Cult of Compliance: Times Square Edition

In September I wrote about a mentally-ill man who was shot at by police for not listening. He ran into traffic in Times Square so they shot at him.

Well, today he was charged as responsible for the people that the police shot.

“The defendant is the one that created the situation that injured
innocent bystanders,” said an assistant district attorney, Shannon
Lucey.

The two police officers, who have not been identified, have been placed
on administrative duty and their actions are still under investigation
by the district attorney’s office, law enforcement officials said.  They
also face an internal Police Department inquiry.

Mr. Broadnax’s lawyer, Rigodis Appling, said Mr. Broadnax suffered from
anxiety and depression and had been disoriented and scared when the
police shot at him. He was reaching for his wallet, not a gun, she said.
“Mr. Broadnax never imagined his behavior would ever cause the police
to shoot at him,” she said.

So here we have someone who didn’t comply and “forced” the police to start shooting. They missed, but have charged him with forcing them to shoot at him.

I’ve talked a lot on this blog about the criminalization of non-compliance, starting here, but you can follow the tags. It’s not a problem that’s going away. It needs to be understand on this meta-level of a veneration of compliance and a fury at those who will not bow down. Then, we need to act on the specific level – precincts, principals, politicians, victims, and so forth. But the meta-level is critical.

And in the meantime, this feature on my blog will continue.