Songs of Innocence… And Guilt.. Broken laws+ recap of PLL 6×02

Towards the beginning of the episode, we see Andrew get arrested, but not before Toby is able to tackle him to the ground! As Toby pounces on Spencer’s former academic decathlon captain, Andrew begs for Toby to listen to him and not to be violent. Toby ignores him and proceeds to punch him, pretty hard in my opinion, in the stomach. Admittedly if I believed that someone had kidnapped and tortured my significant other, I can’t imagine my reaction being pretty. However I would also know that I shouldn’t be the on duty police officer in such a circumstance, and this is something Toby doesn’t seem to have learned. Even if you think someone stalked your girlfriend, Toby is in the police department and still has a duty as a police officer that doesn’t get waived so he can kick Andrew Campbell’s ass. Fortunately, Toby’s partner, Lorenzo, stops this before it gets worse, and Toby implies that he would have continued; he demands for Lorenzo to give him 5 minutes alone with Andrew, and I doubt those minutes would have been pretty or peaceful. Thankfully Lorenzo refused to do this, commanding Toby to do his job instead of having an unauthorized, illegal wrestling match with a kidnapping suspect.

Because of police violence becoming an emerging topic of importance in society, I feel that it’s important to cover this. I did some research on the issue because of its complexity, and it turns out there are legal arguments that the current law in Pennsylvania might conflict with the federal law. It is NOT my place to decide if that’s true or not, but I will provide information to explain why it is possible but not guaranteed that Toby could get in legal trouble for what he did to Andrew. Some might argue that his violence wasn’t enough to warrant legal trouble, but others may not agree, and once again I felt this topic was important to discuss regardless of the outcome.

Toby’s Potential Broken Law! : Using Excessive Force as a Police Officer Section 1983 within Title 42 of the United States Code. And 18 PA Cons. Stat. § 508. Use of force in law enforcement.

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
18 PA Cons. Stat. § 508 (a) Peace officer’s use of force in making arrest.– (1) A peace officer, or any person whom he has summoned or directed to assist him, need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. He is justified in the use of any force which he believes to be necessary to effect the arrest and of any force which he believes to be necessary to defend himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest. Info from law.justia.com: Model Penal Code §3.07(1) Use of Force Justifiable to Effect an Arrest, §3.07(2) Limitations on Use of Force§3.07(3) Use of Force to Prevent Escape from Custody§3.07(5) Use of Force to Prevent Suicide or the Commission of a Crime. Police are authorized to use force as necessary to stop and detain a suspect. Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 101 S.Ct. 2587 (1981). If the police use excessive force beyond what is needed to control the suspect, they can be found guilty of assault and possibly violating the suspect’s civil rights. According to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, “in diffusing situations, apprehending alleged criminals, and protecting themselves and others, officers are legally entitled to use appropriate means, including force.” An additional quote from a Bureau of Justice Statistics statement clarifies that “the legal test of excessive force…is whether the police officer reasonably believed that such force was necessary to accomplish a legitimate police purpose.” It is common that instead of seeking a tort claim like assault by state, victims of police abuse will make a federal claim instead for violation of their Constitutional rights; commonly the fourth amendment comes up here. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394 (1989) “Where an excessive force claim arises in the context of an arrest or investigatory stop of a free citizen, it is most properly characterized as one invoking the protections of the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees citizens the right to be secure in their persons against unreasonable seizures of the person.” The courts look at three factors to determine if the force was excessive: Severity of the crime whether the suspect is likely to still be dangerous whether the suspect is trying to fight with or get away from the police. Victims may also claim that the police conduct violated their civil rights. The federal civil rights statute is Section 1983 within Title 42 of the United States Code. 42 U.S.C. §1983. “Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law…”

Broken Law

Click Here to Reveal

18 PA Cons. Stat. § 508

(a) Peace officer’s use of force in making arrest.–

(1) A peace officer, or any person whom he has summoned or directed to assist him, need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. He is justified in the use of any force which he believes to be necessary to effect the arrest and of any force which he believes to be necessary to defend himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest.

Info from law.justia.com:

Model Penal Code §3.07(1) Use of Force Justifiable to Effect an Arrest, §3.07(2) Limitations on Use of Force§3.07(3) Use of Force to Prevent Escape from Custody§3.07(5) Use of Force to Prevent Suicide or the Commission of a Crime. Police are authorized to use force as necessary to stop and detain a suspect.

Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 101 S.Ct. 2587 (1981).

If the police use excessive force beyond what is needed to control the suspect, they can be found guilty of assault and possibly violating the suspect’s civil rights.

According to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, “in diffusing situations, apprehending alleged criminals, and protecting themselves and others, officers are legally entitled to use appropriate means, including force.”

An additional quote from a Bureau of Justice Statistics statement clarifies that “the legal test of excessive force…is whether the police officer reasonably believed that such force was necessary to accomplish a legitimate police purpose.”

It is common that instead of seeking a tort claim like assault by state, victims of police abuse will make a federal claim instead for violation of their Constitutional rights; commonly the fourth amendment comes up here.

Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394 (1989)

“Where an excessive force claim arises in the context of an arrest or investigatory stop of a free citizen, it is most properly characterized as one invoking the protections of the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees citizens the right to be secure in their persons against unreasonable seizures of the person.”

The courts look at three factors to determine if the force was excessive:

Severity of the crime

whether the suspect is likely to still be dangerous

whether the suspect is trying to fight with or get away from the police.

Victims may also claim that the police conduct violated their civil rights. The federal civil rights statute is Section 1983 within Title 42 of the United States Code.

42 U.S.C. §1983. “Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law…”

Aria is up next! A long time ago, Emily said, “if lying was a crime, we’d all be in jail.” Back then, Spencer went on to explain the illegality of lying to the police. I figured I would reiterate this because apparently Aria doesn’t remember. The last time she was supposed to go to jail, she was kidnapped and ended up in a creepy life sized dollhouse for over three weeks in captivity. One would think she would avoid anymore trips to jail, failed or not.

Ella tells Aria that the police will eventually need statements from the girls about the dollhouse, but that she does NOT have to do it right away; she can take her time. Aria jumps up like a jack in the box and insists on talking to the police immediately so that Andrew remains locked up. Ella accompanies Aria there. The police ask if Aria saw Andrew at the dollhouse, and at first she says that he wore a mask whenever she saw him. Then, when the police tell Aria that they have mostly circumstantial evidence on Andrew and that they need someone to have witnessed him, his actual face, at the dollhouse, Aria creates a new version of the story. In her new version, she did see Andrew without a mask. Of course she was alone for this, and OF COURSE she meant to say this as her answer before, but “made a mistake” that has nothing to do with learning that this is what the police needed to hear. Her story is a blatant lie; it doesn’t even sound convincing, and as stated above, it’s illegal to lie to the police.

Aria’s broken law: 18 PA Cons. Stat. § 4906. False reports to law enforcement authorities (In Relevant Part).

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
“… (b) Fictitious reports….a person commits a misdemeanor of the third degree if he: (1) reports to law enforcement authorities an offense or other incident within their concern knowing that it did not occur; or (2) pretends to furnish such authorities with information relating to an offense or incident when he knows he has no information relating to such offense or incident.”

Aria isn’t the only dishonest girl here. Spencer has a heated argument with her mother when she learns that Veronica requested for the doctors not to prescribe Spencer the anxiety medicine that all of the others got after their traumatic experience. Spencer begs her mom to reconsider; she needs the pills to help her sleep, but her mother refuses, concerned that her drug addiction could be triggered. Spencer needs her sleep, so she finds another means to get the pills. After Aria confesses to Spencer that she lied to the police, while Aria isn’t looking, Spencer rifles through Aria’s prescription bottles, and it’s STRONGLY suggested, enough that I’ll cover it here, that Spencer steals some of her anxiety medicine.

Spencer’s broken law:

Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act (35 P. S. § § 780-101—780-144) (in relevant part)

Broken Law	Click Here to Reveal
(a) The following acts and the causing thereof within the Commonwealth are hereby prohibited: “…12. The acquisition or obtaining of possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge.” –stealing from her mom “…16. Knowingly or intentionally possessing a controlled or counterfeit substance by a person not registered under this act, or a practitioner not registered or licensed by the appropriate State board…” –possessing “…15. The sale at retail or dispensing of any controlled substance listed in Schedules II, III and IV to any person, except to one authorized by law to sell, dispense, prescribe or possess such substances…” –dispensing/giving drugs to the girls (b) Any person who violates any of the provisions of clauses (1) through (11), (13) and (15) through (20) or (37) of subsection (a) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and…shall, on conviction thereof, be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding one year or to pay a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both…”

Broken Law

Click Here to Reveal

I hope you enjoyed this entry, and I will be rewatching the PLL episode that aired last night to determine if I have broken laws from that episode to cover in here! Sound off in the comments with your thoughts, and with anything you would like me to cover!

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