[Micki]

We already got another chance to debate whether it is appropriate for police to exert instance justice by beating up people they arrest. i.e. should sentencing not be left to judges alone but some taken out immediatly at the initiative of the policemen on site.

A suspected drug dealer was chased through traffic and run over a poliemans foot, ended up volting the car and flying out of the side window. Unconcious on the ground the policeman all jump on him and start beating and kicking.
Graphic Video here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8060943.stm

The incident was covered up by ranking police but resulted in the dismissal of 5 policemen as the video was used in the court on demand by the defence lawyer.

My stance on the matter should be pretty clear so no further comment needed for now.

[Schmuto]

Really quite disturbing.

[TreeFarmer]

I hope that guy spends a few years in jail for his high-speed antics. He almost ran over a policeman and could have killed an innocent bystander with his driving.

Oh, I'm in agreement that the police crossed the line with the beating.

TF

[ALBY]

so he got a beating. big deal.

im never disappointed in the average dipshit's worldview about such things. here we have a psychotic criminal that attempts to murder a police officer and endangers the lives of dozens of citizens with a 4000Lb vehicle and all the bed wetters can see is the police brutality. think it is easy to police this society ? think it is easy to sort out your domestic 'incidents' and keep your alcoholoic, mullet headed, wife beating, drug ingesting fellow citizens in check ?

internalize this: the policing is a reflection of society in general. we get the policing we deserve. we are an oversexed, inebriated, violent nation of feckless, cheating liars. and what ? we should hold our underpaid public servants to some high moral standard while the rest of us misbehave and conduct our lives with little or no integrity?

[dunewalker]

"Crew{an attorney}, who did not represent Warren in the criminal case, said he fled in the van because he was confronted by a man who never identified himself as an officer, was not in uniform and drove after him in an unmarked car. She said he had not been accused of any crime when the pursuit began.

She said Warren, who was hospitalized for a few days after the chase, was 'totally unconscious' when he was beaten and did not know it happened until the video surfaced."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090520/ap_ ... ting_video

If I was a black man in AL or LA, I'd probably have attempted to escape too, in a similar situation. It appears this man was not a criminal, but was the victim of thugs that made him into one, then punished him for attempting to survive.

[Jotapay]

But his unconscious head attacked the policeman's foot. That's a beatin'.

Seriously, what the cops did is wrong, but when someone goes on a 50 mile car chase with the cops, I do not feel sorry for anything that happens to them. The criminal endangered dozens, if not hundreds, of lives, including children riding with their parents.

When a policeman pulls you over, you stop and talk to them. End of story.

[Jotapay]

"Crew{an attorney}, who did not represent Warren in the criminal case, said he fled in the van because he was confronted by a man who never identified himself as an officer, was not in uniform and drove after him in an unmarked car. She said he had not been accused of any crime when the pursuit began.

This is hogwash. I'm sure that after 2 miles or so, when the other squad cars showed up, he knew they were police and should have pulled over. He continued on for another 48 miles and endangered the lives of everyone else on the road with him.

[TWilliam]

Anyone who sanctions such behavior be sure to keep that in mind should the day arrive when they end up on the receiving end...

[Micki]

Exactly my point.
Either you allow the police to make a decision when they think beating is justified or you stick with a judicial system where police aren't supposed to beat up.
So if you want to allow it, don't complain when you get tased for jaywalking or have your teeth kicked in for cycling against red.

And as we have seen so many times now, the policemans word for what the situation was can't always be taken at face value. The more video cameras that are around, the more cases we see where police lie about what and how things happened and they lie to cover up for each other.

(And when it comes to the guy who got beaten, he got 20 years. But that is of little interest in this debate as we for now can assume he got what he deserved and that sentence was until otherwise suggested handed down in a fair trial.)

[Dreamtwister]

He almost ran over a policeman

Better luck next time.

Opinions aside for a moment, that video was incredible. The way he flew out of the window...it was almost cinimatic.

[Schmuto]

so he got a beating. big deal.

im never disappointed in the average dipshit's worldview about such things.

I hope some day a Fed kicks in your door and gives you a few extra shots to the head after you are down and screaming for mercy so that you get an opportunity to reconsider your safe-in-your-living-room perspective.

[sittinguy]

It was disturbing to watch,BUT in all honesty they didn't beat him that bad, He deserved it.

they are the ones that wreaked him out when the pitted him. They could have just ran up to him after he got ejected and got real close and said, ha ha, you dumb ass, but after he hit the cop, I am sure they wanted to kick his ass.

he deserved it

[kjmclark]

He almost ran over a policeman and could have killed an innocent bystander with his driving.

Actually, the BBC story says he hit the police officer and it sure looks that way from the video. So from the perspective of the officers in the lead two cars, this guy has also injured or killed an officer. They didn't have time to see what happened to the other officer, they just saw the officer's car, saw him, saw the minivan head toward him, saw the officer going down, and followed the minivan.

Honestly, I can't decide how badly the police dealt with the situation. It clearly would have been better if they hadn't beaten the guy, but if you put me on a jury with a case against the officers, you might be surprised at what they get away with. There's no excuse for threatening or particularly running down a police officer. That's a serious mitigating circumstance in my book.

So Micki, if I somehow take down a police officer on my bike in a way that looks like I could have killed him, and then run a red light, I won't be surprised if the cop that stops me is a fairly harsh. But I don't run reds on my bike (I bike to work every day), and I sure as heck would never consider doing anything that could injure a cop, and would stop dead in my tracks if I thought I had.

[smallpoxgirl]

Far as I am concerned, you run from them, you get what you deserve. Unconcious or not.

Wait till you decide you have something to say about the government. I can tell you from first hand experience that failing to disperse as quickly as they think you should garners about the same treatment. There are so many laws in effect these days, that it's a pretty rare event that someone is complying with all of them. It's not just running over cops that leads to cops breaking out the beatdown.

[Jotapay]

Far as I am concerned, you run from them, you get what you deserve. Unconcious or not.

Wait till you decide you have something to say about the government. I can tell you from first hand experience that failing to disperse as quickly as they think you should garners about the same treatment. There are so many laws in effect these days, that it's a pretty rare event that someone is complying with all of them. It's not just running over cops that leads to cops breaking out the beatdown.

You're right, but that's totally different than what happened here. Every time I get pulled over, I don't verbally assault the officer for what happened at the G20 summit. Like cbxer said, you pull over, pull our your ID, talk to them, maybe take the ride, and fight it in court. A 50 mile chase is inexcusable and he is a danger to everyone around him. Totally different. I don't condone the officers actions, but I don't feel sorry for the man one bit.

[smallpoxgirl]

I don't condone the officers actions, but I don't feel sorry for the man one bit.

100% agree

[TWilliam]

A 50 mile chase is inexcusable

As is cops beating on someone who is already unconscious upon their arrival. His prior actions are completely irrelevant in that regard. The mandate for LEOs is to use the minimal amount of force required to obtain compliance, not beat the sh*t out of someone who is not even attempting to resist just because they're 'pissed off' at him/her. Those cops deserve to be fired and completely barred from working in any position of authority ever again...

[eastbay]

[I have never taken "The Ride". Usually the site of a concealed weapon permit elicits a Sir repsonse from a Peace officer. Last time I was pulled over, at 0 dark thirty for excessive speed, the officer asked me what kind of weapon I was carrying. When I responded a 1911 .45, his response was
I ended up driving to work with a written warning for excessive speed, no ticket.
Most officers respect the Second Amendment. All that I have talked to anyhow. They realize that in order to have that particular form of identification, you have to be one outstanding citizen.
In the end I will do what is necessary to keep that CCW license in a predominant place in my wallet.

For the lower ranking officers, yes, but bear in mind that generally, and I said 'generally', the higher up in rank you go the less respect there is for the 2nd. By the time you get to a big city chief it's fairly common to find someone kow towing to the liberal politicians who are their bosses.

[Jotapay]

I have never taken "The Ride". Usually the site of a concealed weapon permit elicits a Sir response from a Peace officer. Last time I was pulled over, at 0 dark thirty for excessive speed, the officer asked me what kind of weapon I was carrying. When I responded a 1911 .45, his response was

In the end I will do what is necessary to keep that CCW license in a predominant place in my wallet.

Of couse. I've been pulled over twice since having my CHL. Neither time was I actually doing anything wrong, and they knew it. As soon as I showed them my CHL, they quit checking me out. They told me, "That's alright", not to pull out any more insurance or ID, talked to me for a bit and then told me I was good to go. I told them to stay safe out there.

[Jotapay]

Just do not go bringing up your 09/11 conspiracy theories. It might not go over to well with the "men in blue".

Actually, all the Austin police and firefighters that I know think the government is lying to us about 9/11. And that's the truth. Some of them actually helped wake me up, believe it or not. Showing me stuff I'd never seen before.