The New Haven Independent has posted an article about the tasings of Yale students at a club the other weekend: Cell Phone Commands Led To Club Tasings.

The article talks about the New Haven Independent obtaining police reports through a Freedom of Information request after the police refused to disclose details of what happened at the club.

The reports indicate that the two arrests stemmed from the disobeying of an order to put cell phones away. The reports do not explicitly state why that order was given.

The article placed the event in the context of “a number of complaints about excessive police aggression in other incidents”.

The students were charged with “one count each of inciting a riot, interfering with a police officer, and disorderly conduct.”

The case for interfering with a police office appears to be based on the following:

“Lieutenant Reddish explained that Jefferson’s actions hindered the investigation by deterring other officers from doing their duties by having to repeatedly come back to him and tell him to put his phone away

It appears as if the real interference is based on the police department’s repeated efforts to avoid scrutiny of its actions in their unreasonable and unsupported demand that people put away cellphones. If this request had not been made, the officers would not have been pulled away from doing real police duties. This interference is further illustrated by the police department’s refusal to release these reports until compelled to do so under the Freedom of Information Act.

The counts of inciting a riot and disorderly conduct appear to be based on the following:

While the Lieutenant was speaking to him Jefferson kept looking away and rolling his eyes, Jefferson was smirking and laughing at the lieutenant

There is nothing more disorderly than laughing at a police officer on a power trip. Yet these power trips are what do the most damage to law enforcement. There are many great law enforcement officers in Connecticut and I am proud that includes several relatives of mine. It is unfortunate when a few bad apples damage the reputation of law enforcement officials and the City of New Haven would be well advised to weed out those bad apples as quickly as possible.

This is not to say that the students are above reproach. Too often in our country, people place their individual freedoms over and above their responsibilities. They act as if they deserve some special privileges because of the family they are born into, how much money their family makes, or how skilled they are athletically.

However, if we begin tasing people because they act obnoxiously out of their self-importance and belief that their rights outweigh their responsibilities, then we would probably have at least half of the people running for office in hospitals.

All in all, as a person committed to transparency, it appears as if the real fault lies with a few bad apples in the New Haven Police Department who are more committed to coverups than to community policing. It was compounded by recent events around New Haven clubs and senses of privilege that some people have. Either the New Haven Police Department needs to get rid of the bad apples, or it needs a new version of the Miranda Rights:

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say on a cellphone, or even attempting to use a cellphone in the vicinity of a police officer will be used against you, not only in a court of law, but as justification for excessive physical abuse. You have the right to speak to an attorney. You just can’t do it on a cellphone in the vicinity of a police officer. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for you. If you go to Yale, you can count on your parents hiring some of the best lawyers in the land, probably Yale Law School graduates or lecturers and suing our asses off.”