Fuck the Police State

[goatman]

[NYPD Union boss] Patrick Lynch is obviously a very lousy poker player!

[Ben in LA]

My avatar picture, featuring Eazy E...

[broncofan]

Just watched the videotape. There's no way the police officer who choked Eric Garner should not have been prosecuted. The autopsy came back that it was a homicide, from compression to Garner's neck and chest. There can be a lot of arguments about exactly what happened in the Brown shooting (I haven't read all of the witness statements) but there's no doubt Pantaleo should have been indicted. The grand jury had a bunch of options in front of them including lesser charges like reckless endangerment...

I'm inclined to think that prosecutors are not independent enough...they must not be pursuing police officers the way they should be. Getting an indictment is typically very easy. There must have been a deliberate attempt to sandbag the grand jury process.

[Odelay]

Just watched the videotape. There's no way the police officer who choked Eric Garner should not have been prosecuted. The autopsy came back that it was a homicide, from compression to Garner's neck and chest. There can be a lot of arguments about exactly what happened in the Brown shooting (I haven't read all of the witness statements) but there's no doubt Pantaleo should have been indicted. The grand jury had a bunch of options in front of them including lesser charges like reckless endangerment...

I'm inclined to think that prosecutors are not independent enough...they must not be pursuing police officers the way they should be. Getting an indictment is typically very easy. There must have been a deliberate attempt to sandbag the grand jury process.

So broncofan, did you see the video of the Cleveland cops shooting the 12 yr old? How do you see that one going down. The cops say they told the kid to raise his hands 3 times, but that can't be because the kid was shot within 2 seconds from the time the car pulled up. And then they didn't administer any emergency medical attention to the kid. I guess that maxim about dead victims not testifying holds here.

It's gotten really friggen crazy around here. Not sure if these remarkable situations are unique, or if the events are now just drawing more media and internet attention.

[broncofan]

So broncofan, did you see the video of the Cleveland cops shooting the 12 yr old? How do you see that one going down. The cops say they told the kid to raise his hands 3 times, but that can't be because the kid was shot within 2 seconds from the time the car pulled up. And then they didn't administer any emergency medical attention to the kid. I guess that maxim about dead victims not testifying holds here.

It's gotten really friggen crazy around here. Not sure if these remarkable situations are unique, or if the events are now just drawing more media and internet attention.

I was skimming the news today and I saw a headline about a report criticizing Cleveland police but I didn't see that case. I'm sure this has been going on for a long time...I am of the opinion that despite the Garner outcome, video cameras on police officers will be useful. It will act as some deterrent and for rational people who like video it can give them something to look at (knowing the facts is half the battle).

When I was a summer intern in law school I read at a couple of grand jury sessions. You literally read a statement of probable cause and answer a couple of the prosecutor's questions and five minutes later there's an indictment. I am saying this for those who don't know, probable cause is typically not a high standard. People may have apprehensions about what they saw on the video and don't want to rush to judgment, but they were only making a probable cause determination!

I just don't understand why something that is so frequently a summary process is turning into an impenetrable barrier. Even in the Brown case where there were multiple witnesses and there is a difficult factual reconstruction, you'd normally have an indictment with that evidence...it doesn't mean you necessarily get a conviction but the average person has to stand trial when they kill someone and the circumstances surrounding it are suspicious.

[AshlynCreamher]

I dated a cop once, he was very rigid - fuck the police!

[yodajazz]

So broncofan, did you see the video of the Cleveland cops shooting the 12 yr old? How do you see that one going down. The cops say they told the kid to raise his hands 3 times, but that can't be because the kid was shot within 2 seconds from the time the car pulled up. And then they didn't administer any emergency medical attention to the kid. I guess that maxim about dead victims not testifying holds here.

It's gotten really friggen crazy around here. Not sure if these remarkable situations are unique, or if the events are now just drawing more media and internet attention.

I read the entire report. Within it it details 16 incidents for example of various police misconduct. Here is one:

[SIZE="4"]" 1. CDP officers carelessly fire their weapons, placing themselves, subjects, and bystanders at unwarranted risk of serious injury or death.
We reviewed incidents in which officers carelessly or accidentally fired their weapons, at times critically injuring people, in instances where it may not have been appropriate to have drawn their firearms at all. An officer’s decision to reach into a man’s vehicle while the officer had his gun drawn and in his hand resulted in the officer shooting the man in the chest. “Nathan” had tried to make a right turn from the center lane, cutting off and almost colliding with a car that was proceeding straight through the intersection. It was 2:30 in the morning, and the area was crowded with pedestrians who had emptied out of the local bars and restaurants. Nathan was unable to complete the right turn because the street was blocked off, but by this time there were pedestrians crossing behind his vehicle, such that he could not back up into his lane. Consequently, he was stuck in the middle of the intersection, blocking traffic. At this point, an officer approached Nathan’s vehicle with his gun drawn. The records of the incident provide no
written basis to explain why he drew his gun, which is in itself a troubling fact. In his videotaped statement, the officer merely said he felt “uneasy” because he could not see Nathan’s hands. With his gun pointed at Nathan, the officer ordered Nathan to turn off his ignition and to show the officer his hands. The officer claims Nathan did not obey these commands and that he had his right hand down where the officer could not see it. Nathan claims that he had his hands up and was afraid to move them because the officer was pointing his gun at him. When Nathan did not comply, the officer himself attempted to turn off the vehicle. To do so, he leaned his entire upper body into the car and, with his right hand, attempted to turn off the car. Meanwhile, his gun was in his left hand, pointed at Nathan, and his finger was on the trigger. He claims that he then felt force on his hand “like [Nathan] was trying to grab my weapon.” The gun discharged, striking Nathan, who had been stopped originally for a potentially unlawful left turn,
once in the chest.

This shooting resulted from poor tactics by the officer ..."[SIZE]

[TempestTS]

statistically Murder by Cop is climbing nationwide as the top cause of Homicide - Actually Utah it's number ONE above domestic violence related homicide and death's related to robbery. If you are killed by another human being in the state of Utah its more likely to be a cop than anyone else - WTF have we come to?

[Ben]

Obama Takes Bold Step To Address Aggressive Police Tactics:

[Ben]

From the Guardian:

Gunman murders two NYPD officers in Brooklyn before shooting himself

• Officers killed in ambush named as Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos
• Suspect Ismaaiyl Brinsley also linked to shooting in Baltimore
• Police unions say ‘blood on hands’ of protesters and mayor

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...shoots-himself