It was a typical house party last Friday night. Approximately 40 college seniors, over the age of 21, gathered around a couple kegs and a flip-cup table in the back-yard. Inevitably, some party-goers hang outside on the front porch, and as you can expect, a South Bend Police duo drive up and park outside the house.

I was standing on the porch alongside a buddy, who is also 21 years old, when one of the officers walked up to the windows of the house, and tried to sneak a peak into the inside of the home. My friend then taps the officer on the elbow and said, “Excuse me officer, what are you doin--?” But before my friend finished his question, the officer spun around behind him, pulled his arms behind his back, and pushed him up against the house.

The cop’s partner comes running up yelling, “DON’T YOU EVER TOUCH A COP!” My friend gets handcuffed and then arrested for resisting arrest. He is then forced to blow into the breathalyzer and a .11 BAC also gets him a public intoxication charge and disturbing the peace (just for fun). They threaten him with a charge for battery against an officer, but decide to go easy on him in the end. He did nothing to actually resist this arrest and complied with their abuse with a smile. After a $200 fee for bail, he will have to fight this in court.

Shouldn’t abusing police authority be a crime in itself? Is there anything that can be done to fight this habitual injustice or are future Domers destined to be mistreated just the same?    I truly hope there isn't a college with police that continually abuse their authority worse than the South Bend Police Department.