Just Released: Dash Cam Video of Oklahoma Trooper Vs. EMT

[IronRanger]

http://newsok.com/ohp-trooper-gets-5-day-suspension/article/3387383?custom_click=pod_headline_northeast-oklahoma-news

OHP trooper gets 5-day suspension

INVESTIGATION: OFFICER FACES ANGER ASSESSMENT AFTER VIDEOTAPED SCUFFLE WITH PARAMEDIC

Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials said trooper Daniel Martin, whose May 24 scuffle with paramedic Maurice White Jr. was caught on tape, will be suspended for five days without pay.

The suspension was effective immediately and runs through Tuesday, officials said during a press conference.

Martin also will be required to see a qualified medical expert for an "anger assessment," which may or may not result in further training or education by the agency.

The punishment was negotiated between the Highway Patrol, Martin and his attorney, Gary James, James said.

"I still stand by my belief that his actions do not warrant any suspension, but my client agreed to these terms for the betterment of the department and to put this behind him," James said.

White filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court, claiming his civil rights were violated by Martin.

His attorney was disappointed with the suspension Martin received.

"I think they might as well have said 'next time we'll get a rope,'" attorney Richard O'Carroll said. "They never spoke to an unreasonable use of force, so next time get a rope. That's my quote."

Martin was removed from patrol duty with pay on June 1 after a video that showed him with his hands on White's neck surfaced on the Internet. With a patient in the ambulance, Martin and White became engaged in a physical altercation that was captured on two videos and viewed nationwide on YouTube, receiving more than 1 million hits.

In a release distributed at the press conference Wednesday, the state Department of Public Safety determined that Martin did in fact possess probable cause to make the traffic stop and had justification to arrest the paramedic for obstructing a police officer. But the situation could have been handled differently, according to the release.

Martin was criticized for his demeanor and language, which was "contrary to what is expected of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper." His actions were "conduct unbecoming an officer," the release said.

James said that within the OHP there was a "difference of opinion" as to Martin's actions that day on U.S. 62 in Okfuskee County near Paden.

James said "essentially my client has been exonerated. I have full confidence that the agency didn't feel any pressure from the media or the public to hand down a suspension."

White in his lawsuit is seeking in excess of $10,000 for compensatory and punitive damages from Martin, the only party listed on the lawsuit.

[IronRanger]

"Living in a Police State" - The Arrest of Professor Henry Gates

The point about the arrest Monday by a Cambridge Police sergeant of Harvard Distinguished Professor Henry "Skip" Gates is not that the police initially thought the celebrated  public intellectual, PBS host and MacArthur Award winner might have been a crook who had broken into Gates' rented home.  Anyone capable of seeing a 58-year-old man with a cane accompanied by a man in a tux as a potential burglar might make the same mistake, given that a neighbor had allegedly called 911 to report seeing two black men she thought were breaking into the house.

But after Prof. Gates had shown the cops his faculty ID and his drivers' license, and had thus verified his identity, and after he had explained that he had just returned home on a flight from China and had been getting help from his limo driver in opening a stuck door, the cops should have been extremely polite and apologetic for having suspected him and for having insisted on checking him out.

After all, a man's home is supposed to be his castle. When you violate that sanctity, you should, as a police officer, appreciate that the owner might be upset.

But where it really goes wrong is what happened next.

Prof. Gates, who was understandably outraged at the whole situation, properly told the sergeant that he wanted his name and his badge number, because he intended to file a complaint. Whether or not the officer had done anything wrong by that point is not the issue. It was Gates' right as a citizen to file a complaint.  The officer's alleged refusal to provide his name and badge number was  improper and, if Gates' claim is correct, was a violation of the rules that are in force in every police department in the country.

But whatever the real story is regarding the showing of identification information by Gates and the officer, police misconduct in this incident went further.  Gates reportedly got understandably angry and frustrated at the officer for refusing to provide him with this identifying information and/or for refusing to accept his own identification documents, and at that point the officer abused his power by arresting Gates and charging him with disorderly conduct.

There's nothing unusual about this, sadly. It is common practice for police in America to abuse their authority and to arrest people on a charge of "disorderly conduct" when those people simply exercise their free speech rights and object strenuously to how they are being treated by an officer.  Try it out sometime. If you are given a ticket for going five miles an hour over the posted speed limit, tell the traffic officer he or she is a stupid moron, and see if you are left alone.  My bet is that you will find yourself either ticketed on another more serious charge, or even arrested for "disorderly conduct."  If you happen to be black or some other race than white, I'll even put money on that bet. (If you're stupid enough to go out and test this hypothesis, please don't expect me to post your bail!)

There is no suggestion by police that Gates physically threatened the arresting officer. His "crime" at the time was simply speaking out.

What is unusual is not that the officer arrested Gates for exercising his rights. That kind of thing happens all the time. What's unusual is that this time the police levied their false charge against a man who is among the best known academics in the country, who knows his rights, and who has access to the best legal talent in the nation to make his case (his colleagues at the Harvard Law School).

Very little of the mainstream reporting I've seen on this event makes the crucial point that it is not illegal to tell a police officer that he is a jerk, or that he has done something wrong, or that you are going to file charges against him.  And yet too many commentators, journalists and ordinary people seem to accept that if a citizen "mouths off" to a cop, or criticizes a cop, or threatens legal action against a cop, it's okay for that cop to cuff the person and charge him with "disorderly conduct."  Worse yet, if a cop makes such a bogus arrest, and the person gets upset, he's liable to get an added charge of "resisting arrest" or worse.

We have, as a nation, sunk to the level of a police state, when we grant our police the unfettered power to arrest honest, law-abiding citizens for simply stating their minds. And it's no consolation that someone like Gates can count on having such charges tossed out. It's the arrest, the cuffing, and the humiliating ride in the back of a cop squad car to be booked and held until bailed out that is the outrage.

I'm sure police take a lot of verbal abuse on the job, but given their inherent power—armed and with a license to arrest, to handcuff, and even to shoot and kill—they must be told by their superiors that they have no right to arrest people for simply expressing their views, even about those officers.

Insulting an officer of the law is not a crime. Telling an officer he or she is breaking the law is not a crime. Demanding that an officer identify him or herself is not a crime. And saying you are going to file a complaint against the officer is not a crime.

As someone who,  although white, spent his youth in the 1960s and early 1970s with long hair and a scraggly beard–both red flags to police back in the day–and who had his share of run-ins with police for that reason alone, I can understand to some extent what African-Americans, and especially African-American men, go through in dealing with white police officers. I used to be "profiled" as a druggie/lefty/hippy and was stopped regularly for no reason when I lived in Los Angeles and drove an 20-year-old pick-up truck. I'd be pushed up against the vehicle, frisked, shouted at, talked to threateningly. I'd have my vehicle searched (without a warrant). And if I objected, I'd be threatened with arrest, though I had done nothing.  Under those circumstances, you quickly learn to be very deferential around police.

Prof. Gates was simply experiencing the frustration that young black men feel routinely, and that I used to feel back when I had hair and chose to grow it long—the feeling of being at the mercy of lawless, power-tripping cops.

In a free country, we should not allow the police, who after all are supposed to be public servants, not centurions,  to behave in this manner. When we do, we do not have a free society. We have a police state.

[NM_Shooter]

Here's the police report.  I especially like "I'll speak with yo mama outside".  Upon that comment alone, I think the cop showed incredible constraint. 

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

If you are going to be a howling hypocrite and do your best to piss off a cop, don't be surprised if you get to go for a ride.

Here's a decent write up on the subject.  In the picture, note the stoic black cop.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2009/jul/22/henry-louis-gates-michael-white

[IronRanger]

Here's the police report.  I especially like "I'll speak with yo mama outside".  Upon that comment alone, I think the cop showed incredible constraint. 

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

If you are going to be a howling hypocrite and do your best to piss off a cop, don't be surprised if you get to go for a ride.

Here's a decent write up on the subject.  In the picture, note the stoic black cop.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2009/jul/22/henry-louis-gates-michael-white

Yea, a black man in a tux with his limo driver trying to pry-open the front door's the perfect ploy for breaking and entering.  The neighbor called the cops?  The neighbor doesn't know that he's black or what his face looks like?

What about Gates asking for the cop's badge number and name?  Talk about disrespectful.

The point is the officer didn't answer a rightfully asked question. 

You and Gates can continue howling about race, I'll focus on that.

[NM_Shooter]

What tux... this one?  This is what he had on when he was arrested.  Are you saying that he was wearing a tux, and that sometime between when the confrontation started and the officer decided to arrest him, that the police allowed him to go get comfy clothes on?  Pretty nice of the police to let him change clothes like that.... you have to admit.



Where have I ever said anything about race?  

You didn't read the report.  Read it and note that Crowley provided his identification multiple times.

Why did Gates become all unruly immediately?  Because he was pre-charged racially and loaded for bear.  The house had a history of a break in, the door was incapable of being locked, and a cop showed up asking for ID.  Gates wrongly assumed he was being profiled.  Had he just smiled, showed ID, the cop would have left.  But instead, he went berserk.

The ID he showed was a Harvard ID.  Hmmmm..... not a driver's license, which has an address on it, but a school ID.   

Gates had a bad attitude, and took a well deserved ride to get his picture taken.

We have lots of examples of bad cops.  I don't think this is one of them.  I think this is an example of how quickly and inappropriately the race card gets dealt.

[Squirl]

I never thought that this story had anything to do with race.  (maybe the person calling the police )  I think that no matter what color skin the individual had, the cop would have entered without permission, and arrested a person that questioned him or got upset about that (and still would have been wrong).  The only reason the person got out of it was not because of his race either, but class.  He is a well published Harvard Professor.  He has considerable wealth and fame.  I here people cry racial bias everyday when they get arrested, but they are poor so no one listens.

[peternap]

That's a hard call. I did read the arrest report and a lot of other stories. I also know arrest reports written by seasoned officers are CYA essays.

The officer looks like a jerk but the Professor looks like a screamer too.

I think the bottom line is the situation. The neighbor made a call and the officer was dispatched. He found the Professor inside. Most people think that should be the end of the story. Wrong. As much as I hate and in fact refuse, to produce ID, the Cop had to get it. Had he just accepted his word and left, and the person in the house was burglarizing it, his career would be over.

OK, the Professor had a mouth on him. Many wealthy and otherwise intelligent people do. The charge was Micky Mouse and should not have happened. The cop should have walked away and later on, he could tell everyone what a jungle it is out there.

Bottom line. One person doing his job and not being mature enough to walk away from another immature person.

NO GOOD GUYS IN THIS STORY !

[MountainDon]

A really good cop should have been able to talk Gates down to where Gates would realize that a ride downtown was not a reasonable end to whatever was bothering him. That would then have been the end of it.

If any of my neighbors called the cops because they thought someone was breaking into my house I would fully expect the cops to ask for an ID with a picture and address on it. To expect the police to take anyone's word, or even a school ID as some sort of proof would be an act of behaving "stupidly", to use Obama's words.

[NM_Shooter]

I was driving back from my cabin site today, and was reminded of a genuine profiling case.  A friend of my family is attending school in PHX.  He's black, and he is dating another friend of our family, who is white.

He was driving her car through a neighborhood in PHX when he was stopped for no reason.  "Routine stop".  When asked for the registration, he pulled the papers which showed the car registered to his girlfriend's dad, a white guy in NM.  The cop did not believe the story, and started to be a jerk.  Luckily my friend kept his head about him even though he was scared.

So he took his ride to the office and went through the booking process.  He got his phone call which he used to call his mom back here in NM. 

Luckily, his mom happens to be a federal judge.

My friend was released within 30 minutes of his mom receiving his call.  Apparently she knew people who knew people.  The young man was escorted to his girlfriend's car, and received a hand delivered apology the next day.

Unfortunately, not everyone has a fed judge for a mom.

[IronRanger]

http://www.mikecann.net/2009/08/video-of-cookville-tn-police-planting.html

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Video of Cookville, TN Police Planting Cannabis on Man

http://www.mikecann.net/2009/08/video-of-cookville-tn-police-planting.html

[Windpower]

80 year old woman with a cane gets slammed to the concrete

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZJIhNzK85Q&feature=channel

[fishing_guy]

Not the best way to handle the situation, but the lady with the cane DID have a knife in her hand and WAS walking TOWARDS the police...At some point, people have to be responsible for their actions.  She was lucky to only have a cracked skull and not a 9MM in her.

[Windpower]

Is walking in a Wal Mart parking lot with a knife a crime ?

I'll just bet you have done this yourself fishing guy, walking out to the car with your new Rapala filleting knife 

The old woman was just walking and not bothering anyone -- did you see the two young women with the baby in the cart walk within a couple feet of her seconds before -- did they look scared of her ?

she calmly walked toward the 'officer' and then tried to walk around her, it was the 'officer' that closed in on the old woman.

was anyone pointing at her or acting afraid of her, was she acting irrational or threatening anyone ?

did you notice everyone coming to her aid ?

there are some very sick people in this country

[fishing_guy]

Watch the footage on and about 1:15.  The female officer (after telling her to drop the knife) grabs the knife hand and doesn't let go until the knife is out of her hand.  I'm just saying that we don't know why the police were called, and what the mental state of the older lady was.

Too many questions, from the way the video was presented.

By the way:
1.  I don't walk around with weapons of any kind, unless you call a fishing pole a weapon.
2.  If an officer told me to drop the pole, I immediately would, and talk with the officer later.
3.  I use Uncle Henery Fillet knives.  So much better than Rapala.  I still use the set my wife got me for our first anniversery...25 years ago.

[Windpower]

I think the Puma is a better knife

[fishing_guy]

Unfortunately, the Uncle Henery Knives will never be the same:

http://www.knivesplus.com/UNCLE-HENRY-KNIVES.HTML

If money were no object, this would be my choice:

http://www.reedssports.com/Product/product.taf?_function=detail&_ID=3973&pc=1033

I've seen them, and yes, they will cut your fingers off...not a playtoy.

[peternap]

Cutco

[fishing_guy]

Cutco

Nice knives, but I don't do traveling salesmen...

I do have one of those from my daughter's previous boyfriend.  He was a salesman for them for a while.  When he ran out of friends, the job was over.

[Windpower]

Unbelieveable !

never get out of your car

only roll the window down enough to pass your 'papers'

this sob needs some  'therapy'

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/mom_in_minivan_tasered_in_traf.html

[IronRanger]

This article needs to be read in its entirety.

http://carlosmiller.com/2009/10/09/cop-who-beat-student-for-untucked-shirt-jailed-on-rape-charges/


"Cop Who Beat Student for Untucked Shirt Jailed on Rape Charges"

The suburban Chicago cop who was caught on video beating a 15-year-old student for refusing to tuck his shirt last May is being accused of raping a woman while holding a pillow over her face.

He also killed his ex-wife's new husband last year by shooting him 24 times in front of their children while he was a cop for another suburban police department.

He was suspended for that incident and eventually found work with the Dolton Police Department, where he ended up beating the special needs student who weighed only 140 pounds, breaking his nose and lacerating his face.

A few months later, he allegedly threatened an Indiana woman with a knife. Then later raped her with a pillow over her face on September 14, according to the Chicago Tribune.

It is no wonder why the Dolton Police Department refused to release his name this week when the video of the student beating emerged.

Christopher Lloyd, 38, has been incarcerated in Indiana on a $110,000 bond since last month. He faces 20 years in prison for the rape allegation.

His ex-wife has also filed a wrongful death suit against him and the Robbins Police Department for the killing of her new husband in February 2008.

Chicago police accepted his claims of self-defense even though he drove to the couple's home while off-duty and got into an argument with Cornell McKinney, before shooting him 24 times.

It is not clear whether he reloaded in that incident, but if he did, it would make it hard to believe he was acting in self-defense.

The suit claims the autopsy contradicts the police investigation. I'm sure it does. The Chicago Police Department should be sued as well.

[Windpower]

A very good friend of mine grew up in Dolton a very nice middle clas Chicago suburb

he recently went back here -- he said he almost didn't recognize the place and didn't feel it was a safe place for him

Question:

With the number of violent incidents in this thugs past -- how did he get hired as a policeman


answer:


It is what they are looking for these days.

[MountainDon]

This article needs to be read in its entirety.......

.....
It is what they are looking for these days.

Is there a real worthwhile point in making this type of post?    Perhaps I don't understand and somebody could explain it to me?

Of course there is evil in the world, in our country, in our local towns, perhaps in our neighborhoods. There is also a lot of good. I do not see the point in simply posting a link to a negative article, with a comment that it's a "must read" unless the poster has some constructive comment to go along with it.

[glenn kangiser]

This article needs to be read in its entirety.......

.....
It is what they are looking for these days.

Is there a real worthwhile point in making this type of post?    Perhaps I don't understand and somebody could explain it to me?

Of course there is evil in the world, in our country, in our local towns, perhaps in our neighborhoods. There is also a lot of good. I do not see the point in simply posting a link to a negative article, with a comment that it's a "must read" unless the poster has some constructive comment to go along with it.

I unlocked this topic.

I see nothing wrong with calling attention to the police brutality that is running rampant these days.  It may save one of our members from mouthing off and getting his head caved in with a billy club.

The police are plainly being militarized.

Are we a bunch of whiny sniveling little girly men that cannot decide for themselves that something is good or bad - or cannot we look the other way if we don't like it.

If we turn this forum into a worthless piece of crap with a bunch of censorship for every whiney little thing that does not tickle our ears then there will be no one interested in looking at the off topics and possibly helping someone in need on the general board.

Members cannot possibly know all of the things that may make one or another moderator happy.  

Lets limit our censorship to  TRUE REAL HATE rather than things that we do not personally like.

If there are major differences of opinion on this then PM me.  I am running short on time for the forum anyway.

I know that one helpful member at least is ticked off by this censorship.  Should we run them all off and just shut the forum down so we don't offend ourselves?  

[glenn kangiser]

Calling attention to the name of this board.

Off Topic - Ideas, politics, rants

If we can't stick with those topics and limit censorship then possibly we should change the name of the board?

I am not advocating going against John's wishes of no hate - but TRUE HATE, please.  

We should all be grown up enough to discuss the ugliness of the world that causes some of us to want to build a small home in the country. This off topic area is also for topics that influence decisions of small home builders --- community--- that want to get away from but be aware of the bad in the world to better take care of their families and friends.

This is a place for the idling engine.... a place to draw members to for their topics of interest so they will be there when a building question comes in.

True - some of it may be a bit ugly..... the world is sometimes ugly....toughen up so when reality sets in - we can face it.

1980 our Sheriff department snuffed one of their own as he wanted to straighten out the drug dealing.  Fire extinguisher and chains at the bottom of the lake and 10 years to be discovered.  Yeah - it's ugly.  Knowledge of that keeps me from casually talking to the wrong person.  Note that the family of the old chief still runs government here.

[ScottA]

Seems to me this entire off topic area has become a sore spot. I think I'll steer clear of it from now on.