Mason County Deputies or Snowflakes?

[XLFD]

Your rights as an American citizen are not lost just because you live in or enter into Mason County.  Somebody has not told the county sheriff, Kim Cole, that that's the case with his weekend press release showcasing another debasement of the established freedom of two youthful visitors to this county

Manistee men arrested for disorderly conduct in Fountain.

FOUNTAIN — Two Manistee men, ages 17 and 21, were arrested Friday evening, Nov. 29, for being disorderly. According to Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole, deputies were initially called to the 5100 block of William Street at 9:27 p.m. for a “civil standby”. Deputies were then called again to the area for two suspects standing in the street swearing obscenities at the homeowner.
“The two were told numerous times to get out of the street and leave the area,” Cole said. “Both refused and started swearing at deputies while making obscene gestures. Both were eventually arrested and lodged.”

Let's review what these Manistee youngsters did.  They were standing in the public street, not blocking traffic, that's okay with the law.  They were reportedly yelling obscenities at a homeowner from the street at 9:30 PM, rude perhaps, but okay with the law.  When asked to leave the area and get out of the street by the police who had no lawful authority to make such demands, they stayed (Note: there are no public sidewalks), that's okay with the law.  When the youths started cussing and making 'obscene gestures' at the deputies, there had been a breakdown in decorum, but nothing that wasn't within the law.

Being a disorderly person can not be used as a catch-all for police to lock somebody up who swears at them or one who gives them the 'middle finger', they need definite 'disorderly' behavior, none of which is alleged here.  This is established law, sure to be upheld in any reasonable court outside of Mason County.  

A West Michigan case Greene v. Barber (6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 2002) illustrates this nicely.  Anthony Greene went to the Grand Rapids police department to get his car, which had been towed. When a lieutenant answered Greene’s questions about storage fees in a way Greene considered to be arrogant, Greene told the lieutenant, “You know, you’re really being [an] asshole.” When the lieutenant said, “You can’t talk to me like that in my building,” Greene replied, “Well, if that’s how you feel, you’re really stupid.” Then came pepper spray and handcuffs.  The court determined, while “Mr. Greene’s remarks were unflattering to Lt. Barber,” they “clearly gave Barber no license to abridge Greene’s freedom to speak as he did.”

As for rude gestures, these have also been held up, and subsequently upheld, in many states, including Kansas, where, in 1997, a federal court determined in a civil suit that no crime was committed when a man drove by a highway patrol officer – parked in his patrol car, monitoring the speed of passing vehicles – and “flipped the bird” to the trooper. “As irritating or insulting as the man's conduct may have been,” the court wrote, “government officials may not exercise their authority for personal motives, particularly in response to real or perceived slights to their dignity.”

The real crime that was committed in this particular case was that of unlawful imprisonment by the deputies.  The only bit of reprehensible conduct was performed by those same deputies by ignoring their oath to defend the Constitution of Michigan and the USA, which expressly prohibits arresting people when no crime has been committed. 

Should people swear, 'flip the bird', or be disrespectful to law enforcement officers?  Definitely not, but constantly seeing Mason County deputies act stupidly, arrogantly, and totally against the law like they reportedly did in this situation sure gives one plenty of reason why.  This latest outrage should net these Manistee men some big money should they fight these assholes.

[Ang Best]

First of all this doesn't even mention the fact tht the 17yr old laid his hands on his gf n baby's mamma, slashed tires, and threatened his gf 15 yr old sister with a knife not to mention made several text messages n phone calls to us with threats. He was not arrested on Williams st but infact was arrested in fountain. It also doesn't mention the fact that a father who was trying to get his own daughter n grandson away from the situation ends up being arrested on a child support warrent that i have receipts for but yet foc wont take them cuz he has a hard on for him. If anything they should of kept his ass longer.

[XLFD]

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the press release (shared with both the local paper and the MCP) did have some of the facts wrong or was incomplete, I see this happening regularly with this sheriff, which is unfortunate.  I am not going to try the 17 year old on social media, however, I will say that if your allegations are accurate, Ang Best, there was plenty for the deputies to look into that was not a flimsy disorderly conduct charge that appears to be prompted by disrespecting the cops.

As for the warrant, police in these parts are almost duty-bound to enforce outstanding warrants once they know of them.  However, if the father you mention wasn't under suspicion of doing anything illegal at the time of this police contact, the deputies shouldn't have necessarily been looking him up on their LEIN (Law Enforcement Information Network) for dirt on him.  

[AQUAMAN]

Ang Best, thank you for the additional info. that helps all of us see the situation more clearly. That 17 yr. old was clearly way out of order. Did they release him quickly because he's a minor? Was he minor in possession too? Thanks.

[Ang Best]

Yes they were both released by noon the nxt day. But yet my husband is still sitting in Mason County Jail. Not to mention they were at my house 2 different times before he got arrested on the 3rd time. It was a set up cuz they were there for his daughters bs tht had nuthing to do with him.

[Willy]

They should have been charged with disturbing the peace. I sometimes criticize the police but situations like this are what makes the job difficult to deal with. There are not to many people who could stand around and be sworn at and verbally abused. This is why it's important for officers to be able to withstand this type of abuse and be able to defuse these kinds of situations. This is also why many officers strike out in frustration, but it's very important that officers follow the law to the letter and make sure that situations like this do not get out of hand. If they can't do that then they need to find another profession.

[XLFD]

I will never argue with anybody who says that police have a difficult job.  They do, and even the good ones can have a bad day.  But with the MCSO, I see deputies, either untrained or not using their training, escalate situations in order to bring people not otherwise involved with a crime into the jail.  It's like they're on commission or something.

One of the main reasons I posited to vote against the 'road patrol millage' last year was because of the dilution of officers.  Area law enforcement was having a hard time filling their ranks with certified officers before that, so they decided to create three more spots.  That's a reason why I see and hear so many complaints from good people telling me of their troubling contact with area deputies.  The problem is getting hard to ignore.