View Full Version : Police Brutality in the Cell Phone/Internet Video Age
I ran across a photo of a little girl being maced by a cop in Brazil - couldn't tell if maybe it was photoshopped because it was so weird. Started googling - found news stories from Brazil saying it did happen and naming the cops.
Went to youtube and searched - ran across videos of police being what appears to be violent and unreasonable. I think of cameras as being one of our safeguards against the police - at least in court - but I think I've read lately that cops are increasingly aggressive toward the people with the camera.
It's really crazy what you find on youtube. It's hard to know what's real and what's not. Anybody can edit a video or photo now who has access to basic software - thanks to technology. Still - I don't see how editing could explain some of the stuff out there. I don't want to live in a world where this stuff happens.
I remember how powerful and terrible the images of the Rodney King beating were when they came out. But now a simple search on youtube shows some pretty disturbing stuff and nobody bats an eye. And juries side with the cops, even with video evidence - in the case of Rodney King and more recently with the guy who was shot by BART officers. I think in the BART shooting, a cop did try to take the camera away from one of the people who filmed it, but thankfully she was on the subway and she escaped the cop with her cellphone of truth.
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This one's from 96
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This cop thought he got short-changed at a drive-thru
UofMfan
10-23-2011, 12:43 PM
National Day against Police brutality October 22, 2011, pictures (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150351468978759.352199.589423758&type=3)
AtLast
10-23-2011, 01:22 PM
There is certainly a lot more "proof" of police brutality and misconduct with the advent of cell phones and camcorders, yet these keep flooding the media. I know that in some states laws have been adopted that actually impede a citizen from any picture taking or filming while police are at a crime scene, etc. by designating how close someone can be to them while working a case, for example.
What I am just not understanding is why something has not been done in terms of what looks like a hell of a lot of misconduct by police. I'm not anti-cop and after knowing officers in person, have a lot of respect for those that actually do "serve & protect" and do not step over the line. In fact, they are some of the first to want "rogue" officers off the force and prosecuted. This is one of most stressful jobs anyone can do and there is high burn out rates that not addressed or enough resources given to prevent (and detect) loose cannons in law enforcement. These days, cities, towns and counties are cutting police budgets, not adding officers, let alone in-house programs to prevent these actions.
Yet..... look at this stuff! I have no idea what percentage of oficers these represent in terms of all officers across the US and my guess is that it is small. But, none of this should be happening at all.
This gets to me just on a human level in terms of the abuses, but also I can see this as part and parcel of not putting resources into police departments including preventive measures starting with on-going assessment of officer's mental and emotional states. Also, this is a profession in which there are high divorce rates and alcoholism. It doesn't take a mental giant to see that there needs to be a re-vamping of police officer development from the initial entrance requirements and emotional status throughout training and then while on the job in performance evaluation. The "blue wall" is real and something has to be done about tearing it down.
I know.. ranting and I am not in any way an expert in this area, but I see such gaps in how police offocers are recruited, trained and retained that could lead to these kinds of things. Then there is the whole racism component with police brutality.
Side note- there is some very good research just published about how tasers are far more dangerous than they have been toted as in terms of a manner of bringing a suspect down in terms of both neurological and cardiac damage.
I am a Law Enforcement Officer have been for 10 plus years and I am the daughter of a Cop as well. My dad did not want me to follow in his foot steps he said it is a job that you see the worst in people and that you can become hard and cynical. Some become a cop for power some for money it is a steady job and some do it because sometimes you can make a difference. I did it to make a difference I don't often get to. yes I know there are those in my profession who "shit" on their badge and they need to be held accountable and removed. but there are many more of us just doing the job and at a cost our family's know when they kiss us goodbye it could be the last time. some of the footage that is aired is edited to show from one point and may not tell the whole story.
Lazy Daze
10-23-2011, 02:19 PM
I too work in law enforcement, have for 5 years.
Let me first start by saying.....just because we put on a badge, does NOT make us perfect! Yes, we are held to a higher standard, looked upon as "perfection", but when I go home at night, take off my duty belt, and step out of my uniform, I am just like YOU! Human!
I agree, some officers cross the line. Sadly, they are the ones who get the media, the recognition, the generalization for the rest of us...bad. I am sure there are a LOT less articles, videos, etc of officers who do above and beyond our job each and every day. And what about those officers and their families who make the ultimate sacrifice and are killed while protecting and serving??
As Bard pointed out, several videos show only the footage they Want you to see. Do you know what happened Before the camera "turned on"? Do you know the stress? Do you know if that officers life was endangered??
I would welcome Anyone to attend some of our training sessions. Learn the Use of Force continum that we model after. Be put into the dangers of the job daily..and Then pass judgement. Yes we are trained, we are suppose to live to a higher standard, but no amount of training will "take over" natural instincts when your life is being threatened.
As for Taser..when it is used properly, it is, in my opinion, one of the best defenses we have on the market. In our department, we are required to be tased in order to carry. Yes, I was tased! I carry it! I use it! It has saved my ass several times! I encourage you to look at all the continuing research that Taser has posted on their site..www.taser.com.
I am sure if you asked my partner or Bard's, they would tell you what it is like each and everyday to kiss us good bye, and know that there is a chance we won't come back home.
Again, I by all means am NOT condoning the actions of theses officers, but I'm giving u the perspective of an officer.
I am a Law Enforcement Officer have been for 10 plus years and I am the daughter of a Cop as well. My dad did not want me to follow in his foot steps he said it is a job that you see the worst in people and that you can become hard and cynical. Some become a cop for power some for money it is a steady job and some do it because sometimes you can make a difference. I did it to make a difference I don't often get to. yes I know there are those in my profession who "shit" on their badge and they need to be held accountable and removed. but there are many more of us just doing the job and at a cost our family's know when they kiss us goodbye it could be the last time. some of the footage that is aired is edited to show from one point and may not tell the whole story.
I understand that not all cops are bad and you guys do see some messed up stuff that would affect even the most grounded person. But please explain to me a situation where it would be necessary for 5 cops to beat down an unarmed citizen or mace someone in the face if they are not a danger to you?
Corkey
10-23-2011, 05:01 PM
I wonder, as former Law Enforcement, when I got up and put my uniform on I retained my humanity, I did not become above the law of these United States that I swore to uphold. If I were to be tazed today I could very well die due to having a couple of electrodes attached to my spine. Nothing is gained IMO by pepper spraying women and children, it doesn't de-escalate, a protest. No amount of roughing up 74 year old Veterans makes the streets safer, zip tying people who are airing their grievances with their government is not necessary when people are using only the voice they were born with. Law Enforcement is not above the law, no matter how much training one has.
I stand with the 99%
To me it would not you have to use the force continuum in how you respond use the least or equal amount of force used against you. I don't know because I was not there. But one argument I have hears from people is " he just had a knife why did they shoot." well it only takes seconds for that knife to be in your chest. again lots of those video clips only show part of the incident. did you know most cops are killed in the line of duty when preforming a simple traffic stop, or that a domestic call is something we are scared as hell of
atomiczombie
10-23-2011, 05:16 PM
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This is bullshit he didn't even go to an emergency. It's just a power trip. Crazy people should not be allowed to be cops.
Midnight
10-23-2011, 05:54 PM
This is bullshit he didn't even go to an emergency. It's just a power trip. Crazy people should not be allowed to be cops.
I agree. This is more about road rage. Imagine if it was your mother in the back of that ambulance
Midnight
10-23-2011, 06:42 PM
The laws in Australia are different to the US ... just wondering if the Wall st. people could have the officers involved charged with assault?
Corkey
10-23-2011, 06:52 PM
The laws in Australia are different to the US ... just wondering if the Wall st. people could have the officers involved charged with assault?
They could, however proving it in a court of law is difficult and without having ones life turned into flavor of the minute for the media. You see here in the US cops get away with murder, literally. So pouncing on peoples liberty and rights is a daily abuse. We as a country gave up habius corpus so we could catch some terrorists. Funny now they are dead and so are our rights.
atomiczombie
10-23-2011, 06:54 PM
The laws in Australia are different to the US ... just wondering if the Wall st. people could have the officers involved charged with assault?
They could try and probably have, but as Lawrence O'Donnell said, they won't face any real punishments. Police brutality is underreported by the news media and isn't part of the national conversation. It won't be unless something horrifically egregious happens, for the media to pick up on it. :(
UofMfan
10-23-2011, 07:07 PM
Police Pepper Spray Haka Dancers At Football Game In Utah , HuffPo. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/22/police-pepper-spray-haka-utah_n_1026963.html)
I can only speak for my department and it is a small one but if a complaint is made it is investigated and most of the time the officer is guilty untill they are proven innocent. as a supervisor I have to investigate and I look at all sides I have to if my officer is ut of bounds I sure as hell don't want them on my squad. granted we have not had a brutality complaint. but I can tell you I was investigated once on how I took a male down because he claimed to much force.. untill the chief saw the bruises on my thigh where he had grabbed me after resisting another officer.
AtLast
10-23-2011, 09:07 PM
I too work in law enforcement, have for 5 years.
Let me first start by saying.....just because we put on a badge, does NOT make us perfect! Yes, we are held to a higher standard, looked upon as "perfection", but when I go home at night, take off my duty belt, and step out of my uniform, I am just like YOU! Human!
I agree, some officers cross the line. Sadly, they are the ones who get the media, the recognition, the generalization for the rest of us...bad. I am sure there are a LOT less articles, videos, etc of officers who do above and beyond our job each and every day. And what about those officers and their families who make the ultimate sacrifice and are killed while protecting and serving??
As Bard pointed out, several videos show only the footage they Want you to see. Do you know what happened Before the camera "turned on"? Do you know the stress? Do you know if that officers life was endangered??
I would welcome Anyone to attend some of our training sessions. Learn the Use of Force continum that we model after. Be put into the dangers of the job daily..and Then pass judgement. Yes we are trained, we are suppose to live to a higher standard, but no amount of training will "take over" natural instincts when your life is being threatened.
As for Taser..when it is used properly, it is, in my opinion, one of the best defenses we have on the market. In our department, we are required to be tased in order to carry. Yes, I was tased! I carry it! I use it! It has saved my ass several times! I encourage you to look at all the continuing research that Taser has posted on their site..www.taser.com.
I am sure if you asked my partner or Bard's, they would tell you what it is like each and everyday to kiss us good bye, and know that there is a chance we won't come back home.
Again, I by all means am NOT condoning the actions of theses officers, but I'm giving u the perspective of an officer.
There have been quite a few cases here in CA that are examples of what you and bard are talking about- what was the full context of the incident? I don't think it is fair to show one portion of what was going on and to be honest, it isn't right for the media to blast these tapes until they have been checked out and without full details. Probably not much can be done about this and to me, it could be media misconduct- irresponsibility in reporting. As a citizen, I want the true facts and the whole story.
Some of these situations here have led to officer's being disciplined (or even to criminal charges and fired) because the internal investigations did see that there was misconduct.
I remember seeing s program about how some police departments have had "innocent" people get hurt while they are trying to act and those people had been hurt do to the interference of someone trying to videotape what was going on and got in the way or distracted the officers and they missed things like a weapon being drawn and shots fired that hit just someone in a neighborhood who came outside to see what was going on or hit through a window, perhaps just out taking a jog or run. Or an officer is hit. Always two sides to a story.
These images bother me, but I also know that they may not be the whole story. If it is shown that an officer (s) are doing wrong, then they should be prosecuted or disciplined by their superiors. And if someone gets an innocent person (or officer) hurt or killed because they are totally focused on a video tape and have no official capacity in being part of an arrest, let's say, they ought to be held accountable. No, I would not want to be partnered or married to a cop- it is a very dangerous job.
I do see the positive side to tasers, but I hope police departments are given all of the facts by manufacturers.
Lazy Daze
10-24-2011, 02:15 PM
This is bullshit he didn't even go to an emergency. It's just a power trip. Crazy people should not be allowed to be cops.
I just wanted to point out..."crazy" people are Everywhere and no matter all the steps and precautions a company, a department, a squad take..the crazies get thru! Personally, I went through a written test, verbal test, 2 board interviews, extensive background check, 10 references called, ALL work history verified, fingerprinted, polygraphed, drug screen (hair), drug screen (urine), a physical, a fitness test, firearms training, taser training, pepperspray training (and yes, I was tased AND sprayed) , and a 3 month long academy...AND I elected to become CIT certified.....do you know any other profession this thorough?
So let me tell you about the Back Page, 2 paragraph article in todays paper that reads: soldier shoots off duty cop. Happened in Colorado yesterday. Yes, one of our military soldiers sat as a Bait, pretending to be stranded, and shot an OFF duty officer who stopped to offer help and killed him. This officer did Not have to stop, he Chose to because he is a good guy, he honored his badge..and what did he get? A small little article on the back page, I'm sure that will bring his family comfort at night.
See...not all "crazies" can be weeded out...even in our military
EnderD_503
10-25-2011, 07:06 PM
Police Pepper Spray Haka Dancers At Football Game In Utah , HuffPo. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/22/police-pepper-spray-haka-utah_n_1026963.html)
Lol...Wow, pure ignorance. Apparently, these lovely officers of the law have never watched an All-Blacks match.
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