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Yikes. This could happen to anyone. Too bad she wasn't carrying a weapon.



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp ... 5#26427325

OK, for those who don't want to sit through a commercial and a video, here's a print story: http://news.bostonherald.com/news/natio ... ion=recent

A police officer in Yonkers, New York, was videoed slamming a woman to the floor. The story linked above says,

Authorities said Simoes was trying to keep the 44-year-old woman from interfering with emergency medical technicians who were assisting her niece, who had been hit in the head with a bottle.

The story calls the location a restaurant, though it looks like a bar to me.

The officer has been indicted by a federal grand jury. The exact charge is not stated.

The woman has now filed a federal lawsuit against the police department.

A whole bunch of bad decisions led up to this incident.

Do you really think it's a good idea to use a weapon against a police officer? Good luck with that.

- Jim

Ross Lipman wrote:Yikes. This could happen to anyone.

<Shrug /> Anyone could be hit in the head by a meteorite too. That aside, I'm sure not going to try and make a determination about who was right and who was wrong from a 5 second video clip.

seamusTX wrote: Do you really think it's a good idea to use a weapon against a police officer? Good luck with that.

Officer perhaps used excessive force but the question is did he violate her rights.

Here is a little more of the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThiI1eVYtXY

No, I don't. Where do you stand?

- Jim

Jim, sorry I edited my earlier post. Looks like the Officer used excessive force but his Dept. and Asst. D.A. tryed to sweep it under the rug so the Feds are getting involved. The question of the day is did he intentionally violate her civil rights. The system seems to be taking care of this one so we will see.

Elvis wrote:The system seems to be taking care of this one...

It does.

We can't rely upon incomplete and inflammatory news reports. The courts will figure it out, maybe in a couple of years.

- Jim

That's incredible. 120 lb woman, and he thought the best course of action was to pick her up and throw her on the ground.

Wouldn't pepper spray be a more appropriate response? Aren't stun guns generally regarded as an acceptable level of force that is capable of stopping a resistant person, while minimizing injury to that person? Heck, even a tazer would be better than a WWF body slam!

And I don't know what good it would have done for her to be armed - she was unconscious before she even knew her life was potentially in danger from a "Peace" Officer.

seamusTX wrote:

Elvis wrote:The system seems to be taking care of this one...

It does.

We can't rely upon incomplete and inflammatory news reports. The courts will figure it out, maybe in a couple of years.

- Jim

Jim, does the video not speak for itself to you? In your mind, when is it appropriate for a cop to body slam a woman half his size? The right to the presumption of innocence is a restriction placed on the government, not me. I think what he did is indefensible.

Video never "speaks for itself." It does not show what happened before or after. It does not show what happened outside the focus of the camera. This one does not contain an audio track.

Video can also be tampered with, though I see no evidence that that happened in this case.

From what I've read in news reports on other sites, the actions of this officer do appear to be inexcusable. He had other non-lethal means available if the woman threatened him. He had backup on the scene.

Having lived half my life on the South Side of Chicago, I am familiar with police brutality. I abhor it and think it should be punished harshly. However, I am also skeptical of the way the media handle such cases.

- Jim

Well said Jim. Lets not let this turn into a cop bash. I am sure others can put up many videos of Officer misconduct and I am sure I can find many videos of Officers saving lives.

Ross Lipman wrote:

seamusTX wrote:

Elvis wrote:The system seems to be taking care of this one...

It does.

We can't rely upon incomplete and inflammatory news reports. The courts will figure it out, maybe in a couple of years.

- Jim

Jim, does the video not speak for itself to you? In your mind, when is it appropriate for a cop to body slam a woman half his size? The right to the presumption of innocence is a restriction placed on the government, not me. I think what he did is indefensible.

You have now been banned under three different user names. If you register again, a complaint will be sent to your ISP. We have the IP addresses on each of your posts, so you are easy to track.

Chas.

Nice job Detective Cotton, seems like the "system" works.
Thanks.

Is that the iggy guy?

Man he really hates cops....

I agree with Jim that we should let the court figure it out. I'm betting he had no intention of doing that much damage to her. I'm sure he thought he was goign to just put her on the ground in cuff her. In his hightened state though he probably used too much strength. Plus he is/was probably used to doing the same thing to guys that weighed much more than her. Obviously a temporary lack of judegement that is going to cost this guy dearly in the end.

Elvis wrote:Nice job Detective Cotton, seems like the "system" works.
Thanks.

+1