Providence PD in altercation with dirt bike riders on city streets.

[SteveM]

<rolleyes> No one is saying the police can't do what is necessary. Some of us are saying that they may not do what is UNnecessary. This subtopic began with SteveM's comment "I hope the perp at least bumped his head on the door frame of the cruiser while being placed into custody." -- IOW he was supporting the idea of cops brutalizing people who have already been arrested and subdued. That is NOT a way "how officers can be effective at taking a resisting suspect down"; that's just abuse of power. I hope you're not advocating abuse of power.

PhilB

If getting a little egg on your noggin for being a dumbass is "brutalizing" then the line of plaintiffs would be miles and miles long.

No one wants to see the guy dragged on the ground and beaten, but I still am OK with a little bump in return for swinging bikes stands at the officers. To take it to the extreme, if they felt that the combination of the suspect swinging the bike stand and the crowd acting hostilely toward them put their lives in danger, they might have had just cause to draw their weapons.

[PhilB]

... This is getting to be a speech, but what really upsets me is that younger generations don't respect or look up to the police as protectors anymore. They are afraid of cops, and even a few instances of police brutality get sensationalized in the news/online and just continue to fuel a growing dislike among youth towards not only the police, but America herself.

This has a lot to do with technology -- with cameras being everywhere. This has, I'm sure, always happened, but now people have the ability to document when it happens, and see and show when the authorities cross the lines and abuse people. They can't get away with that anymore, and they'll have to adjust their attitudes. And when they do, the people will as well.

But right now, we get to see, more than we used to, how the police treat a lot of us quite poorly, and I don't have a lot of sympathy for those who are upset about not being respected and looked up to as much when the light is shined on what they are doing. Or at least letting their fellow officers get away with doing. I think most cops are good, in themselves, but when the bad ones are allowed to operate year after year, and not face consequences for that -- when the ethics boards and investigations, and prosecutors and all of that continually fail to bring justice on such actions, then yeah, the whole system loses the respect and trust of the rest of us. And deservedly so.

PhilB

[PhilB]

If getting a little egg on your noggin for being a dumbass is "brutalizing" then the line of plaintiffs would be miles and miles long.

No one wants to see the guy dragged on the ground and beaten, but I still am OK with a little bump in return for swinging bikes stands at the officers. To take it to the extreme, if they felt that the combination of the suspect swinging the bike stand and the crowd acting hostilely toward them put their lives in danger, they might have had just cause to draw their weapons.

Then you are indeed advocating abuses of power. If the suspect is still swinging, and the crowd is threatening, that's an ENTIRELY different situation, than if the danger of the situation has been resolved and they have control of the suspect, and *then* they hurt him.

PhilB

[SteveM]

OK, I change my position from, "egg on the head" to "a few extra knees to the rib cage" while attempting to subdue the perp. To me it's indistinguishable in this instance, but I'm sure you'll figure out how Pompey's rights as a free citizen were egregiously violated by the fascist police state.

Full story below for those who haven't read...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Two rookie Providence police officers trying to stop men from riding dirt bikes on the sidewalks in the Silver Lake neighborhood said they were attacked by a crowd and hit with a metal bike stand.

Officers David Preston and Kyle Melfi radioed numerous times for help Wednesday night, as they battled with a crowd trying to stop them from arresting one of the bike riders, who was allegedly swinging at them with his bike stand.

They'd been called around 7:30 p.m. about dirt bikes racing at Whittier Avenue and Laban Street, and arrived in time to see a man riding an ATV on the sidewalk, according to a police report.

As they stopped that man and told him to put the ATV away, two men on dirt bikes rode by the police on the sidewalk.

One rider was 41-year-old William Pompey, who the police said became irate when asked for his ID and shoved past the officers to move his dirt bike into his house at 44 Whittier Ave. When Melfi tried to grab him, Pompey grabbed the bike stand and swung it into the officer's shoulder, according to a police report.

Preston ran to help Melfi, as a crowd gathered and started punching the officer, the report said.

Melfi used pepper spray on Pompey and the crowd, to little effect. Then, Pompey swung the bike stand into Preston, who used his pepper spray and tackled him to the ground.

The two officers finally managed to handcuff Pompey as more police arrived at the scene. A man in the crowd was arrested by another officer when he refused to leave and yelled obscenities at the police, according to a report.

Both officers went to Roger Williams Hospital for treatment. Police seized the bike stand and towed the dirt bikes and ATV.

Pompey's lengthy criminal record goes back two decades and includes multiple charges of assault, drug possession and license violations. He was out on bail on a domestic-assault charge.

Pompey was charged with two counts of felony assault with a dangerous weapon, as well as possession of cocaine.

The police said they seized a small amount of cocaine from Pompey, who they said dropped it as he cleaned out his pockets at the cell block.

[TheIglu]

I'd say a few knees to the rib cage would do just fine for the next speeding ticket someone gets. STOP RESISTING! IT'S BECAUSE OF THE CHILDREN!

[jasnmar]

Kicked for speeding (and passing on the double yellow). It's all good!

[TheIglu]

Shouldn't of dressed that way.

[PhilB]

OK, I change my position from, "egg on the head" to "a few extra knees to the rib cage" while attempting to subdue the perp. To me it's indistinguishable in this instance, but I'm sure you'll figure out how Pompey's rights as a free citizen were egregiously violated by the fascist police state. ...

<rolleyes> Damn. Read your own sentence. I highlighted the relevant part for you. If they're still trying to subdue the perp, and he's actively fighting them, then they may have a legitimate need to hit him. But only as much as they really need to, in order to subdue the perp and make the arrest. Once he stops fighting and they get him cuffed, they have to stop. There is NO excuse for beating on someone who has been subdued and is in custody. Your original post that I objected to was your hope that they "gave him an egg" while putting him in the car *after* he is subdued and in custody. Which IS unnecessary, which IS police brutality, which IS unacceptable abuse of power. If you can't tell the difference between subduing a fighting suspect, and beating an already subdued suspect, you're morally handicapped.

PhilB

[Imbeek]

What that cop did in the video aside...the rider broke a collarbone and fractured a rib from that? Hmmm eggshell plaintiff? ...and, technically speaking, a fuckboy.

[Kurlon]

I'd wager the collar bone was when the bike fell, doesn't take much if he put his arms out to try and catch himself.

[aldend123]

OK, I change my position from, "egg on the head" to "a few extra knees to the rib cage" while attempting to subdue the perp. To me it's indistinguishable in this instance, but I'm sure you'll figure out how Pompey's rights as a free citizen were egregiously violated by the fascist police state.

Did you decide egg on the head isn't an acceptable level of abuse? What is the level? Where is that written down? Who is the authority on deciding this level? After he's restrained, can we pull his hair, and maybe pinch him? Too soft? How bout a black eye instead? I'm sure if jail and court appearances didn't change his behavior, a knee to the rib will. Bet he's never had one of those before.

"The police said they seized a small amount of cocaine from Pompey, who they said dropped it as he cleaned out his pockets at the cell block."
After he was done assaulting the officer, would it be okay for the officer to give this guy some extra time by going down to the evidence locker, and borrowing a bag of coke to 'help' him drop on the floor, and then 'finding' it for him? Why not right? Judge always gives lenient sentences anyway, and this guy assaulted the officer, so let's be criminals too. That's justice, isn't it?

You don't deserve the freedom you have. I don't know when or why police brutality became acceptable in some circles, but it's an embarrassment.

[Garandman]

Kicked for speeding (and passing on the double yellow). It's all good!

How much did that guy win?

Update: $180,000.

Motorcycle Speeder Wins $180,000 In Case Against Cop Who Kicked His Ass

[jasnmar]

How much did that guy win?

Update: $180,000.

Motorcycle Speeder Wins $180,000 In Case Against Cop Who Kicked His Ass

Correct!

I did not think that car's video system was working properly, so I didn't think we had video of this incident,

Oregon Cop Fined $181,170 For Kicking Motorcyclist

[SteveM]

<rolleyes> Damn. Read your own sentence. I highlighted the relevant part for you. If they're still trying to subdue the perp, and he's actively fighting them, then they may have a legitimate need to hit him. But only as much as they really need to, in order to subdue the perp and make the arrest. Once he stops fighting and they get him cuffed, they have to stop. There is NO excuse for beating on someone who has been subdued and is in custody. Your original post that I objected to was your hope that they "gave him an egg" while putting him in the car *after* he is subdued and in custody. Which IS unnecessary, which IS police brutality, which IS unacceptable abuse of power. If you can't tell the difference between subduing a fighting suspect, and beating an already subdued suspect, you're morally handicapped.

PhilB

It's easier to explain it in the heat of subduing the suspect. It's the smarter, more practical approach.

[SteveM]

Did you decide egg on the head isn't an acceptable level of abuse? What is the level? Where is that written down? Who is the authority on deciding this level? After he's restrained, can we pull his hair, and maybe pinch him? Too soft? How bout a black eye instead? I'm sure if jail and court appearances didn't change his behavior, a knee to the rib will. Bet he's never had one of those before.

"The police said they seized a small amount of cocaine from Pompey, who they said dropped it as he cleaned out his pockets at the cell block."
After he was done assaulting the officer, would it be okay for the officer to give this guy some extra time by going down to the evidence locker, and borrowing a bag of coke to 'help' him drop on the floor, and then 'finding' it for him? Why not right? Judge always gives lenient sentences anyway, and this guy assaulted the officer, so let's be criminals too. That's justice, isn't it?


You don't deserve the freedom you have. I don't know when or why police brutality became acceptable in some circles, but it's an embarrassment.

So now they planted evidence?

p.s. thank you for passing judgment on the level of freedom of which I am worthy.

[aldend123]

So now they planted evidence?

I didn't say they did. I'm asking if that'd be okay with you too. Why not? Bump on the head, knee to the rib, couple extra years on the sentence? He's just a bad person anyway.

p.s. thank you for passing judgment on the level of freedom of which I am worthy.

Kind of like you deciding if someone's rights can be violated by abusing them, isn't it?

[csmutty]

You can't say that it wouldn't feel fucking amazing to beat the shit out of a person who is a waste of life.

[myzx6]

I can only imagine where this thread would have gone if it was 20 degrees and snowing out, I actually thought I had to put my plow on my truck halfway through the first page

[Chippertheripper]

Did you decide egg on the head isn't an acceptable level of abuse? What is the level? Where is that written down? Who is the authority on deciding this level? After he's restrained, can we pull his hair, and maybe pinch him? Too soft? How bout a black eye instead? I'm sure if jail and court appearances didn't change his behavior, a knee to the rib will. Bet he's never had one of those before.

"The police said they seized a small amount of cocaine from Pompey, who they said dropped it as he cleaned out his pockets at the cell block."
After he was done assaulting the officer, would it be okay for the officer to give this guy some extra time by going down to the evidence locker, and borrowing a bag of coke to 'help' him drop on the floor, and then 'finding' it for him? Why not right? Judge always gives lenient sentences anyway, and this guy assaulted the officer, so let's be criminals too. That's justice, isn't it?

You don't deserve the freedom you have. I don't know when or why police brutality became acceptable in some circles, but it's an embarrassment.

Can you post the link to your blog?

[aldend123]

You can't say that it wouldn't feel fucking amazing to beat the shit out of a person who is a waste of life.

If someone started hitting me, as a regular citizen, for no reason it'd probably feel great. But it's a little different when you're an officer. It's reasonable to assume you're going to see that more than once in your life, and you're being paid to demonstrate some self control. Use whatever escalation of force is required to bring them before a judge. Assaulting an officer comes with a stiffer punishment, as it should. If the judge isn't issuing strong enough sentences, go talk to the judge or politicians, not the idiot on the street.

Can you post the link to your blog?

Bill of Rights Transcript Text

Moto Vlogs are actually the new echo-chamber for people to broadcast their opinions though. Get with the times.

[Chippertheripper]

You don't get me like I get me.

[PhilB]

It's easier to explain it in the heat of subduing the suspect. It's the smarter, more practical approach.

Ah, IOW, you are morally handicapped. Or is that now called "ethically challenged"? It's hard to keep up with the terminology.

PhilB

[jasnmar]

Always better to punish before they are officially detained. Fortunately I think he missed with the 2nd shot.



I also very much approve of "put it in park".

[NPDCPA]

I applaud the cop's composure. Not once did he admit guilt or error...or apologize. Way to go! Accidents happen, but...WTF!!?!? Seems to be more training on avoiding liability than trigger control.

[Falko]

Good to know they don't practice keeping your finger off the trigger any more. Barney, here's your bullet.