Florida Man Literally Arrested for Walking While Black

[onehandle]

A black Jacksonville, Florida man is suing the local police department after he was reportedly punched in the face, Tasered, and arrested — all for "walking on the wrong side of the road."

Bobby Wingate was walking to an appointment along Oliver Street in the neighborhood of Arlington when a JSO Police Officer pulled up and asked him to stop.

Wingate explained that he was running late, prompting the officer to cite him for "walking on the wrong side of the road."

Court papers show that the officer then punched Wingate in the face and "engaged his Taser."

http://gawker.com/florida-man-literally-arrested-for-walking-while-black-1303208765

[trumad]

1. Walking on the wrong side of the road?

I'm from Florida and had no idea that law existed...probably because it doesn't.

[MineralMan]

9. The law exists, but it's only enforced if a cop wants to hassle you.

If you're black, odds are the cop wants to hassle you.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.130.html

(4) Where sidewalks are not provided, any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall, when practicable, walk only on the shoulder on the left side of the roadway in relation to the pedestrian’s direction of travel, facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction.

Most states have a substantially identical law.

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. He should consider himself lucky

He didn't, after all, run into George Zimmerman.

[treestar]

12. Yes, even a real cop is better than George Zimmerman nt

[Fantastic Anarchist]

19. Not by much.

To clarify, the police as an institution is not much better than Zimmerman.

Sure, there are a few good cops, but the institution is failing the American public.

[RKP5637]

26. And none are doing a damn thing to stop it in the cascade to

full fascism. Instead, militarization continues, full speed.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

30. Yep.

[matt in france]

3. cops do shit like this all the time

to blacks, hispanics, whites, anyone they dont like the "look" of

I am glad people are speaking out about this now


this likely happens to black men at a higher percentage than they are of the overall population but it does happen to people of other ethnic and racial groups too, and happens to men much more often than it happens to women...
this happened to me many times as a kid and teen, but i never sued the cops out of fear, the fuckers even planted crack on my cousin and I and we are both white, me middle class and he rich.... lucklily rich because one minute on the cell phone with our millionaire grandfather and they put their crack back in their pocket.

[MrScorpio]

4. Are you trying to argue that the cops don't target people of color disproportionally?

Yes, police misconduct can affect anyone regardless of race. We all know that.

But you're making this same argument in this thread, that cops wrongly treat whites as badly as minorities, as you did in my own thread earlier about stop and frisk.

What are you saying, that minorities AREN'T worse off in this country due to police misconduct?

[malaise]

5. Just laugh - or cry

[MrScorpio]

6. Saying it once is like, OK

But repeating that line, even in different circumstances, is notable.

[malaise]

11. One day the bubble will burst

Sometimes I think more persons should take a leaf from John Howard Griffin's Black Like Meexperience when he darkened his skin and travelled through the segregated US south. Few white people understand the experiences of Afro-American in general and Afro-American men in particular.

True story - a close friend migrated to Florida a few years ago and took their then 14 year old son with them. He took a wrong turn during his first week of school and walked back home. A few doors from his home he saw a lady sitting on her patio, waved and said 'good morning' and in a loud voice he was greeted with a 'Fuck You N....r!'

This middle class Jamaican kid was more than traumatized for weeks. His mom and step dad simply told him 'welcome to reality'. On the other hand other neighbors (the Democrats) were warm and friendly. This was in a University neighborhood.

[treestar]

13. We need some white person to walk down that road on the wrong side

Some person willing to put their ass on the line a little - to see if they get cited for it.

Punched in the face, too. Probably not, it's a safe bet for our experiment. They won't get punched in the face, but cited at most.

[KentuckyWoman]

17. or the whole neighborhood

I got tased once. It caused me to have a heart attack and fried out my pacemaker. Why? For the horrible crime of having a flat tire on the highway and as Dad taught standing on the shoulder about 100ft from the car waiting on AAA. Cop stopped and ordered me to get the tire changed and off the highway. I politely said I weigh 92 pounds and can't get the bolts loose ...AAA is coming. Tased for refusal to comply.

About my whole town took turns clogging up that part of the shoulder with signs a flat tire is not a crime until the county finally fired the cop.

Walking is not a crime.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

20. Holy shit!

That is absolutely fucked up.

I'm glad that asshole didn't kill you. What kind of a person does something like that?

Glad you're okay and posting.

[MrScorpio]

21. JEEZUS!

I'm glad that you're OK and that they fired that fool.

What the hell is this country coming to?

[arikara]

23. That's horrible

I'm so glad your community stepped up for you though.

[Skittles]

24. aw you missed it in your previous thread!!!

MIF complained about how tough it was growing up in a lily-white suburb!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3631534

[Iggo]

7. Oh, jeez.

Just...no.

[The Magistrate]

10. And The Broken Record Of Made-Up Smack Strikes Again

This nonesense is pretty much the total contribution of this one-note-Johnny to the forum, which he obviously joined in an endeavor to make DU suck by constantly repeating his fantasies.

[malaise]

14. +1,000 Sir

[The Magistrate]

15. I Encountered Him In Another Thread, Ma'am: He Is So Obvious It Drips....

Part of his mistake is to have set his tale in a metro area I have spent most of my life in, and raised children and grand-children in.

[raccoon]

31. You sure got that right! nt

[HappyMe]

16. Didn't you post this nearly identical

horseshit in another thread?


You must be smoking something now if you believe that black people are not targeted because of their color.

[stevenleser]

32. Thou Hath Disrupted... Poorly.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=profile&uid=307390

[cali]

8. Nothing short of that officer being fired and prosecuted is acceptable

[Fantastic Anarchist]

18. Our police forces are out of control.

The sooner we realize that, the better.

Unacceptable. The fucker is still on the job, too!

[truebrit71]

22. Sadly sounds like this old sketch from the BBC's Not the Nine O'clock News...

[gopiscrap]

25. Fucking God damn red neck cops are out control again

[Uncle Joe]

27. It seems Mr. Wingate than this police officer.

In addition to money, Wingate is also seeking an apology from the department.

However, he insists that his beef isn't with the officer who arrested him. "If I ever see him again, and he needs my help for something, I'll help him," Wingate said.

Thanks for the thread, onehandle.

[Cha]

28. Bless his heart!

Good luck Bobby Wingate. Make that "wrong side the road" .. turn out to be a lucky walk~!

Damn!

[Liberal_in_LA]

29. kick