Authority Taken in Vain
My first run in with the Ruston Police Department (RPD) was not a good one and they will soon know it. I am a calm, level-headed person, especially when it comes to authority. But I can not and will not put up with authority holding that stature or position over my head and wrongly telling me that they will arrest me under conditions which do not call for such an action. It is no secret that the RPD are excessively proud and muscle force upon the college students here, especially the fraternity guys. My alumni advisor once put it, "They will all give you hell. Strangely enough, when they were in college and tried to pledge a fraternity they were eventually all cut." I guess that tells you a little bit about the people I tried to deal with tonight.
It all started after we returned to the Sigma Nu house from a fun night at Rabb’s, a local bar here in Ruston. Two guys were having words with each other which I walked up in the middle of and felt like these two could handle it on their own terms. So, I sat back and made sure nothing escalated to more than verbal argument. Now, the two guys were in positions to which it would make it very difficult to continue anything physically. One was on the roof of the fraternity house and the other in the parking lot. However, another guy gets into it with the one in the parking lot and the confrontation quickly turns into a sizing up battle where one waits for the other to throw the first punch while they touch chests and stare each other down in a very overly-masculine way. This is my queue to step in and send one home and calm the other down. So, I tell one guy who lives here to go in the house and sleep it off. After some argument, he finally submits and goes inside.
Three minutes later five police cars roll up in a very eager manner. (First of all, five police cars. Do the RPD really have nothing better to do than roll up ten officers deep to a fraternity house on a noise complaint as if it were a freakin’ riot? Give me a break!) Me, being in the parking lot and fully capable to handle the officers, walk directly to the first officer I see and ask why they are at the Sigma Nu house. “We got a call of disturbance” the officer said. I said, “Okay, sir. I have handled the situation and told one of the guys to go home and the other, who lives here, to go to bed.” The one officer said, “Well, go wake him up; we need to talk to him.” Maybe wrongly, I said, “Officer, can you not take my word on the fact that I have handled the situation?” “No. Now go wake him up so we can talk to him.” I give in and walk toward the door and ask that the officers stay outside while I go get him. Six police officers walk in right behind me, completely disrespecting my request. To where they could hear me I say, “Or just come on in.” I don’t know much about the law, but I do know they can not walk in with out a warrant.
I get Brandon and I escort every one of the officers back outside. They are drilling Brandon with questions and I stand there just kind of observing the whole ordeal. Brandon goes back inside. There are maybe two or three other guys outside, still in the parking lot. The officer approaches me and says, “Sir, I recommend you get back inside, too.” “Okay, I’m just going to make sure those guys have a safe ride home,” I say. Immediately, something turned in the officer who was speaking to me. He said, “Do you understand English. I told you to get back inside.” Immediately a switched flipped with me, too. I turn to look the officer straight in the eyes and tell him, “Yes, I understand English. Don’t degrade me. I, as the acting leader of this fraternity, am trying to make sure my guys get home safe.” The same officer asked again, “I said, do you understand English? I told you to get back inside!” Right back and with the same aggressiveness as he was giving to me, “Yes, I understand English and do not degrade me again.” He came back with, “If you do not get back inside I will arrest you. Now, I suggest you get back inside!” Swallowing my pride and not sure if what he was saying was legal or not, I slowly turn around and walk back inside.
The other guys, about ten of them, were right inside the door listening to everything being said outside. We immediately start talking about what just happened with the police officers. All the while I am getting worked up. I kick the backdoor open several times out of frustration. The third time, the officers ask me to step outside. Acting like I don’t hear them, the door shuts. A few seconds the door swings open and the first officer I talked to asks me to come outside.
I go outside and blatantly speak my mind. I said, “Listen to me, don’t come over hear and try to handle a situation I have already taken care of and then degrade me. I am trying to work with you in settling this and make sure everyone is safe and all you can do is ask me if I know English. Don’t talk down to me! I am fully capable of talking with you like human beings and settling this like adults. But I will not tolerate degradation and belittling.” The same ass talks back to me and starts with, “I asked you if you know English because obviously you don’t understand.” I break in, “No, you don’t understand that I am trying to work with you and then you all turn against me.” Then they threaten me again, “You haven’t seen degradation yet, son. I will arrest you if you don’t go back inside.” Uncertainly, fist and jaws clenched, I slowly turn and walk back inside.
“Lockwood,” the recent past president starts, “you and I are different breeds. I always responded with ‘Yes sir. Yes sir. I know, sir. Yes sir.’ Not you though. Kicking doors and having it out with them.”
A second later, two of the guys walk in and tell me that the police officers were outside laughing and mocking me and were actually retelling the words that were exchanged between us. They leave, and I immediately walk back outside and start making phone calls to figure out what I can do about this.
I am not certain exactly what the RPD can do to me. Regular private property rights don’t apply to us. The tricky thing is that we are technically on state property since the land the fraternity house is on is owned by the university. Knowing this, I unwillingly cooperated with the officers, not knowing what my legal rights were.
Whatever the situation, it was not handled in a professional manner that I expected from professional law enforcers and two things are for certain: first, a complaint will be made to a superior officer about the unprofessional behavior of the officers talking to me (if it will do anything at all, I will be respected next time they approach me) and second, I will know the law about what the RPD can and can’t do as far as arresting me and walking into my house.
However, in effect, I cleaned the whole freakin’ house at four in the morning to try to let off some steam. So, something productive did come from it. But, I will not be degraded or belittled like I was tonight ever again by the RPD. And, from my soon to be gained knowledge about the Ruston Law, respect will be demanded and granted from those officers who got their quick giggle from my lack of knowledge. Because, unfortunately I will have to deal with them again in the near future.
It all started after we returned to the Sigma Nu house from a fun night at Rabb’s, a local bar here in Ruston. Two guys were having words with each other which I walked up in the middle of and felt like these two could handle it on their own terms. So, I sat back and made sure nothing escalated to more than verbal argument. Now, the two guys were in positions to which it would make it very difficult to continue anything physically. One was on the roof of the fraternity house and the other in the parking lot. However, another guy gets into it with the one in the parking lot and the confrontation quickly turns into a sizing up battle where one waits for the other to throw the first punch while they touch chests and stare each other down in a very overly-masculine way. This is my queue to step in and send one home and calm the other down. So, I tell one guy who lives here to go in the house and sleep it off. After some argument, he finally submits and goes inside.
Three minutes later five police cars roll up in a very eager manner. (First of all, five police cars. Do the RPD really have nothing better to do than roll up ten officers deep to a fraternity house on a noise complaint as if it were a freakin’ riot? Give me a break!) Me, being in the parking lot and fully capable to handle the officers, walk directly to the first officer I see and ask why they are at the Sigma Nu house. “We got a call of disturbance” the officer said. I said, “Okay, sir. I have handled the situation and told one of the guys to go home and the other, who lives here, to go to bed.” The one officer said, “Well, go wake him up; we need to talk to him.” Maybe wrongly, I said, “Officer, can you not take my word on the fact that I have handled the situation?” “No. Now go wake him up so we can talk to him.” I give in and walk toward the door and ask that the officers stay outside while I go get him. Six police officers walk in right behind me, completely disrespecting my request. To where they could hear me I say, “Or just come on in.” I don’t know much about the law, but I do know they can not walk in with out a warrant.
I get Brandon and I escort every one of the officers back outside. They are drilling Brandon with questions and I stand there just kind of observing the whole ordeal. Brandon goes back inside. There are maybe two or three other guys outside, still in the parking lot. The officer approaches me and says, “Sir, I recommend you get back inside, too.” “Okay, I’m just going to make sure those guys have a safe ride home,” I say. Immediately, something turned in the officer who was speaking to me. He said, “Do you understand English. I told you to get back inside.” Immediately a switched flipped with me, too. I turn to look the officer straight in the eyes and tell him, “Yes, I understand English. Don’t degrade me. I, as the acting leader of this fraternity, am trying to make sure my guys get home safe.” The same officer asked again, “I said, do you understand English? I told you to get back inside!” Right back and with the same aggressiveness as he was giving to me, “Yes, I understand English and do not degrade me again.” He came back with, “If you do not get back inside I will arrest you. Now, I suggest you get back inside!” Swallowing my pride and not sure if what he was saying was legal or not, I slowly turn around and walk back inside.
The other guys, about ten of them, were right inside the door listening to everything being said outside. We immediately start talking about what just happened with the police officers. All the while I am getting worked up. I kick the backdoor open several times out of frustration. The third time, the officers ask me to step outside. Acting like I don’t hear them, the door shuts. A few seconds the door swings open and the first officer I talked to asks me to come outside.
I go outside and blatantly speak my mind. I said, “Listen to me, don’t come over hear and try to handle a situation I have already taken care of and then degrade me. I am trying to work with you in settling this and make sure everyone is safe and all you can do is ask me if I know English. Don’t talk down to me! I am fully capable of talking with you like human beings and settling this like adults. But I will not tolerate degradation and belittling.” The same ass talks back to me and starts with, “I asked you if you know English because obviously you don’t understand.” I break in, “No, you don’t understand that I am trying to work with you and then you all turn against me.” Then they threaten me again, “You haven’t seen degradation yet, son. I will arrest you if you don’t go back inside.” Uncertainly, fist and jaws clenched, I slowly turn and walk back inside.
“Lockwood,” the recent past president starts, “you and I are different breeds. I always responded with ‘Yes sir. Yes sir. I know, sir. Yes sir.’ Not you though. Kicking doors and having it out with them.”
A second later, two of the guys walk in and tell me that the police officers were outside laughing and mocking me and were actually retelling the words that were exchanged between us. They leave, and I immediately walk back outside and start making phone calls to figure out what I can do about this.
I am not certain exactly what the RPD can do to me. Regular private property rights don’t apply to us. The tricky thing is that we are technically on state property since the land the fraternity house is on is owned by the university. Knowing this, I unwillingly cooperated with the officers, not knowing what my legal rights were.
Whatever the situation, it was not handled in a professional manner that I expected from professional law enforcers and two things are for certain: first, a complaint will be made to a superior officer about the unprofessional behavior of the officers talking to me (if it will do anything at all, I will be respected next time they approach me) and second, I will know the law about what the RPD can and can’t do as far as arresting me and walking into my house.
However, in effect, I cleaned the whole freakin’ house at four in the morning to try to let off some steam. So, something productive did come from it. But, I will not be degraded or belittled like I was tonight ever again by the RPD. And, from my soon to be gained knowledge about the Ruston Law, respect will be demanded and granted from those officers who got their quick giggle from my lack of knowledge. Because, unfortunately I will have to deal with them again in the near future.
posted by Luke Lockwood at 4/30/2005 03:38:00 AM
2 Comments:
Hey Luke,
That is absolutely rediculous. I was getting frustrated just reading your story. You should write a letter to the editor of The Tech Talk about this, so others can see how these men wrongly treated you, and they can be aware for themselves.
---Jen Reynolds
dad would be proud. kick some cop ass.
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