EDITORIAL: Contempt of Cop

Law student Anthony Wright has filed a complaint with Metro's Internal Affairs division, which will doubtless conclude after much navel contemplation that officers did nothing wrong in handcuffing the young fellow and taking him to jail after he was allegedly found riding his bicycle without a light on Aug. 25.

At least the police officers -- writing up a report two weeks after the fact, when the Review-Journal started asking questions -- have been forthright enough to admit the real reason the young law clerk was arrested, on the kind of matter usually ignored or handled with a warning or citation.

He had the nerve to ask why he was being harassed.

"What are you stopping me for?" Mr. Wright remembers asking. "If you're looking for someone, you've got the wrong guy."

Mr. Wright's crime was indicating that he knew the law and his rights. But many officers don't seem to like citizens who know and assert their rights. In this case, Mr. Wright reports that his two interrogators responded, "You're giving us lip? OK, you're under arrest."

The real offense here, clearly, was "Contempt of Cop."

While demurring that it's not his place to second-guess whether the citations themselves were appropriate, Gary Peck of the local American Civil Liberties Union got it about right, branding the arrest, jailing, and fingerprinting as clear cases of bad judgment.

"This is a minor violation, yet he ended up in handcuffs and processed through a criminal justice system that is already overwhelmed," Mr. Peck commented. "Is there really anyone in Metro who believes this is the best way for law enforcement to be using their resources?"

Let's hope not.

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