OT: Got arrested last night - THE VERDICT

[Ohara]

This is it exactly. A lot of bad things can happen when you lose control of your cognitive brain functions while out in public.[/quote]

Not to mention your bowel functions lol, sorry had to

[StonieSlagg]

Yeah, I did have an open container and I was drunk, regardless of how much. I just think that these cops take pride in working people over, since there are not many other serious crimes that occur in this city, like murders etc. Mostly petty crimes, like thefts, robberies, and drug offenses.
I'm pissed off because I was treated like a violent offender. I did nothing to bring on the treatment that was given to me. I went willingly with the cops. It is like they just kept yelling stop resisting so that people watching would think that I was and that they're treatment was justified.

I have some research to do.

sounds like the way most of PA's "finest" act.
what part of PA was it in? On of my friends just got roughed up by the Philly cops but that's pretty common down there...

[baytamusic]

Didn't you get arrested a while back?

Also, it's funny here. One time a while ago I was stupidly drinking a beer on the sidewalk by a bar. A cop pulled up and was like "Hey man, you gotta drink that around the corner where I can't see you from this street" haha. People are always drinking beer on the L train here too. Cops just don't care about that kinda stuff here I guess. Big city, too much other crazy shizz going on.

Bummer for you. Don't know what to tell you. Usually it's your word against theirs.

[Jondog]

Play the race card! Whenever someone disrespects me I say "It's because I'm white isn't it!"

[baytamusic]

Play the race card! Whenever someone disrespects me I say "It's because I'm white isn't it!"

Or you could say you are a black albino. That would probably work better.

[Randy Bass]

Play the race card! Whenever someone disrespects me I say "It's because I'm white isn't it!"

+1

I'd also claim class discrimination.

"It's not my fault that I wasn't born with a plastic spoon in my mouth!"

[misterMagoo]

Yeah, I did have an open container and I was drunk, regardless of how much. I just think that these cops take pride in working people over, since there are not many other serious crimes that occur in this city, like murders etc. Mostly petty crimes, like thefts, robberies, and drug offenses.
I'm pissed off because I was treated like a violent offender. I did nothing to bring on the treatment that was given to me. I went willingly with the cops. It is like they just kept yelling stop resisting so that people watching would think that I was and that they're treatment was justified.

I have some research to do.

sounds like the way most of PA's "finest" act.
what part of PA was it in? On of my friends just got roughed up by the Philly cops but that's pretty common down there...

Wilkes Barre PA. Philly is a different story entirely. Wilkes Barre is this little sh*t city who's biggest claim to fame used to be coal, but now is the overwhelming corruption which was brought to light last year in the "Kids for Cash" scandal. Look it up. Our courthouse was sending children to juvenile detention center regardless of reason or severity of the offense, and in turn were receiving kickbacks from the detention center, who was also tied in with the areas largest local construction company, and just to many people to list. This scandal caused a huge federal investigation of the local government and people are still being indicted and charged. It was all over CNN a while back.

Here's a good quote: "I think what we have here in Luzerne County is probably the most egregious abuse of power in the history of the American legal system," Levick said.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7178686&page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-02-23/just ... s=PM:CRIME" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[misterMagoo]

Disgusting.

[Ddjembe Mutombo]

Yeah, Wilkes Barre is pretty shitty.

Shitty situation. The cops could have been abusing their power, but as long as their aren't pulling a Rodney King, they are in the green. Once a cop has got arresting you on his mind, there is nothing you can do about it. The best thing to do is accept it and ask questions later. There are only two ways of getting out of charges before the end of an incident. 1) be a hot ass bitch and cry a lot, or 2) be complaint. Best of luck, dude.

[Y0UNGBL00D]

heres the thing, as i was recently in almost EXACTLY this same situation. replace "had an open container" with "pissed on a sidewalk" and its the same deal. only my cop didnt even see the crime being committed, and was operating on the claims of a bystander (or "El Snitcho", in spanish). grabs me, asks me if i did it, of course i said no as he had no proof, slams me on the ground with no further questions asked, used extremely excessive force (i have detainment training, i know), tasked me verbally and did not acknowledge when i complied, and refused to tell me my crime. even threw my girlfriend in the car for disorderly conduct for simply asking why i was being arrested. honest truth, i was drunk and she was using foul language. oddly, upon arrival at jail, he told the sheriff i was cooperative but just drunk. when taken before the magistrate, i was charged with drunk in public and resisting arrest. got my gf with disorderly "with violent behavior" bc she flipped him the bird.

now, how this pertains to you: (simple advice, up to you)

1. the excessive force is not an issue
sounds dumb, right? excessive force, even if you have video evidence (i did), does not have ANYTHING to do with your case. period. that is a seperate issue you mist file at the police dept. sucks. REALLY sucks. i know. but true. you did have an open container and that is what it is.

2. pay the fines.
while it is your choice, i wouldn't lawyer up if i were you and i wish i hadnt. the charges sounded pretty fierce to my gf and i, more so to her. i figured we'd get a small fine and that would be it, but they did sound serious. this was right before we were trying to move to austin. so we get lawyers. hers cost $900 because he knew her father (a cop, ironically) and mine cost $1000. and these are top notch guys, some of the best in the city (norfolk apparently has a small lawyer circuit). we explain our case. they said yeah its common, and that they know the guy to be a real hothead in particular, and we can get you off. see you in court. no strategy, nothing. um, ok. turns out they plan on swinging some sort of deal with him. righteous. so we go to court. our case takes forever to be heard, so we watch the cases before us. drunk in public.....$150 drunk in public .....$100 disorderly conduct....$80 etc., etc. then our case comes up. deal is, we do a bunch of community service and she writes an additional apology letter to the officer and it will be dismissed. oh and the resisting charge? poof. disappeared. no one even mentioned it. we worked our tails off trying to get all the community service done before we could move, counting as many hours in free time, work time and school time, and turning my gf vegan in the process (funny? try living with that as a carnivore. peta was the only organization around that had decent community service to do). plus side? its not on our records. worth it? i thought so when i just got my awesome new high paying job. until i found out the other new hire has a recent DUI and that none of this crap really matters unless you killed someone. $1900, community service, and veganism.... could have paid $150 tops. up to you i guess.

[StonieSlagg]

Yeah, I did have an open container and I was drunk, regardless of how much. I just think that these cops take pride in working people over, since there are not many other serious crimes that occur in this city, like murders etc. Mostly petty crimes, like thefts, robberies, and drug offenses.
I'm pissed off because I was treated like a violent offender. I did nothing to bring on the treatment that was given to me. I went willingly with the cops. It is like they just kept yelling stop resisting so that people watching would think that I was and that they're treatment was justified.

I have some research to do.

sounds like the way most of PA's "finest" act.
what part of PA was it in? On of my friends just got roughed up by the Philly cops but that's pretty common down there...

Wilkes Barre PA. Philly is a different story entirely. Wilkes Barre is this little sh*t city who's biggest claim to fame used to be coal, but now is the overwhelming corruption which was brought to light last year in the "Kids for Cash" scandal. Look it up. Our courthouse was sending children to juvenile detention center regardless of reason or severity of the offense, and in turn were receiving kickbacks from the detention center, who was also tied in with the areas largest local construction company, and just to many people to list. This scandal caused a huge federal investigation of the local government and people are still being indicted and charged. It was all over CNN a while back.

Here's a good quote: "I think what we have here in Luzerne County is probably the most egregious abuse of power in the history of the American legal system," Levick said.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7178686&page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-02-23/just ... s=PM:CRIME" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

yeah i heard about that, i know WB pretty well, i lived in Bloomsburg for 12 years and now i live about an hour south of you in the lehigh valley. i'm working on my master's right now at Wilkes so i know the area. PA small-town cops are the worst...

[irish_admiral]

I don't know how it works in the US, but do you guys have some sort of Independent Police Complaints Commission? We've got that in the UK if we want to complain about the police. Probably won't come to much, but will make someone's life difficult for a short period of time, and you register the fact that you had a problem with someone.

[Wendigo]

My experience with the law tells me that you will never win no matter what, as they always listen to the cops over you. UNLESS you have been severely beaten or abused and there is obvious evidence, then they start listening to you, but you will still end up with some kind of mark on your record and a fine. Just from my own experience which I'm ashamed to say is pretty vast. The best thing you can do is go to court, act like a saint, get a lesser fine because the judge feels sorry for you, and put it behind you. Chalk it up to lesson learned.
When I look back in my life to any troubles I've had with authorities, I can't help but notice it was almost always because I was drunk at the time.

[nguideau]

To me, the decision to get a lawyer or not should be solely based on the severity of the charges.

If it's just a fine, pay it. If it's a misdemeanor that could technically carry jail time or probation, and it were me... I'd get a lawyer. I wouldn't want either of those on my record. Obviously, that can be an expensive proposition and offers no guarantees...

[nguideau]

Didn't you get arrested a while back?

Also, it's funny here. One time a while ago I was stupidly drinking a beer on the sidewalk by a bar. A cop pulled up and was like "Hey man, you gotta drink that around the corner where I can't see you from this street" haha. People are always drinking beer on the L train here too. Cops just don't care about that kinda stuff here I guess. Big city, too much other crazy shizz going on.

Bummer for you. Don't know what to tell you. Usually it's your word against theirs.

I think while open containers are illegal pretty much everywhere across the country, almost every community also looks the other way if you at least make an effort to conceal it. The old paper bag "laws."

Might be different on the L, but what about the commuter trains? Here in NYC, they have bar cars on the commuter trains...