TheAgitator.com
Horrifying Chicago Police Beating Caught on Video
Friday, August 19th, 2011Michael and Adrian Ayala were closing up the 7911 Food and Liquor Store on South Archer early Wednesday morning when they said a bunch of Chicago police officers, mistaking them for robbers, beat them up.
Officers were driving by around 1 a.m. as Michael Ayala, 23, was grabbing his keys from inside and his brother waited outside by his bicycle.
Police were apparently not interested in listening to Adrian Ayala’s explanation, and they handcuffed him. That’s when Michael Ayala went outside to find out what was going on.
“I seen them roughing up my brother,” Michael Ayala said. “I was telling them, ‘Could you please stop doing that to my brother.’ When I said that, a cop came around, opened the door and he hit me a couple times.”
The video does not show that, but it clearly shows what happens after the cops let the two men go without charges. An angry Michael Ayala yelled at one of the cops that he had them on video tape, and he wasn’t going to let it go.
“That’s when the sergeant just flipped out on me,” Michael Ayala said.
Here’s what happened next:
The statement from Chicago PD is interesting. It doesn’t really even attempt to defend the officers:
“The Chicago Police Department was notified by the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) that they are conducting an investigation into the alleged actions of Department members involved in two arrests on August 16th on the 4800 block of S. Archer. The alleged conduct does not represent the high standards of professionalism and excellence maintained as core values of the Department and which officers demonstrate on a daily basis serving and protecting the community. The Chicago Police Department is fully cooperating with the IPRA as it conducts its investigation.”
I believe that the “high standards of conduct” in question are the officers’ failure to confiscate and destroy the video.
Holy shit
I hate to say it, but it is a good thing that these two guys were victimized by the stupid ones. If the officers were a little smarter they would have made the brother’s lives a whole lot more unpleasant.
The reporter says you have to wonder if it is “a case of poor training for the officers”. Lady, you don’t need any training to know this is wrong.
Can Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy explain why he was not at the scene of the Chicago PD beating?
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/06/chicago-top-cop-blames-sarah-palin-racism-for-citys-gun-violence-video/
After returning home from investigating a pair of shootings, he said he flipped on the television to relax, only to find “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” being broadcast.
“She was caribou hunting, and talking about the right to bear arms,” he said. “Why wasn’t she at the crime scene with me?”
Dave, I think she was referring to the type of training #1 described. Where you keep things hush hush, make sure you arrest them and find a gun/drugs/osama bin laden’s cell phone number.
Wow! Just wow.
Chicago cops must be pussies- I keep seeing video of them beating women and nice, average looking guys…
This kid won’t be working in the liquor store for much longer!
Can someone not sit Antonin Scalia down in front of a computer and show him police professionalism at its finest?
Why can’t the damn media make the obvious leap that maybe recording your interactions with cops ought to be legal in Illinois?
#4
Well of course it was a case of poor training for the officers.
If they’d been a little more prepared, it would have been a routine drug bust, rather than 11 o’clock news.
#10 – video recording police officers is legal in Illinois. It’s audio recording that is a “no-no.”
“The police are not here to create disorder. They are here to preserve disorder.” — Mayor Richard J. Daley, 1968.
Good to know some things never change, I guess.
“The Chicago Police Department is fully cooperating”
I rather doubt it.
#10 there is no way police can expect to enter a liquor store filled with surveillance cameras and not be recorded. Their entering the premises implies consent.
This is a perfect example of why people should be armed and protect themselves, including killing a police officer (who no longer is a police officer by acting illegally under the color of law).
BamBam@15: Okay, crazy-person.
jcalton@14: I dunno, the statement kind of sounds like they’re cutting these officers loose to deal with it on their own, i.e. eventual firing. They’re just not allowed to call them bad cops.
FFS, could these assholes have their feet held to the fire ever? So sick of these JBTs doing this shit with impunity. The whole dept ought to feel the heat over this.
BamBam, I agree with the sentiment, but it is much more difficult in practice. In this particular incident, as with so many others, those brothers would be swiss cheese with the number of officers present. Worse yet it would be used as an excuse for more aggressive police tactics.
I look at the incident as being a good example as why on duty officers should always be recorded, and those recordings made public. I would rather see police abuse curbed by strong public sentiment (even at the expense of a pandering politician) than outright insurrection, the latter being immeasurably worse (and one day it may ultimately be necessary).
I agree with EH in that the department is distancing itself from the officers involved but that’s hardly something that we should consider a great thing. That’s the very least it could do.
We need to start seeing department heads, the senior officers and mayors/politicians making it clear that this behavior IS NOT to be tolerated in the USA. The police must be public servants or the concept of freedom is a joke.
Can someone not sit Antonin Scalia down in front of a computer and show him police professionalism at its finest?
This.
#16 | EH | August 19th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
BamBam@15: Okay, crazy-person.
Crazy like John Locke, the revolutionaries, and the constitution. People have an innate right to defend themselves from unwarranted physical violence. If I am ever in a position where I am being physically assaulted (under the colour of law or otherwise), with no way of defending myself other than using deadly force, I am using deadly force. Likewise, if I am witnessing unwarranted physical violence towards another, I will do whatever I reasonably can to stop it. I consider Hugh Thompson, Jr. to be my personal hero, and I wish there were more people in the world like him.
Every one of these looks exactly how all cops respond to contempt of cop (real or perceived). SOP for a gang of assholes who are the biggest threat to citizens.
I think we are starting to poke some holes in the “bad apples” school again. One “good apple” could have stopped this from happening. They did not. So we are left with 12-odd “bad apples” all in the same place at the same time. So how many “good apples” are there in the entire department if 100% of the 12 officers there are “bad apples”?
no justice, no peace.
#1
Came here to post it and you got it in one. Nice job.
Apologies for submitting so many comments on this story, it just boils my blood. I saw a piece of terrible advice in one of the article’s comments that echoes comments on this site sometimes. Specifically,file a complaint without mentioning the tape at all, let the police department investigate and collect their false statements, and then drop the tape on them. I would like nothing more than to see a dirty officer perjure himself, but not at the expense the proposed honeypot comes with.
1. If you are being victimized by the police or about to be, an officer knowing they are on tape may save your skin.
2. A complaint without video becomes your word against theirs. While the department is “investigating” the involved officers are likely going to be out on duty still, potentially carrying out the same criminal activity.
3. With a recording, especially if that video makes the news, it makes it a lot more likely the cops will be pulled off the street. I would rather a dirty officer go on a paid vacation than get paid to crack skulls open.
4. If the video makes the news, other victims may be able to come forward (while there is a first time for everything, how many officers crossed the line just one time?)
5. If you file a complaint, without the video, there is a good chance you are the one who ends up getting investigated, have shit made up, harassed, and videos go disappearing. With a video, there is a better chance you can get the feds involved and may help a corrupt department think twice before trying to screw with you.
6. During the course of the “investigation,” it gives everyone time to get their stories straight (the 48 hour rule in NYC is an abomination).
The best you can hope for by hiding the video is that you get corrupt officers charged with perjury, while risking all the aforementioned problems. My advice is pretty much the opposite. Make as many copies of the recording as possible, disperse the video to as many places as you can, get an attorney, contact the FBI and US attorney general’s office, and then file the complaint.
hamburglar007 #22 Great post!
I’m sorry, I skipped around in the video and did not see any beating going on. Can you save everyone 3 minutes of local news next time and just explain where the interesting part starts?
hamburglar007 #22
I second JS #28. I had forgotten Thompson, a man that deserves a memorial in D.C. His order to fire on C Company, if necessary, while he was attempting to rescue Vietnamese civilians was in the highest tradition of duty and honor of the American military. Shame so few have his moral courage.
Now I will wrap up my ranting and raving before heading out to judo (I’m pretty pissed after this story so it will make for an interesting class). I saw a comment from link stating the victims should have been glad there were cops patrolling the area, stupidity on so many levels. Where were the police when I needed them last week (mostly rhetorical)?
After some fine gentleman driving behind me thought I was going too slow while making a (legal) uturn, they decided to approach my car looking to fight me and throw a beer bottle at my rear windshield (by some miracle it didn’t actually break the glass). I managed to turn around the corner and go down the block. I am not inclined to call the police if I am not in immediate danger, but I felt like these guys were sufficiently bad news to dial 911. After telling me that there wasn’t much they could do despite me having the plate number, make, model, and description, they said I could go to the station to file a report. I drove over there (worrying that I might end up getting pulled over with my car reeking of beer), and the officer at the desk was actually pretty reasonable, until he told me that something very similar happened about the same time in the same area, but I would have to go back to the scene and call 911 to have officers come to the scene.
So I go back and call 911, despite my hesitation calling an emergency line for something that happened over 45 minutes ago and being in the same spot where the people who I am trying to report may still be lurking about. 45 minutes later a police car shows up, and the first thing they ask me is if they were “Spanish.” (they were Mexican or Ecuadorian). I showed them the broken beer bottle, told them the make and model, and the plate number, but I guess there just wasn’t much they could do with that info. I even made a point that I didn’t have any noticeable car damage, and if it was just some random drunk I wouldn’t have bothered calling, but these guys were serious trouble.
Long story short, they don’t seem to care about a legitimate criminal complaint, but when it comes to terry stopping people (happened to me last year) and otherwise harassing innocent people they are all over that shit. It is a shame too, because there are good policeman (actually good); one of my best friends is NYPD and the other DC Metro cop, but the real bad and complacent bad cops out there are the majority. There are two other NYPD officers I am acquainted with through a mutual friend, and saw them do shit that convinced me to stay far the hell away from them.
Seeing how it has started pissing down rain and don’t want to get soaked, I will be here to rant a little longer (not much more though, I’m almost all ranted out)
Sorry, JS #29.
Regarding resisting the police, everyone knows the story of Mississippi resident Cory Maye who thought he was being subjected to a home invasion, and shot an intruder who turned out to be the policeman son of the local Chief of Police conducting a SWAT raid on his side of a duplex.
Cory Maye served TEN YEARS in prison for self-defense.
You’re just not going to ever get away with killing a police officer who hides behind the pretense of the discharge of his duty.
Never. Never. Never.
@#32
“Long story short, they don’t seem to care about a legitimate criminal complaint”
Which is exactly why I don’t trust NY, or anyone else’s, crime reporting statistics.
@#25 “One “good apple” could have stopped this from happening.”
Wrong. The good apple would have been told to “shut the fuck up” by the other 11, and the next day internal affairs would find a bag of meth in his locker.
I’m just sick (and tired) of hearing about these types of altercations. What the fuck has happened to my country/state/community?!
On a day when I can rejoice about the West Memphis Three (WM3) being released, I find this…unacceptable and repugnant acts by law enforcement once again. It’s disheartening to say the least, but not at all unexpected.
I’m just left wondering why police brutality is continually tolerated and accepted by the community at large as these things are routinely dismissed as isolated incidences.
As always, thanks to Radley for reporting…
These assholes are the standing army our founders warned us about. This must be stopped or insurrection will be the only alternative,a free and peaceful America will never be archived as long as hoodlums in state costumes are not held to the letter of the law .
@Whim
Or you can be Larry Davis who was represented by William Kunstler in the 1980s. Davis shot six cops in New York City and was found not guilty because Kunstler argued self-defense.
Hooray for more cameras! Let’s hope for citizen-run cameras e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e!
Growing up, when I heard about a police officer being killed, I was outraged and saddened. Now I say, “Prove to me that he/she didn’t have it coming.”
How awful to feel that way about those who are supposed to “serve and protect.”
@#37: “These assholes are the standing army our founders warned us about.”
Spot on.
Spanish LE taking notes from US LE, apparently:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zJCgUu5mtE&feature=player_detailpage#t=83s
I think the CPD needs to get serious about getting their employees off the steroids. Every time one of those addicts flips out and beats someone up, it costs the taxpayers a shitload of money.
-jcr
@36, see my post above mentioning Hugh Thompson Jr. The good apple can make a difference, but suffering and sacrifice are often the price of doing the right thing.
Good apples are a myth.
Good cops don’t .exist for this exact reason. None of the “good cops” will stand up to the bad ones and the ones that do will be run out so fast no one will even remember they worked there.
There are no good apples. The whole fucking barrel stinks of putrescence and needs to be tossed.
@15, too bad you resort to name calling. Is that the extent of the debate skills (logic, data, reason, being open minded, listening to someone else, etc) that you can muster? Are you so programmed by The State that you don’t feel you even have the right to defend yourself? Even in such a circumstance as the video, there is a time when a person quits being a whipping post and stands up for themself even if it means death.
You may want to consider that your friends are not good cops/people to those they don’t already know.
New car, license to beat people up, steal things, travel around in a gang and hit people, good money with little mental qualifications, complete inability to be held accountable, and a fat pension after a short career. Although it sounds nice, I wouldn’t take the job of a cop…because I’m not THAT big of an asshole.
Speaking of cops and steroids:
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/296571
How many of those sadists do you suppose were wearing something like these?:
http://tinyurl.com/3hl5oda
Dave Krueger: “The reporter says you have to wonder if it is “a case of poor training for the officers”. Lady, you don’t need any training to know this is wrong.”
Absolutely, Dave. This is mob violence. With so many officers present, this level of force would not have been necessary even if the victims were legitimate suspects. Really makes you doubt the courage of CPD officers when you see CCTV evidence of numerous officers acting like common gangsters.
#53 Matt:
Holy shit! Those look like some Darth Vader gloves! I work in healthcare security and carry standard leather gloves with some kevlar, which I rarely use. These gloves would be banned from our department if any of us were dumb enough to bring them to work (and I don’t think any of my co-workers are that dumb). I can’t even believe they market those. I think it would be hard to argue that those gloves are only for protection of your hands. They are one step down from brass knuckles, acutally.
Helmut I’m guessing the gloves are designed to hurt people. That seems to be the trend with anything to do with the police these days.
Ahh …. Chicago. Home of our dear President, and the entire Chicago Machine. Glad I don’t do business there, spend money there, or ever spend the night in Illinois. What do you expect when you give up all your rights to self defense and give the state the monopoly on power. You end up with power mad, narcissistic leaders and police. Good luck. If you leave and come to a free state, stop voting libtardedly.
Saw the other video looking face-on through the door and saw the trigger for the escalation. Yelling and rattling the cage is just what the cops wanted to claim he was threating and getting a weapon. Never mind he couldn’t pull it loose, just the act alone is enough.
Rules 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, and 10 (leaving the door unlocked) from the DVD “10 Rules for Dealing with Police” by the “Flex Your Rights” group were broken. Here’s a summary of the rules in the vid:
1: Be Calm & Cool.
2: You Have the Right to Remain Silent.
3: You Have the Right to Refuse Searches.
4: Don’t Get Tricked!
5: Determine if You’re Free To Go.
6: Don’t Expose Yourself (i.e. do dumb stuff)!
7: Don’t Run!
8: Never Touch a Cop!
9: Report Misconduct: Be a Good Witness.
10: You Don’t Have to Let Them In (your home without a warrant).
The DVD is posted in segments on Youtube or you can purchase it from the group.
bgwilla:
So basically, you’re saying you should live in abject fear of cops, because they could go all roid rage on you at the slightest provocation.
Got it.
Hunny, it aint the apples that are bad. Its the barrel…
[...] a state that in recent years has seen numerous scandals involving police brutality captured on surveillance video—video that has on several occasions contradicted police reports. In Chicago, we also know that [...]