Editorial Bear

Historian 'pinned to ground by US police and beaten for jaywalking'
By Laura Clout 11/01/2007

A distinguished British historian claims he was knocked to the ground by an American policeman before being arrested and spending eight hours in jail — because he crossed the road in the wrong place.

Prof Fernandez-Armesto after crossing the street in the wrong place

Felipe Fernandez-Armesto said he had been the victim of "terrible, terrible violence" after he inadvertently committed the offence of "jaywalking" in Atlanta, Georgia, last week and failed to realise the man telling him to stop was an officer. Full story here.

From my experiences in New York, I developed a generally positive opinion of US Cops. The whole organisation of the American police force is dramatically different to the UK, but I still feel it's effective. While Guilliani's 'zero tolerance' approach to crime in Manhattan was brutal enough to leave law abiding citizens fearing arrest (there was even an article in the New Yorker entitled: What to do if you're arrested) it was incredible effective at stopping crime.

But those strengths are also possible weaknesses.

Each 'county' has a police force. On Long Island, we had the Suffolk County Police, the Nassau County Police and of course the good ol' NYPD in Manhattan. Depending on the severity of the offence, you could cross a 'county line' and the police would no longer have jurisdiction to arrest you (just like in Dukes of Hazzard.)

Each localised police authority has deep roots in the local community. On Long Island, I know the police were generally seen as positive, sympathetic and effective. Their motto was: "Don't mistake kindness for weakness."

But these deep community roots can allow injustice to occur.

That's because localised police forces lack accountability. If a policeman steps out of line, his comrades will quickly close ranks to protect him. The local police force will stick tightly together and complaining about the conduct of a local officer will make an enemy of the entire county police force. Most people wouldn't dare do it. Hence most police misconduct goes unreported and unpunished.

That lack of accountability has sometimes given police officers an arrogant attitude.That's the root cause of this particular problem.

Our humble professor did not recognize that the man shouting curtly at him was a police officer. Therefore he did not show the officer the expected level of 'respect.' If he'd have simply doffed his cap, this would never have occured. Unfortuntely the professor didn't realise he was talking to a policeman and reacted how anybody would when confronted by a curt, angry and downright rude man.

We're lucky that the judge in question immediately saw the injustice that had occured and dropped the charges. But then, while police officers can sometimes be above the law, judges in America are more accountable than they are back in England.

The judiciary in America is elected locally, whereas British judges are 'selected' by parliament. Although that election process allows for corruption, it also means judges have to think very hard about how the voters will react to each judgement they make.

That's why justice was eventually done and hopefully the resultant investigation will punish the officer in question. He should have clearly identified himself. When the officer was asked by Fernandez-Armesto for ID, he shouldn't have taken offence at the statement. He should have clearly shown his badge.

The officer was clearly in the wrong and will deserve everything he has coming to him (although that will probably be just a slap on the wrist.)

The real moral of the story is to always treat American police officers with respect, as I'm sure Ferandez-Armesto would have done, if he'd known who the officer was.

While their conduct might sometimes seem brusque or even arrogant, Police Officers in America face a much more dangerous and challenging environment than their peers in England.

Concealed weapons are not the exception, they're the rule. You can understand why a man facing death every day might seem edgy.

And the real truth of the matter is this: Whilst they might come across as rude, every Police Officer in America is out there enforcing the law and protecting the public - and risking their lives to do it. We might complain about them in the day-to-day, but when we're attacked, or robbed, or wronged... We're damn glad to see them.