Page:Abuse of Police Powers - Cooper.djvu/1

658 presbyter-bishops of the New-Testament kind, and the New-Testament kind ought to satisfy all Christians.

Limited space prevents further remark, but if the Rev. Mr. Ward will fairly study the Methodist Episcopal bishops, who are true bishops, he will find his ideal bishop realized In these men, as they take an active part in all matters which relate to the welfare of society, and In their episcopal work fly not to the confines of a small diocese, but to the uttermost parts of the earth. .

has been much discussion concerning the abuse of personal liberty and private property from the exercise of extraordinary rights retained by the government for the protection of the public. Quarantine regulations, and license or prohibitory laws, where the state assumes full control of the individual and the destruction of his effects for the safety of society, may be cited as instances of the evil.

In a narrower and, perhaps, seemingly less important branch of these powers, however, the rights of the people are constantly made the subject of outrage, and little attention is paid to it by the reformers. The press of the country contains daily records of the abuse of authority by police officers.

Two or three friends stand together upon a street corner, after supper, and talk and laugh loudly. A citizen in blue approaches. "Move on. Get off that corner," he says, and, upon a remonstrance being made, "Shut up, move on, or I’ll pull you in." If his commands are not then obeyed, he blows a whistle and other officers appear: resistance is offered to arrest, clubs are freely used, and the peaceful friends of a moment before are dragged off with bleeding heads to the station house. If they attempt to escape, the captors use their revolvers. After a night in filthy cells, they are taken before a magistrate and, on the charge of being "drunk and disorderly," and "resisting an officer," are held for trial before a jury.

The records of the press and courts show cases of excess more extreme than this. Policemen are supposed to be keepers of the peace, but they have enlarged their fancied duties until they seem to have quite forgotten that they are merely citizens appointed to maintain order, and pose as regulators of the social economy of the streets, even in the most trifling matters.

It may be interesting, in view of these outrages, to inquire into the exact extent of the power of these officials.

In general, it may be said that every citizen, under the common law, is expected to preserve the peace of the community, and may, without a warrant, make arrests for offences which he sees committed. Indeed, if the crime be extreme and be a felony under the law, he is bound to arrest the offender, under pain of fine and imprisonment. He may not make any arrests, however, unless he is an actual witness of the offence. A police officer has little more right than the citizen. It is true that, while the law only allows the latter to arrest in ordinary cases, it makes it the duty of the former in every case where he sees an offence committed. And where it is felony that is charged, the right of the officer is higher than that of the citizen, for he may make the arrest without warrant, upon information, and may use his revolver in case the criminal attempts to escape. With these differences, his rights and liabilities are the same as those of the citizen.

The police, however, think that if a man is drunk, or talks loudly, or sings, or presumes to answer the insults addressed to him by them, he must at once be dragged to prison, and, upon the slightest resistance, be beaten by clubs or "blackjacks." The average citizen knows very little concerning the officers’ limits of power, and, seeing the order to move on so often enforced by the exhibition of the star and the august "billy," seldom stops to question the legality of the action. This submissiveness on the part of the public has rendered the police, particularly in large cities, arrogant and brutal, and these supposed conservators of the peace are frequent law-breakers.

That a man is under the influence of liquor is not enough to justify interference and found a charge of "drunk and disorderly;" to sustain an accusation, there