The Globe reports Boston Police are investigating an incident at Washington and Lesher streets in Roslindale in which an officer trying to get a suspect into a cruiser during an arrest briefly put his hands on the guy's neck - after the guy started resisting getting into the cruiser and screaming as a crowd of his pals rushed the scene.
The Globe points to an excerpt of this video (NSFW for language) showing the arrest.
The video, which was originally uploaded to Facebook on Saturday, starts with an officer using his own phone to record a guy standing in the middle of Washington Street while plainclothes officers investigate something at the Domino's. When the guy yells "Fuck the pigs, my nigga, fuck these nigga bitches, suck my dick, nigga!" to the camera, one of the cops decides to arrest him - on charges of disorderly conduct and blocking traffic.
After he was peacefully handcuffed, a crowd of teens gathers round, he starts resisting getting into the cruiser and screaming about what he wants to do to the cops, the kids start screaming and pushing and a uniformed officer briefly puts his hands on the guy's neck - although without any apparent pressure, and not enough to get him to stop yelling.
The videoer, meanwhile, provides his own commentary. When the cops try to put the traffic blocking guy in a cruiser and he repeats what he wants to do to the police, a crowd of teens starts screaming and pushing and then the videoer starts screaming "Somebody's gonna get shot!" repeatedly even though none of the cops had their guns drawn.
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Comments
Nice kids
By relaxyapsycho
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 8:28am
Destined for great things, to be sure.
What that kid needs is a good
By Whit
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 8:58am
What that kid needs is a good spanking and then sent straight to bed in the jailhouse without his supper. You want the cops to ignore this kind of shit and swaddle every punk in a blankie then let me tell you these dogs will be through your window and slitting your throat in fairly short order. Are the whiners already saying the cops were too mean to him?
RIGHT?
By Marco
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:39am
They should focus on arresting punk kids going home with groceries on the bus for wearing fake bullet-clad accessories.
He seems so proud of himself
By anon
Wed, 08/26/2015 - 12:40pm
He seems so proud of himself and his 15 minutes of fame.
And I hope that is an old profile picture (no bruises on his neck)
https://www.facebook.com/?_rdr=p#!/elvin.vargas.96...
isn't it telling that the cops were taking their own video?
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 8:42am
I don't understand all the contention and outrage on this. People online are seriously calling this police brutality, which seems like an insult to people who have been the victims of real cases of brutality.
After being cuffed for disorderly, multiple officers attempt to get him into the cruiser with hands on his head and chest to guide his ass in to the seat. When the uniformed officer puts one hand near his neck, the other is flat against his face. If the kid was being "strangled" -- as a few of the anti-police blogs have put it -- he wouldn't be able to continue yelling, inciting the crowd, and actively resisting. Basic anatomy and physiology. He put his hand on the base of the suspect's neck, which is a good spot to avoid being bitten, since that's not outside the realm of possibility when trying to restrain someone who is unruly.
Also, the "am I being detained" circle-jerkers are crying that this young man was arrested for yelling something protected by free speech. No. He was arrested for disorderly conduct for blocking traffic. The cop even says it in the video. Resisting didn't help his cause, though I'm sure his boys now think he's hard.
Stick to the Constitution
By RightDownTheMiddle
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:12am
Reading the comments in the Globe, and the few already posted here on U-Hub I'm amazed at the seeming lack of understanding of the Constitution that many people have. No matter how hurt the officer's feelings were you can't arrest someone for swearing at you. What we have here is textbook Unlawful Detention which is a violation of the victim's 4th Amendment Rights. We also have a violation of his 2nd Amendment Rights as he was arrested for hurling obscenities at the officers which like it or not is protected free speech.
I'm not a fan of the guy's language or the message of that language, but considering Boston is the birthplace of the American Revolution I just can't see how anyone who has ever taken a grade school History class wouldn't acknowledge the Officers are completely wrong in this instance. It's as if people only care about the Constitution when it's convenient for them.
2nd amendment has nothing to do with this.
By Boston_res
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:21am
"We also have a violation of his 2nd Amendment Rights as he was arrested for hurling obscenities at the officers which like it or not is protected free speech. "
He was also blocking traffic. Where does the constitution say you can block traffic?
He is traffic.
By BikeWithKids
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:36am
Cars block streets all the time. Why can't a pedestrian?
Not so much
By skunkty14
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:59am
1. Streets are designated for vehicle traffic flow (cars, trucks, bicycles, motorcycles) not pedestrians.
2. Impeding flow of traffic with your vehicle is a ticketable offense in MA under Title XIV Chpt. 90 Sec. 13 of the MGL.
You have got to be kidding.
By Boston_res
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:02am
From page 106 of the Massachusetts Drivers manual:
"State law requires you to use a crosswalk when one is available. If an intersection has a traffic signal, press the button and wait for the WALK signal. Intersections with no push buttons automatically give WALK signals. Be patient!"
I certainly saw a sidewalk in that video, did you not?
From pate 106 again:
"You must use a sidewalk when one is available. When no sidewalk is available, you should walk on the shoulder facing traffic."
The individual in the video was walking with traffic, not facing it. Although, once again, there was a sidewalk available.
http://www.massrmv.com/rmv/dmanual/
One last note, don't ever call a woman traffic.
Not quite
By Waquiot
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:14am
If I were to just park my car, blocking the roadway, I would be breaking the law. My guess is that if a cop came along and was wondering, say, why traffic suddenly could not get from Forest Hills to the Square, saw that I had angle parked so that no cars could get by at all, and after telling me to move, I refused, I would probably be in the squad car soon enough. On the other hand, I could just be trying to make a left turn but can't due to the volume going in the other direction. In both instances, a car is blocking the street, but the circumstances would lead to different responses.
If you need a walking comparison, it is the difference between the line that forms along Commonwealth Avenue when people are waiting to get into the Paradise for a show and antiabortion protestors attempting to block access to Planned Parenthood up the street. Yes, both are people massing on the sidewalk, but the purpose of the latter is a lot different than the purpose of the former.
Cars have more rights than
By Kinopio
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:21am
Cars have more rights than humans in this country unfortunately. They can block traffic, kill cyclists, park on sidewalks etc and won't even get a ticket.
That might be the most illogical comment ever
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:25am
Inanimate objects cant have rights. You cant hold your keyboard accountable for you typing that ridiculous comment, can you?
Whoosh
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:56am
Look around at how killing someone with a car or a truck is a "get our of murder for free card" in these parts, and try again.
Way over your head
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 11:21am
"with a car" not a car killing someone.
my god
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 11:09am
Just when I thought I'd seen it all on UHub...
UH lawyers, love 'em
By anonamonster
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 1:21pm
From the esteemed office of Butthurt and Wahhhh, LLC.
Look Again
By RightDownTheMiddle
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 12:45pm
First of all he wasn't the only person in the street and second of all if we're going by the video evidence, he was not blocking traffic at all. The guy actually walked from one street to another. It's a trumped up charge that will get thrown out and it was an Unlawful Arrest.
There is a good video...
By Marco
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:53am
...on you tube of NYC police shooting a guy in Times Square for blocking trafic and ranting like a lunatic...and they shot like 4 or 5 times, hit him once. Where did those other bullets go?!? TIMES EFFING SQ!!!! The possibility of hitting other people is sky-high in that area. What a lot of people don't realize is that most* cops don't leave the station in the morning wanting to arrest people. Typically they try and de-escalate a situation first, to resolve an issue without ruining anyone's life that day. Then as a situation progresses they take action when they feel it necessary. This kid was defintely disorderly, and blocking traffic. They could have walked up, tackled him, arrested him, slammed him in the back of the cruiser, and gone about their day...same charges would be levied. They let him go on and on and tried to coax him out of the road when he poked the hornets nest and started berating cops. It is your first amendment right to say whatever you want, no matter how stupid. The consequence of what he said was that the cops' patience for his bullshit expired right then and there, and instead of going home and getting away with causing a disturbance unharmed, he got arrested.
Many of us break the law every single day. Somehow, some way. If you are not a total dick about it you'll probably get through life without a record.
*For the record I am no lover of cops, and I realize there are plenty of crooked ones, having myself been on the receiving end of police brutality. However, the point stands, you need to fucking behave around them. They just want to go home and collect a paycheck while putting up with as little bullshit as possible.
Many courts have ruled that
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:08am
Many courts have ruled that yelling the n bomb multiple times at a person , Police officers included would not qualify as protected speech.
No.
By Cantabrigian
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 12:06pm
You are so fucking wrong about what is and is not protected speech. What case?
In Cohen v. California, Cohen was acquitted of disorderly conduct for wearing a pin reading "Fuck the Draft" in a courthouse. Snyder v. Phelps, you can be an asshole in public without giving rise to a tort.
If you put on a white hood and shout "kill those n words" at a group of black people, your speech is almost certainly not protected. This is speech directed at eliciting immediate, lawless action. I should point out that cross burning itself is not prima facie evidence of fighting words. This is settled law.
If you shout "fuck the police, my nigga" while walking away from a cop, your speech is definitely protected. Showing contempt for the police is not a crime.
Please, please educate yourself.
Isn't he calling a police officer the N-word to his face?
By Ron Newman
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 2:23pm
I wonder if that's really protected free speech.
Shouldn't matter.
By Cantabrigian
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 2:35pm
Contempt of cop, while not advisable, isn't a crime. In City of Houston v. Hill, the Supreme Court took a dim view on an arrest in Houston where a cop asked the appellate if he was trying to start a fight. The appellate answered in the affirmative.
No reasonable court would interpret a black kid calling a white cop the n-word to be fighting words.
Nice!
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 4:34pm
Does that mean I can walk up to you and start yelling at you and calling you names, and as long as I don't try to re-arrange your face, all you can do is just stand there and take it?
If this doesn't happen to you
By chaosjake
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 8:04pm
If this doesn't happen to you semi-regularly, you must not live around here.
Probably Not
By Cantabrigian
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:08pm
It's unfortunate, but the world really isn't as black and white as you wish it was. Facts matter. I'm not a cop, the law doesn't hold me to a higher standard of self-control. Suppose you decided to be an internet tough guy and get in my face. If I were to hit you, the law would probably reasonably conclude that I acted in self-defense.
On the other hand, let's say you shouted "Fuck Cantabrigian, his mother smells like old books" while on the other side of the street. If I hit you in this instance, I would clearly be guilty of assault.
In this case, we had a bunch of hothead cops decide to escalate a conflict with some idiot kids. The cop moved to arrest one kid for saying "fuck the police" while walking away. This isn't fighting words, it's just contempt of cop. Legal or not, I think we all agree that it's a pretty stupid thing to do. He was then arrested due to the content of his speech. If the kid had been running around the street yelling "I love the BPD," it's inconceivable to think he would have been arrested.
That's when everyone got even stupider. The kid became combative, the cop put his hands on the kids throat. This is bad policing and worse optics.
Different courts different answers
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 7:03pm
Each situation is unique but take a look at state of Minnesota vs clay
http://mn.gov/web/prod/static/lawlib/live/archive/...
2nd amendment?
By Ron Newman
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:12am
I don't see a gun being used anywhere in this video, so I don't understand what you are referring to.
Amusing
By KSquared
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:24am
When people scream about protecting the Constitution and they can't even name the right Amendment for their argument.
Free speech and gun carrying might be viewed as the same thing for some, I guess.
2nd amendment is Right to Bear Arms.
By Felicity
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:22am
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
1st amendment is Freedom of Speech
First Amendment - Religion and Expression. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
side bar
By Steeve
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:13am
I've always scratched my head at the "NSFW-language" thing for videos. Particularly people complaining about the language after having watched said video at their desk at work. Where are these offices where it's okay to slack off watching videos at work, but a couple swear words is the end of the world. I'd be more concerned about adults sitting on Youtube at work rather than some adult language. Also, headphones.
/minor tangent
Ssh, don't tell anybody, but ...
By adamg
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:16am
In a normal week, most of UHub's traffic comes between 9 and 5 on weekdays.
Allowed site
By ECG nli
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:22am
It's one of the few interesting/entertaining sites that aren't blocked by my organization and that I could justify as work.
Interesting
By BostonDog
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:30am
That's surprising -- I thought the Globe Reporters came to work a bit earlier then that.
Oh, I would figure
By Steeve
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:19am
I'm just saying I don't understand when people flout the whole unwritten (or perhaps written) rule about not wasting company time by playing videos at work from their speakers. I get it, we all do it, particularly those who do have downtime while processes load, etc., when thumb-twiddling is the only other option.
I just wondered on what planet some boss is pissed off at the content of said videos, rather than the simple fact that you're watching videos. Or just use headphones.
Not just the boss
By Kaz
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:34am
People in the next cubicle/office/desk over don't want to explain to the client on the phone why there's a sudden tirade of expletives in the background. Even if you're allowed to occasionally stop and watch a video, the content is important to consider.
NSFW can mean someone dies in the video or gets nude. Those aren't exactly "hey, you all have gotta see this!" videos to be sharing with the whole office either, because you may not know everyone's level of sensitivity to such issues. People walking by or coming up to your desk may not want to see that if they get a glimpse of your screen. And all of that could make it back to your boss ("Did you know John watches porn on his computer at work?" "No, honest, it was just a news video of some crazy lady getting naked in the street.").
Lunch break? Some people get
By brianjdamico
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 2:42pm
Lunch break? Some people get an hour for lunch, and don't take that long to consume food. I would imagine in many places, especially if you were using a personal device, you could watch videos during that time without breaking any company policies.
And then there are people who have jobs that involve sitting around waiting for things and occasionally not having something else productive to do for work, doing something that makes you focus on something is probably more beneficial to your productivity than staring at a wall.
We are really damn lucky
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:18am
Boston isn't as rundown, out of control and violent as many other comparable cities, or even some horrible smaller New England cities like Hartford, Springfield, Bridgeport. There's a large uptick in violence and street crime in D.C., which has always been far worse than Boston, even though comparable in size. Baltimore is out of control, the violence, shootings, murders, are surging back to 1970s levels that make Boston and the Boston area seem like paradise by comparison.
I know this area of Boston, the Washington St corridor of Roslindale, well; the violence is caused by drug trafficking and gangs in the housing projects and too large a concentration of subsizied housing. Why will this never be acknowledged publicly by officials or just 'reputable' media in general? Too much pussy footing around for fear of 'disrespecting' fill-in-the-blank. Housing projects need one of two things to occur:
1) Knock them all down
2) Strict, draconian security controls, and no tolerance for violence and gang activity either in or around them.
Neither, off course, will occur. So we're left with an unacceptable status quo.
I know the area well, too
By adamg
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 9:28am
To me, that's not really Domino's, but the place where BBQ Town used to be.
And I will grant you that when violent crime happens in Roslindale, it often happens there.
Buy, please, just knock down Archdale? How about rebuild it into something more humane that doesn't resemble a series of WWII army barracks? You know, like they did with Washington-Beech.
Oh please
By Anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:07am
Arborway Gardens looks like army barracks, yet you never hear about about guns, drugs or shootings. It's not the buildings, it's the residents living in the said buildings.
Arborway Gardens are condos, not projects
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 11:46am
That is all.
Exactly
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 1:04pm
Old housing project re-made into condos - same crappy military barracks-style shitholes, different residents. So, by admin's bleeding heart logic, those streets and courtyards should be flowing with blood because it's the buildings that affect the resident, not residents that affect the buildings.
Same people, bozo
By adamg
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 2:57pm
They moved the people who had lived there before back in. A significant number of the townhouse units are sort of rent-to-own, on the theory that people who own the property will take better care of them. I thought rightwingers like the idea of private property.
Eh?
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 4:31pm
Same (or very similar) buildings, definitely, but same people? I think not gaffin, I think not. One is hard-working homeowners, the other is criminal trash mixed in with a bunch of freeloaders and some honest folks who have fallen upon hard times
Arborway Gardens was never public housing
By Waquiot
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 3:46pm
As I wrote in January-
Just because brick was used to build an apartment building doesn't mean they are "projects."
Adam
By anon
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 10:51am
Have you EVER stepped foot in Beach St or Archdale? Didn't think so!
With deepest respect, my dear anonymous commenter
By adamg
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 11:21am
Bite me.
But, anyway, to answer your question, yes, I have been to both.
BBQ Town... one of the few
By chaosjake
Tue, 08/25/2015 - 11:47am
BBQ Town... one of the few restaurants in the world that is better off having been converted to a Domino's.
BBQ Town!
By HenryAlan
Thu, 08/27/2015 - 10:35am
I really miss that place, Domino's was not remotely an upgrade. Yeah, maybe the pizza is, but BBQ Town had great wraps and, well, BBQ. That's a niche that has not been re-filled in Roslindale food offerings.
The barbecue at BBQ town was
By chaosjake
Thu, 08/27/2015 - 10:45am
The barbecue at BBQ town was made by people who had evidently never tasted real barbecue.
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