Forceful policing
The recent arrest of Tyrone Graham-Jones is an example of a poorly managed situation that quickly escalated out of control.
Graham-Jones, who is now out on bail and is charged with disrupting the peace and resisting and obstructing an officer, was acting in self-defense after a group of rowdy tailgaters in the way of his car began harassing him, according to numerous witnesses.
After he returned to his car, he was understandably jumpy, and police officers should have been aware of this.
According to a report from the Central Michigan University Police, crowd members - potentially the same tailgaters witnesses report poured beer on Graham-Jones' girlfriend's lap - identified Graham-Jones as the instigator.
An officer approached Graham-Jones. But the officer did not simply walk toward him and request he step out of the car. The officer grabbed Graham-Jones by the arm and ordered him to step out of the vehicle, according to the report.
Graham-Jones, trying to leave a fight he wanted nothing to do with, likely thought the officer, who needlessly applied force, was one of the tailgaters with whom he was fighting.
By attempting to pull away his arm and leave, Graham-Jones resisted an officer, likely without even knowing it.
What followed was an impassioned altercation that probably would not have started if not for the officer's foolish initial application of force.
If Graham-Jones simply wanted to leave, further agitating him badly escalated the situation. Graham-Jones' pulling away his arm was a natural reflex.
It ended with an arrest and a "brief spray of pepper spray" - a police report euphemism for a blast that sprayed several nearby people, including another officer.
Graham-Jones may have been able to leave more passively. Whether his retaliation against the tailgaters was excessive is still to be determined.
But if he is charged for disrupting the peace, other tailgaters, particularly those who witnesses say were in the way of Graham-Jones' car, should also be investigated on the same basis.
The charge against Graham-Jones for resisting and obstructing an officer, on the basis of his pulling away his arm and ensuing turmoil, is made bunk by the officer's forceful grab.
Unless police officers can effectively make the case that they did all they could to prevent a situation in which Graham-Jones reasonably responded by reflex, those charges should be dropped. And if they can make a case, they need to. Officers' reluctance to speak to reporters has not helped.
Moreover, the incident should mandate that police reevaluate what constitutes a judicious use of force. This wasn't it.
