I was all ready to be outraged by the video posted at Carlos Miller’s blog. All set. Ready to go. Ready. I pushed the button and watched.
I started it over and played it again. Yup, the same thing the second time too.
Carlos describes the interaction:
It took less than a minute for Keene Police Sgt. Gene Geheb to drag 77-year-old Lynn Bedford out of her car, even though she said she would give him her license.
She just didn’t do it fast enough.
Geheb had pulled her over last month after clocking her driving 66 mph in a 50 mph zone.
Bedford, who was driving home after playing piano at church, explained that she was in a hurry because she had a bladder infection and needed to use the bathroom.
But Geheb had no sympathy.
He goes on to note that Geheb’s chief backs up his conduct in the video, saying it neither violated law nor policy.
It struck me that those who want to find fault with cops will see this as a “contempt of cop” video, a cop who needlessly dragged an old woman from a car for no good reason. Those who love cops, or hate old women, will see this as a video of an uncooperative woman, refusing perfectly proper commands and begging to be dragged from her car.
I saw both. I saw two egos clash. I saw a women who didn’t quite grasp that when pulled over by a police officer, the driver doesn’t get to run the show and tell the cop how the stop is going to proceed. I see a cop who didn’t have the discretion of a child, and immediately spiraled down, into that place where cops go when someone isn’t obsequious, even though they know it’s going to end badly when it doesn’t have to.
As for 77-year-old Lynn Bedford, my suspicion is that she’s more used to doing the telling than being told, and doesn’t like the latter much. I bet she would have been plenty comfortable in the blue uniform pulling some young whippersnapper over in church for sneaking a look at a young woman’s patent leather shoes. Now, not knowing her, this is sheer speculation, but she had attitude right out of the box. That has to come from somewhere.
Then there’s Sgt. Geheb, who wishes he had taken a deep breath before flying off the handle like this old woman was a gangbanger. Frankly, he probably didn’t violate either law or policy, but he surely behaved, like a total ass. Would it have killed him to listen to the old woman’s problems for a moment? Was it necessary, even if it was permissible, to drag her out of the car onto the ground?
Would he have been as cool about it had that been his mother?
Watching this video and being aware of the outrage over this interaction, the fact that the driver was a 77-year-old church lady was certainly the critical distinction. Would anyone have bile rising in their throats had this been a 19-year-old black kid with grills, droopy pants and a baseball cap turned backward? Had this kid said the same thing to the cop that this women did, how many people would have thought, “what an idiot. He got what he deserved.”
Why? Is the handling of a citizen any different when they’re an old white woman and a young black man? Does one have the right to be treated kinder and the other not? Is the urge to urinate stronger in one than the other? Doesn’t every person deserve to make it through a traffic stop without being manhandled because he lacks the bone in his head that makes him jump as fast and high as the cop commands?
The anger this video evokes reflects not only the handling by the police officer, but our own bias about how different people deserve to be treated differently. Yet that’s not how it’s supposed to work. Equal protection suggests that the old white woman and the young black man be treated the same. So would we react the same, or are we just as tainted in our expectations as anyone else. Or do we adjust our expectations to align with our personal sympathies, treating the elderly better than the young, or white better than black, or church ladies better than gangbangers?
There’s a certain element of schadenfreude in this video, given that Bedford, had she been a bit less arrogant and self-absorbed, probably would have driven away unscathed to the comfort of her bathroom. I’ve met Lynn Bedford a thousand times before, and she behaved the same with Sgt. Geheb as she has with me, refusing to yield control no matter what the situation. It’s quite frustrating and exasperating.
Now reimagine the entire interaction if both had been less concerned with being in charge of the situation and having the other bend to their will. Apply to that to every interaction between a cop and citizen, and wonder how many needless arrests, how many tases, how many broken bones and even how many dead bodies, could be avoided.
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Well said. I will be passing this on to others. Thanks again for giving the rest of us a chance to be smarter.
Yes. Both could have have behaved better. But, he
Is a paid professional, who absolutely should have the obligation to control his behavior and to deal with a difficult old woman responsibly, rather than behave like a bully. His behavior is far more reprehensible than hers!
“Equal protection suggests that the old white woman and the young black man be treated the same.”
The old white woman believes that the young black man should be treated the way she believes that she should be treated, not that she should be treated the way the young black man is treated. It is a one way equivalence.
There is a cause and effect relationship between the police and citizens, in the performance of their duty. I agree with you that he has an obligation to control his behavior. But difficult people are also responsible for their actions.
I’m sure you’re right about it being a one-way equivalence. As for her thinking the young black man should be treated as she, naively, believes she should be treated, I can’t say for sure but wouldn’t bet money on it.
Thanks, Jim. I’m blushing.
Sorry for my unclarity. What I meant to say was that for her, equality means that everyone should be treated the way that she wants to be treated, not that she should be treated teh way everyone else is treated.
I understood. I’m just not sure that she would be at all concerned about the way “those other people” are treated, as long as she is treated deferentially.
Being “difficult” isn’t against the law. Refusal to hand over your license is, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t put a time limit in the statute. Have to agree with Alice, the officer is the tax-feeding government employee with a badge, gun and police powers. He is the one interfering with an otherwise peaceful old lady that didn’t hurt anyone. His is the responsibility to act with complete professionalism.
So is failure to obey a lawful order. Funny how our biases dictate what we see in this video.
Being difficult is quite often against the law, actually…
Actually? Imagine how much more meaningful your comment would be if it actually said something.
I’m not sure what the statute says in Texas, but if the officer is lawfully entitled to demand the woman’s license and insurance paperwork, and authorized to arrest her if she refuses, I cannot see a problem with his actions.
He may have been less patient than I or another law enforcement officer might be, but unless the statute says that an officer is required to repeat the demand ‘x’ number of times, it seems like a clear unequivocal refusal such as he was presented with would justify the arrest.
He asked for her licence five times, the last time, telling her that he would take her to jail if she refused. She refused each time. How many times should he be required to do so before effecting an arrest? The linked article says that she didn’t get the licence quick enough. This is disingenuous, she refused to provide her licence, until after the officer placed her under arrest. She was not fumbling through her purse, or searching the floor for it, she refused.
I rather suspect from his quick manner of speaking that the officer intended to obtain her information, then write her a citation without having to listen to her excuses. Either he’s on some kind of quota or tight deadline, or he’s just heard one traffic excuse too many. Almost every speeder has some reason why the law doesn’t apply to THEIR actions, and most of them can’t wait to explain why that is.
I also have some doubt about the excuses she’s making, since if she really wanted to get the interaction over with, it would have appeared that the fastest way to do so would be to hand over the documents as required, accept the ticket or warning that was offered, and go on at the lawful speed limit.
After determining that she would not provide the licence, he attempted to remove her from the vehicle to place her under arrest, and again, told her ten times to get out, which she refused to do. How many times should he be required to ask an arrestee to comply with a lawful command, before using what appears to be the minimal required force to obtain compliance? Note that he is exercising VERY loose control over her when she gets back up. Even allowing her to turn and reach back towards the vehicle (something that he was certainly not taught to do). He is not throwing knees and elbows, nor did he cuff her on the ground.
I would assume he was authorized to do exactly what he did. The question remains, had he let the women speak for a minute, even though the law didn’t require him to do so, couldn’t this have been avoided? Wouldn’t that have been a better outcome for all involved?
Just as the law doesn’t require him to wait and hear her out, it also doesn’t require him press forward and shut her down.
I do agree, with more talking, he might have convinced her to hand over her licence voluntarily, or after he had decided to arrest her, he might have convinced her to voluntarily step out of the vehicle. I do agree that he was, to my way of thinking, hasty and impatient.
However, I just find the wording of the linked article to be highly misleading. He made a lawful demand, she said she would not comply, he made a lawful arrest, she would not comply voluntarily. He used a minimal amount of force to effect the arrest, and she
complied.
There are many, many more clear examples of police misconduct on this site, and it’s nice to see an example once in a while that isn’t just some jackass with a badge shooting someone in the back for contempt of cop.