[quote]snipeout wrote:
Vash wrote:
Well, I can understand almost asking the man to zip his shirt; from the vid, it looked like he had nothing underneath. Which isn’t something a parent with their child out side wants the kids to see. But the civilian WAS being compliant, WAS following direction from the LEO, and STILL got fucking tanked.
I know we have some cops on the board; do you guys want to say anything?
Being a LEO in NJ I will answer this the best way I can. The officer should definitely be suspended with out pay pending a formal investigation. Once he is found guilty of excessive force he should be subject to criminal and civil rights violations. In NJ, the prosecutors
preferred charge would be conduct unbecoming since it is a second degree crime requiring between 10-15 years imprisonment. He should also be tried in federal civil court and receive civil rights violations landing him in Federal Prison for 5-25 years. Minimum time served in a case like this should be 15 years.
In this state it is mandatory we receive training annually in proper use of force. There is no excuse force excessive force, ever. It is always the minimum amount of force reasonably necessary to affect an arrest. To those that don’t know reasonable amount also includes esacalation to one level above what is being used against you and also includes the totality of the entire circumstance. As an example, a smaller officer being physically attacked may be justified in using deadly force.
The problem more times than not is that lawyers get involved and plea deals are cut between the prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges. An officer with a history is more likely to be fully prosecuted than one who has a first time incident. Also taken into account is the degree of bodily injury sustained by the victim.
To the question about defending yourself from excessive force, you absoultely can. You can even use deadly force to protect yourself. The problem is, you better have indisputeable evidence or you are screwed. I am not saying it’s right, it’s just what society has degraded to. There are way to many laws and ordinances it’s almost impossible for people to know what is legal and what is not.
From my personal experiences, almost any time you use force the offender claims excessive force. Excessive force is continuing the use of force after the offender has been subdued or become incapacitated.
The force this guy used was unnecessary and unlawful. Can’t screen out all the fuck ups, you just have to hope leadership catches the ones that fall through the crack.[/quote]
I agree with all of this.
Am I a fan of cops? eh. There’s some good and some bad, most will fall into the bell curve like everything else in life. I have been on the wrong side enough times and on the right not enough, and I’ve been treated OK by them. Not great, but OK (and I wouldn’t expect sunshine and rainbows from them.) Some folks don’t get treated too well, though.
My purpose was not to get people posting who say “yo bro I FUCKING HATE COPS!” although plenty of you did that. You’re as ignorant as the people who support every cop no matter what… and I really wonder how those same people would act if they were faced with violence every single day. To say you become desensitized is an understatement.
But I was just amazed at this case, and that something like this was so clearly caught on video. This guy should do 10 or 15 years and never have a badge again. The blatant abuse of authority (and his history at doing this) means that I hope NJ makes an example of him.
It certainly doesn’t go well for those good cops who work the cities to have white cops beating up on a retarded black guy. It widens the divide between the citizens and the police to unimaginable lengths.
And by the way HH- Passaic isn’t a “drug den.” It’s a rough town but not Baghdad. It’s actually a lot of very, very hard working new immigrants from Hispanic countries.