2 girls, 1 cop (PLM XIX)

Were the two girls, of each at least one lives in London and was traveling back home, subject to unwarranted aggression, or were they able to transform their own arrest into a long-winded drama, at the expense of the image and reputation of the Romanian Police?

In the never-ending saga of police brutality (or is it confrontational, hostile citizens?), there’s a new  chapter, this time in Ramnicu Valcea. It seems that once again, the police was impotent in arresting recalcitrant drivers.

Romanian media identified the two women as Andreea B. and Cătălina M, each 22 y.o.; the two police officers can easily be approximated as one or 1.5,: while one is trying to push the “perp” into the car, the other is virtually outside the action, watching it on the phone camera, too much of a coward to do or say much, or caught between collegial duty and the knowledge that they are doing something wrong. In the end, this “police porn” is almost as difficult and annoying to watch as the “shock porn” (w-2g1c) of time passed.

How different is this incident from Dr Simona Tibu’s saga?

• the first obvious difference, neither the policeman nor the “perp” is alone
• the Canadian policeman is decisive and does not waste time negotiating
• Romanian police negotiates (first mistake) and then justifies the arrest with “you swore at us” (second mistake) – as far as visible

Is it illegal to insult a police officer? Though unadvisable, I believe it is completely legal. Here in Canada, a judge has recently issued a decision in this direction finding that victims of carding don’t have to always cooperate, and I recall I’ve mentioned in one comment, a while back, that even in the crazy-militarized-police USA a judge ruled in the same direction.

However, when asked to present your papers, you should identify yourself and provide at least your name to the police officer. Lying or refusing to do so can land you in court or under arrest. Filming a police officer is completely legal, but poorly trained officers might beat you or kill you (it happens quite often).

Yet this is in North America. In Romania, there might be a rule against insulting a police officer and maybe that is what they were applying, ultraj (although strangely, not in the case of the “lawyer”). Another rule which might exist in Romania, but it’s not very clear to me, is the necessity for a police officer to present their own ID to whomever they are asking to ID themselves:

1. Does the Romanian police officer have to simply state their name and function, or do they have to present ID?
2. Do they have to do so without prompting, or are they expected to provide ID without being asked?

The way the media is reacting, it seems as if people have been influenced by the news coming from USA, and, not having read my PLM series, seem to equate the two ways of policing. The policemen believe that if their North-American counterparts can act with impunity and murder & harass citizens, they can certainly harass two women for no reason. The two women fail to understand that opposing resistance to arrest, even while innocent, is a crime in itself and a crime they could not possibly defend against with “but I am innocent”.

This may cause the casual consumer of Romanian news to think that Romania is a realm of lawlessness, yet nothing is further from the truth: it has one of the lowest crime rates in the developing world and it remains one of the safest countries in Europe, despite its somewhat chaotic approach to policing. This makes the adoption of strong policing tactics from across the pond even more unmotivated. Even when stronger policing tactics are adopted, they should be preceded by disciplining police officers who abuse their function or are not sufficiently respectful.

Sources / More info: w-2g1c, fb-advla

Zamo, police, politia, police brutality, unnecessary force, politia romana, romanian police, ramnicu valcea, ultraj (Tags)