"The New York Senate has passed a bill making it illegal to “harass” a police officer by..."

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The New York Senate has passed a bill making it illegal to “harass” a police officer by “any type of physical action” — even action that does not otherwise constitute interference, obstruction or assault. Given that “obstruction” and “interference” are famously broad, it’s hard to imagine what conduct the police and the NY Senate believe they need to control by statute, though there’s a clue in the statutory language, which makes it a felony to “harass, annoy, or threaten a police officer while on duty.”

In other words, if you cause any physical contact with a police officer, even unintentionally, even if the contact does not rise to the level of assault or obstruction or interference, you can be convicted of a felony and imprisoned if the officer can show that your conduct “annoyed” him. This is the kind of statute that seems calculated to allow the police and prosecutors to put people in jail for very long stretches (remember that 97% of people indicted for felonies in the USA plead guilty under threat of decades of prison should they fight and lose) just because they don’t like them very much.

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New York Senate makes it a felony to annoy a police officer - Boing Boing

So, it’s alright for the NYPD to harass, threaten and annoy people on the street based on race, but don’t you dare flip them any shit in the process.

via Bowties Are Cool http://jenn2d2.tumblr.com/post/52324214415/the-new-york-senate-has-passed-a-bill-making-it