Cops behaving badly

[hepcat]

You notice that I always make you walk a few paces in front of me, and Seppe a few paces behind when we're in my neighborhood, right?

[ImLawBoy]

Because I grew up in a small farm community where cops were usually family, friends or neighbors, and they were almost always decent to you (even when gruff), I guess I just don't have that level of distrust that is the result of years of seeing/experiencing abuse. I've lived in Chicago for many years, and I still tend to be more trusting of police than I probably should, given the history of Chicago cops.

You're also white (unless something has changed since the last time I saw you). You would likely have a different perspective if you were Black.

[hepcat]

As I wrote, I don't have the experience of years of seeing/experiencing abuse, which I'm sure is vastly different for minorities.

[Blackhawk]

Because I grew up in a small farm community where cops were usually family, friends or neighbors, and they were almost always decent to you (even when gruff), I guess I just don't have that level of distrust that is the result of years of seeing/experiencing abuse.

I'm still living in such a place. The thing is (at least around here), the fact that they're family, friends, or neighbors is a big part of the reason why they're decent. You're a local that they know? You can get away with almost anything. You're a local? A smile and 'have a nice day.' You're from out of town? You're getting standard cops. You're from out-of-state (especially if you have out-of-state plates?) Toe the line. And don't be surprised if you still have problems. Michelle's dad was a Sheriff's deputy for a while. Any member of her family who did anything short of a major felony just got a phone call to him and a finger-shaking.

[Blackhawk]

Watching the video, stream-of-consciousness thoughts. Using this version of the dash cam footage, which seems to be the full, unedited video (it has the shot, but zero blood.) Reminder that I do have training, but it has been a long time, and it's likely out of date. Take that into account - these days I'd say that I'm not an expert, just somewhat informed.

Spoiler:

~At 15 seconds you can see Cure go past the cop. He was speeding (although by how much, I don't know, although I believe that that information is recorded along with the feed, so the investigators know.)
~Cop pulls up with his lights (from what I can tell) at around 34 seconds, truck turns on its signal and seems to start to pull over 12 seconds later, then swerves back into the fast lane and continues, eventually pulling over at around 1:20. I can't say whether the guy was trying to evade, or if he just decided to wait for a better spot to pull over. It wasn't much of a chase, though.
~Nope. Cop was aggressive and "respect mah authoritah" from the get-go.
~At least at the beginning, Cure was being a smart-ass, but not actively combative, while the cop was actively aggressive.
~Cop calls for backup at 2:47, then continues to approach Cure to take him into custody. This was likely a mistake. He called for help, Cure was acting squirrely enough for him to know that a physical altercation was possible, but he then went up and tried to handle it alone anyway. Had he waited for backup, it is less likely that the fight would have required deadly force. He should have had Cure move to the other side of the truck (away from traffic), and then backed off and held the taser on him from a distance. He should never have put himself in arm's reach at that point.
~Tases him at 3:32 . Cure was still non-compliant, but was not at all actively aggressive, and backup was on the way. This shouldn't have happened - he should have waited. In my view, the cop escalated.
~Five seconds of non-stop tasing later and Cure turns aggressive, sweeping the taser leads (which, I'm guessing, was intentional as that is exactly how you defend yourself from a taser.)
~Pure conjecture: The stress and fear, combined with the sudden and ongoing pain of the taser, and Cure fell back on 16 years of prison conditioning.
~Fight continues, cop tries the asp baton, but doesn't have the angle to make it effective. Cure then puts a hand under the cop's jaw and bends him over backwards. At this point, the cop has lost the fight (he has very little control over his own body in this position, and can't see anything - he's in genuine, immediate danger here.
~It's not easy to see what happens here, and it took me several viewings. The cop reaches over Cure's arm with the baton, possibly hoping to get leverage or a pressure point in Cure's neck. This happens just as Cure is bending him over backwards. The cop passes the baton to his left hand, then reaches down and pulls his sidearm, presumably pressing it against Cure's side and firing (which is probably why there's no loud 'bang' - the gasses from the muzzle would have gone into Cure's body, effectively silencing the shot.)
~Shot was at 4:02
~Cop disengages. It looks like a Brinks truck that drove by just as the fight started pulls up and the guard comes out and provides backup.
~Cop takes a minute or two to recover. He's obviously hurt and exhausted, and likely shaking with adrenaline.
~Cop handcuffs him at 6:02
~Backup arrives at 6:20, 3 minutes and 33 seconds after he called for them.
~6:47 it looks like he starts providing first aid, only 2:45 seconds after the shot. Given that he needed a little time to recover, this isn't bad.

My thoughts: The shot was necessary when it happened, but once again, the events leading up to that shot weren't completely clean. There was some Contempt of Cop going on, with the cop being overly aggressive and not handling things the way they likely should have been handled. Simply waiting for his backup (which he'd already called for) to arrive would likely have avoided this. Instead, he approached an unpredictable suspect alone and aggressively, and escalated when there was an alternative. In my opinion, both parties are at fault.

[Daehawk]

They seemed to both be doing the manly aggressive man thing..A-type personalities coming together. Didn't have to happen with either of them. This is what I lump into human stupidity. Sadly.

[Skinypupy]

Jesus, this is absolutely horrific.

TL:DR: 37 year old black man in Jackson, MS disappears. His mother begs and and pleads with the police department for them to help her find her son. Turns out he had been run over by an off-duty cop and killed. Police stash the body in the morgue for months without notifying the family, then just bury him in a field as "corpse 672". SEVEN MONTHS LATER, the mother finally gets notified where the body is.

Every cop involved in this story is an evil human being and I hope they get prosecuted fully...which I'm sure they won't.

[LawBeefaroni]

That is awful but not as intentional as you imply.

It is absolutely inexcusable, even negligent, but to say everyone is evil? It doesn't appear to be a cover up or attempt to hide information. It was poor follow-up and laziness.

Those materials show that just before 8 p.m. on March 5, Dexter was walking across Interstate 55, a six-lane highway, when a Jackson police SUV driven by an off-duty corporal struck him in the southbound lanes.

The corporal, who alerted police to the collision, was not injured. He was not suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and was not given field sobriety tests. Nor was he cited for any traffic violations. The death was ruled accidental.

Dexter suffered severe injuries, including to his head. A toxicology report later noted that Dexter had PCP and methamphetamine in his system.

An investigator from the Hinds County coroner’s office responded to the scene. He did not find identification on Dexter while examining him but found a bottle of prescription medication in his pocket with his name on it

Three days later, on March 8, the investigator, LaGrand Elliott, contacted the medical facility that had provided the prescription and received Bettersten’s name as Dexter’s next of kin, according to Elliott’s case notes. Elliott said he called the number listed for Bettersten in the facility’s records and left a voicemail but got no response. Bettersten confirmed that the number Elliott said he called was correct, but she doesn’t remember receiving a call from him, and was not able to access her Boost Mobile phone records to check.

Elliott confirmed Dexter’s identification on March 9, when the state crime lab said his fingerprints matched those it had on file for him, according to his notes. Elliott said in an interview that he passed what he’d found — a phone number and an address — to the Jackson Police Department’s accident investigation squad so they could notify Bettersten of Dexter’s death.

“Once we get that information I turn it over to police because it is their jurisdiction so that they can do the proper death notification,” Elliott said.

[Punisher]

Thanks for the clarification.
It first looked like offduty cop kills someone, tgen his buddies hude the body in a mourge to cover things up and eventually bury the body as anonymous to finish cover up.

This looks more like a few clerical and folliw up issues whoch aren't a good thing, but sometimes mistakes happen.

[Isgrimnur]

DOJ launches an investigation into Memphis and the city's police department

This all comes more than seven months after the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, who was beaten by officers from the Memphis Police Department.

A former Memphis officer pleads guilty to charges in Tyre Nichols' beating death

A former Memphis police officer changed his plea to guilty Thursday in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, becoming the first of five officers charged to reverse course, with prosecutors recommending up to 15 years in prison.

Desmond Mills Jr. entered his plea during a hearing at the Memphis federal courthouse as part of a larger agreement to settle charges in state court as well. It wasn't immediately clear whether the four other officers would follow suit. Their attorneys declined to comment on Mills' plea change.

Mills pleaded guilty to federal charges of excessive force and obstruction of justice and agreed to plead guilty to related state charges. Mills also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, who are recommending a 15-year sentence. The final sentencing decision rests with the judge. Mills remains free on bail ahead of his May 22 sentencing hearing.

[Alefroth]

Deputy scared by an acorn hitting his cruiser opens fire in street

A Florida law enforcement officer shot at an unarmed and handcuffed man after mistaking the sound of a falling acorn for a gunshot, according to internal investigation documents.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office investigation released Friday found former deputy Jesse Hernandez used excessive force. But he and a sergeant who shot at unarmed suspect Marquis Jackson were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, according to Sheriff Eric Aden.

[Blackhawk]

He was a 10-year Army Special Forces and combat veteran (aka, a green beret?) Good lord.

My first thought is to wonder if PTSD was involved. If so, my sympathies to him, but he shouldn't be in the role he's in.

[Isgrimnur]

[Unagi]

He also claimed he was -hit-.

"I feel... weird"

[Max Peck]

He was a 10-year Army Special Forces and combat veteran (aka, a green beret?) Good lord.

He was never in combat, according to the article, so while he's a veteran I'm not sure I'd characterize him as a combat veteran. YMMV.

[Blackhawk]

He was a 10-year Army Special Forces and combat veteran (aka, a green beret?) Good lord.

He was never in combat, according to the article, so while he's a veteran I'm not sure I'd characterize him as a combat veteran. YMMV.

Ah, you're right. I remembered that the article said that he'd done two combat tours, but forgot that he claimed he'd never actually been in combat.

[Unagi]

He was a 10-year Army Special Forces and combat veteran (aka, a green beret?) Good lord.

He was never in combat, according to the article, so while he's a veteran I'm not sure I'd characterize him as a combat veteran. YMMV.

Ah, you're right. I remembered that the article said that he'd done two combat tours, but forgot that he claimed he'd never actually been in combat.

I think the real question is did he have any history with squirrels?

[Isgrimnur]

Artist's rendition of the suspects:

[Unagi]

[Isgrimnur]

[LawBeefaroni]

The body cam footage from his partner is nuts. She's like, "What the fuck?" But still mag dumps into the police wagon because he's shooting at it.



"Know your target and what is behind it."

[Sudy]

From the files of Police Squad....

“He began yelling “shots fired” multiple times, falling to the ground and rolling,” the sheriff’s report said. “He fired into the patrol car.”

...

While the county’s state attorney's office found no probable cause for criminal charges, the sheriff's internal affairs investigation determined Hernandez's use of force was “not objectively reasonable."

[Brian]

How about "Reckless Discharge of a Firearm" at the very least?

[Blackhawk]

Nah, he has Coppish Immunity.

[Isgrimnur]

Some say he only converted for the immunity and jokes.

[raydude]

Deputy scared by an acorn hitting his cruiser opens fire in street

A Florida law enforcement officer shot at an unarmed and handcuffed man after mistaking the sound of a falling acorn for a gunshot, according to internal investigation documents.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office investigation released Friday found former deputy Jesse Hernandez used excessive force. But he and a sergeant who shot at unarmed suspect Marquis Jackson were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, according to Sheriff Eric Aden.

If you look at the other officer's body cam footage you can see that Office Hernandez is not that far from the cruiser that she's shooting at. I wouldn't be surprised if part of why he resigned is thinking "I could have been hit by a stray bullet from my own side". I know I'd be freaking out at that firing angle.

[Alefroth]

I hope he resigned because he realized how badly he effed up and he wasn't cut out to be a cop.

[$iljanus]

I hope he resigned because he realized how badly he effed up and he wasn't cut out to be a cop.

Or in a true American redemption story, after the dust has settled some small town desperate for police officers hires him on.

[Unagi]

Some say he only converted for the immunity and jokes.

I get it!

[Blackhawk]

I hope he resigned because he realized how badly he effed up and he wasn't cut out to be a cop.

I land somewhere along there. He may have recognized that he's not suited to the job. Or he may actually be cut out to be a cop, but if he is, he knows the mistake he made. The kind of mistake that could very easily have cost multiple lives (multiple shots fired at an innocent, with residences in the background.) In either case, he may have resigned simply to eliminate that possibility in the future. If so, then good for him. When someone makes a dangerous mistake, learns from it, and acts to prevent it from every happening again at a cost to themselves, then I have respect for that person.

Of course, we'll never know if that's what happened or not. He may have quit to avoid the fallout, and he may plan on staying in law enforcement. If so, he's the worst kind of asshole.

[Alefroth]

Watching the video some more really makes me think he was having some kind of episode. The way he leaves his gun on the ground and scrapes it along also while crawling just seems very unusual.

[Isgrimnur]

Ex-police officer sentenced to 20 years in Mississippi torture case

Former Mississippi police officer Hunter Elward has been sentenced to 20 years for his role in torturing two black men in their own home.

Elward is the first of six officers due to be sentenced this week.

The victims were beaten, shocked with stun guns and sexually assaulted by the officers who burst in without a warrant in 2023. One of them was also shot in the mouth.

The group pleaded guilty to federal civil rights offences in August.
...
Elward also shot Mr Jenkins in the mouth during a botched mock execution, cutting his tongue and breaking his jaw.

Elward apologised to Mr Jenkins in court

[Carpet_pissr]

The body cam footage from his partner is nuts.

[Alefroth]

What a tragic mess-

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... h-graziano

Cops kill kidnapped girl they were trying to save.

[LawBeefaroni]

Poor training and inept leadership. It was a chaotic scene but they seemed to do everything they could to make it even more chaotic.

Also keep in kind that this footage was released by rhe sheriff's department after 18 months of delay and it still makes them look bad. Imagine what the unedited footage looks ike. Or if they had had any dash or body cams.

[Pyperkub]

Planting evidence, again.

Calvin Riley Sr.'s routine traffic stop becomes a legal nightmare. Video shows TPD Officer Oliver pouring out a sealed bottle of liquor and tossing it in Riley's passenger seat, before arresting him for a DUI.

Officer Mueth then returned to Officer Oliver’s car and returned to questioning Riley. As Riley sat detained in the back of Oliver’s car, this time, Mueth returned to the subject of marijuana. From this moment, the body-worn camera shows Officer Oliver pouring out a liquid onto the street outside Riley’s Mercedes. Oliver’s body camera recorded the sound of the liquor bottle being opened. After Oliver pours out the bottle, she tosses it onto the floorboard of the passenger side of Riley’s vehicle.

[Pyperkub]

Kansas Prosecutor behaving illegally in this case...

cting on a case built by disgraced former Kansas City, Kansas Police detective Roger Golubski, Morehead presented no physical evidence tying McIntyre to the murders. She relied upon the testimony of a witness, Niko Quinn, who later recanted.

Quinn said Morehead threatened to throw her in jail and take her children if she didn’t lie about what she saw the day of the double homicide. Morehead also failed to disclose that she had a past romantic relationship with the judge on the case.

Quinn, reached Tuesday, said she is glad authorities are finally starting to clean up problems in the criminal justice system. Quinn and four other Black women have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Unified Government alleging that officials permitted an “open and notorious police protection racket” to victimize the Black community.

Morehead's actions may be added to the federal lawsuit, Quinn said. She said Morehead's career had profited from her suffering.

"This is the beginning of my dreams," Quinn said, "because I want her dreams."