Cont: The behaviour of US police officers - part 2

[shemp]

Wheelchair-bound Tennessee woman, 60, slurs as she pleads with cops while being arrested for refusing to leave hospital - shortly before she died of STROKE in back of police cruiser

Horrific footage released by police shows a wheelchair-bound woman slurring and pleading with police as she is arrested for refusing to leave hospital, just moments before she died from a stroke in the back of a cop car.

Knoxville Police have released their body camera video of the harrowing incident which happened at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, in Tennessee, on February 6.

Lisa Edwards, 60, had been refusing to leave the hospital and was arrested on trespassing charges when she died in the back of the police cruiser – minutes after telling cops 'you're going to kill me'.

The footage shows Lisa being taken into custody, gasping and wheezing before she tells officers that she 'can't breathe'. Her skin becomes grayer, and her voice more slurred as the footage continues. The latter is a well-known symptom of a stroke.

Authorities released the hour and 16-minute video with a warning that some of the video may be distressing.

 

[smartcooky]

Wheelchair-bound Tennessee woman, 60, slurs as she pleads with cops while being arrested for refusing to leave hospital - shortly before she died of STROKE in back of police cruiser

Astonishing! No-one at the hospital recognized the obvious warning signs of a stroke? Really?

Well there's the beginnings of a medical malpractice suit right there!!!

 

[bluesjnr]

Astonishing! No-one at the hospital recognized the obvious warning signs of a stroke? Really?

Well there's the beginnings of a medical malpractice suit right there!!!

Agreed, this one is on the hospital who trespassed her in the first place.

 

[Planigale]

I think an example of what is wrong with US policing is in this BBC article.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64842272

Georgia police have filed terror charges against 23 protesters accused of attacking officers at an event against a planned police training site.

Police say the group left the larger protest to throw "large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks" at officers and construction equipment.

Hundreds of people attended a concert at the construction site on Sunday, and 35 were arrested amid violent clashes.

...

"The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm. Officers exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests," it added.

It indicates the mind set that the police have, that they have to exercise restraint to conduct arrests using non-lethal force. Non-lethal force should be the norm for arresting protestors. i would hope that the decision to use lethal force on protestors would only be taken at the highest level.

I am also concerned about the escalation in use of terrorism charges. In many states 'terrorism' statutes were brought in post 11/9 attacks in NY and wre not intended to deal with demonstrators, even violent ones, or rioters. I suspect that we will see an extension of terrorism use. The Oxford High school shooting was the first (and so far only) school shooting where a terrorism charge has been brought, but I think it will become more common.

 

[erlando]

Cops continuing to cost their cities enormous amounts in damages

Black family awarded $8 million after being detained, handcuffed by police

The cops involved have since been promoted.

 

[bruto]

Cops continuing to cost their cities enormous amounts in damages

Black family awarded $8 million after being detained, handcuffed by police

The cops involved have since been promoted.

I wonder if their department figures they deserve a promotion for their restraint in not murdering anyone, or whether they figure if promoted they'll have more opportunity to murder their next victims. Hard to figure how those folks think.

 

[Lplus]

I wonder if their department figures they deserve a promotion for their restraint in not murdering anyone, or whether they figure if promoted they'll have more opportunity to murder their next victims. Hard to figure how those folks think.

Maybe promoting them gets them off the streets.

 

[shemp]

Footage shows 5 Utah cops fire into BMW of man during traffic stop

Authorities released footage of five Utah cops yelling “gun” and firing a barrage of bullets into the BMW of a man who was pulled over and then refused most of the officers’ commands before shots rang out.

The bodycam video detailed the moment police officers in Farmington, a Salt Lake City suburb, shot and killed 25-year-old Chase Allan on March 1.

He refused to hand over his driver’s license and declined other police commands as he recited anti-governmental views, footage indicates.

Farmington Police Chief Eric Johnsen said officers only fired after Allan reached down to what the cops believed could be a holster or a gun.

But Johnsen, during a Wednesday press conference, also acknowledged the footage is not clear leading up to the shooting because the bodycams’ view of Allan’s hip holster is blocked by the car door and an officer leaning in to yank him out just as another cop warned of a gun.

tl/dr version: Guy gets stopped for having an "illegitimate license plate," refuses to cooperate, tries sovcit ********, cops think he reaches for gun, kill him. There was a gun in his car, not clear if he was reaching for it.

My view: The cops really didn't need to elevate it to this level, but the guy was a complete dumbass and mostly brought it upon himself. But being a complete dumbass shouldn't be a death sentence. Will be interested to see how this investigation ends up.

 

[jimbob]

I think an example of what is wrong with US policing is in this BBC article.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64842272



It indicates the mind set that the police have, that they have to exercise restraint to conduct arrests using non-lethal force. Non-lethal force should be the norm for arresting protestors. i would hope that the decision to use lethal force on protestors would only be taken at the highest level.

I am also concerned about the escalation in use of terrorism charges. In many states 'terrorism' statutes were brought in post 11/9 attacks in NY and wre not intended to deal with demonstrators, even violent ones, or rioters. I suspect that we will see an extension of terrorism use. The Oxford High school shooting was the first (and so far only) school shooting where a terrorism charge has been brought, but I think it will become more common.

Well said

 

[novaphile]

Well said

The sovereign citizen contagious toxic brain damage has made its way to Australia and New Zealand now too.

I'm completely gobsmacked that there are people, who are so breathtakingly stupid that they believe that they can become immune to the law by uttering magic words.

From what I can see on youtube (Police Cam Videos) US Police Officers are getting fed up with their ********.

A quote from a recent one:

"If the next words out of your mouth are anything except 'Here's my Driver's Licence Officer' I will pull you out of your vehicle and arrest you for obstructing a Police Officer in the performance of his duties."

 

[Aridas]

I may as well put this here.

Putting the "Few Bad Cop Apples" myth to bed - Systemic Police Bias is Real

The link serves as a bit of a round up for quite a few police departments. Starting with...

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department announced today that the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) and the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government (Louisville Metro) engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law. The Department also announced that it has entered into an agreement in principle with Louisville Metro and LMPD, which have committed to resolving the department’s findings through a court-enforceable consent decree with an independent monitor, rather than contested litigation.

Specifically, the Justice Department finds that LMPD:

Uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers;

Conducts searches based on invalid warrants;

Unlawfully executes search warrants without knocking and announcing;

Unlawfully stops, searches, detains, and arrests people during street enforcement activities, including traffic and pedestrian stops;

Unlawfully discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities;

Violates the rights of people engaged in protected free speech critical of policing; and

Along with Louisville Metro, discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to them in crisis.

 

[Suddenly]

I may as well put this here.

Putting the "Few Bad Cop Apples" myth to bed - Systemic Police Bias is Real

The link serves as a bit of a round up for quite a few police departments. Starting with...

If you don't get the rotten apples out of the barrel the whole barrel will go bad. There isn't a better metaphor for policing.

It's wild that people use the "bad apples" phrasing in defense of policing as a whole.

 

[jimbob]

If you don't get the rotten apples out of the barrel the whole barrel will go bad. There isn't a better metaphor for policing.

It's wild that people use the "bad apples" phrasing in defense of policing as a whole.

Indeed and it is the barrel and not just the appels within the barrel, as the mould spores go into the wood.

 

[pgwenthold]

If you don't get the rotten apples out of the barrel the whole barrel will go bad. There isn't a better metaphor for policing.

It's wild that people use the "bad apples" phrasing in defense of policing as a whole.

I blame Donny Osmond and the Osmond Brothers.

 

[Lplus]

Indeed and it is the barrel and not just the appels within the barrel, as the mould spores go into the wood.

Ok, but in the context you are using this analogy, what do you consider to be the barrel?

eg, the police as an organisation? the idea of law enforcement itself? the law itself? society?

And for whichever you choose, what is your suggested remedy?

 

[shemp]

A Louisville police officer let his dog attack a 14-year-old Black child who was not resisting. As the dog 'gnawed' on the child's arm, the officer said 'stop fighting my dog,' DOJ said in bombshell report

A Louisville Metro Police officer unleashed his police dog on a 14-year-old Black boy who was spotted lying on the ground, leading to severe injuries and hospitalization, according to a report published on Wednesday by the Department of Justice.

The findings are part of the DOJ's broader two-year investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department and the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government that was launched after Breonna Taylor was killed during a raid by seven officers in March 2020.

The police dog incident occurred during a search for a home invasion suspect, according to the DOJ, which reviewed a video of the encounter. The date of the incident and the name of the officer were not disclosed.

"The officer was leading his dog to search for a person suspected of a home invasion. After searching for several minutes, the officer saw the teenager lying on the ground, face down in the grass," the Justice Department wrote in its report. "Immediately after noticing the teen, the officer deployed his dog off-leash — without giving any warning — and ordered the dog to bite the teen at least seven times."

During the encounter, the teen remained prone and pleaded, "OK! OkK Help! Get the dog, please!" the report stated, as officers continued to stand over him and shout orders for about 30 seconds "while the dog gnawed on his arm."

"At one point, an officer shouted, 'Stop fighting my dog!' despite video showing the teen lying still with one arm behind his back and the other arm in the dog's mouth," according to the report.

The teen suffered severe injuries on his arm and back and was admitted to a children's hospital.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Please. Every racists knows that 14 year old black children are already fully adult thugs and can kill an innocent white person 3,387 different ways from the "Prone on the ground while being chewed on by a dog" position.

The Officer SHOULD be fired, but only because he didn't immediately shoot the young boy 37 times in the back before he got up and started using his Black Rage to punch continents to death.

 

[bruto]

Ok, but in the context you are using this analogy, what do you consider to be the barrel?

eg, the police as an organisation? the idea of law enforcement itself? the law itself? society?

And for whichever you choose, what is your suggested remedy?

How you define the barrel is not that important. Whether you consider the bad apples to rot their departments, the police system, or the whole society, one thing that applies in all cases is to get rid of them. One might consider the idea that there are barrels within barrels, or as someone else said above, that when left long enough, the spoiled contents spoil the container too. If bad individual cops spoil their departments, the spoiled departments spoil the system, and the spoiled system spoils the law.

Of course we can argue whether the rot in the system is from the top down, or the bottom up, or both. But fixing the bottom up part certainly shouldn't hurt.

 

[JoeMorgue]

The point has always been that a SYSTEM can get so bad that even honest agents in it aren't doing any good.

No I doubt anyone here, at least any real people and not online personas saying something to get a response, think that every single cop in American wakes up in the morning and goes "I'm going to misuse my authority and position of power in society."

What happens is the systemic problems become so great that trying to do good within the system has a lower and lower chance of working and greater and greater chance of backfiring.

Yeah there's plenty of good cops. They are the ones that get fired or worst for trying to improve the police AS A CONCEPT. They are the ones fired for reporting brutality. They are the ones literally punished for using de-escalation techniques.

And yes it's easy for armchair people with no skin in the game, or indeed any game, to just go "LOL well just be a good person no matter how broken the system you are in is" but that's A) ******* hard and B) shouldn't be the answer.

We'll have more good cops if being a good cop isn't so hard.

 

[Aridas]

Tangentially related -

Horrific conditions at D.C. jail finally get noticed—only because white Republicans experienced them

A 2015 report by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs cited earlier inspections that found “an active infestation of vermin/pests throughout the facility,” leaking roofs, water penetration in the walls, mold growth on the walls, and “numerous sanitation issues in the kitchen, such as unsanitary equipment and improper temperature control for refrigerated foods.” There were serious problems with both the heat and air conditioning systems, and in 2016, nearly 200 inmates had to be moved because of excessive heat. The largest group of them was moved to the Correctional Treatment Facility, where the Jan. 6 defendants are now held. Because, again, they are being held in the nicest part of the jail.

That’s not to say that the conditions the Jan. 6 defendants face are acceptable. They probably aren’t. The USMS inspection was spurred by a judge’s decision to hold jail officials in contempt over their failure to provide medical records to the lawyers of one of the Jan. 6 defendants after he broke a finger while in custody, and the judge’s recommendation that the Justice Department investigate conditions more fully. That is an appropriate course of action—and one that has been denied other inmates. Micheal Cohen, a Black former inmate, told Time magazine that when he cursed at a corrections officer who was refusing to turn on the water so Cohen could flush the toilet (a type of complaint noted in the USMS report), the officer beat and pepper sprayed him. Cohen’s report of the incident did not get any action.

That 2015 Washington Lawyers’ Committee report noted, “Slightly less than half (49.5%) of the District’s total population, but 91% of the District’s prisoner population, is Black. By contrast, 43.4% of the District’s total population, but only a small fraction (3%) of the District’s prisoner population, is White.” A group of high-profile white people arrives there and go figure, suddenly the horrible conditions at the jail start getting attention all the way up to Congress after years of complaints.