Excessive Force: Cops Beat Man With Down Syndrome

More stupid cops!

TheDailySheeple

When the terrified young man was returned to the arms of his mother, she was outraged. She asked the officer, ““I said, ‘Didn’t you know he was a Down Syndrome kid?’ And he said, ‘No, I’m not a doctor. I don’t know.’ And I said, ‘Well, you can see it in his face that he is a Down Syndrome kid.’” - See more at: www.thedailysheeple.com...

They thought he had a suspicious bulge in his pants. It was a colostomy bag! How do they let these idiots on the Police forces? Don't they get training on how to recognize and deal with handicapped people?

Magister

They thought he had a suspicious bulge in his pants. It was a colostomy bag! How do they let these idiots on the Police forces? Don't they get training on how to recognize and deal with handicapped people?

They get plenty of training.

500 hours of "you are the greatest heroes America (insert city/state/nation as applicable) has ever known" followed up with about 200 hours of "if you dont understand something it is suspicious so beat it and arrest it until either a) it dies or b)you understand it.

I've looked around to see if there is more info than what the source provides and I can't find anything.

Was this man charged with anything?

I know two people with down syndrome and they both are very attached to their parents. In times of hardship or confrontation, they cling to their parents. So I can see why this man would have tried to run home to his mother.

It's quite obvious that we need to re-evaluate how police are trained and we need to redefine their role in the community. If we don't.....the barrage of police-brutality stories will keep flowing in.

reply to post by Magister


That poor young man.. He certainly got a blow or two to the face.. I guess it comes down to it is very dangerous to be anything but a sheep in a nation of sheep.. Colostomy bag and being young, mentally challenged, running or trying to break free while being 5 feet because he either did not understand or was afraid...No excuse, can't have that.! I wonder if a lawyer is licking his chops? LEOs expect and demand complete compliance plenty of stories about those who chose not to comply.. At least this young man is alive..

reply to post by 727Sky


It's not to late for me to get a JD [law degree] with the LEOs creating such a profitable environment.
With my MS, it should only take me a year to have a very profitable practice.

This type of citizen abuse won't stop until it gets to financially difficult for the municipalities to carry the burden of litigation.

LE needs more training, mandatory lapel video cameras, and appropriate punishment for Blue code covering up of abuse or corruption; immediate termination and legal proceeding that any other citizen would suffer. Stop the double standard.

Guilty until proven innocent for the citizens and a completely different set of laws for the cops who now are able to perform as judge, jury and executioner.

After seeing many things in my years as an MP, i have always said that i think that police should have to do stint in the care industry first. Whether it be mental health, kids with emotional and behavioral disorders....that kind of thing....it would certainly make for a different response at some of these incidents.

CX.

US is going to go bankrupt from payouts to victims of police, forget Wall Street.

Absolutely uncalled for!

I have arrested/taken into protective custody plenty of people in my career that have fought me and I have never inflicted damage to somebody like that!

I have also had to subdue people with mental illnesses and while they can be extremely strong and do punch, kick, bite and spit, I have never had a problem gaining control without striking them! Especially if there is more than one officer present.

I don't want to Monday morning quarterback because I wasn't there but even if these officers had a legit reason to stop this person it appears they screwed up big time and used excessive force. They need to be held accountable! Internally, civilly and/or criminally.

Also as far as training goes, when I went through the academy 10 years ago we had ZERO training on interactions with citizens with Autism, Down Syndrome etc. The training was focused on dealing with the mentally ill who were a threat to themselves or others. I am not sure if there is any training in todays academies.

This really hits home with me because I have a daughter with a disability that falls within the Autism Spectrum.

At my department I have helped with training officers in dealing with these unique individuals with the help of a non profit organization called the Greater Autism Society. We have provided this training free for agencies in the county and surrounding counties. We actually have interactions with officers and people who suffer from Autism/Down Syndrome in various degrees. It is great training and I feel that it has helped tremendously.

Perhaps this agency could benefit from it!

Miami-Dade Police Slapped Man With Down Syndrome


​Just weeks after North Miami Police fatally shot an autistic man playing with a toy gun, officers from another South Florida police force are in hot water for using violence against a mentally disadvantaged man. NBC Miami reports that Saturday night, a Miami-Dade Police officer slammed a man with Down syndrome to the ground and then smacked him across the head. The officers were suspicious after seeing a bulge in the man's pants. It turned out to be a colostomy bag.

Twenty-two-year-old Gilberto Powell was confronted by officers Saturday at 9:30 p.m. near SW 111th Place and 138th Street. Officers spotted a bulge in his waistband and began to pat him down.

Powell, who has Down syndrome, became confused and tried to flee. The officers tried to place him in handcuffs, but his head hit the ground. Powell struck one of the officers in the chest, and then an officer "struck [Powell] in the left side of his face with an open hand in an attempt to subdue him," according to the police report.

Only after they had handcuffed him did they realize Powell was "mentally challenged, was not capable of understanding our commands, and that the bulge in his waistband was a colostomy bag."

Source

It's old news now...
It's also all to common.
And in a way he is lucky, they could have killed him, and claimed he was attempting to escape, and they where afraid.

reply to post by TorqueyThePig


Sir I would like to thank you for your service to your community. You are the kind of officer we need more of.

Thank you,
D.

i don't understand why some of the ANS's always use old news, and date it for the day they publish it.
i mean if it was used for a back story fine, but just don't print it like it just happened.

that being said, i guess steroids makes you stupid too. i mean you could have looked at the guy and known, then if you would have listened to him, i bet that would have even shown more.

i mean come on have you ever heard of a down syndrome kid, young adult, ever toting a gun or getting high.

here is the story it happened back in 2011.

Man With Down Syndrome in Clash With Cops

ETA: Dav1d, man you beat i wanted to find a local source, and took to long.

reply to post by Dav1d


That really means a lot to me.

I may not be able to change every Police Department or Sheriffs Office, I may not be able to weed out every bad officer that exists. What I can do is at least be a part of the change for the good of the people.

I know what I stand for.

I don't want to Monday morning quarterback because I wasn't there but even if these officers had a legit reason to stop this person it appears they screwed up big time and used excessive force.

reply to post by TorqueyThePig


Ooops. Screwed up. My bad. Everyone is looking like an enemy combatant before I get my 2nd cup of coffee.
LOL.

armed... yes
aggressive...yes
dangerous...yes
coordinated...yes

enemy combatants.... yes.

reply to post by InverseLookingGlass


What is your point? I feel they screwed up and used excessive force. I also feel they should be held accountable civilly and/or criminally.

CX
After seeing many things in my years as an MP, i have always said that i think that police should have to do stint in the care industry first. Whether it be mental health, kids with emotional and behavioral disorders....that kind of thing....it would certainly make for a different response at some of these incidents.

CX.

I spent ten years working with Autism through highly challenging behaviour "etc" (this is the UK), our site had a daytime client group of about 100 teens, many of whom would not be easily observed as having a disability untill certain triggers occurred. Obviously a fair few of them came into contact with the police for various reasons, and we ended up inviting the local bobbies for regular sessions to observe how we worked empathetically with our teenagers, and to talk to the kids and explain what they were doing as police and why.

Many folk with learning difficulties/disabilities of this nature have difficulties with expressive and receptive communication (which many folk dont realise, especially in stressfull environments) - a bit of understanding and adaptation from "authority" can make a heck of a difference.

It had a massive impact on how they behaved. Both the police and the teens

Dav1d
reply to post by TorqueyThePig

 

Sir I would like to thank you for your service to your community. You are the kind of officer we need more of.

Thank you,
D.

I would echo that sentiment.

reply to post by hounddoghowlie


Mods, please remove! Give everyone their stars back! Sorry everyone!
Although, my sentiments still apply!

reply to post by Magister


i wasn't knocking you, i was commenting on the fact that some sites take article or stories that happened long ago and print as just happening, with out acknowledging that it was a old story.

I'm surprised they didn't shoot him, I mean, a 5' tall kid with down syndrome is almost as scary as a naked 11 year old girl. What a bunch of cowards.

Why is it assumed we all may be doing something illegal or may have something to hide? It is the War on Drugs scam. That is also fueling an underworld of big money turnover that prompt dependent people to rob and steal and for others to wheel and deal often with violence and at the point of a gun. It makes us all fearful of the "good guys and the bad" (obscuring the line between them both) whether involved in the illicit dealings or not. It has created a vast black market of astronomical profits on substances that would be worth only pennies on an open market.

The Drug War has diminished our privacies so the authorities can peek in on us all to see that we are toeing that line in the sand. The illicit market corrupts authorities at all levels so that we don't know who are the good or the bad.

It is because of this that all persons are potential suspects. It is why innocent people get beaten by the police. It is why there are little resources available to combat against other more harmful crimes and societal ills. It is a law that is creating a more lawless society.

This is not off-topic. This poor man was rousted because of a bulge in his pants. Were the police suspecting the bulge was contraband or that he may have had a gun? And if he had a gun would it be because he would have been suspected of being involved in illicit trafficking? He had neither, but he was under suspicion, and he was beaten. Why? What was he suspected of? He had a bulge.

Time to end the insanity, or time to kick it up another notch?