More police excess. Every day? How many times a day? Exceptional? Not notable? Growing?
We have no idea. Should we all be alarmed? Or is overzealous and brutal, brusque, unconstitutional behavior so exceptional no attention should be paid.
I think maybe we should notice every incident.
Cops tackle, beat, pepper-spray, pin, suffocate, kill innocent man
Disturbing video of a police incident in an Oklahoma parking lot shows a man who had committed no crime dying after being roughed up and violently restrained by four cops–all while his grief-stricken wife watched in horror.The man, 44-year-old Luis Rodriguez, died in a Moore, Oklahoma movie theater parking lot. Police were responding to a reported domestic disturbance. Rodriguez’s wife admitted to slapping the couple’s 19-year-old daughter in the face over a disagreement about the girl’s behavior. Rodriguez, however, was not involved and had not done anything wrong, according to local news reports.But when police arrived, they wanted to question Rodriguez. According to the Moore police department, Rodriguez was not cooperative, and cops were forced to handcuff and restrain him.Cell phone video shows the immediate aftermath of the restraining process. Several cops can be seen pinning Rodriguez face-down on the ground. One officer kneels on his back while others hold his arms. He does not move or speak at this point, and it’s unclear whether he is still alive. The officers seem unaware that anything is wrong, however, and continue to keep him pinned.The footage was shot by Mrs. Rodriguez. Another officer kept her several feet away from her prone husband. Both this officer and Mrs. Rodriguez remain civil toward each other–at least until the ambulance arrives. At that point, Mrs. Rodriguez realizes that her husband is completely limp, and panics that he is dead.“You killed my husband!” she shouts, and then begins to cry.Rodriguez’s death is being investigated. The results of the autopsy have not yet been disclosed. Security camera footage has yet to be released as well, and could shed more light on how Rodriguez died, according to News 9.But Michael Brooks-Jimenez, an attorney for the family, said the available footage left little doubt that police were responsible.“Taking him face down onto the pavement, pepper-spraying his mouth, nose and eyes and putting the weight of five grown men on top of him, and then handcuffing him as he was unconscious or already dead,” he recounted in a statement.Police Chief Jerry Stillings said that he has not yet seen any footage demonstrating that the cops misbehaved.Three of the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
It seems that this case is not an example of excessive force used out of anger, but instead, one of excessive force used as a matter of policy because cops don't want ANY lip from people, no uncooperative behavior at all.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of force actually escalates minor situations, or so I would imagine.
IF excessive force is out of anger it means we have hired the wrong cops, and the cops who hired the cops are the wrong supervisors.
ReplyDeleteIf excessive force is out of policy it means that police have absolutely NO FEAR of the honest, and righteously angry public
Jonathan Turley's tipping point words come immediately to mind