Benjamin Franklin once said, “Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy.” And, to the vast majority of Americans, a good beer ranks highly. Personally, of course, I think that anyone over 18, which last time I checked made them a legal adult, should be able to consume cool tasty beverages in a responsible manner whenever and wherever they wish. Today, we find out that a man is fighting for what he describes is his Constitutional right to get drunk on private property.
Laverriere argues that the Massachusetts Protective Custody Law was written to combat public drunkenness and that the police had no right to use it to take him from a private residence. He also says he had planned to spend the night at his friend’s and wasn’t going to be driving anywhere.
So, let me get this straight. A guy goes over to his friend’s party and gets drunk. The police show up and remove him from a private residence because he’s drunk. It’s a sad day in America when you can’t have some beers with your buddies in your own home. Ol’ Ben is rolling over in his grave as we speak.
Well I am a big fan of context.
Saying “A guy goes over to his friend’s party and gets drunk. The police show up and remove him from a private residence because he’s drunk.” is fairly fast-and-loose on what the story said since it also mentioned reports of attempted destruction of property and/or assuault against an officer (beer bottles are a fairly bad object to have thrown at you).
Being drunk is fine — being drunk and causing trouble is not. If an officer demanded to come into a house without any cause, saw a guy over the legal age drunk, and the guy was just sitting there being quiet… yes, I would have a very big issue with this.
I don’t trust someone when they have been drinking and as the story mentions the platiff SAYS he was not drunk. Well sure he wasn’t, I wouldn’t claim I was drunk either. How many people that drink will say ‘oh I was just buzzed’ — now how many would say that if they were in deep shit.
There is going to be a lot of legal-play with the “hurting him [plantiff]”, “beer bottle throwing”, most likely foul language (his… “displeasure” as it was written), etc.
I don’t think this story is the landmark case the gentlemen hopes — I could think of stories closer to this in my own life that make the point more than this story.
Mark,
If the police assume that you are guilty(they can) then how can you feel safe even sober while on your own property? People getting arested for “drunkeness”(read:suspected drunkeness) anytime the police are called for loud private partys doesn’t sound like innocent untill proven guilty to me. It wasn’t even clear if the bottles thrown hit the car. Is throwing objects towards a car a crime? Sure if he hit the car thats criminal damage to property, if the property owner presses charges. If he hits another with a bottle thats aggrivated battery, if he hits the officer its even worse. The government (read:police department) try to justify it by claiming that they have been sued for not taking a drunk into custody. They don’t say they lost the suit. One must wonder if this alcohol poisoned drunk would have died in his cell and still sued. Less laws. More responsibility.
“REdOG” (or if you have a real name…)
“If the police assume that you are guilty(they can) then how can you feel safe even sober while on your own property?”
Because they will have no probable-cause to do so and I can demand a breathalizer test. There are processes in place for stuff like this.
“Is throwing objects towards a car a crime?” Uhm, yes? Try to throw something at a cop and tell me if you get arrested. Whether you break the car, his skull, or the window across the street — or just the bottle… there are crimes for all of those.
“Less laws. More responsibility.” If you claim that responbility involves drinking and allegedly throwing bottles at police officers. Laws are in place (the good ones) to protect people from other people so they don’t interfere with their life. Bottles coming at me surely do interfere with that.
I am not here to say this gentlemen is a liar or that the cops are correct — I am merely saying that this guy is not a unique case and there are better instances (I am sure in many peoples lives who have ever partied) than this. More so, to take the word of a guy that was drinking and trying to raise a shit-storm of Constitutional injustice… I take it with a grain of salt until there has been a verdict.
Just don’t believe every drunk that wants to “stick it to the man”. And yes, I do drink — bottles stay in my hand… let’s see if the courts think that his did also. 🙂