Police misconduct 2

[Vashta Nerada]

Lance LoRusso, an attorney who spent 12 years as an officer in Cobb County, Georgia, said he doesn't necessarily think police brutality is on the rise, but the use of technology — both by citizens and police officers — is.

"If you see a video of a convenience store robbery and an officer walks in and just shoots the suspect who is pointing a gun at the clerk, [people might ask], 'Don't you have to give warning first?' The answer is no," said LoRusso, the author of "When Cops Kill." "Not only can they [just take the shot], but in many situations, they must."

...but if the "suspect" is actually a Concealed Carry permit holder who, in the moments prior, just thwarted a robbery and saved the lives of the clerk and customers, the officers "shoot first and ask questions later" action fails to serve the public safety.

John Whitehead, a constitutional law and human rights attorney who founded the civil liberties nonprofit Rutherford Institute, says the inappropriate use of force by cops is not only on the rise, but it's a "huge crisis" that people are "starting to wake up to."

Whitehead, author of "Battlefield America: The War on the American People," said the tactics used by police today would not have been seen 30 years ago, arguing that training changed after 9/11 with the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security.

"The military trains a lot of the SWAT teams," he said. "When SWAT teams come in the door ... they're coming in as military now."

"The old view of a policeman was 'protect and serve;' you don't see that anymore. When a policeman looks at you now he looks at you differently," Whitehead added, noting that officers often refer to citizens as "civilians" now, something he think also speaks to the militarization of the force.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/24/is-police-brutality-really-on-the-rise/

[patric]

I love victim blaming by police. Hey look, we HAD to run this guy over because he broke into a car earlier? We had to shoot Eric Harris because he sold a gun illegally. We had to kill Michael Brown because he stole a cigar from a gas station. We had to suffocate the guy in NY because he sold loose cigarettes before.

The fact is, none of that has anything to do with the subsequent actions of police. The previous behavior certainly caused the police to engage the suspect, but it did not escalate the confrontation to violence (to be fair, in the Brown incident, the investigation suggested Brown escalated it and suffered the consequences - a fact that was not known when they released the video of his prior wrong doing. Just as the TCSO did yesterday).

The guy that was run down appears to either be a pure lowlife, on drugs, in a mental health episode, or a combination thereof. In all honesty, society would probably be better off if we just purged him and those like him. But that is NOT the job of the police.

Nothing indicated in his crime spree shows a need to run the man down in the street. It is simply intended to convince the public that he has no value and thus no rights. That is incorrect.

And yet, none of those justifications would have gained any traction without bad journalism and lazy reporters.
HuffPo puts it into perspective:


How The Media Can Stop Embarrassing Themselves At The Hands Of Police

The job of reporters is to report what they know, and the problem with the Washington Post story is that they didn't know that what the police claimed was true. They only knew the police were claiming it...
In this case, we know for a fact that police are leaking information they claim exonerates themselves in the (Baltimore) killing of Freddie Gray. Shaping the lede around this fact would have allowed the Post to report its news and also deliver it in a way that is unquestionably accurate, without needing to make any assumptions about motivation or honesty. It is also quite newsworthy that police decided, ahead of the release of the full investigation, to leak a small part of it that put them in the most favorable light.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/01/danta-allen_n_7190024.html

[Vashta Nerada]

Relying on data gathered by Fatal Encounters ( http://www.fatalencounters.org ), The New York Times ranked states by their rates of police-involved homicides per 100,000 residents. The result: among the lowest were populous states like New Jersey, Michigan, Massachusetts and New York whose big cities — rightly or wrongly — are often seen as crime-prone. And some of the states with the highest rates — up to six times greater, in fact — were less populous and generally western states like Oklahoma, Montana and New Mexico.

Even within individual states, some police departments have a record of killing suspects at rates far higher than others. On both government and crowdsourced databases, some big cities like Phoenix and smaller ones like Albuquerque and Oklahoma City stand out for the unusual number of police killings reported relative to their size.  http://www.nytimes.com

[patric]

Dont know if the pace of violence is picking up, but the pace of doing it in front of cameras is:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/05/miami-cop-punches-model_n_7216074.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/video-shows-white-officer-kick-black-man-face-delaware-article-1.2215288

[Vashta Nerada]

No Charges for Oklahoma Casino Cop Who Tasered Man to Death.

No criminal charges will be filed in the death of Terry Price, a 41-year-old Tulsa man who was repeatedly shocked with a stun gun in February during an altercation with Osage Nation police officers.

The medical examiner's autopsy report, released last month, said Price "became reportedly unresponsive after being tased."
"The cause of death is sudden cardiac death associated with physical restraint in prone position with hands cuffed behind back, multiple electroshock weapon discharge," the report says.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigated the arrest of Price and determined "the actions of the Osage Nation Police Department officer and Osage County deputy were simply directed at getting Terry Price's hands behind his back in order to place him in handcuffs," according to the Osage Nation press release.

[Vashta Nerada]

TULSA, Okla. —  U.S. marshals arrested a former police chief and current Oklahoma National Guard sergeant while he was training at the reserve center in Sand Springs Wednesday morning.

James Bell is accused of sexually assaulting a child in Texas.

FOX23 looked into Bell's court records and found he was charged with raping a girl while he was the police chief in Crescent, Oklahoma, in 2006. He pled down to a misdemeanor and was allowed to quietly resign.

[Vashta Nerada]

Sometimes being out of touch with the people they 'serve and protect' can take more subtle forms, like the Chelsea PD last week getting this reality check:


CHELSEA, Okla. —  In March, Chelsea police pulled over a prominent citizen. Two city leaders are accused of trying to get the drunk man off the hook.
The man in question Tuesday night was the town administrator. Tuesday, city councilors voted 3-1 to let Kenny Weast keep his job.
Many cheered.

"If he showed up at the traffic stop as Brian Haggard's good friend to drive his truck home for him I have no problem with that," one of Weasts' supporters, Dusty Morrow said.
Assistant Police Chief Travis Hogan said the Police Department is shocked.
"As you can see with the vote they did and then the roar of the crowd we were definitely put in our place today," Hogan said. "We swore an oath to do a job and that job we did ... he tried to interfere with one of our arrests and they awarded him for it"

http://www.fox23.com/news/news/local/controversial-dui-arrest-divides-city-and-police/nmFbm/

[Vashta Nerada]

Count how many times police praised themselves as they watched a brawl that killed nine people:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/17/us/texas-shooting

What started as a physical fight in the bathroom spilled out into the bar and rapidly escalated. The fight spilled into the parking lot where a SWAT team shot dead at least one person.
'I can't repeat enough how bad this could have been had it not been for Waco SWAT officers and the Department of Public Safety.'


May be preemptive PR, because there is disagreement on exactly when or why a SWAT team, already in place before the fight, opened fire on the brawling bikers.

[patric]

What started as a physical fight in the bathroom spilled out into the bar and rapidly escalated. The fight spilled into the parking lot where a SWAT team shot dead at least one person.
'I can't repeat enough how bad this could have been had it not been for Waco SWAT officers and the Department of Public Safety.'

Its leaning towards a S.W.A.T. raid that went bad.   I dont think Rev. Sharpton comes to town for dead bikers, though.

[Vashta Nerada]

At least half the deaths resulted when police, already at the restaurant, opened fire on the bikers.

Before the restaurant and surrounding parking lots became a bloody battleground, the Waco Police Department had 18 SWAT officers on the scene, including an assistant chief and tactical officers, along with four officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety, Swanton said.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/18/us/texas-biker-gang-brawl-shooting/


(Police spokesman) Swanton said that gang members had been threatening police overnight and that police have "credible intelligence" to believe that other bikers were coming to Waco to take revenge on police or rival gangs. He said the gangs had given a "green light" to target uniformed officers.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/18/waco-shootout-police-involvement/27530257/

That only happens on TV. Get real Shannon Clark.      But where have we heard this before?

Authorities are alerting law enforcement agencies in the Tulsa area about potential retaliation for a shooting at a biker clubhouse, according to an interoffice memo from the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.
The memo urges law enforcement officials to be wary when dealing with suspected members of outlaw motorcycle groups because of threats allegedly made by members of the Rogues motorcycle club.
Deputies raided the club's hangout at 1826 N. Kingston Place on April 9 2010 after claiming tips that methamphetamine and marijuana sales were occurring there.
While the Sheriff's Office's Special Operations Team was serving a search warrant, three deputies shot Doza, who died at the scene.
Since then, there has been talk of retaliation, according to the memo.
No narcotics were found during the search, but a drug dog indicated that drugs had been in multiple places in the clubhouse before deputies arrived, authorities said.
The threats are general in nature and don't address any specific person.
"The intent is to retaliate for the shooting of one of the club members by the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office. Public safety officials should be very aware of their surroundings, particularly stopping a motorcycle," the memo states.
The memo also asks that officers document contact with motorcycle club members, especially those wearing insignia known as "patches."
Hundreds of bikers were drawn to Tulsa last weekend for Doza's funeral, which took place without incident, officials said.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crimewatch/officers-warned-of-revenge-potential/article_fbd0b20e-4bdb-5e15-9c11-4c7000254b2c.html
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/fatal-police-shootings-in-oklahoma-since-ruled-justified/article_53d7764e-8a4b-5b7f-9561-572bb728f081.html



As far as the "These criminal elements came here to kill people," Swanton said. "They didn't come here to drink beer and eat barbecue" rant;

The United Clubs of Waco billed Sunday's event as the Texas Region 1 Confederation of Clubs and Independents meeting.
These are routine among clubs, and happen in Tulsa regularly as a way to coordinate events like Christmas toy runs, discuss new memberships, motorcycle rights and legislative bills that impact riders, among other topics.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/19/us-usa-texas-shooting-bikers-idUSKBN0O400820150519

[Vashta Nerada]

SWAT decided to crash a regularly-scheduled biker gathering... and something went terribly wrong.


The meeting was a publicly scheduled Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents grass-roots meeting, typically held to discuss legislative and safety issues, a gathering that has happened regularly across the state for years without any violence.

"We got mom-and-pop clubs, veteran clubs, religion clubs, all clubs in Texas were at that meeting – different kind of clubs from everywhere," Jimmy said. "This was not just a sort-out deal between five clubs to get together and hash out problems. ... The police have it all wrong. We had it on the website for a month that it was a [Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents] meeting. Of course they knew we were coming."

More than 170 people who probably witnessed the melee have been arrested and are unavailable for interview. They are each being held in lieu of $1-million bond, charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara declined a request by The Los Angeles Times to observe the bond hearings, citing security concerns.

"Of the nine people who were killed, how many were killed by police?"


http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-waco-shooting-20150519-story.html

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Yeah, right,  Vashta I think you are way off base with your quotes. This is just the beginning.

[heironymouspasparagus]

SWAT decided to crash a regularly-scheduled biker gathering... and something went terribly wrong.


The meeting was a publicly scheduled Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents grass-roots meeting, typically held to discuss legislative and safety issues, a gathering that has happened regularly across the state for years without any violence.

"We got mom-and-pop clubs, veteran clubs, religion clubs, all clubs in Texas were at that meeting – different kind of clubs from everywhere," Jimmy said. "This was not just a sort-out deal between five clubs to get together and hash out problems. ... The police have it all wrong. We had it on the website for a month that it was a [Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents] meeting. Of course they knew we were coming."

More than 170 people who probably witnessed the melee have been arrested and are unavailable for interview. They are each being held in lieu of $1-million bond, charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara declined a request by The Los Angeles Times to observe the bond hearings, citing security concerns.

"Of the nine people who were killed, how many were killed by police?"


http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-waco-shooting-20150519-story.html

Every patch I saw....Bandidos, Mongols, Cossacks, etc... are 1%'ers.  You do understand what the means, don't you?

CMA was not represented there.  (Christian Motorcycle Association)

Having said that, it is a very strange set of circumstances where someone got their foot rolled over so started a riot...?  There is still more to this story.  And very real civil rights issues...

[dbacksfan 2.0]

This is becoming a turf war similar to the one between the Mongols and Hells Angels in AZ/NV/CA area that has been brewing since the late 90's. It's a battle for control of drug trafficking, prostitution, firearms trafficking, drug manufacturing, murder for hire etc. Also it is believed that the Bandidos and others are working with the Mexican cartels as well which makes these turf wars even more important.

The previous worst fight was at Harrah's in Laughlin NV in 2002 that led to numerous arrest and indictments over the next 3 years.

http://articles.latimes.com/2002/apr/28/news/mn-40471

http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/2003/07/09/99870-raids-on-state-s-hells-angels-yield-30-arrests-560-guns/

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-11-19/travel/0611180344_1_clubhouse-sonny-barger-hell-s-angels-motorcycle-club

[heironymouspasparagus]

This is becoming a turf war similar to the one between the Mongols and Hells Angels in AZ/NV/CA area that has been brewing since the late 90's. It's a battle for control of drug trafficking, prostitution, firearms trafficking, drug manufacturing, murder for hire etc. Also it is believed that the Bandidos and others are working with the Mexican cartels as well which makes these turf wars even more important.

The previous worst fight was at Harrah's in Laughlin NV in 2002 that led to numerous arrest and indictments over the next 3 years.

Am wondering if there is an attempt going on to knit them all together in a loose alliance.  Their website links to ABATE which was a fairly well focused political group for many years.  Then they kind of got lost in the weeds.....