Posted on 08/18/2010 10:10:45 AM PDT by Fundamentally Fair
For 22 years, Anthony DeHerrera wore his law-enforcement uniform with pride.
The last thing the Pueblo sheriff's deputy ever thought he would have to do is spend a year and a half seeking justice on behalf of his son who was beaten by Denver Police officers.
He wants them to pay for what the videotape of their actions shows.
"If they were Joe Q citizens, they would be in jail," he says.
He says that what drives him are the memories of the sounds that came over the cell phone his son held that night
SNIP
A video was taken on the police department's own High Activity Location Observation surveillance system, released publicly last week, captures Michael as he made a telephone call to his father at 12:14 a.m. that night.
Then the video shows Sparks approaching Michael, tackling him to the ground and then repeatedly beating him with a department-issued sap, a piece of metal wrapped in leather. The officer then roughly picks him up and puts him in the back of a squad car, slamming the door on his shin.
But the night of the telephone call, the father knew none of this. He didn't even know where to go to check on his son. He only had his law-enforcement instincts and the knowledge that his son was in deep trouble.
(Excerpt) Read more at denverpost.com ...
In my community, that role is fulfilled quite adequately by the local city LEOsRGOs (revenue generation officers).
They beat him because he was Hispanic—plain and simple.
I think you meant blackjack.
A lot of departments have banned or discouraged their use. It takes a lot of practice to get the right touch with the things, and the old way of getting that practice isn’t “available” anymore.
I knew an old cop that could give your elbow a light tap in the right place and your arm would pretty much go floppy for 5 minutes, but not have any permanent damage. He could also put your lights out with equal ease.
Yeah. That’s it. I didn’t think they have used those since the 50’s.
A friend of mine invented the Rapid Rotation Baton that fits in a holster on your back. Very good weapon.
Ah, the ol' PR-24. Nothing is quite so good for really walloping a handcuffed suspect...
“It looks like whoever was running the camera was also covering up for them.”
You may be right. I’m surprised that the tape didn’t disappear or “malfunction”. Perhaps someone watching was appalled enough to come forward. The fact remains that there is a cover up in progress protecting the indefensible actions of these officers. They behaved worse than street thugs.
That’s old school. Most cop leave them in their car and don’t have them when you need them. Roy Bedards Rapid Rotation baton is where its at. I’m on a b-berry and can’t post a pic.
The last one I saw was in the early 90’s, and the guy was near retirement at the time.
You can still buy them.
http://www.bostonleather.com/products/impact_weapon
They even make a “Denver” model.
City Cops are unacountable and usually get power and tend to abuse it more.
I like the country sheriff departments better.
Have no fear, the Cops-Can-Do-No-Wrong here will.
Nothing worse than getting hit with pancakes!
This was preferred in my grandfather's day. I have three or four from his well worn collection. He was a deputized bondsman
Thanks for the link. It would be fun to have one for the heck of it.
In this Denver case, its just disgusting what they did to that kid.
“Did he act out here? Did the officers feel the need to send a message.”
The kid was just standing there while on the phone to his LEO father. You can hear the cops say “We gotta get the phone.” Then the a-hole tackles him and starts beating him, as the camera pans away.
LOL@ pancakes.I had a brain fart there for a second. I think they called them beaver tails also. Kch....
Going back even farther, his friend (a cop) was fired outright when he and his wife were spotted coming out of a speak easy when off duty......yep, I am that old...
Was there a video link that I missed?
In the 1970s the Fallbrook/Vista area outside of San Diego, only had sheriffs and the jail was an hour drive away. The sheriffs were much friendlier and seemed more local than city cops, even when arresting someone the sheriffs would joke and be friendly about it, and even apologize occasionally (and so would the arrested).
Those sheriffs were more isolated, and they depended on the community's cooperation and good will, that even applied to the wild guys of the area that accounted for most of the arrests, an arrest was generally an agreed upon event, like a game between friends, and the loser and winner were both gracious.
In my experience, sheriff deputies are more well behaved. Their boss is elected.
Good question. Just a guess, but I'd say one too many mouthy drunks to deal with late at night. Still no excuse for beating the crap out of the kid.
I think this was in LoDo (Lower Downtown), which is packed with nightclubs and bars. Maybe I'm just an old fart, but IMHO that is not where you want to be when the bars start emptying out. If some gangbanger doesn't get you the cops will.
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