This woman knew her Constitutional Rights. Her Prize? $20,000

[TalkingDog]

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/atlanta-expected-to-pay-552542.html?cxtype=rss_news

Around 4 p.m. on March 26, 2009, Carey and her friends were on the sidewalk in front of the Boulevard Lotto convenience store, just a few blocks from downtown Atlanta. They had been talking a few minutes about funeral plans for a woman they all knew when Dolson and his partner pulled up. Dolson told the women to “move it.”

Three women started walking away but Carey didn’t, asking “why” instead.

Dolson’s answer to Carey was “because I said so,” according to records.

“I’m a citizen and I’m a taxpayer and I have a right to be here. I’m merely trying to find out about a sister’s funeral,” Carey responded.




Good for her...but then, she's old enough to remember when, as a person of color, having rights didn't mean you had the same rights as other people.....

Are you listening A.Z.?

[Warpy]

1. “He was a lousy police officer. What else can I say?” Carey said

That really says it all and the clown should have been canned long before this incident. All he saw was color, not sex or age or context, and that made him a rotten cop.

We keep our rights only as long as we insist on them. I've told cops that they could search my belongings as soon as they presented a warrant and that I'd be willing to wait for it. They've always backed down.

[Fumesucker]

7. It doesn't matter what color you are..

Fail to show overweening respect for a cop and you are asking for trouble..

Not all cops are that way but a big enough percentage to make it a chancy affair to stand up for your rights.

[Warpy]

8. How do you know she failed to show respect?

She told him what they were doing and asked why they were being told to leave.

He disrespected her and caused her 10 hours in jail, which is why she won $20,000 over it. Had she taken it to court, she'd have won the legal lottery and the city knew it.

In addition, there is the first amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

That trumps any cop with a bad attitude.

If you want to wimp out and let bad cops trample you, go ahead. I'm afraid I'm made of sterner stuff, and so was Ms. Carey.

[Fumesucker]

9. I said "overweening respect"...

For some cops just asking them a question such as "why?" is showing a lack of respect from their point of view.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Irony alert: the arresting officer is also black. n/t

I THOUGHT Brandy would be a 'she' but apparently it is a 'he'.

[TalkingDog]

3. I got that the officer was black....didn't catch the female...

Thanks for the thorough read...

[CurtEastPoint]

4. My bad. See my other post. I think Brandy is a he. Lord.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. Everyone is vulnerable to the inebriation of power. -nt

[mrcheerful]

6. Wasn't it illegal for cops to come up to people and demand that they show ID?

If memory serves me right, a black man who walked nightly after work on the "good" side of town, he had been doing it for over 6 months, because his neighborhood was over run by gang members, crack dealers and hookers, it was unsafe for him to take his daily 2am stroll in his area. Well anyhow, one night on his walk he was approached by the police and asked to show ID because he didn't look like he belonged in the area, it is an area of the city where theres 1 black person for every 20 whites.

The man replied, I am not doing anything except taking my nightly walk, I am an American citizen so I am not showing you anything. He was arrested for vagrancy and for suspicious behavior, the police wrote that he was casing homes in the area for later B&E attempts in their arrest report, even though the area had no B&E activities in that area for a number of years, the last B&E in the area had been done by a white juvie 3 years before. When the guy had his day in court the judge threw the case out because the police had no reason to ask him for ID as he was not breaking any laws nor was he driving at the time the police asked him for ID. The man refused to sue the police as the judge recommended, he said why sue when it would only cause his taxes to go up.

This was not a city down south or even Ohio, this was city police in a Michigan city. I myself have been pulled over by these city police for driving in area's where I didn't belong, accused of looking for drugs or hookers and the funny thing was it was less then a block from my home. So I guess they are equal opportunity profilers, LOL.

[dana_b]

10. Disorderly conduct for asking "why" and not

moving along? B.S.

This gets me too:

"APD was named in the suit, and a spokesman for the department said Friday that an internal investigation found officer Brandy Dolson "acted within the parameters of department policies and procedures," which complied with national standards. "Those guidelines are based on a set of proven standards that take into account the difficult situations police officers face every day, and the split-second decisions they must make to protect citizens and reduce their own personal risk,” APD public affairs director Carlos Campos said in an e-mail."

Because I'm sure the officers felt threatened by these women who were standing on a sidewalk talking. Big threat there!

[sabrina 1]

12. The same old standard 'they were acting in accordance with

procedures'. Well, then the 'procedures' need to be changed.

What also needs to change is police officers believing that they are being paid to protect only themselves. If the job is too dangerous for them, to the point of violating rights of he people they are supposed to be protecting, then maybe they ought to find another job.

Those guidelines are based on a set of proven standards that take into account the difficult situations police officers face every day,

How about the difficult situations citizens find themselves in? Isn't THAT the job they signed on for, NOT to add to those difficult situations which appears to be happening more and more these days?

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. good for her!