by jelly 35 Replies latest social physical
valis-
the assault started when the slammed the kid onto the cop car.
my guess is (from the looks of the boys face before the punch) that it actually started way before that even. of course, its one story vs. another about what happened before the tape started rolling, but it wouldnt surprise me one bit if he/they worked him over beforehand.
aa
Sublime rocks!
More riots??? What good would that do? 'Lets burn our community' What a bunch of dumbasses.
Crazy...I'm with you, however one might assume that if your community is a larger entity, and one of those important and needed entities is abusive, a little community immolation might appear the last resort and acceptable. Yes, just like in the song, there were clear violations of the law by all kinds of people...some in anger and much in just plain hatefullnes..which begets itself all the time, but civil insurrection should never be totally discounted in the face of oppressive authority.
Sincerely,
District overbeer
Oppressive Authority? Give me a break Valis We are talking individuals here. Not an entire police force, or goverment that gives the go ahead to be abusive to individuals just because they break the law. I agree that people should have been outraged because of what happened to Rodney King, but the riots were just an excuse to get some freebies. If they want sympathy for their outrage, they should be willing to give sympathy for the outrage of the cops who felt compelled to beat the sh*t out of a guy who led them on a 100+ mile an hour police chase for how long?
As I said before, sideline cheerleaders sit on those benches and judge. But, until you have ever been in a professional situation, and yes you are trained on how to react to violence, you have no experience to speak of and your condemnations are shallow.
wendy
I just finished watching another video of the incident. There are three that I've seen so far this a.m. In one it shows the kid clearly laying on his stomach by the gas pumps "NOT MOVING" actually limp. The officer (Morris) picked the kid up by his arms, which were behind his back, carried him over to the car then body slammed him twice before hitting him in the face. The kid looked out of it already prior to being carried to the car. He looked like a limp noodle. He had already been hit because the close up on the video showed blood running down the kids face. And in the video the officer was hitting him on the opposite side of his face. (Hence he was bleeding before the video of him being hit)
His attorney made a statement to CNBC? I think that it was unprovoked. (Of course he wouldn't say otherwise) But the kid was with his dad getting gas at the station when the officers pulled into the station and drew on the kid telling him to "drop the bag of chips" that he was carrying back to his dads car after paying for the gas. The only other info so far I have found it whats on the videotape after that.
I will be interesting to see how they justify this.
Ok Wendy, I've been arrested before and I know how it is when you get lots of cops in a dicey situation. They get ugly real fast and maintain the buddy system while they're hammering you and those around you. As well, if you think for one minute that individuals don't represent a larger institution then many of the other things we speak of here or wish to change are moot points. Take for instance the example of holding the WTBS responsible for the actions of individual elders. This is a terribly important concept to maintain and believe in. No? I still maintain that that was an act of oppressive authority. The officers that were there were caguth being incompetent. No self control, chain of command, or awareness of that young man's civil rights. Are all of thier actions considered examples of how Inglewood officers are trained to respond to possibly volatile situations? If so then where does the accountability buck stop?
Sincerely,
Dsitrict Overbeer
>> I still maintain that that was an act of oppressive authority.
Of course, it was, Valis.
Yes, an individual (Morse) is singularly responsible for the act, but under whose aegis did he act? The Inglewood Police Dept. They trained him, put him on the street (apparently just a couple of weeks after a similar incident in which he "allegedly" beat another man was beaten into a coma and hospitalized); and they will back him. They already have, haven't they? Isn't he on leave WITH PAY?
Wendy,
I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but...
Police are supposed to be our servants and protectors. Law-abiding citizens should have nothing to fear from them. Even those who might be driving around with suspended licenses (as the dad was, according to reports) should not expect to be dragged from their cars and beaten by a half-dozen police.
When police officers clearly step over the line (adrenaline charged or not; feeling threatened by a hand-cufffed teenager or not) and act in illegal and unethical ways, every single citizen has the right to be alarmed, not just for the victim of the abuse, but for the rogue cop's NEXT victim; and we should be very interested in holding the officer fully accountable for his acts.
I think you miss the entire point in characterizing such concern as "sideline cheerleading" or that we are "judging" anyone. Who are we cheerleading? Who are we judging? We just saw the same tape YOU saw. For some reason and without any more information than anyone else, you seem to lean toward the defense of the cop's actions. That's your right. It's just that others have the right to view the video differently than you do.
When U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft issues a statement calling the violent arrest of the black youth "troubling"; when the Justice Departments assistant attorney general for civil rights is sent to assist in an investigation by the FBI; when the mayor of Inglewood said that "there was no question" that the officer in the case would be fired; when four separate law enforcement agencies are investigating (the FBI, the Inglewood Police Department, the L.A. County Sheriffs Department and the L.A. County D.A.s Office); then it's safe to say that the "arrest" went a little awry and our concern is a little more serious than "sideline cheerleading."
Alarm seems to me to be an appropriate reaction.
Further, you said
until you have ever been in a professional situation, and yes you are trained on how to react to violence, you have no experience to speak of and your condemnations are shallow.I strongly disagree. For one, the governing body could use a very similar excuse for their misdeeds. They could say that, "well, you weren't in our shoes, so don't judge." What a crock.
I say: not all people need to be or *should* be police officers, just as not all people need to be judges, nurses, cab drivers... whatever. The problem with being a pathetic excuse of a police officer is that you have the full weight and authority of the law behind your words and acts AND you carry a loaded weapon with the authority to use it. Apologizing later for your "mistakes" doesn't always undo the damage.
Morse, because of his acts, has brought into serious question whether he is fit to serve as an officer of the law in his community. He should be a professional wrestler of hand-cuffed, mentally challenged teenagers. Seems he'd be good at *that*.
Man who taped arrest is arrested http://www.msnbc.com/news/777480.asp
LOMA. teejay. I saw that on the news last night, my first suspicious thought was can they throw out the evidence now since it came from a "criminal"?hehehe after all if he had been in jail where he belonged the tape would not exist. yeh?
Morse, 24, has been suspended with pay while the investigation
is conducted. If convicted, he faces up to a year in prison and
a $10,000 fine. The charge against him refers to a law enforcement
officer who abuses his authority.
