Ongoing U.S Police Brutality and Corruption Discussion Thread

A coroner’s report obtained exclusively by NBC News directly contradicts the police version of how a 22-year-old black man died in the back seat of a Louisiana police cruiser earlier this year -- but still says the man, whose hands were cuffed behind his back, shot himself.

In a press release issued March 3, the day he died, the Louisiana State Police said Victor White III apparently shot himself in an Iberia Parish police car. According to the police statement, White had his hands cuffed behind his back when he shot himself in the back.

But according to the full final report of the Iberia Parish coroner, which was released nearly six months later and obtained exclusively by NBC News, White was shot in the front, not the back. The bullet entered his right chest and exited under his left armpit. White was left-handed, according to family members. According to the report, the forensic pathologist found gunshot residue in the wound, but not the sort of stippling that a close-range shot can sometimes produce. He also found abrasions on White’s face.

At least one person got irritated with me for declining to vote for deBlasio in the (sewn-up) general election for NYC mayor. Then he appointed old hand Bratton to be police commish, and then...

Commissioner Bill Bratton, Mayor de Blasio's choice to lead the NYPD to a new age of transparency and discipline, turned away 25% of police misconduct findings by the Civilian Complaint Review Board, opting to ignore their recommendations for disciplining misbehaving officers. This is around the same rejection rate that former commissioner Raymond Kelly maintained before leaving office at the beginning of the year.

"I suggest you come back in six months and see how we’re doing,” Bratton told the New York Times in a phone interview yesterday."Based on my eight months sitting in that chair, my sense was that CCRB was significantly overcharging and overpenalizing.”

http://gothamist.com/2014/08/27/bratton_ignored_25_of_police_miscon.php

http://www.theonion.com/articles/unpopular-police-officer-thinking-about-committing,36790/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=Pic:2:Default&recirc=area-man

http://rt.com/usa/183000-police-departments-lose-military-weaponry/

Already, the investigation has found that police departments in Arizona, California, Mississippi, Missouri, Georgia, and others have lost or cannot account for various types of weapons. This list includes M14 and M16 assault rifles, .45-caliber pistols, shotguns, and even vehicles.

I'm sure a search of a few police officer homes would turn them up, tanks included.

Reminds me of back in high school a buddy of mine got a job working at a gas station and used to hand out free packs of cigarettes to the cute girls and drug dealers who came in for a few months until he was caught and arrested. Bet there are some cute girls and drug dealers in Maricopa County with some military grade weaponry now.

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2014/08/27/minneapolis-cops-allegedly-taze-and-arrest-black-male-sitting-public-space

i never hear a reason on the video—just 'do what we say or else'

Uh oh:

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/273013851.html

I think we can expect a whole lot of shootings of people who were "charging" in the near run.

The earlier crime of vandalism appears to have been throwing rocks at cars

This whole thing of police either tasing or shooting people and then expecting them to "comply" and "cooperate" and "stop moving" is just . . . WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY????

“The guy charged at [the second officer], and he got about 5 feet away before the officer fired his weapon three times,” Toby said. “And the guy went down, and they got one cuff on him. They were yelling, ‘cooperate, cooperate; give me your hand, give me your hand,’ but he wouldn’t give the hand. He was kicking his legs. And I think, at that point, the guy passed away.”

*blam!* *blam!* *blam!* "cooperate! cooperate!"

Please hear me doing that in my most contemptuous imitation of a fuckwit that I can possibly muster.

Oh, I see you got to that point before me.

sorry no time to cooperate, busy dying

Oh the police lied again about a guy they shot you don't say how rare etc.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/26/video-shows-police-shot-ohio-man-on-sight-as-he-leaned-on-toy-gun-in-walmart-attorney-says/

jesus fuck.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/28/knoxville-cop-fired-immediately-after-photos-show-brutal-choking-of-student/

Usually, after charges of police brutality, police officials take their time reacting while they follow procedure to determine who did what. But this episode in Knoxville, Tenn., was so extreme and well-documented that the local sheriff fired the officer immediately. Also, it involved a white guy.

Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too

busy night for these guys.

they did not shoot anybody here tho:

http://www.startribune.com/local/272992321.html

(that chase screamed by right in front of my building fyi)

well i guess it doesn't say they didn't shoot him

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/08/28/police-shoot-and-kill-man-in-ramsey

Uh what the hell is going on - this is a different story than earlier today

cops twitchy, journalists on the lookout

Well except cops killing people would be reported in this town whenever and that makes 2 today and I don't remember the last time one happened

Preliminary search says three people killed by cops this month, 2 dogs no people last month, none in the rest of 2014. So yeah

http://gawker.com/man-tased-by-police-while-picking-up-kids-the-problem-1628148261

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2014/08/27/minneapolis-cops-allegedly-taze-and-arrest-black-male-sitting-public-space

i never hear a reason on the video—just 'do what we say or else'

― j., Thursday, August 28, 2014 9:40 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://ktla.com/2014/08/26/producer-in-beverly-hills-for-emmy-pre-party-mistaken-for-bank-robber-held-6-hours/

Twitter/Tumblr's been really good at unearthing stories of Things White People Can Do To Cops And Live To Tell About

From last year:

http://www.katu.com/news/local/Police-shooting-Beaverton-City-Hall-high-mushrooms-217458381.html

fuck, one of my friends is in that article about the shooting in St Paul, she was working at the coffee shop nearby.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/attorney-east-point-police-used-taser-against-man-/ng9RG/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/30/daniel-holtzclaw-cop-rape_n_5740714.html

the cops here are open-minded enough to kill white people too:
http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/newly-released-police-records-shed-additional-light-on-paul-heenan/article_315e18ac-82e0-11e2-b277-0019bb2963f4.html

this was a couple years back, but it was a block and a half from my house, lots of my friends knew the victim (he was a musician), etc.

the cop was cleared of any wrongdoing for the shooting but fired for other reasons (yeah, ok), but i believe that external investigations into police shootings are now required in WI due to the efforts of his friends & family.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/die-hard-director-john-mctiernan-731171

damn

boy with toy sword shot from behind

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/race-utah-police-shooting

I saw that, horrifically sad

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58409680-78/hunt-family-police-sword.html.csp

Multiple witnesses say he was running away AND an independent autopsy report found that he was shot in the back

Direct contradictions of the police officer's report that he 'lunged' at the officer

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-utah-police-shooting-20140914-story.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-police-suit-20140915,0,6933088.story

It seems to me that police doctrine is that the instant you are suspected of unlawful behavior, you are presumed to be dangerous and are fair game for any amount of force to be used against you, with the idea that it is far better that you are killed or wounded than any police officer ever be hurt. This doctrine goes back a very long time in the USA, but the difference now is that it has become officially recognized and codified by the legal system and courts.

It apparently does not matter whether the suspicion is justified or not. It apparently does not matter whether you present any clear or present danger by your actions. So long as the officer "felt threatened", any amount of force is justified to nullify that imagined threat. In practice, this, of course, nullifies the entire concept of "excessive force".

Autopsy report shows police shot Darrien Hunt in the back, lawyer says

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/darrien-hunt-carrying-toy-sword-shot-and-killed-utah-police

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/16/darrien-hunt-shot-in-the-back-by-utah-police-says-family-attorney

“We haven’t even interviewed the officers yet,” said Taylor. “We’ve talked briefly with them just to kind of get an idea of what the scene was at the time.” He said officers were typically interviewed within 48-72 hours of a shooting. One is now scheduled to be interviewed on Tuesday and the other on Thursday, more than a week after the shooting, he said.

“I’m stunned. I find that almost incomprehensible,” Edwards, the attorney for Hunt’s family, said after being informed of this by the Guardian. “You want to speak with the officers almost immediately afterwards, when their memories are fresh and before they have had a chance to corroborate their stories.”

"just to kind of get an idea of what the scene was at the time"

Just, you know, see how their day was goin' 'n' stuff.

“You want to speak with the officers almost immediately afterwards, when their memories are fresh and before they have had a chance to corroborate their stories.”

This assumes that "you" are interested in the truth.

http://gawker.com/nypd-officer-filmed-slamming-pregnant-woman-to-ground-1638487177

An NYPD officer was filmed violently throwing a pregnant woman to ground early Saturday morning. Sandra Amezquita, who is five months pregnant, reportedly suffered vaginal bleeding after the incident, and her arms and stomach remain bruised.

The two officers who shot and killed John Crawford were not indicted

That is fucking insane.

jesus christ that fucking gawker clip possibly the most disturbing thing I've seen in awhile

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d97584cfd10d48b5a3ea366850f4f06d/woman-punched-california-highway-patrol-settles

holy crap

http://gawker.com/trigger-happy-cop-shoots-unarmed-driver-in-just-release-1638993749

The cops said today the knife disappeared and must have been stolen from them.

yeah

In 2023, the NYPD spent an extra $151 million on overtime so that officers could patrol the subways and address "quality-of-life" crimes like farebeating, resulting in 1,900 more arrests for fare evasion and 32,000 more summonses—which works out to around $4,200 per arrest or summons, to catch people whose total unpaid fares only amounted to roughly $104,000.

also the 'male bystander' and/or his family are going to sue the city for much more than $104,000. which, of course, will not come out of the cops' budget

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2024/11/18/florida-deputy-stands-trial-after-using-taser-at-gas-station-setting-man-on-fire/

Jesus Christ

When a dedicated police officer has concluded that a reckless driver with brown skin must be tased into submission, nothing else can penetrate his narrow focus on enforcing the law. Not even the fact that his taser is soaked with gasoline.

First comment in article - "why was the victim covered in gas"

And we're done here.

A Missouri Family Called 911 for a Domestic Dispute. Police Arrived and shot a 2-month old baby in the head, then shot and killed her mother.https://t.co/mD9AHWbiXF

— The Kansas City Defender (@KCDefender) November 19, 2024

calling the cops was a great idea, grandma

“They shot my baby,” Holder said, his voice shaking with grief and fury. “It looked like her head exploded. Her blood splattered across my glasses and all over me. All I could do was scream. I just kept saying three words—the same three words—‘YOU KILLED HER!’ I was screaming it. Over and over.

my fucking god

brutal. fuck the police

Las Vegas man who called 911 for help killed by police in his home

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckglp4nz75zo

How tf do you ask someone who is struggling with an assailant over a knife to drop it, giving the assailant free reign to stab them. Jfc

“While Mr. Durham’s death is tragic, Officer Bookman was doing his job and did not intend to commit a crime.”

WTF

I believe if you didn't intend to commit a crime that makes it legal? IANAL

I’m assuming the cop thought the man was the assailant l?

The victim and the female burglar were struggling over a knife and the cop probably assumed the man was the burglar

The same cop was called to the same house the night before because the assailant also showed up at his house the day before - he met both parties. Also, when struggling over the knife, the assailant was wearing a ski mask.

If he thought the victim was the perpetrator, he's possibly the stupidest man alive.

(Source: https://www.8newsnow.com/investigators/man-killed-by-las-vegas-police-officer-called-911-the-night-before-this-person-wont-leave/)

what the - that first article was only 1/3 of the story

Ok yeah there’s a lot more to that story

Yeah that’s a lot more information. Jesus Christ.

Cops dealing guns

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-selling-restricted-guns-posties/

“"If I'm guilty of this, every cop in the nation's going to jail,"

good.

Yeah don't threaten me with a good time etc

hahahahahahaha

Just got this pacer alert and I see the county hired a psych expert to evaluate whether the former sheriff was emotionally distressed by being put on the Do Not Rehire list.

These were the conclusions: pic.twitter.com/6wcFABA3jV

— Keri Blakinger (@keribla) April 29, 2025

!!!

That was worth following the link to X in order to read it. (Heil Musk!)

I know there's far worse things going on with cops these days, but sometimes we can all use a little laugh.

A Detroit police officer appeared in court virtually wearing his uniform top with no pants on

Judge: “You got some pants on, officer?”

https://bsky.app/profile/phillewis.bsky.social/post/3m4emloaubk2q

Sandwich guy found not guilty!

eat shit pigs

Teens kicking a cop's ass after he attacks a young protester.

https://bsky.app/profile/thedoorokc.bsky.social/post/3mfflceeohk27

Small beans compared to most stories in this thread, but registering a complaint that it's absolutely insane that one Chicago cop gets killed and the entire north side of the city shuts down for two days, the main N-S thoroughfare gets closed at 5:45 am before rush hour (despite notifications sent out that road closures will start at 9 am) and millions in taxpayer dollars are spent flexing a show of force.

Defund cop funerals.

Small beans compared to most stories in this thread, but registering a complaint that it's absolutely insane that one Chicago cop gets killed and the entire north side of the city shuts down for two days, the main N-S thoroughfare gets closed at 5:45 am before rush hour (despite notifications sent out that road closures will start at 9 am) and millions in taxpayer dollars are spent flexing a show of force.

Defund cop funerals.

The hagiography around policing as "dangerous" is so deeply and stupidly propagandistic and shows what our society's real values are. Every few years I look up the stats for dangerous professions again, and I was validated by reading in my current book of the week: "Data from the US Bureau of Labor, for example, show that refuse and recyclable material collectors are three times more likely to die on the job than are police officers." (US Bureau of Labor 2019, see also like 3 more citations) (Discard Studies, by Max Liboiron and Josh Lepawsky, if anyone is intersted. It's genuinely such a good read.)

Get back to me when we have a parade for sanitation workers, who do like 1000x more to make our world safe for human life than policing does.

otmfm

Most of the danger to police comes from the sheer number of miles they log driving.

YES. If you care about making policing safer, make them DRIVE LESS!

I think you’re wrong there// you want them to drive more so more of them die

I mean I wouldn't care but they hit other people. Police vehicle pursuits are supposed to be prohibited in NYC but they still happen and they hit people and/or cause the drivers to crash with murderous results. And, to the extent that we're talking about officers on the shoulders of the highway being hit by other drivers, I wouldn't wish that on anyone in the other car. Except another officer, I guess.

A tiny bit of good news -- Anjanette Young, the social worker who endured a wrongful no-knock warrant that left her handcuffed, naked, and on camera, is now a member of a police oversight board. That's right!

An interview with her: https://www.wbez.org/in-the-loop-with-sasha-ann-simons/2026/04/28/seven-years-after-cpd-wrongfully-raided-her-home-anjanette-young-is-moving-past-the-pain

I mean I wouldn't care but they hit other people. Police vehicle pursuits are supposed to be prohibited in NYC but they still happen and they hit people and/or cause the drivers to crash with murderous results. And, to the extent that we're talking about officers on the shoulders of the highway being hit by other drivers, I wouldn't wish that on anyone in the other car. Except another officer, I guess.

Yeah, i was being slightly facetious.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/canoga-park-dog-shot-lapd/3904768/

ACAB