correct and the officer would not provide his name, it is troubling.)

I wish CPD had put the officer on paid leave while it was reviewed; it seems tough to believe that the arrest was necessary considering that no crime occurred until the officers arrived.

That's where I'm coming from on this.

UPDATE: With one or two exceptions, the responses to this post have been strikingly respectful. I thought this e-mail was interesting:

I am a bail bondsman in Florida. ROWOV (resisting officer without violence can be charged anytime a person does not follow an officer’s directive. If you are told to “stand over there” and do not, you are subject to arrest.

It is a misdemeanor in Florida and a $250 bond. These types are charges are dropped later in most cases.

It does, however, allow the defendant the opportunity to reflect on the error of his ways as he is cuffed, transported to jail, processed in, and bailed out.

Here in sunny Florida, the person will have six to eight hours to reflect.

You should also know that many ROWV (resisting officer violence) charges are not prosecuted.

Only in cases where the officer is injured, or the defendant has other charges will the charge not be dropped at some point.

You'll note that I didn't address the hard-to-definitively-prove question of "Was the cop racist?" — there's some interesting counterevidence to the charge — and focused on the issue, "What, if anything, did Gates do that rises to the level of a crime?" And in relation to that, where do we want to set the bar as the minimum requirement for a cop to slap the handcuffs on you, take you downtown, and put you in lockup?

07/23 11:12 AM Share