Thread: Governor signs bill to allow citizens to resist police

Let me try to translate Mayberry PD to English for you guys. Criminal reads law that says "I can resist cops if they are illegally trying to search myself or my property." Cop legally tries to search said person or property. Criminal ASSUMES because there is no warrant that the search is illegal, and as such tries to resist. Guns are drawn, bullets fly, and one or more people wind up wounded and/or dead.

Kraker is not saying he should be able to do whatever he wants, as a cop, with no regard for the law. He is saying that because of this law some citizens that are already acting outside of the law MAY get the idea that they can resist police WITHIN the law.

It's easy to say the law won't change the response/reaction of any suspect, but based on the we already see evidence that laws like these, "stand your ground" ring a bell to anyone, are used/abused by people that might be deemed upstanding citizens. I don't think laws requiring cops to actually obey the law are a bad thing, but I do see the potential for abuse/misinterpretation of this law. I also see this law being used as a defense when it shouldn't be applied. For example, let's say that Kraker responds to a domestic call, knocks on the door, and sees coke on the table. Kraker tries to enter the home, gets shot and killed, and then the suspect cleans up the coke, and says Kraker was trying to enter without cause, so the suspect resisted. Now what?

Yes, crazy hypothetical, just like yours, and we could make up scenarios all day long. Only time will tell what impact this law will have, if any, but I see both positive and negative impacts forthcoming.

You prove my point with your comment about the stand your ground law. It was not applied as intended in the most prevalent case, yet it is likely to be used as a defense. The same can/will hold true with this law. As I said, we can go through millions of what ifs, but at the end of the day I am willing to bet $100 that this law, as it is written, like many other laws, will be misinterpreted and/or abused. Does that make it a bad law? Not necessarily, but if I were law enforcement I wouldn't like it. Not because it makes me do my job correctly, but because it is just one additional concern I have to have every time I try to do my job.

As much as we would like it to be we all know it's not as simple as do your job right and you have nothing to worry about.

Originally Posted by deathgodusmc

To put it simply im less worried about the potential abuses of the law the i am of potential abuses by the police. They had it their way for a long time an proved we need laws like these. As someone said earlier 9 out of 10 times the police have acted correctly and as i responded to it 1 out of 10 times not acting correctly is to often.

Your right, Law Enforcement should be and are held to a higher standard and there are those that either through negligence or lack of training do not understand both the laws that they are expected to enforce and the laws that govern what they can and cannot do. I don't think that the majority of the Officers that act incorrectly according to the laws in place at the time do so willfully. Most try to do the best they can with what information they have. Most Officers I know do not do the job because they are on a "power trip" and definitely not because they are going to get rich doing it, but because they want to make a difference in their community.

Getting back to the point I know where Kraker is coming from in the sense that several times I know of Officers that have gotten hurt or died because they hesitated in situations where they only had a split second to make a decision. We could "what if" this law to death but until it is implemented we won't know how it will work out.

Originally Posted by mmerritt

Your right, Law Enforcement should be and are held to a higher standard and there are those that either through negligence or lack of training do not understand both the laws that they are expected to enforce and the laws that govern what they can and cannot do. I don't think that the majority of the Officers that act incorrectly according to the laws in place at the time do so willfully. Most try to do the best they can with what information they have. Most Officers I know do not do the job because they are on a "power trip" and definitely not because they are going to get rich doing it, but because they want to make a difference in their community.

Getting back to the point I know where Kraker is coming from in the sense that several times I know of Officers that have gotten hurt or died because they hesitated in situations where they only had a split second to make a decision. We could "what if" this law to death but until it is implemented we won't know how it will work out.

What higher standard? Just because you dont know the law or understand the law does not exempt you from punishment for breaking the law. I mean that for any law not just this one. As far as i know there is only one time i didnt know applies in court and that revolves around taxes.

The issue has never been officers that want to make a diffeence. It has always been those on power trips. This law gives another tool to bring those specific individuals to justice or an opportunity to act accordingly. I dont think anyone in here is suggesting that all officers act as they are above the law and i doubt anyone here would say there aren't officers that think they are.

Sure it might take some a minute to get used to this law but realistically are those the cops that were doing their due diligence to begin with? Are they the ones that were doing the job to make a difference? I would say no they aren't the ones that make laws like this necessary. Some needed to be knocked down a peg or two and this law does that.



Let me also add new laws were never needed for those that choose to follow the law to begin with. We have to keep adding because of those that choose to sidestep what we already have. Seeing as we have way more civilians then cops its a safe bet that the bulk are for that particular group. Now and then though we have to address those that take on the job of policing the populace.

Any cop that bust doors in on a regular basis, live life expecting +1. +1 more criminal around the corner. +1 gun underneath the bed. +1 baggie in the toilet tank. You can't not think like that, it'll get you killed.