[Peace-discuss] Fw: [police oversight] '10 Rules for Dealing with Police' seeks to teach constitutional rights
Jenifer Cartwright
jencart13 at yahoo.com
Fri Mar 26 10:11:05 CDT 2010
AWARE Films would be happy to host another screening in the near future, and of course everyone would be welcome to attend -- I think it would generate a great discussion. Does anyone have a copy of the DVD to lend us? If yes, I'll get space at the Champaign Public Library and (as usual) bring the refreshments. We usually try for a Sunday afternoon but can be flexible about that. Suggestions?? --Jenifer
--- On Thu, 3/25/10, Laurie Solomon <ls1000 at live.com> wrote:
From: Laurie Solomon <ls1000 at live.com>
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Fw: [police oversight] '10 Rules for Dealing with Police' seeks to teach constitutional rights
To: "Jenifer Cartwright" <jencart13 at yahoo.com>, "BALDWIN RICKY" <baldwinricky at yahoo.com>, "Kessel Barbara" <barkes at gmail.com>, "peace-discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>, "ROSALES GIRALDO" <grosales at ad.uiuc.edu>, "sf-core" <sf-core at yahoogroups.com>, "Rent Todd" <terent at city.urbana.il.us>, "Finney R." <RT.Finney at ci.champaign.il.us>, "Dolinar Brian" <briandolinar at gmail.com>, "CARTER STEVE" <STEVE.CARTER at CI.CHAMPAIGN.IL.US>, "HOOKER JOSEPH" <joseph.hooker at ci.champaign.il.us>, "Walls Joan" <wallsja at ci.champaign.il.us>, "SCHWEIGHART JERRY" <jerryschweighart at ci.champaign.il.us>
Cc: "CUMPSTON COPE" <cumpston at uiuc.edu>, WillKyles at ci.champaign.il.us, "Dodds Marci" <marcidodds at ci.champaign.il.us>, "Imani Bazzell" <thinkandfeel at gmail.com>, "ELLIOTT CAROL" <CACELLIOTT at GMAIL.COM>, "Rosales Melodye" <melodye at nitrogendesign.com>, "BRUNO TOM" <tombruno at tombruno.com>, "FEINEN DEBORAH" <DeborahFrankFeinen at ci.champaign.il.us>, "Ladue Michael" <michaelladue at ci.champaign.il.us>, KarenFoster at ci.champaign.il.us
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2010, 9:48 PM
As you can see by the mailing list that I sent the post
to, it includes the mayor, city manager, almost all the Champaign City Council
members, a member of the Champaign City legal department, the Director of
Champaign Human Relations, and the Chief of Police in Champaign as well as
the Human Relations officer for Urbana. I do not know the names and email
addresses for the Urbana Mayor, the Urbana Aldermen, or personnel on the Urbana
staff; nor do I know contacts except Rosales on the County Board and in County
Offices. It is my hope that those who think this is a good idea will help
to spread the word to those officials and staff members in the various
jurisdictions and institutions.
From: Jenifer Cartwright
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 1:46 PM
To: BALDWIN RICKY ; Kessel Barbara ; peace-discuss ; ROSALES
GIRALDO ; sf-core ; Rent Todd ; Finney R. ; Dolinar
Brian ; CARTER STEVE ; HOOKER JOSEPH ; Walls
Joan ; SCHWEIGHART JERRY ; Laurie Solomon
Cc: CUMPSTON COPE ; WillKyles at ci.champaign.il.us ; Dodds Marci ; Imani
Bazzell ; ELLIOTT CAROL ; Rosales Melodye ; BRUNO TOM ;
FEINEN DEBORAH ; Ladue Michael ; KarenFoster at ci.champaign.il.us
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Fw: [police oversight] '10 Rules for
Dealing with Police' seeks to teach constitutional rights
Good points, Laurie. Add the Mayor and Champaign City
Council members to the list of invited viewers as well.
--Jenifer
--- On Thu, 3/25/10, Laurie Solomon
<ls1000 at live.com>
wrote:
From:
Laurie Solomon <ls1000 at live.com>
Subject:
[Peace-discuss] Fw: [police oversight] '10 Rules for Dealing with
Police' seeks to teach constitutional rights
To: "BALDWIN RICKY"
<baldwinricky at yahoo.com>,
"Kessel Barbara" <barkes at gmail.com>, "peace-discuss"
<peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>,
"ROSALES GIRALDO" <grosales at ad.uiuc.edu>,
"sf-core" <sf-core at yahoogroups.com>,
"Rent Todd" <terent at city.urbana.il.us>,
"Finney R." <RT.Finney at ci.champaign.il.us>,
"Dolinar Brian" <briandolinar at gmail.com>,
"CARTER STEVE" <STEVE.CARTER at CI.CHAMPAIGN.IL.US>,
"HOOKER JOSEPH" <joseph.hooker at ci.champaign.il.us>,
"Walls Joan" <wallsja at ci.champaign.il.us>,
"SCHWEIGHART JERRY" <jerryschweighart at ci.champaign.il.us>
Cc:
"CUMPSTON COPE" <cumpston at uiuc.edu>, WillKyles at ci.champaign.il.us,
"Dodds Marci" <marcidodds at ci.champaign.il.us>,
"Imani Bazzell" <thinkandfeel at gmail.com>,
"ELLIOTT CAROL" <CACELLIOTT at GMAIL.COM>,
"Rosales Melodye" <melodye at nitrogendesign.com>,
"BRUNO TOM" <tombruno at tombruno.com>,
"FEINEN DEBORAH" <DeborahFrankFeinen at ci.champaign.il.us>,
"Ladue Michael" <michaelladue at ci.champaign.il.us>,
KarenFoster at ci.champaign.il.us
Date:
Thursday, March 25, 2010, 12:58 PM
For what it is worth, I think that the contents
of this article are of some merit and worth taking into consideration
given the general validity of what is being said. I would take the
liberty of suggesting that it might be a good thing to obtain copies of
the film mentioned and show it in the schools as well as community
centers, churches, and other community facilities.
As a side note, I also think it might be of some
use if it were shown to police recruits in the PTI and officers -
particularly patrol officers and supervisory personnel - in the
various law enforcement departments so as to make them aware of some of
the "seen-but-unnoticed" practices and understandings that they might be
employing in evaluating situations that result in inflaming already
potentially contentious and volatile interactions and
situations. This might be a beneficial step in improving community
relations.
From: kwa357
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 11:42 AM
To: policeoversight at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [police oversight] '10 Rules for Dealing with
Police' seeks to teach constitutional rights
'10 Rules for Dealing with Police' seeks to teach constitutional
rights
By DeNeen L. Brown
Washington Post Staff
Writer
Thursday, March 25, 2010; C02
The short film "10 Rules
for Dealing With Police" opens with an unfortunate but common scene: A
young black man in a little red car, rap music blasting, is driving down
a gritty highway at night, minding his own business, thumping to a
beat.
A police car pulls behind him. The man becomes agitated as
he stops, muttering under his breath, "I am tired of this [expletive].
"
By the time the officer gets to his window and shines the
flashlight, the man, having done nothing but switch lanes, is projecting
much attitude. He rolls down his window halfway.
"Yeah, I know
the drill," he says, this being the fourth time in a year he has been
"pulled over for nothing."
"Excuse me?" the officer
says.
The man grabs his registration out of his glove
box.
"No need for the attitude, bro," the officer says. "I'm
looking out for your safety and everyone else on this road."
The
man mutters some obscenity.
The officer asks him to step out of
the car.
In that instant, he has violated the film's rule No. 1
for dealing with police.
"As soon as you opened your mouth, you
failed the rule with your attitude," says narrator William "Billy"
Murphy, a former Baltimore judge and defense attorney, best known for
his role in "The Wire."
"10 Rules," a docudrama produced by the
D.C. nonprofit Flex Your Rights, dispenses free legal advice with
no-holds-barred dialogue. The producers, D.C. residents Steven
Silverman, 33, and Scott Morgan, 30, created the film to help people in
urban areas understand their constitutional rights.
"I realized
the majority of people are confused and overwhelmed about how to handle
a police encounter," Silverman says, standing in the lobby of the Cato
Institute, the libertarian think tank where the film premiered
Wednesday.
Upstairs there are sandwiches, spring water and soda
in clear glasses for the policy wonks streaming in. This is what people
in think tanks do in the middle of the day in the middle of the week in
Washington: They take big, complicated issues, such as unintended
consequences of everyday events, and turn them into products the rest of
us can understand.
"Most people are constitutionally illiterate,"
says Silverman, a former Cato intern. "Most people will waive their
rights entirely during a police encounter."
Silverman and Morgan,
who studied criminal justice, plan to distribute DVDs to high schools,
community groups, youth groups and churches. They spent two years making
the film, which cost $110,000 and was funded in part by the Marijuana
Policy Project. It was shot in Baltimore.
"Minorities are the
audience," Morgan says. "It was important to us with this project
because people of color are disproportionately targeted by police across
the country." According the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics,
minorities are more likely to be searched when arrested. The bureau's
stats show that "stop and frisks" are occurring at record rates, Morgan
says, particularly where minorities and low-income people live. He
blamed "hard on crime" campaigns by politicians trying to get or stay
elected.
Silverman says there are unintended consequences for not
knowing the rules of what to do if stopped by police. "The term is
racial targeting," Silverman says.
Neill Franklin, a retired
Maryland state police officer, calls the film an important primer for
educating police academies. "I'm a cop. I'm straight from the streets,"
Franklin says. "One of the things I always talked with police academy
instructors about is to ensure we follow our oath, to serve and uphold
the Constitution of the United States. Most people think what a great
piece for kids and grown-ups, but I see it as a great tool for police
academies."
The 40-minute film is straightforward. Murphy, the
judge turned actor, is blunt in his advice. "There are lots of good
police out there doing what needs to be done," he says. "And I don't
need to tell you there are also a few too many cops who don't respect
the basic rights of innocent people."
He tells the audience: "The
smartest way to take the Fifth is to keep your mouth shut. You always
have the right to remain silent."
Then he makes them repeat a
lesson, like a teacher instructing a class: "Repeat after me, 'I don't
consent to searches.' " And the audience repeats.
In the film,
Murphy helps the man in the opening scene understand what happened when
he was pulled over and how he made the situation worse by not following
the rules.
"That cop profiled me," the man protests. "It's
ridiculous. I go to school -- I'm not a gun trafficker."
Murphy:
"I know how you feel, man. . . . You never know for sure what's going on
in an officer's head. I hate to say it, but from what I hear it sounds
like you broke the first rule of dealing with police: Always be calm and
cool."
Carry the rules on a little white napkin if you have to,
the producers say, but remember them:
1. Always be calm and
cool.
2. You have the right to remain silent.
3. You have
the right to refuse searches.
4. Don't get tricked into waiving
your rights.
5. Determine if you're free to go.
6. Don't
do anything illegal.
7. Don't run.
8. Never touch a
cop.
9. Report misconduct: Be a good witness.
10. You
don't have to let them in.
A spokesman for the D.C. police, who
had not seen the film, said the rules are good rules to follow.
"However," he said, "if you have nothing to hide and police are doing
some kind of investigation, you should tell them whatever they need to
know. Police are there to protect the society and the community in which
we work."
Rewind the opening scene: This time a polite young man
rolls down the window. The officer writes him a ticket for swerving
between lanes. The man gets back into his little red car, drives off
into the night.
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