Deaths and Injuries in Police Custody

[Cin]

Well they discovered who was the cause of the incident at that school in SC. It wasn't the cop who assaulted that young girl, it wasn't the teacher who stood there and watched, it wasn't even the student who apparently brought this violence on herself by not following orders and maintaining the most calmly non aggressive way of sitting I've ever seen. Surprisingly all this was caused by the student who filmed it.

http://www.alternet.org/civil-libert...urbing-schools

I guess we have the answer to that age old philosophical question "if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it does it make a sound?"
It would seem the powers that be there in SC think the answer is NO.

However, I do see some holes in their logic.
There were people around to hear the sound of that girl being assaulted. If you muzzle them that doesn't erase the deed. Controlling the flow of information forever changes the integrity of the scenario. Not to mention what it says about the integrity of the people in power.

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by Miss Tick

Well they discovered who was the cause of the incident at that school in SC. It wasn't the cop who assaulted that young girl, it wasn't the teacher who stood there and watched, it wasn't even the student who apparently brought this violence on herself by not following orders and maintaining the most calmly non aggressive way of sitting I've ever seen. Surprisingly all this was caused by the student who filmed it.

http://www.alternet.org/civil-libert...urbing-schools

I guess we have the answer to that age old philosophical question "if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it does it make a sound?"
It would seem the powers that be there in SC think the answer is NO.

However, I do see some holes in their logic.
There were people around to hear the sound of that girl being assaulted. If you muzzle them that doesn't erase the deed. Controlling the flow of information forever changes the integrity of the scenario. Not to mention what it says about the integrity of the people in power.

I do not read that article the way you appear to have read it.

No one made the officer throw the girl across the room. He is at fault. Not anyone else. Doesn't matter what she did to have the officer called (short of physical violence on another), nor what another student did, the response was excessive. The officer was abusive, and should be fired and charged.

[Cin]

Originally Posted by Andrea

I do not read that article the way you appear to have read it.

No one made the officer throw the girl across the room. He is at fault. Not anyone else. Doesn't matter what she did to have the officer called (short of physical violence on another), nor what another student did, the response was excessive. The officer was abusive, and should be fired and charged.

Of course the officer should be fired and charged with assault. It certainly was not Officer Ben Fields first rodeo, he has a history of being abusive, so in my mind that makes a host of people, his superior officers, the entire police department and whoever else turned a blind eye to his violent behavior, accountable for what he does. I don't know what article you are referring to that you read that I took a different way, but this is the article I posted:

South Carolina Teen Who Filmed School Cop's Assault is Arrested for "Disturbing Schools"
This story keeps getting worse.

By Adam Johnson / AlterNet

October 27, 2015

UPDATE: This has gotten much worse. Niya Kenny, 18, who filmed the now infamous arrest has been arrested herself for "disturbing schools." She's out on $1000 bail.

WLTX reports that Kenny was trying to "stand up for her friend" when she filmed the assault, telling Loren Thomas of WLTX, "I was crying, screaming and crying like a baby. I was in disbelief." Both Kenny and her mother are understandably skeptical as to why she was arrested for "disturbing schools."

"But looking at the video, who was really disturbing schools?" Kenny's mother told WLTX. "Was it my daughter or the officer who came into the classroom and did that to the young girl?"
http://www.alternet.org/civil-libert...urbing-schools

I was being sarcastic when I said "Well they discovered who was the cause of the incident at that school in SC. It wasn't the cop who assaulted that young girl, it wasn't the teacher who stood there and watched, it wasn't even the student who apparently brought this violence on herself by not following orders and maintaining the most calmly non aggressive way of sitting I've ever seen. Surprisingly all this was caused by the student who filmed it."

I was also trying to point out that it's insane to spend time trying to cover up incidents like this by intimidating the people who bring them to the attention of the public, as though if no one sees the abusive incident it did not happen. Thus the reference to if a tree falls in the woods.

Instead those with the power should be doing something about the individuals who perpetrate this type of violence. To me it is particularly despicable when those people whose job it is to protect and serve, instead harm.

Also just for clarity's sake when I said "the student who apparently brought this violence on herself by not following orders and maintaining the most calmly non aggressive way of sitting I've ever seen", I was once again trying to be funny (when will I learn that while I may be a lot of things, funny ain't one of them). I find it ludicrous to imagine that someone sitting as passively as that student was sitting when that police officer assaulted her could ever be seen deserving that kind of treatment. I don't doubt she was being difficult and that's why the officer was called. That's a problem in and of itself. Why when a student is not presenting as violent is it ever necessary to call for police back up? When are teenagers not being difficult? It's their job. (trying to be funny again). What I mean is that as long as a student is not being violent no one has a right to attack them the way that police officer did. There are plenty of ways to deal with someone who won't leave when you ask them to. I have worked with difficult populations through the years, including troubled adolescents, and I've found that it is way too acceptable to deal with teenagers aggressively, much more acceptable than with many other populations. I see that attitude at the route of the problem although at this point it has gone beyond that and needs to be dealt with as a crime. But it would also be a good idea to examine this inherent belief that aggression and violence is acceptable in dealing with non violent students. And we haven't touched on the reality of how black students are going to be treated more aggressively than white students in any given scenario. We need to take systemically sanctioned violence out of schools. In this incident it was ridiculous to drag that girl like that. She was asked to leave after refusing to hand over her phone and she refused according to what I read. That hardly merits that kind of violence. In my mind if you want to separate someone and they are being passively resistant, perhaps you could consider moving everyone else? But I think I digress here.

Anyway back to the issue, this is not the first time attempts have been made to punish people for filming crimes.

[Andrea]

I am sorry. I read your post to say the young woman that objected to how the girl was treated had started the incident. Thank you for clarifying.

[Kätzchen]

http://journalistsresource.org/studi...iew-statistics


The scholarly article, featured above, talks about difficulties in establishing stricter methods of accountability, concerning excessive force (read: brutality) -- with regard for the slow growing body of research on this social issue since the race riots of 1992.

Item of interest noted: It's not clear how the public can utilize a reporting system (which is supposedly already in place at local, state or federal levels in the justice system). If I read the article correctly, the DOJ claim is that the reliability of aggregate information culled from established reporting system (s) is not and cannot supply accurate samplings of case material for the DOJ to recommend or draw new standards of accountability, so that police brutality can be monitored more closely and enforce efforts to eradicate police brutality.

I thought it was an interesting article, for those who would like to read about this social issue.

Eta: thank you Miss Tick for your commentary. I appreciate your take on this issue.

[Cin]

Originally Posted by Andrea

I am sorry. I read your post to say the young woman that objected to how the girl was treated had started the incident. Thank you for clarifying.

Ah, I see. Well that was me trying for levity, poking fun at the ridiculous and whatnot. I don't know when I will accept that humor in my hands is unrecognizable at best. I'm glad the second post made a little more sense. Sorry about the confusion.

You know it's kind of sad how I say it, but I must not believe it because I know I will try to funny again, probably my very next post.

[SirenManda]

I've been reading over a few of the articles, and I'm heartbroken for the child. It's a failure on any adults part to stand by and watch a child get brutally pulled from a chair. I do not care if she didn't get up, I don't think it warrants the level of brutality she received. I would feel the same if it were my own child, no one should be putting their hands on your children. I would start a civil suit, something is wrong with how much force the officer believes was needed. We aren't talking about a riot outside, we are talking about children in a class room. It's shocking to see how everyone stays silent and doesn't try to help her.

[Blade]

I have to say when I saw this video my first reaction was, if someone did that to my kid, they would be arresting me, cuz I'd be on him like a duck on a june bug. I'd deal with her at home. Some of my family who are SC educators and administrators and some in law enforcement didn't agree with me.

First of all I would have been mortified not to comply with what the teacher said to begin with. Secondly I heard she threw a punch at him (felony). Third, she hadn't actually done anything to be thrown around the room and I felt the officer was way out of line and excessive in his choice of how he responded to the situation and allowing it to escalate clearly on his part.

This evening I saw on the news that he has been fired which I agree with. However there are still charges against the girl. I haven't heard what they are, I'm betting they will be dropped, due to the circumstances.

The Sheriff said on the news that the officers actions were not consistent with his training. That he had several other options. He said his decision was made by asking himself is this the kind of person I want wearing our badge. The answer was no.

I stand with Jackhammer, pick the desk up and carry her to the hallway. No confrontation.

[Kätzchen]

Unless you're a person of color, which my biological sons are, it's hard (really hard) for people who are not of color to grasp the tidal wave of no feasible recourse or available remedies of any immediacy when things go really wrong.

Wrong as in losing your life to immediate death or being locked up in prison based on false facts, and then on top of it being assaulted by law enforcement officials, then let down by the justice system.

I know it first hand.

: (

[Cin]

Cop harasses two women for holding hands and acting affectionate in a grocery store while on vacation in Hawaii. He bumps and pushes one while she tries to call 911 and punches the other in the face when she tries to step between him and her girlfriend. She was denied medical treatment at the scene and after she was arrested. Pictures of her injuries weren't taken until two days after the assault.

The Hawaii News Now article says they don't know if the cop is still on duty, but the Chicago Tribune reports that he remains on full active duty. The women have a lawsuit pending.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/3...ssing-in-store

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...028-story.html

[Cin]

No charges for Volusia County deputy who shot, killed unarmed man

The state attorney announced Wednesday that a grand jury has decided that a Volusia County deputy who shot and killed an unarmed suspect will not face charges.

Derek Cruice’s loved ones have been protesting since Deputy Todd Raible shot and killed him.

“After two days of testimony and in deliberation, the grand jury declined to indict Deputy Raible on a manslaughter by culpable negligence charge,” said State Attorney R.J. Larizza.

Investigators said Raible shot Derek Cruice in the face while serving a search warrant for drugs in March. Cruice was not armed.

“I want justice for him because he did not deserve to die so young, and not in this manner. Not in this manner,” said Sheila Cruice.

She had been waiting for more than six months to find out if the deputy who killed her son will face criminal charges.

“Why did they use so much force? But it’s just hard. It’s a struggle,” said Sheila Cruice.

Officials said Raible perceived a threat as he entered the home on Maybrook Drive in Deltona and fired one time, shooting Derek Cruice in the face.

Derek Cruice’s friends in the home at the time said they want to know what that threat was, and argue he could not have had a weapon, since he was only wearing shorts with no shirt.

Later, investigators said items they found in the home included 217 grams of marijuana, scales, baggies and $3,000 in cash, but no weapons.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/...arges-a/nn7Kd/

[*Anya*]

Originally Posted by Miss Tick

Cop harasses two women for holding hands and acting affectionate in a grocery store while on vacation in Hawaii. He bumps and pushes one while she tries to call 911 and punches the other in the face when she tries to step between him and her girlfriend. She was denied medical treatment at the scene and after she was arrested. Pictures of her injuries weren't taken until two days after the assault.

The Hawaii News Now article says they don't know if the cop is still on duty, but the Chicago Tribune reports that he remains on full active duty. The women have a lawsuit pending.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/3...ssing-in-store

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...028-story.html

All of this is horrifying but this is just the final horror:

"As a condition of their release, they couldn't leave Oahu and wound up sleeping in a park.

After five months, prosecutors threw out the case, said their attorney, Eric Seitz."

I hope that they win tons of money and that cop is fired. It is unbelievable that he is still on full duty!

We now have a totally militarized police force in the USA.

To what end?


"Not Just Ferguson: 11 Eye-Opening Facts About America’s Militarized Police Forces
by Alex Kane


The “war on terror” has come home — and it’s wreaking havoc on innocent American lives. The culprit is the militarization of the police.

The weapons that destroyed Afghanistan and Iraq have made their way to local law enforcement. While police forces across the country began a process of militarization — complete with SWAT teams and flash-bang grenades — when President Reagan intensified the “war on drugs,” the post-9/11 “war on terror” has added fuel to the fire.

Through laws and regulations like a provision in defense budgets that authorizes the Pentagon to transfer surplus military gear to police forces, local law enforcement agencies are using weapons found on the battlefields of South Asia and the Middle East.

A recent New York Times article by Matt Apuzzo reported that in the Obama era, “police departments have received tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition magazines; thousands of pieces of camouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft.” The result is that police agencies around the nation possess military-grade equipment, turning officers who are supposed to fight crime and protect communities into what looks like an invading army. And military-style police raids have increased in recent years, with one count putting the number at 80,000 such raids last year.

In June, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought more attention to police militarization when it issued a comprehensive, nearly 100-page report titled, War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing. Based on public records requests to more than 260 law enforcement agencies in 26 states, the ACLU concluded that this police militarization “unfairly impacts people of color and undermines individual liberties, and it has been allowed to happen in the absence of any meaningful public discussion.”

The information contained in the ACLU report — and in other investigations into the phenomenon — is sobering. From the killing of innocent people to the almost complete lack of debate on these policies, police militarization has turned into a key issue for Americans. It is harming civil liberties, ramping up the “war on drugs,” impacting the most marginalized members of society and transforming neighborhoods into war zones."


NOTE: the article is long so I am not including them but it is very worth reading

Also NOTE: this article was written in 2014 but I do not see much has changed, if anything, since that time. VICE also did an episode on the militarization of the police which aired on HBO previously.

"...11 important — and horrifying — things you should know about"


http://billmoyers.com/2014/08/13/not...police-forces/

[Cin]

Thank you for that article Anya!

It is interesting to note that it has never been safer to be a cop. This article is from mid September, but it has noted that so far 2015 is one of the safest years for American policing in history, both in absolute terms and adjusted for population. The most dangerous time to be a police officer was during Prohibition, since then it's only gotten safer. As a matter of fact it is more dangerous to be a fisher, logger, pilot, roofer, miner, trucker or taxi driver. It’s actually safer to be a cop than it is to simply live in many U.S. cities.

http://www.newsweek.com/it-has-never...-be-cop-372025
Excerpt:
"There are real liabilities to inflating the threats to police. If you tell cops over and over that they’re in a war, they’re under siege, they’re under attack, and that citizens are the enemy—instead of the people they’re supposed to protect—you’re going to create an atmosphere of fear, tension, and hostility that can only end badly, as it has for so many people.

There is no war on cops. Not now, not last year, not any of the times that ideologues and media hacks have tried to invent one.

Cops need to know this. And so do we.

As I wrote in the Freeman last year, “Disproportionate fears about officer safety are leading inexorably to the disproportionate use of force”—as well as leading many people (especially those who have never witnessed police misconduct) to excuse obvious brutality in the name of officer safety."

[Andrea]

Corey Jones death: New questions about the latest police shooting in Florida

http://news.yahoo.com/corey-jones-death-new-questions-about-the-latest-police-shooting-in-florida-215620083.html

"A plainclothes police officer who fatally shot a stranded motorist in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 10 days ago, apparently wasn’t qualified for his undercover surveillance assignment, according to documents obtained by Yahoo News."

[Andrea]

Video Shows NYPD Officer Tackle, Pepper-Spray Skateboarder

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nypd-officer-yibin-mu-skateboarder_563124f4e4b0c66bae5ab018?ncid=fcbklnk ushpmg00000013&section=politics

"Video of the incident, which Mu posted on his Facebook page on Monday, shows the officer pulling Mu's head back by his hair before putting him in a headlock. After tackling Mu, the officer pulls out his pepper spray and shoots it in the skateboarder's face."

[The 2IC]

RIP Officer Holder - one black man forgotten by many because he wasn't wearing the right clothes when he was killed.

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by The 2IC

RIP Officer Holder - one black man forgotten by many because he wasn't wearing the right clothes when he was killed.

Welcome to the Planet. Perhaps you could expand on your thoughts here.

Are you referring to the NYPD officer that was shot and killed? If so, how does that fit the subject of this thread.

Thank you for any clarification you can provide.

[Cin]

Still thinking about school sponsored violence against children. When a 12 year old kid playing with a toy gun gets murdered by the police in a park isn't bringing armed officers into schools like inviting the fox into the hen house? I mean I know cops have been in schools for years now, but really it ain't working and it was never going to.

School systems around the country have armed uniformed police arresting children on a daily basis and making criminal offenses out of normal everyday disciplinary issues which really should result in detention. Instead these kids end up with criminal records as well as battered bodies.

The racist and classist criminalization of children continues, feeding our big business prison industry.


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/us...s&emc=rss&_r=0

http://www.alternet.org/education/ho...rison-pipeline

[Shystonefem]

Originally Posted by Andrea

Were any charges filed against the officers? Did anyone do anything about the beating?

No. Here police can do just about anything. That same officer was caught, on video, slamming a person into a brick wall .... He got fired but, when taken to court, the jury couldn't find him guilty and it was a mistrial. .. the ex-cop subsequently pled guilty. His wife is a Chief of Police in another town.

The kid that got hurt has permanent brain damage ... oh, and did I mention that the kid was in custody, at the police station, when he was attacked by the officer?

You can still Google it (I think)" Seabrook NH Police officer assault". The video may still come up. It's on YouTube too.

The Lt. On duty was demoted to patrolman and then his wife got a felony indictment for aggravated dui. There were allegations that he messed with the crime scene and caused big trouble at the hospital where his wife was (In MA). He didn't get in trouble for any of that either and he is, again, a Lt.

http://m.newburyportnews.com/news/lo....html?mode=jqm

[Andrea]

Dash-Cam Video Shows Ala. Cop Shoot Suspect Who Did Not Point Gun, Contrary to Police Reports

http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/11/dash_cam_video_shows_ala_cop_shoot_suspect_who_did _not_point_gun_contrary.html?utm_content=bufferbb5 65&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_ca mpaign=buffer

“This video provides evidence that Police Officer Daniel Aguirre shot Aubrey Williams twice despite the fact that Williams was on his hands and knees and not in a position to fire a weapon,” activist Frank James Matthews III, head of the Outcast Voters League, said in a statement. “It is clear that the Birmingham Police Department attempted to prevent the release of this footage, and it seems that Officer Aguirre’s actions were rewarded based on outright lies.”