The Police Gone Wild thread

Might as well just have one. Today's offering (via theagitator.com):

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=123710&catid=339

DENVER - After two hours of deliberation, a jury Tuesday found a Denver Police officer not guilty of using excessive force by slamming a man's face into the ground and breaking his teeth, even though the event was caught on videotape.

And man claims he was beaten for filming police

Watched the video. Where's the brutality part?

Great, next its the offical dogfighting thread.

Great, next its the offical dogfighting thread.

:slap:

ow!

http://www.theagitator.com/2009/10/07/roundup-of-new-police-professionalism/

The 1st, 6th, and last are especially lovely :doh:

Watched the video. Where's the brutality part?

Didn't look like he was struggling, really.

No real reason to slam his head onto the ground, they already had him under control with the officer who had his knee on the guys head.

good time for a general question - especially for all of you anti cop people.

If the police chase someone driving a stolen car, and the suspect driving hits another car, killing the people in that car- should the cops be held criminally or civally liable for those deaths?

good time for a general question - especially for all of you anti cop people.

If the police chase someone driving a stolen car, and the suspect driving hits another car, killing the people in that car- should the cops be held criminally or civally liable for those deaths?

EDIT: And being anti-bad-cop doesn't equal anti-cop.

good time for a general question - especially for all of you anti cop people.

If the police chase someone driving a stolen car, and the suspect driving hits another car, killing the people in that car- should the cops be held criminally or civally liable for those deaths?

I'm not an anti-cop person, and the answer is no.

However, I don't think that police are immune from criticism either. There are bad apples in almost every police force (just as anywhere else in society), and there is an undeniable tradition of the law enforcement community protecting those bad apples rather than weeding them out.

Early Sunday morning during summer- not a lot of traffic. Pursuit was along a 4 lane road in town. The suspect ran a red light and t-boned the victims car. The suspect was not known to police, but they did know the car was stolen. Not fair to use info only known after the fact, but...the suspect just burglarized a home and had warrants. (that wasn't known until after the accident). He was later sentenced to 36 yrs in prison, but now the family is suing the city and the PD.

Man shot 6 times by police to file suit against Phoenix

A man mistakenly shot six times in his home last September by a Phoenix police officer filed a notice of claim against the city Monday seeking $5.75 million in damages for himself and his family.

Phoenix Officer Brian Lilly shot Tony Arambula on Sept. 17 after Phoenix police responded to an early evening call about an intruder in Arambula's central Phoenix home, the claim states.

A Phoenix police spokesman declined Tuesday to comment on any aspect of the shooting or the pending litigation, but confirmed that Lilly had returned to work after being placed on temporary administrative leave.

The notice of claim filed by Michael Manning, Arambula's attorney, names the city, its police department, Lilly and two other officers. Manning has successfully sued local police agencies in the past over use of excessive force.

Arambula accuses Lilly and the department in his claim of recklessly using excessive force against him and trying to “callously cover it up.” Arambula, 35, gave this account on Tuesday:

The evening of the shooting, Arambula was sitting on his couch watching cartoons with his 2-year-old son when shots were fired through his living room window. Thinking it was a drive-by shooting, he grabbed his son and crawled away from his window.

His wife, Lesley, ran from a bedroom to see what was going on. Arambula handed the 2-year-old to her. By that time, an intruder – later identified Angel Anastacio Canales – had broken in through the living room window.

With a 9 millimeter gun in his hand, he ran into his 12-year-old son's room.

Tony Arambula, a licensed gun owner, grabbed his own gun and followed Canales into the bedroom. His son was hiding in the closet. Canales was trying to crawl underneath the boy's bed.

Holding the intruder at bay, Arambula ordered Mathew to find his mother and call 911. Arambula also called 911, telling the operator that he was holding the man at gunpoint.

Meanwhile, officers already chasing Canales arrived in the Arambulas' backyard. Lesley and her boys were outside. “I told them my husband was inside, he was the one with the gun,'' she said Tuesday. She pleaded, “Please don't shoot.”

The officers entered the house with a shout of “Police!” Almost immediately, Lilly shot Tony Arambula in the back, spinning him around. Three more shots were fired at him, one hitting him in the arm. When Arambula fell to the floor, the claim asserts, Lilly shot him two more times.

The shot in back left a gaping exit wound in Arambula's abdomen that was large enough to fit an eight-ounce cup, the claim charges. That's when Arambula told Lilly he'd shot the wrong man. There was an eerie quiet, Arambula recalled.

Later, in his Internal Affairs interview, Lilly admitted firing at Arambula without any verbal warning, according to the claim. A tape of the 911 call cited in the claim quotes Lilly as telling his supervisor moments later, “We (expletive) up.”

Sgt. Sean Coutts asked Lilly where Arambula's gun was when he fired.

“I don't know,'' Lilly responded, according to the claim. “I heard screaming and I fired.”

Coutts reportedly responded, “That's all right. Don't worry about it. I got your back….We clear?” according to a transcript reproduced in the claim.

Canales was apprehended peacefully.

Arambula's eyes filled with tears Tuesday as he described officers dragging him outside by his left leg. He said he pleaded with officers not to let his family to see him die.

Click on the link for the full article

good time for a general question - especially for all of you anti cop people.

If the police chase someone driving a stolen car, and the suspect driving hits another car, killing the people in that car- should the cops be held criminally or civally liable for those deaths?

I'll echo the sentiments in the thread.

I am by no means anti-cop. I think a large majority of police officers are truly interested in protecting and serving and do a wonderful job of doing so. However, there are officers who are nothing like that whatsoever. There are ego-driven *******s who abuse the power given to them by the badge and beat the **** out of people who don't deserve it. Those people give police a bad name and should be punished, and punished harshly.

No, I'm not a cop, never have been a cop and I have no idea what its like to be one...I'll never be in the positions they've been in I know they face the scum of society on a regular basis and have to be afraid for their lives frequently on the job. I get all that, but the fact is there are instances of police brutality that are not punished in this country and that makes me sick.

good time for a general question - especially for all of you anti cop people.

If the police chase someone driving a stolen car, and the suspect driving hits another car, killing the people in that car- should the cops be held criminally or civally liable for those deaths?

Not at all. Absolutely not.

Also I'm not anti-cop. I just refuse to give bad cops a pass. I'm anti-bad cop. Extremely anti-bad cop. Bad cops are a great danger to the people around them than criminals are. I can fight a criminal, I can't fight a dirty cop. I can face a criminal in court but if it's a bad-cop it's me that on trial.

thank you for the responses. The dept I worked for is facing that lawsuit. I can tell you that they are extremely picky about pursuits, and are not a rogue dept who just frivoulously chase people. Its been 3 years since the incident and the family is just now filing a multi million dollar lawsuit.

. I think a large majority of police officers are truly interested in protecting and serving and do a wonderful job of doing so. However, there are officers who are nothing like that whatsoever. There are ego-driven *******s who abuse the power given to them by the badge and beat the **** out of people who don't deserve it. Those people give police a bad name and should be punished, and punished harshly.

.

absolutely agree with this 1000%.

thank you for the responses. The dept I worked for is facing that lawsuit. I can tell you that they are extremely picky about pursuits, and are not a rogue dept who just frivoulously chase people. Its been 3 years since the incident and the family is just now filing a multi million dollar lawsuit.

Probably think they can get more out of the department than they can the person responsible.

Early Sunday morning during summer- not a lot of traffic. Pursuit was along a 4 lane road in town. The suspect ran a red light and t-boned the victims car. The suspect was not known to police, but they did know the car was stolen. Not fair to use info only known after the fact, but...the suspect just burglarized a home and had warrants. (that wasn't known until after the accident). He was later sentenced to 36 yrs in prison, but now the family is suing the city and the PD.

But not the cop as an individual, right? Wasn't that your question?

This is how I feel:

I say more skull cracking, not less.

But not the cop as an individual, right? Wasn't that your question?

Typically with these lawsuits the will list everyone- City, City Manager, Police Dept, Police chief and every one of the officers involved. The news article says "The city, the police department and the man the police were chasing."

My question was if the the city, Pd or officers should be held criminally/civilly responsible- encompasing some, all or none.

Quick question - if a cop opens fire at a suspect and accidentally hits an innocent bystander, is the cop liable?

If the answer is yes - then why would recklessly pursuing at high speeds be any different?

Quick question - if a cop opens fire at a suspect and accidentally hits an innocent bystander, is the cop liable?

If the answer is yes - then why would recklessly pursuing at high speeds be any different?

it is a yes if the cop hits someone with their car.

if a person is shooting at the cops and accidently shoots a bystander, are the cops responsible?

it is a yes if the cop hits someone with their car.

if a person is shooting at the cops and accidently shoots a bystander, are the cops responsible?

I suspect not. But there are mitigating factors that would always come into play.

Like...did they, in any way, encourage the firefight?

I suspect not. But there are mitigating factors that would always come into play.

Like...did they, in any way, encourage the firefight?

Good points, and in these situations there are always so many individual factors for each occurance. Its hard to lump them all in one category. I'm not in favor of ending pursuits 100%, but I do understand the need to limit them. The issue though is the process in making that decision, along with disciplining officers for doing their jobs.

Wasn't sure whether to put this in the police or pit bull thread:

Officer Shoots Woman, Pit Bull Playing

LA MARQUE, Texas -- A police officer shot a woman and a dog that were playing when she thought the dog was attacking the woman, witnesses told KPRC Local 2.

Witnesses said a La Marque police officer was driving along 5th Avenue near Walnut Street at about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, after she helped a person around the corner.

The officer heard people playing and screaming, witnesses said. A 23-year-old woman and her friend were playing with a pit bull.

Witnesses said the officer got out of the car and fired several shots toward the dog.

"The young lady started hollering and just at that time a police officer was coming down and thought the dog was attacking the lady," witness Dennis Wallace said. "I can't say that I would do anything different. The lady (the officer) drew down and started shooting. I couldn't say I wouldn't have done that."

The woman suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. She was taken by helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital in stable condition.

The dog was also wounded. The dog's owner took it to a vet and it is expected to recover.

Click on the link for the full article