25 y/o Baltimore man has 80% of spine severed in police arrest.

Q

QuickSilver

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These stories are getting tiring as they seem to keep happening. I don't suppose this thread will draw much interest because it seems to be standard operating procedure... BUT.. I'm thinking that sooner of later, some changes will be made to police conduct. But.. maybe not.


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/healthy-baltimore-man-dies-after-being-restrained-police-n344506


A 25-year-old Baltimore man died Sunday a week after an encounter with police that left him with a severed spine, according to a lawyer for his family.
Freddie Gray was arrested for yet-undisclosed reasons April 12 after fleeing police on foot. It was unclear when Gray's injury occurred. His death was confirmed Sunday by the University of Maryland Medical Center.
William Murphy, a lawyer for Gray's family, said Gray was healthy before the encounter and that cops chased him "without any evidence he committed a crime."
"His take-down and arrest without probable cause occurred under a police video camera, which taped everything including the police dragging and throwing Freddy into a police vehicle while he screamed in pain," Murphy said in a statement, adding that Gray's spine was 80 percent severed at his neck while in police custody.
He said Gray "lapsed into a coma, died, was resuscitated, stayed in a coma and on Monday, underwent extensive surgery at Shock Trauma [a Baltimore hospital] to save his life." Gray "clung to life for seven days" before his death Sunday morning, Murphy added.
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Another horrible tragedy. I wonder if his spine was cracked by the police when they first grabbed him and it broke when they shoved him in the paddy wagon?
 

I sometimes think she and the recently divorced Joe have a 'thing'. She is sickening and I wish she'd slap him down more often. Everyone seems to kiss his ass. It is nauseating.
 
Ms Sam said:
I sometimes think she and the recently divorced Joe have a 'thing'. She is sickening and I wish she'd slap him down more often. Everyone seems to kiss his ass. It is nauseating.
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Sorry.... I know this is crude, but I keep waiting for her head to pop up from under the desk. I detest how she kowtows to him.
 
QS, you made me laugh......
The way she touches his arm and the other morning she touched his thigh....
Excuse me while I go vomit. ;-)
 
There are "good" cops then are adrenaline junkies out for a job, not a career. Most with "a" job simply want to keep it and come home unscathed many putting those desires well ahead of any other actual priority or function of that job.

I've been trying to say these incidents should be no surprise especially if anyone has observed the end of a chase, especially the car chases where a pack of cops will drag a suspect out of a car, throw or slam an unarmed suspect to the ground and then start kicking and punching a restrained suspect. Then there is also an attitude, eh we'll just take them to the hospital blame it on the chase and get them fixed up there. But some injuries will be unrepairable or will affect the suspect for life.

It comes down to a lack of discipline, training and proper leadership. Management sets the tone in any company. A police department is a company or organization that needs structure. The hiring and supervision process needs to be upgrade with a policy that says no matter what the employee's political allies say they still get disciplined or fired.
 
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WhatInThe said:
There are "good" cops then are adrenaline junkies out for a job, not a career. Most with "a" job simply want to keep it and come home unscathed many putting those desires well ahead of any other actual priority or function of that job.

I've been trying to say these incidents should be no surprise especially if anyone has observed the end of a chase, especially the car chases where a pack of cops will drag a suspect out of a car, throw or slam an unarmed suspect to the ground and then start kicking and punching a restrained suspect. Then there is also an attitude, eh we'll just take them to the hospital blame it on the chase and get them fixed up there. But some injuries will be unrepairable or will affect the suspect for life.

It comes down to a lack of discipline, training and proper leadership. Management sets the tone in any company. A police department is a company or organization that needs structure. The hiring and supervision process needs to be upgrade with a policy that says no matter what the employee's political allies say they still get disciplined or fired.
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Yes.. I agree.. there are good cops... but the horror stories coming to public awareness are overshadowing the good. This has been going on forever, but now it's hard to conceal because everyone has a cell phone and everyone is watching. So what is the solution? I have heard that even good cops will protect the bad ones by virtue of the "Thin Blue Line". Is it time that the good cops broke their silence? I mean, it's their own reputation on the line. Shouldn't they speak up to eliminate the bad apples? or is their code of protecting the force... even the bad.... stronger than their desire to be seen in a positive light? What are they afraid of?
 
QuickSilver said:
Yes.. I agree.. there are good cops... but the horror stories coming to public awareness are overshadowing the good. This has been going on forever, but now it's hard to conceal because everyone has a cell phone and everyone is watching. So what is the solution? I have heard that even good cops will protect the bad ones by virtue of the "Thin Blue Line". Is it time that the good cops broke their silence? I mean, it's their own reputation on the line. Shouldn't they speak up to eliminate the bad apples? or is their code of protecting the force... even the bad.... stronger than their desire to be seen in a positive light? What are they afraid of?
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Part of the problem is the hiring process in small communities or political precincts in large cities. Politics. In many departments most cops are hired by who they know in politics. They all know they frequently bypassed more or just as qualified applicants. They all have dirt on each other so to speak. Politics doesn't stop at hiring either. It plays a part in promotions or transfers which controls the flow of new blood, knowledge and leadership.

I keep on thinking of the movie Training Day. Just like the average job many employees or police will "test" to the new hires to see what they can get away with. But that goes back to leadership and supervision. But how is one promoted into a supervisor or leadership role-politics.
 
Baltimore Police admit suspect should've had medical attention before transport.

http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/la...suspect-shouldve-received-medical-care-before

Admit after inquiries, protests and riots.

Note in a 4 year period Baltimore paid money in a 100 or so abuse claims

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/ma...t-confidentiallity-20141227-story.html#page=2

It was also noted Baltimore insists on a confidentiality clause meaning the claimant or victim of abuse can't tell their story. Many big cities do not have this clause in the name of transparency.

While channel surfing news coverage(Msnbc) of possible riots tonight I came across a local expert saying Baltimore police have 10 days to file an arrest report or file a final updated or correct arrest report. I just assumed most departments require arrest reports with in 24-48 hours. 10 days is not transparency and too much time for an officer to contrive a story.

Throw in an 800 camera police surveillance system and cell phone tracking conditions are ripe for a police state and abuse along with resentment & fear.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/ma...t-confidentiallity-20141227-story.html#page=2

http://www.newsmax.com/US/baltimore-Police-secret-Surveillance/2015/04/09/id/637458/

Even then rioting, rampaging, stealing, vandalizing etc doesn't solve anything.
 
So the report has been released that Freddy Gray had a couple of head injuries that match some bolts that are on the inside of the van and the decision is that his neck injury happened when he was slammed into the police van. The report from the other prisoner seems to have been dismissed. Poor guy and his poor family! I feel so bad for them because while he is no longer in pain, theirs will be with them always! My sympathy to them all.
 
I would say it's virtually impossible to severe your own spinal chord and to crush your own larynx... No matter HOW bad you didn't want to be arrested.

Is anyone else not surprised that this crap is being thrown out there?
 
If the police are found to be responsible for this 25 year old African American's death, the fact that he has been arrested numerous times in the past and had five outstanding warrants, used and sold drugs is no excuse for his death, but it does explain (at least to me) why they stopped him in the first place.
 
NY cops assault an autistic teenager for no reason, says 'thing like this happen', full story here. This behavior really has to stop in the police force, this incident happened last year, there's a lawsuit.


A developmentally disabled Bronx teen was punched in the face and body slammed by three cops for no valid reason — even as his mother cried he’s autistic, a lawsuit charges.
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Troy Canales, 18, says his trust in the NYPD was shattered by the “hostile” 2014 encounter in front of his Bedford Park home.

“I feel terrified of cops now,” Canales told the Daily News on Wednesday.
A lawsuit seeking unspecified damages was filed in Manhattan Federal Court, charging Canales was wrongfully assaulted, falsely imprisoned and had his constitutional rights violated.
The Nov. 12, 2014 incident occurred when the three unnamed cops rolled up to the front of Canales’ Bainbridge Ave. home at 8 p.m. and began grilling him about what he was up to, according to the suit.

Canales — who had been leaning against a parked car — told the officers that he was just “chillin’,” according to the suit filed by attorney Carmen Giordano.
The suit notes that Canales, who was 17 at time, has the “demeanor of someone much younger due to his autism” and that he “easily becomes nervous and anxious” when speaking with strangers.


​
For unclear reasons, the cops didn’t like Canales’ response.
“They grabbed me and threw me on the ground so my face was on the concrete,” said Canales, adding that one of the cops punched him in the face.

As he screamed for his family for help, a cop kneed him in the back, the suit charges.
“He’s screaming, ‘Help me, mommy! Help me, mommy!” Canales’ mother, Alyson Aulet-Valentine, told The News.

As her son was hauled into a police cruiser in handcuffs, Aulet-Valentine, 41, pleaded for an explanation, and told the officers her son is autistic.
She was ignored.


​
A lawsuit has accused cops of pulling up to Canales' home and assaulting him for no reason.


“Still to this day, I don’t know what my son was arrested for,” the mother said.
She said when she went to the 52nd Precinct stationhouse, one of the arresting officers told her her son had made him “afraid for his life.”
She said she told the cop he was “a liar.”

After pleading with the precinct captain, her son was released without being charged. He spent an hour in custody.

Aulet-Valentine said the captain apologized and said, “‘these things happen.’”

She said her son now becomes extremely anxious at the mere sight of a police car.


​
Troy Canales told the Daily News that the encounter with police has made him terrified of cops.


“After the incident, he was too scared to go outside,” she said.
A city Law Department spokesman declined comment.

The suit also notes that the NYPD Patrol Guide does not instruct officers how to interact and identify people with developmental disabilities such as autism.
But NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton countered that cops are giving instruction on autism.

“Autism is one of the many issues in terms of people that we pride ourselves of having to deal with,” Bratton told The News. “In the academy, in the humanities curriculum, there is training specific to the issue of autism as well as other courses on how to deal with emotionally disturbed persons.”
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Things still active in Baltimore with dozens of murders since the riots. Apparently politically motivated machinations with the 6 cops being prosecuted and now the police chief being relieved/fired for high crime. It's obvious in Baltimore many police look at it as a war zone, us against them or me first meaning "my" survival before your rights.

The NYC police are blaming a recent rise in crime on lack of stop & frisk and want it back. Again another department that thinks they are in a war us v them. When the mindset is survival and not policing stuff happens.
 
I have a police friend that patrols the streets in Baltimore City. As is the norm, he pulls shift duty, meaning that he switches shifts every two weeks. Most of his serious incidents that he has been involved with have occurred between 11:00 pm and 2 am. Murders and beatings are on the way up. Rapes are also picking up speed. He was telling me that most of his fellow officers are very cautious with making arrests. My friend has a dog with him at night and the dog lives with him 24/7. (His (my friend's, not the dog's) choice.)

He started using the canine about a year ago and feels very safe with her. That's right, it's a female. He likes to keep things light, so he told us at a cookout that unlike his wife, the dog is very obedient. The dog is rather large for a female and is all black. When I visit him, I am not allowed to approach, feed or call her name. The dog's name is Molly.
 
WhatInThe said:
There are "good" cops then are adrenaline junkies out for a job, not a career. Most with "a" job simply want to keep it and come home unscathed many putting those desires well ahead of any other actual priority or function of that job.

I've been trying to say these incidents should be no surprise especially if anyone has observed the end of a chase, especially the car chases where a pack of cops will drag a suspect out of a car, throw or slam an unarmed suspect to the ground and then start kicking and punching a restrained suspect. Then there is also an attitude, eh we'll just take them to the hospital blame it on the chase and get them fixed up there. But some injuries will be unrepairable or will affect the suspect for life.

It comes down to a lack of discipline, training and proper leadership. Management sets the tone in any company. A police department is a company or organization that needs structure. The hiring and supervision process needs to be upgrade with a policy that says no matter what the employee's political allies say they still get disciplined or fired.
Click to expand...

Simply ask yourself, what type of individual, what kind of mind-set, decides to pursue Law Enforcement as a career? Controlling individual, insecure individual, police groupie, it all fits, not always, no, but often enough. Just MO. imp
 

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