My basic first aid skills are apparently a bit rusty. What do you do when you see a man losing control of his car at a slow speed, coming to a stop, and sitting unresponsively in his seat? I’d think you’d ask him what was wrong, call 911, and try to help him. Not if you’re a Fredericksburg cop! David Washington had a stroke and was clearly in distress, so a police officer applied what is apparently the modern approach to emergency medicine: he tased an unarmed, unthreatening man, then hosed him down with pepper spray, and dragged him out unto the pavement before running over his foot with a car.
Need I mention that these kinds of medical responses do not apply to white victims of stroke, but only black ones?
We really need to do something about our vicious, incompetent police force.
That cop sprayed him for seven full seconds, right in the face, from less than 2 feet away. On a guy who wasn’t moving the entire time. If nothing else, the fact that he didn’t even flinch away from it should have given them a fucking clue that something was seriously wrong with him.
That makes my blood boil! We can’t go a week without these organized racist thugs doing shit like this. A fucking stroke victim. This is like comic book villain shit.
I can;t be the only person who heard the threat to kill him if he continued to be unresponsive, passive, and unthreatening.
It’s good to know that having a stroke in Virginia is so illegal it incurs severe extra-judicial punishment. I will be sure to not break that law next time I have to go there.
Do U.S. police forces even bother trying to screen out sociopaths? Or is that who they want?
Ah well, at least after torture that could easily have killed their victim, they started calling him “Mr. Washington”.
Anyone else remember that old, post-9/11 South Park episode, where Kenny is brutally gunned down by airport security for brandishing a nail clipper?
Yeah, it doesn’t feel like parody anymore.
What the fuck did i just watch…..? My brain is resisting the idea that this could possibly be real…it’s like out of an absurdist comedy sketch…”things that could never happen”.
I hope every single one of those criminally incompetent, hateful monsters get fired….but i won’t be holding my breath.
Oh, and don’t forget to charge him with reckless driving. Fuck. I don’t think I’ll be able to watch that video.
I can “imagine” that the cop seriously thought he was encountering a drug addled “maniac” who could instantly burst forth in furious rage after a period of completely-zoned-out-ittude.
To which my more realistic side interjects, how often does that cop encounter such perps? If commonly, then that place has very serious issues; if rare, than that cop individually has serious issues. In either case, it was a very misguided approach to dealing with that _victim_.
WTF!!??? Just when I thought it couldn’t possibly get worse…
White conservatives were shown obvious examples of police brutality.
“Don’t want to be abused by cops? Don’t commit crimes”, they said.
Then they were shown instances where no crime had been committed.
“Don’t run from cops”, they said.
Then they were shown instances where the victim didn’t run.
“Don’t talk back to cops”, they said.
Now we have a man being unresponsive and suffering a serious medical emergency, getting abused by cops. When will people get it?
And the video comes from the cop’s own camera . . .
Well put Sven. I don’t know why, but I was thinking about the “don’t run” message last night, and wondering if being really passive might work. Would following passive arrest guidelines given to demonstrators stop a cop from killing you? Obviously not. (Of course, there have been plenty of black men shot and killed for resisting arrest while sitting in the back of a cruiser, hands cuffed behind their backs, etc.)
I guessed before reading that the cop’s excuse involved the assumption that the man was drunk or on drugs. Not only was he black (all blacks are drunk or on drugs, of course), but people often assume anyone in an “out” group driving erratically is doing it because they are drunk or on drugs. See the typical comments for one of those Russian car cam movies.
I don’t even…
Where in the cop manual does it suggest that this is an appropriate response?
The dark colored man didn’t immediately follow the “hero cop’s” commands what choice did the hero have but to escalate the amount of force. I suppose we should just be glad the scene didn’t end with gunfire.
Land of the free and the home of the brave.
25 years ago in that same part of the world, a friend of mine went into insulin shock while driving. He was found slumped over the wheel of his car at the side of the road. When the cops tried to wake him he went a bit off, and they ended up roughing him up and cuffing him. (When we picked him up from the hospital later, he looked like hell. But no broken bones, fortunately.)
When the ambulance responded to the police call, the EMTs were appalled that the cops hadn’t read his medic alert bracelet. You know, the bracelet they had to move out of the way in order to cuff him.
I assume the only reason my friend wasn’t hurt worse is because he’s white. But at the very least, that showed the police had completely inadequate training to be interacting with the public in a “protective” capacity.
Just three words. FUCK. THE. PIGS.
White cops, black victim. Gee, imagine my surprise.
Sorry, this isn’t ‘incompetence’, nor is this ‘lack of training’, this is torture and attempted murder. Most people on this board, including myself, haven’t followed one day of police training and we all know this was wrong. This cop apparently doesn’t know this. His fault, his responsability, his ass to be dragged before a judge.
Oh look, the guy’s black. I’m shocked. Fucking shocked.
The revolution WILL be televised.
Be fair. The cop who actually does the spraying and the tasering is a woman. The one visibly laughing as the victim’s foot gets caught under the wheel is a guy. Apparently, assholery in uniform knows know gender barrier.
MORGAN!? @ 22
Yeah, but the networks will cancel it after five episodes.
#11 Sven:
Just check the youtube comments. You have people talking about how the cop couldn’t see the guy’s left hand, the cop didn’t know whether he was in danger or not, being a cop is a dangerous job blah blah blah. Essentially, It ain’t happenin to me, so fuck them.
The revolution is currently being televised.
or rather twitterised
Akira MacKenzie @24
Who cares what the networks will do? They are nearly irrelevant now.
re @24:
Akira:
Yes, IFF that Network is FOX!!! [channeling a Firefly vibe]
I see the problem, right there.
freemage,
My excuses, wasn’t able to see the video. Misgendered the perp. Sigh, so hard to get sexist hardwiring out of my brain it seems.
So now black people have to be transparent.
And this was probably because the cop knew he couldn’t get away with outright shooting the guy.
I’m pretty sure that other cop was smirking at the end.
I feel very cold all of a sudden.
The sad part is that there is no ridiculous atrocity committed by cops like this, no amount of support from their fellow cops, no quantity of events like this, that will convince some of the apologists for police brutality out there. They will see a black man killed for having a stroke and dismiss it by any means necessary. They will dismiss stories like this as emotional blackmail, just anecdotes. And then they will turn around and dismiss or just outright ignore the statistics on the subject.
I hate the police. I hate those apologizing for them. I hate the politicians that give these police power and continue to be their most powerful apologists. I just hate this country, pretty much. And as much as I wish I could just say fuck it and leave, that doesn’t solve anything. People still suffer and die, and America’s problems will be foisted upon the rest of world soon enough, whether through economic means, military means, or other means altogether. America is torturing and killing its own populace through a wide variety of methods, and that suffering isn’t just going to be confined to its borders.
We really need to do something about our vicious, incompetent police force.
I know! I know! Let’s give them military weapons and armored vehicles!!!
The police officer has resigned
Maybe police forces should stop hiring these assholes who think that all people of color are evil and represent a threat.
But then, I am becoming more and more convinced that it takes a special kind of person to want to be a cop. And by special, I mean “rage monkey”
via Tony!TQS @36:
THIS. This is why we need a completely independent prosecutorial body that exclusively deals with (alleged, okay) crimes committed by police. From assaults such all the way down to fixing parking tickets, there needs to be a group that has one task: watching the watchers.
(Yes, then who watches them. I get that. Turtles all the way down. But let’s at least start with someone holding thugs in uniform accountable.)
You know, just as a bit of a thought experiment (maybe a bit more useful than Joshua Shaffer’s one), I’m trying to view the scenario in the video, being as charitable towards the cops as possible, whilst still being based in reality.
So, a guy rolls to a stop in an intersection after driving the wrong way down the road. The cops investigate. It is possible that the reason the guy stopped is because he’s a dangerous criminal about to start some shit, therefore it is appropriate to be cautious. This means it would be correct for them to keep a clear line of sight on the guy, perhaps even drawing their weapons and pointing them at him whilst one of them closes distance until they can actually see what’s going on. However, even being as charitable as I can towards the cops, I can see absolutely no clear indication that the guy actually IS a dangerous criminal about to start some shit, so the question becomes why the taser and pepper spray was used. In the video, you don’t really get a good look at Mr Washington before he actually gets tased, but, even if it wasn’t at all clear that there was something wrong, I dare say that, had this been me encountering him as a private citizen, instead of some police officers, the most negative reaction he might’ve gotten is me asking him how in the blue fuck he managed to pass his driving test with shit driving like that, or calling him an asshole as I drove by him – not a taser and pepper spray in the face. (Of course, if it was apparent something was wrong, or became apparent, I would have then called 911 – for an ambulance, not the cops.)
So, even being as charitable as I realistically can towards the cops, my conclusion is that something in their training which is inadequate or unsuitable, or something they didn’t like about Mr Washington (I think we can all make a guess what that might be) made them assume that he was a dangerous criminal about to start some shit, and therefore treated him as such.
I’m sure the guy says all this was justified because the suspect was not compliant.
That seems to be the bar they set. How you train someone to apply that standard to an inhuman degree that we see so often is beyond me. There was a segment of This American Life where one of the reporters showed the Eric Garner video to different people and asked them what they thought was happening, including to friends of hers who were police. Most people say they guy is suffering. The cops all say “He’s still resisting. The suspect is not compliant. So more action needs to be applied until he is”.
It is a little tough to separate out how much of that is a desire to toe the thin blue line, as it were. So it could be all publicity conscious.
But at the same time, someone who is being choked is not going to be ‘compliant’, ever (while they have any oxygen left anyway). A human generally does everything in its power to not be choked. It’s probably one of those evolved things that’s served us rather well over the eons of evolution.
Cops must know this, mustn’t they? Surely.
Likewise, if you suspect someone of heavy intoxication, never mind having a medical emergency, they’re not going to be ‘compliant’ either! Or if they don’t speak english or whatever else.
How did policing get so phenomenally stupid? You just want to grab these people and shake them.
The Cleveland review is a good start to addressing this kind of abuse. These recommendations needs to be adopted nationally.
@Ben Lutgens #37:
Rage monkey with a gun fixation.
Fredericksburg’s finest. Fredericksburg’s finest.
Indeed.
What the fuck are you talking about?
The OPPRESSION is being televised and has been for a good while.
There is and will be no revolution. There will be excuses and rationalizations, some of them televised.
Muz:
It’s been reported, many times, that a certain level of stupidity is actively courted by police departments. They don’t want people who are ‘too’ intelligent on the job.
…which means his record is CLEAN and he is free to apply at any other police force without the fear his malfeasance might be a barrier to employment.
Yet another reason to REQUIRE all such investigations to continue regardless of the employment status of the suspect. If said suspect manages to secure another law enforcement position, they must be provisional depending upon the outcomes of the investigation and trial.
And:
Yup. Police have already proven time and time again they cannot be trusted to effectively police themselves.
Tony quoted @36:
No. <obviously>
[mind blown]Even experiencing a medical emergency while driving;hitting another car and not coming to a full stop = libelous for hit and run (??) and reckless for not being in complete control of said vehicle?
Talk about: “throwing salt into the wound” Tasering&beating him& crushing his foot, is insufficient? I’m sure their <strike)explanation excuse will be they’re just enforcing the rules that everybody must adhere to, to keep the roads safe for everybody, nuthin personal.
Zmidponk
Keep in mind that the attitude to always draw weapons seems mostly to be an American one. In most European countries I know of cops NEVER have their weapon drawn when they approach a vehicle, even when the vehicle behaved. Only when it is clear they enter a dangerous situation they will do this.
To my European eyes it always looks like American cops think any situation is a life-threatening one and needs a maximum amount of force to be dealt with. Cop’s primary concern should be DEescalation of a situation, not escalation.
@Ben Lutgens(#37):
It isn’t the just the cops who think like that. It is still deeply ingrained in the mind of the average US white person that black people are not equal to them. Note that this doesn’t excuse the behavior of cops, due to their work any person working in law enforcement should receive a training that shows them that they most likely think like this and how to prevent those prejudices from affecting their work.
@Who Cares (#49)
Instead, in training they are shown videos of police officers killed in the line of duty, thus priming them to treat all interactions with the public as life-threatening situations – for the cops.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2015/05/police_shootings_the_grim_videos_cops_watch_of_their_colleagues_being_killed.html
Ben Lutgens @37:
Part of the problem is that law enforcement officers aren’t screened in such a way as to determine any implicit biases held by the candidate (racial or otherwise). Remember, it’s not like a prospective cop fills out an application while wearing a white hood (although you’d think background checks would identify those applicants with white supremacist backgrounds).
Not the wording I’d use, but essentially I agree with you. I think that-like the military-law enforcement attracts people of a certain authoritarian mentality. Once they’re signed up, they get all the power…but what about the responsibility to use that power wisely?
So I sometimes watch a terrible show called “Most Shocking.” One episode featured dash cam footage of police pulling over an elderly white person who was driving the wrong way on the highway. Once pulled over, they apparently realized the person had medical problems and drove them to the doctor, no ticket given. It’s a privilege to be white.
And just yesterday I just had to listen to dad’s friend drop the same screed I hear since I was a kid about how we should be like America and give medals to policemen who kill in the line of duty. Yeah, I can see how these guys are the model cops we’re looking for.
I had two strokes, both while driving… For the second one I drove to my wife’s workplace. Stupid, I know. Nut, even though I live in Scott Walker’s city (Wauwatosa, WI), I am, fortunately, white. They didn’t even call the police… Fortunately, the called an ambulance, which I was walking a long way away from (yes, stupid move) and they got me to the hospital where, after a couple of weeks, I was out and learning to walk and talk again.
This is one of the reasons I’m glad I don’t live in Hagerstown, MD anymore.
vaiyt @53:
Because cops killing someone, even in situations where it is justified, is something to celebrate. Ugh. Just…ugh.
Muz @ 40:
Something that underscores this point perfectly is when a police officer handcuffed a firefighter for refusing to move a firetruck, which was placed as their protocol requires: across the lanes to safeguard EMTs from further collisions. The cop can clearly be heard saying, “We asked you to clear the road and you said no.”
It seems readily apparent that the number one concern of the police is enforcing their authority. Everything else comes secondary to that.
That will teach the black folks a lesson.
But what lesson exactly?
Has no-one contacted the Fredericksburg Commonwealth’s Attorney?
And people say I’m overreaching by saying cops should sign a waiver, that they should accept being automatically guilty and sentenced to prison when they commit a crime. And be given a longer sentence than when a ciivilian commits the same crime.
Violent assault, attempted murder, abuse of authority…life in prison without parole sounds appropriate.
mnb0 @57:
The cops have no interest in serving and protecting you?
Jesus fuck! I was once naive and considered the police colleagues (as a paramedic), but know I am just a little bit nauseated when they are on scene.
The commander of my small city’s police force was arrested today for DUI.
I was shocked… …that he was arrested.
How do you determine they committed a crime without a trial?
I’m all for stricter sentencing and removing most of the protections police have beyond the rest of us. I could also support removing 5th amendment protections for any potential crime committed on duty, but removing a trial entirely is too much.
Why do cops always think they have to say “fucking” this or “fucking” that, like here, “Get out of the fucking car.”? “Get out of the car” would be good enough. “Please get out of the car” would be much better. Everyone of these types of videos I hear some fucking arrogant fucking cop say “fucking”, usually several times.
@Freemage #23
The officer who did the tasering and pepper-spraying, and who has subsequently resigned while maintaining he did nothing wrong, was Shaun Jurgens.
zenlike #48:
I totally agree with that, mainly because I live in a country where most of the police don’t even have guns to pull out and point at people, and many of them completely agree with this state of affairs, and basically find guns unnecessary. However, as part of the ‘being as charitable as possible towards the cops’ bit, I was giving them a pass on that because there was the possibility, from their view, that Mr Washington was about to pull out a gun and start shooting, or something of that nature, even though that was only one possibility out of a whole plethora of possibilities.
One thing that strikes me about that video: The cops seem to be terrified for no legitimate reason. If an unresponsive black man scares you that much, perhaps you shouldn’t be a cop, or really any job that has to deal with the general public.
Zmidponk @66:
After graduating college, my sister spent several years in South Korea. One of the things that shocked her was that none of the cops over there (the ones she saw anyway) carried guns. When she told me that, my jaw dropped. Such a stark contrast to the United States.
God damn. I learned really early on not to trust the pigs (NYPD…), but this even shocked me. If this crap keeps up, people are going to start deliberately killing the police. What a mess.
@ Tony!
You should try the UK. Not only are front-line officers not armed, a survey of Police Federation members found that 82% of officers do not want to be armed.
I just read the top part before clicking on the video, and only read below the fold after seeing the video. So when I read the top I was thinking “WTF? How could that happen?” But then when I saw in the video that the victim is black I was like, “Okay, I see what happened there.”
Terrifying. How can it continue this way? Is there anything we can do?
Thumper @70:
They need to give some pointers to the cops in USAmerica who, when confronted by a suspect with a weapon, so very, very often jump to the use of lethal force. If, as I suspect, LEOs in other countries can deal with suspects who are armed without shooting them (to say nothing of killing them), the assholes in the U.S. can damn sure do the same thing.