Posted on 08/30/2012 12:14:09 PM PDT by Neil E. Wright
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Two Los Angeles Police Department officers are under investigation stemming from a use of force incident caught on tape showing a woman being slammed to the ground twice, once while in handcuffs.
Michelle Jordan, 34, of Sunland was pulled over last Tuesday on Foothill Boulevard and Saluda Avenue for a cellphone violation. She drove into a Del Taco restaurant parking lot, where the incident was recorded on surveillance video.
The married mother, who works as a registered nurse, got out of her car. Moments later, the video shows her being slammed to the pavement and handcuffed. The officers picked her up, put her against the patrol car and patted her down. Nearly two minutes later, the two officers pushed her down to the ground a second time. She was pulled back up and placed in the back seat of the cruiser. She was cited for resisting arrest.
(Excerpt) Read more at abclocal.go.com ...
As an active officer, I got some real issues with this as well.
First the cheesy PC for the stop, second, why the need for an arrest anyway, and third, that second slam was entirely retaliatory and out of policy.
Those guys are so fired, and Feebies are probably going to get involved.
Sometimes when you see your partner getting ready to come unglued you have to tell him or her to take a break before it turns into this.
You are so right. And, yes, it's been during the last 10 years that my opinion changed. We are heading down a dangerous path with this increasing police power. Will anyone have the will to stop it?
I hope so.
Actually, engagement at max effective range may be the most effective solution to garbage like this.
Had this discusion w/granddaughter’s boyfriend,
He’s in college and wants to be a cop.
Kinda rattled him when I referred to cops and bully b-tards w/badges!
I proceeded to inform him of all the cop abuse that has been going on around here.
I, too, feel that unionization is at least a contributing factor.
Seems to me that when any public sector, ie nursing, cops, teachers are unionized, the quality becomes something like this...1/3 are genuine caring a-busting workers, 1/3 need a lot more training and supervision and the lower third shouldn’t be anywhere near the public.
“She was cited for resisting arrest.”
Translation: “We had to charge her with something so that the same people who would have no problem viewing two non-police officers who charge a woman and slam her to the ground as thugs would hesitate to view our officers in that light.”
My opinion changed over forty years ago after my run in with the Military Police.
The problem with all of our police forces is lack of accountability. Police bully people because they like being bullies, they lie about what they do, and they get away with the lies because their higher-ups and the general public give them the advantage of any doubt.
Video cameras are removing the doubt and creating accountability. We still have a long way to go ridding ourselves of this plague.
That's become my opinion, too.
I remember in high school (late sixties, early seventies) admiring those classmates of mine who wanted to become policemen. Last Summer, my new neighbor's son across the street told me he was studying to become a State Trooper. My reaction was to wonder what personality defect led him to that decision.
The son of one of my neighbors went through the police academy. It was obvious to him that he wasn't going to succeed as a law enforcement officer because he wouldn't blindly follow policies that he knew were wrong and he asked too many questions of his superiors. He's not the kind of guy to just go-along to get-along.
It's really too bad that the academies are weeding out the very people we need in those uniforms to turn things around.
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