Officer right to punch teen

[Guest Ripper]

"Please don't try to justify that man beating up a handcuffed kid."

 

You did notice the cop in question was bleeding, right?

 

I always find it amusing when people who have no idea what the police go thru in their jobs everyday see fit to criticize them based on something they saw on a twenty-second sensationalist newsbyte.

A: I am not baseing anything on a 20 sec newsbyte. The whole being black and growing up in a small, Alabama town has given me alot of insight on what giving power to someone can do.

 

B: If you have ever heard my opinion on it before, you know that in the Rodney King beating, I think that the police, while they did go A LITTLE over the line, were mostly justified. In this case you have a guy that has been peppersprayed by 4 officers, hit with the taser twice and was still standing and coming at them. They know the signs of a high, dangerous man, and they had to take him down in intrest of thier own saftey. In this case, the guy was on the ground. The guy was in cuff. The guy was not moving. The cop picked him up from the ground and slammed his face into the car. If the guy had been uncuffed and not cooroperating, then ok, there can be some argumnet here. But that was NOT the case.

 

There is another video of a guy being beaten by two cops. What is the difference here. It has the cops telling him to get on the ground, him refusing and when the cops try to take him down he keeps throwing them off. I haven't said a word about that one because once again, the Cops were justified. But it is impossible for anyone to possibly try to say, "Hey the cop was bleeding, so he has the right to beat the guy up while handcuffed." Then you toss in that the SAME cop beat a guy into a coma the week before. he obviously has some anger issues. But lets ignore that because there is a small streak of blood on his jaw. The guy hit him so why not let a bunch of cops wrestle him down get him in cuffs, let him give up and THEN toss him around and punch him.

 

There is NO justification in what happend. BOTTOM LINE.

[Guest DrTom]

"The whole being black and growing up in a small, Alabama town has given me alot of insight on what giving power to someone can do."

 

While I'm sure that's far from the ideal situation for a minority, not everyone in a position of power is akin to a southern good-ol'-boy. People have to have power in our society, and we need to make sure it is used responsibly. Remember, the saying was not, "Power corrupts," but, "Power tends to corrupt."

 

"If you have ever heard my opinion on it before, you know that in the Rodney King beating, I think that the police, while they did go A LITTLE over the line, were mostly justified."

 

I hadn't heard your opinion on it before. It's actually refreshing to hear a black man say that, instead of automatically assuming the cops were just out to beat up the first brother they found.

 

"But it is impossible for anyone to possibly try to say, 'Hey the cop was bleeding, so he has the right to beat the guy up while handcuffed.'"

 

I'm not trying to absolve the officer of what he did. I thought it was excessive, myself, but if the kid had already hit him and made him bleed, I can see that he'd be pissed and want to get even. The point is, none of us really know what happened, only what the video showed us. The fact that the same cop apparently has problems wailing on people doesn't do much to help his cause, though.

 

The police officers I used to know (most of whom were black, btw, though that shouldn't really matter) always said resisting arrest was the easiest way to get your ass kicked. If they had to work to put you in the cuffs, then you were getting an ass-whipping. Like Chris Rock says, "If the police have to chase you, they're bringing an ass-kicking with them." Police brutality shouldn't be tolerated, but there are times an officer's job becomes very physical, and without their training and knowledge, and without much knowledge of the incident, it often doesn't make sense to criticize their decision.

[Guest Ripper]

Yeah, but you know, if a guy hits me, then is restrained by a bunch of people and no longer posing a threat and I beat the shiot out of him, I would be up on assault charges. This man is a trained professional who is suppose to not only expect resistance but know how to constrain his temper when it happens. If the guy swung on him, he should have beat the piss out of him and not wait until the guy was restrained and no longer a threat.

 

And when I say that i have had problems with the police, I don't want it ever to be confused as just being white cops. I think alot of cops black or white become overwhelmed with the power and what they can get away with very easily. It is always refreshing to be involved with cops that actually act like those on Cops. You know, they are always respectful and cordial and if the person gets out of line, they take'm down. And it happens like that alot. But just as the minority of blacks, and southern whites have created and perpetuated stereotypes, a minorty of policemen and women are ruining it for the rest of them.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

I've never in my life heard of a female police officer using unjustified force.

[Guest J*ingus]

Does ANYONE here know exactly what happened before the camera started shooting? That is one of the most important pieces of information for this debate, and without it we can't be sure.

[Guest chirs3]

I don't think it's too important what happened before - lets assume the kid attacked the officer. Watch the video - the kid is on the ground, cuffed, NOT MOVING. Completely limp. Meaning if he had been fighting back, he had obviously given up. Didn't stop the officer from slamming his head down on the hood of the car and punching him.

[Guest J*ingus]

In theory, yeah. But what if the blood on the cop came from, say, the kid trying to gouge his eyes out with a knife, and then while on the ground said something about the cop's mother? We can't judge the incident without knowing the context of what happened.

[Guest chirs3]

and then while on the ground said something about the cop's mother?

 

Uh. No. But I understand your first point.

[Guest Insanityman]

"Please don't try to justify that man beating up a handcuffed kid."

 

You did notice the cop in question was bleeding, right?

 

I always find it amusing when people who have no idea what the police go thru in their jobs everyday see fit to criticize them based on something they saw on a twenty-second sensationalist newsbyte.

Well, I'd say I know pretty damn well what it can be like for my uncle and my cousin at least. My cousin, around 22, worked in Harlem (and I mean no offense to anyone when I say this) for a while and he came back with some very nasty stories. I realize it's a tough job and I give them (them meaning officers) respect... I also realize emotions can run wild. My uncle has been in State Troopers and before that as a cop forever, honestly I don't care what happened before he attacked a kid with his back turned and not resisting. Your suppose to subdue the criminal and then bring him in if he resists with a fight, not clobber him afterwards.

 

 

And whoever had a good song by some rapper I know a better one by Anti-Flag (not the best band in the world but hey).

[Guest ant_7000]

Are you talking about Geto Boys "Crooked Officer"

[Guest DrTom]

"I realize it's a tough job and I give them (them meaning officers) respect... I also realize emotions can run wild."

 

Of course they can. And since we don't know what happened to trigger any emotions that could have been running wild, it's pointless to condemn someone. Based on the tape, what happened certainly doesn't look right, but it's a twenty-second clip shown to full sensationalist effect, and we have no knowledge of what happened before or after the segment shown on the news. If the officer is found to have acted inappropriately, he'll have his day in court.

[Guest NoCalMike]

Here is the thing. Many say, "what happened before the tape started rolling" well for one, I am sure we are going to get 100000 different versions since they will ask the boy, the cop, and witnesses, all with their own bias opinion. So going by that what we do have as FACT is what is on that camera, and it definately shows the cop punching the kid in the face and slamming his head on the car while in no immenent danger and that is just wrong. Just like a few years back when the protesters were arrested and detained on the ground in the jail and video footage showed cops taunting them by praying mace in their eyes, not does it matter that at ONE POINT they were standing up and protesting whatever they were protesting? Certainly NOT........

[Guest DrTom]

"going by that what we do have as FACT is what is on that camera..."

 

The problem is, that only tells one part of the story. The Rodney King tape looked a lot worse, but it's generally accepted today that the police actions in that case, while perhaps a little over the top, were generally within reason given the type of suspect they were dealing with, his history, and his behavior.

[Guest Ripper]

I'm sorry TOm, but unless he had one of those new fangled mini guns that fit in his mouth and he was about to pull the trigger with his tounge, it can't be denyed that the officer went way past the line. The line isn't even there anymore.

[Guest ScorpionDanceofDeath]

In my opinion, officers of the law shouldn’t be allowed to ‘get even.’ I really doubt that any human being, in a fit of anger or rage, could clearly see the line between civic duty and too much.

 

There's a case that's being brought up again about a NYC cop who may or may not have taken a part in the sodomizing of a Haitian immigrant. The one cop who was convicted got thirty years in prison, and people still say that's too harsh.

 

I'm sorry, cops are not above the law. When a persons' rights are violated, it doesn't matter if they're a cop, the President, or a bishop, they should get every minute of punishment they deserve.

[Guest Midnight Express83]

How is this a real hot button issue. A kid got a shit kicking after being cuffed and NOT poising a threat or giving an effort to resist arrest. So its ok for a cop to beat the shit out of a kid while he is NOT Moving? I don't care if the kid raped his mother then pissed on his great grand mother's ashes. The cop was in the wrong after the kid was not poising a threat. Bottomline. I am all for cops giving people shit kickings for resisting arrest. But when a person is getting the shit beat out of him and other cops are trying to STOP him for doing MORE damage. That is not only fucked up. Its wrong. Police doing their job is stopping the kid from doing more damage to himself and others. Police are out of line when they did their job and keep up the beatdowns.

 

Its what the LA riots were about. listen to Ice T and NWA songs right before it. That is what they were talking about. And when the shit hit the fan with the Rodney King tape(not the best example, but still, good enough to spark flames in a podwer keg called LA). The people had enough. Thats why songs like "Cop Killer" and "Fuck the Police" are hated by the public until the WHOLE lyrics are read. Not just the few lines the FBI and cops gave out to show they are in the right and cover up the whole mess.

[Guest 4Life]

Ok, having just seen that video, I think I can safely say that cop is a piece of shit.

Let's just jump on a bandwagon. Look, if we keep holding these forces that protects us down, then we're in big trouble. There is enough ROE as it is.

[Guest chirs3]

ROE?

 

I don't understand your post too much, but I think it was an attack.

 

I don't know the whole story - I doubt anyone on this board knows the whole story. I know I saw a kid lying perfectly goddamned still on the ground get beaten up. I don't care if he kicked the cop in the nuts before the camera was rolling, he was not fighting back anymore.

 

I said before if the kid was fighting the cop should do what it takes to put him down. But the kid wasn't fighting (anymore?). What the cop did was completely out of line.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I always find it amusing when people who have no idea what the police go thru in their jobs everyday see fit to criticize them based on something they saw on a twenty-second sensationalist newsbyte.

 

 

That's what they do to Mike Tyson all the time.

[Guest thefrenchargel]

I hate all cops. If you or someone you love is a cop, I hate them. Every one of those powertrippin' scumfucks can eat lead as far as i'm concerned. If I were Hitler, I'd exterminate cops.

[Guest DrTom]

"If I were Hitler, I'd exterminate cops."

 

Between this and your ridiculous statement about AIDS in Africa, I think you're already well on your way.

 

This also convinces me that you're flame-baiting. Stop. You won't be warned again.