[quote=spdrun]CA Renter —
(a) he wasn’t doing anything illegal. Walking on the street, looking at houses is not cause for arrest, even while “brown.”
(b) he was giving them information (phone # and “no English”) as best he could. Had they acted on that information (calling his son), violence could have been averted. Instead, they chose to resort to violence instead of investigating first.
(c) the force used was clearly excessive.
Hope they go to prison for 10 years, watch their kids grow up through a reinforced glass window, and get out with a few nasty VDs. It would serve as an example to other cops of what NOT to do. Screw those cops, hope they rot in hell.[/quote]
Right, looking at houses from the sidewalk is not illegal, but going onto people’s property and looking into their garages is questionable, if not illegal. That’s what the cops were called about. The notion that they treated him in any particular way because he was “brown” is exactly part of the problem. That is YOUR hangup, not theirs. I saw nothing at all in this video that would indicate any kind of racism or unjust treatment because of a person’s nationality or the color of their skin. They wouldn’t have treated a white many any differently.
Yes, the language barrier (and probably a cultural barrier as the man was not accustomed to dealing with U.S. law enforcement) was a problem, but it looked like a sergeant or some kind of superior officers was arriving on scene at the end (in the white car), so it’s likely that that they had called in for assistance. On the audio, you can hear one of the officers saying that the man was Indian and didn’t speak English, my guess is that he was describing this to a dispatcher so they could get help from a translator.
While I agree that the throw-down was probably rougher than necessary, they did warn the man not to resist, pull away, or walk away. He might have been lighter than they had expected, or he might have made a move at the end that amplified (not sure about the right word) the trajectory/movement of the cop and victim. Ultimately, it was bad luck that caused the man to land in the wrong way and become injured. It happens on playgrounds, football fields, gyms, etc. on a regular basis, but nobody is calling for 10-year sentences for kids/adults who accidentally injure someone in these places.
I saw absolutely no evidence of malicious intent or a desire on the part of the cops to injure the man because “he was brown.” If you can find something to the contrary, please point it out. Under no circumstances would the evidence in this video warrant a 10-year sentence, IMO.
I agree with Russ/Blogstar. People are acting hysterically and they are putting cops in a position where they will no longer be able to do their jobs. If I have to choose between living in a safe society where a few criminals get hurt when they resist arrest or assault cops, or in an society where criminals run the streets (but don’t get hurt), then it’s obvious I would choose the former, as would most people.
