Police Brutality, Insensitivity and Militarism/Robotism is all the Rage Now!

[Michael Barwell]

Slipped on the soap...

[David Guyatt]

Charleston cop shoots man in back 8 times - and lies about it

Apr
08
2015

Media Were Already Running With Police Fantasy When Video Exploded It

By Adam Johnson







The New York Times (4/7/15) released a video of a black South Carolina man Walter Scott being shot, casually and without apparent mercy, eight times in the back by white police officer Michael T. Slager. The media's outrage after the video's publication was righteous and swift. The state of South Carolina followed suit, filing murder charges against Slager. Indeed, the video offers no ambiguity whatsoever:

Before this shocking video surfaced, however, most of the local press coverage,per usual, followed the police's official narrative and amplified a storyline that, in retrospect, was entirely made up.
The Scott shooting, as Think Progress's Judd Legum pointed out, provides unique insight into the way the police use inherent asymmetry of information to assert their narrative:

Between the time when he shot and killed Scott early Saturday morning and when charges were filed, Slager using the both the police department and his attorney was able to provide his "version" of the events.
He appeared well on his way to avoiding charges and pinning the blame on Scott.
Then a video, shot by an anonymous bystander, revealed exactly what happened.

ABC affiliate WCIV: reporting from the police POV.

In all police killings, one sidethe victimis, by definition, dead. So the "both sides" type of reporting we're so often used to almost invariably becomes a one-sided airing of accounts, facts and selective details from the police side that the corporate media repeats without question. Indeed, Charleston's local ABC affiliate would begin their report with, what turned out to be, an outright lie:

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) A man involved in a traffic stop that turned into a physical altercation with a North Charleston police officer died Saturday after being shot by the officer.

But the New York Times video shows there was no "physical altercation." There was someone being shot in the back eight times while trying to run away. The report would go on to mix up police assertion with fact again, seeminglyinventing witnesses who weren't there:

Police and witnesses say Scott tried to run from Slager before turning to fight for the officer's taser. It was during that scuffle that the officer fired his service weapon, fatally wounding Scott.

But what witnesses? I have asked the reporter, Greg Woods, to name the witnesses he documented; as of press time, he has not responded. Woods did not, in any of his reports, actually quote any witnesses saying they saw a "fight." What appears to have happened is that Woods was told by police there were witnesses and he reported it, uncritically.

CBS affiliate WCSC adopts deceptive police framing of fatal shooting: "He Took My taser."

In another piecethat, in fairness, did have interviews with the victim's familylocalCBS affiliate WCSCeffectively handed the report over to North Charleston police for their uninterrupted retelling of events:

Slager deployed his taser weapon to detain the driver but was unsuccessful, Pryor said.
Police say an altercation then began between Slager and Scott, resulting in a fight for the officer's taser.
During the fight, Scott gained control of the taser to use it against the officer who then fired his service weapon at the suspect, Pryor said.
While en route, the sergeant reported that he heard Slager say that he deployed his taser and was requesting for back up units, and seconds later reported "shots fired and the subject is down, he took my taser."

We now know, by the sheer accident of someone filming the event, this narrative was false. We know Scott never "gained control" of a taser, and we know Scott only received medical attention from police minutes after they planted a weapon on him and handcuffed him as he lay dying. But the media, in an effort to report "both sides," ends up transcribing the deceptive police report verbatim.
While providing an initial qualifier of "spokesman said," NBC affiliate News 2,would do one better and go on to drop this modifier altogether and simply report the police account as fact:

The officer deployed his department-issued taser in an effort to detain the driver, which was not effective. An altercation between the officer and the driver took place, leading to a struggle over the officer's taser. During the struggle, the suspect gained control of the taser to use it against the officer.
The officer then discharged his service weapon to stop the threat.
Even though lifesaving efforts were conducted by officers prior to EMS's arrival and EMS efforts on scene, the suspect was pronounced dead.

We now know this account was categorically false, yet it's presented in the report as a straight recounting of events. The unnamed reporter doesn't even bother to run through the motions of quoting police or qualifying these various claims with "police say"; it just becomes, like so many local media accounts in the wake of police violence, a forum for authorities to uncritically provide their perfectly honedif not at this point clichednarratives.
"There was an altercation." "They reached for a weapon." "The officer feared for his life." One can practically write the police reports before they do.
What makes this case revealing is that, unlike in so many other cases, video evidence exists that can be contrasted with what can be seen to be a police-created alternative fantasy. A fantasy that had been presented as reality by initial police reports, and thus the media's subsequent reciting of those reports. Without the video, that fantasy would have almost certainly gone unquestioned.
In a corporate media environment where government officials are routinely given benefit of the doubt while those outside of power are treated with incredulity if not hostility, perhaps the Scott shooting can serve as a stark reminder to crime reporters that in the wake of a police killing, what police say should be treated with as much skepticism as any account offered up by those whose lives and careers are on the line.

---

Adam Johnson is a freelance journalist; formerly he was a founder of the hardware startup Brightbox. You can follow him on Twitter at@adamjohnsonnyc.

From FAIR

Taser Town' And The Shots Heard Round The World'

Police in the South Carolina town where an officer shot and killed an unarmed man were apparently Taser-crazy, according to several lawsuits against the local PD.
Welcome to Taser Town.
Until the eight shots heard 'round the world, cops in North Charleston, South Carolina, were primarily distinguished by their zesty use of Tasers.
As computed by a local newspaper in 2006, cops there used Tasers 201 times in an 18-month period, averaging once every 40 hours in one six-month stretch and disproportionately upon African Americans.
The Charleston Post & Courier did the tally after the death of a mentally ill man named Kip Black, who was tasered six times on one occasion and nine times on another. Black died immediately after the second jolting, though the coroner set the cause of death as cocaine-fueled "excited delirium syndrome."
North Charleston remained Taser Town in 2008, when Officer Christopher Terry pulled over a decorated Army sergeant named Brian Yates, who was between deployments and on his way to pick up a daughter who had taken ill.
According to a pending lawsuit, Terry was in the midst of arresting a compliant Yates for an unspecified traffic violation when the soldier's mother and brother drove up.
"As they approached Sgt. Yates and Officer Terry, the officer deployed his Taser into Sgt. Yates' back and Sgt. Yates fell to the ground," the complaint alleges. "As he lay on the ground, Sgt. Yates attempted to console his family and told them they should return to their vehicle."
The complaint continues, "Despite the fact that Sgt. Yates was still lying on the ground and at no point attempted to stand up, Officer Terry tasered him a second time as Sgt. Yates spoke to his mother and brother."
The complaint adds, "When Sgt. Yates' mother saw Officer Terry taser her son a second time, she screamed and fainted, hitting her head when she fell to the ground. Without attempting to stand, Sgt. Yates asked if he could assist his mother and he was tasered a third time."
Another Taser incident came in September of 2013, when Police Officer Michael Slager jolted a man named Mario Givens as Givens was led from his home in his underwear. A witness, Yolanda Whitaker, contended that Givens had done nothing to provoke the tasing and Slager was investigated for use of excessive force. The complaint was deemed unfounded.
On Saturday morning, Slager seems to have used his Taser again, this time after pulling over 50-year-old Walter Scott for having a broken taillight. Slager determined that Scott had an open warrant for failure to pay child support and moved to arrest him.
Scott was apparently determined not to spend Easter in jail and reportedly attempted to flee. Slager gave chase and is presumed to have used his Taser.

"Without attempting to stand, Sgt. Yates asked if he could assist his mother and he was tasered a third time."

The device did not seem to have had the desired immobilizing effect. Scott continued to flee.
And then came a moment that suggests one of the dangers of using Tasers. Slager had already escalated from attempting to grab Scott the old-fashioned way. He was not likely to deescalate in the heat of the moment.
He instead escalated further by reaching for the other, far deadlier device he carried on his gun belt.
As smoothly as if he were on a firing range, Slager drew his automatic pistol, aimed and curled his finger around the trigger just as he would with a Taser.
Slager fired eight times at Scott, who was running away with a Taser barb still in his flesh. Scott constituted no possible danger to the officer or anyone else.
Slager stopped when Scott went down, the bullets having had the intended effect.
Immediately after firing the last shot, Slager looked to his left at a person who did constitute a threat of another kind to him.
That person was Feiden Santana. He would later tell NBC News that he had been on his way to his job when he saw Slager chasing Scott. Santana said he saw the two men struggle and go down on the ground. The cop seemed to get control of the situation.

Feiden had then heard the distinct crackle of a Taser. He watched Scott scramble away and flee.

"Scott was trying just to get away from the Taser," Santana told NBC. "I believe he (was) just trying to get away from the Taser."
Santana had by then begun using his cellphone to make a video. His hand stayed remarkably steady as the crackle of the Taser was followed by gunshots. Santana remained steadiness itself as Slager called for the dying Scott to place his hands behind his back.

Slager got on his radio to notify the Taser Town dispatcher.
"Shots fired and the subject is down! He took my Taser!"
The video shows Slager striding up to handcuff Scott and then returning to the vicinity of where he had been when he started firing.
Another officer appears and is crouching beside Scott as Slager returns and drops an object of some kind beside the bleeding man.
Whatever the object was, it was evidence in a shooting.
If it was Slager's Taser, that would suggest he was trying to plant credence to his radio message of moments before.
What seems clear is Slager's indifference to this unarmed man he had just shot multiple times in the back. Slager was well-trained in CPR and first aid, but made absolutely no effort to help Scott.
The explanation that immediately suggests itself is that Scott was black. But the other officer is also black, and Slager would no doubt have hurried to help him if he were wounded.
Scott was not just black but a perp, a candidate to be tased with near impunity if he were not cooperative, worse if the tasing did not work.
At one point when the other officer stepped away, Slager knelt to press his fingertips against Scott's neck and check for a pulse. This may have been less out of concern for Scott than for the complications that would accompany a fatal shooting.
Afterward, Slager insisted that he had fired because he was afraid for his life.
He might have even gotten away with it were it not for the video that the brave young man turned over to Scott's family and to the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Slager was charged with murder on Tuesday.
"Today is a tragic day," North Charleston Police Chief Eddie Driggers said.
Wrong.
The tragic day was Saturday, when Scott died, having been shot after he had apparently already been tased in Taser Town.
The police did not respond to a request for the department's latest Taser facts. They likely were too busy with the shooting seen 'round the world.

The Daily Beast

[Albert Doyle]

We have one group that is heavily armed and backed with unfairly stacked law that solves it issues by pulling the trigger and another group that is supposed to accept its being subjected to that.

[Albert Doyle]

Just before the Baltimore riots nobody noticed this little gem of a legal decision. This man was clearly wrongfully and unnecessarily shot. The Dallas police are allowed to solve their petty police issues by gunning citizens down and are clearly a threat to public safety:



http://rt.com/usa/252533-dallas-screwdri...ting-jury/

[Michael Barwell]

A short piece on modern policing from the Grauniad, 28Ap2015:
Who's in control of law and order in Baltimore police or politicians? - [size=12]Simon Jenkins[/SIZE]
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree...oliticians
Now it is Baltimore's turn. On the [size=12]fiftieth anniversary[/SIZE] of the Watts riots in Los Angeles, one of America's most historic cities has reverted to [size=12]violent disorder[/SIZE]. The police are overwhelmed, emergency is declared and troops are summoned. The cause is all too familiar, what appears to be the fatal mistreatment by police officers of a black person.
There will always be ethnically diverse cities. Where they are poor and decrepit, diversity leads to tension and tension to trouble between disaffected groups and authority. As in London's riots in [size=12]Brixton in 1981[/SIZE] and [size=12]Tottenham in 2011[/SIZE], blame for sparking and failing to curb the resulting disorder seems to lie in the culture and command structure of the police. Time and again, the catalyst has been the unnecessary killing of an apparently innocent suspect by a trigger-happy or violent policeman.
Civilian constabularies were created, in America as in Britain, to enable communities to police themselves within the law, specifically to forestall the need to send in outside militias. To Britain's 19th-century home secretary, Robert Peel, the essence of provincial forces was that they would draw constables from the local community, often as volunteers. After the [size=12]Peterloo massacre of 1819[/SIZE], armed troops should never again be needed to quell trouble. It is significant that Britain's most problem-ridden police, in London, is the one force Peel kept under central government control.
On both sides of the Atlantic, city forces have gone in precisely the direction Peel feared. They have become hi-tech, over-armed, self-disciplining security agencies, forming a lobby powerful enough to scare politicians into giving them whatever they want. This may be understandable in cities such as[size=12]Baltimore[/SIZE], in thrall to gangs and the drugs industry, to neither of which America or Britain has found a cure. But understandable is not excusable.
Policing cities will always be tough, but that merely increases the need for clear political control. From London's periodic riots to the Stephen Lawrence and Andrew Mitchell affairs, the impression is of a clannish police without leadership or accountability.
As we see in Baltimore, such a force is a sitting target. The police riot has become endemic to the modern city. We still seem unable to consign it to history.

[Don Jeffries]

Here's my take on the Baltimore riots, for those who may be interested:

https://donaldjeffries.wordpress.com/

[Lauren Johnson]

Here's my take on the Baltimore riots, for those who may be interested:

https://donaldjeffries.wordpress.com/

10-4, Don.

I recall in the Jefferson City riots that the announcement from the DA had to come during prime time television, which also meant after dark. I thought that was odd coming from an officer of the court with obvious concern for public safety. This whole thing smells, I thought.

Of course, the jib was up when police officers were filmed setting a car on fire with a flash bang grenade. Then there was the weird sniper story.

That riot was a made for television special. Same here. Wasn't the rioting given some kind of name which I can't recall?

[David Guyatt]

Here's my take on the Baltimore riots, for those who may be interested:

https://donaldjeffries.wordpress.com/

Nicely argued, Don.

I also am stunned that with the volume of Youtube clips available to watch, and the numerous cases of murder and brutality evident, no one in a position of power is doing anything proactively to halt this. It's as though it is an untouchable category of crime.

[David Guyatt]

And it keeps on happening! The suicide in the Texas police cell of black activist Sandra Bland, is to be investigated as homicide by the local DA, amidst claims that the police dashcam video has been tampered with.

I've watched the vids and listened to the exchanges and it is apparent to me that the cop took the action he did, even drawing his forearm, because she didn't show fear to his power but rather questioned his motives and also questioned the legality of his actions. She repeatedly asked him why he was arresting her and he repeatedly blanked the questions.

I see from elsewhere that the Mail Online has a feature story on this:

Texas police deny editing 'absolutely chilling' dashcam footage of Sandra Bland's arrest which shows cars disappearing and reappearing

• Online speculation claims some footage was removed and looped to match with the audio recording
  
• There is no footage of Bland kicking the officer, as has been claimed
  
• Texan authorities issued a statement denying any doctoring of the footage
  
• African American activist Sandra Bland, 28, was found dead in her Waller County cell on July 13, three days after her arrest
  
• Texas police released the dashcam footage of the arrest yesterday
  

By IMOGEN CALDERWOOD FOR MAILONLINE and EVAN BLEIER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 10:41, 22 July 2015 | UPDATED: 06:43, 23 July 2015

13kshares

517View comments

Social media users have been reacting with cynicism and disgust today following claims that police footage of Sandra Bland's arrest was edited before it was released.
Discrepancies in the clip were first pointed out by Ava DuVernay, the director of Oscar-nominated civil rights movement film Selma, who took to Twitter with her allegations on Tuesday night.
Since then, other people have been inundating the site with their comments.
One user asked Texas Police Department: 'What is Texas hiding? Makes one think Sandra Bland was indeed murdered while in custody.'
Another said: 'Someone should check the jail video they released too.'
Meanwhile Texas officials insisted on Wednesday that the 52-minute video had not been edited and that the glitches were due to technical issues. It said another version of the footage would be released.
Scroll down for video





Accusations: Twitter users have been expressing outrage that police allegedly doctored footage of activist Sandra Bland being arrested on July 10. The police have denied the claims



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The dashcam video showed a Department of Public Safety trooper trying to pull Sandra Bland from her car

'The video has not been edited,' said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. He added that some of the video during a conversation between the trooper and his sergeant after the arrest of Bland was 'affected in the upload and is being addressed', and that DPS was working to repost it.
The department has also asked the FBI to investigate 'to ensure the integrity of the video'.

Director Ava DuVernay claimed that the video of the arrest of African American Bland, released by the department yesterday, shows clear signs of being altered.
The dashcam video, shot from the police patrol car, shows state trooper Brian Encinia pulling over 28-year-old Bland for failing to signal a turn, followed by a confrontation between the activist and the officer.
Police say Ms Bland, from Chicago, was found hanged in a Waller County jail cell three days after being arrested and charged with assault on a public servant.
But her family said she wouldn't have killed herself. Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said on Monday he would investigate the death as a homicide.

Texas DPS dashcam footage of arrest of Sandra Bland









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Controversial: DPS trooper Brian Encinia got Bland to leave the car by threatening her and told her she was under arrest



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Outrage: Eva DuVernay, director of Oscar-nominated film Selma, has spoken out claiming that the police footage has been doctored

On Tuesday at 10pm, Ms Duvernay posted on Twitter: I edit footage for a living. But anyone can see that this official video has been cut.'
She added: 'Glitches. Motion sensors. Clouds. Reasons from those who say SandraBland vid is pristine. Doesn't explain loops + audio cuts. But, um, ok.'
In a third tweet, she said in response to other users: 'I disagree. But not worth arguing about. Because the real issue is: What really happened to SandraBland? Missing info from start to finish. Why?'
Multiple allegations have been made about the 52-minute video - which can be viewed in full on YouTube - including claims that footage has been removed and looped to match the audio recording.
One of the most conspicuous moments in the footage comes at 25.12, when a man gets out of his truck in the centre of the screen and walks off screen to the right.

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Ava DuVernay, the director of Oscar-nominated civil rights movement film Selma, tweeted these accusations


At 25:20, the same man reappears getting out of his car again, and the footage flickers before settling.
At 33:02, a a white car drives into the left-hand-side of the frame before disappearing and reappearing seconds later.
The same white car can be seen again driving into the frame at 33:50. The car drives into the shot, followed by a dark grey car.
Both cars disappear from the centre of the screen at 33.56, before reappearing again from the left of the screen.
The white car disappears again at 33.59, and both vanish again at 34:06.
Meanwhile the audio recording of the officer making a phone call to report the incident continues smoothly.


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Sandra Bland, 28 (seen in a Facebook picture), was found dead in her Texas jail cell three days after being pulled over for an alleged traffic violation






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In the police video she is ordered to put down her phone (left) before Encinia put her in handcuffs (right)

The video, recorded on July 10, shows the officer pulling Bland over, before a confrontation develops and she is arrested.
The confrontation between the two parties began when Encinia asked Bland to put out a cigarette and she responded 'Why do I have to put out a cigarette in my own car?'
He ordered her out of the vehicle and when she refused, he informed her she was under arrest.
Encinia also said 'I will yank you out of the car' and 'I'm going to drag you out.'
When Bland still refused to move, Encinia yanked her door open and appeared to try to drag her out physically before he eventually grabbed his Taser and yelled: 'I will light you up.'

Bland then exited the car and continued to complain about her treatment by the officer.
After being ordered to put down her phone, Bland said she would look forward to seeing him in court and a physical confrontation began off-camera after Encinia put her in handcuffs.
At various points during the confrontation, Bland said 'you are such a p***y', 'this make you feel real good, you're a real man', 'y'all strong', and 'South Carolina got y'all b***h a***s scared'.
In the course of the video, Bland claims the officer 'slammed her head on the ground'.
The officer claims that Bland kicked him, which is confirmed by his female partner.
As Bland and the police officer are off-screen throughout the confrontation, however, there is no footage of either assault taking place.
Bland family lawyer Cannon Lambert confirmed there is no footage of Bland kicking Encinia, as the Texas DPS had previously claimed.

Footage of heated confrontation between officer and Sandra Bland













Twitter users who watched the video have been condemning the police officer's actions during the arrest

The police officer's treatment of Bland has also been criticized by social media users, with one saying: 'After watching the video... what was Sandra Bland arrested for again? That part wasn't very clear.'
Her death at the Waller County jail in Hempstead, about 60 miles northwest of Houston, was ruled a suicide by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office.
But her family expressed doubt that she would have killed herself - she had just moved to Texas for a promising new job at the university - and Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said on Monday he would investigate the incident as a homicide.
He promised that prosecutors would handle the case as thoroughly as it would be in a murder investigation', adding that it was too early' to determine what happened.
'Sandra Bland was very combative,' Mathis said. 'It was not a model traffic stop... and it was not a model person that was stopped on a traffic stop.
'I think the public can make its own determinations as to the behaviors that are seen in the video.'
The FBI and the Texas Rangers are also investigating.
Bland's family and others have called for a Justice Department probe and an independent autopsy.




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Bland, seen in a police mugshot, would not have killed herself, say her family and friends



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A three-hour video taken from outside a jail cell where Bland's body was found showed there was no activity in the hallway outside her cell for 90 minutes beforehand



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In the video footage several staff members at the Waller County Jail are seen rushing to her cell on July 13



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An EMS team also came to the scene and CPR was administered, but it was not successful


Police release surveillance footage from Waller County Jail







During a service on Tuesday at All Faiths Chapel on the Prairie View A&M University campus, more than a hundred people paid their respects to Bland, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Her mother Geneva Reed-Veal spoke at the end of the service honoring her daughter.
Reed-Veal said Bland told her that her purpose in life was to 'stop all social injustice in the South'.
The grieving mother said: 'I'm angry, too.
'All I want to know is what happened.
'There is not anywhere that I can see that my baby took her own life.
'Once I put this baby in the ground. I'm ready... this means war.'



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Sandra Bland's mom Geneva Read-Veal (right) and sister Sharon during a prayer at the tribute service



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Bland's mother (center) was hugged by family members at a memorial service for her daughter



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Jeanette Williams places a bouquet of roses at a memorial for Bland near Prairie View A&M University

A three-hour video taken from outside the jail cell where Bland was found dead was released by Texas authorities on Monday.
The video shows no activity in the hallway leading to Bland's cell for about 90 minutes until an officer goes to check on her.
It shows a deputy reacting to what she sees while looking in the cell, triggering a frenzy of activity involving other deputies.
An EMT crew arrives with a wheeled stretcher.
The video does not show the inside of her cell or even her cell door.
Deputies and medical personnel are seen coming and going, but a body isn't visible.
Captain Brian Cantrell, head of the sheriff's department criminal investigation division, said the video was motion sensitive, indicating if nothing is taking place after a certain amount of time, it turns off.
He said the FBI has been given hard drives to determine if there's been any manipulation.
Cantrell said a guard checked with Bland about two hours before she was found dead and Bland told her, 'I'm fine'.

New video of Sandra Bland's arrest before she later died in jail









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A video recorded by a bystander of Bland's arrest shows an officer holding her to the ground



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Protesters rallied outside the Waller County Courthouse after marching from the jail where Bland died

About an hour later, she asked to make a telephone call from her cell and was advised the phone was on a wall in the cell, according to Cantrell.
There is no record of her ever making a phone call, he said.
Mathis also said jail records show Bland was offered a medical checkup but declined.
Cantrell declined to describe Bland's death in detail.
He described the plastic garbage bag used as a ligature by extending his hands about five-to-six feet apart.
The bags, he said, had been approved by a jail inspector, but have since been removed from all cells.
Relatives and friends have insisted she was upbeat and looking forward to a new job at Prairie View A&M University, the school where she graduated in 2009.
She was in the area to interview for the job and accepted it.

[David Guyatt]

Just to add that when the cop radio's in to control, he used a 10:98 code, meaning "prison/jail break" (see HERE).

Without giving reason for her arrest and then calling in a prison/jail break powerfully suggests an illegal abuse of power to me.