A death occurs and I wonder what if?
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There was recently an incident in Oklahoma, USA, that caught
my attention. It seems to have caught the
attention of others as well, that live beyond the borders of That Great State. I share the actual video below, taken by the
wife of the victim.
The couple, along with their 19 yr old daughter were going
to the movie theater, when the daughter apparently said something disrespectful
to the mother, and in turn, the mother slapped the daughter. Someone witnessing this event called the
Police.
Upon arriving, the police questioned the family, and then
did something that quite frankly, considering the circumstances of the case, I have
to question: he asked for the father’s
ID. The father, a 300 lb man, and out of
shape, resisted. Shows attitude. Is restrained by 5 officers, has a heart
attack on the spot and dies.
Here is the video:
Now, after hearing of this, I of course watched the video
myself. The video was taken by the wife, so in affect,
she filmed the death of her husband.
Then of course curious as to what the comments would be
liked, I scrolled down. Almost without
question, people were criticizing the police.
I re watched the video. Most of
the officers were big, strong men, and one of them had his hand on the victims
head, pressing down with force. Another had
his knee in the back of the victim. Apparently,
either the Victim was still resisting, or the Police were overcome with
adrenaline, and were not sensitive to the body going limp.
In short, the Police took a situation, where constraint of
the victim was perfectly justifiable, and turned it into a training video of
how NOT to arrest somebody. The Police
were impervious to the possibility of an overweight, out of shape fellow dying
on them. Simple as that. They were insensitive to the health of the
Victim.
Still….
What if the Victim had just done what he had been told?
The Officer on the scene made a fatal call: ask for the ID
of the victim. To my knowledge, this
fellow was not wanted. There was no
outstanding warrant. Also, I do not
believe Oklahoma is a “stop and frisk” state.
The Cop had a family that was
already tense, and embarrassed, by the actions of their daughter. The Cop had every right to ask for the Dad’s
ID. But his lack of sensitivity as regards the intensity of the situation needs to be addressed.
You can look at this two ways:
Cop is to blame because he further inflamed, (rather unnecessarily) an already tense
situation, by wanting to impress his authority onto the family. Cop walks away. Everyone lives.
Or……
The Dad brought it upon himself with his “why you harassing me”
attitude. (see COP’s lack of sensitivity
above)
I am not sure why the Officer asked for his ID. But the Victim was “combative”. If I had been in his situation, I definitely
would have given him my ID, all the while asking “why you want to see it?”
It’s quite the jump from mom slapping daughter to officer asking
for ID. We don’t know the whole
story. (Maybe the Dad told the cop to
mind his own business? )
I would’ve given it to him not just because I wouldn’t want
to miss my movie, but because in front of my children, I’d like to set an
example of how to behave. (Daughter smarts
off to MOM…gee, wonder where she got her disrespect of authority??)
As everyone in America knows, (and I’ve mentioned before)
when a COP wants to talk to with you, just do what you are told, and end the situation
ASAP! I don’t know how it is in your
country, but our cops are fairly badass.
The best way to end the situation
as quickly as possible is to just do what you are told.
(It's not easy being a cop. Don't believe me just read those rather unfair Youtube comments)
In America,
Smarting off to a COP will not cut you any slack.
You cannot talk any
reason into a COP.
The COP will have backup.
You will not win a debate with a COP.
What is especially tragic is this story is full of “ifs”.
If the COP hadn’t asked for his ID.
If the Victim hadn’t shown an attitude.
If the daughter hadn’t been disrespectful to her mom.
If the mom had not slapped the daughter.
If the people that saw the incident had just minded their
own fucking business and let it alone. (there is a time to be nosey and a time
to walk on by. This was a time for the
latter)
So now we come to China.
I’ve seen people slap cops, in China. But honestly speaking, I think in a lot of situations,
the cops in China can be more tolerant than given credit for. I’ve done stupid things in my Youth. I verbally abused a Chinese Cop when
returning from Dongguan to Shenzhen, back when they had border inspections, and
the kid wanted to see my Passport. He let
me go, and to this day I don’t understand why I said what I said, or how I got
away with what I said. I’ve dressed
down Customs officials, without fear of reprisal. ( I can hardly justify anything I said in Anger when I was
23)
My point is Chinese argue all the damn time. And this
may sound controversial, but I think the Chinese Police tolerate more verbal
abuse from their own people than American Cops do.
Why is that? Some may
think it’s a clever way to allow a society to blow off steam. I just think it’s the way Chinese are. It’s in their nature. Police just aren’t as offended as American
Cops are during a verbal confrontation. And
the Rule of Law isn’t as embedded within China as it is in America. If Chinese Cops arrested citizens that “talked
back” to a cop, the Police would never have time to get Real Work done.
The Chinese are a Pent Up People. We know this.
It is not news. Which brings me
to Democracy. Hell hath no fury like a
country new to Democracy. One Day China
will be a democratic nation. Let’s hope
that’s a long time coming. A day too
soon, and chaos will reign in East Asia.
So I wonder if in China, I could get away with what this lady, the
wife of the victim, got away with, in the United States? She
videotaped the death of her husband, and now it’s freely available on Youtube. For all the world to see.
Would she be able to say the same if she were in China?
Would her story ever be told? On CCTV?
Of course not. Her phone
would have been confiscated, and she herself held for questioning, to avoid
speaking with Media. Truth be known there are probably dozens of events like this in Vast China, every single day. Thousands of angry families within Society, bitter and unnerved, by the treatment they need put up with from Chinese officialdom, stirring with resentment and anger. The freedom of our society to report abuses, and to humiliate overly zealous officials makes us stronger, and continues to be our best hope against abuse, by wayward officials.
By filming this, this Lady bought her meal ticket. The OKC Police failed the Test of Common Sense. Now they have to live with
it. The knee in the back….the hand
pressed against the head.
The limp body.
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