Poetsheart, seems like this thread has drawn even more of the"they’re just a bunch of rabid animals" crowd than the thread about killer cops a couple of killings back. 
( and the killings and beatings just go on and on and on and on)
Poetsheart, did you have to go and mention St. Ronnie of Rayguns? Coming to this thread makes me feel nauseated enough.
(And how do you find the eyeroll emoticon? Another board I visit has a puking emoticon, but I don’t see one here. you can PM me for eyeroll help.)
MomCat2, “St. Ronnie of Rayguns”? Snort! Thank You for that one!
Or St. Ronnie for short. They really have tried to canonize him.
You know how any mention of gun control anywhere brings out legions of passionate defenders of the Constitution and how it protects and guarantees their right to own guns?
Why aren't the same stalwart champions of the 2nd amendment in the blogosphere and the TV-radio pundit class speaking out in outrage over the blatant and repeated violation of Constitutional rights guaranteed by the 4th and 14th amendments by the police?
Talk about "green hypocrisy." Constitutional hypocrisy is worse.
That was quite the interesting video link, Cartera. Poor kid. But, I found this Fox News response to the firing of the Officer, well…entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4AzaGCQrY4
Fox News anchor, and former prosecutor, Gregg Jarrett, called the treatment of this kid, “classic police brutality”, and said that even the way the officer yelled at the kid could be labeled police brutality. Really? Now, I happen to think the guy deserved to loose his job over this incident, because obviously he has anger management issues that impede his ability to act in a professional manner, but to hear Gregg Jarrett say that even the yelling could be called police brutality made me actually laugh out loud. I wonder if he said these same words when Henry Louis Gates was hauled away from his own home and arrested for daring to get fresh with a member of Boston’s finest. Somehow, I doubt it…
Yes, in fact there is a very specific rule about this. And the rule is: Officers are required to render or call for medical aid when it is needed. Not one of these officers did what they were required to do. By the time Officer White saw him, he was unresponsive. I’d certainly think that an unresponsive person should be looked at by the medics, wouldn’t you? She not only didn’t call the medics, she didn’t even examine Gray.
@partyof5 – I saw the interview of the other passenger too. A couple of things struck me; first, he was emphatic that he did NOT tell investigators that Gray was violently thrashing around in the van. This story first surfaced a couple of days ago as a leak from the police. So, just one more instance of police lies.
You mentioned this chilling detail too, but I thought I’d give the full quote. Just to give the flavor of what callous disregard for human life sounds like:
We gave him a run for his money. Unbelievable. And his crime was what again?
Wow…I hope this guy is actually lying, and they didn’t really say those words upon seeing what shape Gray was in . But, I get a sad, sick feeling that it might actually be true. I mean, the time line shows they knew the man was in distress quite a bit before they reached the station, and yet still off-loaded the other detainee first.
I hope he’s lying too, but unfortunately it has the ring of truth to it, given everything else we know about Baltimore PD.
I don’t think he was lying. Freddy’s condition in the van confirms it.
The whole incidence makes me sick to my stomach and how anyone could possibly even try to defend the cops actions is mind boggling (and I’ve read way worse then some of what has been posted on this board by police sympathizers.)
There was a kid who was filmed bashing in a police car’s window with a traffic cone. His parents persuaded him to turn himself in. He is being held on $500,000 bond.
Officer Ceasar (?) Goodman, the driver of the van and the one being charged with the most crimes is being held on $350,000 bond. And so it goes on…
First you have callous disregard for FG's rights when the three bike officers go ahead and haul him in even though they find nothing on him to justify arrest. Running from them on sight is not a crime and once they found nothing they should have let him go.
Then you have the callous disregard for his safety and very life. Driving him in the opposite direction from the central booking, taking him on a pointless zigzag of a route, apparently “rough” enough to cause his head to bash into a bolt on the ground in the van, then ignoring his worsening condition and requests for help.
I don’t want to predict whether these criminal charges will result in convictions. But there should be federal civil prosecution as well. Life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness. These are protected under the Constitution as much as the right to bear arms and there should be a hew and cry nationwide over how these rights were trampled on.
I live a few miles north of Baltimore city and lived in the city for years. I was in the city Wednesday Thursday and last night and will return tonight. Most of my friends live there and are doing lots of volunteering to help those in neighborhoods affected by the violence. Some poor choices made by the city and the cops set things off Monday.
@Busdriver…it appears quite clearly brining up the issues of black on black crime is not appreciated. Since there is no real defense of that particularly galling statistic…I guess you will have to put up with snarks and attempts at minimizing and obscuring reality.
Aw well…as mom was know n to say…truth hurts. Or, in cases of wide spread disfunction it is best to not point out the elephant in the room.
^^Actually, dietz, I wasn’t bringing up the statistics of crime in Baltimore in a vacuum. I was bringing it up to address this statement:
“Baltimore cops have a history of brutality. Few people in Baltimore wonder why anyone would run when they see the cops. If you are these kids, would you run the next time you see the cops? These are white kids. Imagine what happens to the black kids. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GgWrV8TcUc Freddie Gray was the last straw. It amazes me that people don’t protest every day in the neighborhoods around where Gray was arrested.”
The fact being, with the murder rate in Baltimore, I would be far more concerned about other people in the community, than the cops. I’m not rationalizing that any sort of police brutality is acceptable. But imagine what happens if the cops should decide to stand down, and not notice any criminal activity. 235 murders last year. I agree with the protestors that were standing in front of the police.
I’m not sure why that would be offensive, but I suppose truths other than “the police are brutal and vicious”, are not welcomed.
There are several cop killed a black person threads in the forum. One thing I think has been missing in all these discussions is the solution. What could or should be done to prevent this type of incident to be so frequent? I personally will not like to be shot or beaten by police under any circumstance.
The statistics you cite have nothing to do with my statement. People have questioned why Gray ran when he had done nothing wrong. The well known history of police brutality answers that. He also knew he might be given a rough ride to the police station and not be in one piece when he got there. That is also well known in Baltimore. He also knew that if he ended up dead, there was a decent chance drugs or a gun might be planted on his body and an even better chance that the cops would lie to justify his death. The cops in urban areas generally know they can act with impunity. They have largely been allowed to self regulate with disastrous results.
What does black on black crime have to do with police arresting, shackling, and abusing a person who has committed no crime?
You’re fixated on the wrong elephant.
"What does black on black crime have to do with police arresting, shackling, and abusing a person who has committed no crime?
You’re fixated on the wrong elephant"
@jazzymom, I realize that I have a tendency to not include the quote that I am addressing. I just assume that people are following what I am responding to, which obviously is not a good way to write. People think these are just random comments, which they are not. I was responding to this statement about people oppressing those in their own racial group:
“As for the rest, there are theories of why someone would oppress a person who belongs to their own “group”. One theory is that it seems to place you in a different, (higher, better, stronger) group.”
Like @Dad II mentions, I also am interesting in figuring out a solution to these problems. I don’t think focusing on cop bashing is the answer, which is what these threads always devolve to. I want to find a solution for these communities, and I hope that others that actually have the power to do so, agree with that. Rhetoric is useless.
It seems as if using more cameras is the short term answer for the safety of both the police and the public.
I believe this would be an extremely cost efficient way to keep everyone safer.
I cannot begin to imagine the millions that will be spent on this one incident. Millions that could have been spent on improving poor people’s lives.
I think the answer to poverty lies in hope and dignity. The hope to better yourself , the belief you are of value and the belief that others value you.
I believe the answer plain and simple is jobs. Good jobs. Factory jobs. Jobs with decent pay, jobs that offer advancement and jobs that allow you to raise your family and buy a place of your own. People will take pride in what they own. Every person wants to believe they can succeed. Every person needs to envision their life getting better. They need hope.
Simply, the US needs to make it a mission to bring good jobs to poor communities.
You cannot lure people away from the profit of selling drugs with jobs at McDonalds.
I absolutely cannot imagine living in poverty with no vision of a way out, of living a life of hopelessness. I would HATE everyone.