Posted on 06/20/2014 8:13:21 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
Heres 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 cruisers 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.
Whats going on with you today? the officer said.
Nothing, Mathieu again tells him.
Nothing? Why were you sleeping behind the wheel, sir?
It wasnt 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 ...
They need to stop protecting stupid cops and start prosecuting them Then this will stop.
That's a relief. I feel so much safer now.
They want you to fear them. And if they get caught doing something wrong they are punished with a paid vacation.
This is not the first time nor the second time that this has happened to a diabetic.
Or a diabetic dog.
They will be sorry when people start shooting the cops out of fear. Self-Defense don’t you know?
Or a dog.
Good thing he wasn't wearing a dog costume at the time.
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.
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.
clearing them was the second wrongdoing
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.
Obama’s Brown Shirted Army!
That would save millions of dollars in salary and benefits!
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?
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.
Protect-and-serve ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.