I think that police too often reflexively choose the harshest penalties when interacting with black people: racial insults, unnecessary searches, use of force, citations and tickets when a similarly situated white person gets assistance or maybe a warning, etc. All that said I've also written about how irritating I find it to have people (usually teens) walking in the middle of the street. The sidewalk is for walking. The street is for driving. I don't drive on the sidewalk and have the audacity to get upset when someone says that the action is wrong.
So before watching this video I was all set to blast the cops but afterwards I don't see what the police did wrong. The police officer could have stayed in his car and drove on, but that's similar to saying the police don't need to pull over a highway speeder who has slowed down. Most of the times they don't. But every so often they do. In and of itself that is not a crime. Unless you are ready to hold court in the street and kill or die, you won't win confrontations with police. If the police order is legal, most people will end up complying with it, willingly or not. If the police are committing a crime, then I do believe that we have the right to refuse the illegal order and defend ourselves. But that's not what the below video shows. The orders were legal. Few cops will let a citizen ignore them and walk away from a legal detention.
People who have spent time around teenagers will be familiar with the surly responses, repetition of questions, and avoidance of compliance. It's what teens do. But sometimes whether one is dealing with irritated parents or cops, it's wise to stay quiet and comply with lawful orders. Your primary job when dealing with police is to survive and go home--assuming the orders are lawful--which in this case they were. The police don't care about your feelings. They are not interested in debates with you. Knowing when to fight is just as important as fighting. More so, actually.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Interim Grand Rapids Police Chief David Kiddle is defending the use of force by one of his officers during the arrest of two teens who failed to cooperate with police after being stopped for walking in the street.
When the officer attempted to arrest the 15- and 16-year-old males, the encounter escalated and resulted in the officer pulling out and pointing his gun at the two teens and ordering them to the ground to be handcuffed. One of the teens was transported to juvenile detention for resisting and obstructing a police officer. The other was transported home by police.
On Monday, March 18 -- a week after the incident occurred -- Kiddle held a press conference to show body-worn camera footage of the arrest, and to answer questions.
The interim police chief said the video showed a “textbook example of how we expect our officers to conduct themselves in a professional and tactically safe manner.”
“I’d like to point out the officer’s professionalism, restraint, and appropriate demeanor throughout the contact,” Kiddle said. “It was the suspects’ outright defiance and lack of simple cooperation that escalated this incident unnecessarily.”
A Grand Rapids police officer stopped the two teens Monday, March 11, in the 600 block of Lynch Street SW. He explained to the youths that they were violating a city ordinance that prohibits walking in the street when the sidewalk is clear of snow and ice.
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