Oregon bill aims to crack down on racially motivated 911 calls

[Aryeh Jay]

Will it stop this kind of 911 call?


'Can you bring me McDonald's?': Michigan boy, 5, calls 911 for emergency craving

"Can you bring me McDonald's?": 5-year-old boy calls 911, asks for food delivery

 

[Brightmoon]

Will it stop this kind of 911 call?


'Can you bring me McDonald's?': Michigan boy, 5, calls 911 for emergency craving

"Can you bring me McDonald's?": 5-year-old boy calls 911, asks for food delivery

no but the parents probably got a visit from the child protective agency because he wasn’t being supervised well ( which I think is ridiculous but it happens)

 

[Brightmoon]

If a white person is subject to a lawsuit for simply calling 911 while white, then it's worth thinking about, especially when black activists are in charge of creating such laws.

good it will make them think twice about harassment calls .

 

[usexpat97]

Where the heck do you live where they do that? I've never once had them ask for my DL.

Multiple states. It's a field they have to fill on their police report. Otherwise if you're a crime victim, how do they know who you are? Now maybe if you call 911, caller ID already tells them.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Oregon bill aims to crack down on racially motivated 911 calls

So....I was curious about how this would possibly play out in reality. It looks like it's pretty toothless.

"Victims of these calls must be able to prove the caller summoned a police officer to purposefully discriminate or damage a person’s reputation."

Unless the caller is willing to admit this is the reason why they called....or someone records them admitting as much....any attempt to score 250$ isn't going to get very far.

I don't know if small claims court is as busy as criminal court....but hopefully it won't become swamped with frivolous cases because of this legislation.

 

[Ana the Ist]

No one is going to be punished for calling the police when there is actually a reason to.

I don't think that's the issue. The risk of being sued for 250$, especially in poor neighborhoods, might keep people from calling the police when it's legitimately warranted.

For example, imagine a white guy driving through an unfamiliar neighborhood witnesses a black guy entering a house through the window. He thinks that a break in is occurring....and it is....but he decides not to call the police just in case the guy actually lives there and simply locked himself out.

Why risk it? If someone was handing out lottery tickets where the only prize was that you end up paying someone else 250$....would you take one? You may have an unlikely chance of having to pay 250$....but your chances of losing 250$ are 0% if you never call.

 

[Aldebaran]

Lawmakers are dealing with a real problem of racist abuse of the 911 system and responded with an attempt to fix it.

If the events weren't occurring they would not need to do so.

That's assuming their interpretation of the events is correct.

No one is going to be punished for calling the police when there is actually a reason to.

And who is going to determine that? The caller? Or the police? Or a judge? If you see something, say something. At least, that's what we're told. If a person sees what they believe to be a crime being committed, and then they call the police and it turns out the suspicious person wasn't doing anything wrong, did the caller have "a reason to" call?

 

[Aldebaran]

good it will make them think twice about harassment calls .

Or any other when it involves a black person.

 

[SummerMadness]

ohh ya can't stand them at all. the strange smells of unseasoned potato salad and terrible foreign food repackaged by fly over states is enough to drive you to drink.

With no paprika and unnecessary ingredients like raisins.

 

[He is Risen 72]

I am glad that my state still allows you to call 911 on criminals.

 

[St. Helens]

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[St. Helens]

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[Radagast]

No one is going to be punished for calling the police when there is actually a reason to.

As I understand it, everybody who has the police called on them is entitled to sue. The court then decides if the call was racially motivated or not.

That's certainly an incentive to look the other way when you see a non-white person committing a crime.

 

[Goonie]

I am glad that my state still allows you to call 911 on criminals.

So does this state, unless you believe every African American is a criminal.

 

[Arcangl86]

My biggest issue with this law is the lack of protection it gives defendants. It allows for judges to award lawyer fees to plaintiffs who win, but not respondents. Maybe that already is part of Oregon civil procedure, but I'm not familiar enough with it to say either way.

 

[variant]

As I understand it, everybody who has the police called on them is entitled to sue. The court then decides if the call was racially motivated or not.

That's certainly an incentive to look the other way when you see a non-white person committing a crime.

Entitled to sue and have your case laughed out of court you mean?

You should already be ready to answer the question: Why did I call the police. When you call the police.

 

[variant]

And who is going to determine that? The caller? Or the police? Or a judge? If you see something, say something. At least, that's what we're told. If a person sees what they believe to be a crime being committed, and then they call the police and it turns out the suspicious person wasn't doing anything wrong, did the caller have "a reason to" call?

If you have a legit reason you called the cops then it shouldn't be so hard to defend.

What you're complaining about is... being accountable for what you do (gasp)

The incidents spoken about were just Black people going about their business in a very normal way, they should have a right to exist and not be harassed by people thinking they are suspicious for just existing and acting like a normal human being.

It should be a deterrent to calling the police haphazardly, that is exactly what it is.

 

[Ana the Ist]

If you have a legit reason you called the cops then it shouldn't be so hard to defend.

What you're complaining about is... being accountable for what you do (gasp)

I think the complaint is that it's unclear how the courts will determine whether or not racism occurred. It states in the wording of the law that it's not that the defendant has to prove that a call wasn't racist....the person making the allegations is responsible for proving a call was racist in nature.

If that's the case....then theoretically, a defendant can just stay silent and give no reason for the call whatsoever. Unless they have some evidence...the allegations should fall on deaf ears.

The incidents spoken about were just Black people going about their business in a very normal way, they should have a right to exist and not be harassed by people thinking they are suspicious for just existing and acting like a normal human being.

Right....and people who suspect criminal activity is occurring have the right to call the police. It doesn't matter if no criminal activity is actually occurring.

It should be a deterrent to calling the police haphazardly, that is exactly what it is.

That...or it's going to have the unintended effect of a number of black people learning that their allegations of racism won't get far without evidence.

 

[Radagast]

I don't think that's the issue. The risk of being sued for 250$

Actually, there is no upper limit to the $ amount. The $250 is a minimum.

My biggest issue with this law is the lack of protection it gives defendants. It allows for judges to award lawyer fees to plaintiffs who win, but not respondents.

Exactly, so if you call 911 and get sued, you're guaranteed to lose, since at least you're up for legal fees. That's a really, really big reason not to call 911.

 

[variant]

I think the complaint is that it's unclear how the courts will determine whether or not racism occurred. It states in the wording of the law that it's not that the defendant has to prove that a call wasn't racist....the person making the allegations is responsible for proving a call was racist in nature.

You don't think it would work like a normal judicial proceeding?

In the article it says:

Victims of these calls must be able to prove the caller summoned a police officer to purposefully discriminate or damage a person’s reputation.

If that's the case....then theoretically, a defendant can just stay silent and give no reason for the call whatsoever. Unless they have some evidence...the allegations should fall on deaf ears.

You think so?

Accuser:
I was making a call in the middle of a hotel lobby and someone called the cops on me.

Defendant:
Silence?

Doesn't sound like a great defense to me.

Right....and people who suspect criminal activity is occurring have the right to call the police. It doesn't matter if no criminal activity is actually occurring.

They should have a reason to be suspicious then. As long as the reasoning is there it seems like it would be hard to prosecute.

That...or it's going to have the unintended effect of a number of black people learning that their allegations of racism won't get far without evidence.

I think the guy in the hotel has a pretty solid case. He was making a phone call in a hotel lobby. So, it doesn't sound all that suspicious. Or the lady that got the police called on her by knocking on doors campaigning while being black.

I am also pretty sure that you can already claim damages from people using the police or legal system to harass you. It's just not usually done.