According to the story in Palo Alto Daily, the suspect was not moving when he was placed into the police car. Why was he not placed directly into the ambulance? The police car traveled halfway around the block, and there transferred the suspect to the ambulance.
Of the two men involved, the one beaten less severely provided police with a description and license plate number. A van matching description cruised by the scene and was stopped by police. Three off-duty cops were inside.
The off-duty cops were not detained/arrested, nor was the van impounded for evidence. The cops are on desk duty while the matter is being investigated.
The problems of police brutality, vigilantism and coverup are out of control. Cops think they are above and outside the law. They are neither "protecting" or "serving" their community.
posted on November 23, 2002 07:52:18 AM new
Most police officers do believe that they are "protecting and serving" their community.
Human rights in this country are deteriorating at a fast clip. The United States has more prisons and people in jail than any other country in the world. There is a warlike atmosphere now with war on terrorism, war on immigrants, war on drugs, and a war on criminals. With this warlike mentality, situations that could in fact be handled peacefully by police are seen as hostile and deadly threats - sometimes even national threats - requiring immediate resolution - when in fact, most victims of police brutality are unarmed and offer relatively little resistance.
posted on November 23, 2002 10:36:26 AM new
Helen, I don't know what most cops think. But if you shared my view that corruption is rampant in many police departments, including those in the Bay Area, then you would agree that no transgression is beyond our police. Falsifying and tampering with evidence, giving false testimony ... even murder.
In the case of the Redwood City police, we have a man whose only crime was tapping on his ex-girlfriend's window with a stick. After police left, the girlfriend reported a large pool of blood on the balcony. According to witnesses, the boyfriend was not moving when he was placed in the police car. Why did it take seven cops to subdue an unarmed man, how did he die, and why was he not placed immediately into an ambulance? Did the cops spray pepper spray down his throat? (The pepper spray was cleaned off by the cops or ambulance crew.) Why did the cops take the man around the block in order to transfer him to the ambulance?
Given that corruption exists, police departments are unable to perform an unbiased internal investigation. Corruption exists in the judicial departments also. We need an impartial citizens group to address the many accusations here of police brutality, vigilantism and coverup. We must send a message that cops are not above the law.
posted on November 23, 2002 11:59:17 AM new
A study of the background of officers involved in these incidents may shed some light on psychological problems that lead to this alleged abuse. It's probably caused by a combination of factors....poor training, and a lot of pressure combined with fear, insecurity and cynicism. Dealing with drug abusers, alcoholics, hardened criminals and gang members day after day can cause most anybody to lose their cool. Especially if they are overworked and poorly trained.
Based on the study that I mentioned, recruitment may be improved to weed out personalties that don't handle stress well. All of these cases are tragic but I wonder how "seriously out of control" it really is. Of course, corruption is in just about every organization. Twinsoft, are you possibly trying to get me in trouble with KatyD? <wink, grin>
posted on November 23, 2002 12:13:51 PM new
Okay. (So it's KatyD you're scared of, eh? LOL.) What about the kid of the #2 commander who's a day or two out of rookie training? Where'd he get that peculiar view of community service?
Why didn't the cops at least examine the ex-cops' clothing? Or did they? According to the other man, the first victim's nose was broken and he was laying in a pool of blood. If the ex-cops were guilty, their clothes and shoes would have been covered with blood. Why didn't the cops present the men to be identified at the scene? Why were they allowed to leave, enabling them to destroy evidence, clean up the van, etc.?
posted on November 25, 2002 03:47:28 PM new
Nov. 25, 2002, 2:43PM
Officer with broken leg helps prisoner
By S.K. BARDWELL
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
A Houston police officer, his leg broken in a head-on collision early today, got out of
his wrecked van and assisted the prisoner he was transporting.
The officer, so far identified only as P. Perez of the Houston Police Department's
Central Jail Division, is listed in guarded condition this morning at Memorial Hermann
Hospital.
Perez was driving a prisoner transport van containing one prisoner to the HPD jail at
8300 Mykawa when the accident happened at 3:40 a.m., investigators said.
Perez was southbound in the 7400 block of Mykawa when a red Acura Integra traveling north crossed the center line, jumped a raised median and slammed into the city van head-on.
Perez's prisoner received minor injuries in the collision and was taken to Ben Taub
Hospital, as were the driver and one passenger of the Integra, who are listed in serious condition this morning.
Police believe alcohol may have played a role in the accident, and are requesting a
blood sample from the driver of the Acura
Woman who threatened police dies after officers shoot
her
By S.K. BARDWELL
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
A 28-year-old woman shot by police after threatening officers with a handgun
Saturday died from her wound at Ben Taub Hospital.
Rachel Michelle Taylor, of the 10500 block of Exeter, called police to the home about
3 p.m. Saturday, pretending to be her mother and complaining of problems with her
daughter.
When the two Houston police officers arrived, they found Taylor's mother in the
driveway, telling them her daughter was inside the house with a handgun.
The officers had called for a supervisor and were trying to defuse the situation when
Taylor came outside with the gun and began threatening them, investigators said.
When Taylor aimed the weapon at them, officer R.R. Lara fired one shot that hit the
woman in the abdomen. She died later at Ben Taub Hospital.
Taylor had just completed a one-year probated prison term she received for a charge
of evading detention last year. She was convicted of theft in 1994.
Lara has been with HPD for 11 months and is assigned to the Northeast Patrol
Division.
The shooting is being investigated by the homicide and internal affairs divisions of the
HPD, and by the civil rights division of the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
posted on November 27, 2002 02:06:12 PM new
Nov. 27, 2002, 3:30PM
Ex-officer gets 99 years for leading crime ring
Associated Press
DALLAS -- A former Dallas policeman was sentenced today to 99 years for conspiring to commit four bank robberies and stealing thousands of dollars with stolen credit cards and forged checks.
Michael Sillemon, who was convicted of nine felony counts Aug. 30, was on the Dallas force for a decade. Prosecutors say he operated a "university for bank robbery" in which he recruited young people and taught them how to rob and steal -- under his protection.
Many young people testified against Sillemon as part of their plea bargains.
Sillemon, 36, was fired after his April indictment. He turned down a plea bargain under which he would have been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Sillemon testified as the only witness in his defense, telling jurors that government witnesses had committed perjury in a conspiracy against him.
According to KCBS radio, two of the officers involved were placed on desk duty. The third cop was already on desk duty. KCBS also reported that one of the officers was recently involved in a fatal automobile crash.
posted on November 27, 2002 10:56:44 PM new
Considering that police brutality causes an investigation and sometimes the police who did the beatings get arrested or sued, I'd say police brutality is under control. It's not like Internal Investigations can't keep up with all the police brutality cases!
posted on November 27, 2002 11:11:50 PM new
"In the case of the Redwood City police, we have a man whose only crime was tapping on his ex-girlfriend's window with a stick. After police left, the girlfriend reported a large pool of blood on the balcony. According to witnesses, the boyfriend was not moving when he was placed in the police car. Why did it take seven cops to subdue an unarmed man, how did he die, and why was he not placed immediately into an ambulance? Did the cops spray pepper spray down his throat? Why did the cops take the man around the block in order to transfer him to the ambulance?"
We certainly don't have all the details, so how can you judge this as police brutality? Did the thugs try to kill the off duty cops? Were the thugs doing something illegal, and the thugs wanted to fight?
posted on November 28, 2002 01:17:34 AM new
Thugs? What thugs? Do you mean the two men walking to their car after work? Or the three drunk cops who beat them up?
If you believe a police investigation can be impartial, then you've missed the whole point of my argument. The entire police department is corrupt, and so is the judicial system.
posted on November 28, 2002 10:56:27 AM new
You don't have all the facts. Yes the system errs on the side of the police, that's because there are so many false or exaggerated reports of police beatings. All it takes, if you're concerned about a corrupt system is for the guys who got beat up, sue the police and get a jury trial.
posted on November 28, 2002 12:18:56 PM newYou don't have all the facts. Yes the system errs on the side of the police....
We never have "all" the facts. In criminal cases, all that is needed is proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Here are some facts that have been reported:
Two men were assaulted. Cops arrived. Men described vehicle and license plate. Same vehicle drove by, was stopped by police. Vehicle contained off-duty police offiers. Off-duty officers were not detained, their clothes and vehicle were not searched. Victims were not allowed to ID the attackers. Off-duty cops showed up hours later at the station (giving ample time to wash, change clothes, clean the vehicle, and sober up). Another fact, all this is clearly in violation of standard police procedure.
Is this what you call erring on the side of caution?
Police have refused to release details of the investigation. The only thing police have released is that one of the victims was once busted for possession of a small amount of marijuana. Police haven't released that the son of the Assistant Chief was recently involved in a fatal auto accident, and has previously been accused of assault. This is a cop who just completed rookie training a week ago!
Perhaps you like the idea of vigilante cops who are above the law. You might even want to defend them. I do not.
There will be a trial, and somebody will take the fall. Either the drunken thug off-duty officers, or the cops on the scene who covered up for them. And not because of any internal police investigation, but because of media and citizen watchdog groups.
This kind of thing happens every day in every metropolitan police department.
... false or exaggerated reports of police beatings.
Man is detained by police for creating a disturbance. Man dies of "heart attack" during the arrest. Riiiight. Kind of hard exaggerate that, with the perp dead in a pool of blood and all.
posted on November 28, 2002 01:14:56 PM new
If that's all the facts we have, the off duty police are not guilty.
If the off duty cops saw a crime in progress and tried to stop it, and it ended up where the thugs got hurt, there is no reason for the on duty cops to frisk the other cops or do a car search because the off duty cops were doing what they were sworn in to do.
When the case is under investigation, police never release information that could jeapardize the case.
Perhaps you don't like gathering more facts before hanging the innocent.
posted on November 28, 2002 07:22:09 PM new
I have no doubt the police with come up with some story, either that they were attacked or that some crime was being committed.
The cops will lie to back each other up. There's your standard operating procedure.
(edited to add
If the bartender and his friend were committing a crime, or attacked the off-duty cops, why weren't they arrested?
posted on December 4, 2002 10:26:57 AM new
RECORD NUMBER OF POLICE DEATHS IN 2001
December 28, 2001
More than 230 police officers across the nation were killed in the line of duty during 2001, making it the deadliest year for the law enforcement profession
since 1974. Included in the total were 70 officers who died at the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, the most officers ever to be
killed in a single incident in the history of our nation.
According to preliminary figures released jointly today by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and the Concerns of Police
Survivors (COPS), 233 federal, state and local law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty over the past 12 months. That is the highest number
of deaths in a single year for police since 1974-the deadliest year ever for law enforcement-when 270 officers lost their lives in the performance of duty.
The only other years in which more police fatalities occurred were 1973 (260 deaths), 1930 (246 deaths) and 1971 (239 deaths). The 2001 death toll was
56 percent higher than the 150 law enforcement officers who died in 2000.
Of the 233 officers who were killed during the past year, 71 died in the September 11 terrorist attacks; 66 were shot to death; 43 died in automobile
accidents; 23 were struck by automobiles while outside of their own vehicles; 13 succumbed to job-related illnesses; seven died in motorcycle accidents;
five were killed in aircraft accidents; two died in boating accidents; one drowned; one died in a fall; and one was struck by a train. The Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey Police Department lost 37 officers in the September 11 terrorist attacks, more than any other agency ever for a single year, or
incident. The New York City Police Department suffered 23 deaths at the World Trade Center, the second highest fatality figure ever recorded by a law
enforcement agency for a single year, or incident. For the year, New Jersey (headquarters to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police
Department) had more police deaths than any other state, with 41; followed by New York with 31; Texas with 21; California with 12; and Florida and
North Carolina with nine.
"The level of public support and appreciation for our law enforcement officers has increased dramatically since September 11" observed NLEOMF
Chairman Craig W. Floyd. "But the incredible bravery and selfless sacrifice our officers displayed that day was no different than every other day of the
year in communities across America. We owe all of our police officers a huge debt of gratitude for the invaluable work they do."
"The past year has been terribly bittersweet for the law enforcement community," stated COPS National President Molly Winters. "Our officers and their
families have sacrificed so much, but never have they performed better or made our nation prouder."
posted on December 4, 2002 07:04:52 PM new
Bear, no one is suggesting that police work isn't stressful, or dangerous.
That is no excuse for getting drunk with your buddies and beating up civilians. None at all. So don't even go there. Because a cop who reacts like that doesn't belong on the force. Period.
In this case, it was a punk ass kid who was a rookie. He would have been ejected but for the leverage with his dad. Put on desk duty instead. How stressful is desk duty? Stressful enough that he's got to go beat up innocent civilians?
No. The law is the law, and cops are not exempt. Fagin belongs in jail.
posted on December 4, 2002 08:34:29 PM new
Nice try.
Brutality is only part of the problem. Brutality wouldn't exist without the systemic corruption present within metropolitan police departments.
Why wasn't proper police procedure followed? The answer is obvious. A coverup. Do you think if you or I were ID'd by someone lying in a pool of blood, we'd be told, go home, clean yourself up, and report to headquarters tomorrow morning?
The cops who did this should be in jail. And the on-duty officers who attempted to cover for them should lose their badges. THAT is justice.
No amount of rationalizing police brutality can make it right.
posted on December 4, 2002 11:27:57 PM new
There will be no justice for those who suffer from the hands of the police until those that are responsbile are taught that no one is above the law -- even those who are sworn to protect it. May we fare better under this new nightmare fo Homeland Security.
