“A cell phone video posted to YouTube this week shows a St. Paul police officer roughing up a black man who was apparently doing nothing more than sitting in the skyway, waiting to pick up his kids.
At 9:43 a.m. on January 31, police were summoned to the skyway in downtown St. Paul’s First National Bank Building on a report of a man loitering. The video footage shows an officer asking the then-27-year-old man to provide his name.
“Why do I have to let you know who I am? Who I am isn’t the problem,” the man calmly replies.”* The Young Turks hosts John Iadarola (TYT University) and Michael Shure break it down.
*Read more here from Aaron Rupar / City Pages:
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2014/08/st_paul_police_roughly_arrest_black_man_sitting_in_skyway_video.php
Comments
Liberals are out to take Uzis out of the hands of our 9 year olds. Good conservatives need to buy a Uzis and take their young daughters for Uzi lessons today.
Well, my first comment went to the wrong article. Ooops. We live and learn.
Anyway. My wife, who is not white goes to a white doctor and the doctor demands that her arms to be checked for needle marks. I (white male) go to the same doctor, and no one asks for my arms to be checked. It isn’t just police officers.
You and your wife should go together and point that out and ask why. That’s very sad. I’m sorry they have treated her that way.
Some liberals like guns and support our right to keep as many as we want. Don’t assume.
This guy is being uncooperative and escalates the situation. In the beginning of the video the police officer is asking him what was the problem back in the area where he was. This makes it an investigatory encounter and, by law, he has to identify himself. So, he does not know his rights or what he’s required to do in this situation. Could the police have handled it differently? That’s debatable; however, the civilian in this video exacerbates the situation by being uncooperative and tad confrontational
If the police are investigating an incident that you are believed to have some involvement in, at the very least, you have to identify yourself. Why was it such a hardship to identify himself?
Minnesota does not have a “stop and identify” statute, so, by law, he does not have to identify himself.
Police do not have that right and cannot give themselves that right by saying, “what’s the problem?” The person that called had a problem with his color.
I’ve watched a few of these videos recently where it seems to me that the person is not cooperating with the police. If a police officer asked me what I was doing somewhere, I wouldn’t start saying “I’m not doing anything wrong”, isn’t that obstruction of justice? I understand that there may be racial profiling going on, but that should mean that you follow the police’s instructions MORE closely, don’t start fighting back at that time…
I am going to go out on a limb and guess that you are a white dude that has never been stopped for without cause. When you are routinely hassled and asked to prove you are innocent tell me how you feel. He was simply sitting in a sky-way waiting for his kids to get out of school and he was treated as if he was committing a crime.
I have the luxury of not having to put up with crap like this, but I am aware that others are not as lucky. Every black male I know has to deal with the BS.
And the cops did charge him with obstruction of justice. Mostly because cops always over charge people to screw them over, but all the charges against him were dropped. I think that every time cops are clearly shown to have over reacted to situations like this they should be sued and the money lost should come strait from their incomes. That would probably end this crap yesterday.
im German Irish and Native American. ive been stopped many times and have been fucked with. that guy has no idea. im white. that video shows the truth of what really happens. most people (the ones who havent opened the doors of perception) still have the veil over their minds eye and live in their own twisted version of reality. the minds dimmed down by years of being told what the world is.
I thought the cops had the authority to demand identification from citizens…. Just like the cops can pull you over and ask for IDs. It’s the law, whether you like it or not. I don’t understand why the guy did not identify himself.
Some states have “stop and identify” laws. Minnesota is not one of them.
This wasn’t a stop and identify situation. The police were there conducting a field investigation. In that case, a person has to identify them self. It’s what is known as an investigatory detention.
You have the right to refuse to cooperate under an investigatory detention, unless there is a stop and identify statute.
Actually they only have the right tk ask you to identify yourself if you have committed or thought to have commited a crime. (Could be wrong about the thought to part though) its a right of privacy, if you are just being pulled over so an officer can see who you are thats kinda fucked up. Ive never been pulled over for that, when Ive been stopped it has been for speeding or a violation of some sort. Same goes for the guy who was openly carrying who was ask to show his license for his gun, he hadnt committed a crime so he had no reason to show them. For some reason certain people can understand that more than why a blackman doesnt have to show his id for no reason. Guess thats just Murica!
That’s not true, in the case of an investigatory encounter, the police HAVE the authority to request identification..
If investigatory encounter means “any damn time the cop feels like it” or “it’s getting close to the end of the month and he’s got to fill his quota.”
you have to be committing a crime a violation for u to have to show id they can’t just say hey you show me id just cuz i want to know .
If you’re driving a vehical, and a cop pulls you over, you have to show your drivers license to prove you are able to drive a car. You do not have to show your ID if you are just walking in the streets.
When it becomes 1936 germany in the united states, then ww will have to show them are papers. Until then…
you ask 2 questions “Am i being detained?” its either yes or no from the cop “Am i under arrest?” yes or no. you do NOT have to even answer him/her.