Sunday Stupidity: Caught on tape edition
I report, you decide:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cykFet6nEpQ[/youtube]
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about 3 years ago
Here we go:
1. “Did cops use excessive force?”
2. “Let’s not rush to judgment.”
3. “The beginning of the encounter is not on video.”
4. “The cops were working off adrenaline.”
5. “The suspect (suspected of nothing) was resisting.”
Did I miss a canned, stock talking point.
Cop will be reprimanded, short suspension.
My question: How come they couldn’t just tase the shit out of the guy? Isn’t that what we do these days?
about 3 years ago
It’s cyclical. Tasers were cool in 2008, but peaked with “don’t tase me bro”. Now it’s back to face-punching.
about 3 years ago
I’ve never had the pleasure of being tased, but I know I don’t like being repeatedly punched in the face. Call me picky, but the homeless guy didn’t look to me to be “resisting”.
about 3 years ago
He doesn’t look like he’s resisting, but looks can be deceiving. What we see on the tape is, though, consistent with resisting being handcuffed.
That’s not intended as a justification; I’d have to know a lot more to be true that I think is preposterously unlikely — and certainly doesn’t appear in the video — to think that any of the punches were appropriate.
Occam’s Razor, though, says that, given what we see and heard in the report: he was obnoxious, took a swing at one of them, hurting the cop not much at all but allowing him to snatch a badge off, and they decided to tune him up; not their first time. Not how both of them appears to be glancing around trying to see if there’s any witnesses. Cynic that I am, I’m tempted to conclude that the lack of any glances in the direction of the videographer and the video having not been
grabbed and flushed down the memory holeseized as evidence.And, yes, Brian, you missed at least one obvious canned talking point: “Well, after you’ve had to deal with scum like this, then you’ll be entitled to complain. Until then, STFU with your cop bashing.”
about 3 years ago
Right, the problem is (as the report indicates) we may not be getting the whole story.
The question then becomes, what would be needed in the preceding moments to make this level of violence necessary?
The furtively glancing from side to side between punches does show some awareness (either of being caught on tape or doing something wrong) on the part of the cops.