The Good But Generally Bad Police Thread

Don_Barracuda · February 9, 2016, 12:33pm

^ugh

Another one, cop suing victim’s family for $10M for emotional stress after killing the son and neighbour

Wil · February 12, 2016, 5:39am

Jury finds NYPD officer who fatally shot unarmed man, Akai Gurley, in stairwell guilty of manslaughter: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/02/11/nyc-officer-convicted-manslaughter-stairwell-shooting/u4zL6dJOf7i2kjyM0yn0wJ/story.html

A rookie police officer who shot an unarmed man dead in a darkened public housing stairwell was convicted Thursday of manslaughter in a case closely watched by advocates for police accountability.

The courtroom audience gasped and Officer Peter Liang, who had broken into tears as he testified about the 2014 shooting of Akai Gurley, buried his head in his hands as the verdict came after 17 hours of jury deliberations.

The manslaughter charge carries up to 15 years in prison. Liang’s sentencing is set for April 14.

The shooting happened in a year of debate nationwide about police killings of black men, and activists have looked to Liang’s trial as a counterweight to cases in which grand juries have declined to indict officers, including the cases of Michael Brown in Missouri and Eric Garner in New York. Like Gurley, Brown and Garner were black and unarmed.

Meanwhile, supporters of Liang, who is Chinese-American, have said he has been made a scapegoat for past injustices.

Liang was patrolling in the public housing in Brooklyn with his gun drawn when he fired; he said a sound startled him. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and hit the 28-year-old Gurley on a lower floor.

Prosecutors said Liang handled his gun recklessly, must have realized from the noise that someone was nearby and did almost nothing to help Gurley.

‘‘Instead of shining a light, he pointed his gun and shot Akai Gurley,’’ Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Joe Alexis said in his closing argument.

But the defense said the shooting was an accident, not a crime.

The 28-year-old Liang said he had been holding his weapon safely, with his finger on the side and not the trigger, when the sudden sound jarred him and his body tensed.

‘‘I just turned, and the gun went off,’’ he testified.

He said he initially looked with his flashlight, saw no one and didn’t immediately report the shot, instead quarreling with his partner about who would call their sergeant. Liang thought he might get fired.

But then, he said, he went to look for the bullet, heard cries and found the wounded Gurley, with his weeping girlfriend trying to tend to him.

Liang then radioed for an ambulance, but he acknowledged not helping Gurley’s girlfriend try to revive him. Liang explained he thought it was wiser to wait for professional medical aid.

‘‘I was panicking. I was shocked and in disbelief that someone was hit,’’ said Liang, who said he was so overcome that he needed oxygen as he was taken to a hospital for ringing in his ears.

While Liang’s trial unfolded, two other New York police officers, Patrick Espeut and Diara Cruz, were shot and wounded during a similar stairwell patrol in a different public housing complex. The gunman later killed himself. The judge barred any mention of those shootings in Liang’s trial.

odin · February 13, 2016, 12:11am

Azn cops are the perfect scapegoat…

KORYNTHYAN · February 13, 2016, 7:21am

If you have an IQ below the number of 50—you can be a police officer in the United States!

If you have an IQ higher than the number of 50…the police state looks at you as though you are some sort of internal spy.

~K.

Wasted · February 13, 2016, 7:29am

Duh, an accidental shooting is still a crime. SMDH at the DA.

pedoviejo · February 13, 2016, 9:23am

so the accidental richochet leads to prosecution, but actual disregard doesnt?

I’m so fucking conflicted

Wil · February 13, 2016, 12:36pm

Two Harford County sheriff’s deputies shot to death in Abingdon - http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/abingdon/bs-md-harford-sheriff-shooting-20160210-story.html

The officers didn’t know the nature of the call nor did they know that person posed a threat or not. Apparently the one deputy took the call and approached the suspect and asked him how his day was going. The suspect responded by pulling out a gun, placed the gun on the deputy’s temple, and pulled the trigger.

Don_Barracuda · February 20, 2016, 3:07pm

Rashid knocks out Cop with a jumping fierce kick

I know not everyone likes violence but those guys needed to bum rush him not run away.

Spirit_Juice · February 21, 2016, 1:57am

I actually feel bad for the guy since it sounds like it was a legit accident that he was deeply sorry about. Like it’s just really shitty luck the bullet ricocheted and fatally struck someone. The conviction and sentencing definitely seems harsh considering there are much worse cases in which officers get off scot-free.

Wil · February 21, 2016, 2:42am

The failure to render aid and his priority being to find the bullet that he “accidentally fired” from his gun was enough for the court to determine that he made a very bad decision and should he held accountable for it.

Xvideos · February 22, 2016, 10:27am

About 10,000 supporters of a former police officer convicted of fatally shooting an unarmed man in a darkened stairwell rallied in New York in one of several demonstrations held across the country Saturday to protest his conviction.

Many of Liang’s supporters say he is being scapegoated to appease the anger over other police shootings in New York and across the country and that he has been treated unfairly because he is Asian-American.

“No scapegoat! No scapegoat!” protesters in New York shouted as the crowd descended on Cadman Plaza, just outside the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. They carried signs declaring Liang’s prosecution “selective justice.”

Soraya Soi Free participated in the counter-protest. She argued that Liang was clearly not a scapegoat because he was tried by a jury of his peers, and she did not approve of the protest supporting him.
View gallery

“This protest is definitely an insult to Akai Gurley’s family,” she said.

http://news.yahoo.com/thousands-rally-nyc-around-us-over-officers-conviction-210615652.html?nf=1

The killers of Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Darrien Hunt did get away scott free, but then again, this Asian guy fucked up pretty bad. He went to a place he shouldn’t have gone, he drew his gun for no reason, and he didn’t even know what he was shooting at, and then after he shot the guy he called his union rep.

Raz0r · February 22, 2016, 10:35am

That Asian cop who was convicted as really angered a LOT of Chinese communities here in NY. They ain’t even about the police anymore. I understand their frustration, too. All these white guys face nothing but the one Asian cop who had a shot accidentally kill someone gets tossed in jail.

crucades · February 22, 2016, 10:38am

Cant moan about it though, the guy murked somebody albeit accidently, that shit is manslaughter. Cant slap that on the wrist cause Buddy Smith and the gang around choking dudes out for good for dropping cigarettes.

Doesnt help though when the police over there can actually do there job and bring a guy who goes on a shooting rampage in alive to face justice. Just cant do things consistently enough to mask the fact they obviously hate minorities.

Femto_1 · February 22, 2016, 1:03pm

There’s supposed to be some big rallies across the nation on this. A lot of it is the charges that were brought on to him were bs.

The big 2 being that gun use and how it’s handled is left up to the officers discretion with no definite protocol. The other being that he didn’t perform CPR on the victim, as they weren’t trained to perform CPR at the academy.

Got a flyer on it. I’ll look for it and post about it.

dab00g · February 22, 2016, 10:02pm

That white cop who attacked and killed gardner got off scott free

I think this is good. Now re-trial for those white cops.

odin · February 22, 2016, 10:07pm

If only.
But they will let the Asian dude suck dirt while his white union friends are sitting pretty.

white_shadow · February 23, 2016, 3:35am

Sure the Asian cop was scapegoated, but that doesn’t excuse for Asian protestors (e.g., Don Lee) labeling the completely unjustified and imbecilic murder of a black civilian as a mere “tragedy”. Softening the blow with calculated, disarming language only serves to cause rifts with other minorities that would otherwise empathize with their cause.

Conversely, although Asians (more specifically, the East coast Chinese and Korean Americans) often segment themselves from other ethnic groups ( westernized 2nd/3rd gen millenial satellites notwithstanding) blacks and latinos haven’t made any real strides in lending significant support to them either.

Granted, there is less systematic oppression on their end, but if every group joined the fight against institutionalized racism it would permanently obliterate the thin façade of equality modern America has dangled in our faces.

I remember as a teen reading about how the Jewish community joined the Civil Rights movement in the '60s and was moved by the unity seen in the photos. Now everything has become fractured into walled-off rights groups that only serve as robotic mouthpieces of hollow outrage, with constipated-visaged reps doling the royal “We” for largely benign reasons.

Femto_1 · February 23, 2016, 3:42am

Still looking for the PDF file on the rally. I think I lost it though…

Don_Barracuda · February 25, 2016, 1:26am

Court battle reveals video of British Police restraining an individual who later died
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2016/feb/24/cctv-shows-thomas-orchard-being-restrained-by-police-video

Looks like they may have used the black bag to gag him till he passed out so they could put him in the cell.

Bomberman3000 · February 26, 2016, 9:15pm

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/black-woman-dies-of-thirst-after-she-was-dragged-out-of-sc-hospital-to-jail-over-unpaid-court-fines/

Self-explanatory link…

A South Carolina woman died 27 hours after she was hauled out of a hospital and taken to jail over unpaid court fines — and her family said she was denied water and medical care.

Joyce Curnell was found dead in her cell July 22, one day after she was arrested at Roper Hospital, where she had been treated for a stomach illness, and taken to the Charleston County Jail, reported The Post and Courier.

The 50-year-old Curnell became too ill to eat or call for help, according to court documents filed this week as part of a planned lawsuit.

Curnell had been taken by ambulance to Roper Hospital from her Edisto Island home after complaining of nausea and vomiting, and she was diagnosed with gastroenteritis in the emergency room.

A bench warrant was discovered at some point during her hospital stay, and someone alerted law enforcement officers.

Curnell had been placed on a payment plan in April 2012 to pay $1,148.90 in fines related to a shoplifting case, but she apparently quit paying the following January and a warrant was issued in August 2014.

The newspaper reported Thursday afternoon that Curnell’s son, who is planning the lawsuit, notified law enforcement of the open warrant.

However, the newspaper did not report whether Javon Curnell was asked about his mother’s criminal background — or why.

A local doctor told Curnell’s family that her death could likely have been prevented if she had been properly treated for dehydration and the irritation of her stomach and intestines.

“Simply put: Ms. Curnell died because she was deprived of water,” said Dr. Maria Gibson, of Medical University Hospital.

Her family filed a notice to sue the jail’s medical contractor, Carolina Center for Occupational Health, for malpractice — claiming medical staffers ignored requests by jail officials to help Curnell.

Court documents show Curnell was placed in a housing unit, instead of being taken to the jail’s medical facility, and she was given a trash bag to vomit into because she was too weak to visit the restroom.

No records show Curnell was given water or intravenous fluids the following morning, when she was too ill to eat breakfast.

State law requires medical care for inmates who need it, and the Bill of Rights demands humane treatment of incarcerated prisoners.

“It is very unfortunate to hear of another death of an African-American while in police custody,” said Shaundra Scott, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina. “If Ms. Curnell was denied medical treatment, then it is our position that her constitutional rights were violated.”