Bells said:
So it's okay for police officers to beat people up?
To what degree do people like this think it will never be their turn? And why do they think that way?
It's a common aspect of the American discourse, at least, that doesn't get discussed. I don't know how that translates in the various nations of Her Majesty's empire, but we might consider the case of Cleveland, Ohio.
It's not
just the killing of Tamir Rice.
Amid all the noise of this week's protest, yesterday Attorney General Holder arrived in Ohio to formalize the agreement by which the Department of Justice will now have a hand in Cleveland's police department.
DoJ is getting involved at the request of the mayor of Cleveland.
This is the second time in this young century DoJ will be doing this in Cleveland. It is something that happens from time to time, and often without the request of city officials. In Seattle, the feds are involved, and the police tried suing on the grounds that they could not properly enforce the law if they were not allowed to use illegal excessive force. And, yes, that one was thrown out. But it is also clear that the problem in Seattle is more than just a few proverbial bad apples.
So to get one point out of the way: It turns out the police lied to the public in describing the shooting of Tamir Rice.
You know what speeding while black gets you in Cleveland? One hundred seventy-three bullets fired by thirteen police officers.
There is a reason the police tried to keep all the information from that incident hidden; everything about it was a violation of department policy.
And there is a cop going up on a manslaughter charge. That's what happens when you jump up on the hood of a car and unload your weapon through the windshield. The entire scene looked quite a bit like a Hollywood production; department protocol calls for a maximum of two police cars in a chase like that, so naturally they put
sixty-one units in pursuit.
This is just one of the examples of why the mayor is asking for federal help.
Why does anyone think they would be immune? If that has to do with skin color, well, they would be making a point toward racism in policing.
We don't know why the driver fled. We don't know whether the dead passenger was contributing to the flight. Sixty-one cars, and don't even bother trying to arrest the driver, just start shooting and kill everyone in the car. And that's how it goes in Cleveland. And in addition to those two lives, the incident cost the city three million in the settlement.
We might come back to the Tamir Rice slaying because of the absurdity of some of the emerging details.
The wheelman in that shooting cost the city a hundred thousand dollars in a settlement, and the story is almost impossible to believe:
On Aug. 7, 2010, Eaton, who was 39 at the time, returned to her home to find a car parked in front of her driveway on Clifton Boulevard. She called Cleveland police and to have a tow-truck sent. Eaton then got ready for bed.
Unbeknownst to Eaton, Cleveland police had been sent to Eaton's neighborhood to find a suspect in a slaying. Garmback and Guerra found a man and woman walking down the street. The officers quickly arrested the man, despite the woman's loud protests, according to documents Bradley and Marein filed.
Eaton came out of her home and believed that the officers were responding to her complaint of the car blocking her driveway. The lawsuit said Eaton did not want the person arrested for her complaint.
The suit said Garmback initially argued with Eaton. It said Garmback then "rushed (Eaton) and placed her in a chokehold, tackled her to the ground, twisted her wrist and began hitting her body. Officer Guerra rushed over and proceeded to punch Tamela Eaton in the face multiple times."
(Caniglia↱)
It's just a bizarre case, but it is also one that reminds the difference between ideas like "protect and serve" and "clear the sector".
We had an episode in Seattle several years ago in which a teenage intern, the son of a cop killed in the line of duty, decided to take a cruiser out for a joyride. The police received calls about what appeared to be a kid driving around in one of their cars. The resulting scene was something akin to James Cameron's penchant for destroying police cars in his movies. An officer sees a suspect vehicle, chooses to ram it in order to prevent it from getting away. Except, well, it's one of the cruisers participating in the search for this rogue vehicle. The officer driving that car, believing the suspect has just attacked him with a two-ton t-bone, draws his weapon and starts shooting out of his car and into the other. The officer who rammed him, believing himself under attack, returns fire from inside his own car. More police arrive and the neighborhood becomes a Hollywood shootout.
Meanwhile, the suspect was at that time back at the garage, returning the keys.
I forget the exact number of officers shooting or rounds fired, but it was a massive shootout between badges. And they managed to hit exactly
nobody. Cars and buildings were ventilated, but somehow they managed to discharge over a hundred rounds and not hit any actual people. Were they protecting the community, or clearing the sector?
At what point, when a police officer thinks he's arresting a homicide suspect and a citizen is complaining that she just wanted the damn car towed from her driveway and didn't see why they were arresting the driver, does it occur to the cops to wonder at the separate issues? "What? What about your car? This is a murder suspect."
Protect the community? Clear the sector? What? What are they doing?
And that's just the wheelman.
The officer who shot Tamir Rice? Apparently someone in the Cleveland Police Department described him at some point as a rookie, which is technically true if we take that to mean he was a rookie to that particular force.
But Officer Tim Loehmann had previously worked for the police department in the town of Independence, Ohio, population 7,133. And he was dismissed from that force for being incompetent and dangerous;
Adam Ferrise↱ of NE Ohio Meida Group explains:
The Cleveland police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice had issues with handling guns during his brief tenure with a suburban police department.
A Nov. 29, 2012 letter contained in Tim Loehmann's personnel file from the Independence Police Department says that during firearms qualification training he was "distracted" and "weepy."
"He could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal," according to the letter written by Deputy Chief Jim Polak of the Independence police.
The letter recommended that the department part ways with Loehmann, who went on to become a police officer with the Cleveland Division of Police.
"I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct the deficiencies," Polak said.
Cleveland police said on Wednesday that they never reviewed the Independence file and changed their policies to include checking publicly available records for potential hires.
There is a reason the city asked the Department of Justice to get involved in the Cleveland Police Department.
And yet, because they're cops, there are plenty of people who will fall back, as our neighbor has, to emotionally-driven personal arguments.
There is a reason why some want to stick with generalizations and emotion; perhaps they like the idea of Hollywood-fantasy cops, but there is always some sort of belief that it can never happen to them.
What is happening in Cleveland is more than just a race issue; it is a human issue and a policing issue. And that's the thing: Until the cops are killing white people for stupid reasons in equal numbers, it really is going to look like racism when dark skin appears to be a criterion for defining why the officer is afraid. And such cops have no business being in the law enforcement business.
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Notes:
Caniglia, John. "Cleveland paid out $100,000 to woman involving excessive force lawsuit against officer in Tamir Rice shooting". The Plain Dealer. 4 Decemeber 2014. Cleveland.com. 5 December 2014. http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2014/12/cleveland_paid_out_100000_to_w.html
Ferrise, Adam. "Cleveland officer who shot Tamir Rice had 'dismal' handgun performance for Independence police". Northeast Ohio Media Group. 3 December 2014. Cleveland.com. 5 December 2014. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/12/cleveland_police_officer_who_s.html