When Law Enforcers Abuse the Law

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but sometimes bad people get into powerful positions of authority and end up doing bad things to otherwise innocent and good people. This fact alone is obvious to many, but sometimes real life scenarios don’t make it as obvious.

Recently a black college student went viral online with released police body cam video that showed a police officer going out of his way to profile and harass an innocent man. Later, he irrationally pulled out his handgun on the civilian until other cops showed up and de-escalated the situation when they realized the officer involved had no probable cause.

What was the student in trouble for in the first place which got the cop’s attention? He was walking around his apartment building with a trash clamp and a bucket picking up trash and liter, which was his job in the first place.

The citizen knew his rights and was well within them to ask the cop to leave. The officer kept probing the man with questions and at one point, nearly physically accosted him without being otherwise provoked.

The situation nearly got fatal when the cop claimed he was feared for his life because of the student’s “weapons” – referring to the plastic trash scooper and bucket. If the other cops had not arrived, who knows what could have happened.

Situations like this happen every day, and most never get this kind of media attention. Sadly, they sometimes turn deadly. The important thing to understand is that no amount of authority gives someone immunity from responsibility, the justification to do the unjust, and blanket claim of unquestionable wisdom.

Yes, you should be obedient and respectful to the law, but you should not allow those to abuse the law to abuse you.

In a free society abuse, fraud, and corruption can only be stopped and prevented by a watchful and knowledgable people. How can you know if your rights are being trampled upon if you don’t know your rights, to begin with?

In the United States, it is seen as a societal sin to challenge the authority of those behind the badge even though it is the moral obligation of free men and women to know when the lines are crossed. Blind obedience to man is an unjust affliction to the innocent.

For those not convinced, remember that every person harmed unjustly is just another statistic until it becomes you or someone you love.