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Reading this gives me chills. Just one more step of many towards living in a police state. I feel like the particular sort of freedom I was raised to enjoy in t

Reading this gives me chills. Just one more step of many towards living in a police state. I feel like the particular sort of freedom I was raised to enjoy in the 80s and 90s is slipping away. And as a black person, it really feels like the obvious abuses of police power continue unabated. There's finally a parade of evidence showing just how egregiously the cops treat us, and that door is at risk of closing, if the SCOTUS affirms this over the other circuit's opinion.

DarkKomunalec 9y ago
As cynical as I am, I still expect the supreme court to take up this case, and issue a 9:0 ruling in favour of filming officials. SCOTUS has a strong free-speech track record: https://www.popehat.com/2017/06/21/free-speech-triumphant-or-free-speech-in-retreat/ https://www.popehat.com/2017/06/21/free-speech-triumphant-or...
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epmaybe 9y ago
Where did the race baiting comment go? I wanted to respond by asking why we always think it's the race that is driving these statistics. Where's any consideration of an alternative hypothesis, such as poverty and inequality? I don't actually know if we have this data, to be honest. Maybe someone can look at records and see what bail was set to for each arrest? And to you as well, I pose another question: if cops treat black people unfairly, is it because they assume any black person is just going to commit a crime? Or is it more unconscious, in that the income inequality in the black population makes police officers more likely to associate black people with low income? For the record, I think that regardless police response is racially motivated and that we can all work together to change that.
- pmorici 9y ago
  Historically getting groups to identify with their race / national origin has been an effective way to control them politically. If they instead realized that they all had the common political interest of being poor / working class they would be a dominate political force.
  - DarkKomunalec 9y ago
    So diversity impedes political organization of the people, and transfers power to the ruling class? At least until we end racism, which should be any day now...
    - pmorici 9y ago
      I don't understand what you're trying to say.
adolph 9y ago
Did you read the judgement? http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/17/07/163555P.pdf http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/17/07/163555P.pdf
dovdovdov 9y ago
you mean one step closer to realize you are living in a police state...
leereeves 9y ago
After reading this ruling and the original district court ruling [1], this article seems to be sensationalized clickbait. The Eighth Circuit didn't offer any opinion on the Constitutional questions (citing Rule 47B, affirmation without opinion), probably because they were irrelevant to the case. Akins wasn't arrested for filming police, in fact, according to the district court ruling, the police affirmed his right to film more than once. Akins complained about several incidents of alleged police harassment and the district court ruled that the police acted reasonably. According to the District Court, his complaints and the court's ruling thereon included: he was arrested for marijuana possession at a DUI checkpoint ("Akins admitted in deposition that the material may have been his marijuana."). During the arrest, a concealed, loaded gun was found in a holster under his shirt ("Akins said he did not [have a concealed carry permit] and that his attorney told him he did not need one to carry a gun in the car."); he was handcuffed on the side of the road while an officer searched his car without permission, after he admitted he had a rifle in the back, while a weapons charge was pending against him; he was pulled over by police and asked for ID ("The interaction lasted less than two minutes.") he was arrested for driving without a license or proof of insurance, and for carrying a butterfly knife (which are apparently illegal in Missouri). 1: http://courtweb.pamd.uscourts.gov/courtwebsearch/mowd/BNJpmRPFlI.pdf http://courtweb.pamd.uscourts.gov/courtwebsearch/mowd/BNJpmR...

DarkKomunalec 9y ago

As cynical as I am, I still expect the supreme court to take up this case, and issue a 9:0 ruling in favour of filming officials. SCOTUS has a strong free-speech track record: https://www.popehat.com/2017/06/21/free-speech-triumphant-or-free-speech-in-retreat/ https://www.popehat.com/2017/06/21/free-speech-triumphant-or...

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epmaybe 9y ago

Where did the race baiting comment go? I wanted to respond by asking why we always think it's the race that is driving these statistics. Where's any consideration of an alternative hypothesis, such as poverty and inequality? I don't actually know if we have this data, to be honest. Maybe someone can look at records and see what bail was set to for each arrest? And to you as well, I pose another question: if cops treat black people unfairly, is it because they assume any black person is just going to commit a crime? Or is it more unconscious, in that the income inequality in the black population makes police officers more likely to associate black people with low income? For the record, I think that regardless police response is racially motivated and that we can all work together to change that.

pmorici 9y ago
Historically getting groups to identify with their race / national origin has been an effective way to control them politically. If they instead realized that they all had the common political interest of being poor / working class they would be a dominate political force.
- DarkKomunalec 9y ago
  So diversity impedes political organization of the people, and transfers power to the ruling class? At least until we end racism, which should be any day now...
  - pmorici 9y ago
    I don't understand what you're trying to say.

adolph 9y ago

Did you read the judgement? http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/17/07/163555P.pdf http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/17/07/163555P.pdf

dovdovdov 9y ago

you mean one step closer to realize you are living in a police state...

leereeves 9y ago

After reading this ruling and the original district court ruling [1], this article seems to be sensationalized clickbait. The Eighth Circuit didn't offer any opinion on the Constitutional questions (citing Rule 47B, affirmation without opinion), probably because they were irrelevant to the case. Akins wasn't arrested for filming police, in fact, according to the district court ruling, the police affirmed his right to film more than once. Akins complained about several incidents of alleged police harassment and the district court ruled that the police acted reasonably. According to the District Court, his complaints and the court's ruling thereon included: he was arrested for marijuana possession at a DUI checkpoint ("Akins admitted in deposition that the material may have been his marijuana."). During the arrest, a concealed, loaded gun was found in a holster under his shirt ("Akins said he did not [have a concealed carry permit] and that his attorney told him he did not need one to carry a gun in the car."); he was handcuffed on the side of the road while an officer searched his car without permission, after he admitted he had a rifle in the back, while a weapons charge was pending against him; he was pulled over by police and asked for ID ("The interaction lasted less than two minutes.") he was arrested for driving without a license or proof of insurance, and for carrying a butterfly knife (which are apparently illegal in Missouri). 1: http://courtweb.pamd.uscourts.gov/courtwebsearch/mowd/BNJpmRPFlI.pdf http://courtweb.pamd.uscourts.gov/courtwebsearch/mowd/BNJpmR...