By TLB Contributor: Dave Hodges
Police brutality need not always involve the wrongful killing of a suspect by a police officer, although it is increasingly the case. Since the murder of Eric Garner, I have watched over 80 videos of alleged police brutalityand they don’t all involve wrongfully murdering a suspect. Police brutality can come in a variety ways.
Although I do not think most police cross the line of acceptable use of force, I have concluded that most police departments have some rogue officers who are indeed crossing the line and most of these officers are being protected by the “thin blue line”. This article contains examples of police brutality and abject violations of the rights of citizens.
One factor that needs to be considered is the 1033 program in which DHS is militarizing our police forces and I have come to believe that this is why we are seeing such wholesale abuses of power by the police. The following is a cross-section of abuse being perpetrated by police against the citizens of this country.
Denver PD Face Plants Unarmed Pregnant Woman
The following video was taken by a witness during an arrest shows a Denver police officer punching a suspect in the face six times and then tripping the man’s girlfriend who is 8 months pregnant, causing her to land on her belly and face. The witness who took the video claims an officer then took the tablet he was using to record the arrest, deleted the video file, not realizing it had already been stored on the electronic cloud. The video made its way to FOX 31 in Denver and its shows a drug suspect’s head bouncing off the pavement from the force of the punches being administered by a Denver police officer trying to extract drugs from the mouth of the victim.
While Officer Chris Jones IV and his partner Christopher Evans were holding and punching a drug suspect who was in a prone position on the ground, the suspect’s girlfriend, Mayra Lazos-Guerrero, 25, falls hard on her face and belly when Jones kicks her feet out from under her. This recent video has outraged many in the Denver area as another example of how our militarized police forces are increasingly engaged in flagrant excesses when it comes to use of force.
In Springfield, Illinois, Lucinda White was tasered by a cop after her boyfriend’s dispute with another individual over a fender bender went south. The 29 year-old called the police in an effort to settle the dispute, but later the eight months pregnant woman was brought down and tasered for “yelling and screaming” in another manly act by the Springfield Police Department.
When Cops Shoot Suspect, They Simply Call Their Union Rep Rather Than Seek Aid for Dying Man
Immediately on the heels of the Eric Garner murder by NYPD, another questionable use of force has surfaced in the Big Apple.
In the six minutes after police officer, Peter Liang, discharged a single bullet that struck Akai Gurley, 28, he and his partner couldn’t be reached, according to what sources told the New York Daily News. Instead of calling for help for the dying man, Liang was texting his union representative. What’s more, the sources said, the pair of officers weren’t supposed to be patrolling the stairways of the Pink Houses that night. What the cops were doing there is under investigation by the Brooklyn District Attorney. This is the height of depraved indifference to a human being’s life.
Hot In Cleveland
In a rare moment of agreement with Eric Holder and the Justice Department, they have concluded that the Cleveland Police Department routinely engages in excessive use of force against the citizens. The icing on the cake came when a Cleveland police office shot dead a 12-year-old boy who was carrying a toy replica gun. The conclusion, reached by the Justice Department, was arrived at this past week after a 20 month investigation.
Cop Gets Fired for Rendering Aid Rather Than Applying Painful Force
The Salinas Californian newpaper reported that an unidentified Monterey Bay officer, who managed to calm a suicidal student and got him to sit down and drink a glass of water, is likely going to be fired. The officer is “guilty” according to his department of not using a taser on the student. Subsequently, after the student was calm and sitting down, other officers arriving at the scene did taser the defenseless student.
It would appear that the 1033 program, which has militarized local police forces under the auspices of DHS, is inviting policies which predispose the use of needless and painful force against the public even when they are complying with police orders.
Choking An Unarmed Woman Eric Garner Style
Nueces County Attorney’s Office investigator Gary Witherspoon, in the video below, is seen placing Lanessa Espinosa in a chokehold, similar to what killed Eric Garner, while Corpus Christi Police Officer Jerry Lockhart attempted to obtain identification from a woman who was not charged with a crime.
Police spokesperson, Espinosa, explained to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that Lockhart was demanding to see her ID because she believed that she may have been involved in a fight at a restaurant back on August 16th. As it turned out, the woman was not guilty or charged. Again, we witness the cowardly act of a law enforcement officer in the carrying out of his duties. This is reprehensible behavior. The officer resigned under pressure.
McGuilty of Domestic Abuse
And when the police are not abusing their physical authority we see cases like the one in Des Moines where police charged Tramaine Hill II, 21, for attacking his pregnant wife. This a very serious charge and if guilty, Mr. Hill could and should certainly do some jail time. Mr. Hill is charged with the heinous crime of attacking his pregnant wife with a McChicken sandwich from McDonald’s that he threw at his wife in the midst of an argument in which he refused to eat the sandwich and this led to the verbal argument between Hill and his wife.
Conclusion
I find it interesting that Eric Holder and the Justice Department take it upon themselves to investigate police brutality similar to what is being reported here for it is this administration that is giving tanks and tactical equipment to police similar to what combat troops use in war. The militarization of our police has taught young police officers that the public is their enemy and that excessive and sometimes deadly force should be applied when dealing with the public.
Every American community must take a hard look at their police force and their tactics. The good police officers must be praised and held up in high regard. The officers connected to the kinds of events detailed in this article, need to be sent to prison. Eric Garner’s murderer needs to be sent to prison.
Final thought: The 1033 program is excellent martial law training, don’t you think?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Author
Dave Hodges is the host of the popular radio talk show, which airs from 9 PM to Midnight (Central). The show can be heard by clicking the following icon in the upper right hand corner of The Common Sense Show.
© 2014. The Common Sense Show. The Logo and Articles are protected by U.S. Copyright Laws, and are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Dave Hodges. Copyright 2014. Dave Hodges. All Rights Reserved
TLB recommends you visit Dave here:
See featured article and read comments HERE
Leave a Reply