Did he go too far?

One annoying thing about staying at my aunt’s crib is having to deal with my uncle commanding the remote control. He’s got me watching all kinds of bullshit. In additio to the crap he makes me watch on television, then there’s the garbage he subjects me to on WebTV. Yes. There is a WebTV in this house. Mainly, it’s because my aunt won’t let him touch her laptop so he’s banned from accessing the internet like any rational human in 2009.

Anyway, the latest YouTube vid I’ve been subjected to is one of a 15 year old girl being “abused” by the police. It’s an old video (been discussed in the national media and even Al Sharpton’s posse got in on it) but I’ve got to put it to you all. Please watch this and tell me if you think that the officer in the clip abused and battered the girl. My uncle is of the opinion that it was a gross miscarriage of justice (although he would never use words that big) and I wasn’t that offended by the whole thing. Peep game:

Okay. See, being arrested is a scary thing so someone is bound to be irrational. Still, I think the cop gave numerous warnings in a calm manner while trying to handcuff this girl. Apparently she was getting hemmed up by 5-O for a curfew violation, but no matter what, it’s policy of many police departments to handcuff anyone they’re going to put into the car. Safety of the officer, ya know. So let’s assume Officer Gilroy had to cuff her. How many times do I have to tell you to put your hands behind your back before you understand that I need you to put your hands behind your back?! He even said he didn’t want to force her. Clearly Shelwanda is small/skinny and could break a bone or whatever, but that’s all the more reason for her to have chilled out. To me, the situation became worse because of all of her flailing around. The resisting itself makes it more likely that she’ll get hurt. So you’d think if a person were trying to bend  your arm behind your back and it was hurting, you’d quit all the resisting and just let it go. No. Oh… and she bit him. 

My uncle kept reiterating that she was small and of no harm to the officer. Okay, true. still, I think she did as much contributing to whatever injury she sustained as the officer did. Tell me, how else was he supposed to get her cuffed and in the car? The vid’s editor makes a point of slowing down certain parts but I think the slo-mo exaggerates it instead of allowing us to see more clearly.

I concede that the push into the hood of the car and the pepper spray may be a bit extra. Buuuuuut sistergirl needed to calm the fuck down and maybe if he didn’t subdue her that way, she would have continued to resist and ended up getting more hurt in the end.

Or I’m just wrong and I support police abuse.
Discuss.

AYDMF: The stupidity continues

Remember this dumb guy who got himself impaled on an iron fence while trying to run from the Philadelphia Police? His momma was all on the news talking about police brutality, claiming it was the officers’ fault that her son got stuck on the fence. She also claimed that her son was a good kid and that he hadn’t done anything wrong. He was just scared. Yeahhhhh. Listen mom, there still might be time to retract those statements.

This fool, Tony Burrell, is currently being held on a 5 MILLION Dollar bond for attempting to shoot two police officers. This unlucky bastard, while running from the cops, fired at one and tried to fire at another when his .45 caliber glock jammed. Ha!

What’s pretty hilarious is that the officers are being praised for their restraint and for not shooting back. Sure, they didn’t pop a cap in his ass, but I’m pretty sure they beat him something terrible. Cops don’t really like being shot at and we all know the street rule right: If you pull a gun on somebody you better kill them. I’d bet my good dancing foot that the entire Philly PD turned a blind eye to the whooping that boy got.

What was that boy’s momma talking about anyway? Good kid? Police said Burrell has 17 prior arrests dating back to when he was 13-years-old! I don’t think he’s coming home anytime soon, though. Back when he was stuck on that fence, he got out on $500 bail.  Mommy dearest can’t even put up her house to meet the new $5 million bail. News reports say Burrell may face a mandatory 20-year sentence under a new law targeting suspects who fire on police. Like five cops have been killed this year in Philly. For sure homeboy is a goner.

What kind of idiot tries to shoot at the cops and has his gun jam? The same kind of idiot who crashes his ATV into a police car, runs and lands on an iron spike.

AYDMF!

Source: Fox News Philadelphia

Dumb Cop Tales – NY’s Finest

I swear, NYC must have a monopoly on stupid police officers.
Apparently, walking down a street with a long coat on can get you mistaken for a prostitute and arrested!

That’s basically what happened to Monica Gonzalez, a 40-year old grandmother. Gonzalez was arrested for prostitution after police spotted her walking in an area known for prostitution. That area, one block on Third Avenue, was also on the way from Gonzalez’ crib to a local hospital. She was on her way there because of complications with her asthma medicine. Officer Sean Spencer thought otherwise.

Gonzalez, wearing a long winter coat, was suddenly confronted by Spencer and another cop who jumped out of a marked SUV.

“He [Spencer] said, ‘I saw you going up to the car,'” Gonzalez recalled. “His partner said, ‘Let her go, I’ve never seen her here before,’ but he [Spencer] wouldn’t listen,” she said.

“I told him, ‘I’m somebody’s mother. I’m somebody’s daughter.’ I was hysterical crying.”

Spencer also busted a second woman on Third Ave. for prostitution and drove both suspects to the 72nd Precinct station house, where another cop called an ambulance for the asthmatic Gonzalez.

Spencer – who claimed Gonzalez was carrying a condom and had been arrested before as a hooker – swore out a complaint charging her with loitering for prostitution, according to court papers.

The officer claims the two women were approaching vehicles together, according to a police source.

“I have never, ever been arrested in my life,” Gonzalez told The News. “I did not have a condom.”

She hired a criminal defense attorney, Leon Schrager, and the Brooklyn district attorney’s office dismissed the case on May 29.

When harassing Black folk goes wrong

Once again, the New York Police Department has gotten itself involved in some racial bullshit of the typical kind: messing over innocent Black folk. What the NYPD didn’t account for, however, was that on May 2, the negro they were messing with was the highest ranking (uniformed) Black officer in the city. AKA… the HNIC.

The details of the story have not yet been flushed out but the gist of things is that Cheif Douglas Ziegler was sitting in his department issued SUV when two white officers approached the car and confronted him. The remainder of the story comes from Newsday.com.

New York doesn’t care about Black People

No, I do not mean New York of Flavor of Love fame. I mean New York City, and more specifically, the New York Police Department. 

While it’s not very shocking or surprising (we tend to have severely low expectations of the NYPD), it is disgusting and saddening to hear stories like that of Ramona Moore. What’s also unsurprising is the lack of media coverage surrounding this issue. Had it not been for my regular blog-trolling, I certainly wouldn’t have gotten this information from my local (big city) news or even CNN. Check out the story below of this young Black woman who went missing and the NYPD ignored her mother’s plea for help. Ramona Moore was tortured and killed in a Brooklyn basement, spurring her mother into action. Elle Carmichael, her mother, is bringing a federal civil rights claim against the NYPD, alleging that the Department has a “practice of not making a prompt investigation of missing-persons claims of African-Americans, while making a prompt investigation for white individuals.” The story comes by way of the Village Voice:

On: The Sean Bell Verdict

I’m not going to say much on this subject because it is playing out in the media and in blogs all over the place. I am sure you have already made up your mind about it, one way or another.

From the gut, the verdict is appalling and shockingly unfair. Just based on common sense alone, it is baffling to me how one could justify shooting an unarmed man 50 times. Even if one was in fear of their own life, it is beyond excessive to shoot that much and reload you weapon to continue shooting. Logically, it just does not add up.

However, after feeling what I feel at the core, I also must think. Recently, my thinking has changed and is colored by the legal training I have received thus far. When I first heard the verdict I had two thoughts: (1) Damn, that’s fucked up yo. (2) Damn, those defense attorneys had a banging ass case. I wonder what their theory was.

There are a couple things that probably contributed to the acquittals.