6 Cops Murder Unarmed Homeless Man

[Rahulio1989300E]

Pretty sickening story, lost my trust with officers a while ago, and am now loosing faith in them. As state budgets are cut down, the requirements for becoming a police officer fall as well. (to lower the pay, benefits package) I have a feeling stories like this one are only going to increase in quantity in the future (more so than proportionate population increase).

People keep saying that the majority of officers are great peace keeping people, but how is it possible that SIX officers together all are bad? What good is it to believe that the majority of police officers are good people, when they will not speak up against or stop the actions of a bad cop in their presence? It seems that when people decide to become police officers, they loose relationships with many of their once 'close' friends and some are even alienated by family members out of fear. Then, the new officer's main friend circle becomes their fellow officers... which leads to a gang mentality. The public suffers and the officers get away scotch free with some sickening crimes. Police officers are supposed to be classified as civilians and represent the finest qualities that our society has to offer.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/04/earlyshow/main20087973.shtml

What do you think should happen to these six police officers?
and...
Has your opinion of officers changed for the good or worse over time?

[panZZer]

A contrasting possibility is there will be less of them with nothing better to do. No police man has ever protected me from anything and Im not counting on one ever doing so, Just use the law to steal from me.

[HuskyMan]

A few weeks ago, a southern California native told me several stories similar to this one. A friend of his was hunted down and killed by the cops. Southern California is now on my "No place I care to visit" list.

[Daman858]

These types of cases are becoming more prevalent. I don't know what the problem is, I wish I did. In these days of cell phone cameras and instant communication, you think these guys would know better and as human beings one would think that once the suspect is subdued, its over.

I'm embarrassed and humiliated by this stuff.

[aklim]

In treatment, Thomas did well and was able to hold down a job -- but when he stopped taking his pills, he disappeared onto the streets. He racked up an array of charges, from public urination to assault with a deadly weapon, and alarmed his parents with his bizarre behavior.

Life on the streets led to criminal charges.


He pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm in 1995 and since 2004 has had a string of arrests for a host of lesser crimes including public urination, trespassing, battery, unlawful camping, petty theft and vandalism. He racked up traffic violations for jaywalking and failing to obey traffic signals.
His mother sought a restraining order against him in December 2010 after he refused to leave her front porch, took off his clothes and urinated by the front door, according to court papers. In the same court papers, his mother alleged that Thomas grabbed her by the throat when they shared an apartment, although it was unclear when the incident occurred.

So what we have here is not an innocent homeless man as seems to be portrayed.

[TylerH860]

Originally Posted by Daman858

These types of cases are becoming more prevalent. I don't know what the problem is, I wish I did. In these days of cell phone cameras and instant communication, you think these guys would know better and as human beings one would think that once the suspect is subdued, its over.

I'm embarrassed and humiliated by this stuff.

More like more of it is getting caught on tape. I imagine it was alot worse in decades past.

[Hatterasguy]

We had an officer in my city who was racing on the post road and hit a car with a couple of 17 year old's in it at 90mph or well probably more. Killed the kids, he was ok.

He is off the force and going to trial, hope he gets some serious jail time, life would be about right.

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/12/21/news/doc4d10caae60d63331004806.txt

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Dash-Cam_Video_Released_in_Fatal_Crash_Hartford.html

[davidmash]

Originally Posted by aklim

So what we have here is not an innocent homeless man as seems to be portrayed.

Those actions were prior to the night in question. There is no indication that he was commenting a crime at the time of the incident. Short of him having a automatic weapon or a string of bodies that he just killed, I have a had time understanding how 6 officers are not able to safely detain a single individual. Taser gun, mace, pepper spray, dog? How does beating a man to death ever get justified?

Sounds like a complete failure to me on multiple levels.

[aklim]

Originally Posted by davidmash

Those actions were prior to the night in question. There is no indication that he was commenting a crime at the time of the incident. Short of him having a automatic weapon or a string of bodies that he just killed, I have a had time understanding how 6 officers are not able to safely detain a single individual. Taser gun, mace, pepper spray, dog? How does beating a man to death ever get justified?

Sounds like a complete failure to me on multiple levels.

I watched the video. Unfortunately, it doesn't have much information that shows the entire episode. This means we can't see what happened from beginning to end. I don't know if he offered violent reactions when confronted or what happened. However, given his schizo status and the fact that he has had violent episodes in the past, who can say that he didn't offer violent resistance initially?

As to having 6 officers vs 1 nutball, we have to realize these nutballs can be very strong.

[tjts1]

Originally Posted by aklim

I watched the video. Unfortunately, it doesn't have much information that shows the entire episode. This means we can't see what happened from beginning to end. I don't know if he offered violent reactions when confronted or what happened. However, given his schizo status and the fact that he has had violent episodes in the past, who can say that he didn't offer violent resistance initially?

As to having 6 officers vs 1 nutball, we have to realize these nutballs can be very strong.

Typical blame the victim mentality. The guys with the guns and the mace and the batons can do no wrong unless we see it with our won two eyes. Never mind the unarmed dead body.

[aklim]

Originally Posted by tjts1

Typical blame the victim mentality. The guys with the guns and the mace and the batons can do no wrong unless we see it with our won two eyes. Never mind the unarmed dead body.

As opposed to your mentality which is what? Blame the cops? Never mind that the dead guy was a nutball with a violent past and might have done something to provoke this situation.

[TheDon]

My cousin was gunned down by two cops in Cali. She had a small pocket knife and was under the influence of a date rape drug she was given. They unloaded two clips on her. I thought Cali was the front runner in less than lethal tactics.

[HuskyMan]

Remember the Rodney King incident? He supposedly "resisted arrest"; their response was to beat him senseless.

And let's not forget the fall out when the cops were acquitted of the charges. The backlash created one of the most destructive riots ever.






"Somebody has to stand up to the cops"

- quote from a motorcycle gang member in California

[davidmash]

Originally Posted by aklim

I watched the video. Unfortunately, it doesn't have much information that shows the entire episode. This means we can't see what happened from beginning to end. I don't know if he offered violent reactions when confronted or what happened. However, given his schizo status and the fact that he has had violent episodes in the past, who can say that he didn't offer violent resistance initially?

As to having 6 officers vs 1 nutball, we have to realize these nutballs can be very strong.

Cops are supposed to be trained. If they are not then it is the fault of the city/state. If six officers are unable to subdue a single individual then I have concerns about their ability to be a cop. There is no indication that he had gun much less any other lethal weapon. There is no indication that the cops used non-lethal force. I have heard of very few instances where a person can walk through mace and a taser.

People tend to have a heard mentality. That has been shown over and over. I would not be surprised if one bad cop started the beating and the other joined in out of fear of not fitting in and some macho sensibility.

So far I have not seen nor heard anything to suggest that all six cops should not be terminated and have criminal charges brought against them. They were not battling the Hulk with cops being thrown around like rag dolls. Given the fact that he was beat to death, there obviously was a point where he stopped any aggressive behavior, assuming there was any in the first place. I think the beating should have at least stopped then.

[aklim]

Originally Posted by TheDon

My cousin was gunned down by two cops in Cali. She had a small pocket knife and was under the influence of a date rape drug she was given. They unloaded two clips on her. I thought Cali was the front runner in less than lethal tactics.

But you only know she is under the influence of GHB with the autopsy. IOW this is AFTER THE FACT. When someone comes at you, it doesn't say on their forehead "Under the influence of XXX". All I can see at the time is somebody who is high brandishing a knife. That "small pocket knife" can take out your eye or your spinal column so don't look down on it. If your cousin had come towards me with anything resembling a knife, I'd empty a mag in her too and figure out what went wrong later.

Ask yourself this. If I came at you with a knife, what will you do? Call a time out, have me pee in a cup, test it and decide what to do or will you preserve yourself?