Jimmy Smith Arrested, Charged with Misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct

**camdenyard** · 07-13-2014, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by CharmCityCrab

3. The police officers made him not only back away from her, but leave the bathroom completely, leaving them completely alone with this vulnerable woman he knew. Some press reports have him asking them "What the (expletive) are you gonna do?", and then, when told to leave again, "(Expletive) you. What the (expletive) are you gonna do?".

Bzzt. Sorry, you can't do that.

5. There is historical distrust between the African American community and the police in some cities and regions that could lead Smith to be more paranoid about this kind of thing than your typical white suburbanite.

If that was his rationale, then it was a bad one. Tough. Police are not going to allow ignoring lawful orders and cursing them because of some perception of mistrust.

Being an NFL player who has a lot to lose, he surely knows better.

**Dade** · 07-13-2014, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by The Fanatic

I think this is some type of generation type thing and/or how they were brought up.

People who were born in the early 60s and before were brought up differently.
We were educated that the police are people that are to be respected and listened to.
If you did something wrong or disobeyed instructions from the police or an elder you were in deep doodoo.

It also is where you grew up. Believe it or not, but in some areas the police have always acted as professionals. In the neighborhood I grew up in, the police has harassed, bullied, intimidated people for decades. They have routinely not investigated crimes and treated people as second class citizens. People growing up with these types of police may not hold them in the same light as you.

**Ravenous1** · 07-13-2014, 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by camdenyard

Bzzt. Sorry, you can't do that.

If that was his rationale, then it was a bad one. Tough. Police are not going to allow ignoring lawful orders and cursing them because of some perception of mistrust.

Being an NFL player who has a lot to lose, he surely knows better.

At the end of the day if he were not at a bar getting drunk, then he would not likely have been in a position to be arrested. Its may seem harsh but its simple fact.

The evidence that being in a bar getting hammered can only lead to bad things is something that Jimmy cannot say he is unaware of or does not understand. He knows better. It is a shocking display of poor judgement in my opinion. I am not a prude but when your getting paid millions to play a game, giving up the nightlife is not to much to ask

**s.r.genovese** · 07-13-2014, 01:31 PM

I don't care, he isn't going to get suspended for this and a misdemeanor citation isn't exactly a black mark on his record that has been clean since his freshman year of college.

**DrUnk** · 07-13-2014, 01:35 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR465HoCWFQ

**JustaslowZ06** · 07-13-2014, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Dade

It also is where you grew up. Believe it or not, but in some areas the police have always acted as professionals. In the neighborhood I grew up in, the police has harassed, bullied, intimidated people for decades. They have routinely not investigated crimes and treated people as second class citizens. People growing up with these types of police may not hold them in the same light as you.

And where was that? My guess the hood. And you might wonder WHY they did that. Because 90% of the people are criminals or useless. Not saying you so don't get offended. But there are plenty of areas where the police might use excessive force just as a self preservation issue. A large chunk of Baltimore falls into that. Profiling and all that might not be PC but oh well. Don't perpetuate it and you won't get messed with. Something that constantly bothers me about this country. People that wish to do us harm are of middle eastern decent and between the ages of 17 and 25. So being overly cautious around someone like that might not be friendly but the other side of stopping a terrorist attack are very real. Australia. Israel and a few other countries are great places to live because they don't have the same Fox News might tell on us attitude

**camdenyard** · 07-13-2014, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by s.r.genovese

I don't care, he isn't going to get suspended for this and a misdemeanor citation isn't exactly a black mark on his record that has been clean since his freshman year of college.

You should care.

This is strike one against him in the league's off the field incident program. It gets him closer to a suspension in the future.

**HoustonRaven** · 07-13-2014, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by JustaslowZ06

And where was that? My guess the hood. And you might wonder WHY they did that. Because 90% of the people are criminals or useless. Not saying you so don't get offended. But there are plenty of areas where the police might use excessive force just as a self preservation issue. A large chunk of Baltimore falls into that. Profiling and all that might not be PC but oh well. Don't perpetuate it and you won't get messed with. Something that constantly bothers me about this country. People that wish to do us harm are of middle eastern decent and between the ages of 17 and 25. So being overly cautious around someone like that might not be friendly but the other side of stopping a terrorist attack are very real. Australia. Israel and a few other countries are great places to live because they don't have the same Fox News might tell on us attitude

**CharmCityCrab** · 07-13-2014, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by Ravenous1

All that may be true, Jimmy though bears culpability in this as well.

The man is paid millions to play a game, all that is asked is to stay out of trouble and avoid putting himself in positions that could comprise his availability to play that game.

Being in a bar intoxicated with another person so intoxicated (if he knew as reports say) that the paramedics have to be summoned seems to fly in the face of those responsibilities. I commend Jimmy for trying to help this person but the issues he now face are of his own making and not the fault of BCPD. We all know that it is very unwise for players to hang out at bars....very little good can come from it. Jimmy is finding that out first hand.

I don't completely disagree with you. However, when signing that contract to play football, which already involves short and long term risks of physical and cognitive impairment, are you also signing away your rights to have any kind of a social life that takes place outside your home? Even in the off-season?

Let's say he wanted to take this woman on a date after they met. Something is kind of implied by saying "Why don't you come over to my house?". A lot of women would say no to that, and if a woman said yes and then wound up causing issues for him at his house and the cops got involved there, he might have wound up in bigger legal trouble and people would be questioning his judgement for inviting a random woman over to house who might overdose on drugs in his bathroom, claim he raped her, trash the place, not leave when he asked her to, or whatever. He's a young person and wants to go on a date, I guess, in the off-season, where would you suggest he take this woman? I mean, it seems a little unfair to ask people not to date, doesn't it?

I guess he could have gone to a coffee shop (Though they close at like 8:00, don't they?) or moderated his alcohol intake more if he was drunk (Which we don't know for a fact at this point). If he had been clearer headed, and had doubts about the police's intentions, he might have responded to the police ordering him to leave the bathroom by simply backing against the far bathroom wall away from the woman with his hands in the air and calmly stating "I'll stay out of your way, but I'm worried about my friend, I'll just watch from over here.". They still might have sent him to jail anyway, because it still wouldn't have been complying, but I'll bet there are some cops who'd let that go if he hadn't been refusing to back away at all and cursing. But, in the end, I just don't see where the guy did anything morally wrong. I wouldn't suspend him or fine him or anything like that. He'd be in good standing with the team if I were in charge of determining those kind of things.

We actually don't even know that he was drunk. The woman he was with seems to have been, but he was just getting to know her, and he can't actually make her stop drinking at a public bar as long as the waitstaff continues to serve her.

Actually, the woman might have a legal case against the bar for not cutting her off. Bars are supposed to do that at a certain point. I don't know where that point is, but it's probably somewhere before "Blacked out in a pool of your own vomit.". To be fair, she should probably exercise personal responsibility and her passing out or whatever may have also been the result of drinks she consumed elsewhere or drug use or health problems or yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm just raising this as a possibility.

Originally Posted by camdenyard

Bzzt. Sorry, you can't do that.

If that was his rationale, then it was a bad one. Tough. Police are not going to allow ignoring lawful orders and cursing them because of some perception of mistrust..

Is cursing at a police officer actually illegal? What if he had walked away while saying "F-you" to the police under his breath and they heard him? Actually, Rolando McClain got arrested for that, didn't he? I don't know. He could have handled the situation better, but it sounds like the police could have as well, and I don't think he should face any repercussions for this unless there is more to it than me know.

The not complying with a legal order part is technically illegal, but I think the justice system should apply discretion here and just drop it. They're allowed to do that. I think this is a textbook situation of why they are allowed to do that. Smith seemed to have good motives, allowed himself to be arrested, has been a good citizen in Baltimore, etc..

**s.r.genovese** · 07-13-2014, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by camdenyard

You should care.

This is strike one against him in the league's off the field incident program. It gets him closer to a suspension in the future.

I very much doubt the league is going to count a misdemeanor citation as a "strike" against him. And judging from the incident report, I very much doubt that Smith has a problem that will lead to more "strikes" in the future.

**camdenyard** · 07-13-2014, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by s.r.genovese

I very much doubt the league is going to count a misdemeanor citation as a "strike" against him. And judging from the incident report, I very much doubt that Smith has a problem that will lead to more "strikes" in the future.

We'll need to see how the system handles the case. If he is found guilty and given simple community service, or even PBJ, I think it's looked at as an offense by the league. Bottom line is getting arrested is a problem even if it's jaywalking.

**CharmCityCrab** · 07-13-2014, 02:04 PM

Also, it occurs to me that the police could have handled this better as well. How about something like:

"We understand that you're concerned about your friend, sir. We're concerned, too. Could you just stand over to the other side of the room so this EMT can help your friend better? You can keep an eye on her the whole time. We just need you out of the way for a little while so we can figure out what's going on."

They didn't really have to make him leave a large public bathroom, did they?

They could have also had one of the officers go over to the corner of the bathroom and get background information from him like whether she was having problems due to drinking or what, etc. in a soothing tone.

When someone is upset about their friend being really sick and trying to help her, and maybe potentially has been drinking, I'm not sure the best reaction is go in there like a commando and demand he leave the room or else.