University of Cincinnati Police Officer Indicted for Murder of Man in License Plate Traffic Stop

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

Endlessly Groovin'
Location
USA
From the news reports, it seems that this University of Cincinnati police officer decided to make a traffic stop that was not on the university grounds. A missing front license plate, led to another loss of life though a murder by a police officer for no valid reason.

Afterwards, the cop tried to review his falsified story of being dragged by the car before killing the man with his fellow officers, but the prosecutor said it was clearly a case of murder by the officer because he lost his temper, his life was in no danger at all.

I looked at a slow motion version of the video, and the cop clearly shot this man directly in the head before the car accelerated, likely from the body hitting the gas pedal. All these cops need to wear these cameras, so justice can be served, and the average citizen does not have to fear losing their lives to people who are hired to protect and serve them.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...r-indicted-murder-death-samuel-dubose-n400511


http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/30/samuel-dubose-video-police-killing-cincinnati
 

Is it odd of me that my mind is focused on the phrase "University of Cincinnati Police Officer" ?
Why do universities have their own armed police force?
I find that idea bizarre.

FTR I agree that this was an act of unprovoked murder.
 
Dame Warrigal said:
Is it odd of me that my mind is focused on the phrase "University of Cincinnati Police Officer" ?
Why do universities have their own armed police force?
I find that idea bizarre.

FTR I agree that this was an act of unprovoked murder.
Click to expand...

A campus or university police officers are used on colleges basically as hyped up security. Most college campuses are private property. Police will respond to a crime on private property but they are not responsible for patrolling it. Many college campuses are a small town in size and population and need their own police. Many states require about the same training as municipal police officer. But campus police lack experience and/or follow up/year round training. Also many got tired of trying to be hired on a local police force and accept a position as a college cop, not necessarily the best candidates.
 

Our universities have ground staff and may have people in sentry boxes at the gates checking parking permits but none of them are armed. In the case of major trouble the real police are called.
 
One of the problems with campus or university police is that they are responsible or accountable to the university as much as the law & public. Many colleges want and have policy for a very low key approach to not only patrolling but recording/reporting crime. Some colleges have been caught under reporting crime statistics as to not chase away potential students. Also many college campus police forces have been known to help cover up a scandal of a star athlete preserving a money making sports program. Some colleges are a defacto factory town. Nobody wants to mess with their paycheck.

This officer had a lack of experience and training. His adrenaline kicked in because that car stop was probably some of the most excitement he had in his career.
 
But surely his authority doesn't extend outside the university grounds, or does it?

What business was it of his whether a car was missing one of its licence plates?

That poor man was executed because he had no front licence plate and couldn't produce a driver's licence. Over here that gets you a fine and some demerit points on your licence unless records reveal that you are banned from driving. Even then they don't shoot you.
 
There was an agreement between the city and the university to allow officers authority off of the campus...
 
Apparently college campus police have been expanding their jurisdiction.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news...xpanding-role-off-campus-washington-post-says

Some departments use low level drug offenses by it's students to run under cover operations/stings. There are some college police departments with a SWAT teams & gear. There have been at least a dozen shootings by campus police since 2003. Also noted was that only 35% of these campus police have enforcement powers in the entire state where they are located meaning they are probably certified as a local municipal cop only.

We have a local college so big in it's operation that it actual bought municipal property so it could build the way it wanted. They also pay the utility companies along with contractors to have the same repair people on campus daily using them as a sub contracted maintenance staff. And they are currently buying up a lot of property in the surrounding neighborhoods for student housing. Much of that property is not in good neighborhoods which presents a danger to students from out of town who do not know the area. You rarely see campus police in these areas.
 
Shalimar, from what I understand, the training programs for these younger policemen are part of the issue. I've even heard older police on talk shows saying that they are trained with a war-like "us against them" attitude, so they're are often paranoid from the getgo, and hot to pull the trigger. Some appear to have deep-seated anger/personality issues.

Many police officers frown on this behavior, because it reflects poorly on the entire force, and all the good law-abiding officers we do have, which thankfully are the majority. Since it's mostly blacks that are killed without thought by these bad cops, I can only assume a racist attitude is a contributing factor.

It's up to the departments to review procedures, re-train if necessary, and fire any officers deemed to be a danger to the community. In the past these cops have gotten away with murder, literally, because their peers cover up and lie for them, and the prosecutors favor them, right or wrong. Now with the audio and video present, they are more likely to be caught and prosecuted. Little comfort though for families who have lost a beloved family member forever.
 
One possibility for the adrenalin charged behavior of many cops is steroid abuse which has popped up several times over the years.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/hundreds_of_nj_police_firefigh.html

But a strong police union and sympathetic politicians & public will ignore or enable the issue.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...e-terminate-random-steroids-testing/29897401/

Department to quietly stop random steroid testing.

Problem is with steroids those not on steroids or affected by steroid use still see the behavior of steroid fueled cops/peers as the norm. Especially the rookies but in this day and age there are probably a lot of rookies on steroids as well.

Still comes back to a training and mindset issue. As SB noted it's the 'us against them' attitude that is probably the biggest driver of this behavior. The accused cop will plead it was me or him in his defense and will cite the moving car and accelerator noise fearing being dragged by suspect.
 
discipline

Jackie22 said:
I think the fact that many of our policemen are ex military has something to do with it, they are train for war zones.
Click to expand...

Ex military tend to more disciplined which is severely lacking in many of these incidents. Some veterans might have some PSTD issues but their training or experiences aren't that a big factor in many of these incidents of abuse. Too many police are using military gear and tactics they are not properly trained for or are misusing them. An example is look at the difference in riot control in Ferguson last year after the National Guard took over. Their formations were tight, their lines didn't break and they didn't get into a lot of personal altercations. A lot of civilian only experience police lack that type of restraint which comes from military discipline. Not saying there can't be problems from ex military but as far as cases of police abuse or brutality you really don't see it come up that much.
 
Another White Policeman kills a Black Driver

I read the article in my newspaper today, but it
happened a few days ago in Cincinnati.

I see no mention of it in the forum, seems to me
that this is such a common event that it is not
news any longer.

New York Times Report

Mike.
 
I merged the threads Mike, it is a common event unfortunately, but it is still very concerning news that many of us hope to see much less of in the future.
 
Heard the officer is free on bail (bail was $1M, so he or someone posted $100K either in cash or collateral/security).
The other 2 officers has been cleared, if I heard correctly.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top