Cops gone wild?

Once again we can see a cell phone video showing America what happens when thugs disguising themselves as law enforcement officials unleash their fury on  a fellow citizen.

"The video, which was shot in a shaky minute-and-a-half, does not show what caused several officers to repeatedly strike the man, Jose Velasco, 28, with batons while he writhed on the pavement in the middle of the street.

Just a few feet away, several lanes of stopped traffic watched the scene unfold; the video appeared to be shot through the rolled-down window of one of those cars." [Watch here]

And of course there is the obligatory statement from the police department.

"In a press release, the Salinas Police Department said officers were called to North Main Street after Velasco was seen running through traffic and jumping on cars.

When officers arrived, Velasco was "slamming" his mother into the pavement, the release said; he "violently resisted" the officers, and attempted to grab a Taser from one of them.

Officers subsequently fired a Taser twice at Velasco, the release said, "neither having any effect on him."

Velasco's family told NBC affiliate KSBW that he is mentally ill.

Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin told KSBW that the video "absolutely" concerned him. "Anybody who looks at that video without context would have concerns, because it looks terrible," he said."

                     

It seems that every day we wake up to another one of these incidents.  

 

And why are we surprised?

 

Here is what the leader of the largest police department in the country had to say about hiring black cops:

 

"According to New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, the reason black males are underrepresented by the city’s police force is because so many would-be recruits have served jail time.

 

In an interview with The Guardian, Bratton addressed the gap by saying: “We have a significant population gap among African American males because so many of them have spent time in jail and, as such, we can’t hire them.”

 

Indeed, data updated by the New York Times earlier this year shows that the New York Police Department is 21 percentage points more white than its residents. Only 16% of the NYPD is black, while the city’s population is 23% black, suggesting a slight racial gap in the force. That being said, the NYPD is actually quite diverse compared to many other police departments, partially due to court-ordered mandates."

 

Yes, we acknowledge that a disproportionate amount of black men in New York  City have probably come in contact with the criminal justice system in that city. ("Stop & Frisk" will do that to you.) 

 

But the thing is this, the Commissioner should be focused on getting quality black recruits for his department and not making statements that should be reserved for a criminologist.    

 

Finally, happy trails Officer Casebolt.

 

It took that disgusting video of you abusing and groping that 14 year old girl for you to resign, but we are glad you are gone.

 

From what I have been seeing and hearing since this incident; your resignation should have been forthcoming a long time ago.

 

But don't worry, I am sure that the folks at FOX VIEWS will find something for you to do and keep you paid.

 

They have been your biggest supporters. Their star anchor even implied that it was the 14 year old girl who was at fault for getting assaulted and sexually abused by you.

 

So get your last check, get a makeover, and head to New York. There is an anchor chair there with your name on it.   

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

"There is an evil in this town..."

"The air of Southside is foul-smelling and thick, filled with fumes from an oil refinery and diesel smoke from a train yard, with talk of riot and recrimination, and with angry questions: Why is Tarika Wilson dead? Why did the police shoot her baby?

“This thing just stinks to high heaven, and the police know it,” said Jason Upthegrove, president of the Lima chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. “We’re not asking for answers anymore. We’re demanding them.”

Some facts are known. A SWAT team arrived at Ms. Wilson’s rented house in the Southside neighborhood early in the evening of Jan. 4 to arrest her companion, Anthony Terry, on suspicion of drug dealing, said Greg Garlock, Lima’s police chief. Officers bashed in the front door and entered with guns drawn, said neighbors who saw the raid.

Moments later, the police opened fire, killing Ms. Wilson, 26, and wounding her 14-month-old son, Sincere, Chief Garlock said. One officer involved in the raid, Sgt. Joseph Chavalia, a 31-year veteran, has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Beyond these scant certainties, there is mostly rumor and rage. The police refuse to give any account of the raid, pending an investigation by the Ohio attorney general.

Black people in Lima, from the poorest citizens to religious and business leaders, complain that rogue police officers regularly stop them without cause, point guns in their faces, curse them and physically abuse them. They say the shooting of Ms. Wilson is only the latest example of a long-running pattern of a few white police officers treating African-Americans as people to be feared.

“There is an evil in this town,” said C. M. Manley, 68, pastor of New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church. “The police harass me. They harass my family. But they know that if something happens to me, people will burn down this town.”

Internal investigations have uncovered no evidence of police misconduct, Chief Garlock said. Still, local officials recognize that the perception of systemic racism has opened a wide chasm.
“The situation is very tense,” Mayor David J. Berger said. “Serious threats have been made. People are starting to carry weapons to protect themselves.”

Surrounded by farm country known for its German Catholic roots and conservative politics, Lima is the only city in the immediate area with a significant African-American population. Black families, including Mr. Manley’s, came to Lima in the 1940s and ’50s for jobs at what is now the Husky Energy Lima Refinery and other factories along the city’s southern border. Blacks make up 27 percent of the city’s 38,000 people, Mr. Berger said.

Many blacks still live downwind from the refinery. Many whites on the police force commute from nearby farm towns, where a black face is about as common as a twisty road. Of Lima’s 77 police officers, two are African-American.

“If I have any frustration when I retire, it’ll be that I wasn’t able to bring more racial balance to the police force,” said Chief Garlock, who joined the force in 1971 and has been chief for 11 years." [Source]

Indeed this young lady's life seemed to be a sad and tragic one. I have seen many Tarika Wilsons  here in Philly. But she did not deserve to die this way.

And meanwhile in New York.

"Prosecutors are dropping charges against 17-year-old Enrique Del Rosario related to assaulting a police officer after video contradicted their claims.

The incident took place at Brooklyn’s Puerto Rican Day parade on June 8. Dennis Flores, founder of the neighborhood police watchdog group El Grito De Sunset Park said police descended on the revelers in the evening, something that’s become expected. “We’ve been documenting this every year,” Flores told ThinkProgress. “The neighborhood gets flooded with police officers. Young kids are marching, waving flags, and cops are corraling them, pushing them around, like it’s a nuisance to have them out celebrating their culture.”

Flores’ group had several activists taping the police that day, a tactic that activists across the country have found useful for monitoring police. So they were able to capture Rosario’s arrest from multiple angles, a fact that would be crucial for proving his innocence. Photos and recordings can often mean the difference between conviction and exoneration.

Rosario wasn’t afilliated with El Grito, but he also happened to be filming when an officer shoved the woman standing next to him. In fact, Flores said that’s why he was targeted. Rosario’s lawyer Rebecca Heinegg said several officers then attacked Rosario, slamming him against the gate of a closed store and beating him with batons. “Basically, my client was a victim of a gang assault by the 72nd Precinct,” Heinegg told Max Jaeger for The Brooklyn Paper.

Once the attack started, Flores said, police began pushing people back and macing them to keep onlookers and cameras from seeing what was going on. Flores said that the injury police blamed Rosario for was caused by another cop. “This officer swung his nightstick and missed, hit another police officer across the head,” Flores said.

grand jury decided not to prosecute Rosario for assaulting a cop in September, but he continued to face charges for resisting arrest and larceny until the District Attorney’s office offered to drop all charges as long as he stays clear of the law for six months.

The charges proved to be an economic burden to Rosario’s family, even though they were dropped. Rosario and his mother Wendy Tabarez had to attend eight court dates since he was beaten and arrested, costing wages and time off lost. For working people, an arrest can come at a high price, even if they are eventually found innocent.

Rosario’s camera was never recovered, and footage from NYPD police videographers seems to have disappeared, arousing Flores’ suspicion. “It’s not like his camera was just left on the street. They took it, and it never showed up in evidence.” Both Flores and Heinegg have tried to obtain NYPD footage of the events, but have been told it can’t be located." [Source]

Look, police officers have a tough job. (One lost his life today here on the mean streets of Philly. RIP.) But at some point political leaders and people with influence in underserved communities are going to have to step up and acknowledge that we have a problem. And, more importantly, they are going to have to do something about it.

We cannot allow anymore Ferguson type situations to fester in small cities like Lima, Ohio, or in large cities like New York.


 

The GOP stands by their man, but the NYPD does not.

I have been away for the holidays, but now I am home. It's always nice to be back in Philly after a long trip. 

Anyway, I am still perturbed by Cedric Richmond coming out and defending the GOP whip, Steve Scalise.  His clueless and ignorant actions has given the GOP cover to defend the indefensible, and they wasted no time in doing just that.

"..GOP freshmen Martha McSally of Arizona, Lee Zeldin of New York and Barbara Comstock of Virginia all indicated their support Sunday for Scalise, as did Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.

Comstock said on CNN's "State of the Union" that colleagues view Scalise as "a man of good heart and good character."

Barrasso said that speaking to the group was a "grave mistake," but he cited Richmond's backing for Scalise and said the matter was not an issue for his constituents.

"This has not come up as a discussion point in Wyoming," Barrasso said on NBC's "Meet The Press."

Well I guess not Sen. Barrasso. We are, after all, talking about "Wyoming"

But back to Mr. Richmond.

I would expect this type of blind support for a man who speaks to white supremacists from people like Mia Love and Ron Christie, but not someone like Cedric Richmond. He should know better.

Finally, the actions of those police officers in who turned their backs on the city's mayor at the funeral of a fallen colleague was disgusting.

The banner I could live with, but not this.

It makes you wonder about the makeup of these particular boys in blue.

Even if you have strong disagreements with the mayor, you have to act with class and dignity on such an occasion. Especially if you are a police officer who is sworn to uphold the law.

Still, I am glad that the mayor himself spoke about the incident and called it what it was: "disrespectful."

I hate to say it, but I suspect that most of you know why this is happening.

I will leave that alone for now, but you all know what I am thinking.