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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDEVASTATING!!! eyewitness account of Micheal Brown incident before he was shoot by cop
If this is the true account of what happened we have a serious problem in this country with cops and people like Zimmerman . http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/eyewitness-michael-brown-fatal-shooting-missouri
doxydad
(1,363 posts)There's way too many gun nut cops out there. There's way too many gun nuts, and this 'wild west mentality' is prevalent.
Response to bigdarryl (Original post)
XemaSab This message was self-deleted by its author.
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)This is sickening.
OnlinePoker
(5,729 posts)These days, people's first reaction when they see something happening is to pull out a camera and start filming. I'm wondering if the reason there aren't any is because the cop's description of the chain of events is true.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)"...Another witness reports she was waiting for a ride when she saw Brown near a police vehicle, according to Viral Global News. He was not cuffed, but reportedly had his hands up in the air. The witness has turned over cell phone footage to investigators. ..."
http://sfbayview.com/2014/08/police-murder-unarmed-fleeing-michael-brown-18-in-st-louis-suburb/
At the 4:45 mark of the news video at the above link (bottom of page) the newscaster says there are several cell phone videos of the incident now in police custody.
stranger81
(2,345 posts)If it's the latter, I wouldn't expect them to ever see the light of day. Probably been erased or destroyed already.
exboyfil
(17,865 posts)before I turned the phone over. That way it won't get "misplaced". I got to think more folks are going to start doing this.
safeinOhio
(32,744 posts)the 2 cops and the witness should be given polygraph test, right away. While the results can't be used in court it can be used to investigate the incident. Of course the cop can refuse, then we know for sure he is lying..
safeinOhio
(32,744 posts)can be used in any civil action by the family.
If a cop refuses to give a statement, we should NOT assume he is lying.
He has a right to counsel, and a right not to respond to questions in any investigation, and a constitutional right to be silent.
Please remember: we impair our own civil liberties when we take them away from others, including cops.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)Some time ago, I proposed that the police should have to take polygraphs every six months. If they could not answer half a dozen questions without making the machine jump, then they departed the office leaving their badge and gun behind. We empower the police with special authority, special rights, and special considerations. The least we can expect from that is that they put forth a little extra to show they are honest and worthy of that special trust that is given them.
Bragi
(7,650 posts)I agree totally that Michael's civil liberties appear to have been grossly violated, no question about that.
I also don't disagree with your notion of routine and general poly testing for working cops.
That is different, however, than assuming that any a cop's decision to exercise their right not to testify means they are guilty.
That was my point.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)Further it is the position of prosecutors, and the Supreme Court.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/17/supreme-court-silence_n_3453968.html
The 5-4 ruling comes in the case of Genovevo Salinas, who was convicted of a 1992 murder. During police questioning, and before he was arrested or read his Miranda rights, Salinas answered some questions but did not answer when asked if a shotgun he had access to would match up with the murder weapon.
Prosecutors in Texas used his silence on that question in convicting him of murder, saying it helped demonstrate his guilt. Salinas appealed, saying his Fifth Amendment rights to stay silent should have kept lawyers from using his silence against him in court. Texas courts disagreed, saying pre-Miranda silence is not protected by the Constitution.
Additionally, the Police have argued that they have no Constitutional Duty to protect the public. I should say argued successfully.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/28scotus.html?_r=0
Based upon this decision.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia
Bragi
(7,650 posts)I don't. I look forward to their anti-constitutional judgements falling to the wayside in future years.
(That's it for me on this point. Feel free to have the last word.)
- Bragi
My suggestion was that the same policies that are applied to me and thee be applied to the Police equally. A strange thing I admit. Ok, one additional policy isn't applied to me, and that would be the idea of polygraph testing every six months.
However I am trying to focus the argument. The Police are not dedicated public servants who protect the public. They argued before the courts in 1981 and 2005 that they have no constitutional duty to protect the citizens, even when informed of a crime in progress. Read the Colorado case. A divorced woman was trying to get the police to find her children who were in the custody of their estranged father in violation of a court order. Nah, they can't be bothered. The man says that he has the girls at an amusement park in Denver, and they will never be coming home alive. Mom calls the police, and they do nothing. The girls die because of police inaction. Mom sues saying that the Police have a responsibility to protect the innocent when presented with information about a clear and present danger to children. The police argue that they have no such responsibility. The serve and protect thing on the door of their cars is propaganda. The court agrees.
So my argument is pretty obvious. The police are not dedicated servants of the public. They are not bastions of truth and honesty. And they should not be given any special consideration about anything. They should be treated equally before the law, and given exactly the same access to protections as they argue that the public is due all the time. If I don't have a right to remain silent, then the police do not either. If I must identify myself for every dunce behind a badge, so should they to every citizen who asks.
That is my point, and I hope that I've made it a bit more clear now.
yodermon
(6,143 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)routine polygraphs of active duty law enforcement, as a part of over all performance management ... and as an "early warning" mechanism, to point out a possible need to investigate further.
I have a major problem with requiring a polygraph in specific instances of suspected wrong-doing.
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)Saxe, Leonard; Dougherty, Denise; Cross, Theodore
American Psychologist, Vol 40(3), Mar 1985, 355-366. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.40.3.355
Abstract
Reviews the literature on field and analog polygraph testing to aid Congressional consideration of efforts by the US Department of Defense to expand use of polygraph tests to large numbers of government employees with access to classified information. It is noted that the validity of polygraph testing has yet to be established. The present review suggests serious problems with both the theoretical rationale underlying use of polygraph tests and the quality of available evidence supporting the validity of such tests. The most serious problem in the development of policy-relevant conclusions about polygraph testing is viewed as the lack of theory to explain the results of testing. Although polygraph tests attempt to use anxiety as an indicator of lying, anxiety has many causal factors other than lying. The validity of control question analog studies is considered in relation to polygraph validity, and the effects of S characteristics, setting, and countermeasures on validity are discussed. (2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Understanding How Polygraph Tests Work and Are Used
William G. Iacono
University of Minnesota, [email protected]
doi: 10.1177/0093854808321529
Criminal Justice and Behavior October 2008 vol. 35 no. 10 1295-1308
Abstract
Forensic applications of polygraph techniques rely primarily on the control or comparison question test (CQT). The author describes the CQT and its theoretical basis, and how it is used and evaluated by the polygraph professionals, and by scientists at arms length from the polygraph community. Because the CQT (a) has a weak theoretical foundation, making it unlikely that it can be as accurate as polygraph proponents claim, (b) is biased against the innocent, and (c) may be subject to countermeasures used by the guilty to appear truthful, CQT results cannot constitute evidence of either deception or truthfulness. In the absence of insight into brain mechanisms that underlie deception, it may be difficult to develop a valid lie detector. However, methods are available for detecting guilty knowledge, information that only the perpetrator of a crime and the police possess, which are ripe for further development as forensic applications.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)I only said that the person would depart without their badge, and gun. People with Top Secret Clearances are subjected to Polygraph testing from time to time. If they fail, they are denied the Top Secret Clearance, not tossed into the nearest convenient prison. My suggestion is much like that. If we are going to repose special trust in these people who have done nothing to engender that trust except apply for a job, then the least they can do is demonstrate that they are worthy of that trust. I said less than half a dozen questions. Here are some of my examples.
1) Have you lied under oath or on official documents
2) Have you planted evidence.
3) Are you aware of anyone who has lied under oath or on official documents
4) Are you aware of anyone who has planted evidence
5) Have you seen anyone use excessive force in arresting or detaining a suspect
You could mix the questions up. If you can't answer no to those questions honestly, and pass the Polygraph, then you aren't being carried off to the Jail in shackles, you are departing free, but without the job that requires that special trust. I've even suggested this in the past. Sometimes people have bad days. It happens to us all. If you fail the test, you aren't fired. You are given two weeks to address the issues which are upsetting you before being retested. In other words, two weeks to get your mind right.
Half a dozen questions, fifteen minutes, perhaps as much as twenty. This integrity check which is already applied to people with access to sensitive documents won't directly result in their being jailed or arrested. But it will prevent them from abusing that trust that the community places in our law enforcement, trust that accompanies great power that is abused far too often.
I don't believe that is unreasonable. I don't believe that it is a violation of any principle of Civil Rights. We are just saying if you can't pass the test, you need to find another line of work. Certainly you would agree that if we are going to repose special trust to our Police, we should make sure they are worthy of that trust. We do it to people who are entrusted with Top Secret material don't we?
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)Psychopaths don't regiaster fear like normal people do, and are more likely topass the test than non-psychopaths (particularly anxiety-prone types). Thus you may be inadvertently creating a system that selects for psychopaths. Now that I think of it, that may help explain the NSA.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)Absolutely granted. However, this test would weed out those who are not psychopaths. Which is where the do you know of anyone who did do those things comes into play. A psychopath would pass the test, but someone who knew what the psychopath was up to wouldn't. Then the person who wasn't the psychopath could inform the superiors, and get his job back by doing what we would generally consider to be the right thing. You see, we can identify those bad cops, chase them out of the departments, and staff them with reasonable individuals who are not psychopaths or idiots who would cover up the psychopath.
I am not saying this is the whole answer. It isn't cameras on the cops is another part. But we should be discussing ways to reform the police and get some control over the authorities that are abusing us. The problems are systemic, and we have to attack them in a systemic way to bring the changes we need, not want need about.
Cameras at least tell us the truth about what happened. Like this.
Notice the officer turn and look at the camera after they slam the guys head into the wall. Then he backs away not wanting to be involved in this mess.
But that doesn't show the systemic problem I mentioned does it?
Broward County was exposed putting signs to communicate to the Judge about the accused on traffic tickets.
http://www.wsvn.com/story/23070302/ticket-talk
Long story short, if you disagreed with the officer, you got a sad face, if you really disagreed you got a picture of a A hole drawn on the part of the ticket the cop kept. You were never advised that this happened. According to the story, the Judge should have thrown out every single case in which one of these pictures was on the ticket for improper communication. That is a systemic problem in which we can make a difference. That is a systemic problem we can address and change.
The Polygraph is one part of that. Exposing those who are doing wrong, making the blue line of silence less silent. Cameras are a part of that. Finding the truth and punishing those who are cheating, lying, and breaking the rules is another part. It's our community, and we should demand more, we should demand better.
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)That's a pretty daunting task. As someone said, it's 90% of cops who give the rest a bad name.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)But we have to start somewhere. The status quo is unacceptable, and we need to keep coming up with changes until the Status Quo is referred to as the bad old days.
Sparhawk60
(359 posts)I am curious, how many years did the officer in the video get? Was he convicted of attempted murder or a lesser charge like assault?
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)I doubt that the cop got anything. They usually don't get any time. The worst punishment they get under normal circumstances is named in a lawsuit, and sometimes they get a few days of "suspension". If they really screw up they get a letter of reprimand in their permanent files.
An example of that if you like. A police officer forced a 16 year old girl to kiss him. Now, let's start with the knowledge that you can't join the cops until you are 21 years old. The officer in question was a K-9 officer, which means he had a couple years experience to get to the point where he could be a dog handler.
So what kind of punishment would you get for forcing a 16 year old girl to kiss you as an adult who is at least ten years older than the girl? As a civilian, you would be subject to searches and all sorts of things while they built a child molester case against you. As a cop, well lets take a look shall we?
NORTH PORT - A North Port Police K-9 officer who kissed a 16-year-old girl faces unpaid suspension and probation for the act but will not be criminally charged, Police Chief Kevin Vespia said.
In April, the teenager and her father reported to the North Port Police Department that she was kissed by Officer Shawn Rice against her will. According to the department's investigation reports, the teenager alleged Rice kissed her on the lips four separate times in January.
The incident comes as North Port's Police Department is under scrutiny for the conduct of its officers. After reportedly sexually assaulting a woman at a party in May, two North Port officers faced sexual battery charges. One of the officers, Ricky Urbina, killed himself as police were en route to arrest him. Charges were dropped against the other officer, Melanie Turner, who resigned from the force.
Not even an overnight stay in jail. Not even a slap on the wrist. A suspension, and if he does it again, they'll tell him bad boy. Now, you might think that I had that waiting for a long time to show the way that cops don't get punished. That was published August 7th. Last week in a small local paper. A sexual predator in uniform in a department with a history of sexual predators. Anyone think that the FBI is going to crawl up their hind ends to see what is going on? Women in that town appear to be at risk more from the police than from the lack of police.
Sparhawk60
(359 posts)I wish you were wrong, but I agree, I doubt if the officer received more than a verbal warning not to abuse prisoners within sight of cameras.
safeinOhio
(32,744 posts)multiple witnesses, not all will be psychopaths as it is a rare pathological condition. If the 2 witness are shown by the test to be truthful and one of the two cops shows not to be, the police, FBI and prosecutors can focus on that, if not they can drop it.
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)The issue was making cops take polygraphs every 6 months.
safeinOhio
(32,744 posts)Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)of routinely polygraphing cops. The ones most likely to survive the process may be the psychopaths.
safeinOhio
(32,744 posts)I was just trying to show how to weed out a psychopath in this situation.
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)In addition to the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (revised; PCL-R) there are the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (Revised) and the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, for example.
I was just about to launch into a longish rant on the differences, advantages & disadvantages among these scales, but will shorten it by saying that the PCL-R is probably not a good choice because it's partially a measure of juvenile criminal behavior, which would screen out most cops (if you stuck to Factor 1, it might be OK), and the Levenson scale is somewhat lacking in psychometric soundness. I would go for the PPI-R as the best choice.
safeinOhio
(32,744 posts)They can't be forced to take one, but can lose their job.
In a civil trial they can be used and refusing to take one can be considered.
In many states, one can request a cop take the test only if that person is also willing to take it.
I've taking one for a civil trial at my request and paid the $400 cost. I also offered the other party, making the claim, that I would pay for them to take the test. I passed the test and the other party then returned my property without taking the test.
Taking a polygraph is one of worse experiences one can have, even if you know you are telling the truth. The examiner told me that 80% of the people that are planing on being dishonest confess after the first few test questions.
Most law enforcement departments will use a polygraph to determine if a future investigation is called for.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)refusal to take a "Polygraph test" is NOT an indication of anything ... And no, refusal to take a polygraph test is NOT admissible in civil court as probative of anything.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)But it should disallow someone to be entrusted with the authority and power of the police.
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)A polygraph would have the effect of getting rid of the honest cops who may have made a few mistakes and learned from them.
Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)Yeah, I agree entirely with you.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)A mistake is turning left instead of turning right and merging into another vehicle. A mistake is misplacing your car keys. Bashing someones head on the wall is not a mistake, it's brutality. Lying under oath is not a mistake, it's a lie.
A mistake is when you do something forgivable, and understood that the results were not what was well intentioned. Thinking that a man walking down the street wearing a blue shirt and tan slacks is the guy who matches the description you have just been alerted to is an understandable mistake. Beating him senseless or shooting him just because he matches the description is not a mistake.
We all felt horrified back in the 1980's when the police would shoot a kid with a toy gun in a dark apartment building. That is a mistake. The officer saw a person poorly holding what appeared to be a weapon, the silhouette was right anyway. Shooting a man for holding his wallet which does not look like a weapon is not a forgivable mistake. The first is a tragedy, an understandable tragedy, if heartbreaking. The second is an overreaction.
This story is not a mistake. This is two cops threatening the individual to give up someone. This video shows criminal activity by the police. This is not a mistake.
This is not a mistake either. This is brutality.
Mistakes happen, and they evolve from well intentioned activity. We are not talking about mistakes, we're talking about people who lie, and plant evidence, and brutalize anyone. Those are not mistakes, those are criminal actions by anyone, and those who do so should not wear the badge nor be entrusted with that authority.
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)Cops who don't fill out their forms perfectly are human.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)The question I asked in the theoretical interview was have you lied on a form? Lying on a form is intentionally providing false information. Let's cover that for a moment shall we?
James Clapper lied under oath. That is a lie. He knowingly provided false or misleading information. http://www.salon.com/2013/06/12/how_james_clapper_will_get_away_with_perjury/
A mistake is telling someone something that you believe is true. Someone asks you where the nearest ATM is. You tell them and they don't find one there. You thought there was one there, you made a mistake.
The officer glances at his watch and writes two o clock. He forgets to write PM, so someone could from that mistake believe it took place at two in the morning. That is a mistake, a human error that as I mentioned above, comes from best intentions. He was trying to do it right, and made a mistake.
I hope that has cleared up the misunderstanding. Because my approach to this is common sense, and reasonable. I know humans are prone to make mistakes, and I forgive them. I am less forgiving for those who lie, that is to say knowingly providing false or misleading information.
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)but polygraphs are not accurate enough.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)I see it as part of the whole effort needed to really bring change to the culture of the police. We get a few talking about what they've seen with the Polygraphs. Those lead to investigations that eliminate and prosecute corrupt police who use brutality and lie and plant evidence. It's a part, a necessary part though.
Crimes don't happen in a vacuum. A corrupt cop is known, because he does it all the time. The corrupt cop doesn't beat one subject, he beats several. He might get caught on one, or probably not in all honesty. But that culture of silence has to be broken. It will be with among other reforms, the polygraph.
Let's say sixty percent of the cops are susceptible to the polygraph. I think it would be higher, perhaps as high as 90%, but let's work with sixty percent. So roughly speaking three out of five will flunk the test if they know about someone lying, or planting evidence, or whatever. To pass the test, those three officers out of five will have to tell the truth to investigators. Those by the way have to be people who are susceptible to the test. The investigators work with the DA to actually prosecute those who are doing the criminal things.
Then you have a swell of change, you add in more video cameras, and less tolerance for excessive violence. Then you have a police force that is doing the job they claim to be doing, at least closer to doing the job they claim to be doing now.
We can make changes to bring the Police into the type of organizations they should be, or we can throw up our hands and say it's no use because no technique will do everything on it's own. All the reforms I suggest won't be perfect. But instead of one cop out of a hundred being honest, we'll have one wolf out of a hundred who is hiding among the sheepdogs.
I can't make it perfect, I'm not a deity with that kind of power. I think we can make it a lot better than it is. I think we can make a lot of improvement. This way the episodes on youtube about police brutality are the exception, instead of the situation we're in now, where a dozen new videos are uploaded each day, and those are the tip of the iceberg, the rest just not being caught on camera.
We should be pushing these reforms, but we're not. Because the task seems too large, too difficult. That attitude leaves us at the mercy of those people who use brutality and abuse their authority every day. Mercy is what you show to a child who is injured or scared. It's not what you pray you'll experience in the hands of the police.
That way we don't see the police body slam an elderly woman ever again.
Rex
(65,616 posts)Police brutality seems to be the norm.
CBGLuthier
(12,723 posts)MindPilot
(12,693 posts)The excessive brutality; the police are no different than the ISIS militants who publicly and brutally kill infidels. The killing of pets and violence directed at children and young people has one purpose and one purpose only--to instill fear in the population.
It is time we start dealing with police departments as the terrorist organizations they have become.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)When you have a good chance of getting dead if you have the misfortune of running into these civil servants. There was a study done on the LAPD a few years ago that proved this point.
Baitball Blogger
(46,775 posts)The kid was on the ground, giving himself up, and the cop shot him seven more times!
mikeysnot
(4,758 posts)PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)L0oniX
(31,493 posts)1monster
(11,012 posts)If it were anyone else other than a police officer, that would be the charge.
BuelahWitch
(9,083 posts)He has no business being on the police force.
Shrike47
(6,913 posts)sufrommich
(22,871 posts)against that cop. Truly sickening.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)We *STILL* have serious problems in the black community with cops and people like Zimmerman...
Enrique
(27,461 posts)the fact that Johnson offered to talk to the police and the police declined seems like a huge factor. Why would the police decline to talk to an eyewitness?
logosoco
(3,208 posts)When I read that the police did not even want to interview the young man who was with the victim, that says A LOT!
Seems to me that there was NO reason for the cop to stop these two young people AT ALL. Otherwise, why wouldn't this young man be put under arrest?
uponit7771
(90,370 posts)Robbins
(5,066 posts)I am sick of stories of unarmed people being killed by police.
In most cases Police will protect their own and DA's aren't mcuh motivated to go after them.In florida they really didn't want to go after
Zimmerman and it showed.
It will only stop when officers who do this are made examples of.I am not holding my breath on that.Investigations usually show they
did nothing wrong.
PDJane
(10,103 posts)In the back of a patrol car, when they are restrained. That story has been used as defense and the police managed to get away with it. This is more of the same. It's repulsive.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)LeighB
(2 posts)The repubs were so sure that once Obama was in office the Black people would retaliate for the centuries of abuse and incarceration. That didn't happen so they have been ginning up the hate and fear, lies, birtherism, suing/impeach, etc. The GOP et al are so fucking insane but all they are doing is burying themselves hour after hour, day after day.
randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]A 90% chance of rain means the same as a 10% chance:
It might rain and it might not.[/center][/font][hr]
Mr Dixon
(1,185 posts)Not seeing a good outcome on this one, the Cop will walk just like the BART cops did no justice no peace.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)They were just talking about this eyewitness on CNN. The two criminal attorneys asked by CNN to comment on this case were astonished that neither the police nor the Justice Department investigators have decided to interview this eyewitness. One of the attorney commentators simply stated that the police don't like what he has to say, so they are closing ranks and ignoring him. It's crazy.
Savannahmann
(3,891 posts)The investigation will say what they want it to say. The Justice Department are cops too, part of the system, and they will close ranks with their brothers on the thin blue line.
I'm waiting until a President puts the head of the ACLU in charge of the Justice Department. Then we'll see changes. With the law enforcement types and groupies screaming bloody murder the whole way.
MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)The Blue Barrier will insure justice is never served here.
uponit7771
(90,370 posts)Enrique
(27,461 posts)i would use the same word in the OP, "devastating".
Separation
(1,975 posts)And the public distrust the police, I would not consider anyone's spoken testimony. I will however, trust forensic evidence. DNA from the cruiser, gun shot residue from the victim, and video taken by bystanders.
jimlup
(7,968 posts)Yeah I hope dearly that this was a rogue bad cop and that he will pay for his crime of 1st degree murder.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)This cop sounds like a roided up, racist, psycho.