Police arrest man accused of posting photos suggesting violence towards police

hminsky · May 22, 2018

If he happened to have one police car in the background of a picture, then hey, coincidence. With more than one, it is a threat. Let him explain what he was doing, to a judge. If someone wants to act like a thug, then they should be prepared to be treated like one.

T-Unit · May 22, 2018

Shit, could my social media be used against me next? Better scrub all those screencaps of my Grand Theft Auto gameplay off my social media.

HuntMaine · May 22, 2018

I wonder if they will be arresting all those involved in numerous Rap videos that condone and promote police violence and killing.

desertr8der · May 22, 2018

Or commenters on Shaun King's twitter feed openly calling for the death of police officers.

swatgig · May 22, 2018

How is it that the photos shown are threatening towards police, but these photos, from the London, KY PD website (the town where this poor slob was arrested) are not threatening towards the public?

CCW · May 22, 2018

McReef said:
I’m all for keeping the man out of my shit, but this guy is a straight up moron. Even without the cop cars in the pics, what kind of idiot goes driving around snapping gun selfies out his windshield? Too bad he didn’t drive himself into a tree or something trying to juggle his phone, his weapon, and his steering wheel...

With his finger on the trigger.

Lank · May 22, 2018

I would say stupid yes but taunting at best. I sometimes find myself amused CCW in places like Cambridge and Newton. Maybe he was Na-nah-na-nah'ing the PD.

dhuze · May 22, 2018

hminsky said:
If he happened to have one police car in the background of a picture, then hey, coincidence. With more than one, it is a threat. Let him explain what he was doing, to a judge. If someone wants to act like a thug, then they should be prepared to be treated like one.

What crime do you think he committed? You can’t go around arresting people without an actual crime being committed.

Do I think he’s an idiot? Absolutely, but I don’t see an actual crime.

Bonesinium · May 22, 2018

hminsky said:
If he happened to have one police car in the background of a picture, then hey, coincidence. With more than one, it is a threat. Let him explain what he was doing, to a judge.

Guilty until proven innocent mentality. No wonder our judicial system is so f***ed.

hminsky · May 22, 2018

Bonesinium said:
Guilty until proven innocent mentality. No wonder our judicial system is so f***ed.

You can go all libertarian here on NES, that's absolutely fine, and maybe even expected. However, out in a real community, a scum bag can expect life to be harder. One of the ways they can expect it is to get leaned on by the authorities. In an ideal world, nobody touches the guy until he hurts someone, because he is not making an unambiguous threat? In real life, a threat is exactly the thing a judge has to, well, "judge" as to whether it was made or not. If a dirt bag threatens your daughter, in an ambiguous fashion, do you say "well that's his right", until he kills her? Or is some action warranted before that? Such as, a restraining order, for example, or a friendly chat with a local police detective?

mikeyp · May 22, 2018

hminsky said:
If he happened to have one police car in the background of a picture, then hey, coincidence. With more than one, it is a threat. Let him explain what he was doing, to a judge. If someone wants to act like a thug, then they should be prepared to be treated like one.

But...if he called it "art" would a liberal judge let him off?

doxdsgn · May 22, 2018

dhuze said:
What crime do you think he committed? You can’t go around arresting people without an actual crime being committed.

Do I think he’s an idiot? Absolutely, but I don’t see an actual crime.

The cops are just making up a story to fit a picture. Being an idiot is not a crime, nor should you have to spend money to defend yourself in court for being one.

Kentucky is an open carry state. Guess if you are openly carrying and a cop car goes by that is threatening and warrants criminal charges?

Bonesinium · May 22, 2018

hminsky said:
If a dirt bag threatens your daughter, in an ambiguous fashion, do you say "well that's his right", until he kills her? Or is some action warranted before that? Such as, a restraining order, for example, or a friendly chat with a local police detective?

Threatened how? You can not compare a random photo with a hypothetical situation in which you’ve already determined there was a threat. The entire point is there wasn’t a threat. Unless there was a caption that went along with the photos like “‘bout to kill me some cops” or something, claiming the photo itself represented a threat is tenuous at best. If it is, I could literally point to thousands of pictures that are also somehow threats.

dhuze · May 22, 2018

Bonesinium said:
Threatened how? You can not compare a random photo with a hypothetical situation in which you’ve already determined there was a threat. The entire point is there wasn’t a threat. Unless there was a caption that went along with the photos like “‘bout to kill me some cops” or something, claiming the photo itself represented a threat is tenuous at best. If it is, I could literally point to thousands of pictures that are also somehow threats.

I agree. If he even thought he was a tough guy he wouldn’t have been hiding the gun below their sight like he was.

upcountry · May 22, 2018

Absolutely stupid thing for him to do.
But when does "seemed to suggest" warrant an arrest?
There's a lot of stuff out there that "seems to suggest" something.

Johnnyh · May 22, 2018

swatgig said:
How is it that the photos shown are threatening towards police, but these photos, from the London, KY PD website (the town where this poor slob was arrested) are not threatening towards the public?

The difference is that we don't have virtually unlimited funds to pay private corporations to police the police in the same way that the police and educational institutions have tax payer dollars to pay these big data firms to scan all the nonsense that people post on social media to send alerts. Just imagine if you had an app on your phone that provided you with the details surrounding the type and number of complaints that have been filed against the particular police officer that has just pulled you over.

View: https://www.npr.org/2018/05/21/613117571/how-schools-across-the-country-are-working-to-detect-threats-made-on-social-medi

amm5061 · May 23, 2018

Johnnyh said:
The difference is that we don't have virtually unlimited funds to pay private corporations to police the police in the same way that the police and educational institutions have tax payer dollars to pay these big data firms to scan all the nonsense that people post on social media to send alerts. Just imagine if you had an app on your phone that provided you with the details surrounding the type and number of complaints that have been filed against the particular police officer that has just pulled you over.

View: https://www.npr.org/2018/05/21/613117571/how-schools-across-the-country-are-working-to-detect-threats-made-on-social-medi

The irony is, if the government stopped stealing our money, we literally would.

drgrant · May 23, 2018

hminsky said:
If he happened to have one police car in the background of a picture, then hey, coincidence. With more than one, it is a threat. Let him explain what he was doing, to a judge. If someone wants to act like a thug, then they should be prepared to be treated like one.

A judge? So someone should be hauled into court over a vague threat? Not all that long ago officer friendly might have a polite conversation with the guy to find out where his head is at, without invoking the full weight of the system... not using sledgehammers to kill flies in these types of incidents generally makes things better for all involved.

Of course part of this whole thing thats missing is we have no idea how the cops "interview" with this guy went. He could have been milquetoast moonbat sjw, or dumb enough to double down on his idiocy.

-Mike

hminsky · May 23, 2018

drgrant said:
A judge? So someone should be hauled into court over a vague threat? Not all that long ago officer friendly might have a polite conversation with the guy to find out where his head is at, without invoking the full weight of the system... not using sledgehammers to kill flies in these types of incidents generally makes things better for all involved.

Of course part of this whole thing thats missing is we have no idea how the cops "interview" with this guy went. He could have been milquetoast moonbat sjw, or dumb enough to double down on his idiocy.

-Mike

Yeah I don't think an arrest was 'warranted' as it were in this case based on a couple of photos. However, being put on notice that he's known and being watched is appropriate.

AHM · Jul 29, 2018

KY is going easy on the guy.

A former colleague got ticketed for
failure to keep both hands on the wheel
(of a manual transmission car)
for waving to a Statie (running a speed trap)
on the side of I-290.

(The guy had been nailed for speeding
numerous times before by the same trooper,
and for all I know, it might even have been
the first time in his life that he was
obeying the speed limit
while driving past him).

FWIW...

FindLaw: Kentucky Disorderly Conduct Laws

...
Code Section:
Kentucky Revised Statute section 525.060: Second-Degree Disorderly Conduct

What's Prohibited?:
Intentionally causing public inconvenience, annoyance, alarm, or wantonly creating a risk thereof in public while:

..., or
Creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition without any legitimate purpose

Penalties:
Class B misdemeanor.

Were I the prosecutor, I'd argue that
"booger hook on the bang switch"
is the intentional wanton creation of a risk of
public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm while
creating a hazardous condition
without any legitimate purpose.

(The public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm
would have occurred if he managed to let off a
Passenger Compartment Pop,
and someone heard the gunfire).

If the defense wanted to argue that there was a legitimate purpose,
I'm all ears...

42! · Jul 29, 2018

doxdsgn said:
Kentucky is an open carry state. Guess if you are openly carrying and a cop car goes by that is threatening and warrants criminal charges?

No but holding the gun between you and the cop car with your finger on the trigger certainly would.

- Did he do something both dangerous and stupid? YES
- Did he threaten the cops? Hard to know his intent but I'll give him the benefit and says no. But an outside observer would probably think differently. And isn't a threat based on what the recipient feels, otherwise a person could never claim self defence because they felt their life was threatened, they would need to know the intent of the other person (mind reading).
- Does it warrant an assault charge? NO, and he wasn't charged with assault so that's settled.
- While I think using police resources to track this guy down when there are other, more pressing, crimes to investigate is over the top, I have to say that a disorderly conduct charge does seems reasonable. It's possible they didn't do any fancy investigating and someone just ratted him out. I'd feel differently if he was charged with assault.

hminsky · Jul 29, 2018

Bonesinium said:
Threatened how? You can not compare a random photo with a hypothetical situation in which you’ve already determined there was a threat. The entire point is there wasn’t a threat. Unless there was a caption that went along with the photos like “‘bout to kill me some cops” or something, claiming the photo itself represented a threat is tenuous at best. If it is, I could literally point to thousands of pictures that are also somehow threats.

How about if the photo is of junior there pointing a gun with his finger on the trigger in a car and instead of a cop car it is your daughter out on the street in front of the barrel in the picture? Would that be a threat?

richc · Jul 29, 2018

As much as I hate Westborough Baptist Church and their rhetoric, I fully support their right to speak their vile vitrol.

It's such a slippery slope we all need to passionately protect first amendment rights .

GM-GUY · Jul 30, 2018

hminsky said:
How about if the photo is of junior there pointing a gun with his finger on the trigger in a car and instead of a cop car it is your daughter out on the street in front of the barrel in the picture? Would that be a threat?

It doesn’t matter as in that case the police wouldn’t have even taken a report - they might have gone as far to call it a ‘civil matter’, but that’s about it.

devldog131 · Jul 30, 2018

He should've been arrested for his inability to keep his GD Booker hook off of the MF bang switch.

AverageJoe · Jul 30, 2018

Thought crime. Were here and we can be arrested for appearing to committ it.

Peicemaker · Jul 30, 2018

devldog131 said:
He should've been arrested for his inability to keep his GD Booker hook off of the MF bang switch.

No. Thats not a crime. None of this denotes an actual threat. If he had walked into a police station, pulled out his piece and yelled "Im gonna kill every last mothafuggin pig in this place!" Then he would be threatening the cops and be subject to arrest. Poor trigger dicipline and generally being a dumbass is not a crime. I'll take it further. How do we know the gun was even loaded when the picture was taken? How do we know it's not an airsoft gun?

It looks like it was a slow week at that PD and they decided to go on a fishing expedition. They got one on the hook and jammed him up for nonsense.

AHM · Jul 30, 2018

richc said:
As much as I hate Westborough Baptist Church and their rhetoric, I fully support their right to speak their vile vitrol.

Then you probably don't want to move to Kentucky.

FindLaw: Kentucky Disorderly Conduct Laws

...
Code Section:
Kentucky Revised Statute section 525.055: First-Degree Disorderly Conduct

What's Prohibited?:
First-degree disorderly conduct is committed in Kentucky when the following four element are all present:

Engaging in any of the following acts in a public place with the intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm:

Fighting, or acting in a violent, tumultuous, or threatening way
Making unreasonable noise, or
Creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition without any legitimate purpose

While within 300 feet of a cemetery during a funeral, a funeral home during the viewing of a deceased person, a funeral possession, a memorial service, or a building in which a funeral or memorial service is being conducted
At any point in time between one hour prior to the event until one hour after the event has concluded, and
Knowing that he/she is within 300 feet of such an occasion

Penalties:
Class A misdemeanor.

Peicemaker said:
How do we know the gun was even loaded when the picture was taken?

devldog131 · Jul 30, 2018

Peicemaker said:
No. Thats not a crime. None of this denotes an actual threat. If he had walked into a police station, pulled out his piece and yelled "Im gonna kill every last mothafuggin pig in this place!" Then he would be threatening the cops and be subject to arrest. Poor trigger dicipline and generally being a dumbass is not a crime. I'll take it further. How do we know the gun was even loaded when the picture was taken? How do we know it's not an airsoft gun?

It looks like it was a slow week at that PD and they decided to go on a fishing expedition. They got one on the hook and jammed him up for nonsense.

Dude... I get that. It was farcical, meant to highlight the absurdity of the entire situation.

42! · Jul 30, 2018

Peicemaker said:
No. Thats not a crime. None of this denotes an actual threat. If he had walked into a police station, pulled out his piece and yelled "Im gonna kill every last mothafuggin pig in this place!" Then he would be threatening the cops and be subject to arrest. Poor trigger dicipline and generally being a dumbass is not a crime. I'll take it further. How do we know the gun was even loaded when the picture was taken? How do we know it's not an airsoft gun?

It looks like it was a slow week at that PD and they decided to go on a fishing expedition. They got one on the hook and jammed him up for nonsense.

Dude, he wasn't charged with assault (threatening).
Disturbing the peace can be "Creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition without any legitimate purpose", and I think driving around with a gun in hand with your finger on the trigger fits this. And it's an objective judgement so it really doesn't matter what he was thinking or even if the gun was real, all that matters is what it looked like. And it's a very minor offence.

It may be unpopular but this is nothing more than PSGWSP. And being charged with disorderly conduct is his prize.

I do have a problem with the amount of police resources used to catch him, assuming someone didn't just turn him in.

Police arrest man accused of posting photos suggesting violence towards police

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