The police are supposed to protect and serve the community, but sometimes law enforcement can be more dangerous than those they are "protecting" us from. While, I'm sure there are many excellent police officers out there, unfortunately, it seems like I'm hearing of police brutality more and more frequently. The following happened Black Friday at a Walmart: A 54 year old man was slammed to the floor, made unconscious, and bleeding from his head. His crime? Allegedly, he was trying to shoplift a video game. According to the 54 year old man, he put the video in the waist of his pants while he was trying to get his grandson who was getting caught in the crush of shoppers. I don't know if his story is true or not, but even if it isn't, this incident seems like a gross over-reaction to the situation. Here's the story, and a video: [video=youtube;nE03xl9cUns]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE03xl9cUns[/video] This thread isn't to say all police are bad. I'm grateful for ones that are actually motivated to help people. On the other hand, stories like this (I think) are too common. If you have any stories or video of police brutality, whether it is in the US, or any other part of the world, please post it here.
I would like to call them instances of people being stupid and instances of police doing their job . For the reason of defending their illegal actions a lot of people have started shouting about "police brutality" , unless you where 100% innocent and trying to avoid trouble zones you have no right to complain about the police . IMHO they should be happy they didn't got shot .
Out of the thousands of people that lined up for Black Friday, a few got what they deserved because they stole, they did not follow the rules. He is an idiot to bring his grandson at that time with thousands of people and with chaos. What you gonna do if they come for you Bad Boys - Bad Boys........
He should be happy he didn't get shot? Really?? Why? Police don't shoot anyone for shoplifting (assuming he was even guilty). They can detain a suspect. It doesn't sound as though a reasonable effort was made to do so. They just slammed him down on the ground so hard it left him unconscious, with blood coming from his head. IMO, it was way too much force for the situation. As far as complaining, we always have that right, they're working for us (salary paid by taxpayers). You're being sarcastic, right?
Yes Rebecca i'm sorry the police should have calculated their action , maybe something like this : mass of the criminal + mass of the cop * speed of the cop - friction of stupid - the probability of the criminal to fall down and die . I'm sorry you once you commit a crime you're in for a world of pain . Cops should do their job to stop crime and enforce the law , not take care how they should cuddle criminals . If you want to see police brutality go to Brazil , Saudi Arabia or China . Brutality is part the policeman's job , just like the possibility of getting shot . It's funny and sad that the broken head of a idiot criminal is more important then the fact that every day policemen are shot dead at their job .
Police brutality is not "part of the job." The simplest definition of police brutality is using an excessive amount of force than what the situation requires. It's a violation of our civil rights. I'm not as concerned with Brazil, Saudi Arabia or China, as I am with the United States. If you want police officers beating suspected shoplifters bloody and unconscious where you're from, in Romania, what can I say? It's not what I want here. With your last comment, it seems hostile that you're calling the 54 year old man a "idiot criminal." As you're aware, it hasn't been proven he's even a shoplifter. If he is, I still don't think he deserved what happened. As far as police officers getting assaulted, it's a shame. Of course it's important, just not the subject of this thread. Perhaps you could start a new one?
I'm not being sarcastic, Rebecca, all I am saying is with the thousands of people lined up its a rare instance that he got beaten up that way, why the others did not. With all those people at the store, putting a camera on his waist is totally ridiculous of him. He should not have taken his grandson with all those chaos. Many things were really a good deal. We bought a big screen tv but that was about 11:00 am and the new PS3 for the kids at Bestbuy.
Enjoy the big screen TV! I've read retail and online sales were much higher this black friday compared to last. That's good news. I've found some great deals, but have mainly been purchasing online. I haven't actually attended any black friday shopping events, but have heard they're chaotic. On USA today they have this article, listing injuries at Walmart on black friday (they also mention the incident in this thread). It's crazy.
Yes, we have all the right to complain about police brutality, as well as, social injustices, gross negligence by the government, etc. It's our right because that's what this country was founded upon. It's in our constitutional rights and in our civil rights and liberties as individuals living in the United States, not anywhere else. Governments and police are supposed to fear the people to the extent that it is a check upon their power. This means, more specifically, that if they are not doing their jobs or are abusing their powers, that they should be punished whether through getting voted out, termination, suspensions, reprimands, or protest. Without that, power hungry individuals become above the laws they are supposed to defend, uphold, and make. There should always be a check on power. Many police, though not a majority, feel that they can do whatever they want and continue to use excessive force. There have been many instances in just New Orleans alone of people getting hauled into alleys and beaten severely and one guy got almost beaten to death because he bumped a cop; that cop being the policeman's horse as he got stuck between a crowd and the horse. Another guy was running from the police in a car, took a turn too fast to get onto the highway in Alabama, flipped the car, went flying out of the car about 15 feet in the air, came down face down and was knocked unconscious. The horde of police chasing him, got out and flew into him with knees and started beating him with batons, dogs chewing at him, punched several times in the back of the head, all the while he being unconscious from the initial fall. I see it all the time here in the U.S. By the way, all of those beating on the unconscious man were suspended and some were fired, rightly so. So before you go on about the fact that if you do a minor crime, get ready for pain and possibly being shot, get a little more compassion and social sense before spouting nonsense. It's supposed to be about rehabilitation, not capital punishment for the smallest offenses. We're not in the dark ages or anywhere in the world where that type of behavior is condoned. This is a country of civil rights and liberties, not corporal punishment. Some cops and people need to learn that.
On a beautiful day in seattle, a man cross the street only to have meet a police and 5 seconds later he was killed. [video=youtube;5fctDFORJKQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fctDFORJKQ&feature=player_embedded[/video] America the land of Selection and Restrictions, Not a Free country, that is a false advertisement. Edit: another one, I could list thousands of videos or articles, but what's the point. What makes police brutality is the Union that backs it up. For the police to be held accountable for their actions, the Union must be remove. [video=youtube;JkWW5o6RCOw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkWW5o6RCOw&feature=related[/video]
Great post. With the 54 year old man (Newman), they've dropped any possible shoplifting charges. Here's more...
From the video we can't see what happened before he was "knocked to the floor". This reminds me of the news picture of the cop about to bash in the head of an old lady during the race riots in the 50s. Turns out it was a cop pulling his nightstick away from an old lady who had tried to grab it out of his hands. "Lady falls while trying to steal night stick" isn't news, "Cop tries to bash in old lady's skull with nightstick" is. Who cares if the picture had nothing to do with the headline? So was this a poor victim of police brutality? Or was he subdued after trying to attack a cop? Where's the video of what happened before the police acted?
Listen (all in the video) to the reaction of Walmart shoppers that witnessed this: Are you sure that was necessary for shoplifting? Why did you throw him down so hard? That's police brutality!!! Serious? That's fucking wrong! Are they getting in trouble for that(referring to police)? They should! I can't even believe they slammed that guy down so hard, for shoplifting... If Newman did attack the police, it would be unlikely to get that reaction from bystanders. But, it's not just the video. We have news coverage of this as well. It doesn't appear he'll be facing any charges at all. If he had actually assaulted a police officer, he would probably still be sitting in jail (and witnesses to the event would have reported such). I doubt there was even enough evidence to make it worthwhile pursuing the shoplifting charges. After all, his explanation for placing the video in his waistband seems reasonable. While the police officer said Newman mildly resisted arrest, witnesses have come forth saying that he did not. And, at this point, it's the police officer being investigated for brutality.
This is like saying "Investigation should follow punishment". Are you a police or have you served as one anytime? You will probably say no. You most likely need a lesson on investigation methodologies that give small timers a chance to explain. He was not a terrorist that need instantly apprehended or shot. (Are you sure the man was a lifter, by the way?)
Its the same everywhere. We supposedly live in a free society here in the UK, and yet at a recent protest I got set upon by a bunch of policemen and kicked and punched, then stop and searched for supposedly wearing a face covering (I was wearing a scarf, but not round my face). Ridiculous. If they want people radicalised against the police then that's the way to go about it.