I report you decide-By Barry Levinson.
BARRY LEVINSON
The Increasing Number Of Suspected Police Abuse Incidents Caught On Video Is Becoming A Real Problem For Both Our Police Departments And Our Society As Well.
Why Incidents Like The Kelly Thomas Beating Death By Police In
Fullerton California Will Not Go Away?
Police Chiefs around this country tell us repeatedly how well trained the members of their departments are and how they believe their departments are one of the best in the country.
FPD’s Dan Hughes
Yet every time we witness via live taping of a police civilian contact gone terribly wrong, almost never is the officer criminally or even civilly held to account for their actions.
They are put on paid administrative leave, which means a fully paid vacation for months or even up to a year or more while the police hierarchy and/or the DA investigates the incident. Then almost always the officer’s actions are found to be “reasonable” and they are back at their jobs fully refreshed from their extended paid vacations.
Yes many times, we might hear that the officer will receive additional training as if every bad act by a police officer can be fixed by attending one or more classes. If an officer likes to hurt people, training will do absolutely nothing to stop his bad behavior. If the officer has the wrong temperament or lacks the necessary common sense to deal rationally with the public, training will do absolutely nothing to change that officer’s bad behavior.
If someone is asked to sit down by an officer and he/she refuses does that give the officer the right to put that person’s life in danger? It is clear that too many police officers like the power and authority they have over the average citizen and yes have an extremely low bar before they escalate a confrontation from words to physical violence.
I for one, if asked to sit down or stand up or even get on my knees would obey the officer out of both respect and fear that this officer might use any minor excuse to physically assault me.
But there are those citizens who do not automatically listen to commands barked by an officer and want to know why they are being detained and want an answer before considering obeying an officer’s command.
There are situations that are not easy for the police. Non-obeying suspects are a challenge to them. But a situation where a non-violent suspect does not obey a verbal order, grounds to put someone in the hospital or worse. I do not think so.
The headline above asked if the police are more violent today then in the past. I do not know that answer. But I do know that more and more suspected police abuse has been caught on citizen’s smart phone cameras now.
I also know that laws such as POBAR, the Police Officers Bill of Rights in California that hides the records of bad police officer’s from the general public and everyone else but the police chiefs does not help the situation one little bit.
Finally, obvious cases of police officers using excessive force and not being punished, criminally, civilly or even suspended without pay for their actions, has given the bad officer a virtual green light to continue to mete out their form of street justice to an unsuspecting public.
See these fists?
Therefore, the real problem may not be whether there is more police abuse now than in the past. The real problem may be that the criminal justice system is ill-equipped to rein in and properly punish those bad officer’s acts.
It is clear that a growing segment of the public has become aware of this problem and it could become dangerous for our society to test the public’s patience on this matter.
#1 by Barry Levinson on July 29, 2014 - 2:50 pm
Anonymous for someone who disagrees with everything we present on this website, you certainly spend a lot of time on it, every morning, noon, and late night as well. Here is my response to your so-called facts. Read them and weep.
Your Fact: Since Hughes took over, the entire command staff of the police department is new, not to mention a significant number of rank and file officers.
The Real Fact: Police Chief Hughes is not new to the force. In fact, he was Captain in charge of those 6 men who brutally beat Kelly Thomas to death and he probably was the commanding officer that allowed them to confer and change their reports numerous times.
Your Fact: There are at least six homeless liaison officers, at least one on duty 24 hours a day whose sole responsibility is dealing with homeless members of the community. These officers make very few arrests, but try their best to assist these individuals.
The Real Fact: There are three officers who took part in the Kelly Thomas beating death who are still gainfully employed by Police Chief Hughes. The other 3 are suing to get their jobs back and will probably get a boatload of money from the Fullerton taxpayer in a settlement with the city.
Your Fact: Fullerton PD hiring practices are completely revamped, relying heavily on outside independent vetting of job candidates to avoid any hint of nepotism.
The Real Fact: Nepotism is only one past problem. How about officers who like to inflict bodily harm whether justified or not and still remain on the force. That is the real problem.
Your Fact: New regulations are in place for dealing with mentally ill members of the community.
The Real Fact: The public is still kept totally in the dark about bad officers and the many public complaints filed against them due to POBR.
Your Fact: New, more clearly-defined use of force policies are in place.
The Real Fact Again: The public is still kept totally in the dark about bad officers and the many public complaints filed against them due to POBR. As long as the public can be kept in the dark as to formal complaints and other issues in an officers official personnel file, these new policies mean little because we the public have no idea if they are working or if they are even being enforced.
Your Fact: The PD policy manual, for the first time ever, is posted on the department website.
The Real Fact: And Training Officer Rubio and Sergeant Craig both testified that all 6 officers involved in the Kelly Thomas beating death did not violate any of the Fullerton Police Department’s policies or procedures. So tell me, what exactly did they fix in the FPD Policy Manual, Anonymous?
Your Fact: Hughes has posted details on the PD website related to officer misconduct and discipline.
The Real Fact: The public still after over 6 months has not been given the DAR of those officers who allegedly physically threatened to seriously injure those Kelly Thomas protestors.
Your Fact: Hughes has given out his cell phone number to countless members of the community, including citizens who’ve been critical of him and the department.
The Real Fact: What does that prove, absolutely nothing. He still won’t give out simple information about his officers. He can be non-responsive at council meetings or on his phone as well.
Your Fact: There are 130,000 residents in Fullerton and, yes, the chief serves all of them. But don’t call him corrupt just because he doesn’t kowtow to you when you yell and scream from the podium.
The Real Fact: There are over 140,000 now living in Fullerton. Is their anything that you can get right Anonymous? I guess not.
By the way, I have never screamed at anyone, but your beloved police chief shouted at me while I was speaking during public comment recently. He really should learn some manners and learn to control his temper.
Your Fact: Sorry, but you can’t keep playing the Kelly Thomas card. As someone whose been intimately involved in the case from July 5, 2011 to today, I’ve seen too many people use the incident to advance their personal agendas. It’s flat out wrong.
The Real Fact: My personal agenda is to get justice for Kelly Thomas and to someday have an open, transparent and honest police force.
According to Anonymous, our imperial police chief doesn’t have to answer a simple question about who is performing an important function now that the previous person has retired.
What kind of a public servant refuses to answer a simple question? Answer: Police Chief Hughes.
Finally, I always speak the truth and I always proudly state my name next to every comment I make on these pages and elsewhere. While you Anonymous cower in the shadows.
#2 by penchant for change on July 29, 2014 - 4:32 pm
Spot on Mr. Levinson. The pending legal obligations that the city faces is clearly in the millions. While that will certainly not bring the decedent back to life, one could expect that this type of abhorrent behavior would never reoccur. Based on the repeated allegations of the FPD’s misconduct, however, being coupled with its lack of overall transparency to this very day, it could be argued that nothing has changed internally.
My understanding is that the incident has been handed over to Mr.Rackauckas and is pending his department’s investigation.
#3 by Roger on July 29, 2014 - 4:50 pm
Thank you for addressing the very concerning statements by this obvious shill for the police department Mr. Levinson.
I too would like to hear exactly what happened to those protesters and furthermore, would like to know how a man died in police custody without any police procedures being violated. That statement equates to the police being granted a license to kill.
#4 by Anonymous on July 29, 2014 - 6:07 pm
Mr. Levinson,
If your running your city council campaign on the anti-Dan Hughes platform, good luck!
Talk about wanting justice for Kelly all you want. There are a few people around town who know more about you than you’ve shown to the rest of the public.
And the last time I checked, three officers, not six were charged in the death of Kelly Thomas. (Two were acquitted within hours and charges were dropped against the third).
Yet you and few others continue to rant that six officers murdered Kelly. Why not seven? Eight? Nine? Ten? There were at least that many who showed up that bus depot that night. Heck, charge all of them!
Did you attend even one hour of the trial?
I’m sure you know a lot more about the law than DA Tony Rackauckas.
I know! There was some sort of a conspiracy between the police, the judge and the jury. Yeah! That’s it.
#5 by J Garrison on July 30, 2014 - 7:48 am
Anonymous, you are trying really, really, hard and you are stooping very low. What’s in it for you? Do you carry water for Chief Hughes?
Think about the big picture, because all of this cannot be straightened out without looking at things honestly. Everyone would like to move forward, but there is still evidence that FPD culture has not changed. You appear to want to sweep it under the rug and move on.