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Video Shows Man Getting Punched by Cop After Resisting Arrest in Harlem

So is being knifed, shot, raped, robbed, or murdered. And before the NYPD began its stop-and-frisk policy these were all too common in some areas of the city.

Abuse by others doesn't justify abuse by authorities. We have constitutional rights intended to restrain the state from harassment without provocation. The link between stop and frisk and actual crime reduction is far from certain, but even if the effectiveness of the policy were certain, it doesn't erase the constitutional questions surrounding the practice, nor should it outweigh our freedoms.

Me, too, but in this case why don't we just wait until all the facts are in before we come to conclusions (other than the fact that Mr. George used poor judgment when he resisted). Meanwhile:

Isn't provoking and then assaulting an otherwise non-violent citizen also poor judgment? Officers should be held to higher standards of conduct than citizens, not lower.


Neither should we tolerate uncivil behavior on the part of citizens. You can't demand freedom without accepting the responsibility that goes with it.

There seems to be a massive chasm between what you consider uncivil behavior by citizens versus uncivil behavior by authorities.
 
Well, no, Mr. George started it when he wouldn't submit to being cuffed. In the old days he would have been knocked unconscious with a blackjack plainclothes officers kept on their person.

But for what? The cop starts pushing, the cop starts throwing punches. Before the citizen did anything. In any other situation, the one pushing and throwing punches first is the aggressor. The real question is, what did he do that he was being arrested?
 
But for what?

He was arrested for possession of a knife. Apparently, the officer saw a knife dangling from his pocket.

The cop starts pushing, the cop starts throwing punches.

That's because the officer is trying to effect an arrest and Mr. George is attempting to flee. George also threatens the officer at one point when he says, "I'm not afraid of you." The cop was well within his rights to use reasonable force to detain George:

An NYPD officer caught on cellphone footage trying to subdue a knife-wielding Harlem man appears to have clearly followed protocol, sources told The Post on Friday.
“The video actually helps the cop,” said a source familiar with the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau probe into Officer Jean Francisco.

“The perp was told to place his hands behind his back, and he adamantly refused. He was demonstrating active physical resisting,” the source said.

Another police source said the footage shows Francisco (the officer) was not the aggressor and that he remained in a “defensive stance” while under attack from suspect Saykou George, 30.

Finally, a video proves that hero cop did the right thing | New York Post
 
He got everything on camera.
 
But for what? The cop starts pushing, the cop starts throwing punches. Before the citizen did anything. In any other situation, the one pushing and throwing punches first is the aggressor. The real question is, what did he do that he was being arrested?

Resisting arrest is nothing?

Liberal logic.
 
Abuse by others doesn't justify abuse by authorities. We have constitutional rights intended to restrain the state from harassment without provocation.

Where's the abuse in this case? I don't see it. There was a simple solution: Don't break the law, and if you do and are caught, don't resist arrest. I only wish we could make stupidity a crime.

There seems to be a massive chasm between what you consider uncivil behavior by citizens versus uncivil behavior by authorities.

There is a massive chasm. The authorities generally don't run through neighborhoods knifing and shooting people, committing rapes, robberies, etc. I'd rather take my chances with the cops than the hoodlums.
 
He was arrested for possession of a knife. Apparently, the officer saw a knife dangling from his pocket.

Possessing a knife is a crime? Man, not quite America anymore.
 
Resisting arrest is nothing?

Liberal logic.

In order to resist arrest, there must be something to arrest someone over. Duh

Fascist logic.
 
Possessing a knife is a crime? Man, not quite America anymore.

Many jurisdictions have restrictions on the type of knife a person can legally carry on their person. This is nothing new. Most of these laws go back decades.
 
Many jurisdictions have restrictions on the type of knife a person can legally carry on their person. This is nothing new. Most of these laws go back decades.

That doesn't make it not bull**** though. If there is not a victim it should NOT be a crime.
 
Possessing a knife is a crime? Man, not quite America anymore.

Don't you know that doing nothing but walking around with a knife is something that should be illegal? Gosh, crazy libertarians calling for actual victims for something to be a crime. Where do we even get off with such crazy logic?
 
In order to resist arrest, there must be something to arrest someone over. Duh

Fascist logic.

You as a citizen DO NOT have the right to resist arrest once an officer attempts to effect one, whether he's legally justified or not. If that were true, then ANYONE could resist arrest and just tell Hizzonor, "See, Judge, I didn't think he had the right to arrest me, so I resisted." :doh
 
That doesn't make it not bull**** though. If there is not a victim it should NOT be a crime.

Okay, I agree. It's bull****. That's one reason why I don't live in New York.
 
You as a citizen DO NOT have the right to resist arrest once an officer attempts to effect one, whether he's legally justified or not. If that were true, then ANYONE could resist arrest and just tell Hizzonor, "See, Judge, I didn't think he had the right to arrest me, so I resisted." :doh

The officer needs legitimate reason for arrest. In this case, apparently a knife. Big Brother, keeping us safe. But at least they didn't shoot him.
 
Where's the abuse in this case? I don't see it. There was a simple solution: Don't break the law, and if you do and are caught, don't resist arrest. I only wish we could make stupidity a crime.

How about we make boot-licking subservience a crime. Or how about we just stop outlawing every damn thing under the sun.

There is a massive chasm. The authorities generally don't run through neighborhoods knifing and shooting people, committing rapes, robberies, etc. I'd rather take my chances with the cops than the hoodlums.

Right there is the entire problem with your logic in this thread: In a free country, we shouldn't harass, accost, assault or otherwise punish people because other people sometimes commit violent acts. Show me where this guy knifed, robbed, shot, raped or otherwise did ANYTHING aggressive before the cop stopped him and confiscated his identification.

Being in a certain neighborhood doesn't make someone a "hoodlum."
 
Why? If you ask me law enforcement is just carrying out rules I never agreed to follow.

Well murderers never agreed to follow the murder laws. Does that mean they are justified in committing murder?
 
I want to punch people when they resist being thrown in my cage when I enforce a rule that I can't prove anyone agreed to follow. That's my dream.

Ahh the extremist libertarian anarchist, so young and naive.
 
Ahh the extremist libertarian anarchist, so young and naive.

Why? All I have to do is become a cop and I can assault people just like this officer did. Hell, I can say it was because I suspected the guy had an illegal knife too. And why wouldn't the guy resist? The officer had a bull**** case, broke the law at least twice, and didn't really bother to explain himself.
 
Maybe I am missing something because i am failing to understand what happened here.

Cop stops the guy for _____________? (missed it)
Now once the guy is stopped I understand asking for ID, and running his name.
But then the guy is arguing about ___________? (missed it)
Did they call the guys name in? (missed it)
Guy tries to walk away. (Is this illegal if you are not under arrest?)
Cop starts putting his hand on the guy. I guess this goes to the last question, I guess if the guy is not allowed to walk away the cop can restrain him, but pushing and provoking the guy into a fist fight on the street?
 
That can be done in court very easily. Especially with technology where it is today. The whole incident was being filmed, at that point, he should have just complied with the officer and then take his evidence to court and make his case.

Not everyone has the resources to hire an attorney.

The problem is starting at the point of contact, it's starting with the police. We should address it there, not on the backend where the officer has even more power over the citizen as their testimony is ALWAYS given greater weight.

It's not a even playing field.
 
Why? All I have to do is become a cop and I can assault people just like this officer did. Hell, I can say it was because I suspected the guy had an illegal knife too. And why wouldn't the guy resist? The officer had a bull**** case, broke the law at least twice, and didn't really bother to explain himself.

Huh huh. Yes, that's what cops are all about, you got it figured out. I bet you're the first guy calling the cops cause your neighbor is dumping leaves on your lawn!
 
In order to resist arrest, there must be something to arrest someone over. Duh

Fascist logic.

While you call it fascist logic...I call it liberal logic. Its liberal policies that are getting people ****ed with, its liberal policies that made the arrest justified, duh. Unintended consequences are the mother****er, arent they lib?
 
Huh huh. Yes, that's what cops are all about, you got it figured out. I bet you're the first guy calling the cops cause your neighbor is dumping leaves on your lawn!

Really now, I live in the middle of no where with only an old lady as my neighbor a good mile away. Do you really think I suffer from neighbor issues?
 
While you call it fascist logic...I call it liberal logic. Its liberal policies that are getting people ****ed with, its liberal policies that made the arrest justified, duh. Unintended consequences are the mother****er, arent they lib?

Please specify with liberal policies you're referring to. As a liberal, I'd absolutely fight along side any conservative that opposing such abuses of our rights as Americans.
 
While you call it fascist logic...I call it liberal logic. Its liberal policies that are getting people ****ed with, its liberal policies that made the arrest justified, duh. Unintended consequences are the mother****er, arent they lib?

To which "liberal policies" are you referring? Be specific.
 
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