That Was Totally Uncalled For!

Readers of the blog will know that I am not a fan of George W. Bush. I feel angry and sad that Bush and company dragged this country into the mud by making us the country that tortures prisoners. The pro-torture camp can justify themselves by describing extreme circumstances under which unspeakable acts of brutality are called for.

I'm not buying it. Because once abusing prisoners becomes the accepted practice, it spreads beyond the "worst-of-the-worst" scenarios. Additionally, the attitudes and practices among members of the military filter down into civilian law enforcement. Brutality breeds more brutality. You see this in the increased willingness of police officers to use tasers against non-violent civilians.

The second rule of dealing with cops is: Nobody likes being treated like a dumb shit. So, don't act like a jerk to the cops. I can't imagine how that would work out well. Bringing a lawsuit against unreasonable cops might be a good course of action, but threatening the cop that you're going to sue him is probably not going to help him see the error of his ways in harassing you.

And if a cop is hassling you while you're riding your bike, don't shake your ass at him. That's what happened with two cyclists who were being hassled for riding on the road.

In his written report, the Deputy stated that he pursued the cyclists for almost a mile, and that:
"On several occasions the subjects stood up and shaked their butts at me taunting me."

Asked about this, Tony confirms that on occasion, they were standing on their pedals, and that the Deputy misinterpreted this as taunting.

That's pretty funny stuff. But it gets crazy after the cop decides that this bicycle rider who is not being cooperative with him deserves to get hit with a taser.

"Dude, you just shot me with a taser! That was totally uncalled for!"

Uncalled for, indeed.

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