This is an excerpt from a piece I just wrote. Just fed up here with the general, all-around fucked upness surrounding us all...
from Walking In Small Towns In America
from Walking In Small Towns In America
So if you are walking anywhere in Ponca City and have had a
drink, beware of the police, or anywhere in Oklahoma and God knows where else,
for that matter. It is an Oklahoma
statute that officers can arrest anyone with alcohol on their breath for a
public intox charge at their discretion.
There is no field sobriety test that needs to be given, under the law,
and also, an officer isn’t even required to have a probable cause to approach
someone walking. The statute has
no standard BAC level in regards to public intox, so technically, a person with
one or two drinks can be arrested.
No proof needs to be given.
A person can be arrested for public intox in a bar. Officers don’t carry cameras. If it’s contested in court, it’s just
word against word, in most cases.
This
is yet another reason that stifles a walking culture in the cities of America
and is encroaching on pedestrians’ freedom to walk. Recently, a pedestrian walked from a bar to Walgreens, found
it was closed and immediately walked back. This pedestrian was almost back to
his destination, walking on the sidewalk, when two police cruisers who had been
watching the place pulled to the side of the road and hollered to him. No reason was given for why they
approached him and there was not even a written citation given. By other accounts, the pedestrian had
not been stumbling, swaying or falling down.
The fine was $160 and 6- 8 hours in a jail cell. He was advised to pay the fine because
90 % of these cases are lost, according to the booking officer. Even if he were to win, the court costs
and time taken would’ve not been refunded. The pedestrian’s friend stated that he was once arrested by
a Ponca City policeman after having two drinks in a two-hour timeframe, walking
through a parking lot, then went to court and won, but still wasn’t refunded
the court fees which added up to nearly the ticket. If one is to be proven
innocent, the state should refund the citizen all court costs, at the very
least. This is just one
example. Another story involves a
senior citizen who was arrested on suspicion of a DUI. It turned out that he was below the
limit, but not until he’d already spent an uncomfortable night in jail, and in
the end he was never refunded the impoundment fee for his vehicle. How much
money has the legal system taken in this way? Where is the complete justice in the so-called justice
system?
This pedestrian went to file a harrassment complaint to the captain of
the police and finally learned that he was questioned because there was a call
about a suspect that was violating a protective order who had left on foot from
Timbers Apartments. However, all
the officer needed to do was check the pedestrian’s ID, quickly find out he
wasn’t the suspect and just politely tell him to go on his way and be sure to
take a cab home. This overreaction
by police officers has resulted in a society where the citizens don’t trust the
law enforcement and there is no need to be criminalizing walkers in a place
where people drive too much anyway.
It
is this reviewer’s opinion that some state legislature should be reevaluated to
allow for reimbursement of court fees regarding improper arrests and that there
should be some sort of official stipulation concerning public intox arrests.
***
There
are many things that need to be changed in this country called America, and
this issue concerning a minor incident involving alcohol is nothing in scope
compared to the major crises that are now facing us (and have been for a long
time!) Still, it concerns basic
civil liberties and is indicative of a fatal flaw in our system. There is definitely something wrong in
this country, going deeply wrong and everyone must work for change wherever
they see they can make even the slightest difference.
As
far as this goes, I spoke to a lawyer who suggested it didn’t hurt to try to
make it right. He said this kind
of racket has been going on for years, especially with the Native American
population who commonly walk. He
said the only thing that could possibly be done is to change the law. I could
visit city hall and find out how to put the issue regarding the statute on the
ballot. He was reluctant to
involve himself with a complaint regarding the officer, due to paranoia about
angering these small town police.
After
I’d scheduled an appointment with the captain of the police, there was finally
a written report from my two arresting officers. The Captain said that Officer 2 stated he was never speaking
up for me, that instead he was just commenting that I was walking and in the
report claimed I was swaying. This
runs contrary to others’ reports, including a very sober friend of mine who has
been around me many times while drinking and says she has never seen me like
that. I’m not saying I’ve never swayed
before… I’m not claiming to be
perfect here. A relative of
the said officer who I happen to know stated that one time that officer punched
a teenage girl in the face for no reason, back when he was a teenager.
Of
course, I would’ve been stunned if I were returned my money. In no way was I expecting it, but it
was just the principle. Actually,
I used the paper as notes to talk with the captain in person and no form was
ever filed. After a discussion
about the current laws, I saw, what I’d known all along, that it was futile in
regards to that situation, but I had at least gotten the details. To be fair, the captain gave me his
card and offered to let me ride around in an officer’s car some night, if I
wish. I am not out to
denounce all police officers, but I do believe there are a fair share who are
overstepping their bounds and there needs to be changes in the system.
This
little story here is like a prequel to Ray Bradbury’s great short story, The
Pedestrian. I sent an article
about this to the Op Ed section of the small town newspaper, of which I am a
former employee in the circulation room, and around to various papers in the
state, but I doubt if any will dare to publish an article criticizing bored
police officers in small towns where not much serious crime is happening. Instead, if you’re walking in a small
town in America in the daylight for the purpose of a destination, you will be
viewed as eccentric or poor rather than healthy and sound, and if you’re
walking after dark, you will be a suspect.
