Alex Wubbels

She would not allow Salt Lake City detective Jeff Payne to draw blood from an unconscious patient without the patient's consent, without the patient being under arrest, or without an electronic search warrant. She was legally in the right, and he was legally in the wrong, and may face discipline or discharge for his outrageous behavior.

I feel conflicted about this. Watching an arrest on video is never pretty. Let us start with what we need as a civil society. We need law and order. We need the police to enforce the laws, and must support them while they enforce the law, do their difficult jobs, and heroically protect all of us. We need to thank them for a most difficult job.

Where an officer goes rogue or violates someone's rights, let him suffer in his career and perhaps incur legal charges against him as would anyone else violating the law.

That said, Alex Wubbels did not know how to be arrested. Did she resist arrest? Maybe a little, and maybe Payne got to rough with her.

We need to teach all Americans how to be arrested with relative safety. Once a cop decides to arrest you, he or she is going to take you or me into custody one way or the other with whatever level of force that is necessary. That is their legal job and duty and that is the harsh, bare ugly truth. If they need four more cops and to have kill the suspect to restrain and subdue him, then that will occur.

Cops have enormous power. Some are vicious. Some are power-hungry. Some will kill you if you resist. Mot are decent, reasonable public servants, but you do not want to endanger yourself by giving them static.

One needs to shut up, do what one is told, and stand still with one's hand's behind one's back if they are going to arrest one and take one into custody.

This Mike Gallagher suggestion that we do what an officer of the law tells us to do, and not to resist if arrested is the best way to survive. Get in the car, go to jail, be processed and then call a lawyer and the news media. May justice be served and your rights protected.

Not only black youths but all Americans should be given a high school course or refresher course on how to interact with law enforcement when they are encountered, and if they are going to arrest one, how to act during a most unpleasant event.

If Alex Wubbels had had such training, she may not have resisted just a little to a false and terrible arrest that clearly violated her rights.

As we enter the Age of Mavellonialism, we need constantly to be trained and educated on how to act. As society becomes more open and more complex, even basic living tasks like police encounters require role-playing and consciousness raising.

Another area of desperate need for high school students is several courses on how to handle finances, and build a nest egg for retirement. I am 63 years old, and I am finally now learning to handle money. I have made horrible, avoidable financial blunders, and will go into old age much poorer for my foolish choices made. A strong high school training in money management would have been most  useful.

Hats off to Alex Wubbels for just doing her job.

May we all learn how to talk to the local police, and how to work with them for the safety of all.