The police misconduct thread

[slurper_la]

http://www.bravenewfilms.org/filmth...p_other2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=bravenew

 

[AlteredEgo]

I'm tired of learning about cops throwing flash bang grenades into private homes where they might (and have) maimed toddlers and seniors. Leave grenades to the military. No more police state!

 

[Matt_x]

I'm tired of learning about cops throwing flash bang grenades into private homes where they might (and have) maimed toddlers and seniors. Leave grenades to the military. No more police state!

..but those are useful in hostage situations. Home invasions.

 

[AlteredEgo]

..but those are useful in hostage situations. Home invasions.

Hostage situations require SWAT. Warrant service should have SWAT on standby if needed, but they should not be leading the way. They broke this old man's hip. They blew a baby's face off earlier this year (or late last year-- who can keep track). I'm just sick of it. No more police state.

 

[5104]

Hostage situations require SWAT. Warrant service should have SWAT on standby if needed, but they should not be leading the way. They broke this old man's hip. They blew a baby's face off earlier this year (or late last year-- who can keep track). I'm just sick of it. No more police state.

Yes, suspects, targets, etc. should always be given the opportunity to comply peacefully with warrants, whatever. . .

Waco proceeded from just such a failure and eagerness on the part of the FEDS to stage an impressive raid.

 

[AlteredEgo]

Yes, suspects, targets, etc. should always be given the opportunity to comply peacefully with warrants, whatever. . .

Waco proceeded from just such a failure and eagerness on the part of the FEDS to stage an impressive raid.

Yeah. I remember when a no-knock warrant seemingly had much higher standards to meet before a judge would give the okay.

 

[slurper_la]

Trooper Who Did Not Report Duggar Abuse Listed 'Kinki Kids' As Online Interest
Trooper Who Did Not Report Duggar Abuse Listed 'Kinki Kids' As Online Interest

 

[slurper_la]

Court Releases Photo Of Chicago Cops Posing With Black Suspect Like A Hunting Trophy
Court Releases Photo Of Chicago Cops Posing With Black Suspect Like A Hunting Trophy

 

[Fuzzy_]

Court Releases Photo Of Chicago Cops Posing With Black Suspect Like A Hunting Trophy
Court Releases Photo Of Chicago Cops Posing With Black Suspect Like A Hunting Trophy

This is shameful. It perpetuates the widely-held public view that guys become police officers so that they can hunt down and shoot black people.

 

[Klingsor]

Yesterday my ex-wife told me about an occurrence three weeks ago in Chattanooga. Late at night one of my nephews was falling-down drunk and in an argument with his girlfriend when she dropped him off at his house. A neighbor complained about a disturbance, and a while later police cars came blaring up. They found my nephew sitting alone on his back porch, and arrested him for no apparent reason.

The young man was so far gone, he became belligerent. His father arrived on the scene and got them to take him to the hospital rather than jail. Once there, though, two police took him to an isolation room to "sedate" him, only to end up beating him to a pulp. They claimed he was going for their guns--what they always say in such circumstances. Now he faces possible permanent neurological damage and further charges.

I think the family should counter sue. My nephew does have a drinking problem, not the least of which is becoming so out of control when inebriated. But even someone acting young and stupid shouldn't suffer such an extreme response. And even if there's little in the way of witnesses or video to challenge the cops' version of events, maybe the current heightened public awareness of police misconduct will help a counter suit pressure the legal system to drop the charges.

And for those who may wonder, my family is as white as can be. You're even more likely to be targeted if you're black, but we're all a little less safe when power is abused.

 

[slurper_la]

Yesterday my ex-wife told me about an occurrence three weeks ago in Chattanooga. Late at night one of my nephews was falling-down drunk and in an argument with his girlfriend when she dropped him off at his house. A neighbor complained about a disturbance, and a while later police cars came blaring up. They found my nephew sitting alone on his back porch, and arrested him for no apparent reason.

The young man was so far gone, he became belligerent. His father arrived on the scene and got them to take him to the hospital rather than jail. Once there, though, two police took him to an isolation room to "sedate" him, only to end up beating him to a pulp. They claimed he was going for their guns--what they always say in such circumstances. Now he faces possible permanent neurological damage and further charges.

I think the family should counter sue. My nephew does have a drinking problem, not the least of which is becoming so out of control when inebriated. But even someone acting young and stupid shouldn't suffer such an extreme response. And even if there's little in the way of witnesses or video to challenge the cops' version of events, maybe the current heightened public awareness of police misconduct will help a counter suit pressure the legal system to drop the charges.

And for those who may wonder, my family is as white as can be. You're even more likely to be targeted if you're black, but we're all a little less safe when power is abused.

That's just horrible man. I'm sorry your family is going through this.

 

[Calboner]

I would throw this case at the thick skulls of those who say that police misconduct is just a matter of a few bad actors, rather than a pervasive problem in how police forces operate, were it not that I know from observation of them in this thread alone that no amount of counterevidence can make them stop asserting that falsehood.

A Florida Police Killing Like Many, Disputed and Little Noticed (Frances Robles, New York Times, May 30, 2015)

OAKLAND PARK, Fla. — The witnesses who saw a Broward County deputy sheriff kill a man who had strolled through his apartment complex with an unloaded air rifle propped on his shoulders agreed: Just before he was gunned down, Jermaine McBean had ignored the officers who stood behind him shouting for him to drop his weapon.

Nothing, the officer swore under oath, prevented Mr. McBean from hearing the screaming officers.
Newly obtained photographic evidence in the July 2013 shooting of Mr. McBean, a 33-year-old computer-networking engineer, shows that contrary to repeated assertions by the Broward Sheriff’s Office, he was wearing earbuds when he was shot, suggesting that he was listening to music and did not hear the officers. The earphones somehow wound up in the dead man’s pocket, records show.

A federal wrongful death lawsuit filed May 11 accused the Broward Sheriff’s Office of tampering with evidence and obstructing justice. The suit alleges that the deputy who shot Mr. McBean perjured himself and that the department covered it up by giving him a bravery award shortly after the killing, while the shooting was still under investigation. . . .

In South Florida’s Broward County, no officer has been charged in a fatal on-duty police shooting since 1980, a period that covers 168 shooting deaths.

“The court never goes against the police,” said Rajendra Ramsahai, whose brother-in-law, Deosaran Maharaj, was killed by a Broward County deputy last year. “They are always ruling in the officer’s favor.”

In civil wrongful death cases throughout South Florida, lawyers discovered that files were missing, that dashboard camera videos had been erased and that police department accounts sometimes did not match the evidence. Cases like Mr. McBean’s underscore how law enforcement agencies that handle their own shooting investigations can be exposed to criticism years after the crime-scene tape has been taken down and the television cameras are gone.​

And here is another part of the story to consider:

Among the witnesses whom prosecutors interviewed last week was Michael R. McCarthy, who called 911 that July afternoon to report a black man walking down a busy North Dixie Highway with what appeared to be a rifle.

“In my view, they shot this guy for no reason,” Mr. McCarthy said, holding back tears. “I think about him all the time. To this moment, I think I brought this guy to his death.”​

Of this you can be sure, that Mr. McCarthy, who merely called the police, has felt more remorse for his part in this event than the police officer who did the killing will ever feel. Or consider this case:

“Your Son’s Life was Only Worth $100K” Cop uses Facebook, Taunts Family of Unarmed Man He Killed (Jay Syrmopoulos, The Freethought Project, May 30, 2015)

Salt Lake City, Utah – In a sickening move, the purported Facebook account of the cop who shot and killed Joey Tucker six years ago posted comments demeaning the life of the man he killed.

The damning comments, posted to a Facebook page set up by Tucker’s family to memorialize their son’s life, belittled the family of the dead man, taunting that his life was only worth $100,000; the amount of the settlement the family apparently received in a lawsuit related to Tucker’s killing.

Tucker was gunned down by Salt Lake City police officer Louis “Law” Abner Jones, after he failed to pull over for the officer in what began as a non-emergency assistance call.​

 

[slurper_la]

http://laist.com/2015/05/31/feras_morad_shooting.php

 

[Calboner]

http://laist.com/2015/05/31/feras_morad_shooting.php

The article says that the victim had "dreams of becoming a lawyer for victims of police brutality." I wonder how many cops will consider his killing a twofer.

 

[slurper_la]

The article says that the victim had "dreams of becoming a lawyer for victims of police brutality." I wonder how many cops will consider his killing a twofer.

I wondered similarly if he had been actively vocal around campus, stirring up resentment among the LBPD, which made him a target. Time will tell as the story unfolds.

 

[slurper_la]

Prosecutor: Judge Makes Errors In Acquitting Ohio Officer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/31/judge-cleveland-police_n_7479234.html

 

[deleted15807]

In civil wrongful death cases throughout South Florida, lawyers discovered that files were missing, that dashboard camera videos had been erased and that police department accounts sometimes did not match the evidence. Cases like Mr. McBean’s underscore how law enforcement agencies that handle their own shooting investigations can be exposed to criticism years after the crime-scene tape has been taken down and the television cameras are gone.http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/u...-noticed.html?smid=nytnow-share&smprod=nytnow
A Florida Police Killing Like Many, Disputed and Little Noticed

 

[slurper_la]

How Manspreading Arrests Highlight What's 'F**ked Up' About Broken Windows Policing
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/28/manspreading-arrest-broken-windows-policing_n_7462944.html

 

[slurper_la]

U.S. Police Have Shot Dead 385 People In Five Months: REPORT
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/31/police-fatal-shootings-20_n_7477658.html

 

[slurper_la]

Oklahoma Man Shot, Killed By Police After Fight Over Rescue
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/30/troopers-kill-oklahoma-ma_n_7476790.html