Ongoing U.S Police Brutality and Corruption Discussion Thread

Also I dont think cameras everywhere on police is going to solve much, mostly because this

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/apr/07/local/la-me-lapd-tamper-20140408

Los Angeles police officers tampered with voice recording equipment in dozens of patrol cars in an effort to avoid being monitored while on duty, according to records and interviews.

An inspection by Los Angeles Police Department investigators found about half of the estimated 80 cars in one South L.A. patrol division were missing antennas, which help capture what officers say in the field. The antennas in at least 10 more cars in nearby divisions had also been removed.

Dan, I agree, and I empathize with you as well - it's violence pornography and although I wouldn't begrudge somebody for watching the video to understand what happened, the way the networks are using the video is inappropriate (and as noted above, viewers are getting sandbagged into watching it).

I'm waiting to see how long it takes for someone to dredge up any possible minor infraction in the cameraman's past and try to shift the focus to that in order to discredit him.

― joygoat, Friday, April 10, 2015 1:27 AM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that or the narrative that will emerge is "if he had not fled his vehicle and followed instructions, he would still be alive". though being that the officer's own employer fired him and condemned the shooting, I am hoping this doesn't turn into another Ferguson, he's convicted, and it's a small victory, a move in the right direction.

I've learned not to get too optimistic about these things though.

xpost yeah the Onion joked today that one Pro in regards to body cameras is that you would know exactly the cop's exact location at the moment he disabled his body cam

serious question here, but these internal investigations that investigate all officer-related shootings, is it overseen by any third party or is it typically all done in-house in states? Because it would seem to me this is the type of thing that really requires an outside source to investigate but it feels very insular in all cases.

Wisconsin passed a law to require independent investigation of police custody deaths last year. They're the only state to mandate it. Should be everywhere.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/23463-wisconsin-passes-first-state-law-requiring-independent-investigations-of-police-custody-deaths#

like the woman looking over Walker's shoulder to make sure he actually signs it

"We researched the state of Wisconsin and we could not find an 'unjustified' ruling of a police-involved shooting in 129 years since the police and fire departments were first formed in 1885, and we knew that was an impossible record of perfection. Either the police officers were perfect, or there was something wrong with the system," Bell said.

so shocked

Hey if you want to read a truly depressing article that makes it clear why even one of the worst humans governing a state was forced to sign this into law, here you go:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/what-i-did-after-police-killed-my-son-110038.html#.VSc5RoY8KnM

http://justice.gawker.com/white-americas-silence-on-police-brutality-is-consent-1696780967

Whites rate the nation's police force among the three institutions in our country that inspire the most confidence, behind only the military and small business, according to a survey by Gallup.

lol I have zero faith in these institutions

that article very otm

the wisconsin thing is one of the very, very few political bright spots in this state from the past five years

x-posts There's a lot of discussion in Nixonland of how conservatives successfully turned New York's Civilian Complaint Review Board into a wedge issue. And they've continued to do so for four decades all over the country by positioning outside oversight as interfering with police ability to do their jobs, being soft on crime, allowing those people to hamstring the cops, etc.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/newshomepage1/sheriff-s-office-reserve-deputy-who-fired-fatal-shot-was/article_3d1f3fe7-43cd-5fa1-9e8c-d8b3aefe2504.html

I didn't realize that this guy literally paid the department to let him be a cop

there have got to be involuntary manslaughter charges pursued against the reservist, right? I mean, he did the right thing in acknowledging the mistake (and he shouldn't have been there with a service weapon to begin with), but Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for exactly the same thing (and many on the force were critical of how he couldn't tell the difference in the weight of the weapon). Different state and different circumstances obviously (they were pursuing murder/voluntary manslaughter against Mehserle and the jury only opted to choose involuntary due to lack of evidence of intent), but it's reckless and appropriate in this case.

The fucking cops who said "fuck your breath" should be suspended just for being callous assholes.

the average person has literally no power over how police forces operate t/f

in our town it seems the city government doesn't even have all that great power over that, because of course aside from the statutory/institutional power over appointments, hiring/firing of leadership, a lot of it is internal, and the police themselves often push back w/ support from their political allies whenever some assertion of power over operations is made

idk the answer to that really but during a snowstorm recently two black boys were shoveling ppl's sidewalks in my neighborhood when the police came and started hassling them. the woman whose walk was being shoveled wrote a post about the experience on a neighborhood fb group accusing the local police of profiling. it got over 100 comments and forced the local department to hold a review of their practices. you can read about it here and the police report on the incident here. will that make a difference in the long run? the police report in part reads:

In the report, officials say they will re-examine community policing principles that are already in place and explore ways to make better direct connections with neighborhoods and residents. That will include police examining how to utilize patrol officers’ time during shifts to improve communication and engagement in the township’s neighborhoods. That would also include revised operating procedures with more foot and bike patrols.

Along the same ideas, Lower Merion police will also reinstitute a police citizen’s academy later this year. Township officials say they plan on reinvigorating the Police and Community Relations Committee in the hopes of serving as a bridge between the department and the community.

“The overriding priority of our actions moving forward is to do the best we can to ensure that all citizens feel they are given equal police protection and service regardless of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, age or any other criteria,” according to the report.

if it does end up making any positive impact on this issue in my community, i'd guess it's bc it happened on a very local level in a blue suburban township w/ a lot of - well, I wouldn't say protest but active engagement in the issue on the part of citizens of this neighborhood.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/13/michael-slager-laughing_n_7052618.html

seems like a nervous laugh /attempt to get pageviews to me, the guy is a murderous asshole who needs to be locked up but no need to put the image in our heads of him laughing maniacally

Out of everything involved in this, the inappropriate laughter reaction is the most understandable.

Seriously. Adrenaline rushes are weird and normal, and inappropriate laughter happens. I hope his adrenaline comedown was a nasty, unpleasant hellride,

the reservist who accidentally Eric Harris charged with second-degree manslaughter

http://news.yahoo.com/deputy-charged-manslaughter-shooting-death-061439114.html

*shot

that seems about right

i have so little hope at this point that any of these assholes will be convicted of anything, though.

i mean ever since the rodney king verdict it's been clear that even incontrovertible video evidence is often not enough to convict a cop (or in this case, a cop-wannabe) of heinous shit.

relevant: http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150414/downtown/rahm-agrees-55-million-reparations-for-burge-torture-victims

http://www.wset.com/story/28792211/judge-finds-lynchburg-middle-schooler-with-autism-guilty-on-criminal-charges

11 year old autistic kid convicted with felony

What the fuck

i've mentioned this on the board before but my gf teaches music predominantly in schools with heavily autistic populations and she's told me that the principals and teachers will visit the local NYPD precincts to explain at length to NEVER send people to deal with disturbances as some of the kids lash out violently with no provocation and it's completely outside of their control... cops are always assigned to work schools though so the staff has to decide just how bad things have to get before they involve the on-site police and the general take by everyone working there is "never", specifically to avoid that kind of situation. it's just the most fucked up thing and really heartbreaking.

i am currently working at a state psychiatric hospital (one of the good ones) and have to say, even though it chafes some of my preconceptions w/r/t the police apparatus, that the cops there (who are there every day) are really quite good at responding to emergencies on the unit. i wish we could replicate them and get them on the street

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/20/us/baltimore-freddie-gray-death/index.html

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150420/north-lawndale/chicago-police-officer-who-shot-rekia-boyd-on-trial-monday

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The Chicago Police detective who fatally shot 22-year-old Rekia Boyd in 2012 was found not guilty on all charges Monday.

I want to say something, but mostly I just feel numb

In an unusual move, Judge Dennis Porter granted a defense motion for a directed verdict, meaning he found police officer Dante Servin not guilty without Servin even having to put on a defense.

Servin had been charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and reckless discharge of a firearm — but Porter, in issuing his verdict, said Servin’s conduct was “beyond reckless” in the March 2012 shooting of Rekia Boyd. Therefore, “it would be improper to allow the trial to continue given the total failure” to prove recklessness, which was key to all three charges. “The evidence does not support the charges on which the defendant is being tried.”

The officer’s decision to discharge his firearm, Porter said, “was an intentional act.”

Based on the defense attorney's statement at the end of the article it seems like it's an open question whether this means prosecutors are barred by double jeopardy from bringing new charges alleging voluntary manslaughter or some other crime requiring intent, I'm not sure the reckless-level crimes he was charged with count as lesser included offenses.

holy shit that verdict is the worst. that seems like some bullshit made-up law like a seven year old would invoke when trading school lunches.

I mean that seems to really go against the spirit of the law based on being overtly pedantic but far from a legal expert (tho noted the ones quoted didn't exactly say the judge was correct).

Prosecutors (in general, at least as dreadful scumbags as cops, but they skate by because they're not working class) often deliberately indict we'll-get-you-out-of-this-ok defendants at the last possible moment in order to eliminate re-charging even if double jeopardy isn't an issue. This judge knew entirely what he was doing, and what he was doing is what the prosecutors wanted him to do.

Sorry I don't quite get that?

Which part? Late indictment or the judge winking?

did you watch the readout of the sentence? that was not the body language of a man who was winking at the prosecutor--clearly disgusted at the whole sham he's feeling obligated to perpetuate

er not sentence but dismissal obv

I did not, and will take your word for it. Ugh.

i don't have the slightest idea what to make of this
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/12/30/suit-police-removed-clothes-of-deceased-victim-took-photos/

the verdict makes total sense, the judge can't find him guilty of intentionally killing someone if he's only charged with unintentional killing. not really the judge's fault.

I think he's wrong," said Timothy P. O'Neill, a law professor at the John Marshall School of Law and an expert in criminal law.
"I see where Porter is coming from," O'Neill said after reading the judge's written opinion. "But I don't think it was legally impossible for this to be involuntary manslaughter. To throw the case out - I respect his decision, but I don't think he needed to do that."

"If I were the judge, I don't see why it's so difficult to say Servin intentionally fired the shot, but the result was in killing someone he didn't intend to hurt. That's a reckless result," O'Neill said.

i don't have the slightest idea what to make of this
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/12/30/suit-police-removed-clothes-of-deceased-victim-took-photos/

― Premise ridiculous. Who have two potato? (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, April 21, 2015 6:30 PM (55 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The only response I can muster is a startled "..."

you can always find a lawyer to say they disagree with something i'm just saying it's not completely absurd. prosecutor could have charged it better.

i get that, I wasn't suggesting that the lawyer's opinion was definitive or anything, but it does seem weird that the judge insinuated his hands were effectively tied (and his body language/frustration suggested he truly believed that) where others have suggested he was interpreting the law too literally. It seems clear that the judge was not happy about the ruling so that he truly believed his hands were tied.

I'm out of my element here (so will look to the legal experts of ILX), but what do y'all think of this article? http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/04/21/3649043/judge-lets-cop-walk-deadly-shooting-thought-charges-werent-severe-enough/

Obviously it's ThinkProgress so it carries a liberal slant going in (but seems fairly well sourced). I'm just wondering why he didn't let the trial continue, I mean if he had been found guilty he could have appealed and had the conviction overturned, but once the case was thrown out, Servin was a free man. However I realize it's probably not that simple so willing to hear more of the specifics/nuts/bolts etc.

idk i'm tired but judges just suck and the law sucks. literally every day i'm lawyering i think i'm just helping them destroy.