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Sue them personally. Take their houses.

Pete and Pat are heroes

The cops are nowhere to be found near Broad & Walnut while a hate crime was being committed by a flash mob but they can arrest 2 guys on Main Street on a raft. Go figure.

considering how often you do see people in rafts or canoes getting around the only way they can during floods, even if this was just a joy ride, WHO CARES?

the didnt endenager anybody else, but the cops may of let somebody else die while dealing with these two…….

if you are gonna arrest these two thrill seekers, dont forget to set up at any bungee cord jumping places or sky diving landing zones.

Once a pig always a pig!

And since cops are arresting people for violating common sense, I have a list of people that work in City Hall that they can start with.

This is actually just two guys having some fun. Americans have become a deluge of wussies. Okay so maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do but they weren’t harming anyone but perhaps themselves. At least they weren’t cowering in their living rooms. They improvised, they adapted and they overcame. Too bad the cops didn’t use any common sense and realize that this is a false arrest and an abuse of power

Did these guys forget your boating inside the city? There are electrical lines that maybe broken in the water?

Was Noah an Idiot for being prepared to escape flooding with his ARC?

Ok Was Noah an idiot for being prepared with his Arc to escape flooding?

If they were charged with obstructing a highway as the news later reported after their release, then they certainly can’t be convicted because under the PA criminal statutes, a person can be convicted only if they “obstruct” a highway. And under the legal definition of “obstruct” the person must have rendered the highway “impassable” and being that they didn’t render the highway “impassable”, they can’t be convicted.

Let’s see flooded area, boat, few if any home, could be an easy target for looters.
Typically once you leave, your not allowed back until it’s clear.
Bottom line they had no “official” business being there.
No one ever gets in over their heads and needs help until, they do!

You would think the police would have better things to do with the flooding and everything else going on then to arrest two guys trying to make the best of something that is very depressing to alot of people. Well all I can say is good for common sense for the police again in there line of duty.

Maybe the polce should have looked the other way when they first noticed those idiots….they definitely should have ignored them had they become stranded or whatever. Anyone who is stupid enough to ignore the warnings that have been broadcast practically non-stop for two days should be permitted to suffer the consequences of their actions.

If 2 guys want to take their boat down main st. I say let them! The police should warn everyone though that, (like in Atlantic City) if you need help while areas are flooded, don’t expect help for a long time. America is WAY too safety obsessed, and while emergency notifications are important, if people want to disregard it, let them do it at their own risk.

Nothing new here. The Philadelphia cops need to be taught once and for all that they enforce the law that is, not the law the way they would LIKE IT TO BE. ANd they wonder why the public largely regards them as a bunch of criminals with badges.

Maybe they should arrest the reporter for walking there too!! I swear, it’s like we don’t even live in the US anymore!

There is a state of emergency and they chose to disregard it. If something were to happen to them, Emergency responders would have to put their own lives at risk in order to try to save those two men who thought they were being funny. That’s recklessly endangering the lives of those volunteers and anyone else who might really need the help of those rescuers.

I didn’t know lack of common sense was illegal. If that is the case, shouldn’t they arrest all of us at one point in our lives. Don’t we all experience that.. Seems like the cops are the ones lacking since there are real criminals out there and this is the best they can do. SERIOUSLY!!

Even if it doesn’t stick, the arrest itself can be damaging. Some jobs or certifications can ask if you’ve ever been arrested at all (even if not charged or convicted).

The police are the ones lacking common sense here. They really need to think twice before stepping on personal freedom too much — even the freedom to be stupid. They work for us.

We cannot let ourselves end up in a nanny state or police state. I have no problem with them yelling at these guys and telling them they could get sick from bacterial contamination in the waters and if they get into a bind, in stretching rescue resources. But, arresting? Come on!

Please keep thinking about what kind of country you want us to become, people.

what a joke. Go find some real crooks “tough guys”. Hell, lack of common sense? The world is full of people with no common sense but now to arrest them. Sounds like the boaters hav a case against the cops in my legal opinion.

If lack of common sense was a valid reason to arrest someone, 90% of Philadelphia would be in prison.

Once again the media should be arrested! they cry wolf for every storm! next time people may die because no one will trust these idiots!

Its uncalled for. They were just having fun and were not in a dangerous area although they should have had life vests.. If they are going to arrest those two, i think it is only fair to arrest anyone that is also walking or driving.. And they just showed a furniture truck moving police baracades so he could continue to drive! He should definatly get arrested! Its wrong. He should have gotton it out like everyone else had the opportunity. Why is he special?

The prisons are overflowing with idiots.

sky diving or bungee cord jumping is dangerous too……

and these guys were on main st, not a river.

but lets say it did go bad, which with no lifejackets was very possible, inobody to blame but themselves……

Move, clown.

“those guys didn’t get arrested, they would have likely been pulled into the current.” ??? People risk death and injury skiing, sky diving, racing cars, mountain climbing, Kayaking canoeing and rafting, scuba diving, surfing, bungee-jumping, shopping ‘door buster sales’, and speaking out against Unions. It’s not the State’s job to protect us from our selfs, unless, maybe, in the case of mental incompetence.

My kind of guys. Nothing like having a set of baaaallls. To funny.

There is always some complacent, sycophantic idiot like you to see it “their way”—that’s why we (and you) are losing our rights.

We were just having fun. No alchohol was involved. There was no danger we were in a foot of water.

A Cat 1 hurricane is nothing! In Louisiana that’s how people get around flooded areas and the cops don’t arrest anyone.

Well, I guess I better stop going downtown. I might get kidnapped and cause the cops to pull resources to go rescue me.And on and on and on…

Did you write that while under your bed in your vulgarities of life tamper proof room?

Common sense tells me justthefacts’ comment has to be dripping with sarcasm; it has to be. No body with any kind of common sense would ever write something like this and really mean it. To really mean this as written would take something other than common sense.

Taking the police officer off the streets in a distaster to book these kids seems like ofuscation of duty. The officer should be dismissed for derliction of duty.. Failing to remain in the weather and protect & serve? and sit in comforatable climate controlled station seems like a “cop out” Vote Rhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk5sBR6Hra0andy Franck President of USA . find me at randysworldrtv on youtube

They were on Main Street! Where were they going to ‘drift off’ to? The hardware store? You whimp. Get serious.

Still not against the law

Bravo Sierra. The Gestapo wannabes had no legal standing, and no right to handcuff people who were not violating any law and who had not posed any threat of violence. The piggys apparently had already closed down ALL the crack houses, meth labs, stolen car rings and overpriced donut shops, so they had time to go after the really BIG criminals – the rafters!!
They should go back to sitting in their patrol cars with their thumbs up one another’s hineys.

I kind of agree here. The charge was wrong. It should – as I stated above – be risking a catastrophe.
I spent much of my younger years as a firefighter. I know how quickly this kind of thing can turn into a “situation”. It may look like a foot of nice calm water, but go around the corner, and a couple of blocked storm drains, or a clogged culvert and you’ve got ten feet of snag-filled river torrent to contend with.
Ask the three people who died here in Pittsburgh last week because they got caught in a foot or so of flood water.
Stupidity should be its own reward.

Do you even know how to spell fun? I just turned 42 and I hope I don’t live to be as lame as you.

that same faulty logic could be extended into ANY realm.

The police could arrest you if you don’t own a fire extinguisher and have it in your kitchen, another in the garage, and one in each car.
The police could arrest you for simply driving your car during a rain storm, because there exists a possibility of driving into a flooded street adn needing rescue, placing rescue officials at risk.
The police could arrest a habitual cell phone user for ignorning the common sense avoidance of brain cancer caused by excessive phone use.
What about the fat man at a buffet? WHy not arrest him because “common sense” says that he’s overweight and does not need to eat too much, so he should instead order a salad.
How about your retirement funds? If you are not EXACTLY following a plan set out by a professional financial planner, you are not folllowing SOMEONE’s idea of “common sense” and should be arrested for endangering society–since we may have to support you at some point.
Don’t have life insurance? Arrest that man!
Don’t have health insurance? Arrest that man!

Folks like you are ALWAYS willing to give the authorities the benefit of the doubt without EVER thinking of the long term consequences of giving unchecked authority to the government.

Cat 1 then once it reached land it was a topical storm. Let’s hope a Cat 5 storm like Camille(MS), Hugo(NC), Andrew(FL), Katrina(LA & MS) or Rita(TX) never hits the upper east coast then you’d know what kind of damage a real hurricane can do

And the taxpayers get to pay for the wrongful death claim by the families because the cops did nothing, assuming it went bad. Riiiiiiight. Don’t you have to sign a waiver to do bungee cord jumping? Just asking.

What statute or ordinance would you arrest them under? They violated no laws.

Morgan, don’t force your scared of everythingway of living on the rest of us. People do all sorts of things that others think are risky or not good .. laws are not out there to prohibit them based on your opinions. You sound like a little old lady .. leave me alone I decide on what I think is fun .. wimp

Morgan, can you tell me what this means as you say Bye Bye to your premise?

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

Also, there is this little tidbit -

“or the right of the people peaceably to assemble”

You call for arrest based on risk? YOU took a heck of risk of looking quite foolish, and you succeeded, Should you be arrested?

How exactly is it “getting caught” when they were doing nothing but going about their way in the public right of way?

How about 2 – Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Idiot. the framers of the constitution clearly stated that the rights enumerated did not mean that any rights not mentioned were not included.

Here, moron, read this: “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” 9th Amendment.

our entire juris prudence system is set up to keep a police state from making up laws and perceived violations in an ad hoc manner.

The rights that were violated are those recognized in the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search & seizure (which applies not only to property, but also to people), and the Fifth Amendment right to Due Process Under the Law. There can be no Due Process when one is arrested for a crime that doesn’t exist.

“SEARCH AND SEIZURE
FOURTH AMENDMENT
The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated; and no Warrants shall issue but
upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons
or things to be seized.”

Thanks for playing.

Uhh…that would be the right to not be arrested unless you have committed a CRIME!
The 4th 6th 13th 14th and possibly 5th amendment to the US constitution. Also probably similar violations of the PA state constitution and likely the state laws on arrest as recited in the state’s criminal procedure code. And, if there is indeed a law in PA about not having common sense, these officers are in violation and probably should talk with the department’s legal counsel as they will likely get sued over this.

Look you stupid ass if you want to kiss the police’s ass and be a slave of the government go ahead. But we the people are not a jack like you.

Which Constitutional right? The Fourth Amendment, Morgan.
“The right of the people to be secure IN THEIR PERSONS, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches AND SEIZURES, shall not be violated…”

Unlawful arrest is an unreasonable seizure of one’s person.

Well Harlan, if you’re going to insist on nit-picking, they were not technically operating a vehicle ON the public roads. They were several feet ABOVE the road.

The right to pursue happiness.

How about illegal search and seizure?? Where was the probable cause?? What happened to the boat(impounded more than likely) that means illegal seizure.

How about the right of liberty. Risking a catastrohpe? What exactly is that? Under your argument every outdoor activity would be illegal. Lets take hiking. If a hiker falls and breaks a leg, the rescue personnel risks being attacked by a bear, bitten by a snake or chewed by an aligator. Maybe they fall and break their own leg. Its even possible for a rescuer to get being bitten by rattlesnakes while crawling out from under a tree that was felled by lightening while trying to run away from an attacking bear.Here the hiker clearly placed the rescuer in danger. The hiker should be arrested.

LES – don’t laugh! I was once trapped in a revolving door, for almost 36 hours
! If the brave police had not been at the nearby donut shop and seen my plight, I might have died there! Fortunately, they shot out the glass and then told me to continue walking in the direction in which I entered, and the door turned like magic. I was free!
Although the same cops DID handcuff me when I insisted on riding an escalator in the department store next door; they said, that IF the power had gone out, I could have lost balance and fallen down the escalator steps, requiring precious hours of police labor and risking the lives of rescue workers! I certainly see their point!!!

my thought exactly. When was the ordinance passed that said “The police shall be able to arrest any citizen who is not using ‘common sense’, left open to the discression of the arresting officer”

skateboarding without a helmet: not common sense?
riding a bike that is not properly equipped with reflectors and safety gear: not common sense?
how about not bringing homework home to keep grades up: an arrestable offense?
i’ve heard of idiots who buy coffee at McDonalds and get burned while trying to drink it while driving–previously they won lawsuits but I say they weren’t using common sense, so should they have been arrested?

We have the right to act like idiots, we don’t need the Nanny State telling us to use common sense or risk a jail sentence

LOL!

saved? they were doing just fine, the cops are the ones wasting tax payer dollars along with any system that has non violent drug offenders in it…

BS. The coips were abusing authority. Period.

It may not be bright, but stupid isn’t a preclusion from being able to do something in the USA. At least it wasn’t until the Children of Marx got in power.

This isn’t 1768 we don’t do that anymore idiot.

“Saved” lol you’re an idiot.

Nothing I saw indicates that the two were by any means acting “disorderly” while they were transiting an obviously navigable waterway (I doubt they were even touching the street) in an appropriate vessel, so I don’t see where the PD had any right to intervene whatsoever. Since the vessel was under 12 feet in length, they are not even require to have life preservers onboard nor registration. Too bad they ddn’t make it to Key West.

Taking them into custody is the real lack of common sense here (and the costly mistake) when a simple warning would have sufficed.

You are an idiot. They were not on the street, they were on the water. And last time I checked, “Disorderly Conduct” did not include paddling a raft. Please do us all a favor and do not have children.

Spoken like a true pig.

Sorry Harlan, I don’t care much for crazy uncle Ron Paul. So much for lumping us all together huh?

Seriously, what are they doing that is against the law?
A little flood and everyone goes nuts!

What is the disorderly conduct that they were doing? How were they in danger and needing to be saved?

Back to your Nanny State Harlan.

This was and issue for the Coast Guard.

LOL.

They weren’t on the street, they were floating far above the street. Semantics, sure, but there is no need for registration of an inflatable personal boat any more than there would be for a non-motorized bicycle. No need for licenses and insurance either. Disorderly conduct would be laughable.

Hey Harlan, you’re living in the wrong country. China, Russia, or North Korean would suit you better as there is not much liberty there.

What part of their vehicle was on a public street? Get a life!

Will you sue for false arrest ?

Rock on man. You did nothing wrong, expcept showing self reliance. Something the nanny state cannot have.

PETE — It looked like fun and was very amusing to see your raft floating by a guy in ankle deep water, LOL!

The police obviously didn’t have enough real work to do. They probably got all amped up expecting chaos and pandemonium and when the worst they found was two guys entertaining themselves in a raft, they lost THEIR OWN common sense and decided they needed SOMEONE to arrest!

You couldn’t be more correct. We have police, state troopers, transit police, park police, parking police, airport police to go along with the idiots at the TSA, to name just a few law enforcement agencies. There are far too many people walking around with guns and handcuffs on power trips. And make no mistake, even the best of them thrive on intimidation and having power over others.

We are edging closer and closer to a not-so-polite police state.

Actually, they have a legal basis to shut down a lemonade stand if the proprietor does not have a license. This was overboard and I am a cop!

agreed 100 percent,

i wonder if we could arrest are elected officials on this.

The reproter should be arrested J walking

Kip Noxzema that is the best post I have seen all day from anywhere I have been online !! ^5 for sure. I laughed so hard ! Would love my friends to see your post!!

How about the convoy of military vehicles that Obamanation sent out & they all ended up udner water? These guys on the raft did show common sense. Even if they hadn’t it isnh’t illegal to not use common sense. If so, we would have Obama and his administration all in ajil.

We are racing towards civil war. Are YOU ready?