Posted on 05/27/2020 7:35:22 PM PDT by GuavaCheesePuff
They’ve been cooped up so long that they need a good riot and looting binge to “get right”...
I choose not to conclude that the officers intentionally murdered this criminal. Until the facts are investigated and revealed there are two sides to this story.
Why did that murderous cop have his hand in his pocket? Was he getting off on viciously killing an innocent person?
Put the piece of crap on trial for Murder One.
Symbolic.
With thanks to HollyB for posting this to me.
This was posted on FB today
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I feel like I do a very good job at keeping my personal opinions to myself. However with this, I cannot.
The George Floyd incident.
I want to apologize in advance to anyone that may be offended or disagree with what I am going to say. These statements are my own opinion and in no way reflect the opinions of any department(s) or other officers - just myself:
As an Officer, this deeply hurts my heart. I want those who read this to know that there are MANY officers shaking their heads in disappointment right now. We are people too and we know when something is wrong.
Ive been blessed to work for a department that has religiously preached, Once the cuffs are on, the fight is over.
Ive had several situations where a fight will continue after the cuffs have been placed on an arrestee but, thats not what I mean by my previous statement.
What I meant by my statement is this:
Regardless of the crime, once a person is in handcuffs you have to treat them accordingly. There is zero need to continuously use force unless you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO; to maintain the arrestees safety, surrounding citizens safety, other officers saftey, or your own safety. I do not feel or see an immediate threat here.
As Officers, weve all been taught that once we have someone in custody, that arrestee essentially becomes our baby. At that point, we are required to take care of that person until they are passed through a chain of custody (hospital, intake center, juvenile center). We are fully responsible for that person because we have essentially taken their freedoms of movement and decisions away. That person now falls on our hands. We MUST take care of that person.
If someone is saying, I cant breathe! Its the job of the officer to make sure that person CAN breathe. If someone says, I need medical attention or they complain of pain, its the job of the Officer to see that the arrestee receives the proper medical attention he/she is entitled to.
If you see that your subject is not awake or breathing, you better stop and immediately revert to your other job training skill of being a life saver instead of a law enforcer. If you cant do that, you damn sure better call someone who can (EMS, Fire, or another trained officer).
Yes, I have had to use force on people while theyre in handcuffs. However, I have not drove my knee in to someones neck for the duration of 10 minutes. Theres thousands of ways to control someone. Theyre just as effective but, not nearly as dangerous. The force used did not fit the severity of the crime that was claimed to have been committed.
If youre okay with this use of force on someone who is handcuffed, I personally feel you need to take one of these courses of action:
1) Turn in your badge before you tarnish it for the rest of us.
Thats it, thats the only course of action you should and need to take.
I read a comment earlier in a thread where a person stated, Well what if he had a gun before this and thats why theyre doing it?
Well, the fact of that matter is that he DID NOT and the what if game is absolutely asinine in this situation. Even if he did, once in custody....we are going to revert back to a comment I made earlier....the fight is over.
Ive arrested countless people who have used weapons in the commission of violent crimes. Ive also arrested people who have pointed weapons directly at me.
After a person is in handcuffs, it DOES NOT matter what happened before the arrest. Im sorry but, it just doesnt. Im sure plenty of officers will disagree with me and Im sure some will even refuse to work with me over that statement. Events that happen before a subject is placed in to custody does not give anyone the right to batter, beat, or suffocate the arrestee once they are secured in handcuffs. Any different logic of thinking is absolutely WRONG in this line of work. Any Officer with integrity and morals will tell you that.
Thankfully, Ive been blessed to work with Officers and for a department that teaches and thinks this way as well.
Does that mean Im going to drop my guard with the arrestee? Absolutely not. I still have a job to do and that person is going to jail for a reason. Make no mistake, I know how to do my job and I know complacency will kill you in this line of work. Does that mean placing your full body-weight on someones neck for 10 minutes is appropriate? HELL NO.
Theres a thousand other ways that man couldve been kept under control. All are less dangerous and just as, if not MORE, effective.
I know this is going to resurface debates on police & prejudice. Let me say to you all...
I am sincerely sorry.
I see this video and I empathize with you. I understand why you are so frustrated. I know I am not African American so, I would never try to act like Ive been in your shoes before. That would be terribly disrespectful. But, please hear what I have to say...
I have personally never worked with a prejudice police officer. In fact, some of my favorite zone/beat partners are African American and they are FANTASTIC people/officers. I work with wonderful officers who are gay or bisexual. I work with wonderful officers of all races, religions, sexes and creeds - all of them are absolutely amazing. The color of your skin, the person you love, the God you worship does not define what kind of person you are. Most police officers realize this and do not use those factors as leverage to form an unfair or biased opinion on the individuals they are called to assist/help/arrest. We are taught to be fair and impartial at all times. That is extremely important to myself and all the officers I work with. Many officers realize that we are only people; we just wear a different uniform to work. We all wake up and put our pants on the same way (unless you do some funky ass way but, thats a conversation for a different time, ya big weirdo). We all bleed red. We all die. We all get buried in a six foot hole. We are all human-beings.
Most officers are extremely humble; we realize that we are no better than the people we interact with on a day-to-day basis. After all, we work for a specific city and the citizens who live in that city. We cant properly work for the citizens if we walk around believing that we are better than them. Thats not how this job works. We have to be open and willing to listen to all your problems, concerns, worries, and questions. With that said, I can also say I HEAR YOU, I SEE YOU, I CARE ABOUT YOU. I see and understand why you are all concerned. Im here to help alleviate those concerns for you. We, as the police, are here to help you, not harm you. We genuinely care about you, all of you.
He didn't have his hand in his pocket. He is wearing black gloves and has his hand on his thigh. At one point he reached up and steadied himself on the car and returned his hand to his thigh. He never had his hand in his pocket.
I disagree. Our "justice" system is broken when cops are involved.
All this looting crap is just ferals taking advantage. If they want to burn something, I'm sure the addresses of the involved officers are out there.
Absolutely. As far as I'm concerned, it's not a racial thing at all. The cop was demonstrating his power to the people who were around. His utter disregard for the life of an American citizen was so blatant, it is irrefutable.
Unfortunately there are always people that take advantage of a situation. Im looking at you looters and race baiters. You people are helping these scumbag officers, and you don’t even know it. Twits.....
Also agreed. There are better targets in this situation than local businesses.
There was not a single word about the riots that occurred in Minneapolis. I have always known about the power of the press to omit but this is breathtaking.
Oh, OK. So he had his hand on his thigh to apply more pressure
to Floyd’s neck, and thus kill him quicker..That’s even worse than what I thought.
The PD defense lawyers have jumped on this ASAP, and I suspect we will see many more posts on here defending the Klan Kops of Minneapolis.
There is NO excuse for this police officer to do what he did - he should be fired and imprisoned for manslaughter.
However, George Floyd had a history of violent crime, armed robbery and home invasion. He was not the innocent gentle giant as the looney leftists claim.
Its the same as Michael Brown who assaulted someone just prior to his attempted arrest. He also tried to get the gun from a police officer in his car, assaulting him the progress and then was shot when he launched an attack against the officer.
There are always two sides to these stories and having watched several versions of the surveillance videos, some are edited and all end just as he is going to the ground catching the one officer by surprise. It also shows him dragging against the officers as they approached the police vehicle.
Passing counterfeit currency is a federal office and with his previous convictions could have meant life in jail for him.
That is a great post, and it reflects the practices of most Police Departments.
However, from time to time, some PDs get completely out of hand, go rogue, let the rotten apples spoil the whole barrel.
Over the years this has happened in LA, New Orleans, Chicago, and even smaller towns like Olympia, WA.
The only solution is a cleanup from top to bottom.
Can Minneapolis, in its present condition, and with its present administration, do this?
You would make a lousy defense attorney for the cops.
Just trying to help clear up a detail for you. Thats all. Wasnt defending anyone.
“You would make a lousy defense attorney for the cops.”
Yes I would. As a US Army Infantryman who has fought in combat overseas, I know the difference between using lethal and non-lethal force as well as how to subdue someone quickly but without killing them.
George Floyd was a criminal and scumbag, but he didn’t deserve to die like that.
This foolish cop went WAY over the line.
Now ALL these scum rioters & thieves need to be shot with rubber bullets, teargassed, thrown in jail, fined, and have felonies permanently attached on their records.
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