Game Design Sketchbook: Police Brutality

[Jason Rohrer]

Game Design Sketchbook: Police Brutality

Through designing and playing this game sketch, I've discovered my own strategy for dealing with police brutality in a public forum. Should I ever find myself in that kind of situation, I'd be ready to act, and I'd be brave enough to act. At least I hope that I'd be brave enough to act.

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[sammyfreak]

How very interesting, i shall try this out once my massive workload has dissapeared.

 

[AnteGravity]

You are not legally allowed to resist arrest nor removal from public places if it is obvious you are causing trouble like the idiot in the video. It is not legal to obstruct authorities from doing their job.

It was rather obvious he was being a loud, obnoxious ass and a big drama queen.

The animal video analogy was way off as well. You can't realistically compared a Predator-Prey relationship to a public-nuisance vs legal authority reaction.

The people who try to keep the peace already have it hard enough without the anti-rational, unpragmatic, sympathy-for-the-devil witch-hunters swooping in to spin every situation way out of proportion to make whatever agenda they fanatically espouse seem more digestible.

If only the energy and talents that went into making the cop-hater game went into making a stop the robber. Trust me when I say that criminals won't treat you half as nice if you sit in a doorway blocking their exit.

That is what is funny with people. Criminals get more respect and glory then authorities because they are genuinely afraid of the former but feel they can get away with being stupid if the later have enough laws, lawyers, and red tape hamstringing them.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Let's not get pants-on-head retarded over this, shall we?

Banned. /mod.

 

[3DKing]

I don't want to excuse the total exaggeration of taser-use, BUT:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Meyer#Legal_action

Meyer later issued a public apology for his "failure to act calmly", stating that he "stepped out of line" and that his arresting officers "did nothing wrong".

Yes, I believe the officers aceted totally wrong, but so did Meyers.

 

[sammyfreak]

Lessons learned: Yelling at the police turns red people into yellow, yellow people into green and when a police touches a green person they become purple.

 

[Bearclaw66]

That video was something I had seen before, but it is no less disturbing seeing it again. That is the kind of thing I would expect to see in China (somebody I know HAS seen something like that in China), but that young man was just exercising his rights as an American citizen. If there is no good reason to be arrested, somebody should stand up and protest.

I'll try that game out, you have me intrigued.

 

[JQAdams]

"My spouse has been in that kind of situation. Her friend spoke past the three-minute limit at a city meeting, was asked to leave by the mayor, refused to leave, was tackled by police, and was eventually dragged out of the room."

Ah okay, so the rules didn't apply to her friend? And that when someone tries to enforce the rules then WAAAAAHHH that's so unfair?

Christ, the whole article is pure garbage as is the premise of the game. Unfortunately that seems to be the problem with society today (let me guess, you hate Bush too and think Obama walks on water?), no one wants to follow the rules. When you're in public you're expected to act a certain way, and follow whatever rules that are applicable in the situation. If you're in a public forum then you have absolutely no right to monopolize everyone else's time. The world doesn't revolve around you.

And frankly it's laughable to sit there and use these examples of jackasses in public forum and what happens to them as examples of police brutality (likewise, the comment about 'whoa, this is just like in China!' is way out of touch with reality). Some guy get raped with a plunger by cops, *that's* police brutality. Crying over having to follow rules? Puh-leaze...

 

[Jason Rohrer]

JQAdams:

I kept the story about my spouse's friend short for the sake of a non-boring article. I'll elaborate a bit.

Several people at the city meeting spoke past the 3-minute mark without a comment or complaint from the mayor. Fay, my wife's friend, began speaking, and throughout her comment, the city clerk held the time clock right in the mayor's face so that the mayor would know exactly when 3 minutes were up. When 3 minutes were up, the mayor told her to stop. She said, "Just let me finish my thought," or something like that, and kept speaking for 15 seconds more. When she turned to leave the podium, the mayor said, "Please leave, Fay." And she said that she wasn't leaving. He told her to leave again, and things escalated from there, up to the point where she was tackled to the ground, etc.

Fay was someone that the mayor happened to hate, and city council always found her comments annoying. There was something on the agenda later on that night that Fay really wanted to see, so she really didn't want to leave the meeting for fear of missing it.

While the police tackled Fay, the mayor retreated to the back room, where he remained until the police hauled her away.

She was brought to trial for disorderly conduct a month or so later. After a lengthy hearing with a dozen or more witnesses, she was found "not guilty" by the judge. I saw the trial, which is where I heard some of these details (like the part about the clerk holding up the time clock so that the mayor could stop Fay right on the 3-minute mark). Part of the reason that she was found "not guilty" was that the 3-minute limit was not enforced for any other public comment that night.

So do you get it now, JQA? It's not about "the rules not applying to one person." It's about the rules being leveraged unfairly to silence one person. Unequal protection under the law, and I'm pretty sure the Constitution forbids it.

Sorry that my edited, short version of the story was confusing.

Russ:

Can we re-enable comment #4? I don't see any reason for that person to be banned.

Jason

 

[TomNook]

He could have handled that in a much more civil way. All he had to do was scream at the top of his lungs all the way to the precinct, then called a lawyer with the money his parents certainly have. He took it way out of hand, I'm not what the cops did was right, but this moron was catalyzing the situation.

 

[TomNook]

That video was something I had seen before, but it is no less disturbing seeing it again. That is the kind of thing I would expect to see in China (somebody I know HAS seen something like that in China), but that young man was just exercising his rights as an American citizen. If there is no good reason to be arrested, somebody should stand up and protest.

I'll try that game out, you have me intrigued.

Being an obnoxious moron is not exercising his right to be American, with these rights we are guaranteed comes a responsibility to know when to exercise them and when to shut the hell up and call a lawyer.

 

[Bearclaw66]

Being an obnoxious moron is not exercising his right to be American, with these rights we are guaranteed comes a responsibility to know when to exercise them and when to shut the hell up and call a lawyer.

The thing is he didn't do anything to provoke police action. The way the police just randomly arrested him for doing nothing illegal is what is disturbing.

(likewise, the comment about 'whoa, this is just like in China!' is way out of touch with reality)

My apologies if I was unclear, I was simply stating that this is similar to something I know happened in China, where people have far less civil rights.

 

[GirlFlash]

ok, its clear the guy could have been smarter once the police tried to grab him, but most people react badly to being arrested because they have done nothing wrong. the police clearly used unreasonable force, use of a taser when the guy is down is just the same as kicking him when he is down, its not needed.

as for the game, I'm not to sure the mechanics would work in reality, but the truth is that voicing your opinion started the incident, the police would be less likely to do something that stupid if everyone was voicing the opinion that they were wrong.

the really funny thing is that Kerry wanted to answer his question, the ONLY people against him were the police.

 

[Cousin_IT]

To be honest. This is one of those things where although the police were in the wrong the guy ultimately brought it on himself. The video implies he was simply asking a (stupid consiracy theory) question when he was forcibly removed; which wasnt the case. Simularly, although the police/campus security were perhaps being pushy to remove him, the actualy wrestling starts with the student struggling with the cops while they are escorting him away from the mic.

Problem with this vid is ultimately whoever made it has done the same thing the new programme that first aired the Rodney King incident did. They showed the police brutality without showing what caused it. In Kings case it was a 10minute fight in which hed been peppersprayed & tasered but still refused to stop resisting while high off drugs. In this case its a moronic student who pushed to the front of the questions queue only to engage in a shambolic dialogue with Kerry about all sorts of tedious nonsense. he broke the rules, & made a complete spectacle of himself doing so. The police were in the wrong for using excessive force (though the guy was doing his best to resist for the camera), but I dont feel any sympathy for the guy.

Edit: Oh, & since I should really say something about the game since thats the point of this article; tbh I just found it kinda boring. Not bad for killing 5 minutes but not much longer.

 

[bigbossSNK]

About the video:
The police aren't there to be your friends. They're there to protect civilians (all of them, that includes criminals), and enforce the rules. The police informed the guy he should stop, he didn't comply, beyond that he resisted their efforts to escort him out of the building, he got arrested.
Frankly, I'm surprised it took so many cops to subdue one whiny college kid.

About the game:
I liked the mechanic of voice signaling. The game was kinda fun, but short.

 

[PFlute]

Wish an important issue like this weren't so easily polarized. But we've got folks turning this kid into a martyr and other folks saying that the police are always right and that people who think otherwise are potheads who hate America and have their heads in the clouds.

Sorry Jason, but I don't agree with you completely. It seems to me this guy went over his allotted time and was originally going to be escorted politely out by security. He, in turn, continued to resist in a manner that I would even deem slightly violent (he had no intention of hurting anyone, to be sure, but it must take a lot of strength and effort to repeatedly break their holds like that,) and continued to escalate in his efforts to resist them until he was wrestling on the floor. By the end security was warning him that he would be tazed if he didn't stop struggling, on account of they probably wouldn't have been able to get him out of the building without doing so. That's what I gather from the video, anyhow.

'Course, let's not fool ourselves here. American police do occasionally do some horrible stuff. The game itself I do find interesting, because there are likely many times when people want to say things that are too 'inconvenient' though completely in their right to say so and get hauled away anyway. We've got accountability issues and a few more problems to boot. Of course I'm very grateful to the many, many upstanding officers that do their job with the best of intentions and do it well; That doesn't mean the system is perfect, though.

Though short, I did find the game a somewhat compelling comment on peaceful resistance.

 

[CanadianWolverine]

Its possible by watching a few Youtube videos to piece together an almost full 3-D picture of the entire auditorium:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmvCHAaKGyk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Qef8oPmag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnAGjmnfqik

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJXzohdF-MA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOlmNBxke-E

These videos don't precede the take down enough to confirm the allegations of Andrew Meyer pushing to the front of the queue, as Cousin_IT asserts.

In fact, it looks a lot like less than a few minutes (public forums often allow 2-5 minutes for questions fielded, right? At least that is what is in town council meetings I have attended just to see how these things work when I was interested in the direction of local development plans) goes by after being acknowledged by the key note speaker, John Kerry, before he is asked to leave by campus security/bylaw enforcement/police, then the mic is cut, and he is physically handled. Please note, he is grabbed from behind, how would you react to someone who grabs your arm from behind? I know I would instinctually pull away. Then it escalates to where he is resisting, later admitted by him as a react out of paranoia of having a "1984" pulled on him during his ride to the station to be booked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Y4nC5OPLA

He was was told in the ride to the station that his arrest was for Inciting A Riot. What the ... am I the only one who thought he was being pretty calm (and the crowd too) up until the part where he was asked to leave only seconds at the mic?

The whole thing is pretty sketchy, there are lots of details I don't know about the incident, but what is revealed is pretty disturbing to anyone who would want to raise questions that might annoy those in a position of authority. I'm not saying what the officers did wasn't by the book, I am saying why were they behind Andrew from the get go: Cousin_IT suggests it was because of previous disruptive behavior, then I need to ask, where is the objective evidence?

So, does anyone know how this story turned out? Was Andrew Meyer taken to court? Was he convicted of Inciting A Riot? Has any of the authority figures involved been sued?

Also, I'm not certain yelling and shouting would really do anything in incidents like these, there are clearly people yelling "Why are you ...! What did he do!" in the video, and it didn't make a bit of difference. No, if you really feared for the protester's own safety, you are going to have to physically risk something and impose your own will on that of the "legal" enforcers, and subdue them before they can subdue you. By that point it would be a friggin brawl, so that doesn't really accomplish anything if you want to peacefully resist. To peacefully resist, you would have to be willing to get the beats laid on you with out giving it back. But is that responsible considering enforcement escalated incidents?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWbgnyUCC7M

 

[DaDude9211]

Awesome article... I couldn't really hear the officers well in the video, did they tell him why he was being placed under arrest? 'Cus he does have a right to that information... Also: I never heard about any follow-up lawsuits on police brutality etc. Links anyone?

 

[Cousin_IT]

I cite the wikipedia article on the subject & the sources used as reference for the section on what occured before the Youtube videos start (note that every youtube vid starts from the same point showing nothing of what occurs before).

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1031/p09s01-coop.html?page=1
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20070922/OPINION03/709220315

Read these articles; Together they portray a very different picture than the Youtube videos give. Did the police overreact? I think so (though in 2nd video you link if you listen to the post footage interviews one of the student supports their actions). However, just because the cops were in the wrong does not put Meyer in the right; or even make the police's initial actions unjustified.

As I understand it Meyer was charged & spent a night in jail.

As for the conspiracy theory that he was removed coz he was asking awkward questions; perhaps theres something in that. But imo if that was a factor it was simply one amoung many. The cops were waiting for him to finish asking one question (note: he was engaging in both a rambling dialogue & tried to ask three) having already made a scene prior to getting to ask one (Kerry agreed to let him ask which afaik is why he wasnt removed straight away). There is much more to this then these videos suggest, look it up. Also, dont indicate my need to provide objective evidense, implying that your collection of Youtube videos are. The camera only sees what the user wants it to. At least one of the videos is heavily edited & another is a video of a newsclip (again edited to fit the storytime).

Finally. Do police/government officals sometimes overstep the line? Undoubtably. My dad had his skull fractured at one Pro-Hunting march simply for being at the front of the crowd when some people started pushing for a fight with the police. Police etc do sometimes break the rules, sometimes im sure they do do things like that final video you linked (though in that case I think its as much a case of the Union trying to drum up support as an actual conspiracy, it takes more then army jackboots to convicnce me they were cops). But in this specific case. Meyer was at fault &, while perhaps handled badly, the police were not acting improperly in trying to remove him. His case may, directly or indirectly, highlight a problem, but do not make him a martyr; he does not deserve it.

edit: Having looked further it appears he infact wasnt charged with any crimes. However, he issued an apology quote: "I made the decision to supersede the rules, and for that I apologize," Meyer wrote. "I should have acted calmer and obeyed the directives of the officers. If I had, none of the subsequent issues would ever have arisen."
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21541335/

Although some dont believe his apology was sincere: if you read this news report; it suggests that many people at the university in question dont think it deserves to be the big deal it has been made into: http://www.gainesville.com/article/20071031/NEWS/710310332