I almost always bash the cops on vids like this, but ya know what?
Para definately tried to run over the cop’s foot —I can’t say this was totally unprovoked. Pushing him over like that wasn’t called for but this guy absolutely needed to be arrested and roughed up.
Looks bad, sure, and some overuse of force, but there was some provocation, there.
90% of the ones I comment on really ARE jack-boots syndrome, but this is not really an egregious case, I think.
There is a small number of handicapped people who think they have a 100% free pass.
Why didn’t the officer step aside to give him leeway to maneuver? He seemed to be deliberately blocking his path... at least partially. If you had just been confronted by police, you would surely want to be on your way as soon as possible.
HUM sounds like they had a verbal argument, the guy started to move on, the cop stood there while others moved and in the close proximity he got hit. When he said I didn't see you he likely meant he didn't see his foot that was extended out. I know to clear my feet from a wheelchair once it starts moving.
The setting options of the wheelchair also factor in as to how much steering response he has. There can be anywhere from two to a dozen settings and some are for indoor and some outdoor. Indoor offers a tighter turning radius but at lower speeds. Outdoor mode has less steering reaction and higher speed because the joystick being moved changes the steering. It prevents the chair from making violent fishtailing actions at higher speeds he would have likely been using. The chair can possible do 5-7 MPH in outdoor mode. It also changes the braking. You do not want the chair to suddenly stop when doing 5 MPH.
Next thing is why was he a Paraplegic? MVA maybe with head injury? They can be temperamental and in some cases child like in responses but usually harmless. The best way to defuse it is to not keep arguing. Stop for a minute, talk about something else, then go back to your questions. Obviously he had enough cognitive abilities that the doctors ordered the chair.
All they had to do was turn the darn chair off and threat was over. They could have raised the darn arm rest. Escape over motion stopped. They could have grabbed his left arm and held it. Surely four cops could hold one Paraplegics arm still. They could have even prevented him from moving simply by pulling the lever that disconnects the gearbox from the motors. They flipped the chair. Very bad judgment on their part for many reasons.
What disturbed me was the quick push from the officer. It's obvious he did not see him as a threat to start with or he would have chosen a different posture. The guy began moving the other cops moved their feet even though they were further away to give him room to move but the officer in front didn't. Moving that one foot a few inches would have likely prevented it. He didn't. Why?
As I posted in another reply I've been ran over by motorized wheelchairs before. It doesn't hurt that much. Actually I just parked my wife Permobil C300 on top of my bare feet and it took some doing to make it do that. It was on indoor mode. A little uncomfortable but I wasn't yelling. She wasn't in it but the chair weighs 300.