The Free View-- weblog of a presidential candidate

Big Brother at Your (Car) Door

Meet Terrence Bressi, another person gettin' hassled by The Man.

Now, some of you might read his story and think the guy acted like a hardass, and if he had just went along and played nice, he wouldn't have ended up handcuffed on the side of the road for 3 hours. And that's probably correct-- but I think just leaving it at that is a dangerous evasion in the times we live in.

Terrence basically asserted his right to peacefully move around. He wanted to drive home from work unfettered. He encountered government interference, and the officers were less than clear and honest about their intentions. He asserted his constitutional rights, and got detained and cited for it.

The common model we're taught is that of the police officer being in command, and the civilian being compliant. Cops are expected to be hardass and forceful in the assertion of their duties. Civilians are expected (by many) to cooperate with cops unquestioningly and obediently.

There are two issues that should to be considered before adopting such a viewpoint. One is that citizens also have duties, and rights-- just like cops. At the same time that a police officer might be entitled to draw a gun, or break down a door, or pull over a car, the civilian on the receiving end has rights which serve to restrain the officer's actions. And if a police officer is violating your rights, who -- at that moment -- is there to stand up and defend your rights? In most cases, it's cops, cops, and you-- and if the cops are the ones crossing the line, then you're the only one in any position to defend that line.

It's almost always the path to getting hassled even more, as Terrence and Nicholas' stories illustrate, but that doesn't change the fact that the last line of defense of one's rights is oneself. There's lots that can be done after the fact, in court -- just as there's lots that can be done after a crime to catch and prosecute the offender -- but at the moment of "impact", there's usually no one around to assert your rights but you.

The other issue is jurisdiction and cause. There are situations where a law enforcement official rightly has the authority to overrule you, but those situations are rigidly defined-- by jurisdiction, police procedure, and The Bill of Rights, among other things. An officer doesn't have blanket authority to overrule you on all things at all times. They must have cause, they must follow procedure and the law, and they must have jurisdiction. If they don't, they aren't properly acting within their duties, which means they are betraying their badge and title-- i.e., they aren't really acting as a police officer. At that point, who has the authority to decide what becomes of you? Does a police officer who is violating the law have the right to overrule a civilian who is obeying the law?

Of course, in the end the courts decide that. But at the moment it's actually happening, a person has to decide whether he or she is going to act as his or her last defense, and I can appreciate why Terrence Bressi decided to stand firm.