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Cops vs. diabetics
Washington Post ^ | June 20, 2014 | Radley Balko

Posted on 06/20/2014 8:13:21 AM PDT by Second Amendment First

Here’s a too-familiar story from Texas:

A 70-year-old man claims he was severely beaten by a pair of cops after he stopped on a Texas road because he fell into diabetic shock.

Thomas Mathieu said he only remembers pulling over in a turning lane in San Antonio before the Jan. 13 scuffle with police that put him in a hospital with three broken ribs and several cuts and bruises to his body.

“None of it adds up, because I am basically a gentle person,” he told WOAI-TV.

“Why in the world would they do this?”

A video of the encounter that was recorded by a police cruiser’s dashboard camera was recently released to the news station and shows the moment officers find Mathieu slumped over the wheel of his car.

The footage shows the officers ordering Mathieu out of the car and threatening to pull him out if he ignored their commands.

The police say Mathieu tried to shift his car into gear, which seems unlikely, given what they learned later.

During the struggle to get him out of the car, one officer can be seen punching Mathieu several times in the face. But the wild ordeal continued until they got the man lying face down on the ground.

“How much have you had to drink tonight?” the officer asks.

“Nothing,” Mathieu tells him.

“What’s going on with you today?” the officer said.

“Nothing,” Mathieu again tells him.

“Nothing? Why were you sleeping behind the wheel, sir?”

It wasn’t until a minute later that an officer asked Mathieu if he was a diabetic and learned that he was suffering from a medical condition.

The officers were, of course, cleared of any wrongdoing.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: donutwatch
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God help you if you are diabetic and deaf.
1 posted on 06/20/2014 8:13:21 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
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To: Second Amendment First
What is wrong with people? If you don't comply they just start beating you? How about asking if the man is alright? A person appearing dazed, could be in diabetic shock, been stung by a bee, having a seizure or a stroke. I used to like cops, now I hope to Hell I don't have any run ins with them.

They need to stop protecting stupid cops and start prosecuting them Then this will stop.

2 posted on 06/20/2014 8:21:04 AM PDT by defconw (LUTFA!)
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To: Second Amendment First
The officers were, of course, cleared of any wrongdoing.

That's a relief. I feel so much safer now.

3 posted on 06/20/2014 8:22:16 AM PDT by GBA (Here in the Matrix, life is but a dream.)
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To: defconw

They want you to fear them. And if they get caught doing something wrong they are punished with a paid vacation.


4 posted on 06/20/2014 8:23:32 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
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To: Second Amendment First

This is not the first time nor the second time that this has happened to a diabetic.


5 posted on 06/20/2014 8:24:36 AM PDT by luvbach1 (We are finished. It will just take a while before everyone realizes it.)
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To: Second Amendment First

Or a diabetic dog.


6 posted on 06/20/2014 8:24:58 AM PDT by TurboZamboni (Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.-JFK)
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To: Second Amendment First

They will be sorry when people start shooting the cops out of fear. Self-Defense don’t you know?


7 posted on 06/20/2014 8:25:02 AM PDT by defconw (LUTFA!)
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To: Second Amendment First

Or a dog.


8 posted on 06/20/2014 8:30:46 AM PDT by SkyDancer (If you don't read the newspapers you are uninformed. If you do read newspapers you are misinformed)
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To: Second Amendment First
“Nothing? Why were you sleeping behind the wheel, sir?” It wasn’t until a minute later that an officer asked Mathieu if he was a diabetic and learned that he was suffering from a medical condition. The officers were, of course, cleared of any wrongdoing.

Good thing he wasn't wearing a dog costume at the time.

9 posted on 06/20/2014 8:36:15 AM PDT by Alex Murphy ("the defacto Leader of the FR Calvinist Protestant Brigades")
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To: defconw
They will be sorry when people start shooting the cops out of fear. Self-Defense don’t you know?

They will be sorry when juries stop convicting cop killers. I already would have a hard time convicting someone who kills a cop executing a no knock warrant. As more police insist on bringing unnecessary violence into encounters jury pools will fill up with people who see things your way.

10 posted on 06/20/2014 8:40:05 AM PDT by RightOnTheBorder
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To: RightOnTheBorder

Yep! I mean if I think someone is about to kill me, I have the right to defend myself. Badge or no badge. I am not going down like the poor Jews did.


11 posted on 06/20/2014 8:41:59 AM PDT by defconw (LUTFA!)
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To: GBA

clearing them was the second wrongdoing


12 posted on 06/20/2014 8:43:38 AM PDT by morphing libertarian ( On to impeachment and removal (IRS, Taliban, Fast and furious, VA, Benghazi)!!!)
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To: morphing libertarian

PS: If cops don’t want to talk to people and assess the situation, we can use robots who are programmed to beat people up and drive them to jail.


13 posted on 06/20/2014 8:44:39 AM PDT by morphing libertarian ( On to impeachment and removal (IRS, Taliban, Fast and furious, VA, Benghazi)!!!)
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To: defconw

Obama’s Brown Shirted Army!


14 posted on 06/20/2014 9:10:31 AM PDT by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: morphing libertarian

That would save millions of dollars in salary and benefits!


15 posted on 06/20/2014 9:13:09 AM PDT by defconw (LUTFA!)
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To: Don Corleone
Yep! They grow bolder! I am forced by my husband to know everything about WWII. The Military Channel, should have been changed to the Hitler channel. I have read a lot on the Nazi's and the situation prior to Hitler's ascendancy
16 posted on 06/20/2014 9:16:50 AM PDT by defconw (LUTFA!)
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To: morphing libertarian

I know your comment is facetious but really, if cops will not required to exercise judgement, and will not accept any danger to their personal security (anything to make it home attitude) then why are we paying them more than mall security?


17 posted on 06/20/2014 9:17:02 AM PDT by RightOnTheBorder
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To: morphing libertarian
And worst than the first!

I'm all for suing the cops in cases like this one, but it shouldn't be the tax payers who pay for the damages, it should be the police union.

Tax payers aren't responsible and have little to no direct control over the actions of police officers, but the union does, as much if not more than supervision does, and will fight to defend the cops who do this sort of damage and fight to keep them in uniform.

To me, this makes the union responsible and culpable for the actions of its members as much if not more so than police supervision.

Make the union and its membership pay, not the tax payers.

The police might do a better job of self policing themselves if they have to pay out of their own pockets for the damage their fellow union members/officers do.

18 posted on 06/20/2014 9:19:32 AM PDT by GBA (Here in the Matrix, life is but a dream.)
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To: bamahead

Protect-and-serve ping


19 posted on 06/20/2014 9:22:59 AM PDT by BuckeyeTexan (There are those that break and bend. I'm the other kind. ~Steve Earle)
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To: Second Amendment First
Cops should not be beating or shooting suspects until the suspect is ACTIVELY ATTACKING the cop or another person.
Just "not complying with orders" is not a threat to the cop.
There are many perfectly legitimate reasons why a person does not instantly OBEY, not least of which is that the cop who just arrived on the scene jumped to conclusions before grasping the whole situation and is being an idiot.
Send these cops to anger management class at the very minimum. Calm down, assess, talk to the suspects first.

20 posted on 06/20/2014 9:50:29 AM PDT by BitWielder1 (Corporate Profits are better than Government Waste)
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