Never
underestimate the
stupidity of
law
enforcement.
When
things
could
just
be
left
alone
and
everything
would
turn
out
OK, officers
insist on
inserting
themselves
into
the
equation,
ensuring
maximum pain
and
humiliation for
everyone
involved.
In
this
case,
a
Fairhope,
Alabama
officer
decided
he
couldn’t
simply
do
nothing
when
coming
across
a
grandmother
at
a
“No
Kings”
protest.
Here’s
how
this
started, as
detailed
by
Liliana
Segura
for
The
Intercept:
In
the
body
camera footage,
a
police
officer
parks
his
black
SUV
on
the
grass,
a
rosary
swinging
from
the
rearview
mirror.
He
exits
his
car,
moves
briskly
past
a
pair
of
protesters,
and
points
an
accusatory
finger
at
the
suspect:
a
7-foot-tall
inflatable
penis
holding
an
American
flag.
The
alleged
crime?
Unclear.
There’s
no
sound
at
first,
only
the
silent
spectacle
of
a
person
in
a
penis
suit
turning
toward
a
cop
with
a
stance
that
says,
“Who,
me?”
A
handmade
sign
comes
into
view
in
the
person’s
right
hand.
It
reads
“No
Dick
Tator.”
You
can
see
the
whole
thing
for
yourself here:
It’s
really
an
amazing
recording.
It
includes
several
high
points,
including
cops
trying
to
stuff
a
person
who’s
inside
an
inflatable
penis
into
the
back
of
a
cop
car
before
deciding
it
might
be
easier
to
separate
the
person
and
the
costume…
before
struggling
to
fit
the
costume
itself
into
the
trunk
of
a
cop
car.
It
also
includes
superbly
stupid
things
like
this:
Fairhope
Police
Cpl.
Andrew
Babb
was
less
amused.
“I’m
serious
as
a
heart
attack,”
he
tells
Gamble
when
the
audio
begins
to
play
on
the
14-minute
body
camera
video.
“I’m
not
gonna
sit
here
and
argue
with
you.”
He
demands
to
know
how
she
could
possibly
justify
such
an
obscene
display:
“I
would
like
to
hear
how
you
would
explain
to
my
children
what
you’re
supposed
to
be.”
Every
easily-offended,
would-be
censor
has
the
same
go-to
for
complaining
about
stuff
they
don’t
like:
“how
would
I
explain
that
to
my
children?”
I
don’t
know,
man.
They’re your kids.
Take
any
approach
you
want,
including
ignoring
the
question.
It’s
not
on
the
rest
of
the
world
to
make
sure
you
never
have
to
have
an
uncomfortable
conversation
with
your
kids.
If
you
can’t
figure
it
out,
maybe
you
shouldn’t
be
in
the
business
of
raising
kids,
much
less
in
the
business
of
enforcing
laws.
There
are
also
plenty
of
far
less
funny
moments,
like
the
fact
that
three
cops
decided
to
get
involved
in
pinning
62-year-old
Renea
Gamble
to
the
ground
for
the
crime
of…
well,
that
was
all
pretty
much
undecided
at
the
point
the
officers
decided
to
enforce
their
will
with
their
power.
Corporal
Andrew
Babb
obviously
didn’t
know
the
law,
but
that
wasn’t
going
to
stop
him.
“I
said,
‘That’s
not
freedom
of
speech,’”
Babb
continues.
“‘This
is
a
family
town
and
being
dressed
like
that
is
not
going
to
be
tolerated.’”
A.
It
actually is freedom
of
speech.
B. Every town
is
a
“family
town,”
unless
you
happen
to
live
in
a
dystopian
sci-fi
novel.
Everything
about
the
arrest
is
a
non-starter.
And
yet,
local
prosecutors
—
propelled
forward
by
supportive
local
government
officials
—
are
still
trying
to
pin
criminal
charges
on
Renea
Gamble.
Mayor
Sherry
Sullivan
claimed
the
costume
was
an
“obscene
display”
which
would
“not
be
tolerated
in
Fairhope.”
City
Council
president
Jack
Burrell
claimed
the
costume
“violated
community
standards”
Neither
assertion
is
true,
which
means
neither
statement
can
support
an
arrest,
much
less
the
bringing
of
criminal
charges.
Some
of
the
initial
enthusiasm
for
punishing
Gamble
was
stifled
when
her
arrest
went
viral,
resulting
in
a
nationwide
discussion
of
this
ridiculous
situation.
But
apparently
the
town
thinks
it’s
now
safe
to
proceed
with
saddling
Gamble
with
a
criminal
record.
Rather
than
dropping
the
case,
the
city
attorney
slapped
Gamble
with
additional
charges
earlier
this
year:
disturbing
the
peace
and
giving
a
false
name
to
law
enforcement.
Her
trial,
first
set
to
take
place
months
ago,
has
been
delayed
multiple
times.
It
is
now
set
for
April
15.
The
“peace”
wasn’t
disturbed
until
Officer
Babb
decided
he
was
going
to
take
Gamble’s
costume
personally.
And
“giving
a
false
name
to
law
enforcement”
is
really
stretching
things
when
all
Gamble
did
was
sarcastically
respond
“Auntie
Fa”
when
officers
demanded
her
name
after
stripping
her
of
her
inflatable
penis.
So,
the
case
continues,
which
is
only
going
to
bring
more
embarrassment
to
town
leaders
and
law
enforcement
officials.
The
backlash
that
greeted
the
arrest
will
return,
which
means
the
arresting
officer
may
want
to
consider
employment
elsewhere.
Hopefully,
this
will
all
end
with
the
town
cutting
a
check
to
Gamble
for
violating
her
rights.
Until
then,
Gamble
is
going
to
keep
on
doing
what
she
does:
Gamble
has
tried
to
keep
a
low
profile
since
her
arrest.
At
the
No
Kings
protest
last
week,
though,
the
“No
Dick
Tator”
sign
appeared
in
the
hands
of
a
masked
woman
who
wore
dark
sunglasses
and
a
bandana
over
her
face.
It
was
Gamble,
again
wearing
an
inflatable
costume.
She
was
dressed
as
an
eggplant.
People
who
view
dissent
as
a
threat,
if
not
inherently
unlawful,
cannot
ever
hope
to
win.
Acts
like
this
only
embolden
those
already
involved
in
dissent
and
attract
others
to
join
the
cause.
They
may
have
the
power,
but
the
people
have
the
inflatable
genitals
and
the
will
to
use
them.
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