She should have kept on running. Those two fat asses would have never caught her. :-)

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I blame Jackmott. He lives there.

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Rattlesnake Blake
With the "Venom Enom"

It may have been a complete over reaction on the part of the cops, but we don't know the full story. For example, they could have stopped her and asked for her information. Not having an ID on her, she may have thought to provide false information. They could have checked that information and found it to be false.

They arrested her for wearing VFF's

They were clearly fashion police.

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Just keep swimming...

SebastianAravena.com | facebook | RODS Racing
Rudy Project | Slick Products | Duro Tires | Globe | Ride Live be. | A3 Bar | Tri-Flow | LifeProof | Totally Local

I have worked in Law Enforcement for over 19 years and I have never seen such an abuse of power!

If all you have is that video, I'm not sure where you are getting an "abuse of power". It shows police calmly arresting a woman who is screaming and yelling that she didn't do anything wrong. That is all we know.

Assuming that they were handing out tickets for jaywalking, and she ran past them when they told her to stop... what would you expect? If *her* first act when they grabbed her was to be belligerent and verbally abusive... then yes, I think a ride downtown was called for. If they beat her up, that would be different.

i think that's why we try not to be too judgmental when we report these stories. herbert reported what happened. maybe she hocked a lugie on the cops as she ran by, flipping them off. we don't know. yet.

that established, i feel that we - cyclists, runners, swimmers - are under some degree or other of either scrutiny or downright attack from those who don't do what we do. we're therefore going to continue to report these stories and wait and see where they lead. i think there's obviously a legitimate reason for traffic lights and crosswalks, but a runner is not the typical pedestrian who needs the protection of the crosswalk and sufficient time to cross the street without the fear of car traffic. who among us, as runners - including law enforcement who are runners - do not sprint across the road during a run, if no cars are coming, if it's safe, if no one is inconvenienced? i don't know if that's the case with this lady.

but if that was her case, then her subsequent behavior - including the reported failure to provide ID - is fruit of an unrighteous bust. i likewise may very well have told the cops to suck mine, and been hauled off to jail just like her. the unlawful behavior you engender as a result of your own dickhead behavior is not righteous justification for hauling the lady to jail. if this lady was dodging traffic, causing motorists to slam on their brakes, that's another thing altogether. we'll see how it plays out.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

What if she is on probation and/or has a warrant for her arrest?

This is where this type of action leads.

http://gothamist.com/...pd_for_5mm_after.php

Broncotw is not in law enforcement, probably a wanna be. No one in law enforcement would ever be critical of a decision a police officer made without knowing the whole story.

I have a strong startle reflex. If someone grabs my arm when I don't expect it ... I would react. As to IDing herself ... that would depend on how they asked. I don't respond well to demands, especially demands I find unnecessary. I can be polite. I can also be profane. It happens easily. So yeah ... I can see my response in this type of situation as not leading to a good outcome either ... and I don't really care to change.

+1 on that :)

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Andy Mullen
Team Zoot

I think the idea of a jaywalking sting is ridiculous. I cross streets all the time while running particularly in the wee hours of the morning when there is no traffic. I have done so in front of police before and they have never had an issue. But like a kid with his hand in a cookie jar, if they wanted to slap my wrist for breaking the rules I know it is a potential consequence.

Interesting trivia, in the city of Boston jaywalking is legal. I only know this because a member of college team was on a scavenger hunt that had to collect a jaywalking ticket. They kept crossing the street in front of a cop and he didn't budge. They finally asked for a ticket and he said he couldn't give them one.

Lessons I learned from this story:
-Don't run in VFF or people will be over critical of your choice in footwear
-Don't cross the street in Austin, Tx
-I like pigtails
-There is more to ST than the forum

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

This is an account authored by the person who took the video:

"Sitting at Starbucks, on the corner of 24th and San Antonio, I noticed a particularly odd situation.Two Austin Police Officers standing outside the Castilian just lingering. Every time I looked back there was a different student holding a carbon copy of what looked to be a jay walking citation. Suddenly one of the cops shouts at an innocent girl jogging with her headphones on through West Campus. He wobbled after her and grabbed her by the arm. Startled and not knowing it was a cop, she jerked her arm away. The cop viewed this as resisting arrest and proceeded to grab both arms tightly, placing her in handcuffs. She repeatedly pleaded with them saying that she was just exercising and to let her go. She repeatedly cried out, “I did not do anything wrong…just give me the ticket.” The other officer strolled over and not they where making a scene. She tried to get up. I doubt she was running away, as she was in handcuffs, but the second cop pushed her back down to the ground. Because of the commotion, they walked her to the cop car in the alleyway next to the Big Bite, where she, overcome with frustration, yelled loudly to gain attention. Because of that, the cops tightened their grip causing her to squirm and kick. Then came two bike cops from down the alley. Now we have four cops and one small, helpless girl in the back of a cop car, because she was just going for a run."

There are several things presumed by the writer here, but between this account and the video, I'd say it's pretty damning and inexcusable behavior by the police. Do they seriously not have anything better to do?

I have heard they are cracking down on jaywalking here in Austin.

However, I was running last night (well south of downtown Austin) and crossed the street, in the dark, about 100m away from an intersection, immediately in front of a cop. So they were likely bored when they arrested this lady, and they aren't applying the law strictly in every case. I probably cross the 'jaywalk' across the street a dozen times per week, only when there is no immediate traffic.

It's still not the best use of police resources.

And yeah, they might have to try and catch me if they try to flag me down.

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My wife was homeless as a teenager. There was one point where somebody who looked like her was involved in a big felony. When the police came across her on the street, they had no choice but to go into the situation as though she was the other girl.. The only thing that kept her from an ugly detainment was her having an ID. Doesn't have to be a drivers license, but an ID. Even homeless carry it with them. The one thing she always nails me on when training is ALWAYS HAVE SOME FORM OF ID ON YOU.

If the police stop you because somebody matching your description committed a much worse crime...your ID is all that will save you until they have evidence that you are not who they are looking for.

I don't think the police did anything wrong. She was stopped for a crime. No matter how ridiculous of a crime we as the viewer feel it is, it could be a major issue at that location and it was still a crime. When questioned, she had no way of proving her identity. It is standard to detain a person who committed a crime until they can prove their identity.

No crime: No need for ID...But you should have it on you...just in case somebody robs a bank matching your description. If don't have ID and you break a law: You better be ready to spend some time with the police until somebody can identify you.

If you are running and cops think you are a bank robber, whether you are innocent or not, you are going to have a really bad time if you don't have any id on you.

Wait . . . what?? No way!

I'm not arguing that ticketing people for jaywalking is good thing for cops to do... but this just doesn't seem that extreme considering the small amount we know about it. The screaming and yelling to get attention puts me off... the woman may have contributed to escalating the situation.

I have enough sense to be meek and submissive when confronted. One time though, a cop grabbed me and shoved me against my car anyway... and my instinctive reaction was to take him down. I was a microsecond away from doing it. Very glad I was able to interrupt that impulse in time. He eventually apologized for being a dick.

Good job Austin PD. All Vibram FiveFinger wearers should be arrested.
Let her think about what she has done.

Jaywalking is a big deal in downtown Orlando (FL). Cops are at every street handing out citations every night. At a running race it was very satisfying to run down the street with cops at every corner and they couldn't do a thing about hundreds of runners breaking the law. :-)

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Just keep swimming...

SebastianAravena.com | facebook | RODS Racing
Rudy Project | Slick Products | Duro Tires | Globe | Ride Live be. | A3 Bar | Tri-Flow | LifeProof | Totally Local

+1

The video doesn't tell the whole story. Anything else is pure speculation about what might have happened, what could have happened, or what people think might probably has potentially happened.

I question the perspective of someone who says the cops "wobbled" over to her.

I also question the use of police resources for jaywalking of all things. This could be a response to a bigger issue or a public complaint or an ongoing problem. Or it could be 2 idiots who really need to find something better to do with their taxpayer funded time.

I'm not passing judgement until the full story comes out, if it ever does. My only reaction to seeing this was wondering how it found its way onto the homepage in the first place.

Sounds like it's safer to run at night in Austin.

So if you roll through a stop sign on a bicycle do they lay out spike strips? If so, would you bunny hop them?


In all seriousness, it seems they failed to identify themselves and got more than a little carried away trying to control the scene. Especially when the violation was such a minor infraction. This will be a PR mess for APD.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com