RANDOM RAMBLINGS...JUSTIFIED FORCE OR POLICE BRUTALITY?
There was an outcry against the APD (Atlanta Police Department) yesterday when residents of a Northeast Atlanta neighborhood witnessed the beating of a man police were attempting to take into custody. Apparently the police were present to arrest one man for an unrelated situation (according to another news report) and when another gentleman approached them on how they were handling the man, attention turned his way.
Cell phone video poured into newsrooms in Atlanta to show how the situation quickly escalated out of control. I have included the link to the video below. Unfortunately, scenarios such as the one depicted in the video are not new; however, the amount of reports and attention that they receive are on the rise. As I viewed the video I questioned in my mind how the scene could have been different? I have known people to be involved in situations, such as the one depicted below and where it is easy to make a judgment call, it is not always that simple. If you closely watch the video you notice there are not any residents approaching the officers. Some are clearly speaking out but they are not creating any form of physical interference or disturbance. So they had the situation under control with no threat from residents. And while some may say the man was resisting arrest, what many people do not take into account is that there are some out there that know their rights. And if the man was simply speaking out against the tactics they used in handling someone else, it does not justify their right to arrest him, let alone use physical force. Some of the information I am including came from other news reports not just the one seen here.
We always hear about how police have to use certain force to protect themselves because they have dangerous jobs. I can understand and appreciate that, but I don't buy that in all situations. I have seen too many times were police have intentionally provoked people to get a rise out of them so they can arrest the person or use intimidation, or physical force against the individuals. And most of these situations were not justified.
One incident involved a young man leaving work where he was suddenly surrounded by several Fulton County police cars in the parking lot of the young man's job. He was said to have fit the description of a black man in the area who had just robbed an elderly white lady. Although he had a co-worker with him confirming they had just left the job, and the police officers went into the job to confirm the statements, they continued to harass him to the point of ripping the man's coat. Another incident involved family members at an emotional murder trial of their loved one. Separating themselves for a moment to collect their emotions, they were followed by a member of the police force (to ensure they kept themselves under control), as they gathered to discuss the happenings of the trial at that point. The officer asked one of the family members to come here. The family member approached the officer and the officer stated the man was not allowed to come back into the trial, because he had supposedly created a disturbance. (The so called disturbance was in reference to a question the family member had asked one of the officers on the scene. She had changed her statement and was giving out false information {later verified it was false} to a witness at the scene.) The original officer became aggressive and hostile to the point of garnering more police presence and threatening family members that they were going to Taser them. At that point the only thing that stopped the issue from escalating out of control was the gathering crowd of onlookers threatening the police that they would submit their cell phone footage to every social media outlet and news network there was if they used force against these family members. You see, these onlookers were watching and videoing from the start. This was a situation that clearly did not warrant that type of attention the police were bringing.
While I was not a witness to what happened on yesterday it really started me to thinking how this type of action is becoming all too common especially in the City of Atlanta. I lived in Cincinnati for 6 years, and I recall at one point police brutality in urban areas escalated so far out of control that when one young man Timothy Thomas, was shot in the back and killed while running away from the police, the citizens of downtown Cincinnati rioted. This resulted in a citywide curfew for an extensive period of time. As the man states in this video, when you are bent over people will ride you, until you stand up. Where does violence stop and where does justice began? Was the force really justified or is it a matter of police brutality? My issue is that it seemingly happens in the urban communities all too often and no one does anything about it. Why? Because often these residents do not have the power, connections, money, or knowledge to do something about it. They also lack the resources to tell their side of the story, whereas the local police departments have the know-how and connections to twist the story in their favor. Whether this results from a lack of education, or a consequence of oppression I cannot say. But what I do know is that every human life should be valued.
Why didn’t they try to subdue the man instead of beating him? Watch the video with a clear and discerning eye...justified force or police brutality? You be the judge.
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/21926137/protester
JUST A PIECE OF THIS WRITER,C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com
Cell phone video poured into newsrooms in Atlanta to show how the situation quickly escalated out of control. I have included the link to the video below. Unfortunately, scenarios such as the one depicted in the video are not new; however, the amount of reports and attention that they receive are on the rise. As I viewed the video I questioned in my mind how the scene could have been different? I have known people to be involved in situations, such as the one depicted below and where it is easy to make a judgment call, it is not always that simple. If you closely watch the video you notice there are not any residents approaching the officers. Some are clearly speaking out but they are not creating any form of physical interference or disturbance. So they had the situation under control with no threat from residents. And while some may say the man was resisting arrest, what many people do not take into account is that there are some out there that know their rights. And if the man was simply speaking out against the tactics they used in handling someone else, it does not justify their right to arrest him, let alone use physical force. Some of the information I am including came from other news reports not just the one seen here.
We always hear about how police have to use certain force to protect themselves because they have dangerous jobs. I can understand and appreciate that, but I don't buy that in all situations. I have seen too many times were police have intentionally provoked people to get a rise out of them so they can arrest the person or use intimidation, or physical force against the individuals. And most of these situations were not justified.
One incident involved a young man leaving work where he was suddenly surrounded by several Fulton County police cars in the parking lot of the young man's job. He was said to have fit the description of a black man in the area who had just robbed an elderly white lady. Although he had a co-worker with him confirming they had just left the job, and the police officers went into the job to confirm the statements, they continued to harass him to the point of ripping the man's coat. Another incident involved family members at an emotional murder trial of their loved one. Separating themselves for a moment to collect their emotions, they were followed by a member of the police force (to ensure they kept themselves under control), as they gathered to discuss the happenings of the trial at that point. The officer asked one of the family members to come here. The family member approached the officer and the officer stated the man was not allowed to come back into the trial, because he had supposedly created a disturbance. (The so called disturbance was in reference to a question the family member had asked one of the officers on the scene. She had changed her statement and was giving out false information {later verified it was false} to a witness at the scene.) The original officer became aggressive and hostile to the point of garnering more police presence and threatening family members that they were going to Taser them. At that point the only thing that stopped the issue from escalating out of control was the gathering crowd of onlookers threatening the police that they would submit their cell phone footage to every social media outlet and news network there was if they used force against these family members. You see, these onlookers were watching and videoing from the start. This was a situation that clearly did not warrant that type of attention the police were bringing.
While I was not a witness to what happened on yesterday it really started me to thinking how this type of action is becoming all too common especially in the City of Atlanta. I lived in Cincinnati for 6 years, and I recall at one point police brutality in urban areas escalated so far out of control that when one young man Timothy Thomas, was shot in the back and killed while running away from the police, the citizens of downtown Cincinnati rioted. This resulted in a citywide curfew for an extensive period of time. As the man states in this video, when you are bent over people will ride you, until you stand up. Where does violence stop and where does justice began? Was the force really justified or is it a matter of police brutality? My issue is that it seemingly happens in the urban communities all too often and no one does anything about it. Why? Because often these residents do not have the power, connections, money, or knowledge to do something about it. They also lack the resources to tell their side of the story, whereas the local police departments have the know-how and connections to twist the story in their favor. Whether this results from a lack of education, or a consequence of oppression I cannot say. But what I do know is that every human life should be valued.
Why didn’t they try to subdue the man instead of beating him? Watch the video with a clear and discerning eye...justified force or police brutality? You be the judge.
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/21926137/protester
JUST A PIECE OF THIS WRITER,C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com
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