It is always controversial when society “allows the criminal to go free because the constable blundered,” but what about allowing the constable to go free because the constable blundered? Shreveport police officer Wiley Willis became a national figure after shocking pictures were released of a woman who was beaten in his custody — after he turned off a camera in a police station. Now he has been reinstated because a polygrapher failed to record the result of a test of Willis. Not only was Willis never charged criminally, but he will now receive full back pay at the insistence of the Shreveport police officers union.
After turning off the camera, Willis left Angela Garbarino (who was arrested for DWI) with a broken nose and other injuries.
The Civil Service Board ruled that Willis’ rights, under the Police Officer Bill of Rights, were violated because an expert failed to record a polygraph examination Willis took as part of the Police Department’s investigation into Garbarino’s injuries, including two black eyes and a broken nose. Willis asks if the camera is on before turning it off. When he turns the camera on again, Garbarino is beaten and bloody.
The Police Chief has denounced the “technicality” and the reinstatement.
For the full story, click here.
Anything.
wiley deserves a bullet thru his cruel thick skull cruel bully nasty animal
She has since gotten DWI’s since this video
Addendum:
Rest assured that there are decent LEOs. However, as I have so often reiterated within this blawg, the lowering of entrance standards by ignoring prior drug and other violations and retaining rogue LEOs, such as this officer—with back pay, no less—are going to further erode law enforcement.
The coward LEO did not beat the woman up until she was restrained and in handcuffs.
Federal LEOs are immediately discharged from all LE duties if they are convicted of even relatively “minor” misdemeanor domestic violence against a spouse or girlfriend, such as a slap, and much less than what this LEO did to someone on police station property and under restrained custody. In 1997 or early 1998, I had to sign sworn affidavits and had additional background checks to ensure that I was never convicted of domestic violence. Even Federal LEOs with previous misdemeanor charges had to resign or face expulsion because they could not possess a firearm and a principal requirement for any LE position is the ability to pass a firearms proficiency test **
Until the justice system and society demands the severe punishment of individual rogue LEOs—instead of just suing taxpayers for large sums—LEOs will continue to abuse the system because they know that, in most instances, city, county, State, and Federal governments will stand behind them.
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{Quote from wiki:
** The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) sent a notice to every law enforcement agency when this law went into effect. Police officers with prior misdemeanor charges of domestic violence from years earlier were no longer permitted to possess firearms under the new federal law. Several officers were fired for such past misdemeanor offenses. Several of the gun magazines printed a copy of this new ATF order at the time.
End Quote}
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That sorry SOB and the police union. I support the chief, he seems to be only one in that whole force that is worth a damn at all. I am flabbergasted that the DoJ did not step in when the locals were unable to. The 400K was probably offered instead of being disappeared, I suspect a significant amount of pressure was used to accept the 400K.
RastaMan, thanks. It looks like she had to grab her knife arm to throw her down, the danger was effectivly neutralized IMO.
(lottakatz)
Good linked story and video.
That’s a tough call. The elderly lady (reportedly) had a knife. The video becomes too shakey to see what took place immediately before the cop took her down.
My first thought was why didn’t they use a tazer.
I was at the house of a police officer last night. We discussed tazers. He doesn’t carry one, but said the department recommends using the tazer rather than wrestling with anyone. Their number one interest is officer safety. Can’t say that I blame them.
A clear example of why the police today don’t want to be videotaped carrying out their work, and why we must insist that the law never bars us from recording them ‘serving the public’.
IS,
Thank you, as I have not read Piekoff. I will.
I did see his book Ominous Parellels was extensively discussed on Amazon, and I read through a few reviews. I also found this blog entry that contrasted Peikoff’s book with statements from Naomi Wolf:
http://aristotlethegeek.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/parallels/
I used Wolf here simply because she makes the argument for a fascist shift from the left. This is an approach I’m more likely to use on blogs like this one that has both progressive and libertarian readership. I find the idea is more likely to be engaged and not rejected outright.
That said, it is interesting to see the angst in the Republican right as the Obama administration uses the power of the executive solidified under Bush II to further radical socialist ideals. Suddenly the Republicans’ abandoned so-called limited government principles quickly come back into focus. I’m convinced that the Republicans are effective (albeit modestly) to contain government only when acting as an opposition party. This is quite a bit of payback.
puzzling
1, August 14, 2009 at 8:33 am
Perhaps Naomi Wolf is correct that the United States has nearly completed its fascist shift.
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Leonard Piekof wrote about that in Ominous Parallels in the 70’s or 80’s I think.
In the Article they settled for 400k.