The police misconduct thread

[Klingsor]

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

Thanks, I appreciate the thought.

 

[AlteredEgo]

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.

Is your nephew poor? I've always felt that while race is a huge factor in these situations, socio-economic class factors in as well. Either way, I'm sorry to hear about your family's struggle. That's just as dreadful a tale as many I've read.

 

[slurper_la]

St. Louis Police Turn Stun Guns On Non-Violent Protesters Near Busch Stadium
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/01/st-louis-police-stun-guns_n_7488302.html

 

[slurper_la]

Pregnant Mom Charlena Cooks Screams 'Please Stop' As Cops Wrestle Her To The Ground (WATCH)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/28/charlena-michelle-cooks_n_7461894.html

 

[Fuzzy_]

Pregnant Mom Charlena Cooks Screams 'Please Stop' As Cops Wrestle Her To The Ground (WATCH)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/28/charlena-michelle-cooks_n_7461894.html

This is why people run from police officers.

 

[Calboner]

Police crush, kill man begging for his life, screaming he was suffocating until his ears turned blue (The Daily Kos, June 2, 2015)

The coroner's report said video from the store and from police car dashcams showed that at least three or four officers remained wholly or partly on top of Minjarez after his hands and legs were cuffed. His upper body was on the street, and his hips and legs were on the sidewalk, the report said.

For about five minutes, the report said, Minjarez is heard on dashcam audio screaming, "Help! Help! Help me! Get off! You're going to kill me!" The report also quotes him as saying "You're going to suffocate..." and "I can't breathe" three times. He cried and screamed, his voice becoming "increasingly muffled, hoarse and strained" while repeating "I can't breathe," the report added.

About five minutes after he was restrained, the report said, Minjarez groaned and gurgled, and an officer said, "You got 265 pounds on your back, you're not going anywhere." The suspect groaned "and no more sounds are heard from him," the report said.​

William Chapman: unarmed 18-year-old shot dead by officer who killed before (The Guardian, June 1, 2015)

An unarmed black 18-year-old accused of shoplifting was killed by a police officer in Virginia who had been barred from patrolling city streets for almost three years after fatally shooting another unarmed man.

William Chapman was shot dead by Stephen Rankin, a white Portsmouth police officer, during a struggle in a Walmart parking lot. Rankin, 35, a US navy veteran trained in martial arts, was once disciplined for posting violent remarks and Nazi images online. . . .

Chiefs only allowed Rankin to return to frontline policing in March last year, almost three years after he killed an unarmed 26-year-old Kazakh immigrant in February 2011. Rankin was later found to have insulted the man and his family in other online postings.

A sergeant in the department at the time told the Guardian that senior commanders were formally warned by one of Rankin’s supervisors weeks before his first fatal shooting that he was “dangerous” and likely to cause someone harm.​

 

[Calboner]

Well, it's a start--that is to say, a remedy to a circumstance that is a fucking scandal:

US senators call for mandatory reporting of police killings (The Guardian, 2 June 2015)

A plan to force all American law enforcement agencies to report killings by their officers was unveiled by US senators on Tuesday, a day after the Guardian published an investigation into the fatal use of force by police.

Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey proposed legislation that would demand all states submit reports to the US Department of Justice that they said would bring “transparency and accountability to law enforcement agencies nationwide”.

“Too many members of the public and police officers are being killed, and we don’t have reliable statistics to track these tragic incidents,” Boxer said in a statement. “This bill will ensure that we know the full extent of the problem so we can save lives on all sides.”​

 

[slurper_la]

25 Numbers That Show Police Killings Are A Bigger Problem Than We Ever Knew
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/01/police-killings-numbers_n_7486476.html

 

[slurper_la]

Ex-Denver Sheriff Department Employee Says He Refused To Destroy Tape Showing Alleged Inmate Abuse
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/01/denver-sheriffs-destroy-tape_n_7486946.html

 

[Fuzzy_]

Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey proposed legislation that would demand all states submit reports to the US Department of Justice that they said would bring “transparency and accountability to law enforcement agencies nationwide”.

Hmmm. What good is this when PDs destroy evidence?

Ex-Denver Sheriff Department Employee Says He Refused To Destroy Tape Showing Alleged Inmate Abuse
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/01/denver-sheriffs-destroy-tape_n_7486946.html

An adversarial relationship between PDs and the federal government may be brewing... which may be a good thing.

 

[Calboner]

I usually don't watch these videos. Watching this one made me want to see that cop hanged for murder. Of course, he was never even charged with a crime.

Shocking new video shows unarmed Utah man was listening to headphones when killed by police
(Daily Kos, June 3, 2015)

On August 11, 2014, Dillon Taylor walked out of a local Salt Lake City, Utah, convenience store minding his own business. He wasn't armed. He wasn't committing a crime. He was listening to music on his headphones, probably in his own world.

Just two days after Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed an unarmed Mike Brown in Ferguson, Taylor would soon face a similar fate at the hands of a local officer. And on October 1, the district attorney in Salt Lake City, Sim Gill, ruled that the killing of 20-year-old Taylor was justified. Even in his determination, though, he stated that "Taylor's shooting was justified not because he posed an actual threat, but because (Officer) Cruz reasonably perceived a threat."

Now that the full video has been released, it's disturbingly clear that nothing about this police shooting was justified. Nothing at all.

At 0:17, Officer Bron Cruz gets out of his vehicle. You will notice people confused by his presence.

At 0:22, Officer Cruz walks past two men who were friends with Dillon Taylor.

At 0:24, Officer Cruz walks behind Taylor, who has on a white T-shirt and is listening to music.

At 0:33, we see the officer has his gun drawn and is yelling at Taylor, who's holding his sagging pants up and does not appear to hear Cruz.

At 0:36, the officer shoots Taylor. It would be fatal.

Starting at 0:41, you will notice the headphone cord coming out of Taylor's pocket.

At 0:48, you will see that the headphones were clearly going up to Taylor's ears.

At 0:52, the officer asks Dillon to "give me your hands," but Taylor is already near death. His friends begin screaming and crying in the background.

At 1:03, the officer handcuffs Taylor.

At 1:48, the officer turns Taylor over, the headphones are visible, and the officer states "it's clear"—meaning that Taylor was actually unarmed.

At 2:54, the officer turns Taylor completely over, keeping him handcuffed, and begins talking to him and trying to get him to talk. Taylor appears nearly dead and is completely covered in blood.

At 4:56, the officer is rummaging through Taylor's pockets instead of providing any first aid.​

 

[Fuzzy_]

I usually don't watch these videos. Watching this one made me want to see that cop hanged for murder. Of course, he was never even charged with a crime.

Shocking new video shows unarmed Utah man was listening to headphones when killed by police
(Daily Kos, June 3, 2015)

At 3:10, the officer says, "Talk to me, buddy." Uh... he can't talk to you, you kinda shot him in the head for no reason, and he's hardly your 'buddy'.

How is going around killing innocent, law-abiding civilians not murder? There is far too much focus on mens rea than actus reus in these judicial decisions. Any LEO can say that they felt threatened to murder with impunity, or even threaten to murder (see the image below).

The thin blue line no longer exists. The professional model of policing created a narrower job description, militarization, arrogance, and a psychological distance between officers and the community. The resulting misconduct is bolstered by prosecutorial immunity.

 

[slurper_la]

Absolutelyy disgusting! We are inching closer and closer to a revolution in this country.

 

[b.c.]

Well, it's a start--that is to say, a remedy to a circumstance that is a fucking scandal:

US senators call for mandatory reporting of police killings (The Guardian, 2 June 2015)

A plan to force all American law enforcement agencies to report killings by their officers was unveiled by US senators on Tuesday, a day after the Guardian published an investigation into the fatal use of force by police.

Senators Barbara Boxer of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey proposed legislation that would demand all states submit reports to the US Department of Justice that they said would bring “transparency and accountability to law enforcement agencies nationwide”.

“Too many members of the public and police officers are being killed, and we don’t have reliable statistics to track these tragic incidents,” Boxer said in a statement. “This bill will ensure that we know the full extent of the problem so we can save lives on all sides.”
​

Hmmm. What good is this when PDs destroy evidence?

An adversarial relationship between PDs and the federal government may be brewing... which may be a good thing.

"May be brewing" and "it's a start" being the operational words in the above.

It should not be lost on us, I think, that all of this is transpiring under the watch of not only state and local would-be representatives (some of whom are black) of "the people", but also under the watch of past and present members of Congress, a black Attorney General, and President of the United States.

And while there have been efforts to address these incidents and the overall issue of how various communitys' law enforcement interacts with members of each community (the Department of Justice's monitoring of some two dozen cities for example), I personally come away with the sense that not enough has been done to address these concerns, and that the incidents of misconduct and questionable police actions are NOT being condemned by our elected representatives (INCLUDING the President) vociferously enough... not HARDLY.

I think the story of these kinds of incidents will also become a part whatever legacy ultimately falls to each these elected individuals - how they each responded to these various atrocities, as well as how they failed to.

About TIME some of them come to that realization.

 

[ConanTheBarber]

Walking while black.
I typed out a longer post but I was afraid it sounded silly.
But I'm really worried about the United States.
Maybe it's just the 24-hour news cycle -- but the country, from my perch, seems more and more like a circle of Dante's Hell.
It seems like the trajectory is downward and no one thinks they can fight it.

 

[Boobalaa]

San Jose: Officer cleared in fatal South San Jose shooting of woman holding drill

 

[Calboner]

San Jose: Officer cleared in fatal South San Jose shooting of woman holding drill

This one actually looks like a case of "suicide by cop."

On the morning of the shooting, Diana Showman called 911 and reportedly told emergency dispatchers she had an Uzi and was going to shoot her mother and brother, who she said were locked in a bedroom. Police later learned no one else was home at the time.

According to police and witnesses, Showman exited her home just before 11 a.m. with an item in each hand. She soon dropped one of the items, later identified as the cellphone she used to call 911. But she kept the second item, later revealed to be a cordless drill painted black, in her right hand and walked slowly toward the officers, defying their orders to drop it, instead alternating between raising and lowering it. As she got near Okuma -- estimates range from 10 feet to as far as 30 feet -- the officer fired.​

 

[Boobalaa]

The young woman was on the phone 20 minutes with the dispatcher. Dispatchers tactics for getting as much info as possible while at the same time giving the inbound units a heads up before they arrive. The officer who fired the rifle was the first one on the scene. The officer was a veteran with 13 years in the force . Her report stated, everything happened so fast that she felt her CRT (crisis response training)) wouldn't come into play, in other words it wouldn't have mattered.
First of all, after 13 years on the force, the 'everything happened so fast" excuse is pretty much the cliche answer.
Secondly, ok, since the CRT training wouldn't have mattered, when DOES it matter? After all, what constitutes a crisis situation, and how fast do things have to happen before it doesn't matter?
Do this..walk thirty paces away from a mirror or someone else with a black cordless drill in your hand, turn and walk forward briskly waving it towards them or the mirror.
Thirdly, the young lady was schizophrenic. She had not taken her prescribed medication. Why? Gee wiz, let's see, maybe she didn't like the side effects, maybe the meds weren't working anyway so why should she take them? Maybe she forgot, who knows..
I hope the 911 call tape is released

 

[spoon]

The police also don't like what they think of as "throw away" people. Gay, transgender, alcoholics, drug abusers etc. My best friend OD. The people he was with dropped him off at home like: "Weekend at Bernies." Then a supposed friend that was staying with him emptied out his apartment---down to his parents ashes. Then went to his work and said he died.

I went to the Police station. I asked about the exact date. They couldn't find it in the computer. I told them he was in the morgue. I kept repeating it. I didn't say anything else but he's in the morgue. After about 15 minutes of this, an officer comes from the back saying "I found it" I was sitting on a bench in the lobby w/a detective facing me, and, about 10 cops in a semi circle behind him. I am 4' 9" and 150 lbs. No pocket book or anything on me. I don't know what they thought a very short and chubby 56 yr old was going to do to them.

One of the cops, and, an ambulance personnel said: What makes you think he died at home? Hence the comment about "Weekend at Bernies. His sister spent 2 hours w/a detective. He said to her as she was leaving: Don't call us, we'll call you. We have never heard from him. This all took place in March 2013. We had information for the police. They have done nothing.

With all the examples of what's been going on w/the police I've gotten to the point in which: I won't look at them, no pleasantries, I turn my back.

 

[AlteredEgo]

The police also don't like what they think of as "throw away" people. Gay, transgender, alcoholics, drug abusers etc. My best friend OD. The people he was with dropped him off at home like: "Weekend at Bernies." Then a supposed friend that was staying with him emptied out his apartment---down to his parents ashes. Then went to his work and said he died.

I went to the Police station. I asked about the exact date. They couldn't find it in the computer. I told them he was in the morgue. I kept repeating it. I didn't say anything else but he's in the morgue. After about 15 minutes of this, an officer comes from the back saying "I found it" I was sitting on a bench in the lobby w/a detective facing me, and, about 10 cops in a semi circle behind him. I am 4' 9" and 150 lbs. No pocket book or anything on me. I don't know what they thought a very short and chubby 56 yr old was going to do to them.

One of the cops, and, an ambulance personnel said: What makes you think he died at home? Hence the comment about "Weekend at Bernies. His sister spent 2 hours w/a detective. He said to her as she was leaving: Don't call us, we'll call you. We have never heard from him. This all took place in March 2013. We had information for the police. They have done nothing.

With all the examples of what's been going on w/the police I've gotten to the point in which: I won't look at them, no pleasantries, I turn my back.

Don't turn your back. They might put a bullet in it.