One enemy of our nation is uninformed opinions
On a recent television news program, a drunk driver screamed when a police officer told him that he was being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
When the police officer asked the well-oiled drunk for his driver’s license, the drunk screamer handed him a state issue identification card. The news anchor commented that the drunk screamer’s driver’s license was previously suspended for several DUI charges. He also said that the local sheriff’s department had an active warrant for him for a previous criminal charge.
While uncontrollably screaming, scratching, shoving and savagely slithering, he tried in vain to escape the unwanted, but very legal and rightful, incarceration. Bystanders looked on in horror as they raised their cellphones to record video. They chanted vulgar words toward the police officer. They wrongly claimed that the police officer was abusing his power, mistreating the poor man, and doing ghastly and illegal things to apprehend him. What part of a danger to society did they not understand? To the bystanders, the facts were irrelevant.
It’s human nature to see things not as they are, but how we want to see them. It has been said that the most successful politicians say exactly what most citizens think, and they do so with the loudest voice. The drunk had the loudest voice, but he wasn’t successful when he screamed exactly what the bystanders wanted to hear, “You’re hurting me.”
No one blames the drunk for not wanting to be arrested, or not wanting to go to jail. A reasonable and prudent person, however, would want him to accept the responsibility for his actions. What he wanted was his own way and for the people to support his demands. Some people have the mistaken idea that if they break the law, all they have to do is accuse the police officer of improper procedure. Then magically, a Genie will come out of a bottle and erase their sin.
When confronted by a police officer, no one is required to consent to a search, but resisting arrest is against the law. A police officer, however, has a legal right to use whatever force is necessary to make an arrest. Note the word necessary.
Since there are so many people who don’t like the police, perhaps we should just do away with police departments. When a crime is committed, we could call a professional football player to tackle the problem. We could also call a doctor
to heal the crime, or a preacher to pray that the case is solved. But someone would still have to do the nasty and unpopular job of arresting suspects to bring them before a judge for adjudication. Without police departments, our nation would see very little justice. Justice means objective or unbiased behavior or treatment. Some people seem to think that justice means, “I only want it my way.”
Without police departments, vigilantes would spring into action. They are self-appointed people, without legal authority, who assume the role of law enforcement. They will act without specialized training, rules, policies and procedures, and without skills, ability and proper equipment. Every arrest they make could be a riot because vigilantes usually work with their faces and identity hidden, with no oversight, and often concealed by darkness.
Police officers don’t make arrests without probable cause. Just because someone is legally arrested, they are not automatically guilty.
The time to argue a criminal case is in a court of law, never on the street. Screaming might afford a child a favor from a parent, but that doesn’t work with police officers. Probable cause is a requirement in our criminal law that requires police officers to have adequate reason to make an arrest, conduct a search or confiscate property. It comes from the Fourth Amendment to our Constitution.
If a law is unfavorable, there are vehicles in place to make necessary changes. Without laws, we would be a nation of repulsive social issues and pure bedlam. Most citizens behave without the need for laws, but some people think the laws don’t pertain to them.
If everyone were guilty, we wouldn’t need courts. If everyone obeyed the law, we wouldn’t need police officers. One reason we need both is that some people make decisions based on their whim and what they perceive as morally correct or incorrect, rather than on the facts. To really understand our nation’s social issues, learn the facts, and don’t believe a loud mouth who screams. One enemy of our nation is uninformed opinions.
Charlie Sewell is a retired Powder Springs police chief. His book “I’d Rather You Call
Me Charlie: Reminiscences Filled With Twists of Devilment, Devotion and A Little Danger Here and There” is available on
Amazon. Email him at retiredchiefsewell@gmail.com.