Libertarian ping! To be added or removed freepmail me or post a message here.
Posted on 06/18/2008 8:20:33 AM PDT by tlb
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - Exclusive video obtained by Action News 5 shows a Memphis police officer beating a suspect at 201 Poplar in an apparent case of police brutality.
The video, recorded February 12th, shows Duanna Johnson in the booking area at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center after an arrest for prostitution. The tape clearly shows a Memphis police officer walk over to Johnson - a transsexual - and hit her in the face several times.
"Actually he was trying to get me to come over to where he was, and I responded by telling him that wasn't my name - that my mother didn't name me a 'faggot' or a 'he-she,' so he got upset and approached me. And that's when it started," Johnson said.
Johnson said the officer was attempting to call her over to be fingerprinted. She said she chose not respond to the derogatory name the officer called her.
"He said, 'I'm telling you, I'm giving you one more chance to get up.' So I'm looking at him, and he started putting his gloves on, and seen him take out a pair of handcuffs," Johnson said.
The officer hit Johnson several times with the handcuffs wrapped around his knuckles. In the video, you can see the flash of the metal. The tape shows another officer holding Johnson's shoulders as she tries to protect herself.
After taking several blows, Johnson stands up and swings back.
"I was afraid. I had had enough. Like I said, I thought the other officers that were witnessing this would at least try to stop him," Johnson said. "I mean, he hit me so hard. Like the third time he hit me, it split my skull and I had blood coming out. So I jumped up," Johnson said.
But then she sat back down, and the officer her in the face again. Then he maced her. On the tape, other people in the room are seen turning away and fanning their hands because of the smell.
"We wanted some acknowledgement - my client did - so she would know that the Memphis Police Department didn't condone this," said Murray Wells, Johnson's attorney. "We were optimistic that they would be as outraged about this as we are, and we haven't gotten any indication that they're interested in it at all.
"These are the people we depend on to protect us, and I think the majority of officers in Memphis are good officers, and when you see what you see on that video, it's a scary sight to see that that could happen to any one of us," added attorney Arthur Horne.
On the tape, Duanna is eventually handcuffed and left on the floor. A nurse comes in, and goes directly to the officer.
"I couldn't breathe, and they just made me lay there," Johnson said. "Nobody checked to see if I was okay. My eyes were burning. My skin was burning. I was scared to death. Even the nurse came in and she just ignored me, and I begged her to help me."
The video clearly shows the nurse walk right past Duanna as she's rocking back and forth in pain in the background.
A copy of the tape was reviewed by both the FBI and the District Attorney's office, the latter of which dropped all charges against Johnson. An FBI investigation into possible civil rights violations is still underway.
Meanwhile, the Memphis Police Department confirmed to Action News 5 that the officer holding Johnson was on probation, and has been fired. The officer who threw the punches is currently on non-enforcement status pending an administrative hearing.
More Andy Griffiths; fewer Barney Fifes (and Rambo wanna-bes), please.
As disgusting as he/she/it is, he/she/it did not deserved to be beaten like that.
Hope the cop gets fired from the force.
Once again, the way I see headlines is more interesting than the actual headlines.
I saw it this way:
EXCLUSIVE: Video shows police beating a 201 year-old Poplar (Policeman fired)
Pretty much sums up where we are at this stage. And people believe they still have rights under the Constitution......
This cop and every cop present who did nothing to stop him should all be in jail with a girlfriend named Bubba. This is disgusting behavior from our Law Enforcement Officers.
The police have a union that politicians count on supporting them every election.
IF the police really wanted to condemn such actions, they would. They wouldn't stand with the union demanding that the people continue to draw pay. They would report corrupt cops. They wouldn't hold their tongues.
They remind me a lot of the passive support moderate muslims have for Islamic terrorists.
Wonder how many jackbots will say the beatdown was deserved?
Charge Officer Friendly with Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and if the DA can swing it, Attempted Murder and put this violently insane threat to society in the deepest hole you can find for the next 18-20 years. No parole.
But I figure he skates with just a slap on the wrist and is picked up by another department within a couple weeks.
“As ignorant and stupid as Christians are, they don’t deserve.........”
You got that right. The LEOs should know where to illegally beat the tar out of someone for no reason, without getting caught.
I wonder what was on the tape they are not talking about. The DA around here is usually quick to jump on a case against the police. (I live in Memphis.)
Hit in the face with the jackpot. $$$ Kaching!
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed freepmail me or post a message here.
Especially the ones in his own ststion.
???
Really? Pretty broad brush there.
My dad is a retired cop with 30 years on the force and even he agrees that almost every cop uner the age of 30 these days suffers from SDS.
I just watched the video. It doesn’t look as bad as the article makes it sound. The perp admits to resisting the officer. Some force was necessary. Was there too much applied? I can’t say.
I agree the issue is one of abuse of power, which is why I said I hope that cop (and the others involved in this beating) get fired. My description of the transvestite stands.
“I couldn’t breathe, and they just made me lay there,” Johnson said. “Nobody checked to see if I was okay. My eyes were burning. My skin was burning. I was scared to death. Even the nurse came in and she just ignored me, and I begged her to help me.”
“He never writes...He doesn’t call....the bastard...”
Ted Nugent Stormtroopin’ :
In the early morning hours there’s a din in the air;
mayhem’s on the loose.
Stormtroopers comin’, and you better be prepared.
Got no time to choose.
Get ready. Stormtroopers comin’.
Comin’ up that street, jackboots steppin’ high.
Got to make a stand.
Looking in your windows and listen to your phone.
Keep a gun in your hand.
“As ignorant and stupid as Christians are, they don’t deserve.........”
The two of you are equating criminal behavior with religious faith. The person was arrested for committing a crime. RF's comment was more in line with comments like: "As _____ (fill in the blank) as the prostitute/carjacker/burglar/murderer is, he/she didn't deserve to be beaten like that."
RF's comment was perfectly acceptable.
So is it safe to assume that you feel all white people are racists, all rich people are snobs, all poor people are dumb, all black people are in gangs, all women are wh_res, all men are abusers, etc...
Seems pretty broad to me unless you apply your standard across the board.
One too many tickets eh? If not what makes your view of that group so tainted when in reality only a very, very small number of police officers are ever accused of doing something illegal or abusive.
You’re making a specious argument. The crime is not relevant to the behavior of the officer. And I was not equating anything but changing the context of the statement to make a point about the poor form of the initial comment.
Yes, these two cops are beating this poor person up because she’s a trannie. I don’t “get” transsexualism myself, but I don’t have to: it’s a free country, after all, and none of my beeswax. I’m not aware of any law against being a transsexual; last I heard, people are free to express their sexual nature in any lawful way they choose. Besides, the cops have no right to beat any suspect, especially not one that is seated and unarmed.
Of course, the transsexuality is just a side issue here. The real reason they’re kicking this person’s ass is because she “difrefpected dem in dey own howse”. The cops in most cities are nothing more than a legally-sanctioned street gang — and, as do all gangsters, gangster cops infist on being “refpected”. Any perceived “diss” is grounds for a good, old-fashioned lesson in Who’s The Boss.
However. unlike real street thugs, the cops have badges and the legal authority to beat, gas, and kill you.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m strictly a Law & Order kind of guy. The society I’d prefer to live in would be more like Singapore, complete with floggings and the noose for wrongdoers. However, in my opinion many American police officers are obstacles to law and order rather than its preservers. I have seen (and experienced) cops acting this way far too often during my own life — and I know many people who have seen and experienced bad cop behavior as well.
It’s not that I’m a cop hater. A good cop is as close to a real-life superhero as you’ll ever find. But for every selfless Sheriff Andy Taylor out there “protecting and serving” the public, there are a hundred f——p Barney Fifes roaming the streets looking to prove what a badass they are by using their shirt-pocket bullet on you.
We do not need police as they currently exist. The Blue Gangs of ex-high-school bullies and ‘roided-out psycho jocks we have now hurt the people more than they help. Instead, we need an unarmed civilian neighborhood watch à la Sir Bobby Peel, backed up by a professionalized, semi-military gendarmerie. By keeping civilian cops unarmed, and by restricting the use of force to professionally trained officers under UCMJ-like military discipline, we can hope to curtail crime — both street crime and the crimes committed by the police themselves.
My experience with cops I am acquainted with confirms your evidence.
“...and a tricked out Dodge Charger baby!”
Is there really a Charger Police Package or are they just overtaxing the regular civilian version?
Cool. But that’s aftermarket stuff. I was thinking heavy-duty suspension, brakes, tranny cooler, alternator, etc., not to mention a beefier engine.
I had an old Chevy Nova Police Package; by the time that thing finally died it had 250k miles on it.
Did you watch the video?
The cops have the right to demand that an arrestee stand up and move over to the fingerprinting station. If the arrestee refuses then the cops have the right to force the arrestee to comply with their lawful order. If the arrestee strikes the officer then the cops have a right to forcefully subdue the now combative arrestee.
Are you certain, based on all of the evidence, that this is not what happened here?
The Nuge does have a way with words.
Well... okay then, sad for you. There seems to be much about LEO internal workings that you obviously do not know about.
Wouldn’t matter if they did have the dead zones mapped out.
Rage control issues coupled with a sense of superiority and Officer Friendly isn’t going to be able to suppress his desire to stomp on someone who dissed him. You don’t show sufficient deference to the badge and you’re going to bleed. And it’s becoming more common every day.
It’s like gang culture really.
Only because the cold, hard reality would force them to start taking up arms or just admit they no longer live in a republic.
When you changed the context of the statement, you made a specious argument. You compared this statement: "As disgusting as he/she/it [a transexual prostitute] is, he/she/it did not deserved to be beaten like that."
To this: “As ignorant and stupid as Christians are, they don’t deserve.........”
That isn't a good analogy. The person in the article was arrested for engaging in criminal, immoral behavior (prostitution). The poster is stating that, despite this person's bad behavior, he/she (I would say "he") didn't deserve to be beaten like that, and the officer should be fired. A perfectly acceptable statement to make. It should be perfectly acceptable if the prostitute were not transexual, too.
You compared it to making a similar statement about Christians. That's not a good analogy.
“201 Poplar” is local lingo here in Memphis for the jail.
Only problem is the the deference to the badge is occurring from BOTH sides of the badge(front and back).
And you are straining at gnats. The original comment was intended to point out that Reagan_fanatic’s response was a pathetic stab at someone’s sexual disposition. My response, had you read it fully, did not equate religion with sexual orientation. It pointed out that it was a cheap shot by reagan_fanatic toward someone who allegedly was abused by a police officer. As a Christian I would take umbrage with psycho bunny’s response but he is trying to make the same point that I am so I support the comment. The point is: who cares whether reagan_fanatic is disgusted by the trans sexual? It is irrelavant to the issue.
Interestingly not a single fact cited in your diatribe. My son is a police officer. He is a very fine young man. He gives to his community through his service as an officer as well as a mentor to troubled youth. He has many colleagues who behave in a similar fashion. Emotional outbursts and name calling hardly create a valid argument.
Watching the video does not endow your argument with any facts. And your sign off of my son being “rare indeed” is also without any factual support. This is the problem when you argue a position based upon emotion and supposition. You are making blanket statements based upon what you assume to be a universal situation where most police officers are bad. You cannot support your argument with any factual information. You use only your feelings and predisposition. You are disparaging a very large group of people with nothing more than your opinion.
You've hit on the problem.
They need to be "Peace Officers".
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