Policing the Police: When Will Citizens Stand Up for Their Rights?

Give a voice to the voiceless!

As more people come forward with incriminating evidence of police misconduct nationwide, is it time for the public to employ citizen's arrests?
As more people come forward with incriminating evidence of police misconduct nationwide, is it time for the public to employ citizen’s arrests?

As more and more witnesses come forward with what should be incriminating evidence of police officers all over the country, we’re seeing many police forces standing behind their men and women in uniform. In recent years, we have made great strides in the areas of nutrition, healthcare, marriage equality, among many other things. Why is it, then, that police officers seem to get away with stripping rights from citizens just to receive praise from their superiors?

One recent story of note is that of New York City busker Andrew Kalleen, who was clearly harassed by a police officer while playing music on a subway platform. For reference, see the video below:

After the officer clearly proves himself wrong, he continues to call for backup to arrest a man armed only with a musical instrument. No matter how you look at the situation, the musician was breaking no laws. He was later charged with loitering, although that is not why he was detained in the first place. At the end of the video, you’ll hear several people boo and yell out anti-NYPD chants toward the officers. Those chants, however, were wasted in the moment.

Instead of verbally showing their disdain, those bystanders could have done even more — they could have placed the police officer under citizen’s arrest. It’s one of the oldest and most rarely used tricks in the books, folks. Obviously, taking the law into your own hands is tricky, because most people don’t know the law as well as someone on the force. A false imprisonment or unlawful restraint can actually land you behind bars yourself. After the officer proved himself wrong, though, that was the moment in which anyone around could have made the move, but they didn’t. Why?

The NYPD’s mission, which can be found on its official website, reads as follows:

The MISSION of the New York City Police Department is to enhance the quality of life in our City by working in partnership with the community and in accordance with constitutional rights to enforce the laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear, and provide for a safe environment.”

Well, that’s odd. Someone’s constitutional rights were stripped from them. The law in question was improperly enforced. The peace was disturbed. Fear was instilled. An environment was made no safer. There goes your fucking mission statement.

People are afraid to approach an officer during an altercation, no matter who is in the right. If one of those people had, who knows what would have happened to them? Obviously, the officer knew he was on camera, so the situation might not have ended like the popular Ferguson incident. Even still, my gut tells me a citizen could have made a legal arrest there and still been the victim of retaliation from the officer who would most likely be cleared of any wrongdoing. THAT is a fucking problem.

I hear people say, “You should just do what a police officer says.” Really? If a police officer tells you to jump off of a bridge, would you do it? Fuck no. Shut the fuck up. The more we allow ourselves to submit to authority figures, the less liberty we are likely to have.

That officer knew he was being a blatant asshole. He knew everyone was watching on in disgust. He knew that the performer wasn’t bothering or endangering anyone around him. Believe it or not, officers are allowed to use a thing called discretion. That man could have used common sense to make a decision on whether or not to approach Kalleen. That officer wasn’t concerned with the law in that moment. It’s a law in New York that you may not smoke within 100 feet of the entrance to a public building. Have you ever seen a police officer enforce or, better yet, give a shit about that law? Hell no. 

This officer was a bully, end of story. He might have been hungry and craving a little hipster bashing. Maybe he was having a bad day. It’s possible that his diabetes kicked in, and he was in an overly aggressive mood that day. Yes, that officer may have just been “doing his job,” but that really doesn’t matter. In the end, it was wrong, and it will never NOT be wrong. Until the superiors of all the police forces across this country both realize and give a shit, it will not get any better anytime soon.

So, what do we do in the meantime? Take it, or stand up for ourselves? Kalleen’s response was 100 percent appropriate. We can even throw in a little citizen’s arrest at the right moment. Now wouldn’t that be one hell of a news story?

Ricky Dunlop is a contributing journalist for TheBlot Magazine and a writer, actor and comedian residing in New York City.

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