Thursday, September 4, 2014

What NOT To Call A Police Officer

Phillips Street, midnight 9/1/14

As I pointed out in my weekend wrap up, Phillips Street -- the slummiest street in Amherst -- was almost impassable to vehicular traffic just after midnight in the Sunday overnight leading into Labor Day morning.

Problem with that is an ambulance or fire truck can't make it down the street, and when you mix that large a crowd with equally large amounts of alcohol it's not uncommon for an ambulance or firetruck to be needed in a hurry.

So Amherst police, acting like herding dogs, will move in to redirect the crowd.


Obviously Luke V. Gatti did not want to be herded ...


Click to enlarge/read
Page 2 continues:  "a temper tantrum like behavior.  Mr. Gatti then clenched his hands and held his arms in a defiant manner consistent with an agitated state.  He was arrested for Disorderly Conduct."

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Tuesday Judge Payne imposed a $100 (Court cost) fine and placed Mr. Gatti on probation for four months.

 Luke Gatti, age 18, stands before Judge John Payne

About 30 minutes after his original arraignment Mr. Gatti returned to the courtroom to ask Judge Payne for extra time to pay the $100 fine, as he did not want to place it on his credit card. 

Makes you wonder who gets to see a copy of his monthly statement.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a dirtbag. No public drunkeness charge accompanying his already out of line behavior? Also, was the officer black? He used the non-friendly n-word.. figured that would constitute a harsher penalty.

Larry Kelley said...

No, the detective is white.

Dr .Ed said...

And you wonder why the Flynn report hasn't been released yet....

Any competent police officer would have ignored that little prick -- you ignore him and one of two things will happen -- he'll either go away or he'll escalate.

If he escalates, then you've got him dead-to-rights for something serious. You will then have grounds to ask Enku to boot him, and what is Daddy's Lawyer going to say when you say "I was ignoring the stuff he had been doing because I was hoping I wouldn't have to arrest him -- I really was hoping that one of his friends would drag him home."

And you know thee is a very real chance one of his friends might actually do that.

And I'm not even asking where Bill Newman is anymore -- I don't approve of swearing at cops, but that is speech that is Constitutionally protected. One of the things we fought the Revolution over was the right to tell governmental officials that we don't like them.

Has the good detective ever heard of the case of _Cohen v. California_?

Oh, and Larry, exactly how long do you think any of those kids would have stayed in the road, blocking a fire or ambulance, after the first blast of the air horn?

I believe it is beyond the pain threshold. I really don't think anyone is going to stand in front of an air horn.

Anonymous said...

Oh Ed, shut it. If you air horn these children my guess that it would be the equivalent of hitting a hornets nest with a stick, but these kids prefer to throw bottles. If I read it correctly and used google-fu the kid wasn't arrested for what he said. It was his actions combined witty the impact such actions "may" have had on the public. Something about public inconvience and alarm, or so says the almighty internet links.

citizen sane said...

Ed, What is the Flynn report?

Dr. Ed said...

If you air horn these children my guess that it would be the equivalent of hitting a hornets nest with a stick

There is a great deal of research that shows that if cops aren't assholes, they don't have anywhere near as many problems -- that even the people they arrest are more cooperative.

I really don't think things have gotten to the point where the UM Students would intentionally block passage of a fire truck or ambulance -- and if it is making enough noise, they'll get out of its way.

the kid wasn't arrested for what he said. It was his actions combined witty the impact such actions "may" have had on the public. Something about public inconvience and alarm,

Pretty much what the State of California said in _Cohen v. California_, although they added that "women and children were present."

"Public inconvenience and alarm" -- you have got to be kidding. That is one of those 17th Century Bullshit statutes that ought to be challenged if it actually means this.

Hell, two lesbians kissing could constitute "public inconvenience and alarm" under this interpretation and I like to think that the APD isn't going to go around rounding up the lesbians. I hope...

Anonymous said...

Oh Ed shut up and get a life. 2 lesbians kissing are never going to be considered to constitute public inconvenience and alarm. You use the two lesbians kissing a lot. Is that a fantasy of yours or something?

Dr. Ed said...

2 lesbians kissing are never going to be considered to constitute public inconvenience and alarm. You use the two lesbians kissing a lot. Is that a fantasy of yours or something?

My fantasy is seeing the lesbians treated like the young white men they try to emulate -- treated exactly like them and hence BEING ARRESTED like them.

After all, doesn't "equality" mean "being treated equally"?

My point, however, is that there are parts of this country where they'd arrest two lesbians for kissing if they possibly could. Places where laws would be as creatively interpreted as they were here to arrest this UM student. Can you say "Bible Belt"?

(And as to two men kissing in public -- I've met people from places where I have no doubt it would be a case of "rounding up your drinking buddies" and those two men would never be seen again. Yes, such places do exist.... )

One state, memory is that it is Kentucky, has a law that says something to the effect of "as a wife's primary duty is to her husband and her household, girls under the age of 15 who fail to attend school shall not be considered truant if they are married."

(Not specified is how many years under the age of 15....)

It's a big world out there boys 'n' girls, and there are places in this country that are every bit as far to the right as Amherst is to the left.

I don't know about the Town of Amherst, but Harvey Silverglate makes the point that UMass once was as far to the right as it now is to the left -- apparently once going so far as to prevent Angela Davis from speaking on campus. I remember when Housing Services was run by a man so conservative that he vehemently opposed condom distribution in ARHS.

Silverglate's point is that political tides can and do turn, and hence the civil rights that those whom you don't like currently do or don't have are the same civil rights that you won't have in the future when your side isn't in power.

A dictatorship looks one way if you are the dictator -- and quite different if your worst enemy is the dictator -- I always suggest to police officers that they presume the possibility that they personally or someone whom they care about is falsely (and maliciously) accused of a crime -- and to consider those pesky due process requirements in that light, but I digress...

Anonymous said...

Witnesses to the event tell a different story of what the individual actually said. Maybe it's time for Mr. Kelley to report some of the recurring themes of manipulation instead of just being a useless tool passing allegations as fact.

Unknown said...

Dr. Ed sounds like this kid after growing up.

Anonymous said...

http://www.someecards.com/videos/wtf/college-drunk-mac-and-cheese-luke-gatti/

Anonymous said...

Wait until he graduates in 7 years and prospective employers look up his name. Then he's really f'd. Dude will be lucky if he can get a job dishing out jalapeno mac and cheese.

Dr.Ed said...

Out-of-state tuition at both UMass and UConn? My guess is that he won't be need to be looking for a job, Daddy will find him one.

In watching the video, I again say that the little prick should have been ignored.

I don't see a beer in his hands -- not in the video -- so if he got rid of it, let it go. He is sober enough to walk upright, he doesn't have any more beers on him, let it go....

With this on video, there's a really good chance daddy's gonna sue -- and why risk it?

Anonymous said...

He was trying to let it go. He told the student to leave multiple times because they would not serve him. The kid would not and began to physically assault the manager. After multiple times of pushing the manager he was arrested. its very cut and dry. How could you possibly watch that video and not see why he was put in handcuffs.

You sound like exactly the type of person who would start and altercation and believe that you can get away with anything you want.

Also he is 19 and was drinking, which is illegal and would have been grounds for an arrest if the manager had wanted to call the police about that initially. It wasn't until the student became physical that the police were summoned. You are dumb....