Philly cop takes journalism student through black neighborhood. J-student reports that during the ride-along, the cop refers to residents as “animals,” and the crimes he polices as “typical nigger shit.” He then adds, “People hate us here. They spit at us.” I wonder why.
Two Baltimore cops face federal indictment for beating a teen while the kid was shackled, then covering it up with the aid of their sergeant. Incredibly, one of the cops has been suspended with pay since 2004, even though he was convicted of assault in 2005.
Phoenix police raid the home of a blogger who had set up a police watch website. They also have been raiding the homes of police officers suspected of giving the guy tips about officer misconduct, including one officer who was blackballed in the department for going public about mishandling of evidence in the city’s crime lab.
The Connecticut attorney general’s office has finally released the report of its investigation into the drug raid police shooting of unarmed Gonzalo Guizan in May of last year. The police brought 21 cops to conduct a paramilitary raid, complete with flashbang grenades, on the home of Ronald Terebesi. Guizan was visiting Terebesi at the time. The highly aggressive raid was conducted based on a tip from a prostitute that Terebesi was using illicit drugs, not distributing them. The report does say Guizan had cocaine in his system at the time of the raid, and according to police, tried to wrestle one officer’s gun away from him. Guizan wasn’t a named suspect, and had no prior criminal record.
According to those who have viewed it, a dash camera video into a fatal police shooting in Fort Wayne, Indiana last year shows the shooting to be unprovoked. But Fort Wayne’s mayor refuses to make the video available to the public, stating he’s keeping the video under wraps out of respect for the victim’s family. The officer in question has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Federal lawsuit claims police planted a gun after shooting an unarmed 16-year-old kid eight times, killing him. The gun police claim to have found on the scene had no fingerprints (though the police chief said otherwise in public statements), and was shown to have been in police possession at the time of the burglary (it had been seized after a burglary). According to the lawsuit, the police then filed a separate report 10 days later that swapped in a new gun. You can see security stills from the chase here. At least one video expert claims they show no gun. Doesn’t look like it to me, either.
The city of Santa Fe has settled with a man beaten by police officers in 2006. The settlement came after the man was able to get a court to force the city to turn over a dash cam video of the beating–a video the city tried to claim didn’t exist. The man was initially charged with felonies for assaulting the police officers. A jury acquitted him in 20 minutes. The two officers who beat him are still on the force.
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on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 10:58 am by Radley Balko
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TheAgitator.com
Where to begin?
Wow, think of the country we live in where police raid the home of a man who has publicly criticized the police and tried to hold them accountable. I suppose there is a chance this home actually did need to be raided for independent reasons, but nonetheless it shows how confident police are that they can do anything, and target anyone. Based on whats reported, that is arguably the most significant police abuse that has appeared on this website in the last 12 months, because it’s a blatant affront to free speech. Let’s all hold our breath and wait for someone with any power to pretend to sort of take this seriously.
Re: the withheld video. I suppose that mayor never releases videos of shootings or killings or other violent crimes out of respect for the victims families?
RE: Ft Wayne video
I’m having a hard time understanding the reasoning behind not showing the video but for people to blame just the city when the families attorney won’t show it either is misguided.
That being said, if the video shows what the reviewer says then why wouldn’t the city want it shown? After a chase the dead guys car is blocked in by other police vehicles, one cop goes to open the door when the defendant decides to take off again. If that is exactly what it shows then no one should be surprised the guy is dead, trying to pull away like that is always going to get you shot.
I found a little more detail on the video. Note this quote from another reviewer:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080731/NEWS02/807310342/1001
There are tons of people around south Louisiana that have the exact same attitude as the cop in the first story. And they’re not racist, just as the cop isn’t. It’s more of a culture thing. How can you respect a culture that is constantly ready to resort to violence to prove a point? Of course, this is only the most prominent element of the community. No doubt there are plenty of women, children and mature men who aren’t like that.
@4:
So your argument is that he isn’t racist, he just prejudges a community based upon the behavior of a few individuals within that community, and extrapolates the small sample to the larger set, to which he then refers using racist epithets like “nigger”?
And that’s not racist how, exactly?
You’re quick on that Philly story, I live there and I just heard about it last night. Please don’t read the comments, Philly has a bad enough reputation. I promise we’re not all like that.
Tokin42:
You do realize that is the police version according to the guy they hired to come up with that version. That may be unfair to say he was hired to come up with that version. You can bet your ass if he wanted to be hired again though, then he needed that version.
As we have seen on here many times the police version is often very different from the recorded version of events.
Radley’s “New Professionalism” Round-up is always roundly depressing.
The only minor glimmer of hope on the horizon, besides growing public awareness promulgated by the likes of The Agitator, is the proliferation of video cell phones and small, hand-held video cameras.
These devices provide INDEPENDENT evidence outside of police manipulation, obfuscation, or outright mendacity regarding their behavior.
“How can you respect a culture that is constantly ready to resort to violence to prove a point?”
You mean the police? By the way, Isn’t this Phoenix thing a little on the nose, gestapo-wise? Is it time for military tribunals for police who pull shit like this and the judges who approve these warrants? Or would that just give them more of a hard-on from pretending to be in the military?
How can you respect a culture that is constantly ready to resort to violence to prove a point?
That’s probably not a line of argument you want to advance when defending cops, lest it be turned around on you.
Beat me to it on the first point, Bowers.
I don’t excuse filthy, rude talk like that, but I think you rich white guys are funny. Have you ever spent any time in the inner city? It’s not all sunshine and puppy dogs. Yeah, some cops suck, but a lot of criminals do too.
When the police withhold dash cam evidence, this should be grounds for (a) aquittal of the accussed and (b) prosecutions of the police and prosecutors for obstruction of justice. Its the only way to stamp out corruption.
Speaking of which, why arent the team that prosecuted Ted Stevens, being prosecuted for deliberately withholding evidence? They still have their jobs at the Justice Dept. C’mon Eric Holder, where are your stones?
Carinna: I have spent a lot of time in inner city Baltimore. There are a lot of low lifes. That said, there a lot of people who are just POOR and trying to get by. Most of them are not fans of criminals either, especially since the victims usually live in the same neighborhood as the criminals.
However, when the police treat everyone as per se criminals or animals, is it any wonder that the poor in those neighborhoods are unwilling to help?
#7
That’s why I said “IF it shows…”, but if it didn’t show what the cops said then I’d bet the attorney suing the city for the family would want the video out there and the reviewer in the article radley posted would have pointed it out too.
Leaders of the Guardian Civic League, an organization of black Philadelphia police officers, met yesterday and called for Thrasher’s firing
So, other black officers are calling for his firing for using a racial epithet?
I’m willing to bet these same officers would lie to protect him if he were accused of assaulting or negligently killing a suspected criminal.
Amazing.
#15
I think the lawyer might be more worried about the city retaliating if he releases it:
GiaQuinta and Palma have filed a civil suit against the city on behalf of the family. A federal judge overseeing the case ruled this year that the city cannot do anything to prevent GiaQuinta from showing the video to the public or the media, but GiaQuinta is hesitant to do so.
“As a lawyer, I have some other issues about disseminating information that I know is evidence in a case,” GiaQuinta said. “I don’t want the city of Fort Wayne filing a grievance against me.”
I’m probably a bit late on this, but
“How can you respect a culture that is constantly ready to resort to violence to prove a point?”
The irony. You don’t see it, davidst.
Nick T “Based on whats reported, that is arguably the most significant police abuse that has appeared on this website in the last 12 months, because it’s a blatant affront to free speech.”
True and notice the deafening silence from all the outraged politicians, media and civil libertarians who should be holding these thugs accountable? Where’s Nancy Pelosi? Where’s Bill O’Reilly? The NYT? The ACLU? Until this makes the evening news we will slip softly and silently into a full blown police state.
@5
Exactly. That’s not racist because racism is irrationally hating all members of a race, not just the ones that annoy you.
Lots of stuff on recording cops in that roundup. I think the ol’ agitator made the point a while ago, but with all the gear that cops have these days why not cameras everywhere. Gun cam, dash cam, vest cam. Using police logic. Its for their own good. If they have nothing to hide they have nothing to be scared about.
That Phoenix raid on the blogger’s home is extremely worrisome, especially when we think of Radley’s April Fools’ Day visit from the Alexandria PD.
Is there another pattern emerging here? One even more sinister than the no-knock raids themselves?
“but I think you rich white guys are funny.”
Because anyone posting on a blog has to be rich and white.
Let’s all pledge to eracism!
davidst,
Actually, racism is applying a general stereotype derived from an often unrepresentative sample size of a few individuals to an general ethnic group…not necessarily to every single member of that ethnic group. Basically you’re a racist if you believe that “most black people act like that” the same as if you believe “all black people act like that”. Even if you happen to think that there are some black people who are okay.
I’ve known several virulent racists who tried to claim they weren’t racists just because they happened to have a few token friends from the ethnic group they personally despised. Most of the time they just rationalize away the contradiction by telling themselves that their multicultural friends aren’t like all the other [insert appropriate racial slur] they run across.
“That’s not racist because racism is irrationally hating all members of a race, not just the ones that annoy you.”
The irony. You still don’t see it.
*sigh*
The lack of accountability for crooked and abusive cops disgusts me.
[...] His latest one his here. [...]
SJE | April 2nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
…Speaking of which, why arent the team that prosecuted Ted Stevens, being prosecuted for deliberately withholding evidence? They still have their jobs at the Justice Dept. C’mon Eric Holder, where are your stones?
I believe at the least the attorneys will be fired, maybe prosecuted, but I think that less likely. Maybe the black mark on their records will prevent any of them from getting a job, and they should probably be dis-barred. I will give Holder the benefit of the doubt here though, after all Rome wasn’t built in a day. The first thing to do would be to right the wrong.
RE: Phoenix police raid the home of a blogger who had set up a police watch website.
What I don’t understand is say you are a cop, clean or crooked, and want to bust this guy, wouldn’t you want to make sure it sticks? Why go in without any real probable cause? Sure you inconvenience him for a few days, but the fellow already has a new laptop and I am sure has changed the passwords on all his accounts. I think the fellow in question has made it pretty clear he isn’t going to be intimidated by a raid, and he is just going to add the raid as evidence in the harassment suit. Doesn’t make sense to me.
Old: I agree it is unlikely that the prosecutors will be, themselves, prosecuted. Not that they should not be.
However, they should at least be suspended, pending an investigation. What have we heard so far? Nada.
SJE | April 3rd, 2009 at 11:24 am
…However, they should at least be suspended, pending an investigation. What have we heard so far? Nada.
I am willing to give Holder the benefit of the doubt. I wish there was transparency in this, though, and I think it is a mistake not to lay everything on the table. I am willing to give Holder time, but for all I know the info may be out there for any competent reporter to find, and any editor to run. We need a groklaw for the justice department.
“Lemus-Rodriguez had been pulled over by an off-duty detective”
Let me get this right. the guy was pulled over by an OFF DUTY FUZZ. Let’s see, what’s good for the goose……… So a cop, that is OFF DUTY has the right to pull you over, even tho he is off duty?
Now going by that, and ofcourse, common law of the people to make citizen’s arrest
when I see a cop doing 80 mph on the freeway in Dallas, no lights or siren on, I have the right to pull him over and make a Citizen’s Arrest and detain him at gun point if he tries to resist, and if he continues to resist, I have a right to blow him away?
Come on cops, let’s see ya talk your way out of this senario…
Hey the blogger story just hit slashdot.