Better not go jogging in Austin anymore...

[HillRider]

"They planned to ticket a jogging woman, and ordered her to stop. But she was wearing earbuds and couldn’t hear them.
The officers chased the woman down and grabbed her arm from behind. Not knowing what was happening, the woman pulled away from the officer. This meant that she was resisting, and the woman soon found herself sitting on the ground in handcuffs.
Local man Chris Quintero watched the incident from a coffee ship window, and was irritated by the police officers’ behavior. He snapped a picture of the woman during her arrest."

This is the part that bothers me as I run with ear buds. I would not have expected to be grabbed from behind and my natural reaction would have been to pull away. According to the witness, this is what she did and was immediately thrown to the ground, handcuffed and charged with resisting. The officer overreacted, turning a very minor infraction into an arrest. Why is this news? Because the officer handled it very poorly.
She was jaywalking for god sakes. The officer saw that she didn't hear him, how do you not expect her to react when blindly grabbed from behind? The Chief of Police said she found herself in cuffs because she cussed? Forget that the officer had to have told him that and that it directly contradicts what the witness said he saw, do we want to arrest people for cussing? Or jaywalking?
The officer handled the situation poorly, that's why it's news and why we're talking about it.
That is all, good day Sir!


Read more: Cops arrest jogging woman because she couldn't hear them

+1

 

[Big Dipper]

I certainly hope that Ms. Stephen learns a lesson from this.

Her situational awareness is not what it needs to be when she is out jogging. The earphones are certainly a big part of her not being aware of what is going on around her. The next time she is "accosted" while jogging, in the zone, with her IPod it might not be "officer friendly" grabbing her.

 

[HillRider]

I gotta agree with roger4314 on that. A big police operation to target jaywalking??? Isn't it great that the APD has managed to catch all the murderers, rapists, and gang-bangers in town so now they can focus on trivial crimes!

I'm not entirely blaming the cops. The reality is that there's MONEY to be made for the city by running operations like this. A lot of college towns are like that - You can't get in or out of College Station without driving past a DPS officer running a speed trap. If the APD was just trying to improve public safety, they could have warned people that they could be ticketed. They could have talked to the girl in question and let her go, or just take the chance on getting the right info and not worry about an ID. But the cops weren't given any leeway; they were no doubt sent there to make sure the city extracted some cash from the public - better still if they can extract it from visitors and students so the voters won't be upset.

Plus, it's Austin. Everything in that town seems to work upside down. I would be willing to warn anybody going there to pack some bottled water, 'cause there's something crazy in the local supply!

+2

 

[bones_708]

This link includes the video and statement from a guy that saw the whole thing.
Cops arrest jogging woman because she couldn't hear them

Yeah did you read it? It's a garbage article because among other things it apears the writer thinks that he can read the officers minds. The officers tried to stop the woman after J walking they had to chase and grab her because even though there was an officer in her line of sight gesturing at her and another trying to run along side her she either didn't see or decided not to stop. Now while the article, at the very least, implies that the arrest was because the cops had to chase her, neither the charges nor the statements from the dept support that. The arrest was because after the stop the woman was verbally abusive and refused to ID which would of been necessary to issue a ticket and let her go on her way. Nothing I've heard that is attributable to any reported witness contradicts the Depts version of events. That "Local man Chris Quintero watched the incident from a coffee ship window, and was irritated by the police officers’ behavior. " doesn't mean much and isn't worth much.

"Stephen used profanity when speaking with officers, leading them to handcuff her, according to the chief. At that point, she sat down of her own accord, went limp and refused to provide officers with her name. Only after being placed in the back of a police car did she provide her name, Acevedo said."

Of course he only had the officers reports and the recordings from the officers body mikes not like he was accross the street unable to hear anything but yelling.

 

[HillRider]

This is another one of those anti-cop threads isn't it?

Roger4314, Texasjack If you guys keep on with this kind of talk, you will be reprimanded by the admin and this thread will be locked.

 

[bones_708]

This is the part that bothers me ............ do we want to arrest people for cussing? Or jaywalking?

It was never said she was throw anywhere and she was never charged with resisting but props for making stuff up. And the officer had a recording device so the whole arrest is on tape and the Chief based his statements off of the officers reports and the recordings but, as I said before, I'm sure the guy across the street who couldn't hear anything being said, unless screamed, knows more about the incident.

 

[1rightguy]

This is another one of those anti-cop threads isn't it?

Roger4314, Texasjack If you guys keep on with this kind of talk, you will be reprimanded by the admin and this thread will be locked.

I see it as an anti-BAD cop thread. Big difference.

 

[bones_708]

I've had two friends murdered recently and I'm comforted to see how LEO's are assigned to protect us. No shxt, a sting setup to catch Jaywalkers and a physically rough arrest of a friggin' jogger.

First.............WTF! Aren't there any killings in Austin that need investigation? How are the dope sales going in town?

Second.......Isn't there anything MINOR anymore? Everything is a BFD and if you aren't locked stepped and marching in the majority, you're a criminal. WTF!

Spare me the "picking on cops" drill. I'm just flat sick of this crap!

Flash

Cops are not there to "Protect" you,. They are there to enforce the law and try prevent crime. Not every cop can work homicide as there are other things that need to be done like responding when people complain about bikers and pedestrians flaunting traffic laws in such a manner as to increase the risk of accidents and piss people off. And really the cop says stop and a person keeps going so the cop should decide if it is important enough to bother going after them and actually do his job? I really have trouble understanding how everyone doesn't think this woman's behavior was the cause of her arrest. Maybe you want the ability to throw temper tantrums when stopped for violating laws but I don't think that is a worth goal.

 

[1rightguy]

Yeah did you read it? It's a garbage article because among other things it apears the writer thinks that he can read the officers minds. The officers tried to stop the woman after J walking they had to chase and grab her because even though there was an officer in her line of sight gesturing at her and another trying to run along side her she either didn't see or decided not to stop. Now while the article, at the very least, implies that the arrest was because the cops had to chase her, neither the charges nor the statements from the dept support that. The arrest was because after the stop the woman was verbally abusive and refused to ID which would of been necessary to issue a ticket and let her go on her way. Nothing I've heard that is attributable to any reported witness contradicts the Depts version of events. That "Local man Chris Quintero watched the incident from a coffee ship window, and was irritated by the police officers’ behavior. " doesn't mean much and isn't worth much.

"Stephen used profanity when speaking with officers, leading them to handcuff her, according to the chief. At that point, she sat down of her own accord, went limp and refused to provide officers with her name. Only after being placed in the back of a police car did she provide her name, Acevedo said."

Of course he only had the officers reports and the recordings from the officers body mikes not like he was accross the street unable to hear anything but yelling.

This boils down to do you believe an independent witness or the arresting officer. The truth likely lies somewhere inbetween the two.

Im one that thinks we should expect more from those that are supposed to protect & serve.

You should read the OP regarding when a citizen is legally required to ID themselves and ask yourself if we want to allow our police to arrest citizens for bad language.

Did you hear the recordings from the officers body mikes?

Plus wolves don't care what sheep think about!

 

[Younggun]

Yeah did you read it? It's a garbage article because among other things it apears the writer thinks that he can read the officers minds. The officers tried to stop the woman after J walking they had to chase and grab her because even though there was an officer in her line of sight gesturing at her and another trying to run along side her she either didn't see or decided not to stop. Now while the article, at the very least, implies that the arrest was because the cops had to chase her, neither the charges nor the statements from the dept support that. The arrest was because after the stop the woman was verbally abusive and refused to ID which would of been necessary to issue a ticket and let her go on her way. Nothing I've heard that is attributable to any reported witness contradicts the Depts version of events. That "Local man Chris Quintero watched the incident from a coffee ship window, and was irritated by the police officers’ behavior. " doesn't mean much and isn't worth much.

"Stephen used profanity when speaking with officers, leading them to handcuff her, according to the chief. At that point, she sat down of her own accord, went limp and refused to provide officers with her name. Only after being placed in the back of a police car did she provide her name, Acevedo said."

Of course he only had the officers reports and the recordings from the officers body mikes not like he was accross the street unable to hear anything but yelling.

It was never said she was throw anywhere and she was never charged with resisting but props for making stuff up. And the officer had a recording device so the whole arrest is on tape and the Chief based his statements off of the officers reports and the recordings but, as I said before, I'm sure the guy across the street who couldn't hear anything being said, unless screamed, knows more about the incident.

Cops are not there to "Protect" you,. They are there to enforce the law and try prevent crime. Not every cop can work homicide as there are other things that need to be done like responding when people complain about bikers and pedestrians flaunting traffic laws in such a manner as to increase the risk of accidents and piss people off. And really the cop says stop and a person keeps going so the cop should decide if it is important enough to bother going after them and actually do his job? I really have trouble understanding how everyone doesn't think this woman's behavior was the cause of her arrest. Maybe you want the ability to throw temper tantrums when stopped for violating laws but I don't think that is a worth goal.

You take your filthy logic somewhere else! Ain't nobody got time for facts or recordings! We got an agenda to push!

 

[majormadmax]

This is another one of those anti-cop threads isn't it?

Roger4314, Texasjack If you guys keep on with this kind of talk, you will be reprimanded by the admin and this thread will be locked.

Yeah, the kind you claimed in another thread doesn't happen on here?

 

[kurt]

122 deaths in five years involving bicyclists and pedestrians. It isn't something to ignore.

Interactive map: Pedestrian and bicycle deaths in Austin,... | www.statesman.com

 

[bones_708]

This boils down to do you believe an independent witness or the arresting officer. The truth likely lies somewhere inbetween the two.

Im one that thinks we should expect more from those that are supposed to protect & serve.

You should read the OP regarding when a citizen is legally required to ID themselves and ask yourself if we want to allow our police to arrest citizens for bad language.

Did you hear the recordings from the officers body mikes?

Plus wolves don't care what sheep think about!

No it doesn't boil down to that for me. And as to the reason for the arrest you keep getting it wrong but maybe some of the blame goes on the reporting which cuts up statements and throws out excerpts without context. This is from the UT daily Texan website.

"Acevedo said Stephen disregarded the officer’s lawful request for her to identify herself and verbally resisted the arrest.“All that young lady had to do when she was asked for her information was to provide it by law, “ Acevedo said. “Instead of doing that, she decided to throw [herself] to the ground – officers didn’t sit her down – and she did the limp routine.”
According to Acevedo, Stephen was handcuffed after telling the officer not to touch her. Acevedo said the public outcry following the arrest did not faze him."

The "witness was some distance away and could not hear any of the conversation and has been pronouncing his conclusions as facts. As a witness he couldn't say the jogger didn't hear the cops just that she was wearing earbuds. He couldn't say why the cop cuffed the woman just that he did. So we have the conclusions of a guy whose knowledge of law enforcement, the law, hell any damn thing is totally unknown but you are are putting your money on his story?

No I didn't hear the recording but I really don't think the Chief of Austin would lie about what could so easily be subpoenaed either.

 

[kurt]

And who can forget this priceless gem brought to you by the geniuses at UT from the same area of campus:

 

[HillRider]

122 deaths in five years involving bicyclists and pedestrians. It isn't something to ignore.

Interactive map: Pedestrian and bicycle deaths in Austin,... | www.statesman.com

How many of these were from motorists not following the law, not pedestrians and cyclists?

Austin is notorious for letting motorists off the hook after killing cyclists while ignoring traffic laws.

 

[bones_708]

How many of these were from motorists not following the law, not pedestrians and cyclists?

Austin is notorious for letting motorists off the hook after killing cyclists while ignoring traffic laws.

Because if only half of them were from pedestrians it's A OK!

 

[kurt]

How many of these were from motorists not following the law, not pedestrians and cyclists?

Austin is notorious for letting motorists off the hook after killing cyclists while ignoring traffic laws.

I don't know, but I do know this:

I work for EMS. With nauseating regularity we respond to calls where the driver was not at fault. Also of note is that a couple of months ago APD's campaign was against drivers not following the rules at crosswalks and bicycle lanes. There were some pretty irate drivers who wondered why they weren't ticketing bicyclist and jaywalkers. The UT area is a target rich environment for this type of activity. Not a shift goes by it seems that a pedestrian or bicyclist doesn't get hit. Yesterday was no exception.

 

[TX69]

Get Some there fatty! lol

 

[Texasjack]

This is another one of those anti-cop threads isn't it?

Roger4314, Texasjack If you guys keep on with this kind of talk, you will be reprimanded by the admin and this thread will be locked.

Anti-cop? Not at all. Somebody else said "anti-BAD-cop" and that might be closer. I just hate to see when ANYBODY is out doing a job and not using common sense while they do it. However dangerous jaywalking may be, it still doesn't rank up there with chasing down murderers. You don't need to chase down and haul off joggers to make your point.

I worked in downtown Houston and they frequently went after jaywalkers and people making illegal turns. (Once you're on Main Street, you can't make any turns for a LONG way.) I knew people who got ticketed. They were pissed, but they learned their lesson. I NEVER saw officers chasing people down and making a scene like that. They just calmly walked up, explained what they were doing, and issued the ticket. Bystanders saw and got the hint. It was a big revenue generator for the city, and everybody knew that.

If APD can spare a bunch of cops to go after joggers, they can spend a day or two rousting gang bangers in the projects.

 

[Mike1234567]

There are good cops (great, in fact) and there are bad cops (darn near evil, in fact). I've dealt with both extremes and every level in between. If someone grabbed me from behind my first reaction, after surprise, would be indignant irritation... and I'd yank my arm from their grasp and demand an explanation. I don't care who the hell you are or your level of authority... you don't molest my person without damned good reason. Explain that reason to me and I'll be okay with it. However, I've literally lost all my patience with assholes and those in authority with God-complexes. That may not be the case here but if it is I hope that cop gets his ass handed to him on a plate. If the young lady truly is intentionally at fault then a few hours in jail and a nice healthy fine will probably adjust her attitude.