The lawyer for Sean Charles Dunn, on trial for assault, appealed to the jurors' sense of proportion: "It was a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out... He did it. He threw the sandwich. And now the US Attorney for the District of Columbia has turned that moment — a thrown sandwich — into a criminal case, a federal criminal case charging a federal offense."
This makes me think of the old saying "My right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins." In this case, it's not a swung fist but a flung sandwich, but there's definitely a nose, a nose offended by the stench of onions and mustard.
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49 comments:
Will they indict the sandwich, too?
I didn't realize this was actually going to trial. What a waste of resources, and face, for all concerned. Offer a plea and put the whole silly episode behind.
It’s good the offender wasn’t a Republican and he didn’t fling the sandwich on January 6th. He’d be looking at 3-5 years.
…. In solitary.
It’s called the broken sandwich theory of policing.
Carrie
Money Manger said...
I didn't realize this was actually going to trial. What a waste of resources, and face, for all concerned. Offer a plea and put the whole silly episode behind.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I would assume plea discussions were had. It's likely this defendant, reveling in his newfound Leftist celebrity, turned down all offers and wanted a public trial.
Do you think the charges should have been dismissed before trial? He just gets a free pass here? I don't find what happened to be "silly" in any regard.
Battery is harmful ***or offensive*** contact. Having various sauces and other food products all over you is indeed offensive. This was jury nullification.
I was the recipient of judge nullification in my Metro incident. I raised inter Alia the affirmative defense that I was preventing imminent offensive contact by sweaty ganja-reeking subway dancers. The judge said “no you were just angry.” Which is a false dichotomy: you can be both angry and justified. And I wasn’t angry.
Note that in DC Superior Court, you don’t get a jury for misdemeanors under six months. I don’t know why Pirro didn’t take the sandwich guy there. Would have been a smaller penalty, but a slam dunk. CC, JSM
Notice that the defense lawyer said, in her opening statement, "He did it."
A sub sandwich today, a ninja star tomorrow...
Sandwich, brick, milkshake, concrete, pepperball, bullet? At this point what difference does it make?
You'd have to screen out potential jurors who have strong feelings about putting mustard on a hoagie.
Do we note the defense lawyer said ‘he did it’ so the not guilty verdict can the sting rest of us like a flung gyro?
A sandwich fired point blank...
Lairmore: Ahh, but the sandwich! That's -- that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes, but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with -- geometric logic -- that there WAS mustard! And I'd have PRODUCED that mustard if they hadn't've pulled me out of service!
Eric the Fruit Bat said...
" You'd have to screen out potential jurors who have strong feelings about putting mustard on a hoagie."
That's a convict-able offense right there, with mustard and onions even worse.
If you are a prosecutor and you commit a violent offense against a person, particularly a law enforcement officer; I don't think it is a waste of resources to prosecute you. I think you are just a bigger ass needing more jail time for not submitting a guilty plea.
I dunno. If this twink could throw a sandwich hard enough to be felt through a ballistic vest, there might be a spot for him as a starter for say the Chicago White Sox. Good fastballers who can put some mustard on the pitch are hard to find. However the video scouting report of the throw looks more like a beer league softball pitcher at work.
Perhaps the wnba can recruit him
"Enjoy every sandwich."
- Warren Zevon
People spent months and years in jail for less because of Nan's riot.
It does seem silly, prosecuting someone for throwing a sandwich and another man decked out and riot gear. However, boundaries must be respected. If anyone throws a sandwich at me I would feel justified and immediate retaliation. It is definitely assault and battery. When it happened in real time, the victim might have had no idea that it was merely a sandwich.
Justice for the mongoloids!
The cartman protester was slightly amusing
"And the bums down at the beach - always comin' up to you, those guys. 'Hey, buddy - could you help me out with a sandwich?' 'Well, sure… where is it?'"
—— Louie Anderson
I love the smell of onions in the morning,
If you are a prosecutor and you commit a violent offense against a person, particularly a law enforcement officer; I don't think it is a waste of resources to prosecute you. I think you are just a bigger ass needing more jail time for not submitting a guilty plea.
Particularly if you are then going to immediately admit that you did it. What is the point of the trial, other than to actively solicit jury nullification, which a (now former) Justice Department employee should not be doing.
The point of the trial is both defendant and defense attorney get publicity, it brings more $$ to the defendant's GoFundMe, and they shoot for a jury nullification, knowing the judge will likely sentence him to something like time served.
Howard, you got it right as to why this case should be prosecuted. If such matters are just swept aside as unimportant, the result is ... a self-help remedy, so to speak.
He's lucky this occurred in the age of ubiquitous cameras and body cams. I remember a time when the police would've just beat the hell out of him, then taken him to jail. "You can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride", was the expression.
A thing that looks like a sandwich isn't necessarily a sandwich. A water bottle might be a block of ice. Heck, a stuffed animal might be filled with rocks. Don't throw things at law enforcement, or anyone else, unless you want to be charged with assault..
"Exploded all over me". That's a bit much. He should have been charged with malicious mischief or some such thing. If you try to hype the offense, it just emphasizes the silliness not of the criminal but of the charge.
Let's face it, it was a tough choice. He might have enjoyed a little jail time, judging by his attire and the way he threw the sandwich, IYKWIMAIKTYD.
Perhaps the police should be allowed a proportionate response like an open-faced hot turkey sandwich to the kisser.
This man was more violent than 99% of the people who spent years in jail over January 6th.
But the ruling class has different rules.
The Democrat party at its core is about returning the United States to a tribal spoils system of government for the benefit of hte ruling tribe.
Assault with a deli weapon.
To be fair, the Dems have embraced violence as a party platform. He probably thinks he should have been paid for throwing the sandwich.
..."Perhaps the police should be allowed a proportionate response like..."
A quick thinking cop might have offered up a little hot sauce to go with the sandwich - the kind that comes in a black spray can.
He should have made it a combo!
“"I could feel it through my ballistic vest. It kind of exploded all over. You could smell the onions and the mustard."
Testified CBP Agent Gregory Lairmore, quoted in "Border Patrol agent recalls moment DC sandwich slinger’s sub 'exploded all over; him: ‘You could smell the onions'" (NY Post).”
Aww…the poor man. Hope he’s recovering well from his injuries. Will probably need years of PTSD therapy, though.
It’s lunchtime, and this put me in the mood for a spicy Italian from Subway. Yummm…much too good to throw at a cop.
The most prominent feature of the Democrats is that they are scofflaws. Consequently, no assault on a peace officer, however slight should be ignored.
It must be seriously illegal to throw things at law-enforcement officers. “It was only a sandwich” sounds minor but doesn’t reduce that principle. It was only a rock, it was only a trashcan, it was only a water bottle, etc., none of these things are acceptable.
This argument reminds me of the consequence of calling shoplifting a misdemeanor in CA if the value of the merchandise is under $900. The result has been an epidemic of retail theft which spread across the country.
Punish the sandwich throwers to the full extent of the law and the tossing of rocks, hurling of frozen 32 ounce beverage containers, blasting of fireworks, and perhaps even shootings might be moderated. At least among those who can think before they act, and who don't use their feelz to direct their lives - so I guess, nevermind.
"It was a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out... He did it. He threw the sandwich."
How much harm did some of those people walking between the velvet ropes taking selfies on J6 cause? What was their punishment?
Well, the fact that he spent the previous 10 minutes screaming "Fuck You" at the agent may have also had something to do with it. It wasn't just a casual sandwich toss.
First Juicy Smollet and now this guy. What is it with gay Dems and their sandwiches?
Rosalyn C.,
> It must be seriously illegal
> to throw things at
> law-enforcement officers
No. "Police Officer" is not a title of nobility, bad the legality of, and punishment for, throwing things at a law enforcement officer should be exactly the same as it is for the same act committed against anyone else.
No, I don't agree that police officers and other public servants are equal to ordinary people when they are acting in their official positions. The police represent all of us and the society we want to maintain. I think police officers in particular, and teachers as well, deserve special protection and respect. I never said that a "police officer" is a title of nobility or claimed that police are always right. I'm not bestowing sainthood on all police. I'm saying that people who represent law and order or the public good should be treated with respect.
It doesn't matter what object was thrown, it matters that the social contract/relationship is damaged. They are considered targets to be taken advantage or abused because they are held to a higher standard. Our society is damaged. For a long time we heard the problem was not enough cops were Black and Brown. So now there are plenty of Black cops and they are treated worse, not better.
And if the police are not held to a higher standard and treated with respect then how do you expect ordinary people will be treated? People walking down the street are assaulted as if that's normal, especially if they are not expected to fight back) We have to arm ourselves to feel safe.
I was thinking about a related episode which happened in my old high school, previously all white and middle and upper middle class. No longer though. Two students entered a class and physically assaulted the teacher in front of the classroom. I'm sure most people here have seen Youtube videos of teachers being assaulted and verbally abused by students, it's commonplace. We've all also seen peaceful protests were police are attacked with all kinds of items. This all is considered normal now, the police wear special riot gear. When I attended that high school no one would have imagined being even verbally disrespectful, let alone physically attacking a teacher. Now it's a regular thing?
It's not about a sandwich and I'm surprised that the cop would not even be capable of expressing the principles I have discussed. It's almost dumb that they don't even respect themselves.
Rosalyn,
Well you are saying they are a class above, so why quail at the descriptive phrase "title of nobility"?
I disagree with your take on this with every molecule of my anglospheric, common law, Peelian being. I am right there with Sir Robert Peel on this aspect:
"7. To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence"
I suspect you might be a fan of the "Thin Blue Line" stuff too.
Kirk Parker,
I'm not insulted by your "Thin Blue Line" comment. As a woman perhaps I do have a different relationship with police, and I do view them as people I can trust will defend me if necessary. I know there are bad people out there and it's a fact that I am not physically capable of defending myself against someone who is larger than me. My perception is different from yours but no less valid.
Perhaps you as a man sees police as just some other guys. However I have seen enough evidence that most guys do not jump in and volunteer in dangerous situations. I think police are necessary but as I said, they are public servants. We don't have a class system here so no, they are not members of the nobility.
"Enjoy every sandwich."
Warren Zevon
"It was a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out... He did it. He threw the sandwich."
No it wasn't. It was assault.
Pro tip. Don't do that. It gives the other person the right to pound your stupid face into the ground. He's lucky it was a copper.
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