Making-faces charge dropped in Vt. – Criminal Peculiarity – MSNBC.com — Luckily the charges were dropped. But they were only dropped because the dog couldn’t testify. What is wrong with these people? This is what constitutes law-enforcement in today’s world?
They were approached by Hutchinson, who said she had been assaulted the day before by one of the men involved and wanted to make a statement. Vermont State Police Sgt. Todd Protzman told her she seemed drunk and he would take a statement from her later.
After a heated exchange, she approached Protzman’s cruiser, where his dog, Max, was waiting. She put her face within inches of the window and stared at Max “in a taunting/harassing manner,” Protzman wrote in an affidavit.
Officers arrested Hutchinson, adding a resisting arrest charge because she pulled away from them.
“Prosecuting a woman for ‘staring’ at a police dog is absurd,” said her lawyer, public defender Kelly Green.
found by Al Cole
Vermonts full of wackos, what do you expect.
After being around the police dogs (friend who are cops) trust me, you don’t want to toy with them. There is a reason they tell you not to get close to them or pet them because it’s for YOUR safety. Same as going up to anyone’s dog. Now the charges might be a little on the odd side, still, lesson to all the kids out there, don’t mess with police dogs.
2,
So you think it’s an arrestable crime? If so, you have serious proporttion issues.
You know, back in the olden days when you were dealing with a drunken lunatic, you just made them f*ck off and go home and get some sleep.
Enraging a police dog is just a stupid thing to do and such stupidity shouldn’t have anything to do with courts or blogs or anything else, for that matter…
#2 – Police dogs are some of the most well trained animals on the planet. A well trained animal is one that does not attack unless it is expected to.
The animals you were around were not well trained… or their handlers were dip-shits. Which was it?
This country is going to the dogs. If they arrested her for this, they are really just barking up the wrong tree. They should have hounded that woman like a bitch in heat. Man, screwed the pooch on this sad tail.
Great picture of the Sharpei JCD.
#5 – I agree with James Hill’s total destruction of this thread.
#7….OFTLO…I second that….can we get a motion for a vote??
This is just evidence of a Very Stupid Policeman who just invents things to arrest people for.
Heaven forbid if she had mad faces at the Very Stupid Policeman. The idiot would have shot her, then claimed it all in self defiance. Of course the courts would have exonerated the idiot.
Chicken,
chicken chicken chicken…
Chicken chicken..
#5, #6, #7, #8, #9,
I just love it when I have to go up against an entire bevy of “citizens”.
The dog’s handler was human and that’s where the problem arises.
As far as I can tell from the stories attached to the original post, the dog’s handler should have punched that woman squarely in the face for obstructing police and obstructing justice, then arrested her. That would have been the end of it.
She was drunk and abusive and if you think that’s fun, for the cop or the police dog, you should think about it again – except this time, you should imagine yourself on the opposite side of the altercation.
The TV show “Cops” helped cops in many ways but it also totally obscured their perspective because almost no-one knows what their experience actually means.
I don’t know if this is the appropriate story to defend our police but other than a few dickheads, you are well served, even if it “looks like” we’re living in a police state.
If you don’t like it, the next time you’re being menaced by assholes, call your local fire department for help!!!! They get paid more than your cops but I somehow doubt they’re going to rush to help you.
The title of this post made me laugh
#11 – #
#5, #6, #7, #8, #9,
I just love it when I have to go up against an entire bevy of “citizens”.
(clip)
She was drunk and abusive and if you think that’s fun, for the cop or the police dog, you should think about it again – except this time, you should imagine yourself on the opposite side of the altercation.
I am #7 and who are you talking to. I don’t have any comment to make about the story. James Hill recently took to describing any comment he made as “destroying” a thread and this winning some imaginary competitive debate in his head.
Besides, James said that police dogs are well trained. That’s true. Why shouldn’t I agree with that?
The TV show “Cops” helped cops in many ways but it also totally obscured their perspective because almost no-one knows what their experience actually means.
I come from a police family, so I don’t have that problem.
I guess drunk and disorderly isn’t a crime in VT.
#13 – OFTLO,
My trouble with blogs is that I tend to go off half-cocked when I lose my temper on the spur of the moment – like some sort of idiot and if that is so, I do sincerely apologize.
This is just an example of ‘contempt of cop’ a made up idea modern cops have that if you pester or piss them off you deserve their scorn. I dont care to argue the point, I have heard cops themselves metion this about modern cops themselves. It is my impression that cops are lossing the *respect* of most people and most people just fear them now.
The dog was in a closed car, no one was in danger, however trained or untrained the dog was. The dog wasnt actively helping the cops in a task, it was locked in a car. This is just ‘contempt of cop’ and arresting this lady for ‘closely looking at a dog’ should expose them to civil penalties against them personally. Looking at a dog doesnt warrent interfering with her physical person.
On further thought of this absurd cop’s actions, does a dog know a what a taunting look from a stranger is? Perhaps this woman was near sighted and wasnt sure what she was seeing so she got close and squited.. perhaps the cops were angry and abused the powers they were trusted with.
I can see may be a public intoxication charge, but to be arrested for making faces is absurd. There are certain rights police officers must give up when they have a badge and a gun. One of them is to listen and not respond in any violent or unjustified manner when a citizen yells or verbally argues with them.
Think about it, how often to citizens yell, argue, cuss, and make faces at police officers when they are given a minor traffic ticket? Some people fly off the handle, yet are they arrested? No. One of the police officers job, believe it or not, is to up hold the laws of the Constitution. Arresting an intoxicated person for making faces at a dog is unconstitutional. Arresting an intoxicated person for being in public is up holding the peace. Sounds like this moron does not know how to fill out paperwork. Nor does this moron know how to do his job, because the woman wanted to make a statement to the officer about being assaulted, but he didn’t have the time to do that, yet plenty of time to arrest her and take her to jail.
Bull’s-eye, Arrius.
So it’s “cruel” to make faces at and stare at a police dog? Honestly. That is a good example of police power run amok. If the woman’s conduct was disorderly, that’s what she should have been charged with. A news story that somebody’s been arrested for staring too long at something or someone reads like it’s out of Orwell or Kafka. I mean, it may be 2007, but getting arrested for staring is vintage 1984.