A tool cops need
Armed police officers in plainclothes arrested a man from a Black Lives Matter protest in Oakland on Aug. 15. Intended to be a “low-visibility arrest,” the interaction has created a flashpoint for local officials, residents and civil rights attorneys alike, many of whom are decrying the police’s tactics as equivalent to kidnapping and abuse of power.
Since when is it kidnapping to arrest someone for alleged misdemeanors, including failure to disperse and disorderly conduct, after multiple verbal warnings?
Mayor Bill Peduto and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. have condemned the arrest, with the mayor directing Pittsburgh’s public safety director and police chief to ban such methods in future peaceful protests.
Mr. Peduto is facing backlash for taking too long to condemn the arrest. Mr. Zappala insisted in a statement that the matter was a summary offense (“pending review of body worn camera footage”) and should have been handled by summons rather than arrest. His opponent for the DA seat last year, Lisa Middleman, is representing the man arrested.
There is political hay to be made here, which means that most parties are leaping to weigh in before all the facts are available.
If bodycam footage emerges and vindicates the arrested man of such charges or reveals that officers did not properly identify themselves or used unnecessarily brutal force, then the police have acted in the wrong and should apologize and take steps to guard against such misuse of authority in the future.
But tensions between protesters and police officers have been at a boiling point for months. Is it surprising that police would seek to resolve such a situation in a manner that doesn’t escalate those tensions and further damage relationships between officers and the communities they police?
What was the alternative? Should the man have been allowed to continue to obstruct traffic, creating dangerous conditions for protesters and drivers? Should police have confronted him more publicly, inviting conflict with the protesters?
Police say they were identifiable and identified themselves. The Pennsylvania American Civil Liberties Union released a statement alleging that, “according to those who were there, the law enforcement officers involved made no effort to work with protest leaders to clear the area and gave no clear dispersal order.” Someone is wrong and when the truth comes out it will be determinative.
The “snatch-and-grab” tactic should not be and is not employed often. But in such a strained climate, it is one tool — a tool police need.
Some voices online have called the arrest a chilling tactic designed to discourage protests from occurring, invoking First Amendment defenses. But this is a strawman — if the police had arrested a peaceful protester without cause, then that would truly be indefensible.
But, according to police, this was not the case, and officers are dutybound to maintain law and order for the sake of public safety. We need them to have every tool. And we, including public officials, need to back them up when they do right in a tough climate.