Is this considered a threat? Serious question, how many times do women go to the police and tell them that they need protection from an estranged husband or boyfriend and they are told there's nothing they can do. Martin posts something on instagram exercising his freedom of speech and is taken into custody? He did not say he was going to kill people, he made a statement about the feelings of those who succumb to feelings of being bullied.
There's enough there that something has to be done. I'd argue that even without the names he tagged it would at least warrant a wellness check. With an allusion to suicide and homicide along specific people and a school (and organization) named, he should be brought in by the police and a mental health evaluation needs to be done. Glad they got him
ABC News is reporting that LAPD has taken Martin into custody "for questioning." What they don't tell us is whether the focus is on determining whether he's a danger to himself or others and should be involuntarily committed, or whether LAPD is looking to charge him with a crime. His message was not an explicit threat, but it's ominous and disturbing: a picture of a shotgun, the words "revenge" and "suicide," mentioning the high school he attended, and naming the players who allegedly bullied him with the Dolphins. If I were Pouncey or Incognito, I'd be making sure my front door is locked at night. I don't know California law, so I don't know if they have a statute that fits a message like this. If you're in law enforcement, you hate stuff like this. If you charge the guy with a crime that doesn't really fit, he'll turn around and sue you. If you don't charge him, the guy may wind up doing something violent and your career will be down the shitter because you didn't do anything to stop him. Damned if you do; damned if you don't. Whatever LAPD does, it should make sure they confiscate any firearms this guy owns.
I kind of see what Martin was getting at, he was obviously making a statement of how bullied people feel because this kind of thing does happen. But he totally butchered it by posting the gun with #miamidolphins on it. I think it was meant to be symbolic of the bullies themselves, but it definitely doesn't come off like that. I could see why they would question him over this, but he really needs professional help. My guess is that one of the players he tagged in the post took it as a threat and called the police.
It sound like his high school saw it, freaked out, closed school today because of his post and reported the matter to the police. It's getting weirder. USA Today reports that the police apprehended Martin when he tried to check himself into a local hospital. ESPN is reporting that the police have now released him. I wonder if it also caused Richie to really go incognito. People who post on social media need to remember that the written word is different than the spoken word. With the spoken word, we deliver a lot of our message with tone of voice. vocal inflections, facial expressions and body language, all of which are missing with the written word. As a result, it is much easier for a written statement to be misinterpreted, especially if it's sarcastic or tongue in cheek.
Baker acted, hold to evaluate his mental status. Pretty sure California has laws allowing the confiscation of firearms in this case. It's the right move in this case.
LAPD makes the arrest, the DA decide to charge and what charges are appropriate ( winnable). Just days after the MSD shooting and the missed chances for the FBI and BSO to stop the tragedy. This sort of thing will be taken much more seriously ,and it should be.
The most recent news accounts indicate Martin was released without any criminal charges. That's probably the right result. The police intervened, assessed the situation and apparently determined that he posed no serious threat. No mention of whether that shotgun depicted in his post belonged to him and, if so, whether the police seized it. If they had charged Martin's with making a criminal threat, the case would probably not have been winnable. It appears that California law (Penal Code Sec. 422) requires a threat "so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey to the person threatened, a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution of the threat." Martin's post, while ominous, foreboding and disturbing, lacked that level of specificity. I doubt any prosecutor would want to take that case to court. The lockdown of the entire neighborhood seems like an overreaction, albeit an understandable one. That's the pendulum effect in these situations. The police don't take a bona-fide dangerous person seriously (as in Florida). Now, we can expect a lot of departments to swing the other way and take drastic action on anything that could possibly be considered a threat.
In light of recent tragedies, police will have to act on any credible threat. He wasn't arrested, he was taken to a mental health facility. Depending on their evaluation, he could have been detained further and his weapons can be confiscated under CA law. AB-1014.
