Jets Fan Arrested for Enthusiasm

[kevinquinnyo]

Couldn't find this posted on the forums. If it's already a topic, I apologize.

wJqd_5fC7ZI

I can't find any info on what really happened here, but the internets seem to be saying this guy was arrested by San Diego police for cheering for the Jets.

Anyone know what really happened? Could it be that he was arrested for nothing?

[kevinquinnyo]

Is it just me, or is that youtube embed not working?

here's the link (footage of him being arrested)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJqd_5fC7ZI

[madurobob]

Is it just me, or is that youtube embed not working?

here's the link (footage of him being arrested)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJqd_5fC7ZI

In your OP, between the YT tags, don't put the entire link, just the bit after the "=".

As for the topic - hadn't head about it. Interesting video.

[kevinquinnyo]

thanks, fixed it.

[madurobob]

So, clearly the guy resisted and that's what got him cuffed and dragged out. what we don't see is why he was approached in the first place. He didn't appear too drunk or obnoxious and the cops seemed a bit on edge. But, we don't see in the video the approach of the police and any ensuing discussion. I doubt the cop just ran up and tackled him in the stands for yelling "Jets Jets Jets!"

[theprestige]

Couldn't find this posted on the forums. If it's already a topic, I apologize.

wJqd_5fC7ZI

I can't find any info on what really happened here, but the internets seem to be saying this guy was arrested by San Diego police for cheering for the Jets.

Anyone know what really happened? Could it be that he was arrested for nothing?
It could certainly be that he was arrested for nothing.

On the other hand, it's a lot more likely--and a lot more plausible--that he was arrested for being a disruptive jerk.

Not that cheering for the Jets is being a disruptive jerk, mind you. The Chargers have a long-standing and bitter rivalry with the Raiders, but I was at the stadium the last time the Raiders played the Chargers at home. Everybody got along just fine. Raiders fans in full regalia sitting peacably next to Chargers fans flaunting blue and gold, each cheering for their own teams. Raiders fans and Chargers fans tailgating side by side throughout the parking lot.

If being an enthusiastic Raiders fan in San Diego isn't a crime, I doubt being an enthusiastic Jets fan in San Diego is a crime.

So yeah, my money is on "arrested for being an illegally disruptive jerk".

[Drudgewire]

It's a little easier to believe the cops overreacted when the Charger fans around him are defending the guy.

[ARubberChickenWithAPulley]

Not that cheering for the Jets is being a disruptive jerk, mind you.

Maybe not disruptive...

[WildCat]

If anyone should have been arrested it shoukld be the 2 guys in Qualcom stadium wearing, inexplicably, Cardinals jerseys.

[kevinquinnyo]

It's a little easier to believe the cops overreacted when the Charger fans around him are defending the guy.

Yeah, based on the way that game played out, I would think they would want him thrown in jail if he jaywalked.

And you'd think they would have seen something or heard something had he done something illegal in the seats.

Maybe he was wanted for a bank robbery who knows...

[ElMondoHummus]

We're missing a ton of context in that video. The video jumps straight from the guy yelling to the arrest.

And also, the Jets fan did resist arrest.

On the other hand, Drudge is right: When opposing teams fans say he didn't do anything, you wonder what the reason was for the arrest. Maybe simple drunk and disorderly? But you'd think that'd have to be really bad behavior to cause that to happen, not to mention that surrounding fans would be pissed off enough to not defend the guy if that were true.

I don't know. Given that the others around him were sort of shocked, and a couple of folks protested, this does indeed look to be an overreaction. But again, we're missing tons of context, way too much to make a definitive judgement.

[Uncayimmy]

If you watch it until the end, you'll see the cops telling the guy that they expect cooperation. They ask that guy to step outside to talk or keep quiet. The guy keeps talking, so they, ahem, insist that he step outside, and he does.

Now, in my limited experience, I've seen cops deal with guys like the one who got arrested. If they see some knucklehead standing up, turning in circles, and chanting loudly all by himself for the opposing team, they often want to talk to the guy for a minute.

First, they want to make sure the guy's not drunk off his ass, which is not all that uncommon when you see somebody doing what he did. Second, they want to advise the guy that while his enthusiasm is welcome, would he keep in mind that what he's doing might lead to tempers flaring, and nobody wants that, right? So, let's take it down a notch, alright? Yeh? Cool. Go Jets.

If, however, the guy resists the cops asking him to step outside for just a minute, then you see what you see on the tape. We, of course, have no idea what happened. I mean, the cops could have just been sore losers and decided to single out and arrest that one Jets fan without any provocation.

[TsarBomba]

The biggest issue that I see is not the Jets fan that gets arrested--we really don't know what happened to cause the arrest because of the break in the recording--but the fact that the San Diego fan who questioned the actions of the San Diego police and who told them that the Jets fan did nothing wrong also got removed from the stadium (or at the very least removed from the area that he was standing in). Who knows, the Jets fan may very well have been violating some state or municipal statute on disorderly conduct, but the Chargers fan? When questioning the actions of the police in a public place becomes an actionable offense, we are in big trouble.

[Uncayimmy]

Side Note: After listening to it again, I noticed the guy at the end said, "Well, they asked the other guy to go outside and he got hauled out." Combine that with another cop explaining that the just want "cooperation" and I think you get a pretty good picture of what happened.

The biggest issue that I see is not the Jets fan that gets arrested--we really don't know what happened to cause the arrest because of the break in the recording--but the fact that the San Diego fan who questioned the actions of the San Diego police and who told them that the Jets fan did nothing wrong also got removed from the stadium (or at the very least removed from the area that he was standing in). Who knows, the Jets fan may very well have been violating some state or municipal statute on disorderly conduct, but the Chargers fan? When questioning the actions of the police in a public place becomes an actionable offense, we are in big trouble.

That's standard operating procedure in a stadium and for some very good non-police reasons:

* It's annoying as hell when people, like the cop and the guy, are standing up the whole damned time.

* It's annoying when somebody is blocking the aisle, like the cop was.

* It's just really hard to carry on a conversation.

Beyond that, cops have their own procedures for their safety and that of others. Usually they tell everybody to step back while they talk to somebody, but that's a bit awkward in a stadium, so they do the next best thing. I didn't get the impression that the guy at the end was being arrested. The cop was just telling him that if he wanted to talk, they could go outside. The guy then got all belligerent talking over the cop with this "you're telling me I can't talk to you?" crap when the cop was trying explain that wasn't the case at all.

It was no surprise he got asked to step out, but unless he got all nasty, I doubt he would have been arrested. Of course, none of us knows for sure what happened later.

[Travis]

If anyone should have been arrested it shoukld be the 2 guys in Qualcom stadium wearing, inexplicably, Cardinals jerseys.

What was the deal with that?

[cornsail]

Hard to tell what happened. Can we get a statement from Obama on this?

[The Painter]

San Diego is a town full of bad sports. There were a number of personal fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct during the game. This is more of the same from the cops. I'd like to quote Obama here, "Stupid Cops". What a bunch of bad losers. I only have one thing to say;



J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets

[Dancing David]

Well, no name linked to the arrest yet, so hard to say.

[Drudgewire]

What is it with Jets fans? (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/shocker_cops_taser_jet_fan_h3GlWKllBM6uplf0dOyc5K)

Cops sacked a Jet diehard before the big game, throwing him against a squad car outside the stadium and then zapping him with a Taser — all while the young man’s dad watched in disbelief, witnesses said.

The arresting officer claimed Patrick Mallon, 26, had been belligerent and threw beer at other tailgate revelers.

But Mallon told The Post after his late-night hearing, “I did not throw beer at anybody. I was angry with the police for trying to go through the crowd like that.

“But I’m more angry with what they did to me.”

[NoZed Avenger]

The biggest issue that I see is not the Jets fan that gets arrested--

--but that he isn't then beaten within an inch of his life.





Sorry. Don't actually mean it, but the opening was just too good.