This video out of British Columbia is instructive on the use of gratuitous force. Most abuse video that we see often involves serious injuries that lead to litigation. However, most cases of abuse are small acts of physical harm that rarely result in complaints let alone lawsuits. This arrest occurred in Abbotsford, B.C., on October 9th.
In this case, both officials use kicks to communicate with the suspects. The first officer is far more aggressive and seems to think that stomping on a suspect’s head is a reasonable means to keep him from raising his head one inch to see.
There were reportedly three suspects in a drug arrest near a local high school. Abbotsford police spokesman Const. Ian MacDonald insists that, while a complaint has been filed, the public needs to understand that “[t]hey are challenged, not only by the fact that they are out-numbered in terms of three bad guys and two police officers, but they also have the suspect vehicle rolling into the street.”
I can certainly understand that pressure, but the suspects were not resisting and I fail to be the justification for the abuse. It appears gratuitous and cruel. The officers have guns trained on the men who are on the ground. The rolling car is obviously not a factor here. One officer goes out of his way to do a knee drop on one suspect and to walk on top of him. That is not some police method at work.
For the full story, click here.
this is horrible. the police best and abused this gentlemen. Do people accualy think he had a weapon on him. and if he did why would he pull out the weapon when he has a loaded handgun pointed at him? police are mean mean people. i do not feel safe around police nor will i ever after g20!
Notice the leather gloves on the aggressive cop doing the beating. No other visible cops had leather gloves. Just him.
As a newspaper reporter, I covered cops for many years. In the late 1980s I saw one cop on a Northern California town force coming in with scuffed knuckles and filing reports on arrests for “resisting arrest” with no underlying charge. Just “resisting arrest.”
I asked the chief, What’s with the scuffed knuckles and no precipitating charge? What arrest on what charges was the guy resisting. The chief refused to comment.
From there on out, that scuff-knuckles officer would come in wearing leather gloves. No marks. No proof.
You can pretty much figure the leather gloves cop dresses up in anticipation of beating people up. The old term for such people is “bully.”
Dear Mr. Calverley,
Did you actually watch the video?
At about 0:50, one officer chooses to step with one foot onto one knee of the suspect then directly step with his other foot onto the other knee of the suspect, committing his entire weight to that move. Please explain how this action makes sense in your “maybe the suspect has a gun and is planning to shoot the officers” fantas, er, scenario.
(Police often operate under the code of omerta, which I suspect is why Mr. Calverley is defending these officers. It would be nice if he would get his back down, and just admit that attempting to damage the suspect’s knees by jumping on them has no real enforcement value, and is just a malicious act on the officer’s part.)
Also, you say that when police abuse citizens, the citizens should just take it and “pursue justice later”. In my experience, there are essentially no direct consequences* for US police when they kick and punch suspects in this type of situation. In other words, we should have no expectation of obtaining justice when harmed this way. (Sure, we can “pursue” it all we want, but it will generally be fruitless.) Please provide examples of cases that would counter my concerns.
(* Sadly, there are many indirect consequences for police officers of this type of conduct. Turn on the local news in most cities, and you will find a police spokesperson saying “Someone in the area must know something about the recent shooting, why won’t they come forward and tell the police who did it?” Here comes the cluetrain: years of being treated like this by police make people distrustful and resentful of the police. Most tragically, this type of behavior creates such animosity and disrespect that people actually shoot officers. Here in Chicago, a uniformed officer was targeted and killed in a drive-by shooting recently.
Also, the officers who misbehave in situations like this, may have a tendency to create problems in other situations. Mr. Turley had a post about an officer beating a disabled student in a school hallway. If I understand correctly, that officer is also now under investigation for sexual assault and had previously shot to death a romantic rival. We tolerate this behavior at our own peril.)
Dear Mr. Turley
It is clear to me that the suspect that has his head pushed down
by the officers foot is clearly not complying with the commands
given to him by the officer. At this time period of the take down
the officers have no idea if the suspects are armed.
The suspect was lifting his head to get a view of the situation.
If he had been armed with a semiatomatic pistol,he could have been looking for a split second break where the officers attention may have been diverted to the other suspects.That split second is all it takes for someone with a cool head,accurate aim and a little luck to turn this situation into a nightmare for all involved.
Remember,desprate people do desprate things.
It is clear in the video that once the other officer places restraints on the suspects no further necessary violent force is used by the officers.This is because they now have control of the suspects.
I would advise anyone that finds themselves dealing with police
anywhere in the world,including Canada to do exactley as told,when told and how you are told.If you are treated unfairly you can always pursue justice later.
By complying with officers commands in a situation like the one
just viewed you will make things safer for all involved,including the general public.
Thanks Nat Calverley
Obviously all cops with sole act of single destruction are kind hearted and simply misunderstood. For the Grace of God there go I. I think John Bradford is quipped with this phrase.
Did you see how gently he picked him up later? The cop is a sweet heart, obviously.