The US police misconduct thread

[Incandenza]

The US police misconduct thread

LA Police Commission is about to announce if the officers who killed Ezell Ford, a mentally ill black man who was unarmed when killed last year, violated department policy. The commission is made up of civilians; the LAPD already announced that they were justified.

[DCI Harry Batt]

The US police misconduct thread

Their policy is to kill unarmed mentally ill black men?

[Incandenza]

The US police misconduct thread

One of two officers found to have acted outside of policy. No further recommendation for discipline. Crowd at the hearing is shouting down the commissioners.

[Sean of the Shed]

The US police misconduct thread

TonTon wrote: Their policy is to kill unarmed mentally ill black men?

That sits perfectly with their policy of arming mentally subnormal white men.

[ursus arctos]

The US police misconduct thread



Facebook post from a 4th grade teacher in McKinney advocates a return to segregation.

They never went away or changed their minds.

[DCI Harry Batt]

The US police misconduct thread

I read some discussion elsewhere about why so many USians love the police so, and it was generally agreed that racism was the reason.

I'll try to find it again, because it was better than that.

[ursus arctos]

The US police misconduct thread

It's also because of the constant climate of fear stoked by the rightist "news" complex.

Which is also grounded in racism.

I really didn't expect that we were going to see a Racist Renaissance in the 21st century, but here we are.

[Incandenza]

The US police misconduct thread

LAPD shot a guy who was waving them down to ask for help for some unknown reason. His arm was wrapped in a towel, they apparently got out and started yelling at him to drop the gun they assumed he had, then shot him in the head. They rolled him over and then handcuffed him, with him obviously suffering from a massive head wound. This was on a busy street with a lot of traffic, so there are videos online of this. I can't watch it.

[adams house cat]

The US police misconduct thread

the Albuquerque PD need at least a mention in this. There have been about 27 police shootings in the last year including a mentally ill homeless man (unarmed), a 13 year old boy and a Hispanic housewife.

The officers are poorly trained and trigger happy. For the last 9 years the ABQ PD have been hiring for quantity. When they could no longer poach experienced officers from other departments (they tore the heart out of the departments in Santa Fe and Farmington) they began hiring just about anyone, pushing them through the academy in record time and letting them loose with a badge and a gun. They often didn't know their way around the city and would show up at the wrong address or even the wrong part of town. On one occasion they were 45 minutes late to prevent a man beating his partner to death. They got lost. It was never investigated.

There is a strip club in the town notorious for it's sleaziness and drugs. It is a regular occurance about 3 on a Saturday morning for a few men to show up and deliver drugs to certain of the girls for distribution to other clubs in the town. The girls are told to "please" the men. Despite numerous reports and complaints the place has never been raided or investigated. If the cops do show up the dancers are told to "hide" anything. The cops show up about 30 minutes later but never leave the foyer.

[Incandenza]

The US police misconduct thread

So in Cincinnati, a University of Cincinnati police officer shot an unarmed black man in the head, Samuel Dubose, during a routine traffic stop. The city seems to be preparing for riots as the prosecutor is holding a press conference today. The UC campus is being shut down and police are apparently telling people in the neighborhood to leave their houses.

[Kevin S]

The US police misconduct thread

Armed police for University campuses - that's a thing?

[Incandenza]

The US police misconduct thread

I don't know about all campuses, but for big campuses, yes. They will also stop people in the surrounding areas, not just strictly on campus.

[Kevin S]

The US police misconduct thread

Blimey. And that's supposed to make parents feel their children will be safer?

[Gangster Octopus]

The US police misconduct thread

Of course. Especially if all those children are also armed. They'll be even safer then.

[ursus arctos]

The US police misconduct thread

Again, this is a country where mainstream politicians' response to mass murder is to recommend that everyone arm themselves.

It makes no sense to people that aren't from here, but virtually all US "police" other than traffic or auxiliary cops are armed. So are many security guards.

I'm pretty sure that the cops at my uni were armed, but their primary role was to keep the precious students out of the clutches of the municipal cops, who (like most of the "Townies") were less than chuffed with us. My favourite example is when they told a friend to move his cannabis plants from a window that faced out onto a major street to one that faced into a courtyard, noting that not only would it be safer, but that their experience was that the light was better.

[Incandenza]

The US police misconduct thread

The officer has been indicted for murder.

Meanwhile, here is the photo juxtaposition that NBC News used as part of a tweet linking to a story on the indictment:

[Geoffrey de Ste. Croix]

The US police misconduct thread

All cars should now come with a health warning as standard, printed in bold on the side of the driver's door-

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING:Using this vehicle whilst Black increases your chances of being unlawfully shot by the law by 97.8%.

[ursus arctos]

The US police misconduct thread

Problem is that walking or biking while black can also get you killed very easily.

Perhaps we need to signpost maternity wards.

[Heliotrope]

The US police misconduct thread

Here's one in Boston, but the target is a white guy.

[ursus arctos]

The US police misconduct thread

Worth noting that the Dubose case is the first time in history that a Cincinnati area police officer has been charged with murder.

[Incandenza]

The US police misconduct thread

Also, no surprise, the officer's description of the incident isn't borne out by his bodycam footage.

[ursus arctos]

The US police misconduct thread

If it hadn't been for the bodycam, there never would have been an indictment, because other officers "confirmed" every detail of Tensing's completely false story.

They had to think that the prosecutors would cover up the video. Otherwise the whole thing makes no sense.

[Incandenza]

The US police misconduct thread

Regarding the LAPD's killing of an unarmed man on Skid Row (previously mentioned here - http://www.wsc.co.uk/forum-index/28-world/971746-the-us-police-misconduct-thread#1022030), the autopsy report showed that Charly "Africa" Keunang suffered contact gunshot wounds. That is, the officer had the barrel of his gun directly on Keunang's chest when he killed him.

So we add to what we know one more terrible detail. On March 1, 2015, Officers Martinez and Volasgis confronted Charly, who was unarmed. "Let me express myself, Martinez," said Charly, trying to reason with the officer, but Martinez would not, and he tased Charly, and several officers tackled Charly to the ground and hit him several more times with a Taser pressed directly to the body. Officer Volasgis said—incorrectly, of that we must be clear—"He has my gun." He says that he was straddling Charly, and that Charly only let go of his gun after he'd been shot; but the body-cam video, on which we cannot see Charly reach for the gun, shows Officer Volasgis is already on his way to standing at the moment the first shot is fired, his holstered gun beyond Charly's reach. Officer Martinez pushed his 40-caliber Glock 35 directly into Charly's body—hard muzzle pressing down into the flesh—and fired.

That is: Officer Francisco Martinez pressed his gun into the chest of an unarmed man and shot him through the heart.

Jeff Sharlet, who wrote that, recently had a story published about the killing and Skid Row in GQ.

[matt j]

The US police misconduct thread

Slow clap. Hope I'm not ruining the punchline by posting in this thread.

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/an-interactive-guide-to-ambiguous-grammar

[Guy Profumo]

The US police misconduct thread

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34644373

Does what it says on the tin.

US student thrown across classroom by police officer