Louisiana teacher gets handcuffed and manhandled for daring to ask the School Board about pay raises.

Courtesy of The Hill:

A teacher in Louisiana was removed Monday night from a school board meeting after a confrontation regarding teacher's pay. 

During the public comments portion of the Vermilion Parish school board meeting, Deyshia Hargrave, an English language arts teacher at Rene Rost Middle School, asked questions to the board regarding teacher's salaries, according to a report from KATC. 

She raised questions about the school board considering a $38,000 raise for the superintendent, saying she felt that giving raises to any person of leadership was a "slap in the face" to all the teachers, according to WGNTV. 

She was told she was out of order and that the public comments portion of the meeting was not a question-and-answer period. 

The teacher was called on a subsequent time and asked the board another question, according to the report. 

She was then removed from the meeting by an Abbeville city marshal and handcuffed outside. She could be heard in a video taken of the incident yelling that the officer pushed her to the ground and she was told by the officer to "stop resisting."

That poor woman is clearly not resisting, she is simply trying to stay on her feet.

There is absolutely NO excuse for treating a person like this. Especially one who dedicates their lives to teaching our children.

I was horrified when I watched this video, but I guess you will be happy to know that the school board did not press charges against the woman for exercising her 1st Amendment rights.

So I guess there's that at least.

Utah nurse arrested for following protocol and not allowing a police officer to take blood from an unconscious patient. Update!

(That is a very troubling video to watch.)

Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune: 

A nurse says she was assaulted and illegally arrested by a Salt Lake City police detective for following a hospital policy that does not allow blood draws from unconscious patients. 

Footage from University Hospital and officer body cameras shows Detective Jeff Payne and nurse Alex Wubbels in a standoff over whether the policeman should be allowed to get a blood sample from a patient who had been injured in a July 26 collision in northern Utah that left another driver dead. 

Wubbels says blood cannot be taken from an unconscious patient unless the patient is under arrest, unless there is a warrant allowing the draw or unless the patient consents. The detective acknowledges in the footage that none of those requirements is in place, but he insists that he has the authority to obtain the draw, according to the footage. 

At one point, Payne threatens to take Wubbels to jail if he doesn’t get the sample, and he accuses her of interfering with a criminal case. 

“I either go away with blood in vials or body in tow,” Payne says. 

After Wubbels consults with several hospital officials and repeats the policy, Payne tells her she is under arrest and grabs her, pulling her arms behind her back and handcuffing her. The footage shows the detective dragging Wubbels out of the hospital and putting her inside a patrol car as she screams, “Help! Help! Somebody help me! Stop! Stop! I did nothing wrong!”

This nurse is extremely professional in how she interacts with the police, and even has her supervisor backing her up on the phone, and still this asshole manhandles her and treats like a common criminal.

That is a man who became a cop, not to help people, but to use the uniform and the authority it represents to bully people into submission.

It should be noted that the nurse never said no to the officer and instead was simply relating to him the hospital restrictions on what she could do to comply with his request when he arrested her.

Heavy.com relates that the officer, Jeff Payne, has NOT been fired and remains on active duty, though there is an internal investigation.

There are also reports of other officers in the area harassing medical staff in hospitals and this seems like a fairly widespread problem in Utah.

No lawsuits pending as of yet, but I think the hospital and this nurse have a very strong case for one.

Personally I hope that the hospital gives this woman a commendation for doing her job in the face of such a terrifying situation, and perhaps a nice raise would not be out of the question as well.

Update: The two officers have been placed on leave.

That Texas school district police officer who body slammed that twelve year old girl has been fired.

A lot of you saw that video right here on IM last Thursday and were as sickened by it as I was.

Well there has been an update: 

A Texas school police officer who became enmeshed in controversy after he was captured on video seemingly body-slamming a sixth-grade girl has been fired from the San Antonio Independent School District. 

District officials said officer Joshua Kehm was terminated Monday amid an investigation into an incident last month at Rhodes Middle School, in which he appeared to restrain and then throw down 12-year-old Janissa Valdez. 

“We understand that situations can sometimes escalate to the point of requiring a physical response; however, in this situation we believe that the extent of the response was absolutely unwarranted,” Superintendent Pedro Martinez said in a statement. “Additionally, the officer’s report was inconsistent with the video and it was also delayed, which is not in accordance with the general operating procedures of the police department. 

“We want to be clear that we will not tolerate this behavior.”

Well I would certainly hope that they do not "tolerate his behavior." 

Personally I would like this officer to face some jail time as well for assault, but I recognize that is unlikely to happen, so I guess we will have to be satisfied with the fact that he has been fired and will not be in a position to do this to anybody else.

I would also hope that it serves as a wake up call to the school districts and police forces around the country that officers placed in schools need specialized training to know how to deal with the students.

Actually considering the aggression demonstrated by this police officer, they should probably also have a mental health screening to determine if they have issues with rage.

South Carolina school resource officer who assaulted a female student has been fired.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

A South Carolina sheriff's deputy seen hurling a student to the ground and then dragging her across the floor in a widely viewed video has been fired, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Wednesday. 

Deputy Ben Fields had been on administrative leave since the Monday incident. "Deputy Ben Fields did wrong Monday," Lott said, adding that Fields had been terminated from the department roughly 20 minutes before the noon press announcement.

That is of course gratifying to hear, however Sheriff Lott also added this: 

But even as he announced Fields' firing, Lott appeared to defend the deputy's actions and shift at least some of the blame for the encounter to the student, whom he described as "very disruptive and very disrespectful." 

"We must not lose sight that the whole incident was started by this student," he said.

And see that's where this whole thing goes off the rails.

You see the ONLY way to justify the use of force in this situation would be if the student was endangering herself or others. And that was not the case here.

In yesterday's post a number of commenters pointed out that it appeared the girl struck out at the officer, but after rewatching it several times it seemed obvious to me that she was actually flailing in response to being grabbed and was not consciously aiming punches at the officer.

But here's the thing. Even if she HAD been hitting at him, it is HIS responsibility to remain calm and control the situation without causing harm to the student.

Not only is he the adult in the situation, he is a law enforcement professional specifically trained, according to Sheriff Lott, to work in that environment.

If people cannot recognize that literally EVERYTHING this officer did from the moment that he placed his hands on that child is wrong, then either you are an idiot, a racist, a misogynist, or all three.

As I have shared in the past I work with some VERY, VERY challenging young people in my job.

I have been kicked, bitten, spit at, cursed at, and threatened with grave injury or death more times than I can count.

If you do not think that just for an instant after getting headbutted right in the nose I did not want to pick one up of these little terrorists and slam them against the wall to demonstrate my dominance, than you do not understand that even good people have bad thoughts sometimes.

But I never did that. Not even once.

And the reason I did not do it, is first because it would be wrong, and second because it would cost me my job, and very likely open myself and the business I work for to a lawsuit.

A lawsuit by the way that they would more than likely win.

It takes a very particular kind of person to work with difficult kids, and trust me that is who this officer was there to serve. And it takes specialized training to know how to serve them appropriately.

It was clear from the video, that this officer had the wrong temperament, and that he also did not have adequate training.

By the way the only thing I gleaned from all of those incredibly insensitive comments yesterday calling this child a "bitch," and blaming her, her parents, or society for this incident, instead of the officer, is that you are essentially announcing to the world your ignorance.

And it might be enlightening to all of those who claimed this child was unhurt to learn that such was not the case: 

“She now has a cast on her arm, she has neck and back injuries. She has a Band-Aid on her forehead where she suffered rug burn on her forehead,” Columbia attorney Todd Rutherford told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Wednesday.

For those of you are suspicious of this and think that, much like the person who claims whiplash after getting their bumper tapped, it is an exaggeration for an upcoming lawsuit, you might be right.

However that only once again illustrates why you only put well trained, even tempered police officers in a school setting, if you put any officers there at all.

President Obama announces plan to restrict police use of military style equipment.

Courtesy of Mother Jones:  

On Monday, the White House announced a plan to set new restrictions on local police departments from obtaining military-style equipment from the federal government. The limitation on military gear is part of an ongoing effort to rebuild trust between community members and law enforcement officials following the unrest seen in Ferguson, Missouri, particularly the police response to protesters there. 

The announcement is in response to a report put forth by a task force created by the president in December to address broken police relations, especially in minority communities, across the country. Banned items include wheeled-armored vehicles, battering rams, grenade launchers, and more.

Many believe that much of the increase in police brutality has to do with cops being outfitted and trained as if they are going into a war zone, when in fact these are American neighborhoods, populated by American citizens.

After all who could forget the police snipers atop armored vehicles who rolled into Ferguson apparently ready to open fire on mostly peaceful protesters?

Thanks to our 2nd Amendment there are certainly times when the cops need to be outfitted with powerful weaponry and protective clothing and armored vehicles, but those times are statistically few and far between.

I have to wonder how some police departments will feel about giving up their shiny GI Joe paraphernalia but ultimately it will undoubtedly help the police to connect better with the communities they serve, and reduce the incidence of inhumane treatment.

Baltimore police pepper spray and handcuff man for standing on street wearing a "Fuck the Police" t-shirt.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

In dramatic footage captured by the Associated Press, an unidentified Baltimore protester wearing a “F*ck the police” t-shirt is pepper sprayed before being dragged to the ground by his hair. 

As the man stands impassively in the street with his arms at his side, an officer walks up to him and, without provocation, sprays his face with pepper spray. As the man attempts to shake it off, not even reaching upwards to his face, the officer then grabs him by his hair and flings him to the ground as fellow officers swarm all over him. 

After being dragged to the sidewalk another officer pours water on his face as he lays moaning on the ground, his hands bound behind him.

Now I will probably get some blow back for saying this but I think it is clear that the man brought all of that on himself.  

I have watched the video a couple of times to be sure, but in my mind there is no denying that this man was standing in the street while being black.

You can argue with me all you want, but I know what I saw. The man is clearly being totally black right in front of the police officers.

At the end of the day really what choice did they have?

Baltimore man dies in police custody after having his spine 80 percent severed during arrest.

Courtesy of CBS Baltimore: 

National tensions around police brutality focus right here in Baltimore after a 25-year-old man dies from injuries he sustained while in city police custody. 

On April 12, 2015, at exactly 8:40 a.m., 25-year-old Freddie Gray was apprehended in the 1700 block of Presbury Street.Two minutes later cell phone video shows Freddie Gray screaming as police drag him into a transport van. 

According to a timeline provided by Baltimore Police, at 8:54 a.m. Gray was put in additional restrains inside the van. But, at 9:24 a.m., he was rushed to the hospital–attorneys say his spine was 80 percent severed at his neck where three bones were broken. He later lapsed into a coma and died Sunday morning at approximately 7:00 a.m.

Family and friends are now seeking answers, and are also calling for an independent investigation.

Here is a statement issued by the family's lawyer:

“On last Sunday morning at about 8am, the police chased Freddie Gray, a 27 year old healthy man, without any evidence he had committed a crime. His take-down and arrest without probable cause occurred under a police video camera, which taped everything including the police dragging and throwing Freddy into a police vehicle while he screamed in pain. While in police custody, his spine was 80 percent severed at his neck. He lapsed into a coma, died, was resuscitated, stayed in a coma and on Monday, underwent extensive surgery at Shock Trauma to save his life. He clung to life for seven days and died today at approximately 7am. We believe the police are keeping the circumstances of Freddie’s death secret until they develop a version of events that will absolve them of all responsibility. However, his family and the citizens of Baltimore deserve to know the real truth; and we will not stop until we get justice for Freddie.” 

Some statement seem to indicate that the police chased and tackled the man simply because he was running. 

So we know you can be pulled for "driving while black," but it also seems you can be tackled and arrested for "running while black."

This apparently is how the police in Arizona stop a fleeing suspect.

Holy shitballs! The cop didn't even slow down a little.

Here is more courtesy of CNN: 

Police in Arizona said Tuesday that an officer who intentionally used his car to run into a suspect with a rifle probably saved the man's life. 

The man's lawyer strongly disagrees. Video of the incident has stirred debate about what type of force police should have used to detain a man with a gun. 

"Everything in the video seems to point towards an obvious excessive use of force. It is miraculous that my client isn't dead," said attorney Michelle Cohen-Metzger. 

The incident was recorded February 19 on the dashcam of two Marana police cars that were following the suspect, 36-year-old Mario Valencia.

I first saw this footage last night on the Chris Hayes show, and I have to admit it made my jaw drop. 

To me it did not seem that the officer was so much trying to apprehend the man as to turn him into road kill.

The other officers seemed to have a plan, and to be in communication with each other, when Leroy Jenkins here just jumped the gun and plowed right into the guy.

Now look I understand the individual had committed a number of crimes, and pointed a rifle at police officers, but there simply HAD to be a better method of neutralizing this guy other than driving a patrol car up his ass.

Let's call this police abuse Saturday.

Courtesy of Addicting Info:  

An internal investigation has just been launched into a horrifying case of police brutality two teenagers experienced at the hands of Virginia police officers. The January 10 incident involves a 17-year-old being beaten and tased during a routine traffic stop, and the footage was fortunately captured on a cell phone – although police tried to delete the video and failed. 

The Virginia Beach Police Department claims it was just made aware of the video, which recently went viral. The video’s owner, 18-year-old Courtney Griffith, says the police department is lying. The video below shows exactly what happened when Griffith, who was driving with her 17-year-old friend Brandon in the back seat, was pulled over because one of her back lights was out. 

When the police officer – Officer Pittman – stops Griffith for her light, he claims there is a smell of marijuana in the car, which Griffith denies. Giffith believes that the officer was giving her a hard time because he was the same cop that had previously arrested her as a minor for marijuana possession. 

At this point, four cop cars were at the scene. As the situation became more hostile, Griffith put her cellphone on the dashboard and started to record what was happening. She asks for a sergeant to be present so that her rights were not further infringed. 

Officer Pittman’s attention moved to Brandon as he orders the teen to get out of the car. Calmly, Brandon tells the officer that he is 17 and doesn’t want to be searched unless his mother is at the scene. 

As things get even more heated, the police officer sprays pepper spray into Brandon’s face as the boy shouts he’s 17. Scared and in pain, Brandon doesn’t exit the car – only to be beaten and tased by the cop. The teen is tased at least twice.

According to the young driver, Courtney Griffith, the police arrested them but failed to read themr their Miranda Rights. They also attempted to delete the above video. but she was able to retrieve it from her "recently deleted" file.

If she had not been able to retrieve that video I think we all know how this would have played out with it being the cop's word against theirs.

As disturbing as that was it is in no way the most disturbing police video released to the public this week.

Of course we all know about the Walter Scott shooting, but sadly there was even more than that. 

There was also this video showing Vineland, NJ police sicking their dog on a suspect lying on the ground.

That man later died on the way to the hospital, which shocked and horrified the public. That caused the group Anonymous to threaten to release the names of the officers involved if justice was not served. And ultimately they did.

Then there was the footage captured by a local news crew of San Bernardino cops brutalizing a man, while the man seems to be surrendering, after being led on a long chase that ultimately ended with the suspect stealing a horse.

The guy was accused of identity theft, and the horse he stole was injured in the pursuit, however it still does not excuse what the police did when they finally got their hands on him.

I think at this point we can all safely assume that this kind of thing is happening EVERYWHERE in this country, and has been for decades. And since the vast majority of it happens with no cameras nearby there has been little response from the American people.

To my mind the only option we have to keep ourselves, and our children safe is to demand that all law enforcement officers wear a body camera and record each of their interactions with the public.

Anybody have a different opinion?

Alabama police paralyze 57 year old Indian man. His crime? Brown skin, no English, the usual.

Courtesy of AOL:  

Madison police last week roughed up a 57-year-old Indian citizen who was walking on the sidewalk outside his son's home, leaving the older man temporarily paralyzed and hospitalized with fused vertebrae. 

"He was just walking on the sidewalk as he does all the time," said his son, Chirag Patel, this morning. "They put him to the ground." 

No crime had been committed. Madison Police on Monday issued a statement saying the department had suspended the officer and were investigating the use of force in this case. The police statement wished the man a "speedy recovery."

According to the man's son this is only his second trip to America and he only speaks Gujarati, and some Hindi.

The reason the officers stopped him is unclear, though their excuse for slamming him to the ground was that he was non-compliant. Sort of hard to comply when you have no idea what you are being asked to comply with.

I hate to to all up in Alabama's grill today, but damn! 

Are the police using too much force? Gee, ya think?

Courtesy of The Washington Post:  

Recent deaths at the hands of police in Ferguson, Mo., and on Staten Island, N.Y., have rightly raised questions about illegal force and racial bias in law enforcement. But a more basic question also needs to be weighed: Should police be permitted to initiate force when confronting misdemeanors and other non-serious crimes? The answer should be no. 

The existing rules of engagement for police in the United States invite violence, not just when officers act abusively but also when their conduct falls clearly within the limits of the law. There is no question that police in the United States can lawfully arrest anyone they see jaywalking or selling single cigarettes. And there is equally no question that any American who refuses a police order to come to the station can be forced by violence to comply. 

But should police be permitted to initiate force in such cases?

Well considering that our police now look, act, and equip themselves as if they are on the battlefield I think the fact that they seem to be constantly initiating conflict, and then overreacting with excess force, is really not that hard to understand.

If you dress like a warrior you expect to be in a war. It's just that simple.

You know when I began my martial arts training as a kid, the very first thing that was drilled into my brain was that I was never allowed to use more force than was absolutely necessary. And that I could only use that force in self defense, either in response to aggression directed at myself or at somebody else who could not defend themselves.

Simple right? That should be the mantra of law enforcement as well, don't you think?

I currently work with troubled kids, many of them suffering from some debilitating mental or behavioral problems. It is not at all uncommon for one or more of my charges to act out in a violent manner.

In response to those clients I am ALWAYS expected to attempt deescalation before putting my hands on them. And every time it does get physical I am expected to fill out reams of paperwork to justify my actions.

So trust me when I say it rarely gets physical. And if you do your job right, no matter who you are working with, you should rarely ever have to put your hands on anyone.

And certainly never have to use deadly force. 

I think it is time to return to the not so distant past when a cop was there to protect and serve, not shoot first and ask questions later.

Seattle refuses to prosecute cop who punched handcuffed woman in the face breaking her eye socket. Federal prosecutors to review the incident.

Courtesy of the Seattle Times:  

Federal prosecutors say they will review an incident in which a Seattle police officer punched and seriously injured a handcuffed, intoxicated woman, after King County prosecutors said Friday they won’t charge the officer. 

Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes, said her office will look at the June 22 incident involving Officer Adley Shepherd for a possible federal criminal civil-rights violation. 

The decision comes after King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced that his office would not seek a state felony charge against Shepherd, 38, a nine-year department veteran, for punching Miyekko Durden-Bosley in the back of his police cruiser.

This case is a little different than what we have all seen lately on the news.

For one the woman lived, and two the cop that injured her is black not white. 

However even though race may not the issue this time around the unnecessary use of force most certainly is an issue.

Just take a look at the video of the arrest. (Punch is at the 2:50 mark.)

It is clear from the tape that the woman, was intoxicated and being quite disruptive.

However it is also clear that the police officer struck her in anger and NOT because he was trying to subdue her or in fear of personal injury. She had her hands locked behind her back for fuck's sake.

And once again there is video to prove that something terribly wrong happened, and STILL the Seattle prosecutor did not do his job.

That has to make ALL of us wonder just how many miscarriages of justice are happening every day where there is no video and nobody ever even knows they happen?

Yes cops need to be outfitted with cameras. That is step one.

But then when prosecutors see on those tapes that the police did something like this, they need to respond appropriately.  THAT is step two.

NYPD cop who choked 400 pound African American man to death does not get indicted by Grand Jury. Anybody else noticing a pattern?

Courtesy of New York Daily News:

Eric Garner’s widow reacted with shock and dismay Wednesday after a Staten Island grand jury chose not to indict the NYPD officer who killed her husband with a chokehold. 

“Oh my God, are you serious?” Esaw Garner, her voice rising in shock and anger, told The Daily News. “I’m very disappointed. You can see in the video that he (the cop) was dead wrong!” 

Garner was referring to the shocking cellphone video first published on NYDailyNews.com that showed Officer Daniel Pantaleo placing Garner in a chokehold — a move banned by the NYPD — and wrestling him to the ground. 

“The grand jury kept interviewing witnesses but you didn't need witnesses,” the anguished widow said. “You can be a witness for yourself. Oh my God, this s--- is crazy.” 

Esaw Garner said she is now placing her hopes for justice with the U.S. Department of Justice. (A few minutes ago Attorney General Eric Holder said that there would definitely be an investigation.)


That man did nothing to put those police officers in danger and yet they felt it necessary to swarm him and take him down to the ground. Everybody knows that a man that size is going to have trouble breathing while on his stomach, ESPECIALLY with a bunch of cops on his back.

And this man was not robbing anybody or pushing around some convenience store owner, according to witnesses he was breaking up a fight. (Though police also say he was selling illegal cigarettes.)

Please somebody tell me again how we have to accept that the Grand Jury decision must be trusted and that we have no right to second guess them.

Two new witnesses, two WHITE witnesses, have confirmed that Michael Brown was surrendering when shot to death by Ferguson police officer.

Courtesy of the St. Louis Post Dispatch:  

Among the claims that ignited the fury over the fatal shooting of Michael Brown were that Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson chased the unarmed teen on foot, shot at him as he ran away, then fired a barrage of fatal shots after Brown had turned around with his hands up. 

Almost all of the witnesses who shared these accounts with media either knew Brown; lived at or near the Canfield Green apartments, where the shooting occurred; or were visiting friends or relatives there. 

But there were two outsiders who happened to be working outside at the apartment complex on Aug. 9 — two men from a company in Jefferson County — who heard a single gunshot, looked up from their work and witnessed the shooting. 

Both have given their statements to the St. Louis County police and the FBI. One of the men agreed to share his account with a Post-Dispatch reporter on the condition that his name and employer not be used. 

The worker, who has not previously spoken with reporters, said he did not see what happened at the officer’s car — where Wilson and Brown engaged in an initial struggle and a shot was fired from Wilson’s gun. 

His account largely matches those who reported that Wilson chased Brown on foot away from the car after the initial gunshot and fired at least one more shot in the direction of Brown as he was fleeing; that Brown stopped, turned around and put his hands up; and that the officer killed Brown in a barrage of gunfire.

The article goes on to say that the witness reports really do not  shine any new light on the incident, since they essentially reflect what other witnesses have already said.

However what is different is that these are two WHITE witnesses with no previous connection to the victim as reported by the Global Grind.

That means that this can no longer be framed as a black vs white incident, with the Right Wing news outlets inferring that the black folk are simply defending their own while getting back at the po po.

I think it is far past time for Officer Wilson to finally get charged and spend some time in the clink.

Convenience store surveillance video may show shooting victim Michael Brown manhandling a store clerk and stealing cigars. Does this change your perspective on what is happening in Ferguson, MO? Update!

Courtesy of MSNBC: 

Police revealed the identity Friday of the officer who shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown, along with a report indicating that Brown and a friend had been involved in a theft at a convenience store shortly before the shooting occurred. 

According to the police report (embedded below), video surveillance allegedly showed Brown and his friend, Dorian Johnson, in an altercation with a store employee on Aug. 9. Brown and Johnson grabbed cigars from the store and behind the counter, the police report said. Before they left the store, the employee attempted to stop Brown from taking the merchandise, according to the report. Brown grabbed the employee by the shirt and pushed him into a display rack in the store, the report said, and Brown and Johnson left the store with the cigars.

Police also released the name of the police officer who shot Brown, Darren Wilson, and reported that he had suffered injuries to his face during the initial altercation on that sidewalk.

Brown is described as six foot four and just under three hundred pounds, which if he is the guy in this video, appears to be accurate.

Now I have seen more surveillance footage, and it clearly shows a guy with the suspect who looks exactly like the Dorian Johnson guy who claimed that the police shot Brown down like a dog. 

Now currently THAT is the only eyewitness report of the incident that we have heard, and it is the one that has caused such an angry reaction from the people of Ferguson, and from supporters around the world.

But if Johnson was involved with the robbery, is his word to be trusted?

This is why I like to wait for all of the facts to come out before I weigh in on a subject like this.

Now the question is, considering Brown's size and the fact that he may in fact have attacked the officer, could the shooting have been justified? And is it ever justified to shoot a suspect wanted for nothing more than shoplifting and minor assault?

Tell me what you think.

However even if it turns out that it was justified, it in no way excuses the way in which some of the peaceful protesters were treated by police.

Woman hit by rubber bullet in Ferguson, MO.

But that is another subject altogether.

Update: As many of you have pointed out that video which was released today was a red herring.  (I wondered why it was only shown on Fox for most of the morning.)

In fact the Ferguson police chief has said the two were unrelated.

I'm sorry it took so long to provide an update, I was away from my computer until just this minute.

Ferguson, Missouri now looks like a war zone.

The above picture is of police officers aiming automatic weapons at PEACEFUL protestors in the United States of America!

I have not blogged about this situation in Ferguson because it is already getting all kinds of coverage, but what I saw last night has compelled me to weigh in.

Here is a taste:  

Protests racked this St. Louis suburb for a fifth straight night Wednesday as anger flared anew over the police killing of an unarmed young black man. 

Armored personnel carriers and officers wearing body armor and carrying assault rifles greeted demonstrators. When the crowd ignored orders to disperse, officers unleashed tear gas and rubber bullets, witnesses said. 

Police sealed off the area that was the scene of vandalism and looting Sunday night. 

“We’ve done everything we can to demonstrate a remarkable amount of restraint,” St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said in an interview outside the command post. “If there was an easy way to fix this, we would have already solved the problem.” 

Officers had heard sporadic gunfire, he said. At least 10 people were arrested.

Of course the protests are in response to the shooting death of 18 year old Michael Brown at the hands of the police, which at least one witness has said was completely unprovoked.

This has caused an incredible outpouring of anger among Ferguson residents, who have had many troubling encounters with the police.

And the police are not doing themselves any favors as indicated by the fact that they arrested two reporters at a local McDonald's restaurant for filming them as they cleared the place out:

Reporters Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post and Ryan Reilly of The Huffington Post said on Twitter that police told them to stop recording the events, then took them into custody. 

Reilly tweeted that police asked him for his ID when he took a photo. He said he and Lowery were arrested for "not packing their bags quick enough." 

Lowery tweeted, "Officers slammed me into a fountain soda machine because I was confused about which door they were asking me to walk out of."

If that were not bad enough the police were also videotaped firing tear gas at reporters from AlJazeera.

Now as a rule I am usually on the side of the police,  I am at heart a law and order kind of guy.

However what is happening right now in Ferguson, Missouri is very troubling on a number of levels, and it also speaks to the militarization of the police, and their aggressive attitudes while dealing with the public.

Especially the African America public. 

There are a number of ways that this whole things could have been better handled, but it appears that the police are not utilizing any of them.

Don't you DARE challenge Paul Ryan's policies or he will make jokes about you while the police slam you to the ground.

From the YouTube page:

As Congressman Paul Ryan cracked a joke about him, Tom Nielsen found himself face down on the floor being handcuffed by police. The 71-year-old retired plumber from Kenosha was thrown to the ground, placed in handcuffs, and arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest after objecting to Ryan's plans to gut Social Security and Medicare during his congressman's only public appearance scheduled during the August recess -- a $15 Rotary Club luncheon in West Allis on Tuesday. 

Nielsen repeatedly told police that he wasn't fighting them and that he didn't want to make any trouble. He also told them several times that he had a broken shoulder. Police officers ignored his comments as they wrestled him to the ground despite his howls of pain.

That would have made Ryan's heroine Ayn Rand so proud.

Pepper spraying UC Davis officer no longer has a job. About damn time!

Hey remember this guy? Yeah, he is now among the ranks of the unemployed.

Courtesy of News 10:

The UC Davis officer accused of pepper spraying 11 student protesters in November no longer works on the police force. 

Spokesperson for the UC Davis Chancellor Barry Shiller said John Pike's employment ended on July 31, 2012. Shiller released the following statement: 

"Consistent with privacy guidelines established in state law and University policy, I can confirm that John Pike's employment with the University ended on July 31, 2012. I'm unable to comment further."

Nine months seems like an awfully long time to still be employed at a university after pepper spraying peaceful students, even though after the incident he was immediately put on leave.

I only hope he is not hired in any other law enforcement capacity. The guy simply does not have the proper temperament.

I mean the guy would pepper spray just about anybody, for just about anything.

Okay that last one I'm kind of okay with.

"Family Guy" writer tells details of his arrest yesterday at Occupy LA. You are NOT going to be a fan of the LAPD after reading this!

I actually started reading this because I thought, since it was written by a Family Guy writer, it might be funny. Holy crap, was I wrong!

In fact this is a horrible story of police brutality.

Courtesy of My Occupy LA Arrest:


As we sat there, encircled, a separate team of LAPD officers used knives to slice open every personal tent in the park. They forcibly removed anyone sleeping inside, and then yanked out and destroyed any personal property inside those tents, scattering the contents across the park. They then did the same with the communal property of the Occupy LA movement. For example, I watched as the LAPD destroyed a pop-up canopy tent that, until that moment, had been serving as Occupy LA’s First Aid and Wellness tent, in which volunteer health professionals gave free medical care to absolutely anyone who requested it. As it happens, my family had personally contributed that exact canopy tent to Occupy LA, at a cost of several hundred of my family’s dollars. As I watched, the LAPD sliced that canopy tent to shreds, broke the telescoping poles into pieces and scattered the detritus across the park. Note that these were the objects described in subsequent mainstream press reports as “30 tons of garbage” that was “abandoned” by Occupy LA: personal property forcibly stolen from us, destroyed in front of our eyes and then left for maintenance workers to dispose of while we were sent to prison. 

When the LAPD finally began arresting those of us interlocked around the symbolic tent, we were all ordered by the LAPD to unlink from each other (in order to facilitate the arrests). Each seated, nonviolent protester beside me who refused to cooperate by unlinking his arms had the following done to him: an LAPD officer would forcibly extend the protestor’s legs, grab his left foot, twist it all the way around and then stomp his boot on the insole, pinning the protestor’s left foot to the pavement, twisted backwards. Then the LAPD officer would grab the protestor’s right foot and twist it all the way the other direction until the non-violent protestor, in incredible agony, would shriek in pain and unlink from his neighbor. 

UC Davis Chancellor blames pepper spray incident on police. Wait, what?

Courtesy of CS Monitor:

The chancellor of a US university who has faced widespread criticism following the pepper spraying of peaceful demonstrators has told an assembly of 1,000 students that she had instructed campus police not to use force in breaking up the protest. 

"I explicitly directed the chief of police that violence should be avoided at all costs," she said. "It was the absolute last thing I ever wanted to happen." She stressed that students have a right to demonstrate peacefully. 

"Because encampments have long been prohibited by UC policy, I directed police only to take down the tents," she said. "My instructions were for no arrests and no police force." 

This is a NEW explanation coming from the Chancellor, who certainly did not mention a break down in communication between herself and the police earlier.  Bringing it up after all of this time certainly does nothing for her credibility.

So are the students buying it?

Doesn't look that way.

Yet not all students who attended the town hall in a performing arts complex were satisfied with the response from Katehi. 

Puneet Kamal, 22, an environmental science and policy major, was among those lined up to ask questions Tuesday. 

"She didn't say 'I'm sorry that I did this, or I'm sorry I made this call,'" Kamal said. "She said 'I'm sorry that this situation had to happen.' Where's the blame going to?" 

Natalie Poulton, 20, a communications major, said Katehi has not fully explained what she knew in advance about the police plans for clearing out protesters.

"I want more answers," said Poulton. "She totally didn't explain if there was a miscommunication with the cops and what exactly happened in terms of the higher-ups."

In a further effort at damage control the university itself has offered to pay for the medical expenses of the students sprayed by police, AND launch an independent investigation:

University of California officials said Tuesday they will pay the medical expenses of students who were pepper sprayed during an Occupy Davis protest last week. 

Authorities have also decided to drop charges against 10 people who were arrested during the Friday protest on the campus of UC Davis. The university system has also created an advisory panel to look into the incident, University of California President Mark Yudof said. 

Bill Bratton, who has led police departments in Los Angeles, Boston and New York, will head the panel, Yudof said. 

"My intent," Yudof said, "is to provide the chancellor and the entire University of California community with an independent, unvarnished report about what happened at Davis."

In my personal opinion the Chancellor has lost all credibility and until she is removed from her job, or resigns willingly, there will be no opportunity to the university to start earning back the student's trust, and to allow the healing process to begin.

 I will predict right now that Chancellor Katehi will be out of a job before the Christmas break.