Six members of the Philadelphia police department are under investigation after the airing of a video shot from a helicopter of them kicking and punching three suspects after a traffic stop.
The three suspects – Dwayne Dyches, Brian Hall and Pete Hopkins, all of Philadelphia – were each charged with attempted murder and related counts. Two days previously, a police officer had been shot and killed.
The tape virtually guarantees a tort action like Rodney King’s against the department.
For the video, click here.
Brutality and torture by the government is never justified.
I would be interested in seeing coverage of a recent ruling I read about in Ohio’s Summit County regarding autopsy findings of a Dr. Lisa Kohler related to deaths by application of a Taser. The article was entitled “Autopsy findings must be changed, judge rules”, where a “medical examiner [was] told to remove references to Taser as contributing to the deaths of three local men.” My understanding is that the manufacturer of these devices has been active with actions against practitioners whose findings may implicate Taser devices as a cause of death.
binx101:
Oops. “Bello” it is.
OOPS, that was: “lip cream duo”.
Mespo,
Here is another quote to steal. It’s from Life Extension magazine, June 2008: “FDA, AMA, and Drug Companies–The Trilogy of Deception and Death”
I’m seeing a movie trailer starring the “lipstick duo” from the good sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary. (Just mad libbing from my mail today!)
Hope you get your avatar back.
Jill
Ahem! Bello.
binx101:
Bravo, professorio! Bella.
Just a quick funny story about stealing one of my quotes:
Long ago, in foreign land, I was fortunate to be skiing in the perfect place on a perfect day with some new friends. A timid skier in our pack was unsure of possessing the requisite skill on a certain trail. Often taking charge of beginners, which I found to be great fun; I perched myself on the very edge of the precipitous fault and said “Watch This!” In the blinding sun-light I had not noticed that I had crossed the tips of the unusually long touring skis I had only begun using that day – as I pushed off I quickly struggled against my acceleration to re-fix my skis. Alas, I made things worse I couldn’t steer clear of sharp hill that launched me as though I were on a jump. Unfortunately my flight attitude was upside down, which as one would assume, was only a precursor to the mangled wreckage that would be – seconds later. While I was able to shake it off and continue skiing for the balance of the day … every time anyone from our group approached me fot the balance of the day … we would both break out into fits of laughter.
Later that afternoon … we headed to the hillside Lounge about 1/4 mile above the hillside hotel – in no less than an hour – 100’s of people from all over the world, many of who spoke no English, had learned a new toast, as they hoisted glasses, the entire patronage would look my way and shout, “Watch This !” I still have a few friends that begin emails to me that way.
binx101:
“There are bad cops and there are bad citizens. It’s very easy to criticize what happens on the ground from the view of chopper video, but no necessarily helpful It’s not much different than watching a baseball game on TV and judging in a split second if your going steal second while you can hear the first baseman breathing.”
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A very sane, and very reasoned response. That is always the best path, and you have showed us the milestones along the way. I am forewarning you that I am stealing that quote and adopting it as my own!
While not being a voyeur, generally, I did find the video revealing in what it does not provide.
1. They accomplished their mission very quickly and efficiently from a tactical perspective.
2. There is no way to ascertain the degree of the force used by this video – while it looks like a old fashioned vigilante beating … that may not be the case. A medical examination of the injuries sustained by the suspects would be more useful than the video.
3. Police under these circumstances (recent L-O-D death) is already cause for close scrutiny.
4. It was curious though, how they approached the vehicle seemingly not worried that the occupants would be armed, which leads one to believe that they saw a weapon tossed or new one was tossed.
There’s a no win from this perspective – this is the bowels of the public safety mission. It’s the worst possible example of police work, that is to say, apprehending suspects.
Not unlike homeland security taking down an innocent airline passenger – there is no room for consideration if the cops are wrong. Even if they are right – there’s exponential criticism of their methods, even only if a procedural reality in the suspects defense.
There are bad cops and there are bad citizens. It’s very easy to criticize what happens on the ground from the view of chopper video, but no necessarily helpful It’s not much different than watching a baseball game on TV and judging in a split second if your going steal second while you can hear the first baseman breathing.
JT:
“Six members of the Philadelphia police department are under investigation after the airing of a video shot from a helicopter of them kicking and punching three suspects after a traffic stop.”
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In fairness to the cops, msnbc reports that “Police stopped the suspects’ car while investigating a triple shooting Monday night. No weapons were found in the car or on the suspects, Ramsey [Police Spokesman]said, but officers said they had seen them shoot three people on a drug corner moments earlier.” If these are the facts, I think a more aggressive felony stop was in order.