God I don't know why I am going to post and torture myself. I always tell myself not to get involved in these threads. What can I say I am glutton for
punishment.
I will start by saying I wasn't there so I don't know exactly what happened. You can only tell so much by a video. That being said here we go.
Obviously the police had probable cause for a felony arrest for fleeing and eluding. They finally get the guy stopped and tell him to go to the
ground. He does put his hands up, but he does not go to the ground violating the officers lawful order. At that point the officer can legally take him
to the ground. So he does. I am sorry but when you take someone to the ground it looks violent no matter how it's done.
Once on the ground the officer gives multiple commands for him to get on his stomach and give him his hands. Now this is where the video CANNOT help
us. The defendant rolls or is rolled onto his stomach. At that point where are his hands? Are they under his stomach now? Is he not complying with the
officers lawful command and giving him his hands for cuffing? If he is not giving the officer his hands he is resisting arrest. At that point an
officer can escalate his use of force and strike the suspect to gain control of the suspects hands. Why can officer do that? Well first of all because
the use of force matrix and case law says so. Second why is the suspect not giving up his hands? Is he trying to reach for a weapon in his waistband?
Maybe, maybe not. As an officer you have to assume the worst.
So he continues to refuse the officers orders and does not give up his hands. That is when the other officers come in to assist. Most Monday morning
quarterbacks will say three grown men should be able to grab someones hands out from under them with no problem. Really? Has anyone ever tried that?
Do you know how hard it is to gain control of a resisting suspect? I would venture to say probably not.
So the officers continue to try and gain control of the defendants hands but are unable to with strikes. That is when the tazer is deployed which
helps them finally gain control and cuff him.
As I said before the video cannot show if the defendant was truly resisting. Was he bracing, tensing, pulling in an effort to defeat the officers
efforts to cuff him? Who knows? If not then of course this would be wrong on all levels and the officers need to be investigated.
Just because the defendant can be heard in the video saying "stop beating me, I'm not resisting" does not mean that he wasn't resisting. Criminals
know what buzz words to say. They know how to play up a scenario to make it look super dramatic. Most of them are looking for a pay day.
Look all I am trying to say is police work is not pretty. It's not like Andy Griffith. Is there abuse happening? Absolutely and it is a disgrace.
Don't look at video evidence as 100% proof positive. Remember even if you think that this is a case of police brutality the officers are innocent
until proven guilty. Oh wait I forgot, the fifth amendment does not apply to the police.
Flame suit on.
edit on 15-2-2013 by
TorqueyThePig because: added