Thursday, February 18, 2021

In an important win for Fourth Amendment advocates, a Virginia mechanic's arrest for refusing to show identification to the police has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal appellate court. ( A post I feel is important black history, for black history month, finally, the cops can be sent the message, leave blacks the hell alone when you haven't been dispatched to a crime in progress, just eat your damn donut, and stay out of people's lives)


I'm fed up with cops, you know this, as they most often fuck with innocent people, harass people of other racial backgrounds, and the opposite sex, and generally cause millions, in LA, hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers to be used to solve problems caused by asshole cops because of out of court settlements.

So I'm pleased to let you know this good news.

 Asshole police can fuck right the hell off, and quick fucking with people with African ancestors, and any other colored people, like native American (yeah, I know, most of you readers haven't lived, or been, anywhere near a reservation in the USA, but it's the same racist shit as white cops harassing blacks, and it has pissed me off for decades, all of it.)

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that sheriff’s deputies in Virginia violated the constitutional rights of a Black man when they arrested him for refusing to identify himself.

The decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially overturns a lower court ruling that upheld the legitimacy of the 2017 arrest of George Wingate by two Stafford County deputies. The deputies invoked a local statute requiring people to provide identification to police when public safety warrants it.

Wingate sued, arguing that his arrest was a textbook example of “driving while Black.”

The case is Wingate v. Fulford. 

George Wingate was driving in Stafford County, Virginia, in the early morning hours of April 25, 2017, when his car's engine light came on. A former mechanic, Wingate pulled over, popped the hood, and began checking things out. Stafford County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Fulford, who happened to be cruising by, noticed the parked vehicle and pulled over to offer his assistance.

That's when things took a turn for the worse for Wingate. According to the deputy's account, he became suspicious of Wingate and demanded to see some form of identification. Wingate, who had done nothing wrong, flatly refused. The officer's mic captured their exchange of words:

(insert comment "I'm the guy who'll be seeing you across the courtroom as you lose")

Wingate was ultimately arrested for violating a Stafford County ordinance that made it a crime to refuse an officer's request for ID "if the surrounding circumstances are such as to indicate to a reasonable man that the public safety requires such identification." After the prosecutor dropped the charges, Wingate sued, arguing that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the unlawful detainment and arrest.

The deputy “first began to suspect criminal activity when a man that he intended to help approached him in dark clothing. That is not enough,” wrote Chief Judge Roger Gregory. The three-judge panel’s ruling was unanimous, though one of the three wrote a brief concurring opinion.

The judge that upheld the arrest, and can suck it that justice prevails and overturns his bullshit ruling siding with the deputies, is an old white conservative with a reputation, and nickname "rocket docket".  Anthony John Trenga is currently a District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, located in Alexandria, Virginia, known as the “Rocket Docket” for its expeditious disposition of cases. Hopefully re retires soon, as he's 72 years old.   https://www.ali.org/members/member/452471/#:~:text=Anthony%20John%20Trenga%20is%20currently,University%20of%20Virginia%20Law%20School.  

Trenga had also ruled that Fulford is entitled to qualified immunity, but the Richmond-based appeals court found he is not.

Fulford testified in a deposition that he had asked for Wingate’s identification because he perceived “red flags,” which included the driver walking over to greet him when he exited his patrol car and the fact that Wingate was wearing black clothing. 

As for Fulford’s claims that Wingate walking to greet him caused alarm, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Roger Gregory was similarly dismissive.

“To be sure, if a person gets out of her vehicle without prompting following a for-cause traffic stop, there may be cause for concern,” he wrote. “But the notion that the driver of a broken-down vehicle creates suspicion of criminal activity by approaching the officer trying to render him aid, put candidly, defies reason.”

Citing Supreme Court precedent, the judge noted that a law enforcement officer may compel individuals to identify themselves after a valid investigatory stop supported by reasonable suspicion. But, Gregory wrote, “Deputy Fulford’s initial stop was not justified at its inception.”

 https://www.courthousenews.com/fourth-circuit-revives-lawsuit-filed-by-driver-arrested-for-not-giving-id/

the video of the bullshit arrest can be seen at https://atlantablackstar.com/2021/02/09/police-officers-are-in-the-habit-of-being-obeyed-court-rules-deputies-violated-black-mans-constitutional-rights-when-they-arrested-him-because-he-wouldnt-show-id/

appearantly, the recruits for Stafford County, must be predisposed to whiteness to get hired. Deputy Fulford is the short one, 3rd from the right. Yeah, probably Napoleon psycho syndrome. Graduated from police academy in 2015. 

I graduated from police academy in 1995. That's how damn young these cops are. Or, how damn old I am. Whatever. Point is, I have pride in not being a racist piece of scum.

here's the official doctrine for Stafford County employees:

yes, I really am this damn thorough when pissed off.  The facebook page for this county sheriff doesn't mention this set back to their ability to harass people, no, they aren't that concerned with abiding by the constitution, they'd rather show you the bird. 

Yes, that is real, no, I can't make that up. The ruling by the appeals court was Feb 8th, and this bird? Feb 13th. I gave them a couple days to work through the news, press releases, etc. This was the result. 


Hopefully as more appeals court panels of judges become more racially diverse, fucking cops will have less leeway to be assholes, and police departments will fire more assholes, and become more professional. 

If you don't like my attitude toward asshole fucking racist cops, piss right the fuck off, you're the problem. 

I'm a big fan of professional law abiding cops, who do the damn job with pride in professionalism, and arrest criminals. The rest of the cops who simply take every opportunity to harass good people just getting along in this world, not doing a damn thing wrong? I hope they get as many problems and difficulties as humanly possible and become as miserable as humanly possible. I don't care if they ever realize what scum they are and repent. Fuck their emotional growth, I just want asshole cops to suffer as much as possible, for mistreating innocent people because of racism, or sexism. Period. 

https://apnews.com/article/statutes-virginia-arrests-courts-aa6de50d11487d7cb634f97292d1fc12

https://reason.com/2021/02/08/an-unconstitutional-arrest-for-refusing-to-show-id-to-the-cops  via 

https://ogdaa.blogspot.com/2021/02/an-unconstitutional-arrest-for-refusing.html

https://www.insidenova.com/news/crime_police/stafford/stafford-deputies-graduate-from-basic-class/article_12188de8-8f9d-11e5-9eb8-575d2b577991.html

https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/191700.P.pdf

In full disclosure, I'm proud to say I've been made an honorary 'sista' of Philadelphia, regardless of my white male nature. So, I'm doing something right to be awarded such an honor. 


Hooray for Victor M. Glasberg & Associates, representing George Wingate https://www.robinhoodesq.com/

3 comments:

  1. If the cost of these law suits against the police came out of the police pension fund instead of the insurance I think there would be a lot less of this crap.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cops harass white guys too. its just that the media, white men getting harassed by cops is not news.
    thats why youve never heard of Daniel Shaver or Pastor Jonathan Ayres being murdered by police.

    ReplyDelete