Good cop/bad cop NYPD

Let's go ahead and see the video first, and I will give you my own observations below...





So what we saw is one officer trying to affect an arrest. We don't know what the cause is for the arrest, or even if the arrest is valid, but that it actually irrelevant at that point, for the most part. It is an extremely narrow window to slip through in order to resist an unlawful arrest. Also keep in mind, a lawful arrest does not necessarily even mean you are guilty of any crime. Police can detain you without charges for up to 72 hours in some states, so long as they have established probable cause to do so. 

So assuming the arrest was lawful, then what we see is a police officer trying to physically move the suspect from the sidewalk to the police-cruiser with the suspect passively resisting the arrest using his own bodyweight, while screaming and creating a public disturbance.

Surprisingly, the second officer at the scene intervenes and actually becomes combative with the arresting officer, in an unprecedented display one officer publicly and professionally challenging another. From that we can glean that the second officer believed excessive force was being used to affect the arrest. Perhaps we are missing some crucial details in what transpired before the filming. Perhaps that officer simply hoped to de-escalate the situation by allowing for a little time for the suspect to calm down before being placed in the cruiser. A commendable action, and a common-sense move too often overlooked by most officers, who would rather get into a brawl than let someone calm down for 30-seconds. Patience certainly is no virtue among the police in this day and age.

So it appears that perhaps we have a good cop vs. bad cop scenario there. Then again, maybe the arresting officer is not really a "bad" cop so much as he is just not really a good cop. But then again, maybe we could say that about the second officer who heroically stepped in to defend the suspect. Look at what he does at the end of the tape. He goes after the cameraman! There is nothing illegal about filming an arrest and the officer had no duty or right to interfere with the filming of those events.

I found this video over at CopBlock.org