How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help • Hacker News Board

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#281

Post by zanny » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:21 PM UTC

redblacktree wrote: post #192

pbreit wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being self-proclamably rational is perhaps the worst attribute to reveal when dealing with this type of situation.

I don't follow. Care to explain?

It is in the same thought process as telling a cops you have Miranda rights or don't have to answer their questions. From their perspective, you are acting like you are smarter than they are, and they will actively try to be vindictive towards you for it.

You can espouse the abuse of police power from a safe distance, but when you are in their faces you need to shut up because in the near future and moment they have the capacity to make your life hell with no recourse.

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#282

Post by williamcotton » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:21 PM UTC

nkurz wrote: post #252

williamcotton wrote: post #79

> Don’t call 911. Obviously, there are exceptions, but the sad lesson is, there are fewer than you’d think. Are you fucking kidding me? Do NOT listen to this advice. If you see someone injured, CALL 911! Do NOT move the person if there is suspicion of spinal or head injury. Wait for the HIGHLY TRAINED emergency response team to show up. > Call Lyft to take you to the hospital. (Worked well when I broke my elbow.) Are…

All of this is some sort of thinly veiled attack on our public servants and what seems to be public government infrastructure in general. Why would you think he's kidding? I don't see a veiled attack: I see desperation. He (and others in this thread) believe that you are putting yourself into greater risk by calling 911 than by solving the situation any other way you can. I don't share their opinion, but I would thin…

Again, that is terrible advice.

Literally all professional literature on the subject suggests the following:

Remain calm, be aware of your surroundings, and closely evaluate the scene to protect yourself and others from further injury.

Do not move a critically injured person unless instructed by emergency medical professionals.

Do not try to drive someone who is critically ill or injured to a hospital unless there is no way to summon emergency help.

Call 911 or ask someone else to call: - If you think there is a medical emergency, - If the crisis could get worse left untreated or not treated properly.

Listen carefully to the 911 dispatcher's questions. Answer them calmly and quickly.

Remain on the line until the dispatcher tells you it's okay to hang up.

Ask someone to wait outside to meet emergency personnel if it is safe to do so.

Paramedics may want to know a brief summary of the circumstances that caused the emergency. Remain calm and cooperative as they gather information.

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#283

Post by BlackDeath3 » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:22 PM UTC

drcube wrote: post #261

BlackDeath3 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me. Last night, actually, and it wasn't the first time. Here's another honest question: do you actually believe that nobody has pleasant experiences with police?

Well, for the most part they're like lawyers: you only need them around for shitty situations, so that's what they're remembered for. I'm not saying all cops are bad people (though almost all police forces are bad institutions), but why would you just hang out and have a good time with a cop, in his cop role? I'm sure they have friends, but they're not being cops when they're watching the game with their friends. My…

>Well, for the most part they're like lawyers: you only need them around for shitty situations, so that's what they're remembered for.

And because of this they get a lot of irrational hate, but it's often still irrational.

>I'm not saying all cops are bad people (though almost all police forces are bad institutions), but why would you just hang out and have a good time with a cop, in his cop role? I'm sure they have friends, but they're not being cops when they're watching the game with their friends.

Is this a question for me, or the general public? If the latter then I'll defer to someone else. If the former, then I'll clarify that I never said that I "hang out" with cops.

>My comment was more about the fact that police don't walk the beat and help old ladies with their groceries anymore. When cops are around, shit's going down. So even if they are doing their job professionally, it isn't a pleasant experience. And if they're doing their job poorly, it's a nightmare.

The cop I had a pleasant experience with was doing his job professionally. You seem to assume that my "pleasant experience with a cop" involved hanging out at a bar together watching the big game, or something like that. I had a pleasant experience with a cop doing his police duties, and it wasn't the first time.

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#284

Post by rjd » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:22 PM UTC

hmsimha wrote: post #263

rjd wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had two incidents within a year involving members of my family that make me keep cops at a huge distance. First was my father, he was a farmer at the time, late 50s. He found a crop of marijuana on the farm and turned it into the police. The planters of the crop decided that what happened was that my sisters boyfriend must of stolen it to sell. So they drove to my fathers house at dinner time, four of them, and sta…

> During the proceedings evidence came forward that the police had received the crop, and instead of filing paper work just disposed of it being lazy (the same cop that arrested my father). I hate to break this to you, but I don't think the crop was 'disposed of' in the way you were thinking of, and it wasn't motivated by laziness.

LOL yeah there where always jokes about that. But apparently he just threw the plants into his compost heap.

Someone else said they had seen the cop doing that. From memory it was another officer that said that (I didn't attend the hearings).

So who knows :) I think the plants where pre harvest though, my dad noticed the moment they arrived and acted immediately.

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#285

Post by josephlord » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:22 PM UTC

Gorbzel wrote: post #82

zacinbusiness wrote: post #43

Generally I disagree that litigation is ever the answer. But in this case OP should take their jobs because they don't deserve to wear the badge. I admit that I dislike cops and that I've never had a positive interaction with one. But there are some cops who legitimately want to do a good job and make their city safer. And these guys are shitting all over that.

What kind of idealistic fantasyland do you live in where litigation is never the answer?

Generally => Normally in most situations. With exceptions.

It does not mean never or always.

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#286

Post by l33tbro » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:22 PM UTC

herbig wrote: post #240

Back in November, I was arrested in Brooklyn for running a red light on my bike while on my way to work in Manhattan. Normally you're given a ticket and let go, but in this instance, the officers took issue with the fact that I was not carrying ID. Both officers told me that I "could be arrested for not having ID." For clarification, I asked if it was a city, state, or national law, and the officers adamantly maintai…

Arrested. NYC. Turnstile ducking. No Miranda rights. Zero crim history. Mugshot. Prints. Solitary 5 hours.

I recommend you listen to this if you're wondering why (apart from bullshit police state) people like us are getting arrested for petty offences:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/414/r...

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#287

Post by rdl » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:24 PM UTC

elohesra wrote: post #268

rdl wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He means "move", not "evade taxes while living there".

Does he? Because I read it as the latter, and with the amount of internet bravado that surrounds any talk about the police, I'd be unsurprised if it was meant as the latter.

I know him, and he's moved from one corrupt third-world shithole (Detroit) to an almost civilized city in a civilized country (Berlin) for this reason.

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#288

Post by rdtsc » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:24 PM UTC

Gorbzel wrote: post #75

> At this point, I’m left no choice but to present this case to the investigative court of public opinion, be it brave or foolish. Um, no, you can leave it to an actual court of law by finding a good attorney and filing a civil complaint. But until you find competent representation, here's a piece of advice: for the love of god and your own well-being, learn to STFU. The story makes it clear OP has no idea when to st…

> you have the right to remain silent in any interaction with authorities

Is it true that in some states you have to identify yourself, as in at least state your name?

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#289

Post by tobz » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:24 PM UTC

pjg wrote: post #163

Gorbzel wrote: post #75

> At this point, I’m left no choice but to present this case to the investigative court of public opinion, be it brave or foolish. Um, no, you can leave it to an actual court of law by finding a good attorney and filing a civil complaint. But until you find competent representation, here's a piece of advice: for the love of god and your own well-being, learn to STFU. The story makes it clear OP has no idea when to st…

Did you even pause to ponder that OP could've been you ? What if everything he says is indeed true. And he has presented a bunch of facts that point in his favor. If you would've been arrested to simply calling 911 and trying to help - at 1am - how would you feel ? Oh and about suing the Police - you ever tried it ? I'm assuming you have a $50K minimum retainer and a good lawyer ready ?

He wasn't arrested simply for calling 911, though. It's an undeniably shitty situation, but based on his own account, if he and his friend simply got the cellphone back, said "thanks", or even just shut up and went home, we most likely wouldn't be arguing about this right now.

I have no idea what it would take to curb a significant portion of this sort of overreach, but it is worth being stripped naked and thrown in solitary confinement? You tell me.

Re: How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 For Help

#290

Post by cleaver » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 11:24 PM UTC

yardie wrote: post #46

After reading the first paragraph I already knew where this was headed. White America welcome to black America. You'll be arrested for nothing at all. The first time it happens you'll be really upset and threaten to sue, and file a police report. And when you do there will be some sort of roadblock, they won't have the forms, the officer in question wasn't on shift that night, the detective is quite hostile to you, t…

I gained a perspective that is a bit more in depth than the typical white guy. I went to university in a town in Canada where the police seemed to be very interested in guys with long hair. I had long hair. As a result, I got stopped, intimidated and threatened by the police. I was never arrested. No doubt I would have had it worse if I was black.

A few years later I moved to Toronto. I still had long hair, but the police seemed to ignore me. I was really curious and paid extra attention to the police. It took a while, but it finally hit me: "they're only interested in the black guys!" The black guys were being watched with the same sort of intensity that I had experienced. I didn't observe the same sort of interactions I had, but I could imagine.

Canada is a bit different from the USA and I didn't get the full "black treatment", but I think I got to see the curtain pulled aside just a crack. One thing that really struck me was how incredulous non-blacks were when I related my story years later.