I know a guy who knows a guy 
...who is the subject of this story. When I first saw it come down Slashdot's RSS feed, I gave it a casual read at the time. Slashdot's stories are usually interesting but I find that most of the time the comments that people post turn into a bash Bush and bash America fest. Constructive criticism posted by mature minds is sometimes found in the comments but the kiddies at Slashdot usually drown those out.

Anyway, that's enough Slashdot bashing. After all, I don't have to read it, much like if someone doesn't like Fox News, they don't have to watch it. Anyway, it turns out a friend of mine is an acquaintance of Michael. You can follow Michael's commentary on the progress at his blog.

I have long been critical of police because they seem to be taking the path of least resistance. They target the easy catch - like using night vision goggles to enforce seat belt usage or set up 'safety checkpoints' to do this; so instead of fighting crime, they camp out on a busy road and harass granny. In Micheal's case it's the same thing. Instead of telling Micheal to beat it and that he has real crime to fight, the officer decided to use his training and the powers granted to him, to arrest a man who did nothing wrong. That blanket CYA "obstructing official business" sounds like a vague charge that can be used to justify arresting anyone the officer sees fit; anyone, that is, who isn't doing anything illegal.

Menschenfeindlichkeit 
Slashdot: a true bastion of insightful and intellectual discourse

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