Cop Kicks Kid HARD for NOT resisting Arrest!

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

The kick looks unneccesary, but one video from a helicopter certainly doesn't tell the whole story. Was the suspect saying something leading up to that? Why was the guy running in the first place? How long was the chase? stuff like that.

It's pointless to pass judgement until the whole story is known here. The cop could have a legitimate reason. The cop may still have thought the suspect was dangerous, for example.

It doesn't really matter what he said or why he was running or how long the chase was. The cops job is simply to apprehend him, not dole out punishment. That's the courts job.

I agree that if he posed a threat then more force is warranted during the apprehension, but I find it really hard to imagine that the guy would be much of a threat lying on his stomach with his hands above his head. If there's something that says otherwise, I'd like to hear it.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Locke

Uhh...I think the kid resisted arrest for 50 of the 65 seconds of that video. He was clearly running from the cops. Just because he lies down afterwards doesnt absolve him of his initial resistance.

I'd have probably done worse.

I tend to agree.
If you're gonna run like that and endanger that many people, don't expect that just because you lied down that the cops will gently pick you up and help you into the back of the cruiser.

[GreenLantern]

I don't like the second cop who comes in and throws his knee into the kids back, then starts working over his arm..

Cops are supposed to be the level headed ones in situations like this, and handle it in a professional manor. I don't care if that guy just called yo mamma fat, you aren't supposed to use any un necessary force. That kick, was not necessary. This is YOUR JOB, do it right!

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

I tend to agree.
If you're gonna run like that and endanger that many people, don't expect that just because you lied down that the cops will gently pick you up and help you into the back of the cruiser.

There's a big difference between "gently picking someone up and helping them into a cruiser", and booting someone in the head who has clearly laid down in a non threatening position.

A cop's job is to apprehend the suspect with as much force as is nesseccary. It's the courts job to dole out punishment, the cop can't use excessive force to dole out their own punishment because they were forced to run.

I guess the conclusion here is, Did the kid probably deserve a boot to the head? Probably. Was it nesseccary, and therefor legal to do what that cop did. Absolutley not.

[jar_e]

I find it interesting the cop had his gun out during the pursuit. That would make me believe that there was some sort of weapon involved with the call and that it was possible the kid may still have it. In that case, it doesn't justify a kick to a head, but it would justify being physical with this guy and restraining him after he had lied down.

[Gozer]

'Till the kid gets up with the knife he's hiding, shanks a cop, and continues running through the neighborhood armed.

[metallicat]

Meh. Who cares. Stupid bad guys running from cops deserve it.

[jydk]

I don't think it should matter what the whole story was behind this. Police are to act as intermediaries to bring suspected law breakers to the justice system for them to decide guilt and punishment. This ###### bag cop does NOT have the right to do what he did and should be punished for his actions. All this shows is some fat, out of shape police officer on a power trip, kicking a defenseless person in the head with visibly no chance of retaliation. The kid will get what’s coming to him from a judge, and then from the showers where ever they send him.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

Meh. Who cares. Stupid bad guys running from cops deserve it.

Maybe in a third world country, that's a terrible attitude.

[metallicat]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Maybe in a third world country, that's a terrible attitude.

I'm just saying what a lot of people want to say, but won't because it "isn't proper". I hate it when police get blamed for things, when nothing would have happened if the first place if this piece of shinguard hadn't ran from them. Or better yet, it wouldn't have happened if he didn't steal a car/break into a house/murder someone/whatever he did in the first place. It's always so easy to blame the police when you weren't there, don't know the circumstances, and all you have is a camera that captured a fraction of the entire event.

[Dion]

El Monte Councilwoman Patricia Wallach, who has been a critic of the police department in the past, said she is hoping for "some kind of explanation for the officer’s action.”

“We are waiting for reports before we make specific comments on what occurred,” said Wallach.

David A. Klinger, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri and a former Los Angeles Police Department officer, said the nature of video, as a “two-dimensional representation,” leaves out a lot of context that could explain the officer's decision-making.

Still, the officer’s tactical approach also raised questions in the incident, he said.

“You have an individual who is compliant,” Klinger said. “I don’t understand why an officer would want to get so close to a suspect. There’s no need [in that situation].”

Samuel Walker, a criminology professor at the University of Nebraska and an expert in police oversight and force, said the officer's kick to the head was “unprovoked and unnecessary," calling the actions "one of the worst incidents of this kind that I've seen."

Geoffrey P. Alpert, professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina, said that, while video may miss some things, it appears to show “that the officer lost control.”

“It appears that the suspect was motionless, under control and nonthreatening,” Alpert said. “If that’s the case, what the officer did was totally outrageous. From what we see, he overreacted.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...uestioned.html

[Tower]

It's a clear case of abuse of power. Police must obey all laws and are not free to do as they like just as you and I are not.

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by jydk

All this shows is some fat, out of shape police officer on a power trip, kicking a defenseless person in the head with visibly no chance of retaliation.

Yup, those lazy s out protecting the people who live in those houses and keeping criminals off the street. Probably just picked the guy at random and started chasing him with his buddies a chopper, dogs, and guns drawn.

Won't somebody think of the violent offenders!

[FlamesKickAss]

Was there a reason for the third cop to try and feed the guys leg to the dog?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

Meh. Who cares. Stupid bad guys running from cops deserve it.

Why not wait until all the facts are out before passing judgement

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by Dion

Why not wait until all the facts are out before passing judgement

As long as we hold that standard when considering the fat lazy power-tripping cop.

[fredr123]

Who knows. Seems unnecessary from the video but...

If the kid was saying "Eff your mamma you fat pig! Tell your sister she left her purse at my house last night you stupid porker!"

And the cop was all like "Get on the ground! Spread your arms! Turn your head! Shut up!"

And the kid kept beaking off like "You got nothing on me! I'll be out by tonight and then I'll come by your house and give your ol' lady another go."

Then I can see the kick as being completely warranted.

[metallicat]

Originally Posted by Dion

Why not wait until all the facts are out before passing judgement

Originally Posted by Gozer

As long as we hold that standard when considering the fat lazy power-tripping cop.

Well, he is right. But I'm not going to just let another CP anti-police thread go by without throwing in my two cents worth of pro-police comments.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Gozer

Yup, those lazy s out protecting the people who live in those houses and keeping criminals off the street. Probably just picked the guy at random and started chasing him with his buddies a chopper, dogs, and guns drawn.

Won't somebody think of the violent offenders!

Can I go ahead and ask you to stop this hyperbole right here?

The suspect is obviously rightfully charged with some crime. But what is in question is whether or not the police officer is justified in kicking the suspect in the head after the suspect has given up his flee from the law.

To me, this is a case where the cop is not able to justify kicking him in the head. The guy is on the ground, the cop has his gun drawn. If the suspect attempts anything else at this point he's going to be shot. So what purpose does the kick in the head give? It's just sweet revenge for making the cops run/chase him.

Inappropriate.

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

I'm just saying what a lot of people want to say, but won't because it "isn't proper". I hate it when police get blamed for things, when nothing would have happened if the first place if this piece of shinguard hadn't ran from them. Or better yet, it wouldn't have happened if he didn't steal a car/break into a house/murder someone/whatever he did in the first place. It's always so easy to blame the police when you weren't there, don't know the circumstances, and all you have is a camera that captured a fraction of the entire event.

If you're going to play that card, it has to go both ways. If you can't blame the police because you don't know the circumstances, then you can't blame the suspect either.