A man was reported for loitering, “sticking his tongue out,” and wearing “ripped pants.”

He is now dead after officers with the Phoenix Police Department pinned him on hot asphalt for 6 minutes.

Let's talk about overcriminalization.

My latest @reason: https://reason.com/2020/09/02/phoenix-police-department-ramon-lopez-died-hot-asphalt

The current conversation around police reform largely hinges on excessive force. That's important.

But we also really need to focus on this country's obsession with criminalizing everything under the sun. Acting weird in a parking lot shouldn't merit a death sentence.

Bad laws have to be enforced. The more bad laws and silly rules you have, the more interactions you’re going to create between police and the public.

Those can needlessly escalate and can sometimes turn deadly.

Phoenix is a case study in this. Just this last May, a PPD officer shot a man in the back twice while responding to a noise complaint. https://reason.com/2020/08/05/brickbat-keep-it-quiet-2/

By all means, let’s talk about excessive force. Let’s talk about why we shouldn’t pin people down on asphalt that can reach 180 degrees.

But let’s also talk about the effects of bad laws, as well as our gut impulse to call armed agents of the state over the smallest nuisance.