|
|
|
| NEWS > 08 August 2011 |
Other related articles:
Dallas PD officers on leave af
Two Dallas police officers have been placed on leave after being accused of battering a petty thief suspect. Surveillance camera caught the incident on video.
Officers Christian Mendoza and Henry Silvestriz have both been placed on administrative leave while two separate departments look into how Willie McCree, a 20-year-old petty thief suspect, ended up battered and bruised after he was arrested by the officers.
McCree already had a long record of minor crimes when police were called to a Bachman area check cashing store, which was where the manager suspected McCree of try... Read more
|
 Article sourced from
|
|
Los Angeles Times
08 August 2011
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
|
Ethics in Policing
|
'Excessive force' in Fullerton police case could be hard to prove
As authorities investigate the recent death of a homeless man in Fullerton, experts said simply showing that police used force on him would not be enough to show criminal wrongdoing.
Indeed, they said, criminal investigations involving police use of force are not about whether an officer struck a person, but whether the force was "unreasonable" or "excessive."
"Unreasonable force is any force that is used when unnecessary, and that is quite rare," said retired Los Angeles County Sheriff's Cmdr. Charles "Sid" Heal. "Most of the trouble comes with excessive force, that is, too much force that is applied longer in duration than necessary."
Witnesses have said the officers in Fullerton case tasered Kelly Thomas several times and beat him. The July 5 incident, which left Thomas unconscious and in critical condition until he died five days later, has outraged his family and many residents of the Orange County suburb.
Heal said that when officers use a stun gun, there must be continued resistance to justify using it again, and that using force on someone who is restrained may be considered excessive. But he noted that even handcuffed suspects may not be deemed restrained and have been known to injure officers.
Broad legal protections make prosecuting law enforcement officers extremely difficult. A handful of cases are filed across Southern California annually. Many of Southern California's most notorious incidents of the last decade did not result in criminal charges.
In 2004, Los Angeles police officers were recorded pummeling a car-theft suspect along Compton Creek. One officer who hit the man with a flashlight was fired -- metal lights were subsequently banned -- but none faced criminal charges. In 2002, two Inglewood police were captured on video punching a developmentally disabled 16-year-old in the face and slamming him onto the hood of a patrol car. After two juries deadlocked in the criminal case, it was dropped. A civil jury later awarded the officers $2.4 million for being unfairly disciplined.
Heal said some departments have very strict use-of-force policies, so that legally justifiable acts can still violate department policy and lead to a firing. "Something can be lawful but awful," he said.
Fullerton's use-of-force policy explicitly directs officers to intercede if they see fellow officers applying what they believe to be excessive force.
Surveillance video shot from the Fullerton bus depot where the incident took place shows parts of the altercation, but key elements are obscured, according to a law enforcement source who reviewed it. The source, who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing, said the tape shows six officers struggling with Thomas, a 37-year-old man who suffered from schizophrenia.
The source said obstacles obscured the "quality and angle" of the shot. It's hard to see whether Thomas was restrained, as some witnesses have said, and the full extent of the officers' actions, the source said. Another source familiar with the video said tree limbs and leaves blocked part of the camera's view.
Other videos that have been posted on the Internet, one from a bus and another from a bystander's phone, do not show the police officers but capture the sounds of a stun gun, Thomas' screams and the reactions of shocked bystanders. Witnesses on those videos describe Thomas being repeatedly struck, kicked and shocked by the officers.
|
| |
| |
* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
Ethics in Policing, based in the UK, provide information and advice about the following:
Policing Research | Police News articles | Police Corruption | International Policing | Police Web Sites | Police Forum | Policing Ethics | Police Journals | Police Publications |
|
| |
|
