Josh Brent wasn't Drinking

[HowardC]

That's a lot to ask of some people. Seriously. Especially in some areas where the cops/sheriffs aren't paid that much.
You got men and women who don't know how their day at work will go. Might be smooth, might be boring, could deal with some crazy person that they pull over or they could be dealing with somebody that is a felon who is carrying. I'm not saying it's right or acceptable for how they initially react to some of these altercations either.

This country is lacking in a lot of areas. Mental health is always something that is talked about to be improved here, but no action is ever done to combat it. Only when does some person shoot up a place do people care about mental health and then the following week they forget about it all.

Asking police officers to also be psychiatrists as well is not something everyone with a badge can do. Not saying they need to go in guns blazing or not have compassion, but there are quite a few people out there that need help, can't get it and by the time the cops are called they don't have the entire life story of said person and know fully why they are acting that way. And unfortunately the cops do not know if said person may be carrying a weapon like a knife or a gun.

No one is saying be a psychiatrist. Just be able to recognize differences. People act like cops are just out here facing a murderer's row. Their job is not as dangerous as is depicted and it's more dangerous for anyone coming into contact with them. It wouldn't be that hard for them to give a class for recognition those things.

 

[John813]

No one is saying be a psychiatrist. Just be able to recognize differences. People act like cops are just out here facing a murderer's row. Their job is not as dangerous as is depicted and it's more dangerous for anyone coming into contact with them. It wouldn't be that hard for them to give a class for recognition those things.

Easier said than done. Most times if people interact with cops the way they would like to be treated then things usually go smoothly.

When some act sketchy or refuse to do simple things, like Malik MacDonald, then things can get escalated. Cops don't get a full breakdown list of the person they are called to check on. They don't know the persons mental health, who he is(most of the time), if he was on some type of drug or booze etc. If someone calls in and says this person is acting weird or being hostile, well the responding officers aren't going to arrive in the area in a lax and carefree mood.

Not saying they are in a life and death situation every stop, but they deal with a lot of **** at times and can see a lot of **** during their shifts.

 

[superonyx]

Brent told the police he was drunk, and you are upset at fans for thinking he was drunk?

Uh no. Read my post and try to think beyond your bias.
There is an active Randy Gregory thread which shows the problem.

 

[superonyx]

That's a lot to ask of some people. Seriously. Especially in some areas where the cops/sheriffs aren't paid that much.
You got men and women who don't know how their day at work will go. Might be smooth, might be boring, could deal with some crazy person that they pull over or they could be dealing with somebody that is a felon who is carrying. I'm not saying it's right or acceptable for how they initially react to some of these altercations either.

This country is lacking in a lot of areas. Mental health is always something that is talked about to be improved here, but no action is ever done to combat it. Only when does some person shoot up a place do people care about mental health and then the following week they forget about it all.

Asking police officers to also be psychiatrists as well is not something everyone with a badge can do. Not saying they need to go in guns blazing or not have compassion, but there are quite a few people out there that need help, can't get it and by the time the cops are called they don't have the entire life story of said person and know fully why they are acting that way. And unfortunately the cops do not know if said person may be carrying a weapon like a knife or a gun.

Great points.
I know a psychiatrist and the greed that has taken over our mindset in MERICA has done this to our mental health system.
Here is the game...... Doctor goes to many years of expensive medical school. Graduates with hundreds of thousands in student debt. Wants to open a mental health care practice.....well giving proper mental health care to patients limits him to about 5-6 patients per day. He isn’t doing surgery or anything that is a big ticket. So each office visit brings him about $150-$200 dollars max. With the cost of hiring receptionist, office building expense, student loan debt he can’t make ends meet.
So what do these doctors do? They put people on mind altering drugs that keep customers coming back every 30 days for a refill. Now they can bill the insurance company for an office visit that only last 5 minutes..enough time to write another prescription for the next 30 days. They can line up hundreds of patients to get hooked on these drugs and keep coming back every 30 days like a crack head.
This is our country’s mental health system. No therapy or real help for patients. Just doctors pushing expensive pharmaceuticals. Everyone makes money and we all suffer the results. The ugly effects when Capitalism and Health Care collide.

 

[Dodger12]

lol....................... tell thatto all those being released after spending decades in prison due to DNA proving their innocence. There is a reason "The Innocence Project," exists, and it isnt because these cases are far and few in bwteen.

So you correlate the exoneration of defendants by the Innocence Project to corrupt law enforcement? I'd be willing to bet that that many of those folks wrongfully convicted at trial were convicted based in large part to eye witness testimony and positive identification by the victims. I'd also be willing to bet that many of the crimes which were overturned through DNA evidence were crimes against woman (assaults, rape, etc). I don't believe that folks in law enforcement are somehow predisposed to see a man they don't even know go to prison for a crime he didn't commit.

I'm curious, are you a lawyer or in the CJ field?

 

[OmerV]

Uh no. Read my post and try to think beyond your bias.
There is an active Randy Gregory thread which shows the problem.

Uh, yes. I have no bias, and I wrote nothing against Brent. But the facts are the story indicated Brent told the police he was drunk, and in your post you trashed people for assuming he was drunk. For you to suggest that is incorrect is to ignore the facts for the sake of supporting your post.

The man said he was drunk. Were people actually expected to assume he was lying about that?

And the funny thing is you are admonishing people for acting high and mighty while doing exactly the same thing yourself.

 

[Dodger12]

how do we know he was agressive? did they have body cams on? if they did, and they had to tase him, I can ensure you he would have been charged with something regardless if he was drunk or not. They tase you when you fail to comply with a LAWFUL order, then he resisted. Those charges would not have just disapeeared.... unless, maybe the entire encounter by police is not exactly as they stated?

I take my last question back. You're neither a lawyer nor a law enforcement officer despite having gone to law school and have a CJ degree. You lack a basic understanding of how the system works in some DA's offices.

 

[ItzKelz]

Josh Brent is not and was not playing for us this season.

 

[Northern_Cowboy]

He ‘tussled’ with police officers while being completely under his own power, no inebriation whatsoever?

Even if it was a wrongful arrest, that doesn’t exactly sound like something we should be praising him for.

You don't have to be inebriated to be suffering a mental breakdown and act as if you are, cmon you know better than that unless you somehow believe that he should have been in complete control of himself while suffering the breakdown

 

[superonyx]

Uh, yes. I have no bias, and I wrote nothing against Brent. But the facts are the story indicated Brent told the police he was drunk, and in your post you trashed people for assuming he was drunk. For you to suggest that is incorrect is to ignore the facts for the sake of supporting your post.

The man said he was drunk. Were people actually expected to assume he was lying about that?

And the funny thing is you are admonishing people for acting high and mighty while doing exactly the same thing yourself.

If you consider being cold and heartless high and mighty then I guess I did.
You prefer to create your own narrative for the intention of my post instead of reading what was the message of the post. It’s not my fault that you acted a way you are not proud of.

You see black and white. Maybe it’s because you feel more comfortable being able to classify things in simple terms. It makes it easier I guess.

The reality is people jumped all over Brent because it’s easier to vilify someone than it is to give someone the benefit of the doubt. Everyone commenting knew his life story. They could have just expressed empathy for a fellow man who was going through a hard time. Instead they preferred to cast him as some thug who feels nothing but narcissism.

If expecting people to give each other the benefit of the doubt and pointing out a time when many of us chose the lower road is high and mighty then that speaks more about what’s in your mind than mine.

 

[RodeoJake]

Ever killed someone driving drunk? If so I’d probably assume you were drunk again. Not because I’m an internet tough guy, but because it’s not much of a logical leap. If I later found out it was a blood sugar issue I’d change my perception like an adult

I wasn't being critical of anyone who made the leap. I merely pointed out there are alternative reasons for odd behavior. Because of Brent's past, it's understandable folks jump to the alcohol conclusion.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

So let me ask you this. If the police said they smelled a heavy dose of alcohol on his breath, how is it that he tested and no alcohol in his system? So were the cops just wrong, or lying? It’s one or the other. I chose they are lying, because. You smell booze or not, and it isn’t that complicated.

In Brent’s position what would it matter if they were lying in that moment? If an officer comes up to you and says you fit a description of a criminal they’re looking for, and you clearly aren’t him, does that give you privilege to fight off the cop until he goes away?

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

You don't have to be inebriated to be suffering a mental breakdown and act as if you are, cmon you know better than that unless you somehow believe that he should have been in complete control of himself while suffering the breakdown

And suffering a mental breakdown doesn’t give you free reign to do what you please. If he needs help, then the cops are right to take him away

 

[glimmerman]

If he was bad off enough to hurt someone then he needs to go somewhere and get his medication figured out. He is likely on meds and came off of them or they adjusted or tried a new one that obviously don’t work.

I have friends that take meds and every once in a while they think they are all better and quit taking them and eventually they have issues and have to go through the process of getting them back into there system again.

 

[dogunwo]

Sadly these types only represent about 1-2% but can do enough damage to put a cloud over the entire force.

I understand your point, but these are made up numbers. It could be less, it could also be a lot more. The problem is there's an awful lot of people that want to and need to believe that everything with law enforcement is always on the up and up that they create a perception that its some extremely small amount to feel better about it. There's no reliable way to quantify this issue, but one things for certain is that the police have a lot of work to do to win back the trust of ALL citizens not just a select group who never experience or aren't aware of these issues.

 

[Reid1boys]

The arresting officers had breakfast that morning and decided that the first celebrity arrest of the day would be falsely accused of having alcohol on his breath.

why is it so hard for you to believe that police lie. They lie during their interactions, they lie on their reports and they lie in court. This is not something thats made up, it is a fact.

 

[Northern_Cowboy]

And suffering a mental breakdown doesn’t give you free reign to do what you please. If he needs help, then the cops are right to take him away

I guess your missing the point unless you think he was in control of himself during the breakdown which is why after law enforcement discovered he was not intoxicated but sufferred a breakdown they dropped the charges and your right if he needed help then the cops were there to help him but they didn't did they? Now i understand they are not trained health officials but if Brent was as intoxicated as he must have appeared to them you would think maybe they would have smelled a little alcohol they do deal with that situation on a regular basis in their jobs.

 

[Reid1boys]

So you correlate the exoneration of defendants by the Innocence Project to corrupt law enforcement? I'd be willing to bet that that many of those folks wrongfully convicted at trial were convicted based in large part to eye witness testimony and positive identification by the victims. I'd also be willing to bet that many of the crimes which were overturned through DNA evidence were crimes against woman (assaults, rape, etc). I don't believe that folks in law enforcement are somehow predisposed to see a man they don't even know go to prison for a crime he didn't commit.

I'm curious, are you a lawyer or in the CJ field?

I do not believe police are predisposed as a group to lie and set people up. I do believe that police get in their mnd that something happened a particular way and then set out to prove those facts. Ever watch a tv show and the will do to scenes from different character's perspectives. They use the EXACT same words, but change the way things are said. Two scenes using the eaxct same words and yet they come out very, very different.

BUt, there are also many, many cases where police or rposecutors are later shown to withold evidence in a case that would have helped a defendant...... something that is illegal.

I got my undergraduate degree in Criminal JUstice, never wanting to go into LE. I then attended McGeorge School of Law. I left after 1 year due to family issues. One does not need to be a lawyer though to understand how the police as a group view the public. You've heard it..... good guys vs bad guys. ALL of us are the "Bad guys," to police.... when dealing with us in public interactions. Im not talking about if you call police to your house for something. In those case I think most police are very professional. But when they pull you over on the road for something, you better hop you got one of the good ones, or you are about to have a very bad day.Like I said, go watch any of the dozens of youtube videos to se what im talking about.

 

[Reid1boys]

I guess your missing the point unless you think he was in control of himself during the breakdown which is why after law enforcement discovered he was not intoxicated but sufferred a breakdown they dropped the charges and your right if he needed help then the cops were there to help him but they didn't did they? Now i understand they are not trained health officials but if Brent was as intoxicated as he must have appeared to them you would think maybe they would have smelled a little alcohol they do deal with that situation on a regular basis in their jobs.

But they did, they did smell alcohol..... or a *****cat, something like that

 

[Melonfeud]

In Brent’s position what would it matter if they were lying in that moment? If an officer comes up to you and says you fit a description of a criminal they’re looking for, and you clearly aren’t him, does that give you privilege to fight off the cop until he goes away?

* funny,as I recall sitting in a bar having a beer with a couple of buddy's, when two cops came in & said I matched the description of a subject who'd took off afoot& outran them,,,SHEESE! half the bar said it wasn't me, but if they hung around a little longer, they could nab me on impaired driving when I left,,,ya,thanks a pant load for covering for me,gang,,,they all thought it was funny,I saw no humour in it