Le[e]gal Brief: The Disturbing Rise Of ‘Comply Or Die’ Policing
One of the sad realities of the United States is that police using excessive force is a fairly common occurrence, but very little is done to address it. In this week’s Le[e]gal Brief, attorney Lee Merritt focuses on Taneisha Thompson, a Texas woman whose recent encounter with a Texas police officer has gone viral after the officer forcibly removed her from her car in front of her 15-year-old son.
Her crime? Littering.
“What we’re seeing more and more of is what I call ‘comply or die’ policing, where attitude, not danger, drives escalation,” Merritt says in the video.
Thompson was pulled over by Officer Brandon Morgan of the Hurst Police Department on Jan. 16 for speeding in a school zone. After a brief conversation about why she was pulled over, the officer writes a ticket and throws it into Thompson’s car. Thompson throws it out of the car and says she doesn’t want a copy of the ticket. At that point, Morgan begins to grab Thompson and forcibly yank her out of the car, all while her 15-year-old son was in the backseat pleading for them to stop.
After Thompson’s dash cam footage of the incident went viral, the Hurst Police Department released Morgan’s body camera footage and dismissed Thompson’s claims of excessive force.
“You have the right to record police. You have the right to sign a ticket or refuse to sign a ticket. You have the right to use harsh language, and you have the right to ask for a supervisor. None of those moves on the board justifies force,” Merritt explains in the video.
Thompson has since spoken out about how the event has traumatized her in the months since it occurred.
“I had simply tossed a ticket—one that was thrown at me—out of the window. Without warning, the officer grabbed me, and when I instinctively tried to pull back, the violence escalated. I suffered a black eye, a busted lip needing stitches, and severe bruises all over my body,” Thompson said in a news conference with Merritt.
Merritt is currently representing Thompson in her case against the Hurst Police Department.
While there has been much debate on the internet about Thompson throwing out the ticket, what’s baffling to me is that so many people are arguing that forcibly yanking a woman out of a car is the appropriate response to littering. Considering who our current president is, I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised that a significant number of Americans seem to have a thing for being subjugated.
Sure, Thompson might have been combative, but it’s on the officer to rise above that and de-escalate the situation. I don’t understand why a growing number of Americans are so comfortable letting people in positions of authority behave with impunity. At no point in human history has that attitude ever led to anything good.
This country, y’all, I swear. Anyway! If you want to know more about your rights and how to protect yourself in our increasingly tumultuous times, keep it locked in on the Le[e]gal Brief every week.
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Le[e]gal Brief: The Disturbing Rise Of ‘Comply Or Die’ Policing was originally published on newsone.com
