Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
[email protected] — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Tackled in the stands at Qualcomm
Lawsuit suggests police misinterpreted fan's "high-spiritedness"
A football tackle can be a thrilling thing to see, but not in the stands when the police are tackling a fan, says a suit filed in federal court October 16.
Jason Walker is suing the city and two police officers for damages resulting from an incident at last year's Holiday Bowl at the stadium then named for Qualcomm — and now named for the San Diego County Credit Union.
According to the suit, Walker had an argument with a nearby spectator "who was apparently upset with Mr. Walker's high-spiritedness," says the suit. A police officer wanted to take Walker into custody for being drunk and disorderly. A second officer joined the first.
"As the officers tackled Mr. Walker, Mr. Walker fell downward toward the field, struggling not to crash into the rows below." Then came wrist locks, body slams, punches, baton strikes, and a 50,000 jolt to Walker's torso, according to the suit.
City prosecutors dropped charges against Walker, according to the suit. Walker asks to be awarded damages for the officers' alleged behavior.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Tackled in the stands at Qualcomm
Lawsuit suggests police misinterpreted fan's "high-spiritedness"
Tackled in the stands at Qualcomm
Lawsuit suggests police misinterpreted fan's "high-spiritedness"
A football tackle can be a thrilling thing to see, but not in the stands when the police are tackling a fan, says a suit filed in federal court October 16.
Jason Walker is suing the city and two police officers for damages resulting from an incident at last year's Holiday Bowl at the stadium then named for Qualcomm — and now named for the San Diego County Credit Union.
According to the suit, Walker had an argument with a nearby spectator "who was apparently upset with Mr. Walker's high-spiritedness," says the suit. A police officer wanted to take Walker into custody for being drunk and disorderly. A second officer joined the first.
"As the officers tackled Mr. Walker, Mr. Walker fell downward toward the field, struggling not to crash into the rows below." Then came wrist locks, body slams, punches, baton strikes, and a 50,000 jolt to Walker's torso, according to the suit.
City prosecutors dropped charges against Walker, according to the suit. Walker asks to be awarded damages for the officers' alleged behavior.
Comments
Nothing to see here, just another overly intoxicated irresponsible adult, who wants to penalize the taxpayers for his backfield in motion.
JustWondering: Are you suggesting he was a tight end? Best, Don Bauder
No. Isn’t it obvious Mr. Walker wore out his welcome by causing a commotion with nearby fans who were happy to enjoy the game and notify the police of the problem. Remember, while the NFL has a policy governing fan conduct and ejections, the police don’t typically take action on their own. They respond to complaints.
But thanks for playing along.
JustWondering: This wasn't an NFL game -- it was the Holiday Bowl -- but your points are very well taken. As I said, I have seen many such suits before. I suspect that few are successful. Best, Don Bauder
Or some police officers who beat someone's ass for no reason.
IanJones55: Yes, there are lots of suits about cops beating up someone for dubious -- or no -- reason. Best, Don Bauder
Mike Murphy: There appears to be too much of something -- the police's testosterone or the plaintiff's "high-spiritedness." In any case, football tackles should be on the field, not in the stands. Best, Don Bauder
We all know men don't think with anything above the belt.
shirleyberan: True: men don't think above the belt. And I am a male making that admission. Best, Don Bauder
sorry, NO! One must BE responsible for one's OWN ACTIONS!
You drink and drive you LOSE!
You drink and fight, [ cause a disturbance ] you LOSE!
YOU CAUSED your OWN misfortune -- now LIVE with it!
He wasn't charged with drunk and disorderly. Or anything else for that matter.
If anyone gets in an argument at a football game they should get their ass beat by the police according to you. Good to know.
IanJones55: One of the cops who grabbed him said that it was because he was being drunk and disorderly. Best, Don Bauder
Shotgun Shela: I am sure that is what the city will argue in this suit. There have been lots of suits like it in the past. Best, Don Bauder
Now that Charger football has left San Diego, idiots like this will have fewer opportunities to imbibe ridiculous amounts. It will be interesting to see what happens at Aztec games, i.e. if there is an uptick in incidents like this with the NFL no longer present.
JustWondering: I have seen rowdy behavior by students at college games -- even in the 1950s. I just don't know whether it will pick up at Aztec games. Best, Don Bauder
I actually just saw this story on channel 10. They said he was arrested for felony resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, and battery on an officer.
How do you go from drunk and disorderly, to felony charges, to all charges dropped?
Sounds like someone is trying to cover their ass.
IanJones55: According to the suit, the person who originally had a shouting match with the plaintiff did not want to file charges. That may be one reason the charges weren't pressed. Best, Don Bauder
So why did he get arrested then?
Sometimes they get arrested for their own protection. It's kind of a Catch-22 for the officers. If they leave him alone, while he is intoxicated and he hurts himself or another party, then the police can be blamed because they contacted an intoxicated individual and did not detain him. This is where the police cannot win, if they leave him be and he hurts himself or someone else, the police are considered negligent. If they arrest him (basically to let him sober up, whether in the back of a police car, County Detox or a jail cell, then he was arrested "without cause." How the story and context changes once the drunk obnoxious fan is now a nice sober young man talking to a lawyer about how he was mistreated, it was only a football game. The police were sober, Walker was "high-spiritedness" or without the doublespeak simply "high" and now he thinks he and whatever legal eagle who has swooped in for a payday think they can convince a jury it was police brutality. The body slams and taser were non-lethal responses the police used to subdue an uncooperative and inebriated individual.
Dammed if they do, dammed if they don’t. What’s a cop supposed to do.
JustWondering: In years past, a cop would just pray he didn't have to be on duty at the Oakland Raiders game, the rowdiest of all by far. Best, Don Bauder
Ponzi: That is a good point. Best, Don Bauder
Over and over the cops get really rough with an arrest or other citizen interaction and then . . . no charges are filed. I'd think the city attorney would get fed up with these arrests and multiple crime allegations when there's little or nothing to back them up. But then we have to remember who was city attorney until the last election. With him, who was to know?
Pummeling some drunk and disorderly fan in the stands just doesn't seem necessary. But the current batch of SDPD cops have been trained to bash heads if there's any sort of contest. That's one of the many things that department needs to change, and that a new chief might, and I stress might, go to work on.
he probably got a choice after the magic of the moment was over, don't file a suit, and the da will not file charges . ( and the da has lawyers, he has to hire one)
Murphyjunk: That is something we don't know. Best, Don Bauder
Visduh: Since we weren't there to see this scrum, it's hard to draw a conclusion. But I am sure taxpayers hope this plaintiff doesn't get paid a fat sum to go away. Best, Don Bauder
If you bash someone with a baton and taser them you better damn well make something stick.
IanJones55: Of course, the plaintiff has to prove that he was bashed with a baton and tasseled in court. Best, Don Bauder
Don - if the cop tasseled the guy he should get the money first.
shirleyeran: For the first time in my life, I have a computer that takes a typo and replaces it with another word that it thinks I meant. Often, that word is wrong. This is the case here. I attempted to write "tasered" and the computer changed it to "tasseled." I should have caught that. Best, Don Bauder
Technology is supposed to make life easier, not more complicated. These spelling correction utilities can be wonderful most of the time, but when they change something and alter the meaning, can cause real grief.
Visduh: Yes, and after I discovered the word "tasseled," I tried to change it to "tazered" several times before it made the change. This time it took only one try. Best, Don
You don’t get “tasered” (it’s actually spelled with the letter ‘s’, not a ‘z’) unless you are not complying with the officer’s orders. Most people comply right away, others, the ones usuallly under the influence of something, typically don’t. And that’s how “high spiritedness” gets tackled in the stands.
JustWondering: Funny. When we were out for dinner tonight, I realized suddenly that taser is not spelled with a "z" and I wondered who would point it out. Many thanks for doing so. And you make a good point: tasers usually come out when an arrestee is not cooperating. Best, Don Bauder
Maybe they wanted it to sound like LASER. LASER is actually an acronym for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.” Taser is not an acronym, just a brand name for the device.
“Don’t tase me bro!”
Ponzu: Careful my friend, that phrase is actually trademarked. God, ain't America great! You can make an entrepreneurial buck doing most anything, including getting "tased, bro".
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Florida_Taser_incident
Actually, as I recall, that trademark was filed only in the clothing category and has since been abandoned. So I think you're good, Ponzi.
To be honest, I was just teasing Ponzi. That phrase, “Don’t tase me, bro” triggered some memories of that time. In addition, there certainly is the fair use doctrine. But what I most remember it, was the speculation that the whole thing was staged to get the cops to react or over react.
If it was staged it certainly wasn’t the first and won’t be the last time events have been staged for somebody’s benefit. The difference between then and now, social media. With today instant information, real or not, literally anyone is able to spin the facts, or fiction, into whatever they please. Some decry fake news, other figure out sometimes it begins with fake events
A “staged” event?
JustWondering; Note that in this case, "Tase" is capitalized, so Ponzi won't be hauled into court or jail. Best, Don Bauder
danfogel: We don't want anybody on this blog hauled into court for not capitalizing a word when it is being used as a verb. Best, Don Bauder
Ponzi: There used to be a pro soccer team named the Lazers, (Might still be, for all I know.) In any case, lazers are those who laze. I don't remember if it was true of this team. Best, Don Bauder
Ponzi: If it's a brand name, shouldn't it be capitalized, as in "Don't Tase me, Bro?" Best, Don Bauder
don bauder, The only one that comes to mind is the LA Lazers. They played back in the old MISL. I am pretty sure we saw them play the SD Sockers a time or two. They were owned by Dr. Jerry Buss, back at the time he also owned The Forum, the Lakers, The Kings and an indoor pro tennis team whose name escapes me at the moment.
danfogel: Yes, it was the LA Lazers. I remember commenting about it to the family at the time. The team might not have been lazy, but I am sure it lost to the Sockers, who won almost all the time. My wife and I and our sons, now age 47 and 50, went to many Sockers games and enjoyed the indoor sport greatly -- again, in part because the Sockers almost always won. Best, Don Bauder