Police Misconduct Catch All Thread

[Derec]

There was that one time, but 1) she was white, and 2) I was trippn balls. I addressed her as

Spoiler

"YO, RED! EAT MY FKN C[-word]!"

Classy!

 

[Derec]

You don't even get paid a whole lot
Take your four, five and you put it 'pon lock
Take your M sixty and put it 'pon lock
Take your uzi, put it 'pon lock

I should note that these are the names of guns,

US cops do not carry Uzis, much less M60s.

and, the instructions to not fire the weapons. "Put (u)pon lock." Maybe he was giving Black cops a literal as well as figurative instruction, I don't know.

To what? Not use their weapons, even when necessary? To not use their weapons against black suspects, even when necessary?

 

[Derec]

$50 million claim filed over LAPD tasing of Keenan Anderson : NPR
Eek. What excuse do those cops have for doing that?

We talked about it when it happened in this very thread, starting at post #1450.

Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old high school teacher and father, was trying to get help after a traffic collision when he was chased, held down by multiple officers and tased for over 90 seconds as he begged for help.

Complete mischaracterization. He caused the DUI accident, tried to steal a car and resisted arrest. And what does his reproductive status have to do with anything?

"If you Taser someone with 50,000 watts of electrical energy six times ... is there really any wonder that moments later his heart will begin to flutter?" attorney Carl Douglas said at a news conference, the Associated Press reported.

50,000 Watts? No. It's 50,000 Volts. 50 kW would have fried him to a crisp. Instead, the tasering only motivated him to stop resisting (although he did rant about Cee Lo afterwards). He only died 4.5 h later.

Others involved in the collision said Anderson had caused it, Moore said during a news conference Wednesday. Moore also said that Anderson had committed a felony hit-and-run and that another person involved in the collision said Anderson tried to steal a vehicle.

This is more honest reporting. Unfortunately, it is buried deep in the article.

At Wednesday's news conference, Moore said only a "single taser activation" had occurred, elaborating later that he believed several attempts were ineffective and the officer used "a series of dry stuns" following the first full activation.
Moore also said the department has no preset limit on the number of times a taser should be used in a situation.

That would indicate that he was actively tased for less total time than claimed.

Justice advocates criticized the LAPD for releasing a preliminary toxicology report, which showed Anderson's blood samples tested positive for cocaine and cannabis. Melina Abdullah, a friend of Patrisse Cullors and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, described the focus on narcotics as an "assassination on Keenan's character after they've already stolen his body."

Why should not true information about a DUI suspects who caused an accident be released? How is the truth "assassination of Keenan's character"? At most it's "character suicide" - Keenan's own actions and choices besmirched his character.
Note also that this Melina Abdullah is a police abolitionist and an all-around extremist.

"Keenan was the one who flagged police down in the first place," she told NPR. "And then he was treated as the criminal, as most Black men are."

Well, he did break the law.

"I think what's most important for people to organize around right now is 'no cops at traffic stops,'" she said. "My cousin would be around right now if he hadn't had a police encounter. Professionals who know how to deal with a crisis should've been at that scene."

Her cousin would have been around right now if he wasn't high as a kite and if he hadn't caused that accident. "No cops at traffic stops" is idiotic. What does she want? No arrests for DUIs? That would make driving much more dangerous for all of us.

"No matter what these investigations determine, however, the need for urgent change is clear. We must reduce the use of force overall, and I have absolutely no tolerance for excessive force."

This is a stupid statement. What the investigations determine is very important. If no excessive force was used, then police did nothing wrong.

There was also a video.

Again, the guy was high on coke, caused a car accident, acted erratic, tried stealing a car at the scene. Was tased, yes, but police did nothing wrong tasing him. He died long after getting tased, most likely due to effects of cocaine intoxication.
His survivors certainly do not deserve any damages, much less the ridiculous $50M demanded by the greedy relatives and their hearse-chasing lawyers.

One won't get much support from the community if one acts like that.

What about acting like Keenan Anderson did? Unfortunately for LA taxpayers, that city's voters made a poor choice electing Karen "Castro's Venceremos Brigade" Bass as mayor, and she will most likely pay the greedy family even though they do not deserve a cent.

 

[Gospel]

KRS likens the police to slave overseers, suggesting that black cops, by joining a system historically designed to oppress us, aren't truly helping their own people.

KRS1 also cheered when 9/11 happened. So this idiotic take by him is on brand.

I don’t usually agree with his opinions. He has a habit of saying something really controversial to grab attention, then tries to explain it later. The problem is, even when he makes a good point, he often undermines it by tying it to something unrelated—like using the 9/11 attacks to talk about unequal treatment of Black people at the World Trade Center. While it may have brought attention to real issues, it mostly generated a narrative that isn't true about black people (at least not in my case).

 

[ZiprHead]

Fired Florida deputy who killed Roger Fortson is charged with manslaughter

Eddie Duran, formerly of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, shot Fortson multiple times after he opened the door of his Fort Walton Beach apartment.

www.nbcnews.com

The since-fired Florida sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot an Air Force senior airman in his home in May has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said Friday.

The charge was confirmed by Gregory Anchors, the chief assistant state’s attorney for Okaloosa County, who said the charge of manslaughter with a firearm carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.


Eddie Duran, formerly of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, shot Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson multiple times on May 3, after Fortson opened the door of his Fort Walton Beach apartment. Fortson was holding a gun in his right hand that was pointed to the ground, body-camera video shows. Duran was responding to a call of a domestic disturbance from a resident in the apartment complex.

Anchors said a warrant had been issued for Duran’s arrest but that he was unsure when the former deputy would turn himself in. Duran did not immediately reply to a request for comment. His attorney did not immediately reply to a phone call and email seeking comment.

 

[Gospel]

In my opinion, an officer should only use deadly force when they are genuinely confronted with it. Using deadly force merely because you feel threatened undermines the very purpose of the badge; there must be a real, imminent threat. That’s just how I see it—not all Americans agree. I've heard all the counterarguments: 'How could they possibly know? You’re not in their shoes, you can’t understand. They have a right to defend themselves before force happens! What, do you think they should wait to get shot first? This doesn’t happen often enough to justify giving criminals an advantage over cops! You're one of those defund the police people aren't you. All of which are again "Feelings" and not a challenge to the premise.

 

[bilby]

In my opinion, an officer should only use deadly force when they are genuinely confronted with it.

It has worked in England since 1829.

Suspects are rarely killed; Same for police. Typically, everyone survives to have their day in court.

There are, of course, exceptions; But those are very rare indeed.

 

[Gospel]

Just give the man a ticket and move on.

www.npr.org/2024/09/09/nx-s1-5106872/tyreek-hill-police-bodycam-videos-miami-dolphins

Bodycam footage shows Miami-Dade Police forcibly handling Dolphins star Tyreek Hill​

A traffic stop involving the Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill escalated rapidly on Sunday, as officers forcibly removed Hill from his car less than a minute after pulling him over and ultimately detained him in handcuffs for nearly 20 minutes, as footage released by the Miami-Dade Police Department shows.

 

[Person19960]

I've been reading Reddit today (I do not have an account) (any more) and am currently midway through a thread about Tyreek Hill and the astonishing police overreaction and needless drama that led to Hill being forced to the ground with a knee in his back, after being chased by, how many police motorcycles? I hurt too much to count them, and I've seen the video 4 times this morning.

I was led to read other links about things I did not know.

List of LASD deputy gangs Main article: Gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department​

I already knew about "A Klansman In Every Station," which the FBI reported on, many years ago, And just from seeing cops on video, I already knew that they were trained to shout "stop resisting" to the tune of their forceful fists, batons, knees, tasers, and guns. After "stop resisting" began to upset the general American public, the police were trained to shout other things to the tune of their violence.

People in that thread alleged that the cops who abused Tyreek Hill were members of a biker gang. That's true, in my opinion and for reasons, and I further assert that this is true nearly everywhere, or, for at least more than just those guys, or just Florida Cops.

It should be noted that this week, Florida Cops have been emboldened by Governor Ron DeSantis to harass voters whose signatures on an abortion-related petition had previously been verified.

Florida Goes Full Police State Over Abortion Ballot Initiative​

One state representative has accused Governor Ron DeSantis of “clear voter intimidation and plain corruption.”​

Florida is reportedly sending police officers to the homes of people who signed a petition supporting an abortion rights ballot initiative.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration has begun investigating thousands of verified signatures that helped to put a state constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion on the ballot in November. The amendment would overturn Florida’s current six-week abortion ban.

Petition organizers collected about 100,000 more signatures than they needed, surpassing the 900,000 that are required by the state and ensuring that their policy would be on the ballot. Now the Department of State’s spokesperson Ryan Ash claims that his agency has “uncovered evidence of illegal conduct with fraudulent petitions.”

Supervisors in Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach, Osceola, Alachua, and Broward counties have been requested to gather around 36,000 signatures for state review, according to the Tampa Bay Times. One supervisor with 16 years of experience told the Times that the state’s request was entirely unprecedented. Not only had the state requested signatures that had already been verified, but they did so for a validated petition, not a rejected petition, which are typically the basis of fraud investigations.

Multiple residents in Lee County have reported being visited by law enforcement following up on their petition signatures.

Another post in that Reddit thread led me to this 2015 article in Harvard Law Review. I am not even trying to fix the bad formatting, I feel awful. But motivated to discuss this topic.

Law Enforcement’s “Warrior” Problem​

Within law enforcement, few things are more venerated than the concept of the Warrior. Officers are trained to cultivate a “warrior mindset,” the virtues of which are extolled in books, articles,<a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-128/law-enforcements-warrior-problem/#footnote-ref-1">1</a> interviews,<a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-128/law-enforcements-warrior-problem/#footnote-ref-2">2</a> and seminars<a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-128/law-enforcements-warrior-problem/#footnote-ref-3">3</a> intended for a law enforcement audience. An article in Police Magazine opens with a sentence that demonstrates with notable nonchalance just how ubiquitous the concept is: “[Officers] probably hear about needing to have a warrior mindset almost daily.”<a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-128/law-enforcements-warrior-problem/#footnote-ref-4">4</a> Modern policing has so thoroughly assimilated the warrior mythos that, at some law enforcement agencies, it has become a point of professional pride to refer to the “police warrior.”<a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-128/law-enforcements-warrior-problem/#footnote-ref-5">5</a> This is more than a relatively minor change in terminology. Though adopted with the best of intentions, the warrior concept has created substantial obstacles to improving police/community relations. In short, law enforcement has developed a “warrior” problem.

In this Commentary, I first describe how law enforcement training and tactics reflect the warrior concept, identifying aspects of modern policing that, if not addressed, will continue to prevent or undermine efforts to improve public perceptions of police legitimacy. I join a growing chorus of voices contending that it is the Guardian, not the Warrior, that offers the appropriate metaphor for modern officers.<a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-128/law-enforcements-warrior-problem/#footnote-ref-6">6</a> Drawing on that principle, I offer two practical changes to police training that have the potential to advance the ultimate police mission — promoting public security — in a way that fosters, rather than thwarts, public trust: requiring non-enforcement contacts and emphasizing tactical restraint.

This is as far as I got before I saw the email notification of an update to this thread, by @Gospel, regarding Tyreek Hill's wildly unnecessary and uncalled-for "harassment" by Florida Cops (I use the word as an extreme understatement - I do that more than anyone knows).

Could this situation have been avoided? By both sides, obviously, yes.

Personally, I will never ever understand why so many people are willfully disrespectful to armed agents of the state who are trained to consider you and everyone else outside of their gang as a literal lethal threats. It's not a surprise, guys! and gals! Why would you want to make them madder on purpose by not cooperating AT ALL?

WHY would you roll your window UP? Why would you light a cigarette? Why would you REACH, or move your damn hands or body in any way during a police encounter? Is this your first day in America? WHY risk being rude to cops, when we all should be pretty sure about typical police behavior? My gah!

My father was a trucker for his entire life, and he didn't break any damn laws. He didn't speed, he didn't cheat on his taxes, nothing. Yet he still taught me - and, my dad wasn't much of a teacher - he made sure to Have The Talk with me, even though we're white. He told me: if you see lights, turn on your blinker to indicate that you are pulling over to the RIGHT, and do so as soon as safely possible. Do NOT move. Put your hands on the steering wheel at 10 and 2, and do not move your hands unless and until an officer tells you to move.

Then, follow and obey every single instruction, which was impossible for Tyreek Hill, because the most aggressive cop kept barking orders, then instantly changing his mind, as other cops barked different orders. Hill had no time to follow any of the many orders, so, he defensively rolled up his window and called his lawyer. Was Hill right? Well, we see how those cops reacted to the tinted window being rolled up. WHY risk doing such a thing, knowing HOW cops definitely react poorly to perceived rudeness?

Did Sandra Bland - and dozens of others - die for nothing? WHY would you roll up your window??

THE TALK is not over! Daddy told me! Keep your hands at 10 and 2, and do not MOVE. WAIT for the nice (ahem) officer to tell you everything he wants. He is already afraid, Daddy told me, he is defensive to begin with, do not startle him! WAIT for him to tell you what to do with your windows and hands, don't offer anything, don't decide to help him by reaching for your licence or registration, duh, don't do it until or unless he says so!

AND THEN TELL HIM, as you do what he says, that you are obeying him and doing the things he says, safely. "Roll down your window!" "YES, officer. *roll down the window." If the cop asks you questions, be brief and factual in your replies. WHEN he says "License and Registration, please," you tell the cop where those documents are, and, how and when and where you will be reaching for those documents, that you will gladly hand to him, as you tell him what you are doing with your hands. "Officer, my documents are in my glove box, MAY I REACH into my glove box to get the documents?" Then, wait for him to tell you if it is okay or not to move your damn hands.

NEVER hide your hands or face from the cops when they pull you over, ever! Daddy told me all the ways to handle myself when pulled over. Cops who pulled me over always seemed appreciative when I kept my hands at 10 and 2, while already enjoying my White Woman privilege, not to mention boobs and real tears, as I replied to them meekly with "my driver's license is in my purse, in the back seat, behind my chair. I can't get it without reaching back there, IS THAT OKAY, SIR?" Yes, you do need to kiss cop ass! DUH. WHY wouldn't you??

I understand being scared. I'm permanently afraid of the police and law enforcement, and I've been fortunate not to suffer too much for my own rudeness, abusive behavior, definitely violating probation for a year, speeding (I don't weave), and other outcomes that could have been much worse for me, because I was wrong (and drunk or overdosing on big drugs). I can never, ever trust them, having grown up a certain way, having lived a certain kind of life; even (and especially) dating a cop, and spending time with him in the basement of the cop shop, or, police station, while paranoid about my own (known) pot smoking, appalled to hear all of the cops use the N-word. Including the Black cops, who spoke rudely about people who I knew from "the 'Jets," or, the projects.

I could go on. I have also run from cops, as a teen on foot, and as an adult in my car. I even wrote a song about evading a cop car when I was speeding. I have valid reason to be terrified of cops, we ALL have valid reason to be afraid.

My White Woman privilege and my mental preparation for pull-over behavior has kept me out of jail (so far). I no longer drive or leave the house, and I feel like hell and am not able to do much more than force my fingers to tap keyboards and devices to read and post things on the regular internet, so, I don't really encounter police much, now. I'm a legal medical marijuana patient in a state that is poised to legalize recreational cannabis, and I don't use other drugs. I don't know anyone, anyway. BUT I still prepare in my mind to be as calm and cooperative as possible in any interaction with any authority, cop, law enforcement, etc, because I NEED to be safe and not arrested or jailed or even have my disabled ass yanked out of a car.

So, WHY do people still have an audacious disrespect for people who can kill them or worse? I will never understand.

 

[Gospel]

While people should respond to law enforcement with caution, there is also a reasonable expectation for law enforcement to deescalate and act responsibly. The fact that law enforcement deals with dangerous individuals doesn't justify overreaction in every encounter, just as having rights doesn't excuse the public's poor behavior toward officers. We're all responsible for upholding safety and respect.

 

[Gospel]

In my opinion, the officer should have simply issued a speeding ticket along with a citation for disorderly conduct and allowed him to continue on his not-so-happy way.

Edit: Let me elaborate. Police officers have been shot at from standard vehicles, and I get that. However, with a bit of critical thinking, it's clear there’s room for de-escalation in this situation—as it's rare for someone in a McLaren to open fire on police.

 

[Gospel]

From another article

"It's hard," Hill said. "I don't want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do. What if I wasn't Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what those guys would have done. I just wanted to make sure I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you're in a situation like that — put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen. - Tyreek Hill -

Bruh, you were definitely speeding in that video. You know exactly why the cop pulled you over.

Edit: He definitely didn’t have hands on the steering wheel when he rolled the windows up.

 

[Person19960]

Oh, those cops were and are more than wrong. They could be escorting the fancy cars through the traffic, to the stadium, and not be horribly and terribly wrong. But, that's their jobs.

Back in the day, and perhaps even now, the Camden, NJ Police set up barriers and cop cars on every street that led to Camden's low-income communities when there were concerts at the E-Center (and all its names). There was a lot that could have gone wrong for everyone involved, if, say, some white hippies from the suburbs thought that they could drive around Camden, looking for dime bags before the concerts.

My point is that the Camden cops were, and perhaps still are, aware that it serves public safety to help direct traffic. So instead of, say, staking out drug corners to bust stupid hippies as well as Black people, and instead of using the events as an opportunity for a ticket-writing feeding frenzy, they opted on the side of actually protecting and serving. Not to mention helping the E-Center be profitable!

Nothing that Tyreek Hill did was deserving of any of the nonsense, brutal treatment he was subjected to. I mean, do they not have license plate scanners in Florida? Up here in Pennsylvania, they just mail the tickets to the speeders. Then they get arrested at home for not paying those tickets, or, ostensibly, that's how things are planned, sometimes.

I think those and many cops were and are already supermad and intending to abuse authority, otherwise, why would they even have become cops? I wanted to be an English teacher so I could flunk every student whose grammar and spelling was wrong. I felt the educational system was failing society by letting students pass grades without knowing the material, like they did with me. I wanted to wield that Red Pen. Fortunately, I changed my mind and my major twice. Now that I'm 55, I am so glad that I never did that (became a teacher).

I hope you all take the time to read the 2015 link I posted, then look at the others. Great minds have had great ideas and expressed concerns and concepts ages ago. No one cares, or, no one wealthy enough cares... because it's racist bullshit and racism all the way down. As with Nazi Germany, when one minority is targeted for extinction, others are dragged down in the process, so, I've been scared for my entire life, and I always will be. I try SO hard not to be defiant, but I have definitely been bad to cops who totally didn't deserve it, during drug-and-alcohol-related situations.

White Woman privilege let me get away with hollering at the new female Chief of Police in my driveway once, and it was LSD-related, so I don't remember this at all. But, ALL of my neighbors never let me live it down, because I screamed [profane]

Spoiler

"YO, RED! EAT MY FUKKIN C*NT!" (I enunciated)

and she let me go (to the psych ward, for a while). I also had a standard lecture to cops about how "my taxes paid [their] salaries," which was completely ludicrous, considering that I was unemployed and disabled, and we all knew, haha.

I can NOT post actual facts about my childhood and teen years experiences with the police. I can say that I knew not to trust cops by the time I was 6 or 7 years old, maybe 2nd grade; definitely by 5th grade. It only got exceedingly and so illegally worse from there, in so many appalling ways, that I desperately wish, every day, that I could afford to speak to 800 lawyers about everything from statutes of limitations to my rights to tell my own stories without punishment, which is definitely not possible for me right now, if ever.

I want to be sure that nobody thinks I blame Tyreek Hill, or Sandra Bland, or anyone for reacting poorly when pulled over, served with a warrant, etc, ESPECIALLY and specifically if they are Black, Latino, or any person of color. Nope. I bet their families Had The Talk with them. Knowing the realities doesn't mean that people who have justifiable fear of being harmed by the police and law enforcement are able to perform well under the actual pressure of real police and their K9s and guns and guns and guns.

 

[TSwizzle]

In my opinion, the officer should have simply issued a speeding ticket along with a citation for disorderly conduct and allowed him to continue on his not-so-happy way.

If Hill hadn't been such an entitled prick I'm sure that's the way things would have gone down. Two assholes with big egos here. I do think the officer should be fired though.

 

[Gospel]

Well, being an asshole isn't illegal; otherwise, half the population would be in jail. At most, what he did would fall under disorderly conduct, which is what the police should have issued the citation for. But what they actually did was just ridiculous.

 

[Shadowy Man]

"When we tell you to do something, you do it." - police officer in video

This seems to be a prevalent attitude amongst police officers involved in these kinds of instances, irrespective if what they are asking someone to do is proper or not.

Tyreek Hill was from the start antagonistic and uncooperative, but the officer should have maintained a professional attitude. Instead, he wanted to show dominance and demand obedience.

I remember a similar incident with a military person who got pulled over and went to a gas station where the lighting was good and it was clear that the incident got escalated because the man wasn't giving the officer the so-called respect that he thought was due him. I don't recall the names involved in that incident, though.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

"When we tell you to do something, you do it." - police officer in video

This seems to be a prevalent attitude amongst police officers involved in these kinds of instances, irrespective if what they are asking someone to do is proper or not.

Tyreek Hill was from the start antagonistic and uncooperative, but the officer should have maintained a professional attitude. Instead, he wanted to show dominance and demand obedience.

I remember a similar incident with a military person who got pulled over and went to a gas station where the lighting was good and it was clear that the incident got escalated because the man wasn't giving the officer the so-called respect that he thought was due him. I don't recall the names involved in that incident, though.

Yup. If you try to defy the police things are prone to going bad. Don't be confrontational. Do nothing to impede them other than things like refusing a request to search. Have your hands empty if at all possible--if for some reason you must have a weapon (say, you just shot someone that's down but not out) have it pointed down, not forward. The police know that the cases that go bad almost always involve defiance first. Do nothing which the guy with the gun might interpret at a threat (and that applies regardless of the situation. I've had a gun pointed at me because I was mistaken for a burglar by someone who didn't know I was expected.)

 

[bilby]

"When we tell you to do something, you do it." - police officer in video

This seems to be a prevalent attitude amongst police officers involved in these kinds of instances, irrespective if what they are asking someone to do is proper or not.

Tyreek Hill was from the start antagonistic and uncooperative, but the officer should have maintained a professional attitude. Instead, he wanted to show dominance and demand obedience.

I remember a similar incident with a military person who got pulled over and went to a gas station where the lighting was good and it was clear that the incident got escalated because the man wasn't giving the officer the so-called respect that he thought was due him. I don't recall the names involved in that incident, though.

Yup. If you try to defy the police things are prone to going bad. Don't be confrontational. Do nothing to impede them other than things like refusing a request to search. Have your hands empty if at all possible--if for some reason you must have a weapon (say, you just shot someone that's down but not out) have it pointed down, not forward. The police know that the cases that go bad almost always involve defiance first. Do nothing which the guy with the gun might interpret at a threat (and that applies regardless of the situation. I've had a gun pointed at me because I was mistaken for a burglar by someone who didn't know I was expected.)

It must be horrific living in a totalitarian police state, where anything other than instant and unquestioning obedience is frequently fatal.

But at least Americans can console themselves that it's a price worth paying for their freedom.

Oh, wait.


Shit.

 

[Shadowy Man]

"When we tell you to do something, you do it." - police officer in video

This seems to be a prevalent attitude amongst police officers involved in these kinds of instances, irrespective if what they are asking someone to do is proper or not.

Tyreek Hill was from the start antagonistic and uncooperative, but the officer should have maintained a professional attitude. Instead, he wanted to show dominance and demand obedience.

I remember a similar incident with a military person who got pulled over and went to a gas station where the lighting was good and it was clear that the incident got escalated because the man wasn't giving the officer the so-called respect that he thought was due him. I don't recall the names involved in that incident, though.

Yup. If you try to defy the police things are prone to going bad. Don't be confrontational. Do nothing to impede them other than things like refusing a request to search. Have your hands empty if at all possible--if for some reason you must have a weapon (say, you just shot someone that's down but not out) have it pointed down, not forward. The police know that the cases that go bad almost always involve defiance first. Do nothing which the guy with the gun might interpret at a threat (and that applies regardless of the situation. I've had a gun pointed at me because I was mistaken for a burglar by someone who didn't know I was expected.)

That may all be good advice, but not following it is still not good enough reason for the police to abuse their authority.

 

[thebeave]

"When we tell you to do something, you do it." - police officer in video

This seems to be a prevalent attitude amongst police officers involved in these kinds of instances, irrespective if what they are asking someone to do is proper or not.

Tyreek Hill was from the start antagonistic and uncooperative, but the officer should have maintained a professional attitude. Instead, he wanted to show dominance and demand obedience.

I remember a similar incident with a military person who got pulled over and went to a gas station where the lighting was good and it was clear that the incident got escalated because the man wasn't giving the officer the so-called respect that he thought was due him. I don't recall the names involved in that incident, though.

Yup. If you try to defy the police things are prone to going bad. Don't be confrontational. Do nothing to impede them other than things like refusing a request to search. Have your hands empty if at all possible--if for some reason you must have a weapon (say, you just shot someone that's down but not out) have it pointed down, not forward. The police know that the cases that go bad almost always involve defiance first. Do nothing which the guy with the gun might interpret at a threat (and that applies regardless of the situation. I've had a gun pointed at me because I was mistaken for a burglar by someone who didn't know I was expected.)

Chris Rock summed up these points pretty nicely: