The California Highway Patrol has agreed to a settlement of the recent case of a pregnant driver, Tamara Gaglione, 30, being hogtied by police after being stopped for talking on her cellphone. Gaglione will receive a $250,000 settlement.
The video below shows Gaglione weaving between lanes before being stopped. The officers claimed that she raised her arms in a menacing manner. However, the video shows Gaglione not responding to instructions to throw out her keys and put her hands on the van. Instead she just stares at the officers who have their guns drawn. One officer then kicks out her legs and pushing her to the ground. One officer appears to kick Gaglione while she is on the ground and before she was hogtied. Police told her lawyer initially that there was no video and her attorney says that he was only shown the video after he persisted in his demands.
She was charged with evading arrest and driving on a suspended license. Those charges were dismissed and Gaglione pleaded no contest to using a cellphone while driving.
Officer Daniel Hernandez says that he kneed the woman in an effort to distract her so that his partner, Officer Roberto Martinez, could handcuff her. The officers say that it was Gaglione who escalated the incident to violence by raising her arms in a menacing fashion . . . in front of officers with their guns drawn.
In watching the video below, I fail to see any menacing conduct at all. I do see a driver who is weaving into traffic rather than pull over immediately and then ignore the instructions of the officers. There is no apparent justification for taking down the woman and then kneeing her on the ground — let alone the hogtying. There is no indication that any officer has been disciplined for this conduct.
Source: LA Times
Mike: “Let’s be honest here and agree that much of this wrongful police behavior comes from a culture now ingrained with hyper vigilance and fear”
The Department of Fear has done a wonderful job. The entire US is certifiably insane – terrorised by itself.
Those cops are an example of “security” not seeing people as humans. There is a total absence of even the tiniest hint of empathy there.
Drawn guns were OTT enough in that incident. The violent way they knocked her down should have been prosecuted as an assault.
The entire nation has ben driven insane.
As an example:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/19/pennsylvania-girl-5-suspended-for-threatening-to-shoot-girl-with-pink-toy-gun/
5-year-old – bubble-gun – “terroristic threat” – 10-day-suspension.
I wonder why they didn’t call the cops. Isn’t that what schools do nowadays?
“The entire nation has been driven insane.”
SlingT,
I agree and I believe it is purposeful.
“Expecting a domestic violence call from those cops houses in the future.” (shano)
You know … whenever I see one of these videos of cops abusing citizens, male or female … that’s always what I wonder … what do their families endure on a regular basis.
and the same could be said for “stupid”
“Police told her lawyer initially that there was no video”
Of course.
EastBroadwayLongBeach wrote:
Dear Darren, these CHUMPS used Violence INAPPROPRIATELY, they deserve to recieve equal punishment. They are charged with protecting the public, not abusing them….
~+~
Just read your own posts. You suggested previously castrating people who were stupid and applying 50000 watts of electricity to the genitals of officers who used tasers wrongly. Then you claim here the officers acted inappropriately and should be punished equally.
And you ask what I would do if my wife was abused as this woman was? I can say I wouldn’t like to see the type of punishment applied as you have suggested.
I feel sorry for your wife.
These officers crossed the line and should be looking for a new profession. The State of California got off easy. That was an abusive overuse of authority and force.
As I watched the video I saw the “weaving” as an attempt to find a safe place to pull over. She finally found a wide enough shoulder. Did the CHP’s expect her to stop on a narrow shoulder in that kind of traffic. Also procedurally, as was discussed on another thread recently, isn’t the idea to have the person remain in the car? There were four officers, with at least two guns drawn. Wasn’t that adequate control of the situation? There was no reason to trip her to the ground and then to restrain her violently. The problem in many of the egregious cases like this is that even when damages are awarded there is no discernible punishment to the officers who inflicted the damage in a dereliction of duty. without tangible punishment for this kind of behavior officers are given the permission to continue it.
Let’s be honest here and agree that much of this wrongful police behavior comes from a culture now ingrained with hyper vigilance and fear. Yes there have been incidents where a routine stop goes bad, but are there enough of them to cause such fear? In this type of pull over situation more officers get far more hurt by being hit by oncoming vehicles, than they do from the putative perp. She was doing them a favor by pulling onto a shoulder that was adequately safe for leaving the vehicle.
Dear Darren, these CHUMPS used Violence INAPPROPRIATELY, they deserve to recieve equal punishment. They are charged with protecting the public, not abusing them….
There was no reason to toss down or hogtie this woman. They could have cuffed her up without any real trouble. Taken way too far all for something minor.
What dumb ass would ever see that willowy woman standing there passively and think she could possibly be a threat of any kind?
Expecting a domestic violence call from those cops houses in the future.
EastBroadwayLong Beach
It would be appreciated if you would stop suggesting violent acts be used against people. This is the third time I have read this from you and it is becoming distracting to a blog that advocates justice.
How would you like it, if that were your wife?
Justice is as justice does……….
Another case of contempt of cop being punished on the spot, with extreme predudice. Thugs
Cops and the government are, unfortunately, the gravest enemy facing this nation today.
The rule is that nothing the police do should be punitive in nature, correct? If the car doesn’t stop in time or if the citizen passively fails to copperate then that could result in additional charges but not in additional force. This way if there’s something else going on that’s not obvious at the time, like a medical issue, it gets correctly sorted out later in the courts before unncessary harm is done.
It seems to me that this needs to be a major focus of initial and recurrent training. They could use even use actors being very verbally abusive, visually disrespectful, and behaving strangely and inexplicably, but not presenting any actual threat, to let police learn to tune all that out and not be tempted into meting out extrajudicial punishment.
These officers woke up one morning stating: I am going to give someone $250k this day!
East,
I think they should be hand cuffed…. Dropped in a well, naked and rubbed with a tasty meat sauce with rats at the bottom…..
When the kill all the rats…. Then let them out…..
WOW!!!!
They find her menacing????
The Cops are OUT of control in the USA…..
Pistol whipping would be good for the Law Enforcement Offenders. They should not settle the case until the child is born and injuries can be determined. The child needs to give his/her consent to the settlement when it reaches age 18. Or a guardian ad litem is appointed after it is born.
Another remedy would be a knee capping. That would be a shotgun blast to each law enforcement offender’s right knee. Left knee if they are left footed.
These CHumPs need to be made an example of…… Hog tie them and throw them into a pig pen with hungry pigs….
They have a CHP on their sholdiers.