Still no word on Storrow Drive truck smashes, but we do have our first student drinking-in-public arrest
By adamg - 8/30/10 - 4:57 pm
Honors go to the BU kid allegedly sipping booze out of a McDonald's cup shortly before 1 a.m. today on Ashford street:
When officers asked the male what was in the cup he refused to answer and continued to walk.
That was, as they say, a mistake.
Comments
Must be graduating...
...magnum cum laude
What gives the cops the right
Okay, I'll bite.
Over at another post, people are asking if a police officer can stop a bicyclist violating the law.
So, if the logic of some holds, shouldn't little baby BU-ite been able to walk away from the cops and go on his way.
Jus' sayin'
Probable Cause
If they smelled it, they can ask about it.
If they have no reason to stop a pedestrian or a cyclist, they can't.
This is aside from the issues of drinking age debates and whether drinking in public should be a big deal absent other misbehavior.
Looks like he littered too.
So there was the first crime.
Littering and... littering
Littering and... littering and... littering and...
Exactly
Not here for 24 hours and he already treats laws as mere formalities. Why not just send the little (expletive) back to where he came from? He's not making this city any money. He doesn't work. Cut bait.
Um...
...he may or may not be working, but he is *spending*. That helps Boston's economy.
You may consider taking a basics Economics course.
Back where he came from?
Back where he came from? The police report says he's from Brighton.
I wish someone would send
(expletive) Will the delicate little tulip back to wherever he came from. Trivia-land?
Sober up, beer guy...
...and try again!
Totally sober
Just stressed from packing and moving. Want to help? We'll give
you food and beer!
He ain't from Brighton -- Try Boylston
Facebook entry appears to indicate he graduated St. John's High School in 2009 and has a hometown of Boylston, MA.
Police report of his Brighton address probably means he's an off-campus BU student.
actually...
all the money in boston comes from college kids. their parents send more money to boston than anyone makes there. if you make money in boston, you work for this kid, or his parent's at least.
Probable cause isn't the standard for a stop. Suspicion is.
a) A police officer never cease to be a citizen and has every right to walk up to you and say hello or even ask what's in the cup.
b) In Terry v. Ohio, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a person can be stopped and briefly detained by a police officer based on a reasonable suspicion (which is a lower standard than probable cause) of involvement in a crime (public drinking and underage drinking are both arrestable). If the officer additionally has reasonable suspicion that the person is armed, the officer may perform a search of the person's outer garments for weapons. Such a detention does not violate the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizure, though it must be brief. Reasonable suspicion does not provide grounds for arrest; however, an arrest can be made if facts discovered during the detention provide probable cause that the suspect has committed a crime.
the thing that bothers me is
the thing that bothers me is that there are all these shootings and other big crimes that are happening. And a drunk or buzzed student drinking on the street is causing the city harm how exactly?
It's a quality of life issue.
It's a quality of life issue. When these drunk idiots start littering, pissing, puking, vandalizing property, and generally being loud assholes at 3am on a work night, it hurts neighborhoods.
Then arrest them
for littering, pissing, puking, vandalizing property, and disorderly behavior.
Plenty of sober douchbags get into that stuff, too.
Really?
Yes, sober douchebags get up to those hijinx as well, but drunkenness does seem to bring out the worst in many of these folks. Are you really saying that you think the police should wait until they've actually escalated to vandalism, etc. rather than trying to nip the situation in the bud by busting them for drinking violations?
Well,
I would bet that the BPD are quite concerned about the violent crime situation. However, drunk college students still provide plenty of work for them. The majority of late night disturbances and property damage in my neighborhood are caused by drunk students.
What bothers me...
...is that you seem to think all police officers are focusing on students and ignoring the shootings and other violent crime. It's what is called an inaccurate premise.
I won't answer your question as others have already done so.
The BPD post says he was
The BPD post says he was charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol, MGL 138-34C (as well as public drinking, a city ordinance).
Did that state law change recently? I didn't think it was illegal for minors to possess or drink alcohol, just to buy it or have it in a car.
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/138-34c.htm does say it's illegal for a minor to possess, transport, or carry alcohol on his person. But the title of the section says "operation of motor vehicle containing alcoholic beverage". Did the legislature recently change this law from banning minors from having alcohol in a car, to banning having it altogether?
No, there is a semicolon there.
This law has been around for a long time.
The title of the section
The title of the section is:
"Minors; operation of motor vehicle containing alcoholic beverage; suspension of driver's license"
The semicolons don't change my interpretation of the title. And the actual text of the law says nothing about operating a motor vehicle containing alcoholic beverage.
But maybe I was misremembering the lack of a law against underage *consumption* of alcohol.
Oh ok, I see what you are talking about.
Yea you are right, it doesn't have to do with alcohol in a vehicle, just that anyone under 21 that gets convicted for this crime gets his drivers license taken away for 90 days.
But minors cannot possess alcohol anywhere in public except for a few exceptions (working, parents permission etc.)