This is a moderated phorum for the CIVILIZED discussion of the Miami Dolphins. In this phorum, there are rules and moderators to make sure you abide by the rules. The moderators for this phorum are JC and Colonel.
This is bad for us, simply because I believe RG will come down on any player that got a DUI this off season like a ton of bricks, now that so many players have gotten in trouble.
True, enough of these DUI's around the league will hurt.
I think Miami should take care of Ronnie internally and give him a 2 game suspension and move on. Will Allen pleading NOT GUILTY was just dumb on his part. Plead guilty, do the community service, pay the fine and move past it. Trying to fight this is a lose-lose for him.
Porter is in store for something big though. The sucker punch of Levi Jones in Vegas wasn't that long ago. Throw this on top, he's rreally screwed. Thank god its now ARIZONA's PROBLEM!!
Odenn Wrote:
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> This is bad for us, simply because I believe RG
> will come down on any player that got a DUI this
> off season like a ton of bricks, now that so many
> players have gotten in trouble.
I dont want the NFL to turn into the NBA thug league, Ronnie or not, a DUI is serious and could be deadly, suspend them all!
read the tmz story. what right did that cop have to reach inside his car and try to manually unlock the door? something seems wrong here. I'm sure BobH can enlighten us. I'm sure the cop will say the "smell of alcohol" was reasonable suspicion of a crime, but I find it hard to believe a cop can smell booze from one car over. sounds bogus to me.
The officer has the right to require him to exit the vehicle...if he doesn't comply the officer can assist him in this. This would be done to better ascertain the situation and to administer road side tests if necessary as well as for safety (pat-search) and/or a visual inspection/formal search (via officer or via dog) of the vehicle.
Reasonable suspicion was established the instant the officer smelled the alcohol or witnessed any behavior/action/speech that would lead a reasonable person to believe that Porter was impaired in some way.
When Porter slapped the officers hand he committed the crime of battery on a law enforcement officer, probable cause was established and he was then subject to arrest.
Further refusals to comply with the instructions of the officer would result in the charge of resisting arrest without violence. Additional charges and penalties could be failure to submit to testing for not undergoing the mandatory tests, revocation of his driving privilege, assault on a law enforcement officer (not the same thing as battery) and a few others.
Anyway, I'm glad that he's gone and not our problem anymore.
I am always shocked when people are in a conversation with the police or pulled over that they think "stuff is up for debate"
Not everything in life is up for debate. Do what your told and everything will go as smooth as possible. Be an a-hole or try to debate or bargin with the police, and it will go bad (very bad) 100 out of 100 times.
People who show lack respect towards the police get what they deserve
Ken, are you a lawyer or a cop? How is refusing to take a breathalizer "reckless driving"? That assumes you were driving drunk, which they did not prove since you didn't take the test. By that logic they could nail you for drunk driving for refusing the test, in which case, why bother with the test at all? That's guilty unless proven innocent, which isn't how it's supposed to work.
MikeO, that's a pretty scary mindset. Unless they have reasonable suspicion that you are committing a crime, the police don't have the right to detain or question you. And you have the right to refuse to their questions and attempts to detain you. "Do as your told" when a cop comes up to you for no reason isn't the kind of country I want to live in. Especially given the sizable percentage of cops who are total a-holes. Now maybe Porter gave them a reason--he probably did--but "I smelled alcohol coming from the car"--sounds like a pretty convenient and made-up one.
The cop asked Porter for his drivers licsense. You don't start rolling up your window.
Just hand him the stinking license, why be difficult??
And saying that a "sizeable percentage of cops are total a-holes"....tells me your one who doesn't get it and doesn't show the proper respect towards authority!! Like I said, everything in life isn't up for debate!
berkeley223 Wrote:
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> Ken, are you a lawyer or a cop? How is refusing to
> take a breathalizer "reckless driving"? That
> assumes you were driving drunk, which they did not
> prove since you didn't take the test. By that
> logic they could nail you for drunk driving for
> refusing the test, in which case, why bother with
> the test at all? That's guilty unless proven
> innocent, which isn't how it's supposed to work.
Berkeley, I am a law enforcement supervisor. Refusing to take the test is perfectly within a citizens rights...albeit with the corresponding penalty. However driving under the infulence is still reckless driving (most judges view having a drink and driving as reckless behavior) even without a test that shows it. The Breath or blood test will prove or disprove driving under or over the legal limit and by how much. In most agencies everything the officer does is usually video and audio taped so the judge can see and hear what happened...this is also the case in most jails where the testing will be administered. The fact of the matter is that it really does not take much to show that a person was impaired. Notice I said impaired not drunk or over the legal limit. There is a difference. Just for example, in Florida there is a clause printed on the back of everyones drivers license that says you will submit to any and all tests required of you by law enforcement or you will lose your driving priveledge for one year (Paraphrased)...impaired also means taking any drugs prescription (I.E. pain pills etc) or otherwise...even something such as nyquill or benadryl because it makes you sleepy.
> MikeO, that's a pretty scary mindset. Unless they
> have reasonable suspicion that you arI don't know of any officer, anywhere, that has ever done this; but in some states the police can actually ask you to produce your ID and if you fail to produce it they can take you to jail. This is because you have an obligation to properly identify yourself to the police.
e committing
> a crime, the police don't have the right to detain
> or question you. And you have the right to refuse
> to their questions and attempts to detain you.
Actually the police do have a right to stop or detain any citizen for "a resonable amount of time" for investigative purposes, without probable cause, miranda or placing you under arrest. I.E. to ask you who you are, check your ID, ask why you are where you are, etc, etc. This is called a "citizen contact."
"Do as your told" when a cop comes up to you for no
> reason isn't the kind of country I want to live
> in.
I agree with you here Berkely...in most cases. But that said the reason why the officer comes up to you may not be apparent to the citizen. I also agree that the officer should in fact have a reason for the stop otherwise they should leave you alone.
Especially given the sizable percentage of
> cops who are total a-holes.
Most officers are not A-holes really even though some are (I won't tolerate it as a supervisor either)...it's just that when people get stopped they automatically get an attitude...people also don't understand the job and what it entails, most also don't actually know what their actual rights are...that said the officer has an obligation remain professional. I tell all of my officers to remain polite and respectful right up to the point where it's time to be mean...but they had better be justified in going down that road.
Now maybe Porter gave
> them a reason--he probably did--but "I smelled
> alcohol coming from the car"--sounds like a pretty
> convenient and made-up one.
It might seem that way but...all too often it is very true.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2010 07:41PM by Ken.
thanks Ken for your response. very insightful. I am sure that most police are consciencious like you, but unfortunately there's always those few bad apples who give the rest a bad name. I've witnessed a few of those myself.
Me too, over the years I have seen more than my share...some of them no longer work for my agency...thanks to stand up leaders in key positions.
As for Porter, people get a sense of entitlement and thats where the wheels start to come off...an employer really doesn't owe an employee anything other than fair and equitable treatment, a pay check for work performed, and the best work enviornment they can provide given the duties performned.
Athletes (and regular folks too) all too often fall into this trap of thinking the employer owes them something...being rewarded for tenure and senority are dead concepts in this country for the most part. It's degraded into the here and now is all that counts, and that, is a shame. Longevity and loyalty mean little to nothing in the work place of today.
Doctor Feelgood Wrote:
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> MikeO Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > People who show lack respect towards the police
>
> > get what they deserve
>
> @#$%& the police. Just because somebody gave some
> nobody a little tin badge, a gun, a taser and some
> handcuffs, doesn't mean he's somebody now.
I know we have rules about name calling, but you sir are a moron.
Porter is a self absorbed moron, who has little respect for anyone other than himself.
He proves it regularly ...
1. Fight with Levi Jones, in the casino
2. Mouth offs regularly
3. End of the season whine about what was his sub par play
4. Bath mouthing Dolphins because he is not the complete player
5. Now this
As stated ... good thing he is someone else's problem ... we have enough of our own.
and to prove how stupid he is....he did not even get pulled over for suspicion, his friend in another car did and Porter pulled up behind the police car after he had been drinking. What an idiot!