With discourse concerning the abolition and defunding of the police continuing to resonate from the early 2020s, it’s important to highlight that the police are not always the best guardians of peace. As an all too prescient example, recall the police being unable to address a seatbelt violation without resorting to firing 96 shots at a motorist within 40 seconds as reported by USA Today.
Consider another instance where the police were called for a wellness check on Drew Washington, ultimately resulting in his fatal shooting as detailed by NBC News.
On a similar note, a bystander recorded a situation at UC Berkeley where Dean Erwin Chemerinsky hosted a dinner and a student protest ensued outside his residence. We as legal professionals must ponder the implications of calling the police to handle non-violent protesters as discussed in this write-up on Above The Law.
The prominent point from the video that gathered over a million views is the fallacious assertion that police intervention is the only remedy if a trespasser refuses to leave willingly. This kind of advice might be significant in a landlord-tenant dispute, but not in instances where the intruder isn’t a tenant. It has been pointed out that it is indeed legally acceptable to apply reasonable force to procure the departure of trespassers from one’s property. And ‘reasonable’ is indeed key here, since a disproportionate response could have prompted an entirely different commentary as showcased in this Above The Law article discussing a St. Louis Lawyer Couple.
Approaching the conclusion, it’s prudent to reiterate that the police should be a last resort, particularly if the individual does not pose an immediate threat. An instance of misjudgment is illustrated by the unfortunate case of Twyla Stallworth, where a complainant ended up being arrested as reported by NBC News.
In conclusion, the dynamics between the First Amendment and Property law grow significantly more complex when police are brought into the equation. Therefore, police intervention should only be pursued as a last-ditch effort. Considering incidents such as these, we should certainly debate the direction in which our society is heading in relation to protests, law enforcement and property rights.