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| Florida Deputy Suspended for Excessive Force |
It was initially unclear when this egregious use of excessive force was
committed; although, the Internet is an amazing thing. I found a
reference to this incident in an article dated May 4, 2007 putting this
incident in November -- presumably in 2006. What's very interesting in
this article is that no excessive use of force is attributed to the deputy.
It simply states, "Stabins [the deputy] should have been more
compassionate, a board of review found, and it suspended the deputy for
five days." As the news stories of this incident proliferated, the
November date was rarely mentioned, and there was never any
questions, to my knowledge, as to why it only became newsworthy after
five months.
It was posted all over the place on May 3, 2007. Coincidentally, that was
one day after the Los Angeles Police Department was accused of using
excessive force against protesters who just happened to injure no fewer
than 15 police officers. It was also the same day when Los Angeles
Police Chief William Bratton, LA's imported savior from the New York
City Police Department, announced his request for an FBI investigation
into the allegations of excessive force against his LA officers.
I'm certain if the Associated Press, who released the story regarding
Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Stabins, had a real video of excessive force, this
hapless deputy would have remained anonymous. It must be pretty bad
for the news media when it has to reach back five months to find a story
alleging police excessive force to compliment the current news cycle.
In an update of this story in The Tampa Tribune on May 3, 2007,
Sherriff David Gee is quoted, "I think (Stabins) understands that he
was wrong and could have handled it better. On both sides, really, it
could have been done better." Of course, the Sherriff's reference to
"both sides" isn't discussed, and why should it be discussed? That would
only detract from the subject of police excessive force.
On May 3, 2007, Bill O'Reilly, of the Fox News Show The O'Reilly Factor,
got in on the act. I like Bill O'Reilly, but he was way off the mark this
time. Bill was amazed that the woman who was allegedly assaulted by
the deputy wasn't suing the police department. Bill was discussing the
issue with a police expert -- an assistant commander of something or
other -- who just couldn't resist sliding in a macho remark, "If it was
my 23 year old princess, [presumably his daughter] I'd be knocking on
the chief's door."
If you're truly considering a police career, you should view this video.
If, after viewing the video, you agree that the deputy used excessive
force to effect the arrest, you should consider another career path.
Now, you may initially let a whole lot of things get in your way such as
the fact that the suspect is an attractive woman. She was speeding 63
mph in 35 mph zone, [undisputed] because her father was in the hospital
for a heart attack.
Try, for just a moment, to put yourself in the deputy's place. You stop
the speeding woman. She tells you she's speeding to the hospital for the
reason stated. You should immediately believe her, because everyone
knows that nobody lies to a police officer. You say, "The stop takes
place within sight of the hospital, so it must be true." Again, everybody
knows that a person would never create such a reason when they're in
such close proximity to a hospital if it weren't true. Poor Deputy
Stabins. He told investigators that he didn't believe the woman. What a
dummy, everybody knows that every police officer has a crystal ball
installed in the dash of his police car to aid him in his mind reading
capabilities.
Okay, since you've established that this complete stranger is being
totally honest with you, and you reason that since her unlawful speed
hasn't killed anyone...yet, and her distraught behavior will not impair
her driving ability, you quickly apologize for inconveniencing her and
shout, "Drive on, and good luck" as she speeds away. Sounds pretty
stupid, doesn't it?
Let's return to the realm of reality. When you're stopped for speeding,
and a police officer takes your license and registration for the purpose
of issuing you a citation, you're technically under arrest. When you
sign the citation verifying your intent to either pay the fine or appear
for trial, you're released from that officer's custody. When the woman
in this incident fled from the officer, for whatever reason, she indicated
her intent not to pay the fine or appear for trial. At the instant the
woman fled from the deputy, she was subject to a lawful arrest.
None of the reporting disputes the lawfulness of the arrest. All of the
reporting does state that all charges against the woman were dropped by
the Sheriff's Department. If true, I find that very interesting since the
only entity that can drop or dismiss charges lawfully lodged by a police
officer is a court...as in judge, or through some other form of judicial
review. Oh well, when it comes to putting police in their place, you'll
find few courts that will object to having their power usurped.
When you read the articles on this incident, you'll see the words,
"yanked" and "slammed." "Yanked" from the car. "Slammed" on
the hood. Oh, no. Not pulled and pushed...yanked and slammed. On
the second stop, the woman clearly refused the deputy's order to get out
of the car, but there was no discussion on that issue. It was all about
the deputy yanking the woman from her car and slamming her on the
hood. All the articles support the slamming version by stating that she
was slammed so hard, "her feet left the ground." I'm sorry...the
woman's body was obviously rigid, and high heeled shoes aren't that
great for maintaining traction.
It's clear from the video that the woman was not cooperating. If you do
become a police officer, you'll find that force is a relative thing.
Anytime a person resists you physically, the amount of force you apply
has to be sufficient to overcome the force being exerted against you.
You'll also learn that when a person, man or woman, of any size,
passively resists you by making his or her body rigid, force is necessary
to put that person in a position to be handcuffed.
From a standpoint of safety, this video could be used as a training aid.
Deputy Stabins, quickly and efficiently, subdued the suspect preventing
a prolonged struggle which could have resulted in injury to either the
deputy, suspect, or both. You'll notice that when it should have been
obvious to the suspect that the deputy intended to remove her from the
car, the car began drifting forward. The media stories addressed that
issue by describing how the suspect's foot slipped from the brake pedal
because of the deputy's actions. The critics would have you believe that
the deputy was trying to remove the woman from the car, before the
vehicle was in park and the engine turned off. Does anyone really
believe the woman intended to cause that to happen as instructed. The
deputy was initially attempting to put the car in park when the woman's
foot accidentally -- presumably -- slipped off the brake. That's what
cops do when they attempt to remove people from vehicles under similar
situations. Remember all those dash cam videos you see where police
officers are hanging from the driver's window of vehicles as the suspects
speed off? Do you think those officers are just hitching a ride? The
know it all critics might observe, "The officer should just let go, before
the car takes off." I'd suggest those critics take it upon themselves to
conduct personal demonstrations of their escape techniques.
Okay, fine. Many in the media, and other critics, would have preferred
that the deputy had simply "yanked" the suspect from the moving
vehicle. That would have made for a much better visual story. The car
would have continued forward possibly endangering others, and the
attractive suspect may well have fallen to the ground. Better yet, she
might have been partially out of the vehicle and trapped by some
obstruction as her head and shoulders bounced along the pavement.
That didn't happen. The deputy trotted along the drifting car,
endangering himself, while repeating, "Put it in park...put it in park."
At this point, the deputy could have been criticised for not letting go of
the suspect and moving away from the car for his own safety.
Following the release of this useless and completely abused false
allegation of excessive force, I watched the news coverage closely. The
word "compassion" showed up all over the place in the context of the
deputy's lack of compassion. Everybody, and I mean nearly everybody,
based everything about this incident on contributing circumstances that
had absolutely nothing to do with the use or determination of excessive
force.
When you're looking at police departments to join, you might want to
cross the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office of your list. It's getting
pretty bad when a deputy gets a 5 day suspension without pay based on
something as subjective as compassion. It's pretty obvious that the
influence was present, and strong enough, to exact some form of
retribution against the deputy for his perceived lack of compassion.
Okay...let's talk about compassion. Here's an example about people
breaking traffic laws while en route to a hospital with similarities and
differences to the Florida incident:
Now...when you're dealing with media types and critics, you'll find that
everyone of them possess the uncanny ability to know exactly what you
should have done, or should not have done, in any situation you
encounter. Naturally, they're expressing their expert opinions after the
fact. When you think about it, it's a pretty cool gig. Unlike you, they
never have to face any consequences when they're dead wrong.
In the case of the Florida deputy, I heard numerous comments related
to the image of the woman in this case such as "she wasn't a crack
whore or a prostitute." I actually learned a lot from some of these
expert opinions...I hadn't before known that women addicted to drugs or
who fall into lives of prostitution don't have fathers who have heart
attacks. Anyway...this woman exhibited an attractive and classy image,
so, to the experts, the deputy should have believed the woman, and he
should have gone to extraordinary efforts to aid the woman.
When you become a police officer, one of the first things you'll do is
stop believing people. You'll have people lie to you far more often than
they'll be truthful with you. The lies will go from minor, and difficult to
detect, to obvious and then to outrageous. Rarely, will anyone be
completely truthful with you. On those occasions when people are being
truthful, you're still going to ask some questions.
Going back to my example where I escorted the couple to the hospital.
During the husband's statements to me, I ask where they were coming
from. When he stated they [he and his wife] worked downtown, I ask if
they worked at the same location. He immediately, and coherently,
explained that his wife had received the call from the sitter, called him,
and he then picked up his wife at her job site. I ask enough questions
relating to small details to satisfy me that he was truthfully attempting
to justify the traffic violations he had committed.
Look...we're all affected by a person's physical image. Even police
officers have to consciously remain skeptical to avoid being taken in
from time to time. You'll learn that traffic violations are unique, for
when it comes to people lying, the beautiful people can lie with the best
of them. You'll find that many people who are physically attractive,
successful and who fall into the general category of law abiding people
feel immune to interaction with you; unless, they initiate the
interaction. These guys and gals can be genuinely insulted when you
interrupt their violations of traffic laws. Remember, they've got a good
reason for those violations, and you should understand that. If they're
forced to give you an explanation, you should simply believe anything
they tell you and get out of their way.
I've linked you to another article from the Tampa Pirate regarding the
Florida incident. This article is very critical of the deputy...surprised?
It includes a statement made by the deputy to another deputy
immediately following the arrest. The second deputy asks Deputy
Stabins if her farther is indeed in the hospital? He replies, “I don’t
know, but she drives right by the f—ing emergency room when I stop
her.” This statement, recorded on the deputy's video system, was
obviously included to show the deputy using the "F" word. It made no
mention that by passing the emergency room, the deputy's first
impression that she was lying to him was only reinforced. However,
right at the beginning of the article, far removed from the deputy's
comment, it's covered by the woman's statement that she was searching
the parking lot for her father's car. “I just had to make sure he made it
there. Otherwise he was just sitting on the side of the road somewhere
dying.”
Come on. One would think the woman would first check inside the
emergency room to ensure her father was there, so she could sound the
alarm, as soon as possible, if he was indeed incapacitated while en route
to the hospital. Since the heart attack story was true, the woman's
actions only prove that she was not acting any more rationally than she
was when she fled from the deputy.
While this Tampa Pirate article is just more of the same useless
diatribe, I've included it more for some of the outrageous comments
submitted by readers. When you become a police officer, these are
exactly the type of people you'll be encountering. You'd do well to read
some of these comments and realize that the world is full of irrational
and hateful people. After all, their existence is a primary reason for
you to become a police officer, so you need to start thinking about how
you're going to deal with them.
Okay...let's look at Deputy Stabins. I'm not going to leave him off the
hook. The deputy knew he was being videotaped. He thought that, as
long as he did everything right, there wouldn't be any problem, because
he acted "lawfully," and he didn't use "excessive" force. He didn't use
any abusive language toward the woman; although, I wouldn't be
surprised if the use of the "F" word in his comment to the other deputy
is what got him the 5 day suspension...especially if it was overheard by
the woman.
I'm sure that Deputy Stabins wishes he would have handled this incident
differently. For example, since they were in sight of the hospital, he
could have instructed the woman to lock her car and ride with him to
the emergency room. Once her story and her father's condition was
verified, the deputy could have transported the woman back to her car,
and any further actions regarding the traffic citation(s) could have been
completed. The positive thing about this scenario is that the woman's
refusal of such an instruction or offer would have changed the dynamic
of the incident entirely in the deputy's favor. Of course, there would be
those critics and "experts" who would say that the woman's refusal to
accept transport was probably because she feared she'd be sexually
assaulted by the deputy.
Don't laugh. Such false accusations are not uncommon. In this case,
the deputy had the capability to record audio inside his vehicle, so the
fear of a false allegation of his conduct should not have been a problem.
Of course, many critics would say, "That's ridiculous, the deputy should
have escorted the woman the rest of the way." They would conveniently
forget the deputy stopped the woman for speeding. Let's say you're the
deputy. You escort the woman the remaining distance. You stop in
front of the emergency room, and she continues on rolling around the
parking lot looking for her father's car. I think you just might feel a
little frustration.
The critics really think they have the high ground when they point out
that the deputy still arrested the woman after her reasons for her
actions had been verified. You have to scratch your head on this one.
Sure, it's a simple conclusion for simple minds. They forget the fact
that the arrest occurred, before the verification of circumstances.
Here's the thing about arresting people. When you physically take a
person into your custody by applying handcuffs and restricting that
person's freedom, you have -- technically -- assaulted that person. The
only thing that makes that assault legal is that you did it lawfully based
upon probable cause.
Here's where the courts come into play. Once you've made a "lawful"
arrest, the determination and circumstances of that person's release
from custody is -- technically -- no longer up to you. During your
career, you'll see people released by officers after brief custody even
under circumstances where handcuffs are applied, and you'll do it your
self on occasion. However, whenever you use force to make an arrest,
such as in this Florida incident, your release of a person, even for
compassionate reasons, can put you in jeopardy for criminal
prosecution. Something tells me that had Deputy Stabins released his
suspect, he would have shortly been served with a criminal summons, or
even an arrest warrant, charging him with assault. Like the numerous
police critics you'll encounter, there are plenty of judicial officers who
just love preparing charging documents on police officers. Of course, in
this instance, I could be wrong.
The only time the immediate release of a person you've arrested is
mandated is when developing information exonerates that person of the
crime for which you arrested the person. It could be as simple as
removing handcuffs. In the case where your suspect is further along in
the process, you simply move heaven and earth to secure that person's
freedom.
There may well come a time during your career when you make an
arrest; after which, you wish you hadn't had to make the arrest,
because you feel compassion toward the suspect. Your compassion
doesn't change the facts of the incident, or the lawfulness of your
arrest. So, what do you do? It's really quite simple. You address the
issue in your probable cause charging document. After you articulate
your probable cause for the arrest and any additional charges stemming
from the arrest such as resisting arrest or any assault on you, you can
show your compassionate side. You don't have to be gushy or plead for
the suspect's release. You simply state the circumstances that created
your compassion for the suspect. Your feelings will not be lost on the
reviewing judicial officer, and your suspect will, in all probability, be
released without bail. The suspect will still have to appear in court to
face the charges; however, the prosecutor will likely be swayed toward
leniency by your explanation of circumstances. I don't know what his
charging document contained, but this would have been a good course of
action for Deputy Stabins.
You're going to begin your police career facing challenges that, to put it
mildly, have been exaggerated. There was a time when doing things
right would keep you out of trouble. Compassion has always been nice
and even appreciated from time to time, but compassion -- or I should
say the constant and visual displays of compassion -- was never a
requirement for every instance of law enforcement. Of course, I can't
remember, during my lifetime, when the purveyors of irrationality have
been so influential as they are today.
There's a simple reason why people who were seldom listened to in the
past are now heard from so often. It's called the 24 hour news cycle.
There's nothing wrong with people having access to news and developing
information on a 24 hour basis. In fact, I'd describe myself as a "news
junkie." However, by the very nature of its timeliness combined with
competition, 24 hour news makes the quality of its reporting suspect. If
you're like me, you keep up on the updates, and you soon realize the
trend of the new media...constant, controlled , controversial and
captivating. When it's a slow news day, just about any piece of garbage
will do as long as it fits the trend criteria.
The media loves cops. They don't love you, because you're cuddly. They
love you, because you're controversial. When the LA allegations of
excessive force quickly fizzled due to a number of circumstances
including a lack of sensational video, the media turned to a Florida
deputy to keep the theme of excessive force rolling. Deputy Stabins got
beat up pretty badly for several days; until, an F5 Tornado and President
George W. Bush came to his rescue; the tornado flattened a town in
Kansas, and President Bush was now the bad guy for having some of the
Kansas National Guard assigned in Iraq.
committed; although, the Internet is an amazing thing. I found a
reference to this incident in an article dated May 4, 2007 putting this
incident in November -- presumably in 2006. What's very interesting in
this article is that no excessive use of force is attributed to the deputy.
It simply states, "Stabins [the deputy] should have been more
compassionate, a board of review found, and it suspended the deputy for
five days." As the news stories of this incident proliferated, the
November date was rarely mentioned, and there was never any
questions, to my knowledge, as to why it only became newsworthy after
five months.
It was posted all over the place on May 3, 2007. Coincidentally, that was
one day after the Los Angeles Police Department was accused of using
excessive force against protesters who just happened to injure no fewer
than 15 police officers. It was also the same day when Los Angeles
Police Chief William Bratton, LA's imported savior from the New York
City Police Department, announced his request for an FBI investigation
into the allegations of excessive force against his LA officers.
I'm certain if the Associated Press, who released the story regarding
Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Stabins, had a real video of excessive force, this
hapless deputy would have remained anonymous. It must be pretty bad
for the news media when it has to reach back five months to find a story
alleging police excessive force to compliment the current news cycle.
In an update of this story in The Tampa Tribune on May 3, 2007,
Sherriff David Gee is quoted, "I think (Stabins) understands that he
was wrong and could have handled it better. On both sides, really, it
could have been done better." Of course, the Sherriff's reference to
"both sides" isn't discussed, and why should it be discussed? That would
only detract from the subject of police excessive force.
On May 3, 2007, Bill O'Reilly, of the Fox News Show The O'Reilly Factor,
got in on the act. I like Bill O'Reilly, but he was way off the mark this
time. Bill was amazed that the woman who was allegedly assaulted by
the deputy wasn't suing the police department. Bill was discussing the
issue with a police expert -- an assistant commander of something or
other -- who just couldn't resist sliding in a macho remark, "If it was
my 23 year old princess, [presumably his daughter] I'd be knocking on
the chief's door."
If you're truly considering a police career, you should view this video.
If, after viewing the video, you agree that the deputy used excessive
force to effect the arrest, you should consider another career path.
Now, you may initially let a whole lot of things get in your way such as
the fact that the suspect is an attractive woman. She was speeding 63
mph in 35 mph zone, [undisputed] because her father was in the hospital
for a heart attack.
Try, for just a moment, to put yourself in the deputy's place. You stop
the speeding woman. She tells you she's speeding to the hospital for the
reason stated. You should immediately believe her, because everyone
knows that nobody lies to a police officer. You say, "The stop takes
place within sight of the hospital, so it must be true." Again, everybody
knows that a person would never create such a reason when they're in
such close proximity to a hospital if it weren't true. Poor Deputy
Stabins. He told investigators that he didn't believe the woman. What a
dummy, everybody knows that every police officer has a crystal ball
installed in the dash of his police car to aid him in his mind reading
capabilities.
Okay, since you've established that this complete stranger is being
totally honest with you, and you reason that since her unlawful speed
hasn't killed anyone...yet, and her distraught behavior will not impair
her driving ability, you quickly apologize for inconveniencing her and
shout, "Drive on, and good luck" as she speeds away. Sounds pretty
stupid, doesn't it?
Let's return to the realm of reality. When you're stopped for speeding,
and a police officer takes your license and registration for the purpose
of issuing you a citation, you're technically under arrest. When you
sign the citation verifying your intent to either pay the fine or appear
for trial, you're released from that officer's custody. When the woman
in this incident fled from the officer, for whatever reason, she indicated
her intent not to pay the fine or appear for trial. At the instant the
woman fled from the deputy, she was subject to a lawful arrest.
None of the reporting disputes the lawfulness of the arrest. All of the
reporting does state that all charges against the woman were dropped by
the Sheriff's Department. If true, I find that very interesting since the
only entity that can drop or dismiss charges lawfully lodged by a police
officer is a court...as in judge, or through some other form of judicial
review. Oh well, when it comes to putting police in their place, you'll
find few courts that will object to having their power usurped.
When you read the articles on this incident, you'll see the words,
"yanked" and "slammed." "Yanked" from the car. "Slammed" on
the hood. Oh, no. Not pulled and pushed...yanked and slammed. On
the second stop, the woman clearly refused the deputy's order to get out
of the car, but there was no discussion on that issue. It was all about
the deputy yanking the woman from her car and slamming her on the
hood. All the articles support the slamming version by stating that she
was slammed so hard, "her feet left the ground." I'm sorry...the
woman's body was obviously rigid, and high heeled shoes aren't that
great for maintaining traction.
It's clear from the video that the woman was not cooperating. If you do
become a police officer, you'll find that force is a relative thing.
Anytime a person resists you physically, the amount of force you apply
has to be sufficient to overcome the force being exerted against you.
You'll also learn that when a person, man or woman, of any size,
passively resists you by making his or her body rigid, force is necessary
to put that person in a position to be handcuffed.
From a standpoint of safety, this video could be used as a training aid.
Deputy Stabins, quickly and efficiently, subdued the suspect preventing
a prolonged struggle which could have resulted in injury to either the
deputy, suspect, or both. You'll notice that when it should have been
obvious to the suspect that the deputy intended to remove her from the
car, the car began drifting forward. The media stories addressed that
issue by describing how the suspect's foot slipped from the brake pedal
because of the deputy's actions. The critics would have you believe that
the deputy was trying to remove the woman from the car, before the
vehicle was in park and the engine turned off. Does anyone really
believe the woman intended to cause that to happen as instructed. The
deputy was initially attempting to put the car in park when the woman's
foot accidentally -- presumably -- slipped off the brake. That's what
cops do when they attempt to remove people from vehicles under similar
situations. Remember all those dash cam videos you see where police
officers are hanging from the driver's window of vehicles as the suspects
speed off? Do you think those officers are just hitching a ride? The
know it all critics might observe, "The officer should just let go, before
the car takes off." I'd suggest those critics take it upon themselves to
conduct personal demonstrations of their escape techniques.
Okay, fine. Many in the media, and other critics, would have preferred
that the deputy had simply "yanked" the suspect from the moving
vehicle. That would have made for a much better visual story. The car
would have continued forward possibly endangering others, and the
attractive suspect may well have fallen to the ground. Better yet, she
might have been partially out of the vehicle and trapped by some
obstruction as her head and shoulders bounced along the pavement.
That didn't happen. The deputy trotted along the drifting car,
endangering himself, while repeating, "Put it in park...put it in park."
At this point, the deputy could have been criticised for not letting go of
the suspect and moving away from the car for his own safety.
Following the release of this useless and completely abused false
allegation of excessive force, I watched the news coverage closely. The
word "compassion" showed up all over the place in the context of the
deputy's lack of compassion. Everybody, and I mean nearly everybody,
based everything about this incident on contributing circumstances that
had absolutely nothing to do with the use or determination of excessive
force.
When you're looking at police departments to join, you might want to
cross the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office of your list. It's getting
pretty bad when a deputy gets a 5 day suspension without pay based on
something as subjective as compassion. It's pretty obvious that the
influence was present, and strong enough, to exact some form of
retribution against the deputy for his perceived lack of compassion.
Okay...let's talk about compassion. Here's an example about people
breaking traffic laws while en route to a hospital with similarities and
differences to the Florida incident:
Now...when you're dealing with media types and critics, you'll find that
everyone of them possess the uncanny ability to know exactly what you
should have done, or should not have done, in any situation you
encounter. Naturally, they're expressing their expert opinions after the
fact. When you think about it, it's a pretty cool gig. Unlike you, they
never have to face any consequences when they're dead wrong.
In the case of the Florida deputy, I heard numerous comments related
to the image of the woman in this case such as "she wasn't a crack
whore or a prostitute." I actually learned a lot from some of these
expert opinions...I hadn't before known that women addicted to drugs or
who fall into lives of prostitution don't have fathers who have heart
attacks. Anyway...this woman exhibited an attractive and classy image,
so, to the experts, the deputy should have believed the woman, and he
should have gone to extraordinary efforts to aid the woman.
When you become a police officer, one of the first things you'll do is
stop believing people. You'll have people lie to you far more often than
they'll be truthful with you. The lies will go from minor, and difficult to
detect, to obvious and then to outrageous. Rarely, will anyone be
completely truthful with you. On those occasions when people are being
truthful, you're still going to ask some questions.
Going back to my example where I escorted the couple to the hospital.
During the husband's statements to me, I ask where they were coming
from. When he stated they [he and his wife] worked downtown, I ask if
they worked at the same location. He immediately, and coherently,
explained that his wife had received the call from the sitter, called him,
and he then picked up his wife at her job site. I ask enough questions
relating to small details to satisfy me that he was truthfully attempting
to justify the traffic violations he had committed.
Look...we're all affected by a person's physical image. Even police
officers have to consciously remain skeptical to avoid being taken in
from time to time. You'll learn that traffic violations are unique, for
when it comes to people lying, the beautiful people can lie with the best
of them. You'll find that many people who are physically attractive,
successful and who fall into the general category of law abiding people
feel immune to interaction with you; unless, they initiate the
interaction. These guys and gals can be genuinely insulted when you
interrupt their violations of traffic laws. Remember, they've got a good
reason for those violations, and you should understand that. If they're
forced to give you an explanation, you should simply believe anything
they tell you and get out of their way.
I've linked you to another article from the Tampa Pirate regarding the
Florida incident. This article is very critical of the deputy...surprised?
It includes a statement made by the deputy to another deputy
immediately following the arrest. The second deputy asks Deputy
Stabins if her farther is indeed in the hospital? He replies, “I don’t
know, but she drives right by the f—ing emergency room when I stop
her.” This statement, recorded on the deputy's video system, was
obviously included to show the deputy using the "F" word. It made no
mention that by passing the emergency room, the deputy's first
impression that she was lying to him was only reinforced. However,
right at the beginning of the article, far removed from the deputy's
comment, it's covered by the woman's statement that she was searching
the parking lot for her father's car. “I just had to make sure he made it
there. Otherwise he was just sitting on the side of the road somewhere
dying.”
Come on. One would think the woman would first check inside the
emergency room to ensure her father was there, so she could sound the
alarm, as soon as possible, if he was indeed incapacitated while en route
to the hospital. Since the heart attack story was true, the woman's
actions only prove that she was not acting any more rationally than she
was when she fled from the deputy.
While this Tampa Pirate article is just more of the same useless
diatribe, I've included it more for some of the outrageous comments
submitted by readers. When you become a police officer, these are
exactly the type of people you'll be encountering. You'd do well to read
some of these comments and realize that the world is full of irrational
and hateful people. After all, their existence is a primary reason for
you to become a police officer, so you need to start thinking about how
you're going to deal with them.
Okay...let's look at Deputy Stabins. I'm not going to leave him off the
hook. The deputy knew he was being videotaped. He thought that, as
long as he did everything right, there wouldn't be any problem, because
he acted "lawfully," and he didn't use "excessive" force. He didn't use
any abusive language toward the woman; although, I wouldn't be
surprised if the use of the "F" word in his comment to the other deputy
is what got him the 5 day suspension...especially if it was overheard by
the woman.
I'm sure that Deputy Stabins wishes he would have handled this incident
differently. For example, since they were in sight of the hospital, he
could have instructed the woman to lock her car and ride with him to
the emergency room. Once her story and her father's condition was
verified, the deputy could have transported the woman back to her car,
and any further actions regarding the traffic citation(s) could have been
completed. The positive thing about this scenario is that the woman's
refusal of such an instruction or offer would have changed the dynamic
of the incident entirely in the deputy's favor. Of course, there would be
those critics and "experts" who would say that the woman's refusal to
accept transport was probably because she feared she'd be sexually
assaulted by the deputy.
Don't laugh. Such false accusations are not uncommon. In this case,
the deputy had the capability to record audio inside his vehicle, so the
fear of a false allegation of his conduct should not have been a problem.
Of course, many critics would say, "That's ridiculous, the deputy should
have escorted the woman the rest of the way." They would conveniently
forget the deputy stopped the woman for speeding. Let's say you're the
deputy. You escort the woman the remaining distance. You stop in
front of the emergency room, and she continues on rolling around the
parking lot looking for her father's car. I think you just might feel a
little frustration.
The critics really think they have the high ground when they point out
that the deputy still arrested the woman after her reasons for her
actions had been verified. You have to scratch your head on this one.
Sure, it's a simple conclusion for simple minds. They forget the fact
that the arrest occurred, before the verification of circumstances.
Here's the thing about arresting people. When you physically take a
person into your custody by applying handcuffs and restricting that
person's freedom, you have -- technically -- assaulted that person. The
only thing that makes that assault legal is that you did it lawfully based
upon probable cause.
Here's where the courts come into play. Once you've made a "lawful"
arrest, the determination and circumstances of that person's release
from custody is -- technically -- no longer up to you. During your
career, you'll see people released by officers after brief custody even
under circumstances where handcuffs are applied, and you'll do it your
self on occasion. However, whenever you use force to make an arrest,
such as in this Florida incident, your release of a person, even for
compassionate reasons, can put you in jeopardy for criminal
prosecution. Something tells me that had Deputy Stabins released his
suspect, he would have shortly been served with a criminal summons, or
even an arrest warrant, charging him with assault. Like the numerous
police critics you'll encounter, there are plenty of judicial officers who
just love preparing charging documents on police officers. Of course, in
this instance, I could be wrong.
The only time the immediate release of a person you've arrested is
mandated is when developing information exonerates that person of the
crime for which you arrested the person. It could be as simple as
removing handcuffs. In the case where your suspect is further along in
the process, you simply move heaven and earth to secure that person's
freedom.
There may well come a time during your career when you make an
arrest; after which, you wish you hadn't had to make the arrest,
because you feel compassion toward the suspect. Your compassion
doesn't change the facts of the incident, or the lawfulness of your
arrest. So, what do you do? It's really quite simple. You address the
issue in your probable cause charging document. After you articulate
your probable cause for the arrest and any additional charges stemming
from the arrest such as resisting arrest or any assault on you, you can
show your compassionate side. You don't have to be gushy or plead for
the suspect's release. You simply state the circumstances that created
your compassion for the suspect. Your feelings will not be lost on the
reviewing judicial officer, and your suspect will, in all probability, be
released without bail. The suspect will still have to appear in court to
face the charges; however, the prosecutor will likely be swayed toward
leniency by your explanation of circumstances. I don't know what his
charging document contained, but this would have been a good course of
action for Deputy Stabins.
You're going to begin your police career facing challenges that, to put it
mildly, have been exaggerated. There was a time when doing things
right would keep you out of trouble. Compassion has always been nice
and even appreciated from time to time, but compassion -- or I should
say the constant and visual displays of compassion -- was never a
requirement for every instance of law enforcement. Of course, I can't
remember, during my lifetime, when the purveyors of irrationality have
been so influential as they are today.
There's a simple reason why people who were seldom listened to in the
past are now heard from so often. It's called the 24 hour news cycle.
There's nothing wrong with people having access to news and developing
information on a 24 hour basis. In fact, I'd describe myself as a "news
junkie." However, by the very nature of its timeliness combined with
competition, 24 hour news makes the quality of its reporting suspect. If
you're like me, you keep up on the updates, and you soon realize the
trend of the new media...constant, controlled , controversial and
captivating. When it's a slow news day, just about any piece of garbage
will do as long as it fits the trend criteria.
The media loves cops. They don't love you, because you're cuddly. They
love you, because you're controversial. When the LA allegations of
excessive force quickly fizzled due to a number of circumstances
including a lack of sensational video, the media turned to a Florida
deputy to keep the theme of excessive force rolling. Deputy Stabins got
beat up pretty badly for several days; until, an F5 Tornado and President
George W. Bush came to his rescue; the tornado flattened a town in
Kansas, and President Bush was now the bad guy for having some of the
Kansas National Guard assigned in Iraq.
I had just left Criminal Court in downtown Baltimore. As I sat at a
traffic light, I noticed a Volvo stationwagon pass me on the right.
The car eased up to the intersection to the right of the traffic in
front of me. The Volvo stopped, and then it proceeded through the
intersection against the red light. Once through the intersection,
the car accelerated at a rate of speed indicating that this guy was in
a hurry.
When my light changed, and I got up to speed, I could see the
Volvo do exactly the same thing at the next intersection. On went
the lights and siren, and I caught up to the Volvo just before it had
a chance to bust the third red light.
The Volvo was occupied by a man and woman. Both were dressed
in business attire. Unlike the Florida woman, the man immediately
apologized for running the red lights. He quickly got to the point,
without any embellishment, explaining that he and his wife, who
both worked downtown, received a call from their 11 year old son's
sitter. The young boy had been taken to the hospital by
ambulance. The only thing they knew at that time was that the
sitter found the child unconcious.
First of all, did I believe the man's story? As he talked, his wife
stood beside him with what I could only describe as a pleading look
on her face. As distraught as this couple must have been, they
both knew that they had to deal with me despite the urgency they
surely felt to reach their child.
I had quickly made up my mind. First, I believed the man.
Second, unlike the Florida incident where the woman's presence at
the hospital was not a medical necessity, the case of a child is
different. Doctors often want the presence of parents for
informational and legal purposes. In this incident, if the child was
indeed unconscious, the emergency room doctors would definitely
want to speak with the parents as soon as possible.
It wasn't a simple matter of putting the couple in my car and
heading for the hospital. We were in downtown Baltimore and
finding a parking space for the Volvo would have consumed too
much time. I didn't want to split the pair trusting one to drive
their car safely to the hospital. The hospital was located in North
Baltimore at a considerable distance. Once I was assured the
husband knew the route to the hospital, I laid down the rules. I
would drive directly behind him with lights and siren activated; he
was not to exceed the posted speed limit; at red light or stop sign
intersections, he was to come to a complete stop and proceed only
when all the opposing traffic had stopped.
It worked like a charm. The man followed my directions to the
letter. Here's a tip. While I don't recommend escorting vehicles
with your lights and siren, if you do have occasion to do it, never
have the other vehicle follow you. When you go through an
intersection with lights and siren, other drivers are only looking at
you. Once you're through, it's back to driving as usual and here
comes your guy in front of those accelerating motorists. In this
case, we drove at a normal speed giving motorists time to hear my
siren and yield the right of way. In no time at all that man was
looking back at me waving his hand as he and his wife rushed into
the emergency room. The wife was not looking back and waving
since she obviously had more important things on her mind.
traffic light, I noticed a Volvo stationwagon pass me on the right.
The car eased up to the intersection to the right of the traffic in
front of me. The Volvo stopped, and then it proceeded through the
intersection against the red light. Once through the intersection,
the car accelerated at a rate of speed indicating that this guy was in
a hurry.
When my light changed, and I got up to speed, I could see the
Volvo do exactly the same thing at the next intersection. On went
the lights and siren, and I caught up to the Volvo just before it had
a chance to bust the third red light.
The Volvo was occupied by a man and woman. Both were dressed
in business attire. Unlike the Florida woman, the man immediately
apologized for running the red lights. He quickly got to the point,
without any embellishment, explaining that he and his wife, who
both worked downtown, received a call from their 11 year old son's
sitter. The young boy had been taken to the hospital by
ambulance. The only thing they knew at that time was that the
sitter found the child unconcious.
First of all, did I believe the man's story? As he talked, his wife
stood beside him with what I could only describe as a pleading look
on her face. As distraught as this couple must have been, they
both knew that they had to deal with me despite the urgency they
surely felt to reach their child.
I had quickly made up my mind. First, I believed the man.
Second, unlike the Florida incident where the woman's presence at
the hospital was not a medical necessity, the case of a child is
different. Doctors often want the presence of parents for
informational and legal purposes. In this incident, if the child was
indeed unconscious, the emergency room doctors would definitely
want to speak with the parents as soon as possible.
It wasn't a simple matter of putting the couple in my car and
heading for the hospital. We were in downtown Baltimore and
finding a parking space for the Volvo would have consumed too
much time. I didn't want to split the pair trusting one to drive
their car safely to the hospital. The hospital was located in North
Baltimore at a considerable distance. Once I was assured the
husband knew the route to the hospital, I laid down the rules. I
would drive directly behind him with lights and siren activated; he
was not to exceed the posted speed limit; at red light or stop sign
intersections, he was to come to a complete stop and proceed only
when all the opposing traffic had stopped.
It worked like a charm. The man followed my directions to the
letter. Here's a tip. While I don't recommend escorting vehicles
with your lights and siren, if you do have occasion to do it, never
have the other vehicle follow you. When you go through an
intersection with lights and siren, other drivers are only looking at
you. Once you're through, it's back to driving as usual and here
comes your guy in front of those accelerating motorists. In this
case, we drove at a normal speed giving motorists time to hear my
siren and yield the right of way. In no time at all that man was
looking back at me waving his hand as he and his wife rushed into
the emergency room. The wife was not looking back and waving
since she obviously had more important things on her mind.
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