Open containers are illegal in New York. Moreover, a 10 minute search on the Internet would have let him know that he doesn't have to appear in court, but can p

Open containers are illegal in New York. Moreover, a 10 minute search on the Internet would have let him know that he doesn't have to appear in court, but can plead guilty by mail and pay the whopping $25 fine. http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/criminal/specialprojects.shtml http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/criminal/specialprojects.... You know what I try not to do when I visit other countries? Break their laws. Also, I pay attention when the police are talking to me and don't antagonize them. Edit: After reading it for the third time, I am still at a loss at what the cops did wrong in this situation except be exceedingly polite to people who are breaking the law. My reading of this is that the police shouted at two people committing a misdemeanor to halt. They did not. The police stopped them with appropriate force. One person fought the police like a drunk moron and was tackled. From then on the entire group of them is acting like drunk idiots and the cop tells them to shut up. Polite? No. Abuse of power? No. I see nothing wrong here, unless you think that the police should be forced to take etiquette classes to deal with blazed foreigners who don't take the time to read about local laws on controlled substance use.