I've heard/read many times over the years that it is a citizen's right to resist false/illegal arrest by law enforcement. With that in mind, consider the case of Robert Tolan:
Excerpted from
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairba...by_police.php# :
Quote:
Robert Tolan, the minor league baseball player shot by Bellaire cops in his parents' driveway on December 31, called for Bellaire Mayor Cindy Siegel's resignation at a press conference today.
"I would hope that Bellaire's residents are appalled and outraged," Tolan told a crowd of about 100 people who gathered in a Meyerland ballroom. "I would indeed like to see her resignation."
Tolan and his brother were returning to their parents' home when two officers pulled them over, for what Bellaire Assistant Police Chief Byron Holloway said was the mistaken belief that Tolan was driving a stolen SUV.
"Their excuse was they typed the number in wrong," Tolan said today. He also said that, given Bellaire's small size, the police "know who their residents are. We're not visitors...We've lived there for 15 years. They know who I am...they know my car."
Tolan has claimed that at least one officer assaulted his mother that night, when she came out to see exactly why police officers had their guns drawn and had her son laying on the ground. Responding to a question about how he thought the incident would have turned out if he had not ignored the cops' orders to stay on the ground, Tolan said, "With all due respect, let's see your mom slammed up against a garage door....I mean no disrespect, [but] I would think and I would hope that that would enrage a lot of you. So right or wrong, I was acting on instinct."
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Mr. Tolan was shot after the arresting officer reportedly slammed his mother against the garage door outside the family home. He rose from the ground and (according to his HBO Real Sports interview) said something along the lines of "Get your (expletive) hands off my mother".
Assuming the facts are as they have been reported how does the right to resist false arrest play into this particular case? Are the officers involved toast? Is the city looking at mega $ payout here?
I believe so, but I'd like the opinions of our resident legal eagles. Others as well, but as the rules of this subforum and the site as a whole go, no LEO bashing......
Play nice fellas......
Edit: I think there's one minor error in this article. Per the HBO Real Sports interview Mr. Tolan was with his cousin, not his brother. In doing the background for the story they made a big deal out of him being an only child and following in his father's footsteps (Father was a MLB player.)