Police brutality.

[someguy]

this kind of stuff doesn't happen often but I now am curious about what to do.
So my best freinds cousin was pulled over and beaten by a sheirff for no good reason(to my knowledge) and then sent home.
After I had heard about this I began to wonder what to do if this ever happened to me. You would get in major trouble if you fight back. So should you just cover up or what?
What do you do afterwards? Who do you report that kind of stuff to?

 

[Touch Of Death]

Good luck with that one. Society's secret weapon against that kind of behavior is the video camera. Too bad your best freinds cousin wasn't wearing one in his hat.
Sean

 

[Flatlander]

Yeah, don't fight back. You'll need yourself later to lodge a complaint. take it directly to internal affairs. They will investigate it. But be wary of people saying they were beaten "for no reason". There are more people out there wanting to cover up their own mistakes with false accusations than there are police rolling around looking for someone to beat down. Generally speaking, of course.

 

[loki09789]

this kind of stuff doesn't happen often but I now am curious about what to do.
So my best freinds cousin was pulled over and beaten by a sheirff for no good reason(to my knowledge) and then sent home.
After I had heard about this I began to wonder what to do if this ever happened to me. You would get in major trouble if you fight back. So should you just cover up or what?
What do you do afterwards? Who do you report that kind of stuff to?

You are an uninvolved 3rd party. You can't really do anything but complain to the department. If your cousin is a minor, the parents can take action, if he is an adult, he can do so. Too vague on info right now though. And I would strongly advise that you don't start spinning a story here because if there is any legal action taken, it can undermine things a lot.

 

[someguy]

I'm not involved in the stuation. I'm just wondering what the best thing to do would be if I ever was.
Oh this is the middle of no-where sheiriffs department so where would you report that kind of stuff? I don't think there would be an internal affairs department.

 

[MichiganTKD]

I don't know about anyone else, but if I feel an officer is beating me up for unjustifiable reasons (civil disobedience, just wants to see me suffer), I'm going to fight back. He may have a stick or spray, but I will use all my energy and willpower to make him suffer as well. I will die with my boots on.
I just think of all those incidents in the past where police attacked unarmed civilians and the civilians did not fight back. I would have taken a few officers out as well.

 

[Touch Of Death]

I'm not involved in the stuation. I'm just wondering what the best thing to do would be if I ever was.
Oh this is the middle of no-where sheiriffs department so where would you report that kind of stuff? I don't think there would be an internal affairs department.

Truth is you would be burnt. Think of this little grey area as a good reason to mind your Ps and Qs. I know two ex police officers that quit the force for just this reason; they would witness a fellow officer do something stupid and were expected to shut up about it. They did, but they both chose other lines of work. Cops are people too, and when pushed they will react like people. A little respect will grease the wheels, I say. But we all know peole who just gotta say something abrasive no matter what. I know one guy that I used to work with that was laughing about the police brutality he brought down on himself when he kept talking about the sexual relations he had with the officer's wife. I don't think he even blamed the officer after he sobered up.
Sean

 

[Touch Of Death]

I don't know about anyone else, but if I feel an officer is beating me up for unjustifiable reasons (civil disobedience, just wants to see me suffer), I'm going to fight back. He may have a stick or spray, but I will use all my energy and willpower to make him suffer as well. I will die with my boots on.
I just think of all those incidents in the past where police attacked unarmed civilians and the civilians did not fight back. I would have taken a few officers out as well.

Can you say bullet sponge?

 

[Han-Mi]

Knowing myself as I do, which is pretty well, I think I would fight back to the extent of putting the officer into a lock that would have no permanent damage. Of course if he pulled his baton or gun, I might not be able to have such restraint, Of course, there are many police officers that know me and would vouch for my self control, so I would prolly have a good chance in court against the cop. In other words, if you decide to fight back, expect to end up in court.

 

[Flatlander]

Or dead. When an officer is subject to unrelenting force, they will shoot, if they must.

Isn't the point to live another day? If you feel you're being beaten for an unjustifiable cause, resistance will absolutely cause an escalation.

 

[Disco]

An unjustified beating, or any beating for that matter, can have major physical results. There is a big gulf between being roughed up and beaten. The term resisting arrest covers a wide range of actions. My personal opinion is, I would submit to a normal restraint and arrest. I would not however, to the best of my abilities, allow myself to be physical beaten into a state of broken bones, head injuries or worse. As was pointed out, cops are human too and also are not perfect. There are some, thankfully a very, very small number, who revel in their position of authority and abuse it most freely. I can stand before a Judge and a jury of my peers and at least state my case, if I devert such a beating. If I'm in a hospital bed in a veg state, I'm finished.

 

[Cryozombie]

I would think, if one HAD to fight in those circumstances, and was able to win/get away...

The first thing I would do is High-tail it to the nearest State Police Headquarters, ask for a supervisor, and Turn myself in, explaining in detail what happened, why i fought back, and why I turned myself in...

HOEPFULLY that will:
a) make me look better in a trial situation,
b) put me out of harms way of the podunk sherriff or his people who were beating me...

And I would Hope to hell that cop car had a dash cam.

 

[FasterthanDeath]

Well if your cousin was pulled over and beaten right outside his car, the Sheriff should have a camera in his car. I believe it is now standard that all police cars have cameras in their dash. And as far a fighting a police officer or defending yourself, your just out of luck. You will more than likely be peppered, beat, and probably shot. As soon as the officer calls for assitance the other officers will not stop the both of you and ask whats going on? They will just pounce on you. And if you somehow hurt, disarm, ko, or even kill an officer in COMPLETE self-defense unless you had the whole thing on tape, YOU WILL LOSE IN A COURT OF LAW. And as far as cops being people too, they arent when they are working. They are cops. I dont care if they pull over the guy that killed the cops whole family and raped his daughter. He is first a cop. Second a human. They cannot feel anything but 1. fear for the public, 2. fear for themselves. Thats all.

 

[Tgace]

Beat for no reason and let go?? Thats a big "UHH YEAH?" If I ever saw it. 99.999% of the time, If the police have to "lay hands" on you, you are going to be arrested. Not arresting just opens you up to questions about why you used force...even in a "corrupt cop" type situation, the cop would drum up some false charges to cover the beating....Id be wary of your friends story.

 

[muaythaifreak]

I agree with tgace. Chances are pretty high that your friends cousin is not telling the whole story. I don't know of anyone who ever got beaten up by the cops and was subsequently released without being taken to jail. Additionally, if it really were an undeserved beating, he would have taken action pretty quickly. Police brutality has become less and less common place due to the fact that most cruisers, even in "nowhereville" USA, have in car cams which activate either with the blues, or they are required to activate them manually whenever they pull someone. Cops are really taking great pains to cover thier butts when dealing with the public these days. In short, there is probably more to the story than you have been made privvy to.

 

[dearnis.com]

I agree with the above. He did something to provoke a response...whether it was appropriate may be another question. What was he charged with?

 

[Tgace]

The original post says the guy was stopped, beat and let go.

 

[rompida]

Well.....not really wanting to say this, but... It does happen. I know of a police officer who has told me about some incidents that I think may have crossed the line. But - the suspect initiated it by making a threatening move or just mouthing off while stepping closer to the officer. When I asked him about it, he said that taking that step closer, combined with his agitated tone was cause enough to crack him in the head with a slapjack (sp?). Bottom line, I would guess your cousin's friend didn't just "do nuthin". He probably got a little out of line.

 

[someguy]

I don't know what he did. I would belive there was something. I doubt it was to big after all my friend's cousin isn't in jail now. I don't know all of the story. The main reason was that I'm curious to what the best course of action is for a situation similar to this. Mainly the whole being beaten thing.

 

[Tgace]

Dont poke the bear.

btw: Who carries "slapjacks" anymore??