The Militant Libertarian

I'm pissed off and I'm a libertarian. What else you wanna know?

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Avoiding police brutality

by jasonn

There are a few simple things you can do to avoid violent escalation. Total and absolute subjection is essential. You can not win. If you resist, you will be punished more. If you succeed in resisting, you will go to prison for the rest of your life. You are dealing with someone that has the full power of courts and nation's law on their side, as well as weapons and backup. Private citizens will stand by helpless as they beat or even kill you. Nobody will intervene. And, even if you feel you didn't justify or provoke a violent attack, once the attack has happened you will be charged with serious felonies to justify the physical damage. Your chance of avoiding prison time or a felony conviction are small. They hold all the evidence and authority. It is urgent that you avoid conflict with law enforcement.

1. Don't smile; don't scowl. This is a potentially emotional event for the defendant and the police officer. Treat the event as a serious and professional matter.
2. Never speak disrespectfully to an officer or anyone in his presence, especially when they are verbally abusive. A verbally abusive officer is much more likely to use force to subdue or punish you.
3. Always answer simply "Yes sir," or "no sir." Do not respond to abusive questions with disdain. It is important to remember that the officer believes you must comply with his every demand whether you believe the law requires it or not.
4. If asked to exit a vehicle, elevate your arms slowly to show submission. Always keep your hands away from your pockets and never put them too close to your sides. Never make any quick movements.
5. Do not demand the officer unhand you, not tase you, not beat you. Such demands solicit punishment.
6. Never refuse to sign a ticket or anything else the officer asks you to sign. If you believe signing a document puts you in legal jeopardy, the time to deal with that is in a courtroom. A courtroom is the only place to defend yourself.

An increasing number of middle aged and elderly people are challenging police officers and suffering their retribution. Police officers have virtually no way to punish someone for making their job miserable (through the legal system), and an increasing number of them are using tasers to make their point. They're using tasers, fists, boots, elbows, batons, or whatever they can put on the annoying resister to teach them a lesson. People in my age group seem to be the worst offenders, standing up for their perceived rights.

You have no rights. This silly notion that there is some protection that graces all people born in the US is the single biggest contributor to these violent events. Debating law with someone that wears a badge is a bad idea. Don't ever do it! You come across as condescending, and they instantly enter a state of anger. If you can't say "yes sir" or "no sir," just keep your mouth shut. If you believe an officer is breaking the law, survive the conflict and make a legal complaint. Once you've engaged in physical assault, your complaint is moot. At that point you're a felon, not a law abiding citizen making a complaint. Avoid the arrest, battery, or other conflicts. Take your ticket, verbal abuse, and live your life with limb and freedom entact (freedom from imprisonment). The fact is this whole notion of rights is very flawed. You have only the ability to protect yourself or your property so long as someone with more force or power can't over power you. Once you engage in a conflict with law enforcement, you lose. They are not trained to submit. And, any attempt to protect yourself with force is illegal. Neither the constitution nor [the people] will protect you from potential jail time, physical suffering, or death.

In a series of videos and recent news, typically law abiding citizens are arguing with police officers and suffering beatings, sometimes tasing, then jail. The escalation usually starts with a legitimate infraction or some kind of profiling, checkpoint, or other traditional police action. To the officer, questioning the authority he has or impairing his ability to do his job is a serious crime. To the citizen, questioning authority is their inalienable right. It almost always begins with the citizen asking questions or making a complaint. The police officer decides to handcuff, slap, punch, or tase the citizen. Usually, the citizen will escape with a simple handcuffing and ride downtown. Any resistance at this point virtually guarantees a violent attack.

The thing to remember is that an increasing number of these officers deal with serious violent offenders and receive training in MMA, grappling, and weapons. The goal of such training is not to softly detain a suspect. Its goal is to immediately immobilize and render impotent any additional defensive or offensive moves. Broken arms, collar bones, dislocated shoulders, and a series of very painful injuries happen during training. Add adrenaline and/or anger, and it's a wonder more people aren't killed during these conflicts. You can not, and will not escape without serious pain. If you successfully free yourself or defend yourself against the attack, you will be shot. In many of these cases the law enforcement officer is just doing his job and abiding in his training.

Once a beating begins, crying for help, begging for mercy, or any other attempts to solicit mercy will not likely shorten the beating. Even going limp solicits violent responses from some people. Put your hands behind your back and try to avoid the instinct to protect your face. If you are punched a few times, it will only elongate the attack if you attempt to protect your face. Their goal is to get your hands behind your back. Usually the punching will cease shortly after your hands are in cuffs.

If you offer any level of resistance, from walking away to refusing to obey any and all demands instantly, you will be treated like someone who attacked the police officer. There is no training for carefully subduing a resistant but harmless citizen. Police officers are trained to deal with violent criminals, not grandmas. Once the escalation reaches punches and kicks, defending yourself only solicits more volatile attacks. It is very difficult to lie still while someone punches, kicks, and batters you. However, your instinct to protect your face and body will only result in increased violence. The adrenaline is pumping and the officer is going to deliver a beating until he determines you are not able to resist even if you want to, or he may just beat you until his anger subsides.

A violent police officer following protocol and training is a different creature from a violent police officer that has an anger management problem. A small number of police officers are bullies and use their badge as an opportunity to inflict pain and suffering to feed a masochistic desire. Most cops are trying to make it home alive. They've all heard stories of some grandma stabbing a fellow officer to death, or some otherwise innocent driver pulling out a hand gun and killing an officer issuing a citation. Most of this growing trend can be avoided by simply complying with the law enforcement officer. Some of it is a result of bad hiring practices, weak training, and the growing police state. For some reason, Americans have consistently voted for more law enforcement, lower pay, less education, lower standards, and all along louder demand that the bad guys be caught. Police violence is a direct result of America's voting and social trends. In other words, you asked for it. My goal is to survive the dangerous environment my fellow citizens have created. I hope this entry helps you stay safe until our country chooses to become a more civil society.

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1 Comments:

  • At 5:10 AM, June 05, 2009 , Blogger Bill St. Clair said...

    Yep. When faced with an unwarranted arrest, you have two choices.

    1) Submit
    2) Kill the pig and go to war on the state.

    Choice 2 tends to make you dead.

     

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