Dekalb County Sheriffs Department Police Brutality

Description from video:

At around 1:30am my family and I were awaken by the sound of loud and aggressive banging at our front door. The Aggressive nature of the banging frightened us so I walked into the guest room that looks over the front of our house and was shocked when I saw 3 large Dekalb County Sheriff SUV's with large flood lights pointed at our house and windows.

when i walked back into the hallway the person that was banging at the door started yelling "i saw yo' ass open the door!" i responded "what is this about? why are you here?" the person then responded "I'm not telling you #, what you think this is?" so at this point my brother woke up as well my mother. we all are petrified at the aggression coming from the sheriffs outside our door. We continue asking why they are here and they continue to refuse to tell us only occasionally saying "open the mother #ing door nigga"

I call the police and tell the operator what is going on, and that I do not feel safe opening the door because they will not tell me why they are here and they are behaving extremely aggressive.

I specifically ask the operator if she would send the police captain to the scene to ensure that we would not be harmed when we open the door, she said ok.

I waited about another 20-25 minutes for police to show up. No police ever showed up.

My brother, mother and myself all went to the door and let the sheriffs know that we were going to open the door and come out.
My mother opens the door and steps out and says "I'm a Christian woman don't hurt my family" she was immediately hand cuffed.

The remainder of the sheriffs then entered my house and attacked me and my brother. One of the sheriffs drew a weapon and struck me with it on the head.

As I am laying facedown on the floor I am repeatedly kicked in the head and back and one of the sheriffs stood on my head with both feet.

The other sheriffs at this point are attacking my brother and threatening to Taser him if he says anything else.

It this point both myself and my brother are both pleading with the sheriffs to stop and asking why are we being handcuffed.

The sheriffs that entered my house entered illegally, I found out after they left from a family friend that they were here on an arrest warrant for my mother.

If that is the reason they were here, once they arrested my mother when she was outside, they had no reason to enter my home.

They did not have a search warrant.

The events took place on the first level of my home.

Sheriffs illegally searched my entire house and removed items from my mothers purse which are now missing including $48.

the sheriffs also verbally berated myself and my brother calling us "big mother #ers, dumb asses, retarded 'n-word's"

and verbally threatened us saying "i wish i could cane y'all asses"

When Sargent Magee was asked by a family friend why this happened he responded "we did this because they made a scene filming us."

I don't know.

She knew she had a warrant. What was the warrant I'll bet it was a felony. I'm sure it was more than failing to pay her parking tickets.

I read the description then watched parts of the video. The description makes it sound as though the police randomly targeted this family which is not true. (At the very end the fact about the warrant is included which is a big detail.)

As far as the purse and her belongings being confiscated they could be considered evidence depending on her charge(s).

The police may have acted a bit forceful but there is alot to this we aren't being told.

Oh and by the way depending on what the charge is they have every right to enter the house. Like I said if several officers were sent to serve a warrant it must have been somewhat serious.

Our society grants LEOS the legal right to be judge, jury and executioner at the point of contact.

They are trained to subordinate absolutely everything to their personal safety or their perception thereof. When in doubt, take them out. racists? maybe, maybe not. In any case, it's all dependent on how they feel.

There is a code of silence to manipulate evidence to ensure that they are not held accountable for negligence or malice after the fact.

Good cops? I hear stories but I'm not sure whom I fear more criminals or LEO's. I don't recall any stories of good cops ever seriously challenging the fascist pigs in the ranks. I've heard the good cops fighting investigations and transparency so it's dubious to me. They claim they are good. Just like there are good muslims but you don't hear from them.

The system is broken. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

That was extremely disturbing! I'm sorry you had to go through all that.

I'm not far from ya and this makes me want to drive my redneck a$$ to DeKalb and beat the crap out of some cops!

Messed up on soooo many levels.

Spend your new fortune wisely when you win your lawsuit!

The sheriffs that entered my house entered illegally, I found out after they left from a family friend that they were here on an arrest warrant for my mother.

I don't think so. When you refuse entry to police after verifying with 911 I'm pretty sure that's considered a crime, like it or not.

These cops were incredibly unprofessional and embarrassing to listen to, but police brutality seems a stretch. So do some of the claims of racism I've seen floating around.

reply to post by gotya


Why wouldn't they say they had a warrant for the arrest of XYZ? If that person comes out of the house it's over unless they have a search warrant for the house.

If they have a search warrant they should say that. I believe it's standard policy unless the person is believed to be armed and dangerous.

They know the rules and they also know they own the game.

Originally posted by Domo1

The sheriffs that entered my house entered illegally, I found out after they left from a family friend that they were here on an arrest warrant for my mother.

I don't think so. When you refuse entry to police after verifying with 911 I'm pretty sure that's considered a crime, like it or not.

These cops were incredibly unprofessional and embarrassing to listen to, but police brutality seems a stretch. So do some of the claims of racism I've seen floating around.

I agree and like I stated in my post the mother knew she had a warrant and that's why they were being so difficult. I had to laugh when they mention their religious beliefs. Did they think the police cared?

reply to post by InverseLookingGlass


Well as long as it took for the people to open the door maybe the police thought they were armed or hiding / destroying evidence. At that point I feel they had probable cause.

Why didn't the person who wrote out the description of events include the type of warrant? I keep going back to that because it's the key factor.

reply to post by Domo1


Sorry but no. If it's a simple felony arrest warrant with no crime in progress, likelihood of evidence being destroyed or "armed and dangerous" approach they must declare who they are there should say what they are there for. That needs to have a court order BTW.

It's not a crime not to open your door. Opening your door is giving them full consent. All they had to say is we have a search warrant or we have an arrest warrant for X. If they did that, they only have to wait 10 seconds before all hell breaks loose.

They way they went in is going to get someone hurt or executed. There are no fixed rules for police, that's the problem.

reply to post by gotya


I'm not judging this case at all. I don't have enough information. I'm really fed up with the way our society allows police to operate.

I don't know if they have a case on civil rights violations. The deputies were there to arrest someone who was in the house who had an active warrant on them and it appears they did. The video doesn't do a good job of showing the more egregious acts alleged, like pointing a taser at someone not presenting a threat. It doesn't look like anyone except the person with the warrant on them went to jail that night even though they were threatened with being charged with obstruction (I'm really unclear on whether they did or not). It appears that both the deputies and the people in the house are both black, so racial issues are out. The lady who I assume is the person arrested, mentions that she has been involved in some type of investigation involving police internal affairs from a prior incident.

I don't know about this one, and police in the US haven't automatically gotten the benefit of the doubt from me in a long time. I'm of the opinion that if an unknown agency is banging on your door in the middle of the night and you call 911 to make sure it is legit, and they say it is, you should let them in. Unless of course you decide it's time to die for you principles then by all means go out in a blaze of glory and good luck, seriously.

However, it appears the DeKalb County Sheriff's Department has a serious problem with professionalism. The deputies honestly sound as polished and educated as your average street thug. They should definitely have announced who the warrant was for while at the door IMHO. I can understand the use of some profanity while in the heat of the moment but the rampant use of it by deputies after everyone is subdued or cuffed is highly unprofessional, and the Caning comment WOW! Can you even imagine what potentially could have come of that had the officer that made it been white and not black saying that to a black man?

In closing, I don't really see anything that stands out as extreme civil rights violations. I'm sure someone who makes their living off that could argue it but nothing really stands out to me. The attitude and lack of professionalism by the deputies is another matter. Unfortunately, it's largely what I've come to expect from the Law-Enforcement community in these days.

Yes the Deputies language was unprofessional

Convenient how the video went dark during all the allegations of physical abuse.. HMMMMMM

YES the Deputies CAN come in the house and "secure", ie. Handcuff, EVERYONE when serving a warrant on a wanted person

The mother was a WANTED person and after being arrested law enforcement is ALLOWED to Search Incident To Arrest.. THE SEARCH WAS LEGAL

This is a perfect example of video manipulation to make the BIG BAD cops the bad guys

There was a warrant for her arrest

If she had taken care of that, none of this would have been necessary

But of course

It's all the cops fault

Don't like the Laws?????


Change Them!

Bitching doesn't help. MHO

Originally posted by InverseLookingGlass
reply to post by gotya

 

I'm not judging this case at all. I don't have enough information. I'm really fed up with the way our society allows police to operate.

I agree the police did sound very unprofessional! You nailed it on the head it's very hard to judge anything with the information provided.

In my opinion all parties involved could have handled the situation better.

The sheriff's department says the officer had a valid arrest warrant and they were at the right home.

They said despite the family's claim, the video shows no excessive force, but admits two of the officers did use inappropriate language.

The arrest warrant was for Natania Griffin.

She was arrested for not paying a civil fine.

She told CBS Atlanta that she had run-ins with police here in the past.

source

The other side of the story.

I agree with the posters that suggest that this is not an example of police brutality -However, it certainly was a very unprofessional police response. There would seem to be some serious bad blood between the police and this family/mother.

Oh God bless their hearts. I feel SO BAD for that family.

It's like the mythology of vampires- don't allow them into your home.

reply to post by Domo1

No, you open the door, step out and close and lock it behind you, without a warrant they cannot enter. I have been known to go out the back and come to the front so they don't rush into the house, because once they're in you are screwed even if they are at the wrong house.

Find who or what they want, have that person come outside, everybody is on their way.

If it is an error, it will be sorted out later, cops are dangerous, most are carb-loaded, steroid crazed, caffeine crazed bullies who couldn't hold a regular job if they tried, and they definitely don't want to have to actually work, that's why they do what they do for a living. A good shift is when nothing happens, no stress, no paperwork, no problem...

Most of all though, they are not here to protect the people most believe them to be protecting, they protect those who make it a point to take advantage of the ignorance of the masses. This video is a good example.

Law enforcement comes in the courtroom, they are referred to as "law enforcement officers" incorrectly, they are nothing but goons who drum up business for the courts.

Ok, now come the comments from the supposed "LEO's", who are nearly as ignorant as those they take advantage of. I find it comical how they refer to themselves

Originally posted by gotya
The police may have acted a bit forceful but there is alot to this we aren't being told.

There sure is a lot we are not being told.

1) Why did these police come in the middle of the night?
2) Why did they not announce their intentions?
3) Did the warrant specify what the house was searched for?


Questions. Lots of questions.

reply to post by Domo1

They knew they did not have a right to enter thhe home or they would hhave kicked the door. In. Don't be naive. You should spend some time in DeKalb county. Experience the local LE0's PR skills. Your attitude would quickly chanhhe.

I knew there was something in the back of my mind about the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office and it just didn't click when I wrote my earlier reply.

Folks not from the Atlanta area probably don't remember the case of en.wikipedia.org..." target="_blank" class="postlink">Derwin Brown .

Derwin Brown was a police captain and the sheriff-elect of DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, who was assassinated on the evening of December 15, 2000 by defeated rival Sidney Dorsey.

This department has problems going back decades. I remember being in the Georgia National Guard when that happened, and being at a classroom in Macon Georgia the weekend after that murder happened. I was in a class of 20 or so and there were 3 or 4 cops from various departments. I specifically remember every last one of them saying that anyone who didn't believe that someone in the Sheriff's Office was responsible was a fool.

I talked to my neighbor who grew up in and is a recent refugee from the Atlanta area and he says that DeKalb County has lot's of problems in it's Sheriff's Department still, but this in my opinion ain't the case that's going to clean it up.