Send a message to the Greensboro PD: Drop the charges against Pop
Here’s an infuriating story from Jeri Rowe at the Greensboro News & Record. A patriotic 78-year-old senior citizen, Alexander Kohanowich, likes to show his support for the troops by standing at busy intersections and events in town with flags and signs. His six grandkids call him “Pop.” Pop showed up at an Obama campaign rally this past week and got approval from a motorcycle police officer to stand with his signs. Kohanowich is hard of hearing and apparently didn’t realize another officer was telling him to move while he was being interviewed by a radio reporter. He put his hand on the officer’s shoulder–and now he’s been hit with a “misdemeanor charge of assaulting a government official.”
Rowe reports:
You wonder what the cops were thinking about this kind-eyed grandfather, holding signs, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the American flag.
Pop says he respects the police and knows he did wrong by placing his hand on the officer’s shoulder. But he worries about his country — our country — losing its humanity, its empathy, its brotherly love.
That’s Pop’s story. The cops have a different story.
Capt. Robert Flynt supervises all the special operations with Greensboro Police Department. He hadn’t heard about the OK from the motorcycle cop. But he said he heard his colleagues asked Kohanowich to move from the median at least twice. The reason: The median is part of the public road, and no one can stand there for anything.
All Kohanowich had to do, Flynt said, was move to the sidewalk on the other side of the street, with his signs, and he would’ve been fine. Kohanowich didn’t.
Flynt sees the arrest as appropriate without unnecessary force. You put your hands on an officer, you’re going to get arrested. That’s the bottom line.
So, Kohanowich became the only arrest during the event that created a busy day around the coliseum.
“I hate that it occurred,” Flynt said. “Our intention was to get through the day with everyone being safe and with us not having to arrest anyone. As long as people follow our instructions, those things (arrests) won’t occur.”
Pop will plead his case later this month in a Greensboro courtroom. Oh, he’s fine. The bruise on his right wrist — apparently from the handcuffs — is not much bigger than a pencil eraser. Ask him about it, and he’ll tell you it doesn’t hurt. Then, without speaking a word, he’ll tap his chest. That, he says, is where it’ll hurt. Forever.
Is common sense dead? Are they really going to prosecute Pop? For crying out loud.
Contact info for the Greensboro PD is here.
***
I second Greensboro News & Record editorial writer Doug Clark:
This is just bull. You want an old man to move across the street, and he doesn’t seem to hear what you’re saying, take him by the elbow and escort him across the street.
The assault charge ought to be thrown out.
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Ei yi yi.
I’ll be praying for Pop.
But nothing is done against Code pinko terrorizing our military recruiters. Absolutely heartbreaking.
I hope that Capt. Robert Flynt is really proud of himself today.
1. The streets of Greensboro are now that much safer.
2. Flynt has one more deserved notch on his 2008 arrest compilation sheet towards retirement.
Didn’t a certain Congresswoman recently STRIKE a police officer and NO charges were filed?
Even more proof the inmates are running the asylum.
The rules may state that if anyone lays a hand on an officer, they must be arrested, but by the same token, those rules are open to interpretation by the officer in question, depending on the circumstances. What’s so hard to understand about this?
A cop with WAY too much time on his hands.
Wow. That’s a strong statement… almost made me cry. Poor Pop. I’ll add him to my prayers.
Waiting for stupid comment from Troll: 10,…9,…8,…7,….
How many times do liberal activists get arrested for their antcis where they block streets, businesses, etc, and then verbally (and sometimes physically) intimidate police as they arrest them, and they NEVER get charged. (Think RNC in NY!)
I’ve put my hand on a police officer on several occasions; twice to get the officer’s attention, and once in the course of a friendly conversation.
Guess what. I have no misdemeanor assault charges on my record.
What a stupid charge.
These cops are making fools out of themselves.
Popped by Weasels
I’m having trouble comprehending what Capt. Flynt said. I know that there are commenters on this site who are in law enforcement… I have a question for you.
Is putting your hands on a police officer automatically an arrestable offense? Or should context come into play?
I’d bet a dollar to a donut that an Obama operative wanted he guy arrested. So, the cops trumped up something.
An old white man, dressed patriotically, holding signs, and “oh my God”, talking to the media… better get him out of here, and pronto!!!
Kudos to the brave police officer who removed this menace from the streets. Who knows where Pop would’ve struck next? He may have showed up at the other stoplight in Greensboro to stand silently with his offensive “flag shirt” or waving the horrid symbol of these United States, obviously distracting drivers and causing general mayhem. Thank goodness his shenanigans and tomfoolery will finally be put to rest.
/sarc
Capt. Flynt, don’t be stuck on stupid.
#11 said:
Flynt is making a fool of himself. Since Pop is the farthest thing from a threat, or someone who needs to be made an example of, this is probably about nothing more than arrest totals for the year…and what an easy collar it was, no?
Flynt should be REALLY proud of himself for his service last week. After 20, maybe he can get a job in the Dept. of Education. I hear they love bureaucrats.
Arresting Pop Kohanowich for his “support for the troops”, isn’t going to set very well for most of this country. Some cities seem to lean left and are trying to stop any show of support for our troops like Berkeley.
Hope they have a large police overtime budget to handle the large crowds that will show up in support of Pop.
Americans everywhere, should all feel that same same hurt that Pop feels.
The cops were already fools. You don’t have to look towards Berkeley to find these kind of clowns.
If only Pop was an illegal alien, then this wouldn’t have been a story. Obamessiah would have been his saviour.
He probably would have been fine if he was a Code Pinko.
Sometimes cops just over-react. I had a cop reach for her gun when I tried to get out of the car after an accident when all I was trying to do was walk away. (she was not speaking to me, she was speaking to the driver of the other car, who catualy caused the accident.)
The cops in Greensboro are not there to protect and serve. They are there to shout and demand. I sent my email of disapproval. Poor cop must have got a boo boo.
Well, if I were a Greensboro citizen, I know I’d feel much safer today. The infamous 78-year-old Pops “Machine Gun” Kohanowich and his troop-supporting signs may finally be off the street.
***
I’m glad there’s absolutely no other crime in Greensboro that’s more important for the city to handle than this. Must be a lovely place to live.
I’ll never shake an officers hand again after reading this.
I suppose that is true, but once the overreaction occured and the harmless old man had been arrested should the Capt. have backed up the arrest?
Raised Right said: “I suppose that is true, but once the overreaction occured and the harmless old man had been arrested should the Capt. have backed up the arrest?”
Of course not. I am not defending the cops at all!
He was a white man! God damn America!!
The Greensboro PD are small, small men.
Common sense isn’t dead.
It’s now regulated by your local government and their police force.
Anyone surprised by this hasn’t been paying attention for the last 20 years.
I miss Barry Goldwater and intelligent people.
Note to self: Pouring cement over railroad tracks fine. Putting hand on cops shoulder bad. Setting my children down in the street to block traffic … okay. Standing in the median, not blocking traffic … bad.
babbledabble – Sorry, I wasn’t trying to say that you were backing up the cops. It was clear that you were not defend the fact that cops overreact.
I just used your comment to point out that even if the cop just made a mistake, the even bigger problem is that the department is backing this up.
The facts probably are not as MM gave them. Alexander Kohanowich was a criminal or he would not have been arrested (an argument used for the people at Gitmo). Are you going to take the word of an unhinged political demonstrator above an officer of the law?
When did Barney Fife become a Captain?
Being former military and a former LEO, I can honestly say that the connection between civilians and law enforcement are becoming more and more distant. I’ve noticed a certain arrogance about many LEO in recent years. The uniforms have changed as have the attitudes. I see officers acting more and more like the military as the years go by. The mentality has become more an US vs. THEM which imho is NOT how it should be.
I took my daughter to breakfast not too long ago, she saw a police officer (in his battle dress uniform no doubt) sitting at the table near us, so she smiled and waved. The officer just looked at her and continued eating. I have always taught my children to respect authority and never fear the police, but when an officer looks down his nose at a young girl/boy as if they’re a nuisance, I get very upset. It destroys the image many parents try to instill about police. To Protect and Serve just does not have the same meaning it used to.
The arrest mentioned in this article is more of an abuse of power. Trying to set an example of someone I suppose. An officer with a chip on his shoulder perhaps, I don’t know. I do know it was wrong and uncalled for and I will be contacting this PD as soon as possible.
To the one that said you would not ever shake a police officers hand, I can’t say I blame you. It could be considered simple battery these days. This disconnect from citizens will only worsen things in the end.
lgm, you are the only person on the entire planet who would draw a connection between an elderly, deaf man who couldn’t hear and order and terrorist detainees at Gitmo.
Tell me honestly, what color is the sky in your world?
My thinking on this one too! Thank you for putting is so eloquently WarTip.
Please tell me you’re not serious, PLEASE.
God protect me from frightened cops!! This old man putting his hand on that
policeman’s shoulder probably made him think he was being assaulted! More
people have been shot by scared cops who had no business carrying guns and
being in uniform than we can imagine. Pop was lucky the jerk didn’t draw his
gun and shoot him. If he is actually charged and tried for “assault on a peace
officer” then Greensboro ought to be drummed out of the union!
The only thing I can say in response to this is to remember the basic principles.
#35 On April 2nd, 2008 at 11:41 am, englishqueen01 said:
“The facts probably are not as MM gave them. Alexander Kohanowich was a criminal or he would not have been arrested (an argument used for the people at Gitmo). Are you going to take the word of an unhinged political demonstrator above an officer of the law?
lgm, you are the only person on the entire planet who would draw a connection between an elderly, deaf man who couldn’t hear and order and terrorist detainees at Gitmo.
Tell me honestly, what color is the sky in your world?”
Gee, EQ, it actually took longer than I thought it would from my anticipatory remark in post #8 above: “Waiting for stupid comment from Troll: 10,…9,…8,…7,….”
But, the clown did not disappoint us, and indeed did come through in the end!
Ahh…buffoon (way, way beyond comic) relief.
I’m glad I moved from the city, people like lgm are crawling all over the place. That remindes me, I need to clean my shotgun.
I thought Barney Fife had retired by now. Alas he is working the beat in Greensboro, I was worried.
I have stopped teaching my sons to respect law enforcement. I have been
teaching them how to learn to “not be in their vision”. Police do not give warnings anymore, they DO NOT teach youngsters anything. They arrest students in elementary schools…the stupidest things…french fries and food fights have turned into “assaults
with missiles” and the list goes on.
I HAVE emailed my letter…
LGM makes Forrest Gump look like Albert Einstein..
As Barney said, “Nip it! Nip it! Nip it in the bud!!!!! From now on, when I see an
old white man, I will cross to the other side of the street. You just never know
what he may be planning to do or what he’s carrying under that cardigan
sweater.
sarc off/
Ditto
I have frequently seen elderly people put their hands on peoples shoulders. It is s sign of respect, a sign that they are totally engaged with you in converstaion. And it often happens when they are having trouble hearing what you are saying.
An assault? A threatening gesture? A sign of disrespect? Give me a break.
The officer that filed the charge is one of the biggest cowardly P#$$!es in the entire State of North Carolina. To have an “assault”, the person bring assaulted has to feel threatened in some manner. An unwanted “touching” can be an assault, but those cases generally involve a touch to an intimate area of the body.
Perhaps we need to market a line of Greensboro PD shirts with a large yellow stripe down the back. “Assaulted” by an old man – in other words, Pops kicked his butt. I wonder how long the Greensboro cop cried after that thrashing?
A word to the Greensboro PD – MAN UP! Someone so sensitive to believe they are assaulted when a AARP member touches their shoulder has no business serving the public as a police officer. Hell, they are barely capable of protecting themselves from marauding hordes of elderly people, whose arthritic hands are seen to be deadly weapons.
The hypocrisies of gov’t entities are a constant source of amazement to me. POP, as a veteran and a citizen I apologize for the actions perpetrated upon you!
#46
You are SO right. Elder citizens do
reach out and touch a shoulder when
they DO NOT hear someone well.
Around here, Oklahoma City, I see homeless people standing in the median at intersections begging for money.
But no body can stand there to wave a flag.
Hmmmmmm….
As for lgm’s comment. I refer him to the people who didn’t believe the officers who arrested O J Simpson. I refer him to Johnny Sutton, who believed an illegal alien drug smuggler over two Border Patrol agents. I refer him to the people who didn’t believe the officers who arrested Rodney King.
And, I’ll ask him why he believes enemy combatants caught on a battle field over our troops who captured them.
“Flynt sees the arrest as appropriate without unnecessary force. You put your hands on an officer, you’re going to get arrested. That’s the bottom line.”
Moron. There is such a thing a common sense and intelligent use of discretion. This captain nor his officer seem versed in neither. Disturbing that they were clueless about his poor hearing as well. Classic example of rote, bureaucratic, goal displacement behavior.
I’d really hate to see what level of force the Greenboro PD considers “unnecessary”. I suppose we can be thankful that Pops didn’t try to shake the officer’s hand.
I agree with Brian. The streets of Greensboro must me much safer with a kindly gently senior citizen like Pop off the streets. There is no telling what kind of havoc might have occurred had he been allowed to run rampant.
As for Flynt and the PD there, it reminds me of comedian Ron White’s line, “You can’t fix stupd.” Geez!
Yet code pink can block traffic and public thoroughfares and that’s no problem at all is it. I’m getting so sick of this.
Complete idiots. An old man putting his hand on your shoulder is assault – wow. Too bad he wasn’t an old illegal immigrant, he’d be fine. Really, I have to repeat myself. Idiots. Hello Chief, he pays your salary, you work for him.
lgm, no. But in this case the ‘words’ seem to be the same.
Capt. Robert Flynt is quoted as saying, “You put your hands on an officer, you’re going to get arrested. That’s the bottom line.”
I haven’t read anyone challenging the facts of the case.
This is no surprise police departments all around the country are infested with these types. In many cases these people are recruited by the city they come in from other areas and infect the local population with the ways of where they came from. You get what you deserve, if the citizens don’t care what kind of riff raff their city is hiring why should I? I’d give the guy the cold shoulder on or off duty the whole dept for that matter. I’d make it obvious that I don’t even want to be on the same side of the street with him let alone having him living or working in my neighborhood. Maybe after they are through with this patriotic old man they can swing by the local kindercare and crackdown on the black market candy trade.
You have to be kidding me, the old guy is hard of hearing, in a moment of what could be confusion you want to arrest and charge him? Greensboro PD must be run by left wingers…can’t think for themselves nor make judgment calls. Looks like the offended officer needs to take some recertification training classes…he’s a bit touchy I’d say(no pun intended). What did he think the old man with flags in his hands was going to do to him…karate kick him?
Along with the officer who charged him, in my opinion. A mistake perhaps, but police need to be held to a higher standard of conduct.
“Are you going to take the word of an unhinged political demonstrator above an officer of the law?” – lgm
Who is unhinged here, a peaceful political protestor (who I’ve seen you defend, when the protestors represent the other side of the argument) whose sole offense is to touch an officer of the law, or someone who tries to rationalize how he ‘got what he deserved’. I’m sorry, but this line from the story “Pop says he respects the police and knows he did wrong by placing his hand on the officer’s shoulder. But he worries about his country — our country — losing its humanity, its empathy, its brotherly love.“. . .sure doesn’t sound very ‘unhinged’ to me.
Of course, you also state that “The facts probably are not as MM gave them.” In fact, she merely relayed a story written by others. Seems the facts aren’t as lgm gave them either. They rarely are.
I suppose it never occurred to these policemen that he may have not only been
unable to hear what was being said to him, but may also have been having trouble with his equilibrium. He may have turned a little too quickly and have
needed to hold onto something to keep from falling. That policeman should feel
heroic instead of afraid because he may have saved Pop from falling into traffic.
Durn it all!!! The cop probably deserves a medal!
sarc off/
That cop deserves a kick in the ass by all the seniors in Pop’s community.
Lots of people in NYC were arrested during the Republican convention there who (according to themselves) were protesting peacefully. Do we hear calls for those arresting officers to be disciplined?
No. Only if the protester is a patriot (Republican) and the protestee is a Democrat. To whom does the presumption of innocence apply? Tom Delay and Scooter Libby for sure, but not for anyone in Gitmo (even though many have been released as innocent).
If there is any justice, this will be thrown out and the cops involved will be read the riot act. There are real criminals out there and they arrest a harmless elderly
gentleman who is peacefully expressing his love for his country. Maybe they are
ACLU shills.
What a sad world. I no longer wonder why this country is on a downhill turn, both socially and economically.
It is a complete lack of reason and responsibility, caused in whole by a lack of parenting and discipline, while a culture of deniability reigns supreme (hey, those are the rules, I can’t be expected to actually THINK about them!).
Common sense, it seems, is a virtue very few (in positions of authority) care to exercise.
Sounds like the American Disabilities Association should take some of their busy time trying to get Homosexuality and obesity lobbied into a protected group, and stand up for this gentleman.
New Anthem for the for the Greensboro Police Department :
Don’t touch me there
Please don’t
Don’t touch me there
Oh no not there
Don’t touch me there
Anywhere but there
Don’t touch me there
Never–don’t ever
Don’t touch me there
Do you care?
Don’t touch me there
Then don’t touch me there
Don’t touch me there
Wow, lgm, your uninformed instigating can sometimes be very tedious indeed. Equating a 78 year old (who was the only arrest of the day?) with enemy combatants arrested on battlefields…or mass throngs of demonstrators who were trying to shut an organized event down (wasn’t one NYC demonstrator actually caught on videotape stomping a motorcycle cop into a coma?)
You do realize how foolish your moral equivalence games make you look sometimes?
Or maybe this is your point?
You are really missing the point here. Although there has been some talk about Pop’s patriotic message, most people here are voicing their disgust because he is a elderly, half-deaf man. I don’t have time to read back over it all, but I don’t remember too much talk about Republicans and Democrats.
Plus, you are talking like we are all going crazy over the account of some shady witness. There isn’t really a dispute of the facts here. Both Pop’s story and that of the officer line up. That Pop was cuffed and arrested for laying his hand on the cop is fact. What we’re discussing is whether or not the officer (and subsequently his captain) were out of line to use a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to touching cops. Did the officer really feel threatened?
Many of our PD’s have become nazified and rigid. This is another example of it. Like no-knock raids into the wrong houses based on flimsy evidence.
What happened here was an a-hole cop on a power trip. Apparently the kind of jerk (and Captain behind him) that gives decent Officers a black eye.
Get his badge number and name and post it as a mark of shame for the Greensboro PD.
Brian, you’re way nicer than I would be at this point. From now on I’ll just consider him a troll and ignore him, but wow…
Lots of people in NYC were arrested during the Republican convention there who (according to themselves) were protesting peacefully. Do we hear calls for those arresting officers to be disciplined? – lgm
Willfully ignoring the strictures of their permits, or willfully defying the law, even if peaceful, is grounds for arrest. Does it sound to you like this guy willfully defied the law?
Misplaced equivalence is one of your favorite tactics, isn’t it?
My dad is 78 years old, and hard of hearing. It is so very easy to tell that he is hard of hearing. When you speak to him, he either fails to respond or acknowledge what you’ve said, or he answers with something that doesn’t make sense, or he looks at you quizzicly, etc., and that’s when you know to speak louder and slower. Someone with compassion and understanding can pick up these cues quite easily.
OK, lgm, since you believe the facts are “probably not” as MM gave them, then please find the accurate facts and give us a link. Thank you.
Yeah, as I suspected. I just got done reading a summary of the activities that resulted in the arrests during the past few Republican conventions.
Public nude sit-ins, illegally rappelling down a building (an officer was injured in the attempt to arrest the guys who did that), protesting without a permit (an estimated 100-400 thousand committed this particular violation), and a whole laundry list of WILLFUL violations of the law is what got them arrested. 90% of them were later let off the hook. Given the size of the protest, it’s not surprising (or evidence of repressiveness) that arrest numbers were so high. Now, you have THIS fellow, who doesn’t appear to have willfully broken the law. He darn well better get off free and clear too.
Well, that’s certainly true. But, to be fair, even the most understaing can react poorly in times of high stress. How can we expect the officer to have really assessed the situation with all of the frightening elderly contact that was going on there!?
HAHAHAHA, if you guys only knew what our PD has gone through over the past couple of years. Read through some ‘Rhino Times’ publications for all the dirt.
Bottom line is if he were black this wouldn’t be an issue because he wouldn’t have been manhandled by the police who ‘protect and serve’. They are under investigation by the NAACP ALL-THE-TIME for racist stuff.
But anyway, the cops here are pretty heavy handed. They like to throw their weight around if you don’t ‘respect their authoritah’. I have first hand knowledge.
This doesn’t surprise me in the least. But it’s another reason that I don’t trust cops. They rarely ‘help’ a situation, and often make it worse. A High Point (same county) cop responded to a domestic dispute last week and shot a woman dead. He’s been suspended, and they haven’t really told the story. . . but I can’t imagine THAT cop made the situation ‘better’ by being there.
I do believe an assault charge should be pursued here – the officer’s assault on a 78 year old man. I believe NC has an elder abuse statute, which would definitely apply here.
An elderly man placing a hand on one’s shoulder is NOT provocation warranting a take down and hand cuffing.
Since it is clear the Greeensboro PD has circled the wagons around the officer involved and is ready to defend their actions as a “necessary” use of force, it is up to the NC Attorney General’s Office to investigate this situation. I think any collective efforts in pressuring the authorities should be shifted from the Greensboro PD to the NC Attorney General. As the NC AG is an elected position, they are more apt to pay attention to public pressure than a Chief of Police appointed by a City Council.
Maybe these Greensboro cops would like to go to San Fran when the Olympic torch
comes through. There’s going to be A Lot of protesting going on, even if it is in
designated areas, and they can see first hand what a really troublesome protestor
looks like and what it feels like to try to arrest one. Maybe then, having an elderly
hard of hearing gentleman put his hand on one of their shoulders would no longer
be “so scary.”
We send these fine examples of law enforcement into classrooms every day to present programs or teach safety issues….what if a small child, in their innocense, “touched” that officer? What if a teenager horsing around with friends in the hallways accidentally bumped into one? Believe I’ll take a pass on visiting that city. It’s enough intimidation just going through airport security. No reason to visit a city where their police force seem to think people should cower in fear in their presense..
That is what I ask about the stupid things the TSA does. Sometimes you have to go ABOVE “by the book” and just use your head!
I’m a young mid sixties guy and I remember clearly when police officers were charged with protecting and serving…the good guys…I was a good guy and I called them…”officer” and the bad guys called them “pigs”.
Now it seems that police protect and serve themselves and they treat every one like the bad guys…soooo I guess they are just pigs….the old guy is very lucky that he only touched the pig if he had sneezed or made some other sudden move they might have had a ‘righteous” shooting. and once more it is our fault…we gave them the powers they have and we stand by and watch them abuse what they have been given.
#82 asked:
It certainly isn’t breathing. Neither is the code of honor, or chivalry. I hope that our society learns quickly that NO society can stand without these basic pillars.
I’m a little disturbed of some of the generalizations I’m hearing here about cops. Now for the record, I too, have had frustrations with some of the individual officers or responses to incidents in the small town I live in. And I have to agree, the officer in this particular should have his head examined, fired and chewed out in no particular order.
With that said, I am a little disturbed by some of the comments made by the posters in the blog. “I will never shake the hand of an officer again,” and “I have stopped teaching my children to respect law enforcement” to name a few.
Folks, I’m sure I (and many of you) could cite as many or more positive stories of officers doing there jobs and helping citizens. But because of the actions of the Berkely PD and this individual idiot with the Greensboro PD, we want to cast the whole lot together.
Remember that everyday, officers around this country go out and face potential dangers in which they might not come home because of it. Give them the respect they deserve, and try to focus on the individuals’ actions instead of convicting the profession as a whole
“I will never shake the hand of an officer again,” and “I have stopped teaching my children to respect law enforcement”
I have always counseled my children to respect the police officers but in light of incidents like this one and many others like it, I have taken another approach. That is to simply follow instructions, say nothing that is not specifically asked or ask for a lawyer. Police have lost the respect of the communities they serve because they have no respect for the citizens they serve. My college aged son was arrested several years ago for what should have been disturbing the peace (I would have happily played golf on the course he picked up trash on as community service for being stupid in public). Somehow it escalated to felony charges costing me about 2,500 in attorney fees for charges that were later no-billed by the court with the judge issuing appologies to the kids involved and a rebuke to the officers. As my son was being arrested he overheard the sargent in charge say “if I have to come out in the rain, someone is going to jail…”
Seems as if this police officer is an Obama supporter.
I have two questions:
What race was the officer?
Is there any video?
Respect has to be earned. This punk-cop obviously isn’t worthy of respect.