I'm just curious to all those who think she deserved it...
if this were a girl, and she pushed her bf or husband in the same manner during an argument...does she deserve to get decked in the face? Or is it just because this is a cop in question, so his authority allows him the ability to use violence on a woman. I'm just trying to understand how his assault is justified, when all she did was push him.
you're just going to have to trust me on this but if you go up and push a cop in an aggressive manner things will
NEVER turn out good for you. never in the history of police enforcement has attacking an officer at the time of the incident, be it a push or all out assault, resulted in the officer realizing his error and letting the perp go.
i honestly believe that had she just taken the citation and moved on then none of this would have happened. but instead, the next time that cop comes across a mouthy touchy feely perp, he's going to be more aggressive and physical. its a no win situation for everyone all the way around and later on down the road others will still be paying for her actions. as far as the cop, jaywalking is a bullshit quota fulfiller for tickets and i wouldnt be surprised if he was being a dick about it, but thats what courts are for. was he justified? some say yes some say no, but was she stupid for pushing him? yes, without a doubt. what started as a jaywalking citation is probably now an assault on an officer and obstruction of justice offense. that's absolutely nothing you want on your resume. yes assault. anytime you physically touch an officer during a confrontation it is assault. the fact that you agree or disagree with that is a moot point. the courts agree with it and thats how they will rule every time.
the example of a bf versus a gf has no merit in this matter. when it comes to crimes being committed, sex, race, religion, creed or any other differentiator is non-applicable. x or y chromosomes are not a factor. it is simply "public servant of the law" vs "alleged perpetrator". to claim that females should be treated differently when it comes to law enforcement is to not only embrace inequality but proactively pursue it and sorry, i've already seen an epic battle against inequality towards my heritage to sign up for a new one.
but to answer your question, did he over react? yeah i think so, but it matters not cos there are plenty of people who would back the officer in court and the escalated situation will have harsher ramifications for her than him. had she cooperated and he still attacked her, then yeah i'd be up in arms for the unprovoked attack and so would many many more but it didnt happen that way did it? legally she's fucked. politically, she's still going to have the usual suspects be against her and for her so nothing has gained but an injured jaw. whats lost is still tallying, cos she'll probably sue and tie up an already over-crowded court system putting the financial burden on the tax payers only to lose her case in the end and officers will be just a bit more aggressive when dealing with alleged perps in the future. we all lose simply cos she didn't stfu.
you've now had two people who've had run ins with the police basically for having dark skin and both of us have more motivation than most other posters on this thread to automatically point a finger at the cop. instead we both have said the same thing, she should have just cooperated and moved on. any lawyer in the USA will say the exact same thing, if they don't they should be disbarred.
cooperating when confronted by an officer of the law is not a new concept. it was best demonstrated by MLK and the freedom riders in a terrific display garnering sympathy from the people as they saw unprovoked police aggression. its sad this young woman didn't pay attention in history class cos it ain't rocket science. fight the fucker in court, not at the scene.