A Stitch in Haste

A while back I caught some flak for defending the police officers who fired at a man who was using his own daughter as a "human shield" while firing at police. The toddler was unfortunately killed in the crossfire (which means of course that the father murdered her, even if it happened to be a police bullet that caused her death).

My thesis was that armed combat is such an unusual situation that laypersons are simply not equipped to pass judgment on those who encounter it, whether as soldiers or as police.

But this isn't that:

Police in New Orleans have suspended three officers and launched a criminal investigation after a 64-year-old man was filmed being beaten in the street.

Robert Davis was being arrested for drunkenness, but a police spokesman said the amount of force used was "not appropriate".
...
The officers, charged with battery, will appear in court at a later date.

Entirely as it should be. You don't have to be a police officer to be entitled to condemn this criminal behavior. How much of a threat can an unarmed 64-year old drunk be to three police officers?

Also disconcerting, but no longer unusual, is the practice of police attempting to intimidate those who record police activity:

Meanwhile, a fifth officer ordered [Associated Press Television News] producer Rich Matthews and the cameraman to stop recording. When Matthews held up his credentials and explained that he was working, the officer grabbed the producer, leaned him backward over a car, jabbed him in the stomach and unleashed a profanity-laced tirade.

Um, no. That which occurs in public is subject to being recorded by the public. The police do not have a right to conduct their business -- whether lawful or not -- free from public scrutiny, only free from public interference.

One wonders what more intimidation the police officer might have attempted had it not been a credentialed member of the press but just an ordinary citizen with a camcorder or camera-phone?

There was a time when rank-and-file police were given at least a rudimentary training in constitutional law as it applied to law enforcement. Hopefully this disgraceful incident will lead to some refresher courses around the country, starting with this basic rule: People have a right to record public activity, including public police activity.