Michael Carter arrested and jailed for obstructing the legal process

[dpodoll68]

TELL THAT TO RODNEY KING!!! Suspend him for the rest of the year. Get him in AA and Anger Management! We all drink and make mistakes as youngsters but this is just not right.

So are always in the right? You need to not be such a tool. The system certainly isn't perfect and there are a fair number of corrupt out there who just want to get back at the type of guy they despised in HS.

wow.....just wow! ever seen the rodney king video einstein? not saying this is even remotely like that, but don't say something as stupid as people are not allowed to use "self-defense" when dealing with over-zealous cops. there are many cops who like to rough people up even when they didn't do anything during their arrest to condone it.

Let me repeat this again, really slowly, so the three of you can understand: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SELF-DEFENSE WHEN DEALING WITH AN OFFICER OF THE LAW. Period. It really is that simple.

Are officers always "in the right"? No, of course not. But they have a badge and the force of law on their side, and you have, well, nothing. Whether they are always right in theory is up for debate, but whether they are always right in practice is not. Is that fair? No, but then again, life is not fair.

Do undeserving people get roughed up by police officers? Yes, unfortunately, it happens a lot, and it sucks. But the encounter with the officer is not the time to get your retribution. That will happen later, in a court of law, when you will then have "right" on your side.

Am I saying that you have to sit back and take it if a cop is beating you up? Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. You will get absolutely nowhere by fighting back, and will likely remove the officer(s) from any blame by doing so. They will get theirs in due time. Some officers abuse the system, but that's the cost of doing business for all the good they provide us in total.

 

[Clyde Tester]

I like how no one brings up the fact that the cop tried to throw him to the ground for no reason. What reason did he have to search him. I say cop loosely, because it is umpd.

From this morning's update on the Start Tribune site:

The officer requested back-up, and when another officer arrived both went inside Mesa Pizza and took the two players outside. Watkins complied with instructions for a pat search, but Carter refused to put his hands on a wall, and when an officer grabbed his arm, attempting to throw him to the ground, Carter spun around. Both officers then attempted to get control of Carter, who continued to resist the officers even as several additional Gophers football players came outside and yelled at him to stop.

Disobeying orders from an officer is the only justification needed for their response. Period. Watkins was smart enough to follow instructions - Carter wasn't. Period. Other Gopher teammates were there and had to yell at Carter to stop. If that report is true (and I assume it has to be given they are including several other football players as witnesses) then there's nothing more to see here. Let's all move along now and stop with this ludicrous assertion that Carter was somehow in the right here or that he was an innocent victim. He wasn't. Period.

 

[paulser21]

Let's all move along now and stop with this ludicrous assertion that Carter was somehow in the right here or that he was an innocent victim. He wasn't. Period.

Amen. Let's put this topic to rest.

 

[MNCH]

Yeah this whole thread has spiraled out of control pretty quickly. I cannot believe the negativity towards law enforcement on this board though. Yeah nobody likes a speeding ticket or an underage drinking ticket or whatever else they may get in trouble for. But why get angry over something that you put yourself in a position to suffer the possible consequences for?

In this case, we do not know what happened inside the pizza place prior to the cop observing Carter, Watkins, and the two other people. What he did see is Carter and Watkins appear to be attempting to provoke a fight. Why did the officer wait for additional units to arrive prior to contacting the two? It could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps the cop was a single person crew and believed the risk of confronting two intoxicated, confrontational parties by themself was a bad idea for safety reasons. Carter and Watkins were not actively beating the two other people and until that starts happening the officer does not need to rush in and provide immediate assistance. As for when the officers actually arrived, if Carter had just kept his cool I'm sure absolutely nothing would have happened. Instead he decided to apparently not listen to verbal commands, became confrontatational, and now must face the consequences of his poor decision. Believe me, cops aren't out to arrest the world. I don't know Minnesota law code as well as I used to but the incident that occurred outside the pizza place sounded very minor in nature before Carter apparently went a little too wild.

Being polite and following directions will go a long way in how the remainder of your usually brief encounter goes. Being argumentative does not help your cause. And actually fighting/resisting in a physical way definately means things are not going to go in your favor.

Please stop posting. You are making too much sense for this irrational thread.