Not if there was no malice in his actions. Here's the exact quote from the prosecutor:

 

"To be fair, law enforcement officers are not lawyers or fully aware of what the courts require. Nonetheless, fair or not, their decisions must meet those standards. The charge of interfering with a police animal requires malice, and none exists."

No it does not require malice according to the statute above..."Any person who intentionally or knowingly maliciously harasses, teases"...He did intentionally harass and tease the K9. Then OR is the defining part of the statue as to what constitutes a violation of the law in this case. Maybe this prosecutor doesn't feel that it meets that statute but the statute as written, it does seem to fit.

Also by teasing the dog while the officer was with someone else he could have potentially put the officer in danger by distracting the dog.

 

Bottom line he was acting like a punk, got cuffed and in all likelihood got out of it because he was a Gator.

No it does not require malice according to the statute above..."Any person who intentionally or knowingly maliciously harasses, teases"...He did intentionally harass and tease the K9. Then OR is the defining part of the statue as to what constitutes a violation of the law in this case. Maybe this prosecutor doesn't feel that it meets that statute but the statute as written, it does seem to fit.

 

You're not reading the prosecutor's quote. The malicious part applies to intentionally AND knowingly. In other words intentionally requires malice as knowingly also require malice. The prosecutor said it explicitly in his statement. The charge requires malice and he saw no evidence of any.

Not if there was no malice in his actions. Here's the exact quote from the prosecutor:

 

"To be fair, law enforcement officers are not lawyers or fully aware of what the courts require. Nonetheless, fair or not, their decisions must meet those standards. The charge of interfering with a police animal requires malice, and none exists."

State Prosecutor is William Cervone, A native of Tampa, he has lived in Gainesville since 1967 and is a 1971 graduate of the University of Florida and a 1973 graduate of the University of Florida Law School.

 

Has been a prosecutor at some level in Gainesville since 1973, probably not the first Gator he's helped out in the last 40 years.

You're not reading the prosecutor's quote. The malicious part applies to intentionally AND knowingly. In other words intentionally requires malice as knowingly also require malice. The prosecutor said it explicitly in his statement. The charge requires malice and he saw no evidence of any.

No I read it, your not reading the law as written in the Florida statues where it says OR, this is a Gator helping out a Gator.

 

No big deal but no one should act like he shouldn't have been arrested in this case or that the officer was wrong in doing so.

Some may say that the dog wasn't in the performance of his duties. The officer was out with another person and the K9 was in the cruiser, but most K9 officers have a release button on their key ring that they can push that will open the door for the dog to come to their aid in the case of emergency. If the dog is being distracted by barking idiot there is a good chance that it may not respond to the officer in case of emergency. The K9 IMO is always performing it's duties if it is on patrol whether it is in the car or not.

 

That's not the opinion of either the prosecutor:

 

"The charge of interfering with a police animal requires malice, and none exists. lt also requires that the animal be engaged in some official duty, and it cannot be said that sitting in the back of a police cruiser in case he is needed constitutes being engaged in such activity by a police dog."

 

 

Nor the sheriff in charge of the officer that made the arrest:

 

Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell agreed with Cervone and said Arnold shouldn't have arrested Morrison.

 

"Our deputies deal with chaotic situations daily and have to make quick, on-the-spot decisions," Darnell said in a statement. "While I believe the deputy's actions were technically correct, due to the obscure nature of the law a warning would have been more appropriate."

 

 

I know you almost always support the decisions of the officers but I think in this case you are wrong. Pretty much everyone except for the arresting officer disagrees with his actions. I have no doubt that Morrison is a punk, but that isn't currently illegal. Not even his own sheriff supported his arrest--that is very telling.

No I read it, your not reading the law as written in the Florida statues where it says OR, this is a Gator helping out a Gator.

 

No big deal but no one should act like he shouldn't have been arrested in this case or that the officer was wrong in doing so.

 

It says or but according to the prosecutor the action requires malice--therefore it applies to knowingly or intentionally equally. I'm going to say that the guy that has been a prosecutor for 40 years in the state of Florida knows how the law applies better than either of us. Wouldn't you agree?

That's not the opinion of either the prosecutor:

 

"The charge of interfering with a police animal requires malice, and none exists. lt also requires that the animal be engaged in some official duty, and it cannot be said that sitting in the back of a police cruiser in case he is needed constitutes being engaged in such activity by a police dog."

 

 

Nor the sheriff in charge of the officer that made the arrest:

 

Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell agreed with Cervone and said Arnold shouldn't have arrested Morrison.

 

"Our deputies deal with chaotic situations daily and have to make quick, on-the-spot decisions," Darnell said in a statement. "While I believe the deputy's actions were technically correct, due to the obscure nature of the law a warning would have been more appropriate."

 

 

I know you almost always support the decisions of the officers but I think in this case you are wrong. Pretty much everyone except for the arresting officer disagrees with his actions. I have no doubt that Morrison is a punk, but that isn't currently illegal. Not even his own sheriff supported his arrest--that is very telling.

The Sheriff said that the deputy was Technically Correct...that too is very telling...in hind sight the Sheriff supporting the ruling by the prosecutor left her deputy out to dry.

 

I do support law enforcement when I think they deserve it. Just as you almost always nit pick their every decision after the fact. But you don't seriously think that there is no chance that the Sheriff also a life long resident of Gainesville and a Florida Grad wouldn't help sweep something like this under the carpet for Gator Football? There is nothing bigger in that part of the state than that football team, a lot easier to hang the deputy out than to hurt Gator Nation for a couple of life long Gators (Prosecutor and Sheriff).

 

Look at all of the arrest over the years of Gators that later seem to always have the charges dismissed or lessened...so all of the officers in that area that have arrested Gators were all wrong and luckily the Sheriff and Prosecutor were there to wipe it all away.

Joe, we will just have to agree to disagree...see you at the Briar Patch...heart willing!

I know you almost always support the decisions of the officers but I think in this case you are wrong. Pretty much everyone except for the arresting officer disagrees with his actions. I have no doubt that Morrison is a punk, but that isn't currently illegal. Not even his own sheriff supported his arrest--that is very telling.

 

:thumb:

The Sheriff said that the deputy was Technically Correct...that too is very telling...in hind sight the Sheriff supporting the ruling by the prosecutor left her deputy out to dry.

 

I do support law enforcement when I think they deserve it. Just as you almost always nit pick their every decision after the fact. But you don't seriously think that there is no chance that the Sheriff also a life long resident of Gainesville and a Florida Grad wouldn't help sweep something like this under the carpet for Gator Football? There is nothing bigger in that part of the state than that football team, a lot easier to hang the deputy out than to hurt Gator Nation for a couple of life long Gators (Prosecutor and Sheriff).

 

Look at all of the arrest over the years of Gators that later seem to always have the charges dismissed or lessened...so all of the officers in that area that have arrested Gators were all wrong and luckily the Sheriff and Prosecutor were there to wipe it all away.

 

The most telling part of the whole thing is that neither the prosecutor, nor the sheriff believed that an arrest should have been made. It is their job to interpret the law and in their view no crime was committed. Their opinion is all that matters in this case. At the end of the day Morrison is as innocent of the charges as George Zimmerman...

Following an incident early Sunday, and according to multiple media outlets, Florida’s Antonio Morrison was arrested and charged with first-degree simple battery (a misdemeanor) after allegedly punching a bouncing at a Gainesville drinking establishment. The incident that landed the linebacker in legal hot water occurred after said drinking establishment had the audacity to ask Morrison to pay the cover charge.

 

To punctuate the incident, Morrison pulled the tried and true “Do you know who I am? I am a UF football player” card before allegedly punching the bouncer and leaving the scene. GatorCountry.com, citing a police report on the incident, writes that didn’t remember much of the incident because he was intoxicated at the time.

 

UF has yet to comment on the situation and what if any punishment Morrison may be facing.

 

Morrison started three games last season as a true freshman and will be the starting middle linebacker entering summer camp. He was a four-star member of the Gators’ 2012 recruiting class.

This happened before the dog incident and it seems he thinks being a Florida Football Player gives him extra rights and privileges, I guess it does. As cases against Gators are routinely dismissed or give slap on the wrist treatment.