Posted on 03/14/2005 8:48:17 AM PST by YoungBlackRepublican
A video camera, which is supposed to be monitored by two guards in a command post, shows the two arriving in the holding area between two courtrooms, according to a law enforcement official who viewed the tape.
The video shows Hall guiding Nichols, whose hands are still handcuffed behind his back, face-first into one of two open cells.
Hall releases one cuff and turns Nichols around to unhook the remaining cuff, which is dangling from his wrist. She uncuffs him so he can change from a jail jumpsuit into street clothes.
The muscular, 33-year-old Nichols then lunges at Hall, knocking the petite, 51-year-old woman backward into another cell. Both disappear from camera view because having a camera inside the actual holding cells is prohibited for privacy reasons. Two to three minutes later, Nichols emerges from the cell, holding Hall's gun belt and police radio. He picks up her keys from the floor and locks her inside the cell. Nichols then enters the empty cell.
A couple of minutes later, he emerges dressed in civilian clothes. He locks the door behind him and saunters calmly out of the holding area, carrying the gun belt, according to the law enforcement official who viewed the tape. Nichols appears to know which key to use to unlock the holding area door and enters a vacant courtroom on the eighth floor.
Had not heard that he was out on bond. Heard that he was in prison for the past six months.
I agree. Bernie Kerik would have been a great AG -- and would definitely be an asset in a city like Atlanta.
I find it odd too. I keep getting the sense that this guy is military trained or something. He did a lot of things right. Really odd.
Yes, there you have it in a nutshell.
Bloomberg is an idiot of the first order. He's hurting the city and what he's done is being tolerated by the PC crowd. I'm furious about it; I used to be a NY'er and loved the city and felt safe when Rudy was in charge.
In retrospect, given Rudy's health problems and subsequent withdrawal from the Senate race against Her Thighness, it's unfortunate he decided to go for higher office.
I agree for convicted criminals, but this is a holding cell and we still have a presumption of innocence as long as the accused hasn't yet been convicted.
Not in my world! I'll pose the same question to you as I did to someone else on this thread (who has yet to answer)
Do the accused in your world undergo cavity checks????
In twenty years, in this same court-house, his defense attorney, Mumia-Abu Jamal, will be claiming the whole thing to be a frame up and that the guard had it coming.
Nichols should be the poster child for implementing trial by video conferencing from a real jail for all violent escape risk prisoners.....found guilty or just accused.
Let the older, fat or weak balifs and friends of the court handle the jury escorts vs the wild animals.
"Charge the guys who were supposed to be watching the monitor with criminally negligent homicide."
This doesn't seem that crazy to me. In fact maybe it's a good idea.
Since you are female, and a former police officer, I'd welcome your comments...There is an assumption, correct, or not, as in this case., that the entire court complex isisolated, and while a prisoner might cause harm, there is hardly a chance of escape. Also, as a rule, prisoners are far more likely to be beter behaved during trial, before the verdict is rendered. There's always trhe chance they might get off, right? And some say that female guards may exert a calming influence on some prisoners.. I'd say that the gurad in qiestion has probably handled , over her long career. many thousands of prisoners in exactly the same manner, all without any major incident whatsover..And complacency can be deadly..
For once I came up with a good idea?
I'm going to have to check outside for the apocalypse, because usually I'm a fountain of bad ideas.
/ joke
On a serious note though, I'd be surprised if charges weren't brought against them.
People died because they didn't do their jobs.
I will give you the benifit of the doubt that you typed this before you fully thought out what it is you are saying.
If man is being brought into the court house in a prison uniform and is handcuffed and is guarded by armed guards, the presumption is already there that he is potentially dangerous. How is taking away this clock of privacy (except for attorney client privilage) is any worse then the previous mentioned conditions?
The assumption of innocent until proven guilty is one thing, this has to do with any punishment the state may apply to an individual.
The presumption someone is harmless is another thing, especially when the facts indicate the prisoner isn't harmless.
Maintaining security and control of a prisoner is not "punishment" for a crime.
"Where were the people who were SUPPOSE to be monitoring the video"
Maybe they were watching RENO 911 for security tips....lol
After the folks left, this FReeper looked into the car and it was loaded with Bush/Cheney campaign material. It was obvious to the FReeper the family was actually supporting Bush. Closet Black Republican....;o) Keep up the great work; bring them out of the closet!!!
I'm expecting the breaking-news, televised Golden Donut Awards ceremony any day now - celebrating their great work and public service. For which they all deserve raises.
Like that BTK killer arrest - the man's daughter turns him in to the Donut Patrol, but there they were on TV the next day, handing out the Golden Donut Awards for great police work.
Ouch...wouldn't that be a shocker? What about the fact that he (Nichols) had brought a weapon into the court and proved he posed a threat just a week prior? If that's true, someone should be held accountable for not taking extra security measures. Even though 6 were killed, many many more were in danger because of this action or lack thereof.
Sorry, but I disagree. What he did was just common sense, given his situation.
The incompetence of the deputies and Atlanta PD just make it seems he is specially trained.
As another poster remarked, four people NOT watching the monitors rather than two.
I agree, female is a benefit to the prisoner, but not the only bar to his freedom or rampage, what ever he chose to do.
(1) solitary guard, (More guards would have made his escape more difficult or provided an earlier alarm, in either case,different results could have followed.
2 No weapon. since she was in close contact, having her weapon was an invitation that should not have been there. As has been explained, she was not intended to be capable of subduing him, wiht her size and fitness, she was really only a monitor and depended on his good behavior for her safety. The gun only hazarded other people's safety.
3. Ignorred evidence that the prisoner was not always planning on good behavior. The knives found earlier should have triggered additional guards as in #1 above. They did trigger additional guards in the courtroom, too bad this was the only place.
4 Now we see that video cams existed, their failure to be monitored provides an additional factor that could have led to a different result.
With such a complete breakdown in security, the Atlanta court could well have expected to have a serious breakdown about every 100 trials. It is remarkable that they went well beyond that number.
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