Comments on: Today’s Headlines http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/30/todays-headlines-328/ Covering the New York City Streets Renaissance Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:07:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Anonymous from EU http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/30/todays-headlines-328/comment-page-1/#comment-43822 Anonymous from EU Thu, 31 Jan 2008 07:22:51 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/30/todays-headlines-328/#comment-43822 Davis, you fell for the sensationalist trap. Do a reality check. NOW! Tell me how do cops ever catch drunk drivers if they can't know it before stopping them? They observe the driver's driving behaviour and if it matches that of a drunk driver then they have a valid reason for stopping. Did you even read the article? Not having a light while riding at night was a legal justification for him being stopped. The article says he jumped the bike when the deputy got his attention. That is called "resisting an arrest" and it was THE (legal) justification for the tasing. These are two issues the first of which lead to the other. I give you two headlines: * "Cops tase a man resisting arrest" * "Cops tase a man who rode a bike" Both describe the event truthfully (the man did ride a bike before he was tased). Which one do you think attracts more readers? Which one would a sensationalist editor pick? Davis, you fell for the sensationalist trap. Do a reality check. NOW!

Tell me how do cops ever catch drunk drivers if they can’t know it before stopping them? They observe the driver’s driving behaviour and if it matches that of a drunk driver then they have a valid reason for stopping.

Did you even read the article? Not having a light while riding at night was a legal justification for him being stopped. The article says he jumped the bike when the deputy got his attention. That is called “resisting an arrest” and it was THE (legal) justification for the tasing. These are two issues the first of which lead to the other.

I give you two headlines:

* “Cops tase a man resisting arrest”
* “Cops tase a man who rode a bike”

Both describe the event truthfully (the man did ride a bike before he was tased). Which one do you think attracts more readers? Which one would a sensationalist editor pick?

]]> By: Davis http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/30/todays-headlines-328/comment-page-1/#comment-43765 Davis Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:20:16 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/30/todays-headlines-328/#comment-43765 Mr. EU, The cop couldn't possibly have known that the cyclist was drunk and undocumented before he pulled out the Taser. Drunk and undocumented are probably post-facto justifications for the Taser and traffic stop. I know it's different in the EU but here in the good ol' USA, all too often, simply being a cyclist makes you GUILTY in the eyes of the cops. Guilty, all too often, means Time to Get Out the Taser... http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/06/13/man-tasered-and-arrested-for-leaving-airport-by-bike/ It is sensational, isn't it? Mr. EU,

The cop couldn’t possibly have known that the cyclist was drunk and undocumented before he pulled out the Taser. Drunk and undocumented are probably post-facto justifications for the Taser and traffic stop. I know it’s different in the EU but here in the good ol’ USA, all too often, simply being a cyclist makes you GUILTY in the eyes of the cops. Guilty, all too often, means Time to Get Out the Taser…

http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/06/13/man-tasered-and-arrested-for-leaving-airport-by-bike/

It is sensational, isn’t it?

]]> By: Anonymous from EU http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/30/todays-headlines-328/comment-page-1/#comment-43763 Anonymous from EU Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:01:40 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/30/todays-headlines-328/#comment-43763 Would you have included a headline that read "Cops tase a man who rode a car with broken tail light?" Because that's what the one story is really about. A man who was drunk, rode a vehicle without lights, carried "false government documents" and FLED THE POLICE when stopped. Tasing him was a correct decision and had NOTHING to do with the fact that he was a bicyclist. This kind of BULLSHIT sensationalism doesn't really look good on you. Would you have included a headline that read “Cops tase a man who rode a car with broken tail light?” Because that’s what the one story is really about. A man who was drunk, rode a vehicle without lights, carried “false government documents” and FLED THE POLICE when stopped. Tasing him was a correct decision and had NOTHING to do with the fact that he was a bicyclist.

This kind of BULLSHIT sensationalism doesn’t really look good on you.

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