Jonathan Vilma Arrested - Confirmed (2 Viewers)

[NPs6724]

I merely support the finding of facts PRIOR to the execution of judgement . I would have thought , given your line of work , that you'd agree .

That's the problem: a lot of cops aren't upstanding citizens fighting the evil of the world. They're normal people who make the same stupid mistakes us non-cops do and they have bad days like everyone else. On the whole, most street cops are high school graduates at best and many of them have authority issues (as in, they like to exert theirs). The smarter ones move on to be detectives. Cops are also mostly good people, but that job also has a tendency to attract more scoundrels than a normal non-authoritative job due to the power it involves. It also doesn't take much to become a police officer.

Cops shouldn't be placed on a pedestal above the rest of us because the truth is they aren't the best of the best. The people who choose to become a cop usually can't do much else. Sure, some are do-gooders who want to help the community and what-not, but there are far more who become cops because they couldn't get into college or get a better job. It's similar to those who become actors. Most of them do so because they can't do anything else. Think about it, how many of us would choose to risk our lives everyday when we could do a million other things? The only people who do are A) the do-gooder types or B) those who are unable to do anything else.

BTW, I used to work for the Mobile police department at headquarters, I've never been arrested so I have no grudge, and my best friend is a cop (he's one of the college grad-types) and he can attest to this.

 

[Saint Jeremy]

This can go a lot of ways right now.

The cops say I was weaving in traffic, I say I was changing lanes.

The cops say I almost hit a pedestrian, I say the crosswalk sign was telling them to yield to traffic.

The cops say I was running a red light, I say that it was yellow when I entered the intersection so I sped up to get through before traffic began to move from the other directions.

The cops say I was resisting arrest, I say that I don't trust cops because I saw them abuse their authority growing up and I want to know where I am standing with them when they pull me over.

lus-un2: Can you be Vilma's lawyer?

 

[sandiego_dre]

I think I just read the words drugs, crack, murder, assault, prostitution, dui, and gambling somewhere in this thread.

My money is on much ado about nothing. Headline should read - Young athletic black man driving a pimped out ride playing loud hip hop in Miami; gives moderate attitude to white officer with a chip on his shoulder.

 

[Faith Man]

I'm not that worried about it.

 

[Rugger]

So if it turns out (and I'm not saying this happened either , but it's just as conceivable) that JV was spotted by a patrol officer with racial/jealousy issues (young black man , nice car) , pulled over , maybe after a block or two , during which time JV passed two pedestrains standing at a crosswalk . Cop is a ***** . JV is upset , righteously , albeit stupidly so. Tells cop it's BS , argue , argue , JV arrested .

That to me isn't much of a smudge on JV , beyond the obvious stupidity/self control issue . Of course it could be JV's a malicious , pedestrian hating scofflaw trying to drum up street cred for a role in Deathrace 2 .
The truth likely , as usual , somewhere in the middle . I merely support the finding of facts PRIOR to the execution of judgement . I would like to hear from the people he "almost hit". I would have thought , given your line of work , that you'd agree .

Edit: Tell me again how you read it on the internet , that's money .

Before making this post, do you know the race of the arresting officer?

 

[MLU]

well you can defend him all you want to..... his actions were wrong and reckless. i really hope you understand that and do not think its ok to drive or act like he did.....

So he's guilty of all charges brought against him? Just like that you're just going to take the cop's word in a situation that you were unable to observe first hand?

 

[All The Way]

So he's guilty of all charges brought against him? Just like that you're just going to take the cop's word in a situation that you were unable to observe first hand?

Apparently the 1 paragraph or so that's been released about this incident is enough to convict around here... no evidence or jury of your peers. It's all about what the media says.

 

[money941]

So if it turns out (and I'm not saying this happened either , but it's just as conceivable) that JV was spotted by a patrol officer with racial/jealousy issues (young black man , nice car) , pulled over , maybe after a block or two , during which time JV passed two pedestrains standing at a crosswalk . Cop is a ***** . JV is upset , righteously , albeit stupidly so. Tells cop it's BS , argue , argue , JV arrested .

That to me isn't much of a smudge on JV , beyond the obvious stupidity/self control issue . Of course it could be JV's a malicious , pedestrian hating scofflaw trying to drum up street cred for a role in Deathrace 2 .
The truth likely , as usual , somewhere in the middle . I merely support the finding of facts PRIOR to the execution of judgement . I would like to hear from the people he "almost hit". I would have thought , given your line of work , that you'd agree .

Edit: Tell me again how you read it on the internet , that's money .

Before making this post, do you know the race of the arresting officer?

I agree with Rugger on that, before going around making accusations that it was a racist cop, which I'm not saying there aren't any, but it shouldn't be the 1st thing people assume, especially when the report says JV was swerving all over the road and ran a red light. I live a few hours away from Miami, and have been there many times, for the most part the cops there don't care about race, I'm sure there are a few, but they just don't mess around and have no sympathy.

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

This is not to start a race war type of thread but it appears that people in the majority (Caucasians) have a much more likely tendency to believe that people are arrested for valid reasons than minorities do. This can be due in large part to their positive experiences with police officers while minorities (for a variety of reasons) have had many MANY negative experiences with police. I have read quite a few posts on here and am surprised by how some say they would or wouldn't have responded to police.

While in New Orleans I have ROUTINELY had my civil rights violated, stopped, pulled out of the car for no reason and each and every time I was COMPLETELY compliant. Each and everytime I was released without even an explanation as to why I was pulled over. Not even a perfunctory, "you lane-changed without using your signal lights." Nothing, nada, zip & Zilch. This happened as recently as 2008 while back home visiting my family. But what would have happened to me if I had given them a justifiably angry attitude or had not gotten out of the car or anything else. It could have been very VERY bad.

So, I know first hand that the police can be outside the lines. But unless you've directly experienced it or know of it from a close friend or family member you may not believe it.

Now, I am not saying that this is what happened. But imagine you're Vilma: young, rich and Black and you get pulled over for no apparent reason. You are feeling that in this day and age, the police have to have just cause to do something like this. Maybe he was outraged or maybe it was completely his fault. But what I am saying is that people have a tendency to pass judgement based upon their own experiences.

BTW, I have a close personal friend of the LAPD who says that they have PERSONALLY had to stop other cops from pulling over cars as a result of racial profiling. They would be riding along, the other cop would want to pull over a vehicle full of Latinos or Blacks and my friend would ask why, and the other cop wouldn't have a legally sufficient answer and my friend would have to get all legalese on them and force them to move on. It still exists people.

And with all of that, I would like to hear ALL of the details prior to passing any sort of character judgement on the guy, who so far by all accounts is a stand-up individual.

 

[amused]

I agree with Rugger on that, before going around making accusations that it was a racist cop, which I'm not saying there aren't any, but it shouldn't be the 1st thing people assume, especially when the report says JV was swerving all over the road and ran a red light. I live a few hours away from Miami, and have been there many times, for the most part the cops there don't care about race, I'm sure there are a few, but they just don't mess around and have no sympathy.

What accusation ? Read it again . All of it . It's a hypothetical situation . You may arbitrarily assign whatever flavor of hateraid to the officer you'd like , the point is still the same .

 

[mister pc]

seems like a misunderstanding. Vilma was driving down a crowded street, anyone who has been driving in the Quarter knows what thats about. Cop pulled him over and told him to get out the car. Vilma was distrustful and demanded to know what he was being ticketed or charged with. Cop doesnt like his dominance questioned, starts to get tough and arrest Vilma. Vilma think its a wrongful arrest, but its not like he took a swing at the cop, not like he was drunk or on drugs or did harm to any other person. This isnt a big deal i dont think.

 

[money941]

What accusation ? Read it again . All of it . It's a hypothetical situation . You may arbitrarily assign whatever flavor of hateraid to the officer you'd like , the point is still the same .

I wasn't directing it at just you bro, didn't mean to offend you or anyone else, but a lot of people, myself included, have had our rights violated by cops, but it doesn't mean they're all bad or racist, which is where the thread looked like it could be going.

 

[Anteros77]

So if it turns out (and I'm not saying this happened either , but it's just as conceivable) that JV was spotted by a patrol officer with racial/jealousy issues (young black man , nice car) , pulled over , maybe after a block or two , during which time JV passed two pedestrains standing at a crosswalk . Cop is a ***** . JV is upset , righteously , albeit stupidly so. Tells cop it's BS , argue , argue , JV arrested .

That to me isn't much of a smudge on JV , beyond the obvious stupidity/self control issue . Of course it could be JV's a malicious , pedestrian hating scofflaw trying to drum up street cred for a role in Deathrace 2 .
The truth likely , as usual , somewhere in the middle . I merely support the finding of facts PRIOR to the execution of judgement . I would like to hear from the people he "almost hit". I would have thought , given your line of work , that you'd agree .

Edit: Tell me again how you read it on the internet , that's money .

The fact that you're spending your time creating fantasy scenarios where JV is the victim should speak for itself.

 

[primadox]

And with all of that, I would like to hear ALL of the details prior to passing any sort of character judgement on the guy, who so far by all accounts is a stand-up individual.

That sums up how I feel. Vilma has earned that, IMO. We gave Deuce the benefit of the doubt with the whole StarCaps fiasco; I'm doing the same with Vilma.

 

[Anteros77]

So he's guilty of all charges brought against him? Just like that you're just going to take the cop's word in a situation that you were unable to observe first hand?

Welcome to the legal system. A cop's word is pretty much concrete evidence unless proven otherwise.

It's not that getting pulled over and "resisting arrest" are even a big deal. It's the people who are making excuses for it that's so sickening.

He got pulled over. He resisted arrest. He made a mistake, and now he'll pay for it. We all make mistakes, and sometimes we pay for them. This reflects absolutely nothing about the character of Vilma or his worth to the team, but he doesn't get a free pass just for being a Saint either.