This was published 7 years ago
'Off his chops' cop stop could have been a lot less funny
By john birmingham
Most of us have been off our chops at one time or another. Some of us have been so high that, yeah, we'd totally float off into 'f…ing outer space' if somebody didn't hold onto us. And occasionally everyone catches a cold. I can't say I've ever had trouble telling the two states apart. Maybe I should be the one with the Taser and the Glock.
As much fun as it was watching ABC reporter Josh Bavas shaken down by Mr Plod on the weekend, it does raise uncomfortable questions about how that encounter would have played out if Bavas wasn't a sharp, highly-educated middle class white man with a smart phone and the presence of mind to use it when things went sideways. If he'd been black, or brown, if he'd had learning difficulties or a mental illness, if English was his second language, if he was homeless or even just hung over it could have been much less amusing.
But of course, we'd probably never know, would we?
His incredulity when confronted would be familiar to anyone accused of something they hadn't done. We all bristle and push back under those circumstances. But some us do it by recording video that uploads securely to the cloud, while others… well, if you've spent your entire life getting pushed around by the system you might just lose your shit and before you know it you're face down with a boot on the back of your neck and the cuffs going on tight.
Josh Bavas recorded an encounter with a police officer who believed he was under the influence of drugs. "I have a cold," Bavas tweeted.
Bavas, who reports on the emergency services, is understandably reluctant to make anything more of the incident outside Bunnings, even joking that it might have been his poor choice of pairing red shorts and green shoes that brought him to attention of the authorities (in which case, well done officer and give him one for me).
The Police Service, having released a terse statement in response to the video going viral on social media, is 'reviewing' the matter. If the cops caught out on camera are lucky enough to have understanding bosses they'll get a quiet bollocking – not for being idiots, but for getting caught on video.
Josh Bavas' encounter with the law was not unique, or even special. It ended in lulz for us and a bit of embarrassment for the QPS. But it'd be worth remembering next time some black fella dies in the cells.