WVJOHN: Same thing around here. Very rural. A lot of the hillbillies ride their ATVs the 2 miles to the convenience store for their beer.
ZYFER:
Really though, was the mace really necessary?
Yes, I think it was. My first gut reaction was like yours but I have friends who are cops, I've ridden with them. You just don't know how a situation like that will go, and it could get ugly in a hurry.
The guy was WARNED several times. He showed a complete lack of respect for the officer (tossing the beer can, trying to urinate in front of him). Next to domestic violence calls, drunks are the scariest situations a cop can get into.
That guy may or may not have had a weapon on him (you're trained to ASSUME they do until you've searched them). The fact that he was standing up on the mower would have concerned me because that would give him an advantage if he wanted to jump on the cop.
The guy may not have been as drunk as he appeared, could have been reaching into his pants for a weapon, and was in a good position to jump on top of the cop. I think it was totally justified.
The cop could have Tasered him as well which still would have been acceptable under the circumstances.
You are REQUIRED to follow the orders of a police officer. If afterwards you feel you were treated inappropriately then you have the right to file a complaint. With video cameras on cop cars now, if you have a legit complaint then the cop WILL be reprimanded.
Oh, BTW, public urination is a crime in all states. So the police officer was preventing him from committing a crime.
Yeah, there are cops that exceed their authority, but this cop was in the right. That's a tough job and I have a lot of respect for the good cops out there. Just imagine that your job involved the possibility of being shot by every person you dealt with during the day. That tends to put you a bit on edge.