The violent credit card fraudsters among us
by digby
So an eyewitness identifies someone as an identity thief who has been charging goods with someone else’s credit card. This is how the police deal with him:
That is of course, James Blake, world class tennis ace, just standing in the lobby of his very fancy hotel looking at his cell phone. You undoubtedly know by now that it was a case of mistaken identity, a twisted irony if there ever was one. The eyewitness was wrong, as they so often are. And the police acted as if they were arresting a gang member wanted for murder. (If they’d thought he was armed, they would have just shot him dead, no doubt.)
The police failed to report this “mistake” and if it hadn’t been for the fact they tackled a world renowned athlete instead of just some regular citizen we wouldn’t have ever heard about it. Indeed, the way the cops behaved show that it’s a routine tactic used every day. Why in the world didn’t they walk up and talk to him? If he tried to run away, then sure, tackle him. But he was just standing there. Why in the world didn’t they walk up and talk to him? If he tried to run away, then sure, tackle him. But he was just standing there.
According to what I’ve been reading on right wing forums, the real problem here is that the media are reporting that James Blake is black. Also too, you shouldn’t complain when the cops are protecting you from credit card fraudsters — he might have been a violent one for all we know. You know how “they” are.
Submit citizens, submit. Well, citizens who “look like criminals” anyway, IYKWIM.
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