I got beat up by a cop

Prune · 2011-02-24T05:12:18

Last night I was at Caprice and didn't want to use the ATM inside the club as it has a $4 fee. I went out to the nearby liquor store and got a can of Grolsch and headed to my office building nearby to drink it, planning to return to the club afterwards. On the corner of my office building I saw a police car come up. I felt like taking off, because it'd be kind of funny--just to see if the police take notice. You can say I was a bit bored and frustrated due to an unpleasant call earlier that day; I had not been drinking yet. I fumbled with the beer can (it was _not_ open) as if to hide it and then started running towards the rear entrance of my building. I heard the police car screech and then I guess the cop jumped out and gave a chase. I don't remember hearing him yelling to stop, but the adrenaline distracts one from paying attention to that when putting all my effort into making it to that door. I reached the door, swiped my fob and got in. I pushed the door to close it but the cop got there too fast and forced the door open. He punched me quite hard on the side of the cheekbone and jaw, then threw me to the ground and twisted my arm back to handcuff me. Afterwards he took me to his car in front of the building and other cops started showing up. He searched my pockets and got quite frustrated when he didn't find anything but the unopened beer can. I pointed out I had not done anything illegal, and he would just shout me down "what, you studied law or something? If you threw anything along the way we'll find it" In the end he had to let me go, saying "enjoy your beer". He called me the next day to apologize, but I have to take that with a grain of salt because he didn't apologize the night it happened when he let me go, and now obviously has to cover his ass. He tried to explain that every time someone had run in all his years on the force, they had done something illegal, be it selling drugs or snatching a purse, and that he had only a split second to decide whether to chase someone that took off at the sight of a police car. I pointed out a couple of things to him. Ultimately the reason I ran and whether it was provocative is irrelevant here. It is perfectly legal in a Western democracy to decide to run at any time I want, regardless of my motivation, as long as it is not to escape arrest for committing a crime. I had done no such thing. Second, I did not resist when he caught up to me and he punched me--an obviously non-threatening skinny geek of 6'1" / 137 lbs dressed in business attire. I couldn't have been further from the look of a street criminal. The way I see it is this: I did a dumb thing by running, but it was perfectly legal. I certainly didn't deserve to get: i) near-bloody scrapes from the handcuffs, ii) bruise from having my arm twisted back, iii) painfully swollen jaw which required a CT scan at VGH that night, and iv) the humiliation of being handcuffed in public (I won't even mention generally ruining my night and the cute Brazilian I left in the club deciding I wasn't coming back and heading home). The way I see it is I have the following options: 1. Let it go; it's what my boss recommended, and my mother as well (the latter couldn't stop laughing--how's that for family support). The downside of this choice is that this cop is not held accountable for throwing punches first and asking questions later, and the thuggish behavior of Vancouver police really needs more attention (a bouncer once told me that usually when they call the Vancouver police to help remove trouble-making patrons, the cops just take them out in the back alley and beat them; there are also various stories reaching the media about abuse of local homeless people by the police). The upside is I would be being positive (or is that naive) that the cop's apology was sincere and he'll be more careful about assuming guilt. 2. File a police complaint, as most of my friends recommended. The downside of this is that, as my friend pointed out, it's about as useful as pissing in the wind. 3. Seek civil action, as two of my friends suggested a specific lawyer (or I could approach the BC Civil Liberties Association or even the BC Human Rights Tribunal (the latter because I'm clearly Eastern European and the cop maybe had a problem with my ethnicity)). The downside of this is that to an extent things would be my word against his; I've seen no police report of the incident. Also, regardless of the outcome, I would become a marked man in the eyes of the Vancouver police, as the cops defend their own and are generally blind to each others' transgressions. So what should I do? Please avoid commends such as "you were trolling IRL" as if I was looking for such I would have just posted on 4chan.

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Started by Prune February 18, 2011 05:56 AM

114 comments, last by jpetrie 13 years, 8 months ago

yaustar

1,022

February 18, 2011 11:42 AM

You ran from a cop because you were bored. You did not get beaten up (getting hit twice to stop you from escaping is not 'beaten up'). You think you should complain about a cop who was doing his job after he apologised?

Zero sympathy. +1 for letting it go and not doing something like this in the future.

Steven Yau
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DeafManNoEars

500

February 18, 2011 01:02 PM

... I felt like taking off, because it'd be kind of funny--just to see if the police take notice. You can say I was a bit bored and frustrated due to an unpleasant call earlier that day; I had not been drinking yet. I fumbled with the beer can (it was _not_ open) as if to hide it and then started running towards the rear entrance of my building. ...

There are better things to do when you are bored. Like pounding that beer and getting back to the club to get with the brazilian!!!

DUMB!

owl

376

February 18, 2011 01:05 PM

[quote name='Prune' timestamp='1298008615' post='4775725']
... I felt like taking off, because it'd be kind of funny--just to see if the police take notice. You can say I was a bit bored and frustrated due to an unpleasant call earlier that day; I had not been drinking yet. I fumbled with the beer can (it was _not_ open) as if to hide it and then started running towards the rear entrance of my building. ...

There are better things to do when you are bored. Like pounding that beer and getting back to the club to get with the brazilian!!!

DUMB!
[/quote]

better is to get beer, pwan the brazzillian and ignore pussay. AND LIVE ANOTHER DAY TO POST IT IN GAEMDAVE.MET.

[size="2"]I like the Walrus best.

I got beat up by a cop

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I got beat up by a cop

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