Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
Quote:
Quoting
huntsab
Did you see the video?
Given that we have no idea which video you are talking about, probably not. I did some google-fu and found one from El Centro. The quality of the video is so bad that it is impossible to tell if it was excessive or not. The suspect appears to be actively resisting at different parts of the video. Different officers strike him at different times, most likely based on who had the ability to do so without hitting a fellow officer. I do not have K-9 training and rarely worked with them but in my opinion, they probably could have removed the dog from the equation earlier. I wasn't on scene though so I don't know what the K-9 officer was seeing.
Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
I've told this story several times before but I doubt it will do any good.
A video does not show the whole story. Back in the time of the Rodney King - we'll call it an incident - I worked with a woman who lived in Simi Valley, ground zero for the whole deal. She told me that locally, the entire video was shown, not just the segment that was nationally shown. Put into context of the entire thing, she said, it looked entirely different than it did taken out of context and shown on its own.
"Edited for television" can make a WHOLE lot of difference. The video - and no, I did not see it, nor will I, for the reason stated above - is not the whole story or all the evidence.
Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
What CBG said.
Video is not the panacea to all things. Video is one dimensional. It does not show context and it does not show the same 360 degree field of view that the officer might be reacting to. It often distorts distances making them appear further or shorter than they really are. Video is a great tool to assist in evaluating the situation, but it is NOT the WHOLE story and was never meant to be.
ANd, no, I have not seen the video, either. Perhaps you can let us know what video you are looking at.
Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
Sorry. El Centro PD-Saenz arrest.
Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
Quote:
Quoting
huntsab
Sorry. El Centro PD-Saenz arrest.
Sounds like the one I was talking about.
Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
Well, it looks like the force may have been overboard ... but, of course, the angle is poor, and the video begins rather late in the game.
Though, apparently Mr. Saenz was a fleeing felon in a stolen car, struck other cars, and then fought with officers at the scene. And, if the audio in the video is to be believed, he was failing to comply with officers' instructions.
I'll wait and see where the facts fall, not just the hyperbole.
Ultimately, I suspect the city will offer Mr. Saenz a settlement without admitting guilt (aka "go away money") and the matter will be quietly resolved a year from now. This is how most such things go.
And, hopefully, Mr. Saenz will be able to compensate his victims through any funds he might otherwise have received.
Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
What do you see? Adrenaline, anger?
Can training prevent this kind of response?
What kind of training?
I remember Sully Sullenberger talking about having a strong physical reaction when his aircraft was in trouble.
He said something about relying on his "training" to quickly regain control and calm down.
Do you know what he was talking about?
I believe he had a military background.
Re: Is a Police Officer's Administrative Suspension a Matter of Public Record
I see a video that starts well into a conflict involving acts by one or more officers that MAY be in excess of what one might consider "reasonable." However, before I could even begin to try and speculate as to the reasonableness or how to address future instances of excess, I would want to know the FACTS. All we have is a video, the fact that a thug was pursued across town in a stolen vehicle and placed many others at risk before he was finally caught and struggled with officers.
I am sure that there will be fallout over this and there will be proposals to try and address whatever happened. Though, as with all such uses of force - whether reasonable or excessive, the end result could have been prevented had the suspect done one thing: Complied.