Couple Arrested For Dancing On NYC Subway Platform
from the waltz-the-problem-with-dancing? dept
Perhaps some day, if I manage to live long enough, somebody somewhere will be able to explain to me why the seemingly benign combination of dancing, cameras, and police tends to result in threats, beatdowns, and arrests. Recall a year ago when I had the privilege to write about protestors getting bodyslammed at the Jefferson Memorial for the horrific crime of silently dancing on the premises?Well, Yakko Warner writes in with the story of two nefarious characters, code named George Hess and Caroline Stern, who had the gall to dance on a New York City subway platform and were taken to the ground and arrested for their trouble. As that New York Post piece explains, the couple found themselves near a musician playing on steel drums:
“We were doing the Charleston,” Stern said. That’s when two police officers approached and pulled a “Footloose.”
“They said, ‘What are you doing?’ and we said, ‘We’re dancing,’ ” she recalled. “And they said, ‘You can’t do that on the platform.’ ”
And so, as their training manuals surely instructed them to do, the officers demanded to see their IDs. Because they were dancing. Where someone was playing the drums. In the most cosmopolitan and culturally-rich city in America. In any case, when Hess could only produce a credit card (which had his name and photo on it), this happened:
"The officers ordered the couple to go with them — even though the credit card had the dentist’s picture and signature. When Hess began trying to film the encounter, things got ugly, Stern said.“We brought out the camera, and that’s when they called backup,” she said. “That’s when eight ninja cops came from out of nowhere.”
The ninja cops then alledgedly tackled Hess to the floor, cuffed both of them, and detained the pair for twenty-three hours. The initial charge was apparently impeding the flow of traffic of what is reported to have been three other people on the platform. The police then added other charges, such as resisting arrest.
All charges were subsequently dropped when the paperwork was finally reviewed by the NYPD's Not Crazy Department. The couple are now suing in Manhattan courts, but maybe it's time a national memo went out to law enforcement agencies reminding them that dancing people with cameras don't necessarily need to be tackled?
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Filed Under: arrest, dancing, expression, nyc, overreaction, subway
Reader Comments
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Were they licensed to be listening to the music they were hearing?
Perhaps the particular style of dance was a trademark of some other famous dancer, and this was infringement?
Think of the children! Kids present might have seen the couple dancing and might bet ideas -- like that life can be enjoyed by them and their comrades, er, um... I meant citizens.
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Subway
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Typo
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There is sooo much win in that statement.
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Memo
No worries Tim, it's just the NYPD. They've been lined in the pockets of the Port Authority as well.
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Seems extremely easy to get arrested any more
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But.... but....
Dancing leads to dating... And dating leads to marriage... And marriage leads to divorce... And divorce leads to violence! And violence is used by terrorists!! So using logic, dancing must lead to terrorism. So we have to stop dancing wherever and whenever possible. Can't you all see this?? It's horrible!!! Oh, the humanity!!
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Re: But.... but....
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Re: Subway
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Re: Seems extremely easy to get arrested any more
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Question;
And what does that say?
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Re:
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Re:
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Re: Question;
(I just learned how to write that even though I regularly read it, thank you Google for the handy "Did you mean: cleavage" suggestion. Hopefully all those suggestions of images won't get me fired.)
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Re:
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Re: Re: Seems extremely easy to get arrested any more
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I'm not saying it was aliens, but...
There can only be one explanation: Aliens, with soul-stealing cameras and mind-control dances. We'd have already been conquered by now if it wasn't for the FBI's secret rapid response team, cleverly disguised as ordinary policemen.
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this was obviously a 'take down' on copyright grounds. which one(s) i am not sure, but there must be a few
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Re: But.... but....
* With apologies to Michael Marra
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Re: Re: Re: Seems extremely easy to get arrested any more
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nyc cops
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Re: Re: Question;
That's where google shines and it shines because of one simple thing. Context. Give the word that I can't spell and a spell check can't help with a context and feed it in to google and it will most of the time present me with the correctly spelled option which I can then check to make sure it means what I think it does.
This way of dealing with spelling is quickly becoming rather common among pretty much every one I know and it's I think one of the quite but very important changes going on in the world at the moment.
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Re: I'm not saying it was aliens, but...
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Re: I'm not saying it was aliens, but...
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Re: I'm not saying it was aliens, but...
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Re: Re: But.... but....
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGVFgX3JSRY
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Re:
Everybody was Kung Fu'ing dancers, those pigs were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, but they were busted with expert timing
There was funky policemen from funky Police Town
They were chopping them up, they were chopping them down
It's an ancient fascist art, and everybody knew their part
From a feint into a slip, then I'm kicked in the hip
Everybody was Kung Fu'ing dancers, those pigs were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, but they were busted with expert timing
There was funky Nabby Jones and little Johnny Law
He said, here comes the big boss, let's get it on
We took the cam and made a stand, started swaying with the band
A sudden motion made me skip, now we're into a brandnew trip
Everybody was Kung Fu'ing dancers, those pigs were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, but they were busted with expert timing
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Re: I'm not saying it was aliens, but...
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Re: Question;
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPau5QYtYs
p.s. I'm so sorry... I couldn't help it.
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Re: Seems extremely easy to get arrested any more
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Re: Typo
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Re: Re: I'm not saying it was aliens, but...
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unless its a mosh pit.
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Re: Re: Seems extremely easy to get arrested any more
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-- and the terrorists have won.
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Watcha gonna do when they come for you.
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...but only if the cops...
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Re: Question;
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Re: Question;
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both
Nazi Germany or USA today ?
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Blame Hollywood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmCpOKtN8ME
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Re: Memo
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Seems extremely easy to get arrested any more
I live in Ohio. I find this to be a remarkably idiotic decision on their part. Is snoring a noise violation? Perhaps they think woman should be forced to wear a veil because of their gender.
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Re: Re: Seems extremely easy to get arrested any more
Please send me my cut of the licensing money!
On a side note, I'm also descended from the first sneezer, who also did a lot of other bodily functions first. My lawyer will be sending the full list of things you should pay me for.
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Why the discrimination? Why wasn't the musician arrested for 'inciting dance'????
Wasn't he the one ultimately responsible? No music means no dancing....
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Re: Re: Seems extremely easy to get arrested any more
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