Takedown in an Allston apartment
Allston, early Saturday. Adam Taylor Young on the ground.
Adam Taylor Young reports a group of BPD motorcycle cops busted into his Wadsworth Street apartment around 1:15 a.m. on Saturday:
My roommates, were quietly conversing on the front porch of our residence. I was inside, noted their arrival and closed my door. One officer who refused to identify himself, assaulted one of my roommates who was outside with a baton, and attempted to open the door. I was on the other side, pushing it closed. When he ordered me to let him in, I requested a reason for him to enter my home, and he refused to answer me. With the help of 1 or 2 other officers, he pushed the door open, entered my home, and assaulted one of my roommates who was not involved or aware of what was happening with his baton, before pushing me against the wall and asking me questions. I refused to answer until they gave me a reason for entering my home. They did not comply, so I did not comply. They asked for my identification, and knowing my rights, I informed them that I was not legally obligated to show them my identification within the commonwealth of Massachusetts, unless I was lawfully detained. I was then assaulted with a baton, and pushed to the ground. The officers put their knees on my elbow and threatened to “break my fucking arm” if I tried to move.
Somebody else who says he was there, however, says that while the cops may have gone too far:
There were 10 or 11 of us and we'd been pretty loud a few minutes before they showed up. About 4 people singing loudly off key for several minutes. A noise complaint isn't out of the realm of possibility though it is just as likely that the cops were cruising by and decided to bust up the "party". I don't recall them ever citing a noise complaint or giving any reasons beyond "Because I fucking said so. Do you want to get arrested?"
Peter Senzamici writes he was at the house:
I walked away at the start but could hear the officers screaming from a block away.
Comments
Looks like Boston Cops are
Looks like Boston Cops are taking instructions from Cambridge cops in Gates-gate.
So what you're saying is...
....the audio of the entire event has been recorded on police lapel mic and the cops will be completely exonerated?
I disagree, I think the Boston Cops used excessive force here.
Do you like going to work
dressed like you're about to invade Poland?
HAH! Godwin's law in less than 24 hours! Do you like living
...in your mommy's basement?
Wow did you think that response up all by yourself "anon?" Of course not.
So let me see, I CRITICIZE the Boston Police and that makes me a Nazi.
You're quite brilliant "anon"--why not register with a uHub username so you can take credit for all the future fine examples of critical thinking that you pull out of your ass?
where are you getting your
where are you getting your facts? nobody was assaulted in the so-called "gates-gate" incident. that was just a self-victimizing loser professor trying to make a false point
Which part was false
The part where the cop was in his house with no cause or the part where the cop cuffed him and led him out in front of all his neighbors for no reason?
The cop and the professor have been really cool about this since the incident. It's just a shame that the backwards-ass hayseeds in the comments sections can't do the same.
Sometimes I don't know
Are the police really ignorant of the law or do they just not care?
If they don't know the law, why are they not trained properly?
If they know they're breaking the law, who is policing the police?
Maybe they should move to NYC
If they can't get over their bullying antics they learned in high school, can't grow up, can't learn or do their jobs ...
It's what happens
when you hire ex-marines for police work.
They see it as war.
Veterans, ty4 your service
Not necessarily marines but veterans who were trained in military techniques before police school.
I'd love to see some journalism done in this area to identify what techniques are being used in civilian policing now that were not before the US started policing Iraq.
Hey jackass, that "ex-marine"
Hey jackass, that "ex-marine" risked his life for you didn't he? How about you have a little respect for the individuals who were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice so you could roll up in your parents BMW to go to a college that's $50,000 dollars a year. Have some respect because that "ex-marine" is doing his job to keep idiots like you in line.
Warning
Internet tough guy
Whatever
Members of the armed forces are doing jobs just like anyone else. If he didn't go, someone else would have and he was compensated for it both monetarily, with scholarship money and with VA benefits (which, while admittedly awful, are still more than the average unemployed schlub has. "Ultimate sacrifice." I love when the jingoheads use that word. Pat Tillman made the "ultimate sacrifice" and was killed by his own men. Troops in Iraq made the "ultimate sacrifice" by going to war against a regime that never attacked the U.S.
Don't hate because some kid got into a $50,000 a year school and some "ex-marine" didn't take advantage of armed forces scholarship benefits and, instead, decided to clean up that kid's puke for a living. That's a big reason why that "ex-marine" is "ex" and not an officer or an Annapolis grad: Because he's a sandbag in every aspect of his life and only does his job well enough to not get discharged.
wow
good trolling, but this isn't the place for it.
You're so closed minded it
You're so closed minded it isn't even funny. Your just another liberal thinking that this country is perfect. Anyone would have gone to war, but did you? Are you going to fight over sea's? Did you not witness September 11th? Clearly you weren't impacted. Do I think we've been there way to long yeah, but it doesn't me I'm gonna go around bashing the troops! They are out there because your lazy ass would rather live in your shit hole apartment and act like your higher then God. You think you know everything, but can you answer these questions, I bet you can't. How do you know that officer in the picture isn't a commissioned officer, do you know him? How do you know if he went to college or not? Doesn't look like he's cleaning up anyones puke, but just giving some scumbag exactly what he deserved. He asks you for identification frigin give it up, you think he wants to spend his saturday night busting stupid college kids? Trust me that's the last thing he wants to be doing. Whether he was a veteran or not you'd still have a problem with these guys doing his job. He actually has a job and busted his ass to get there I'm sure. Does that kid have a job? He's what 22 years old? Grow the hell up I'm younger then you and I'm still more mature then you! Have you seen the apartment is shit hole!
By the way I got into a 50,000 dollar a year school, but my parents raised me right. I have respect for those who serve our country.
He risks his life as an officer on a daily basis for you. You want to go bust down doors and not know whats on the other side? You want to know the feeling of knowing whether or not your going to be able to kiss your feature wife and kids again before you leave for work? Go through life with that feeling. Then make a post about how "He's a sandbag", because frankly all you are to me is a piece of shit. :) Have a fabulous day living in your sheltered world!
I have the utmost respect
for them and their service. I also think private employers should make more of an effort to hire them and that they should get preferential treatment for all public positions where they're qualified to work. They deserve free college, and the best healthcare we can afford them.
That said, I absolutely don't think they should be considered for police work. The police are public servants, not the military as many ex-military fellows treat it.
They bring their training with them. That's not a good combination. They weren't trained for police work, they were trained to kill the enemy. They're conditioned into an elite brotherhood. When the citizens become the "enemy" to be dealt with by the police, well, you get the things happening like the above. And lets face it, the Police don't have the same accountability going up the chain of command that the military does.
Two things have happened over the last 30 years or so; The police have become much more militarized, and they've added lots and lots off ex-service members to their ranks.
But yeah, thanks for proving my point. Having an opinion makes me the enemy and I must be put in my place.
We need smart cops, not hotheads with a us vs them mentality.
risked his life for me for what exactly?
Blowing up one of a hundred thousand innocent afghanis in my name? Or fighting a war against Iraq, a country that never threatened us, never harbored terrorists, never had weapons of mass destruction?
When you shoot someone trying to invade the United States, you can ask me to thank you for risking your life for me.
Oh I don't know maybe he's
Oh I don't know maybe he's risking his life because hundreds of people were murder on 9/11...might be just a hunch though!
You've really got it all
You've really got it all figured out, don't you, troll.
Bahahah a troll? Nah actually
Bahahah a troll? Nah actually I'm normal height, but nice try! Difference between you and me is I'm not a crazy liberal like you! My mommy doesn't wipe my ass for me and my daddy doesn't bail me out when I screw up. Btw I got to a $50,000 school...but I have some common sense and respect...two qualities you are clearly lacking. Continue living in your fairy tale world :)
Um, sorry, but sticking up
Um, sorry, but sticking up for cops and vets makes me a liberal internet troll? WOW! YOU are the one who are berating those who served in the military, coward. You've really got your head up your ass. My mommy isn't wiping my ass nor is my daddy bailing me out. BTW, I started working at age 14, went to state school and didn't bury myself in debt like you did; never had the cops called on me nor did I drink myself into oblivion while in college. Sorry if that offends you, assface.
Uh oh.....I think I replied
Uh oh.....I think I replied to the wrong post! Who was the "troll" reference toward? Shit sorry!
intended troll ref. aimed at person berating military vets
I was calling this person a troll:
Should have made that clear. Sorry about that!
has it occured to you that,
has it occured to you that, just like this kid doesn't actually know anything about the police in question, you don't know anything about him?
furthermore, ideas should be weighed on their merits, regardless of the messenger. do you really think that protecting and serving the community means treating the community like punching bags? what if an army sergeant suggested that police tactics have become too militaristic?
and before you even start, i'm a 32 yr old man who took a couple classes at roxbury community college, and a class at BC because i worked in a cafeteria full time and the tuition was free.
Not funny
I'm surprised they didn't add charges for taking pictures. MA is an especially egregious contributor to the "War on Cameras"
MA loves it's police though. This type of action is nothing new.
MA egregious contributor to "War on Cameras"
Not any more.
stop complaining
They have hard jobs and they are ALWAYS right. Right Pete?
You weren't there.
Those guys are probably lying.
I'm sure they left out important facts.
One of them was probably had an eight ball in his pocket.
It wasn't $3 million for cracking his head and sending him to the hospital in a coma, it was $3 million because the ambulance didn't come when it was supposed to.
The guy had it coming, he J walked. That's a crime!
These kids a fuckin pussies. They make me sick. I'm sure at one time or another they broke the law. They had this coming for a LONG LONG time.
When I was on the police force, we used to do this just for fun. You should have seen the look on their faces. LOLZ.
You'll never understand unless you've done the job. We don't have time to worry about complying with excessive regulation.
These poor cops aren't paid enough to know what they can and cannot do.
How exactly would the cops
How exactly would the cops know whether or not any of them had an "8 ball in his pocket"?
How are these kids pussies? Because they know their rights?
You used to do this for fun? No time to learn the LAWS THAT YOU'RE ENFORCING huh? Real cool, buddy. You're really giving the BPD a good name right now. People like you are the reason that I'm afraid to talk to police, even if I need their help. Apparently you're just looking for an excuse to bust my head open.
Smart move, bro
"I informed them that I was not legally obligated to show them my identification within the commonwealth of Massachusetts, unless I was lawfully detained."
Really? Does that line work well for you?
Depends.
Does asserting one's rights, while being unlawfully assaulted by instruments of the state, work well? Well, that depends: do the cops care that they're actively breaking the law. In this case, no and no.
why is it always the conservatives
who spend their time wrapping themselves in the flag and acting like freedom clowns, who are the first to excuse improper and illegal law enforcement?
funny, I know someone with a similar story
First off: the kid's wrong about ID. A MA cop can ask you for your name and address, and you can be arrested for not complying.
Anyway....
I met someone who told me about how she spent her birthday in jail.
She's having a birthday party. Police show up, say they've had an noise complaint. She says sure, no problem, we'll turn down the music, etc.
They do. The cops show up again anyway, and tell her "party's over". So everyone says goodbye to her and leaves, and one of the cops takes down her information.
After all her friends have left, another cop comes into the kitchen and demands her info.
"I just gave it to the other officer, can't you get it from him?"
"No."
"I don't underst..."
...and then she finds herself spun around, slammed against the kitchen counter, handcuffed, thrown into a police car, and spends the night in a party dress, on her birthday, crying, until friends bail her out early that morning.
With several lawyers to choose from amongst her friends, she ends up in court charged with resisting arrest and assault on a police officer. The judge looks at her, (4'11", thin), looks at the 5'11" cop, and says "Really? She resisted you and assaulted you? Her? Charges dismissed."
Her lawyer barely had to even open his mouth. Speaks volumes about how often these bullshit charges probably come up.
http://flexyourrights.org/faq
http://flexyourrights.org/faq/When_do_I_have_to_show_ID
Police can always ask you for
Police can always ask you for your ID. Mass doesn't have a law that specifically states you are required to provide it (unless you're driving). If police have "reasonable suspicion" that you have been involved in a crime, then they have the right to detain you (for a reasonable amount of time) and investigate further, including gathering and verifying your name. Not providing your information will affect what is considered a reasonable amount of time. Giving false information is a crime.
Sorry this is not correct. By
Sorry this is not correct.
By law, you do not have to identify yourself, or show an ID, or give a name/address unless you are being put under arrest.
Given that.....many cops will not like you citing that you are within your rights...and find something to arrest you for. (possible for the catch-all: "suspicion of..." or "disorderly conduct".)
I believe driving might be a different scenario, where you can be ask for your license and registration.
But, no, by law you are not required to identify yourself unless the officer is arresting you. In practicality, don't piss off an officer, or he will do anything he can to maintain the upper hand.
wrong but close.
You don't have to do give your name, but you can be arrested for not giving it in many cases.
Loud Parties are one of them. Once someone calls and is "disturbed" by the peace, the person disturbing the peace can legally be arrested if they are still disturbing when the police show up. Now most cops (depending on the location/policies) are going to take different approaches. Some major cities will wait until they get 2 or 3 calls before they send officers since it is a low priority call (they do this with gunshot calls too since usually numerous people will call for gunshots, but one person might call and think its a gunshot for fireworks). Anyway, then officers can show up and tell them to quiet down and then leave. Or they can tell them to make everyone leave that doesn't live there and not cite them, or they can make everyone leave and write them a civil warning, then a civil fine, then they can summonse them for disturbing the peace and finally they can just arrest for distrubing the peace.
So no, you don't have to identify yourself, but you will have to after you get arrested if you want to make bail.
what are Special Operations doing?
Don't they have a VIP to escort or a parade to watch?
Do you even know what Special
Do you even know what Special Operations consists of? Yeah they may do escorts...but a majority of those guys are on SWAT AND the bomb squad. That could VERY well be on the entry team. Get your fact straight.
Or...
there's a lot more to this than what's posted, and it'll be a he-said-she-said back and forth (like the kid getting busted at RCC) until (most likely) the police are deemed to have acted within their rules and guidelines.
Or... the man really IS trying to keep you down.
Please Leave Our City!
I can not belive you come to my yes MY CITY AND STATE and are asshole to the neighborhood.The police will do what is need to keep in peace, and if cracking a skull or to is need SO BE IT!!!
Please leave my country, idiot
One would think that somebody living in the cradle of liberty would have bothered at some point to read the, you know, US CONSTITUTION?
Oh, right. It isn't the townie constitution, so you probably never heard of it.
Cradle of Liberty, you say?
Are you saying they LIVE in Faneui Hall?????
I was born in Boston, and
I was born in Boston, and have lived in Massachusetts for my entire life. You're a professional idiot. Our city would be a better, more respected place without age bigots like you.
YOU can leave MY city if you
YOU can leave MY city if you think the police should ever be "cracking skulls" of people you don't like.
obvi
obviously english isn't your first language... so maybe you should leave my, yes MY country if you believe in an oppressive and abusive police force.
The Asian Tiger bites back
sounds like somebody is sick of staying up all night and having his neighborhood trashed. Look out, he has millions of yellow nephews studying algebra while you guys are getting bombed and blowing off your Lady Gaga class.
What is this..?
The Ulysses of blog putdowns? It's all getting too stream of consciousness...I can't follow...
I think EM Painter is riffing off the
"all your base are belong to us" syntax in the comment by anon suggesting that Adam Taylor Young "please leave our city". I could be wrong on that. I find "The Third Policeman" by Flann O'Brien to be a better key to understanding UHUB comments. Specifically, his notion that prolonged bicycle riding can cause an interchange of molecules between mount and rider which causes each to assume the characteristics of the other. So Kaz and Brett are .............
Although I have made two light-hearted comments on this thread, if this event occurred as described, it is a disturbing breach of Adam's constitutional rights.
Interchange of molecules is it
That explains the numbness down there.
Even if...
Even if there were people talking loudly and or singing (off key or not), is that grounds for physical action? I have seen far too many instances of this "Because I said so" mentality within the police forces across various jurisdictions. It seems to be increasing, and cops wonder why they don't get the "respect" that they think they deserve just for wearing the uniform. If anything, the uniform and the past actions that it represents tells me that I shouldn't respect them until they prove they deserve it. They rarely do.
Singing off-key should always
Singing off-key should always be grounds for an arrest. Singing loudly? Depends on the song.
So UHub is turning in to
So UHub is turning in to college students bitching about cops? Citizen journalism at it's most sophomoric.
Oh so you don't follow the
Oh so you don't follow the twitter feed that's basically RT's of every person who's train is 47 seconds late and DEMANDING action by the MBTA. It used to be useful but the noise lately is just awful.
Go back to reading the Globe then
I'm sure the globe will happily ignore this story. I think it is a good thing that these smaller incidents are being brought to light.
was Officer McManus working
was Officer McManus working Saturday night?
Oh wait no students went to the ER or the morgue-- I guess not.
Lol
snot nosed hipsters waking up the neighborhood till,BANG! Fat bike cop tears in and starts smacking thier moustaches off their face. Hipsters try to run, but their pants are too tight, and they fall. Feeble!
Go read the constitution
... and some US history while you are at it, please.
This is pretty basic original intent stuff here.
Memo to the College kids/young adults
When you fight the power, the power fights back. You're better off trying to vindicate yourself on the backend, rather than in the heat of the moment (go ahead and file that civil complaint if you're so confident you did nothing wrong and your civil rights were violated). All you are likely to do in the heat of the moment is talk yourself into an additional charge for resisting arrest, etc.
One of the last things my father (who had more than his fair share of run-ins with the police) said to me before came here for college, quite a while ago now, was "I don't give a shit how right you are, or whether you were doing something or not, your answer to the police is 'yes, sir, no, sir', and we'll sort it out on the other side."
I still think that was good advice. It at least served me well. But then again, I wasn't raised to believe that I was always right and could do no wrong. As a matter of fact, the few times I really effed up, I would venture to say I was treated a lot rougher by my dad than these kids seemed to have been by the police. Maybe that's the difference right there - some of us had earlier opportunities to learn that we weren't quite as tough as we thought.
teaching mine to aim
... for the head of any and all home invaders.
Dad's a dumbass
Aim for center mass, or else you're grass.
The reason why...
The reason why your dad was so insistent on you saying "yes sir, no sir" to the police was probably because he realizes how insane they can be and didn't want you to get your ass kicked, since that's how they operate. When police are conditioned to treat everyone as an enemy and a criminal, this is what happens. Do a quick youtube search for videos of the police "serving and protecting". The girl that ended up in jail on her birthday is lucky that's all she got. I was expecting that story to end with her getting raped in her apartment by the second cop, since all the witnesses were gone.
Your sample size is really
Your sample size is really police who end up with videos of them on the internet?
For every cop who ends up in a YouTube video (that started probably 5 minutes after the incident it portrays), there's dozens more doing a great job protecting us who DON'T end up in the news (with the exception of those who get hurt in the line of duty, and even they're relegated to the middle pages of the paper, whereas shit like this ends up on the front page and in tons of your little tweets).
so basically, you're advocating for child abuse
Seems like you just romanticized child abuse (your father beating you)
Nothing I say on things like this can be explained "basically"
If you want commentary for simpletons, I would recommend the Herald site.
You missed my point entirely. First off, what I said hardly constitutes romanticizing. I was cracked a time or two, which is not child abuse in my view (if it is in yours, you must be one of my anonymous neighbors in Brookline - pleased to meet you), particularly since I was probably 6'3" and 185lbs and hardly defenseless. It might help to tell you that in one case, I was struck by my father because I had just lightly pushed my mother away from me.
In any case, the point I was making was that this kid was, by his own account, not even hit ("assaulted" with a baton means that it was held in such a way to make him apprehensive that he would be hit by it, and he admitted he was put on the ground by another means.) If he meant to say that he was hit, he should have said that (but since he seems to have been ill-advisedly throwing around legalese, which did not help him, I'm not surprised he got it wrong). He has not alleged the Rodney King or Roxbury Community College-type incident that others are reading into this.
Further, as someone else mentioned, this likely became a Terry-type situation at some point (perhaps when he tried to close the door on the cops), because in the circumstances as described, a cop could have then formed a reasonable suspicion that a crime was being, or was about to be committed, in which case he is authorized to take measures to ensure his own safety (such as a pat-frisk, or if the subject is not cooperative, putting him on the ground so that he can be searched for a weapon).
Before you write back about how this is not right, take my word for it when I tell you that this is how the analysis will go in the courts if it gets there, which it won't for that very reason.
im with you isaacg
growing up here i had my fair share of run ins with the BPD. i learned pretty quickly that a few "yes sirs", "no sirs" go a long way. its usually the "do you know who my father is?" or "i know my rights/i'll have your job" asshole that gets cuffed and locked up for a few hours. shut your mouth, put down your beer, say goood night to courtney and finn and be on your way. its a good way to avoid having to go to court on monday morning.(you should also thank your lucky stars its not 1992 because broken noses were not uncommon).
last week everyone was trying to figure out ways the city could deal with out of control parties and college kids tearing shit up. they call it "mop up weekend". they go out and they arrest everybody for every little offense. it sends a message and it might keep more kids from thinking they have the right to do whatever the fuck they want because its their apartment.
september is always fun around here.
City kids just know
Bostnkid and issacg just know what's up. I can't tell you how many times I've yessired my way out of dumb shit (drinking/blazing in public, speeding 15 over on Comm Ave). I don't even have a strong Boston accent, but I put it on heavy for the BPD and it always works. No jokes.
Lastly, I'm no ardent defender of the BPD, but I'll take them over the mooks on Linden/Pratt/Ashford any day of the week. If you tear shit up for a whole month, you get tore up. STFU and deal with it.
Moved to Pratt
After College for a year.
Worked 7am-3pm, and needed to get to bed early. Never, ever had a problem.
Same thing before when I worked for a moving company and subleased in Someville.
Neighbors in college areas are very, very unreasonable IMO. They think that deal on their house / condo was all their doing, and not because they have to share it with people who think they're actually living in a city.
Pratt street on a bad night is quieter than a residential street in Brooklyn on a good night.
Soooo...
...as a child you were physically abused by your father ...good for you! Helps to explain that Stockholm syndrome you got. Although I do agree with your dad's strategic advice. Best to go quietly until you get to the point where you can actually do something against an attitude with a badge. Record as much as you can, because otherwise it's his word against yours.
Things like this make community policing sound like such horseshit.
Wow. First of all, I don't
Wow.
First of all, I don't think I know a single person that I grew up with that didn't get knocked once or twice by Mom or Dad. Is child abuse a problem? Absolutely. Does getting a smack in the mouth or soap in your mouth when you tell your mother to fuck off abuse? No. Brass knuckles to the face or bleach in your mouth? Yeah, probably. There's a line, and you can tell by where people draw the line how entitled they feel.
Since you think a couple smacks is child abuse, here's your silver spoon back.
Wow.
Wow.
First of all, you don't know me. And some sort of magical equation between not being whacked around and having a sense of entitlement makes no sense. Have you looked up what entitlement means? Did you understand it? Doesn't sound it. Here's your plastic spork back. Cram it.
One officer who refused to
If I read that correctly, the roommate was outside with the baton. No?
Perhaps the grammar police should have shown up, as well.
Scary stuff. I hope this
Scary stuff.
I hope this posting attracts the attention of elected officials and the mainstream media.
Soooo....then what happened?
Soooo....then what happened? Arrests? Citations? Or did they just rush in, beat everyone up, and leave?
Citations
ugh
Sad, musta been a slow weekend for the BPD.
I hope these kids (or their parents) have good lawyers. This is an easy win. There's such a thing as 'excessive force'.
*shakes head* really? over loud music? really? *shakes head* Your tax dollars at work.
(And I second the 'when you hire marines to do a cops job' comment. Some of these ex-military gone police force take their jobs FAR too seriously.
We're only hearing one side
We're only hearing one side of the story. Before rushing to judgement and suggesting these young adults get their 'do you know who my mommy and daddy are' parents involved, you might want to hear the OTHER side of the story. Lots of us have gone to college without disrupting neighbors, having the cops show up at our door or having our mommies and daddies call their lawyers.
WHEN will people learn...
Whether it's Professor Henry Gates or annoying Allston hipsters (and these folks DEFINITELY sound like annoying Allston hipsters), DON'T get all wiseass to the police when they are in that seige mentality, whether you are right or wrong. It can only come to no good. Don't start with all that "I know my rights" thing. They KNOW you know your rights, they don't care. You think it's going to stop them? Or does it make you feel better to mouth off? They are just dying for any trace of resistance, so they can arrest you. What is so hard to understand about that? In the heat of the moment you cannot win against them. File a civil complaint after the fact. You may or may not get any satisfactory results from that, but it's still better than being a wiseass and getting your head bashed.
When will people learn ...
... what the words HOME INVASION and WARRANT mean?
Some people clearly want to go back to the good old days of the US "justice" system, when the cops did what they wanted with anyone deemed to be a lesser person, and nobody dared question it - even on basic, original intent, constitutional terms.
Don't be a wise-ass, obviously, but
... you have to say something. Silence is taken as implicit consent for search. It's wrong, and it's fucked up, but that's how it is in this liberty-challenged age. You have to explicitly state that you do not consent to search, and you must ask whether you are being detained or not.
Use of force due to age of civilians?
I had neighbors who were weekend warriors of an alcoholic bent. There parties were loud enough to merit police visits. One night the cops visited twice. Even though the neighbors had demonstrated contempt for the cops by ignoring the first warning the cops did not resort to arresting the hosts.
These folks were not college kids or recent college grads. They were in their 30s. While this is an anecdotal comparison I wonder whether the cops used force in this recent instance because they believed that they could act with impunity since these were just college kids.
No Justice No Peace
Fat Drunk and Stupid is no way to go through life. On the other hand the cops were probably on overtime so they shouldn't have overacted to obnoxius drunken students,
I'm sure someone out there will organize a street march of rich white boys abused by the cops.
I have a solution put everyone involved on doubel secret probation,
Police report and comment on the incident
I had originally posted a report here for an incident at 22 Wadsworth, but as noted below, the incident in question happened at 11 Wadsworth.
BPD spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said there is no formal police report for the 11 Wadsworth incident because no criminal charges were brought - Taylor got a civil citation for being a keeper of a disorderly house - and formal reports are not required in such cases.
Driscoll said Police Commissioner Ed Davis has directed D-14 Captain James Hussey to try to arrange a meeting with Taylor to discuss the situation, however.
Driscoll added that over the weekend, "D-14 had approximately 14 arrests and 42 criminal complaints sought for public drinking and other disorder issues. A total of 56 students are being brought to court as part of our stepped up efforts to curtail underage drinking and neighborhood disorder."
A similar effort on Mission Hill over the weekend resulted in a number of arrests and citations as well.
Wrong report.
That's the wrong police report. The incident that took place was at 11 Wadsworth and involved a male tenant.
BPD and the photo
Driscoll said she couldn't comment on the scene in the photo until after Hussey and Taylor meet, because she doesn't know the context of what's going on.
Context of BPD and the photo?
The statement by Driscoll is ridiculous, she has all the context she needs. I am almost sure that is a fixie in the background. I am kidding.
signed,
Sturmey Archer
Not a good look
Doesnt help that this is a motorcycle BPD officer dressed like a stormtrooper. Looks like swat or riot police busting into an apartment and manhandling some college kid for drinking.
Srsly?
This looks like a cartoon character using a ticket book to fan a sad hobo.
Yes but...
..this guy is a "motorcycle cop", so isn't it fitting that he is wearing a motorcycle helmet and boots? Perhaps he should carry a change of clothes in his saddlebag so he can change into something less threatening when dealing with whiny college kids? Maybe say khaki shorts, a white shirt and boat shoes? Would that work for you?
Oh, Hi! I happened to be
Oh, Hi! I happened to be there that night when you broke up the party. Let's address this one item at a time.
The incident occurred at 1:10 A.M. on Sunday, 9/25/11
The incident occurred at 11 Wadsworth St.
No one was inside the apartment at the time and no one was in the backyard. Everyone present was on the front porch with the exception of one roommate who was spending the night in his room having quiet time or whatever people do when they're alone.
Officers did not attempt to establish contact they said "Break this party up." one of those present responded "We're not having a party. We all just came back from a show and we're having a cigarette." The officer then replied "I said get the fuck out of here!"
The youngest person present at 11 Wadsworth that evening was 22 years old.
There were no Emerson students present that night.
No red or blue cups were present. We have self respect.
No MOP units were necessary to disperse the group. Everyone who didn't live at the apartment left shortly after the officers arrived. Two additional motorcycle cops arrived about 15 minutes after the first officers arrived on scene for no readily apparent reason.
Noise complaints were never mentioned.
Three people were struck with police batons for no readily apparent reason.
Officers told the tenant that they would "break his fucking arm" in response to his statement "I'm not resisting arrest."
You're either confusing this police report with the incident that is being discussed here or you're being willfully disingenuous.
Clarification on the police report
I contacted BPD's media-relations office today and told them I was interested in the incident on Wadsworth Street, "the one with the photo" (yes, by now, everybody knows about the photo).
Elaine Driscoll, one of their official spokespeople, e-mailed me the police report I'd originally posted here. For 22 Wadsworth, not 11 Wadsworth. At the time, neither of us knew the actual address (Adam's initial report doesn't mention it, I didn't know it, had no reason to know it and Driscoll didn't realize there had been more than one incident on the street).
Allston Rat City noticed the incorrect address almost immediately after I posted and then tweeted about it. I contacted Driscoll again, told her the address and then, when she checked the BPD computer system, found no report. She got back to me after checking with, I assume, somebody in D-14, to report there was no report because, as I mentioned, there were no arrests, just that citation (in contrast, the incident at 22 Wadsworth involved alleged underage drinking, which is a criminal matter that requires a report).
I would offer more help to
I would offer more help to identify the officer so that you'd have an easier time finding the report but he identified himself as "Officer Friendly" and said that he's been on the force for two years despite his advanced age.
Someone should clue him in
He isn't in Iraq anymore, and home invasion is not PTSD therapy.
SO, how are those murder investigations going in Dorchester???
Meanwhile
People are dying in the park of Dorchester....
BPD's priorities seem majorly fucked up.
Let C-11 take care of C-11
and D-14 take care of D-14
that's the spirit!!! time for
that's the spirit!!!
time for a budget reallocation I guess-- if one has the extra labor to throw a blitzkrieg at drunk adults and the other can't stop weekly assaults in public streets, I guess we need to do some hiring and layoffs.
Amen to that. Banks are
Amen to that.
Banks are getting robbed weekly 4 blocks down the street from C6, meanwhile Dorchester is unsafe to walk around.
But yeah, let's spend money and resources going after drunk kids in their apartments in Allston.
Wicked Smaht
You're On To Something
Let's assign all police to Homicide and send them all to the park of Dorchester. As a benefit, we will save a lot of money because they can wear sport coats instead of uniforms.
this is impressive.
It's interesting that Davis got involved, even if it was to take a few minutes to be briefed and talk to the captain.
This, after BPD's reaction to the helmetcam video, is interesting. Two incidents do not a trend make, but are we seeing a shift? Now that the courts have told BPD they have to play nice with videos, BPD is actually using such stuff when it pops online to engage the public and police itself?
It certainly would be refreshing.
BPD's reaction to the helmetcam video
got a link?
whiney brats
STFU with your stupid partying, nobody wants to hear your BS. I'm glad the police at least approached what every one of your neighbors wish they could do. BRATS, go call Daddy
The Dudes wearing a RED FLANNEL....
The dudes wearing a red flannel. FUCKN JOKER!! Who wouldnt smack the shit out of him. That cop had all the right reasons to kick the door in!!
Just look at the picture.
Just look at the picture. Motorcycle cops don't show up at your apartment unless the BPD is dealing with a complete bunch of assholes that gave the local guys a hard time and had to call for help. There are people with real jobs who are trying to raise families in Allston. To all you half baked lawyers defending these turds who are drinking their first beer since moving from North Andover to Boston and ruining real peoples neighborhoods with loud parties, fuck you. Don't be surprised if the one lighting cars on fire in this neighborhood is a little darling attending a local college and participating in these same loud parties.
Seems like you have everybody
Seems like you have everybody all figured out! Damn, can you tell me every type of person in the world? You must be the coolest guy ever because you know EVERYONE's story, and you've obviously seen it all!
It's a watershed test of personality
Show people a picture of a cop clubbing someone, with no other context, and some people are automatically going to assume that the person deserved to be clubbed.
You Failed It
This isn't a picture of a cop clubbing someone. It's a picture of a cop holding a TICKET BOOK over someone.
it's a picture of
Because the man in the photo was speaking to the officer, a crime was being committed, namely disturbing the peace.
...Which is why the officer could enter the home without a warrant. He was in hot pursuit.
It's a picture of a cop using his forearm to keep himself from falling on a citizen who tripped spontaneously when the officer forced his way into the man's home.
The time says it all.
The time says it all. Nothing good happens after 11. If I were the judge, my first thought would be that this kid was drunk and unable to control himself.
Regardless
of what triggered the cops to show up, you have to be able to see that these officers had some major violations in protocol when handling the situation.
Identifying themselves as "officer friendly"... Telling the kid they would "break my fucking arm"... using his baton and kneeing the kids face into the ground (I have yet to see a police report that says any of these kid were charged with or even mentions resisting arrest). Sounds like these cops watched The Departed a few to many times.
Hope these kids have a good attorney.
So, let me get this straight
A Boston cop is allowed to enter a premises, swat people with his baton, threaten to break body parts, demand identification...but as long as by the end of the night he doesn't hand out anything more than a civil citation, he doesn't have to account for his actions or whereabouts to anyone back at HQ?
I assume if he just decided to shoot the resident in the leg to start with then there'd be a weapon discharge report of some sort he'd have to fill out, right?
So, what about pepper spray or a taser? Why is the baton so much "less than lethal" that he doesn't have to tell someone back at the station house that he physically assaulted someone that night (legally or not)? Why not just punch the guy a few times in the face for talking back and then walk out the door because it "wasn't worth his time to write out the tickets" or something? None the wiser, right?
Sorry, but if a cop wants to tangle with someone, right or wrong, he had better have to tell someone the situation that led to justification of the attack. Hell, most of the time, it'll be for the cop's OWN defense when the person claims he was wrong to assault them. As it is, if the officer felt the need to start knocking heads, then what's his justification for not applying criminal charges? Clearly, he must have tangled with a dangerous criminal and should seek justice on behalf of us all, right? To let him go with just a civil citation means there's now someone out there who thinks it's okay to provoke cops into needing to use their batons and they can get away with it!
If he used his baton
In a way that would constitute force, then a report would have to have been written out. The baton is more force than pepper spray, but I have a feeling the baton wasn't used to smack around kids in the hallway like the kid said.
And no Swirrly, the police don't always need a warrant to go into a house. They can go in to quell a breach of the peace, and this has held up in courts with loud parties in various situations.
If this was the first call for a loud party at this address, then it sounds excessive for a cop to push down the door to identify the owners/renters. The special unit is probably part of the party car which is paid for by private colleges and grants from the BPD/colleges I believe.
Disturbing the Peace
Where is his decibel meter? Did he use it to gauge noise? That's what they used to do.
Or is it now illegal to simply sit on your porch and talk - even though the loudest talking, even yelling, is likely quieter than his motorcycle?
No they don't use those.
If a resident calls and says it is too loud, then the police investigate and decide if it is too loud or not. Many times people complain over a TV thats too loud or a late night gathering which might only be 2 people smoking on a back porch. And 2 people smoking on a back porch at 1am talking can be pretty disruptive to someone trying to sleep 20 feet away.
I'm not going to complain
About something that happened that I know only a single biased perspective of. One thing I can tell for certain is that someone needs a better door.
I'm just gonna complain because I can't get the cops to do this to my neighbors when their parties get out of hand.
I mean, that's the actual book there, right, that he's gonna throw at him?
Look at the Ticket
Noise Violation. 15-20 kids having a loud house party.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls5figHb6Z1qa9keoo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1317223463&Signature=QJLtVlr5r3KOOpMJzrbRmGU98K0%3D
interesting
The ticket says "Numerous empty/full alcoholic beverages present"
So?
That's legal in your own home when you are over 21, if I'm not mistaken.
Officer Unfriendly Home Invader is covering his arse here.
Fight this ticket
If the description of this gathering of people is true, then it sounds as if there was no admissions charged for this party. The city ordinance is ONLY for parties where an admissions is charged and alcohol is served and the time is after 11 PM. NOT EVERY PARTY IS AN "AFTER-HOURS PARTY" as described by city ordinance 16-50 which is what they quoted on the ticket.
16-50 After-Hours Parties
What is the law on noise violation again?
When I was a student living in Boston, it was 55dB at the property line. If there was a "loud party" call, they'd show up and measure it. If it wasn't that loud outside, they'd say "too bad condomoaner, no violation here".
Motorcycles roaring down the street are louder than that - even non-Harleys.
Laws are never written "according to whatever". I somehow doubt that particular statute or city ordinance has even changed in recent years at all - what has changed is the attitude that cops actually are beholden to laws.
From what Former Officer Nice says, it is now "whatever the cop pulls out of his hindbrain and decides is loudishness sorta, depending on ... HEY I'M A COP SEE ...".
I guess today's cops just make stuff up or do what they want/are told rather than, you know, actually verify violations? Sad, sad, sad.
No Swirrly that isn't it.
Where did I say they should make something up? You just like to insert whatever you want because you think you know everything.
I'm talking about when people actually call and complain about noise and then the cops show up. People talking on a back porch isn't going to register on a decible meter, but they can be loud to people sleeping 20 feet away. Ever hear 2 to 3 drunk people at 3am on a back porch? The conversations can be quiet, and then get louder with some laughing, and then quiet again, etc, etc.
This whole thing stems from the police not doing anything about the noise 10+ years ago. Police would show up, see that there wasn't a party and it was just 3 people on the porch, and then leave. Now, people have called the mayors office, city counselor, district captain, school president, etc, and have decided that they wanted to change the law and have someone enforce the 3 people on the porch law.
Then there is the actual act of enforcing it. Most of the time people don't realize they are making noise and they go back inside and apologize to everyone. Some people tell the cops ok, go back inside and wait for the cops to leave, and then go back again. Then the original caller calls back and says the police were unable to quiet them the first time. This process happens over and over until citations on every single loud noise call is the solution that the City came up with.
This has nothing to do with police. You could have the Swirrly Patrol respond to loud parties. What would the Swirrly Patrol do if with 2 people on a front stoop at 3am being kind of quiet, but still talking? Wouldn't someone have to make a decision if people were loud or not?
What is the objective standard?
You know - the one that is IN THE LAW?
THIS IS THE ORDINANCE RIGHT HERE
EVERYTHING you just said adds up to and equals "Cops get to do whatever the hell they want blah blah excuse blah blah procedure blah blah neighborhood mayor blah" and cover their arses with "followed procedure and issued CYA citation". Law enforcement means OBJECTIVELY evaluating the situation according to the written statue or ordinance.
Do you issue speeding tickets based on "I just sorta kinda thought he was going really really fast and the neighbors were complaining about speeders"? Nope - you pace or measure with radar.
The reason that I don't care about and am not buying your "here's the procedure" is because "police procedure" is not always "legal conduct" or even "enforcing the law". It gets used as a cover for questonable conduct. Your very own broad and vague excuses for vast police discretion when noise is measurable are a clear example of a policy intended to intimidate the citizenry, not enforce the law on people actually breaking it. If your supervisor told you to throw a baby off of a cliff because throwing babies off of cliffs was "standard police procedure", doing so in uniform still wouldn't be legal - but I bet you would do it! It would be quite effective at scaring people, keeping them in line, making them fear the police,etc. Wouldn't be legal, though.
As for your "scenario", if people conversing on a porch bothers you 20 feet away (something older people do too), you have two options:
1) move out of the city ... like that would really help, because then the constant car noises would bother your sensitive system
2) get some freaking ear plugs already!
Callling the cops to make far more noise with their traffic and door breaking and repeat trips to do some busting heads in a home invasion should not be one of them - for any number of reasons. Oh, but them keeeds sure rrr skeered of ya now!
Wrong Swirrly
I'm not asking you about what you think people who are trying to sleep in the city should do by either moving out, or buying earplugs. I'm asking you what the Swirrlygirl patrol would do if you were asked to respond to a resident complaint of 2-3 people talking loudly on a porch/stoop.
I already told you what the police did before 2000. They would respond, and then tell the people who called exactly what you said. "move out of the city". "Get some ear plugs", "turn on a fan". Guess what Swirrly, residents didn't want to hear those excuses from the police, and they wouldn't want to hear them from the swirrly patrols either.
So I still would like to know what you would do if you and the swirrly patrol were called to respond to a 2-3 person porch call.
And they use the ordinance citations so they don't have to summons them in for a criminal disturbing the peace charge.
Brings back memories
I was once in this guy's shoes, long ago and far away. Assaulted in a private home and dragged out to the street for no apparent reason. I did give my ID: a few minutes later the cop returned it to me and said to go away. I tried calling 911 and reporting the situation, not sure if that had any effect.
I did not get a citation, but a couple of friends did. That's how we figured out what happened: they had the wrong address written down. The address they put down was for the frat house two doors away, and we learned later there was a fight there. The citations were laughed out of court, of course. We were okay except for a couple bruises and a broken window where the cop had forced entry.
I know there's a lot of so-called "conservatives" out there who like to see military-style violence deployed by the police. There's a reason we have constitutional protections that forbid this kind of behavior on the part of the state. People make mistakes, and police are not immune to that. Unfortunately, it seems that we have never really lived up to our ideals in this society; there are a lot of "conservatives" out there working hard to ensure that we don't. So I'm not surprised at all, really. Much much worse than this incident goes on every day.
I remember at jury duty the judge asked if there was "anyone who would always believe the police are right, no matter what?" I thought that was a silly question at first. But apparently, it is a major problem: there are simply people out there who will make up any excuse for police behavior -- instead of demanding that they do their job properly and lawfully.
Who took the pic
Just a quick question....who actually took the picture?
One of the other guests? Or a neighbor, etc?
Probably an anon
or an anon's mom. Every anon and their mother seemed to be around for this incident.
Has anyone else heard about
Has anyone else heard about the boys jamming one of the cops foot in the door? One of my friends was there and said it happened.....I gotta say if I had my foot jammed in a door I'd push the door open too.
"Jamming the cops' foot in the door?"
So you're saying one of the boys took an officer by the foot, placed it over the plane of the doorway and then slammed the door on it while the cop did nothing? Wow, that sounds like a perfectly cromulent scenario. I'm sure it's a highlight of Officer Friendly's report.