Details are sketchy at this time. An email was sent out from the Sacramento Office of the National Lawyer’s Guild (NLG).
The email states, “Our NLG office received more info. Incident happened about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the 13th Street light rail station. RT and SPD involved. BTW, we have been told both people in video were arrested. We do not know their names.”
Here’s the comment made by citizen videographer :
“The guy in the video was on his way to school (college) and didn’t have a Light Rail ticket. A group of police officers backed him into a corner and engaged in a physical altercation which was not necessary. The reasoning for such an assault given by the police officer was that the male in question physically assaulted the officer. However this was not the case. The male in question did not make any threatening gestures or throw any punches.”
The Vanguard has an inquiry to the Sacramento Police Department for more details.
Watching the video it looks like the guy was fighting with the officers and not just the officers assaulting him as the citizen videographer claims.
David wrote:
> Details are sketchy at this time.
But can’t wait for another chance to bash the cops and try and convince people that the violent thugs and gang members are getting picked on by the cops when they are doing nothing but “driving around in a car” (on parole with 13 year old kids, loaded guns and drugs) or “going to school” (without paying and ripping off the light rail system that is an increasing drain in taxpayers).
I agree with BP that it sure looks to me that this guy (and the gal with him) BOTH physically assaulted the officers. It looks like their parents never told them 1. Don’t assault other people (with guns) and 2. Don’t start a fight when you are outnumbered (and the guys have guns, tazers and MMA training)…
I’m no cop defender and and admit that we have a LOT of bad cops who beat and shoot people for no reason. If David wants change he should focus on things like the Joseph Mann video and see if we can get some changes to increase the chance of Mann’s actual “killer cops” going to jail (vs. the standard month of desk duty with pay) and not be the “boy who called police misconduct” blaming the cops for every crazy guy (and crazy friends) that wants to fight five of them at once…
Not that accuracy or facts matter, but the two people arrested did have light rail passes. They were arrested for resisting, the woman had outstanding warrants and the man was arrested on a parole violation. The cops, as usual used excessive force, we will assume due to their training and scarcity of reason. Cops in Carrollton, Texas killed #945 last night.
Don’t agree that the cops used excessive force. Thanks for the update, these two were real angels and most likely resisted because they knew the cops would arrest them for the warrants and parole violation.
Ever been tased? I suspect that would change your perspective about the degree of force.
Fight with a cop there’s a good chance you will get tased.
Source? According to the article above, they did not.
“Officers detained them, and found that they had valid light rail tickets.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article110740612.html#storylink=cpy“
Thank you for the cite… appreciated…
I usually provide attribution, since I’m not on the Vanguard’s VIP Exempt List, like certain others.
it is interesting to watch the video, but for those of you who are making judgments – we need to actually see the body worn camera videos to see the start of the confrontation to make that determination.
and south of davis, i suspect that the reason david posted this is that he received the report and also he like a lot of others wants to get the pd’s to release the video footage which would either exonerate the officers or as was the case in joseph mann, condemn them.
I believe that release of the video footage will not exonerate PD’s in some eyes, nor implicate/condemn the PD’s in others… there will be charges (from the paranoid) that they were ‘doctored’ or have some missing footage (ala the Nixon White House tapes)… yet, I support the release of them, when they do not pose a threat of jeopardizing the investigation, nor prejudice the public before charges are filed, adjucation has begun… at the appropriate time, they should come to light, as Davis Progressive suggests… for the very reasons DP cites. “Time/place/manner” is an important concept…
Looks like this whole unfortunate event spiraled out of control for a number of very stupid reasons. First of which is that if they had tickets and were willing to show the officers this, what was the probable cause for all the heavy handed stuff. Too much testosterone? If they were asked to show the officer their tickets and and were not willing to show them and then challenged the officers about why did they have to show them their tickets then this was what lit the fuse. If I remember correctly the signs on the light rail state you may be required to show your tickets to a light rail officer at any time upon request. The cops now have someone challenging their authority and refusing a lawful request to show them their ticket. Challenging a cops authority whether legitimate or not rarely ever ends well. If the guy is a parolee, he knows that he can be stopped and searched by law enforcement at any time without cause, so for him to be anything but Mr. congeniality is incredibly stupid. If he did in fact refuse to allow the cops to search his bag or show his ticket, he has now violated a condition of his parole and will now very likely go back to prison. If the woman’s outstanding warrant is for something as trivial as a unpaid parking ticket, she now gets to spend a little time in jail, might have to come up with attorney fees, miss work/class, and perhaps pay additional fines.
Had they either showed the cops their tickets, or if they didn’t have one very politely given a plausible reason for not having one, they just might have gotten off with a verbal warning to buy one or received a infraction ticket. This couple was up against 4 cops, every one of which probably has a gun, baton, pepper spray, handcuffs, taser, and a radio which will allow them to immediately summon dozens of similarly armed officers. Did they really think they would win this one? If the cop is overly aggressive, abusive, or threatening, it is all the more reason to be as submissive as possible.
Hard to reconcile expressed need for others to help, with the FA-H and other expletives… he did ‘come out swinging’ as it appears. Will hold ‘judgement’ in abeyance…
” Too much testosterone?”
And too little pre-employment screening, a lack of training in de-escalation techniques, elimination of intellectually inquisitive candidates, elimination of compassionate candidates, etc.
I would add that while you may invade residences in South Sacramento without fearing the police, heaven help you if you steal a ride on RT.
A bit simplistic, but points taken… unless someone is suggesting all police officers be ‘neutered’ to eliminate the T-thing… not ready to go THERE yet…
The liberal mind thinks gun-less clipboard-carrying cops wearing Birkenstock and a degree in psychology who perform more as life coaches and segregate father and mother figures to criminal suspects… is the better way to go… except if the suspect uses a bad word denigrating a certified victim group member… in that case a beating would be justified.
What Frankly doesn’t know about liberal minds, and everything else fills these pages.
” gun-less clipboard-carrying cops wearing Birkenstock and a degree in psychology”
Can you get a clipboard with gun mount? In England and Wales, cops take seriously the idea of “policing by consent.” They see themselves as working for the public, rather than for the state itself. Of the 6,700 officers of the Greater Manchester police only 209 are armed. Those authorized to carry guns operate under extremely tight protocols governing when they can be deployed and under what circumstances they can fire. Shooting at moving vehicles, at people brandishing knives and at suspects fleeing a scene are all strictly forbidden except under extreme circumstances. Officers are taught to back away from any situation that might otherwise escalate and to not feel that they have to “win” every confrontation. The emphasis is on human rights, and considering other options. Officers must serve for years before they can apply to carry a gun, and the selection of those deemed worthy is intensely competitive.
Among a group of 16 who started the grueling regimen of physical and psychological trials, in 1995, three made it. These aspects of British policing are easily transferable. Beyond more intensive screening and training, the United States should create a national college of policing. States should set up police inspectors general to provide oversight and create a uniform, transparent review process. Every police killing must be subject to an independent inquiry, and all nonfatal shootings, tracked and evaluated. This would be a beginning to ehding the “Old West” justice we see in this country amd my city.
“segregate father and mother figures” A great suggestion for many families.
Outstanding post.
I would like to add another thought to Biddlin’s recommendations.
I have no experience in law enforcement. However, I do have extensive experience with an at times very intense physical job and in the training of others to do this job. The labor and delivery units and Emergency Rooms are two areas in which emotions can run very high. I have personally been grabbed, hit, kicked, sworn at and had instruments knocked out of my hands multiple times in both settings. This is almost invariably the case when a patient is out of control due to pain and/or fear. What is of no use what so ever is to respond in kind. Swearing at the patient only escalates the problem.
In many clips that have been shot of the police engaging with citizens, they use profanity. There is no reason what so ever to ever call anyone a “mother f—-r”or “son of a b—h” or any of the other common terms. If a resident ever did this during a tense encounter, there would be one warning only. If this kind of behavior was repeated, there would be no third chance. I would no longer be training this resident and they would probably be out of the program as unable to control their emotions under duress which is an absolute requirement for a doctor and should be, in my opinion for a police officer.
Profanity has no place in any professional engagement whether it is between a doctor and patient, or between a police officer and citizen. This can serve no positive purpose. So one of the precepts I would include in police training is that the correct form of address for a civilian is sir or ma’am. It is up to the police officer to set the tone for these interactions. They are the one’s being paid. They are the ones in authority. It is up to them to set the appropriate tone for an interaction. If they are unable or unwilling to adhere to this, then they are an inappropriate candidate for the position.
[moderator: edited. Please note that certain words trigger the filter, and will keep triggering it so your post will keep disappearing until they are edited or removed.
Moderator
Thanks for taking care of that for me. Sometimes I have a hard time not “telling it like it is”.
“Profanity has no place in any professional engagement whether it is between a doctor and patient, or between a police officer and citizen.”
+1 I have never heard an English cop curse.