General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNew York Senate Makes It Felony to Annoy or Alarm the Police, Which Won't Be At All Problematic
Arguing "too many people in our society have lost the respect they need to have for a police officer" - and we can't imagine why - the New York State Senate has passed a bill creating the felony crime of aggravated harassment if anyone makes physical contact with a police officer with the intent to "harass, annoy, threaten or alarm" - a term so impossibly nebulous it could apply to virtually anyone, anytime, doing pretty much anything in the vicinity of said officer. And yes, he or she gets to decide just what is annoying, and obviously he or she will be totally honest and accurate about what went down in any given encounter.
"At a time when shocking incidents of disrespect and outright confrontation are at an all-time high, the men and women who patrol the streets of our cities deserve every possible protection we can offer them...We need to make it very clear that when a police officer is performing his duty, every citizen needs to comply and that refusal to comply carries a penalty.
http://www.commondreams.org/further/2013/06/10-4
DLevine
(1,788 posts)pipoman
(16,038 posts)they can likely justify ramming a broomstick up their ass as an effort to stop a felony in progress..
pipoman
(16,038 posts)like those pesky occupiers who annoy police every day..now they don't just have to ask them to leave, they can shoot them...police have great latitude in stopping commission of a felony including using deadly force. New York politics has been on the cusp of insanity for some time...looks like they have officially jumped the shark..hopefully the voters clean house this time..
midnight
(26,624 posts)to make a come back.... maybe the voters can clean house...
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)The NYS legislature is so corrupt it is a local joke.
The senate in particular: we elected a DEM majority yet the republicans hold the majority positions and perks. (5- RW DEMs made a sleazy deal... it's a long story.)
Local M$M ignores all this in favor of stories about the weather, celebs and traffic accidents.
midnight
(26,624 posts)it's biased stops of certain types of people....
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)I'm assuming you're talking about what we call "stop and frisk." ( Stopping random civilians , overwhelmingly minority, and frisking them on the street without any probable cause.)
Still in effect here ( NYC) . Police brass defend it as does Bloomberg as do some of the DEM mayoral candidates.
That's not what's being promoted here by the forever ethically challenged NYS legislature.