Maybe we shouldn’t handcuff down syndrome people and throw them face first into the ground. I was a soldier for 10 years, so my experience is a bit different than yours, but overseas we deal with people like this, and more than often enough, calm kind words win the day. There is no defense to the cop’s behavior in this situation.
Thanks for your service. I’ll ask you the same question, were you there? I will tell you up front that I was not. Who is the person that said the cops threw him face first onto the ground?
Can you show me (I’m not saying it doesn’t exist) an eyewitness statement that says these cops “threw him face first onto the ground.”
Of all the media reports I have read, I have yet to find one witness who said the cops threw this kid face first to the ground.
The only comment I have found about the use of force in this case was by the sheriff who said there was no excessive force.
I did read one article which said he was accompanied by a home health aid. But there is no statement from the home health aid, that I have found that says the cops slammed him to the ground.
I have seen headlines that say that he was “suffocated by police.” What kind of BS is that?
I’ve been dealing with mentally ill people for nearly 30 years. Sometimes they fight. Sometimes you have no choice. Many times the mental health facilities (physicians) that treat them call us (nearly every day where I work, I had 2 yesterday) to subdue them when they cannot talk them down.
Again, I am saying, the police may have done everything right and this young man died. It is tragic. To blame the police immediately before all the facts are revealed is irresponsible.
Indeed. Peace officers once held to the same standard-—keep the peace, work to diffuse situations, not escalate them.
Unfortunately, the remaining peace officers seem to have retired, been removed from the ranks, or have gone to other fields.