Should selling a cigarette be a capital offense?
by digby
Quinnipiac polled New Yorkers on the question of policing for low level crimes. Apparently, most people are in favor of cops rousting people for small offenses. For instance:
If someone is selling loose cigarettes illegally on a street corner in their neighborhood, 50 percent of voters want police to stop that activity, even if it means making an arrest, while 41 percent say police should ignore this activity. Hispanic voters say 53 - 43 percent that police should act. White voters are divided as 48 percent want police to act and 44 percent say ignore. Among black voters, 47 percent say police should act and 40 percent say police should ignore it.
"It's different where you live from what you see in the media. Overall, black New Yorkers are negative about cops citywide. White voters are positive. But looking at cops in their own neighborhood, the support turns positive among black voters and heavily positive among whites," said Quinnipiac University Poll Assistant Director Maurice Carroll.
"Does it improve the quality of life in your neighborhood when police arrest someone for a low-level offense, or does it increase neighborhood tensions? New Yorkers decide for quality of life," Carroll added.
If a person tells police he/she is not going to allow police to arrest him/her, 58 percent of New York City voters, including 45 percent of black voters, say police should use whatever force is necessary to arrest that person, while 16 percent of voters, including 23 percent of black voters, say police should walk away.
"Hardly anyone thinks the cops should back off if someone resists arrest. Use whatever force is necessary to make the arrest, voters say, echoing what Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton both have emphasized," Carroll said. Eric Garner Case
There is no excuse for how police acted in the death of Eric Garner, 68 percent of voters say, while 24 percent say police action was understandable. Seeing no excuse are 52 percent of white voters, 90 percent of black voters and 71 percent of Hispanic voters.
If they believe that the police should have arrested him for suspicion of selling loose cigarettes and he resisted that arrest, I wonder what they think the cops should have done differently? Obviously, they believe the police officer shouldn't have used an illegal choke-hold. But how would they have had the cops take this man into custody?
I would guess most people think he should have been tasered. I wonder how many of them know that tasers routinely kill people too?. (On the other hand, tasers are so much funnier than choke holds they're probably worth it...)
The question has to be asked: is it ever worth it to kill someone over misdemeanor crimes like the sale of loose cigarettes? Or jaywalking? That's what's happening with this "broken windows" policy. It sounds great in theory --- until you ask yourself how it's going to be enforced. At best, a whole lot of people are going to wind up being harassed by police and wind up in the criminal justice system over small bore offenses. (And I think you know which groups are more likely to be targeted.) At worst, you'll have police using torture devices and/or deadly force to do it.
There are other approaches that can work.