Freedom Matters
Sober driver who was arrested for DUI wins settlement after filming arrest on his cell phone
Police officer pulls over driver for alleged traffic violation. The driver hits record on his cell phone.
Police officer asks the driver if he has been drinking and the driver said no. The police officer says he wants to give the driver a field sobriety test. The driver said no thanks to the field sobriety test. The police officer says if you refuse to take a field sobriety test I will arrest you and say your drunk. The driver said you can't do that because that is against the law. The police officer arrests the driver and has him thrown in jail for being a drunk driver.
Blood tests proved that the driver was not drinking.
The case goes to court and the Judge makes his ruling. The Judge said the driver simply and calmly asserted his right not to perform any field sobriety tests. The judge said there was no reasonable suspicion that the driver was drinking and the only reason the driver was arrested was because he refused to take a field sobriety test and it is illegal to arrest someone for refusing to take a field sobriety test when you have no reasonable suspicion that they are drunk.
City pays $70,000 to driver for the false arrest.
MY ANALYSIS:
1 - If you didn't violate anyone's freedom then men with guns (police) should not be demanding that you pull over. If you did not harm, threaten, steal, or violate anyone's individual rights then men with guns (police) do not have the right to pull you over. A lot of times when you get pulled over by police there goal is to give you a ticket demanding money. If you pulled someone over for not wearing a seat belt at gun point demanding money from them you would be arrested for robbery.
2 - Tax payers have already had to pay $160,000 dollars in settlements for wrong doing committed by this police officer. The problem with this is the money is not coming out of his pocket. Tax payers are paying for his mistakes. This makes it less likely that this police officer would learn or care. If you broke the law you would have to do prison time or pay for a settlement out of your own pocket, therefore you would care. When police commit a crime, taxpayers (you) have to pay for it. Thats wrong.
3 - If you broke a law that you did not know about the police would still arrest you and say that ignorance of the law is no excuse and they would throw you in jail. This police officer did break the law by making a false arrest and then by taking the victim away illegally and locking him up (kidnapping). This police officer should be in prison. If you did what this police officer did you would be locked up.
Government is the most dangerous threat to mankind when it holds a legal monopoly on the use of theft and violence against legally disarmed victims.
- Ayn Rand
ROBBERY:
Robbery - Taking or attempting to take your money or property by force, threat of force, or by putting the victim in fear?
Does anyone have the right to rob you?
HARASSMENT:
Harassment - behavior which appears to be disturbing or threatening.
Does anyone have the right to harass you?
KIDNAPPING:
Kidnapping - take someone away illegally by force.
Does anyone have the right to kidnap you?
WRONG IS WRONG, NO MATTER WHO DOES IT:
No matter how government employees are selected they are only human beings and they have no rights or claims that are higher then those of any other human. No one has the right to harm you, steal from you, threaten you, or violate your rights. We can not give people any rights that we do not have ourselves. Government should never be able to do anything you can't do. If something is wrong for you to do, it should also be wrong for government to do. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it.
THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE:
A government that violates your individual rights and commits theft, extortion, and violence, is a criminal organization. Once people realize that. They can rid themselves of the belief that they have an obligation to obey government. Then you can have free people who can decide for themselves what they can do.
DECLARATION OF FREEDOM:
- I own myself.
- I have individual rights.
- No one has the right to violate my freedom.
NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO VIOLATE MY FREEDOM:
- No one has the right to harm me.
- No one has the right to threaten me.
- No one has the right to steal from me.
- No one has the right to violate my individual rights.
I HAVE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS:
- The right to self-ownership - I own myself.
- The right to privacy - No one has the right to violate my privacy.
- The right to self-defense - I can defend myself, my property, and my freedom.
- The right to liberty - I can do what I want, as long as I do not violate the freedom of others.
- The right to free speech - I can communicate my opinions and ideas without fear of government retaliation or censorship.
NON-AGGRESSION PRINCIPLE (NAP):
Because I own myself, it is wrong for someone to initiate force against me or my property.
VOLUNTARYISM:
Interactions between people should be voluntary and free of force, fraud, and threats.
FREEDOM:
Freedom is the ability to exercise your will within your individual rights without the threat of force from anyone else.
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM:
There will always be people who try to violate our freedom. To remain free we have to be willing and able to defend our freedom. That is the price of freedom.
