Rush to Judgement…
From CNN:
A former police officer accused in the videotaped beating of a man in the French Quarter after Hurricane Katrina was acquitted Tuesday by a judge who heard the case without a jury.
“I didn’t even find this a close call,” said District Judge Frank Marullo.
Marullo watched videotapes of the beating and its aftermath and he noted that Davis could be seen struggling on the tape for several minutes.
“This event could have ended at any time if the man had put his hands behind his back,” the judge said.
(Robert) Evangelist and Lance Schilling were fired after being accused of the beating. Schilling killed himself June 10.
Two police officers fired. One of them subsequently commits suicide. Over an incident that evidently wasn’t even “a close call” according to the judge.
Whatever happened to due process? Similar in a way to the recent Michael Vick situation, it seems that employers get nervous over public opinion and exact punishment well ahead of the judgement of the courts.
This is all kinds of wrong, but that’s our society today. It’s just nice to know your employer has your back. (sarcasm)
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Here’s some video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7w76PMGL18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfaDVpRYGNo
Did you watch the video? Did the judge watch the video? At the beginning of the video, the police have Davis facing the wall with his hands behind his back. A horse covers the frame briefly, and then the next thing we see is Davis, still facing the wall, still with his hands behind his back…being punched multiple times in the back of the head by one of the police officers. And that’s “not even close”? I’m not sure what Davis could have done during the two seconds the horse covered the frame that would have justified that, since it seemed to me he was all but handcuffed at that point. Just slap them on and be done with it.
At that point, of course Davis starts struggling. He was being beaten! Who wouldn’t struggle? An extra nice touch is about a minute in, when one of the cops goes apecrap on a bystander and shoves him up against a car, screaming in his face with foul language. Very professional.
So, I’m sorry, but I think the judge misjudged. These cops clearly stepped over the line. Due process? The video was made public, and we’re all entitled to draw opinions on it. As for their jobs, apparently their superiors took one look at that tape and decided a firing (not a suspension) was in order. They are also entitled to that. I don’t blame them, and I don’t think it necessarily had anything to do with concern over public opinion. Looks to me like they deserved to lose their jobs.
It’s tragic one of them subsequently committed suicide, but it’s doubtful that single isolated incident was the root of that. Perhaps it was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but he must have had other problems leading up to it.
Your overall point is noted, however. It would be nice to see employers stand up for their employees more often when they deserve it. But I can think of better examples than this one.
Heh, Mike you may not realize it, but you’re making my point for me.
You’ve seen the video, and you’re rushing to judgement.
You’ve been fed the context, and without further information, you bit.
It’s not your job or mine to judge these people.
“Bit” on content I was “fed”? It’s a video. I watched it, and yes, made a judgement based on what I saw. You have made one too. I don’t see what’s “rushed” about it – I saw what I saw, a cop punching a man who was in a defenseless position. Where is the “spin” here?
It *is* our job to judge police officers and how they do their jobs. As public servants paid by tax dollars, they work for us, remember. In fact, it’s very important that we watch and judge them, because it is far too easy for them to abuse the immense amount of authority that is given to them.
You don’t know the context. You’ve filled in the blanks. You don’t know precisely what happened before they had him up against the wall. You don’t know what happened that elicited the blows (which ARE acceptable to subdue an individual resisting arrest.) For all YOU know, he head butted an officer while the horse was blocking the camera. For all YOU know, he spit on an officer and broke free.
You’ve rushed to judgement, and probably assigned motivation as well. White police beating a black man resisting arrest for whatever reason (no matter the circumstances) = insta-fire in Lousiana. We know that now.
Maybe. It looks pretty bad to me. Also, a few years ago I may have been more inclined to agree with you, but I had my own abusive incident with a police officer, after which I’ve lost a lot of trust in those whom such great authority is placed. It’s just too easy for people to abuse that authority (imagine the power trip even disciplined people like you and I might experience. Now imagine you’re a machismo jock, the type which is often drawn to this kind of job.)
How about the cop who pushes the bystander up against the car and screams in his face. Do you think there’s context there that might have significance if we knew about it?
Your comment again underlines one of the reasons our system mandates presumed innocence. Your personal bias is entering into the equation.
Assuming the worst is not evidence of it.
Regarding the second question, maybe. I can come up with a hundred scenarios as to why the cop acted the way he did. Want one? Maybe he told that guy 50 times to step back and let the police do their job. Maybe that guy kept stepping into the action, grabbing or jabbering or swearing at the cop until he finally blew his top. Who the hell knows?
Maybe the cop was unjustified. But then again, maybe he wasn’t.
Maybe he wasn’t. It’s a tough job.
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