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Townhall
Cops as
Criminals
Steve Chapman
Jul 26, 2015
Late one night, during high school, I was driving home when several
police cars zoomed by. Curious about what was going on, I followed them
down a residential street, where they pulled up to a house.
I drove by and saw some officers walking up the sidewalk, but couldn't
tell what they might be after. So I pulled into a driveway, turned
around and drove back. My curiosity still unsatisfied, I then looped
around the block to make one more pass.
Wrong decision. One of the cops pulled his car up behind me, turned on
his lights, jumped out and ordered me to get out of my car. When I did,
I was surrounded by men in uniform, one of whom screamed profane
threats and invective in my face. I quietly endured the abuse, and when
they finally let me go, I considered myself lucky not to have been
beaten or arrested.
The police would have had trouble finding a reason to arrest me, since
driving on a public street is not illegal. Nor was I interfering with
what they were doing. But my unassailable legal position was not
foremost in my mind at that moment.
What was foremost is that they had guns, batons and badges and could do
pretty much whatever they chose without fear of punishment. Had I
argued, I have no doubt the encounter would have ended badly.
I was breaking no law. The cop who threatened me, however, was guilty
of assault -- which Texas says occurs when someone "intentionally or
knowingly threatens another with imminent bodily injury." Since he had
a gun on his hip, he may have been guilty of aggravated assault. But it
didn't matter. He and his colleagues acted as though they were in the
right, and self-preservation dictated that I pretend they were...
Read the rest of the article at Townhall
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