All too often, effective communication with, and respect for, all citizens appears to have become a lost art in policing, like an ancient skill the secrets of which seem too illusive to grasp by many of today’s officers.
The inability and unwillingness, or, perhaps, ignorance of the communication process itself, has caused many police-citizen interactions to needlessly and unnecessarily spiral out of control. The latest example is the May 4th traffic stop of 65-year-old Rose Campbell.
This incident was the most horrific display of arrogance, ego and shear hatred I have ever seen in a police-citizen encounter (one where the citizen was not killed).
Officer James Legg is seen on video telling Ms. Campbell, “You’re not in charge here! Shut the f#%k up and get out of the car!” Legg then grabs her arm and yanks her out of the car in plain view of two fellow officers.
So am I to believe it took three trained and armed male police officers to deal with a 65-year-old lady who was stopped for swerving into another lane without signaling? Was it necessary to have three police officers screaming at this 65-year-old woman because she would not sign a ticket?
This is what I call the “God Complex.” The officer’s feelings got hurt. How dare this 65-year-old black woman refuse to sign a ticket I’m issuing! I’ll show her! (ala Sandra Bland’s refusal to put her cigarette out).
In his May 11th resignation letter, Legg had the audacity to defend his verbal antagonism and physical aggression by saying he “…did what was necessary to complete the arrest by raising my voice and using verbal commands, using heavy control talk with profanity.” Obviously, Alpharetta Department of Public Safety Chief John Robison did not agree with him.
In my experience, refusal to sign a citation is not an uncommon event and many of us have faced it several times in our careers. It’s a simple fix.
Since the officer is recording the stop, as all departments require, the refusal to sign will be captured on video. The officer simply needs to write, “Refused to Sign” in the signature block, which will also be recorded by the officer’s dash cam. Give the motorist his or her copy of the citation and walk back to the cruiser. Done Deal!
Next, mark your unit number and the video start and stop times on the ticket. Win-Win! She did not have to sign, but will still be required to fulfill all legal obligations as if she did.
In this scenario, the officer is not splashed all over social media making the department and the entire profession look bad and the officer keeps gets to keep his or her job.