There is a public outcry over the video below showing St. Louis City police officer Dustin Ries beating a man with his baton outside of a St. Louis gas station. The police officer insisted that the man was drunk and unruly but the officer seems to use his baton immediately after grabbing the man and then pepper sprays him after striking him repeatedly.
This video was shot on a cell phone about 2:30 on New Years Day morning. An unnamed witness states that the man had told the officer to shut up and the officer proceeded to beat him without provocation. However, the gasoline station owner Joel Platke supports the officer.
The department is investigating but called the video “extremely disturbing.” This could obviously lead to a civil tort action for battery as well as criminal charges against the officer.
Reis has reportedly been named in two prior excessive force lawsuits.
While the angle of the video does not offer a full view, my review of video suggests excessive force was used. What do you think?
Source: Reddit
Jonathan Turley
ChaZ, The video showed that he was pulled out of the car pretty easily by the cop even if he was refusing to do so, and wasn’t hit until he was on the ground. He wasn’t hard to get out of the car and that’s probably because he was pretty drunk.
What ever happened to working with people? The drunk guys buddies looked pretty passive, why couldn’t the cop have said to the effect ‘you guys need to get this guy up and into the back seat and drive him home, otherwise I’m going to have to f*** him up and he’s going to spend the night in jail’?
If you watched the video very carefully, it was pretty obvious that the drunk driver refused to get out of the car.
I don’t know the full extent of what a police officer can do while being off-duty or working as a security guard while holding police officer license in his jurisdiction. So, I’m not at liberty to discuss about his use of force in that scenario.
Unfortunately, the video does not show us if he was using his baton properly as we all are trained to. Also, after reading that he hit someone’s head with a baton before so we will probably n ever know how he really used his baton unless those witnesses come forward and tell us.
As for “needing new set of friends” Well, if he was drunk and he was very adamant on driving the car while all of his friends were telling him to get out of car or let other person to drive for him, I think it’s safe to say that they need a new friend not the other way around.
Too bad the video doesn’t show if he was being uncooperative while on ground, so we don’t know if the use of baton and pepper spray was necessary.
Anon nurse,
thanks!
LK,
I think this store owner is being less than honest here. You are probably right about the hearsay issue.
“Platke said he was not at the station that night but had spoken to two employees and had viewed security camera footage. He later provided footage to the Post-Dispatch, but it was grainy and the view of the altercation was largely obstructed.
“The guy was plainly drunk,” Platke said. “Inebriated.” He said the man’s friends got him outside but he continued to cause problems, struggling with his friends. That’s when Ries intervened, according to Platke.”
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well, Platke wasn’t there so why weren’t statements solicited from the workers that were there? If what Platke {owner of the station, which I have used many times, not the best of neighborhoods.} says is true, why intervene at all if the “drunken” fellow was out of the store and being dealt with by his friends. There’s no indication that he was assaulting his friends, just struggling with them, but that again is hearsay by Platke.
“I guess I am naive, but this video really disturbs me.” -rafflaw
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rafflaw,
It’s very disturbing and, IMHO, it doesn’t make one “naive.” (It’s those who aren’t affected by it who worry me.)
Why do they do things like that? Because they can with virtually no chance of a negative consequence.
If this guy is acting as a security guard while beating this victim, isn’t he liable for any force without a self defense claim? The video is pretty damning. This guy needs to be charged and prosecuted for assualt and the victim needs to sue the officer, the store owner, and Shell Oil. It was amusing to read the police response. “They are attempting to identify the officer”????? Look at the video and ask the gas station/convenience store owner. How tough is that. If this guy isn’t prosecuted, the City needs to remove the top cops who are protecting this felon. The witnesses filming the video can easily be found by review the purchases at that pump that they were using.
Culheath, you are right about new friends for the victim. They should have been attempting to stop this beating or at least calling for on duty police action. How can a security guard(cop or non-cop) handcuff a suspect without the police being involved?
I guess I am naive, but this video really disturbs me.
For every one that is caught on camera,how many do you think we don’t see?
And I agree with culheath:
“The assaulted guy needs a new set of friends.”
I’ve been wondering why the USMS is starting to get involved in local law enforcement and what happens when or if USMS uses excessive force. I saw a blog where a woman complained that USMS came to her home because she filed a sexual harassment claim and that they made her very elderly Dad sit in the sun in over 100 degrees for more than an hour with no water.
So when local police use excessive force you can sue them under 42 USC section 1983 but what if the USMS use excessive force?
I also saw an employment discrimination lawsuit against USMS and USMS would not release names, so how can the individuals be sued?
Looks like “excessive force” to me…
The assaulted guy needs a new set of friends.
Thanks, Nal.
Here’s a link to the video.
The video is, apparently, no longer available.
(The story is disturbing, to say the least, especially given his history, as provided…)
The officer has been identified as Dustin Ries.
“Ries has previously been named in two lawsuits accusing him of excessive force.
A 2008 federal suit alleged that Ries assaulted two men with his police baton and pepper spray while he was working off-duty at the Big Bang piano bar on Laclede’s Landing in April 2006. Al Johnson, a Clayton attorney for the plaintiffs, said his clients were initially charged with assault but the charges were later dropped. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and Johnson said he was barred from disclosing the amount.
“I’m glad he got caught this time, maybe enough to where the police department can fire him,” Johnson said of Ries.
A 2005 civil suit in St. Louis alleged that Ries struck a man on the head with his baton and sprayed him with pepper spray in an on-duty traffic stop on North Grand Boulevard in September 2004. Records show that case was dismissed; it was unclear Tuesday whether a settlement was reached.”
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_61a185db-74b7-541b-a5ab-88476fc95124.html
Thanks BBB. I added that fact to the blog.
From the link BBB provided … “The convenience store owner, Joel Platke, says the officer was off-duty working security at the store …”
Of course he’s going to support the officer … he hired him and might be liable for his actions on the job.
Right now we have the word of the guy who hired him and the video … so far everybody else is anonymous … fear of police retaliation/intimidation may keep it that way.
Here’s an account from one of the St. Louis CBS affiliates. It tells another side of the story.
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Unidentified-St-Louis-police-officer-shown-in-video-striking-man-with-batan-112876639.html
Here’s a link.
Police Dept. response:
“We were first made aware of the video this morning and while all of the circumstances of the incident are not known, what is seen on the video is extremely disturbing to us. Force is to be used only when absolutely necessary and this department takes the use of force very seriously. No one has a filed a complaint regarding this incident, however the department is launching an Internal Affairs investigation immediately and we would urge those involved in the incident to please come forward and relay their eyewitness accounts to the Internal Affairs investigators. We are also making efforts to identify the officer involved who, once identified, will immediately be assigned to administrative duty pending the results of the investigation.”