Rodney King 2?

[Blasphemous]

His family seem to be remaining very calm considering.

Video Of Cops Beating Student Shocks America

Footage of police beating an innocent basketball fan unconscious as he was celebrating a win by his college team has sent shockwaves through America.

University of Maryland student John McKenna was attacked after their victory over arch rivals Duke.

CCTV pictures show him skipping down the street waving his arms in joy.

He is then approached by police on horseback who stand over him before other cops in riot gear swoop and start hitting him with their batons.

Police initially claimed Mr McKenna had attacked their officers and horses, causing them "minor injuries", as they responded to reports of trouble after the game.

But the footage clearly shows he never struck out - and even tried to back away when confronted.

The FBI is now investigating the incident which left the 21-year-old needing eight staples to repair a head wound.

He was also allegedly told by officers in Maryland not to make a fuss about his injuries because they would have to fill out more paperwork.

Mr McKenna was arrested and placed in the back of a police van before being taken to hospital.

Charges against him have since been dropped and police chief Roberto Hylton has suspended one officer.

He said: "I was outraged. I was very disappointed at the conduct that I saw on the part of my officers on the video tape."

Mr McKenna's family said in a statement: "Some of these characters ought to go to jail, some ought to be booted off the force.

"The remainder should be properly trained to discover that force is not always necessary, and brutality is always wrong."

Americans are already drawing comparisons with the beating of a black man, Rodney King, in Los Angeles in 1991.

The officers accused of that incident were acquitted by a jury, sparking riots across the city which left 53 people dead.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100415/twl-video-of-cops-beating-student-shocks-3fd0ae9.html

 

[imamartian]

This a good example of how this type of situation can be seen as two complete extremes by two different people.

Situation 1. Innocent student dancing in the street, beaten to within an inch oh his life by cops...

or

Situation 2. potential riot situation, cops tell people to 'leave the area' (kind of obvious if the riot police are there). One rioter 'dances' up to police line, against advice, flounting police authority (i've seen people, on a friday night in town 'dance' up to someone and then smack them). Police decide to remove him with a show of force....

Part of how you feel about this, depends on you attitude to authority...

Do we know all the details? do we know if the cops had identified this person as a knife carrier/serial rioter/thug?

Unfortunately, this kind of snapshot, is easy news for tv companies.... they should be investigated before being aired maybe?

 

[gregers]

i could be wrong but at about 1 min in as he sits up it looks like 1 of the coppers gives him a smack round his head???
looks quite brutal amazing how many of them pile in.
bit heavy handed if you ask me.

 

[imamartian]

i could be wrong but at about 1 min in as he sits up it looks like 1 of the coppers gives him a smack round his head???
looks quite brutal amazing how many of them pile in.
bit heavy handed if you ask me.

he had a huge opportunity to go home minutes before he got... dealt with! taunting coppers in a riot is not the cleverest thing a bloke can do...

 

[Blasphemous]

This a good example of how this type of situation can be seen as two complete extremes by two different people.

Situation 1. Innocent student dancing in the street, beaten to within an inch oh his life by cops...

or

Situation 2. potential riot situation, cops tell people to 'leave the area' (kind of obvious if the riot police are there). One rioter 'dances' up to police line, against advice, flounting police authority (i've seen people, on a friday night in town 'dance' up to someone and then smack them). Police decide to remove him with a show of force....

Points:

1. Speaks for itself.

2. 'Police decide to remove him with a show of force....' Errrm, 'remove him'? You don't 'remove' someone by beating them with batons.

'Part of how you feel about this, depends on you attitude to authority'...

No it doesn't! Lets assume some lad is 'dancing' about on your front garden and you go out to 'remove him' in the same manner this guy was 'removed'. You'd be locked up and facing a jail term, especially if there was video evidence such as this. Its got NOTHING to do with how you feel about authority.

Do we know all the details? do we know if the cops had identified this person as a knife carrier/serial rioter/thug?

If's, but's and maybe's. But it does lead to your final point...

Unfortunately, this kind of snapshot, is easy news for tv companies.... they should be investigated before being aired maybe?

Why shouldn't the world see this behaviour? The riots following the Rodney King incident were NOT justified but the incident needed to be aired. It was one of the most shocking pieces of footage (of this kind), I have ever seen. This particular incident is not as violent but I still think that police officers need to be made aware that they are not THE LAW they simple enforce it. They are not there to dish out punishment as they see fit. I know it is difficult (I know quite a few coppers), and adrenaline gets you going etc but to carry out violence to that level in the course of their duties was not required in this situation.

We could go on all night (and this may well do!), about, 'Ah but what IF he'd pulled a gun?', 'What IF, he was shouting abuse to the cops?' etc etc. WHAT IF's don't cut it. You deal with the situation in front of you and remove the threat using necessary force. Just like those nice Officers did with Rodney King.

 

[Blasphemous]

he had a huge opportunity to go home minutes before he got... dealt with!

You've just posted:

Do we know all the details?

... NO we don't! How do you know what he's been trying to do? He could have been trying to get away home for all you know.

taunting coppers in a riot is not the cleverest thing a bloke can do...

'taunting'? I refer you to your original post once more...

Do we know all the details?

 

[Karinska]

Maybe he had a juice carton in his hand

 

[imamartian]

"Errrm, 'remove him'? You don't 'remove' someone by beating them with batons. "

yes they do... although it depends on the circumstances...


have you never seen footage of rioting scum swarm around a copper who's gone down, or been taken down? and kicking the sh!t out of him?

or nice young men 'exercising' their right arms, by seeing how far they can launch half housebricks or bottles full of petrol (towards a line of coppers)

get real Blas... sometimes you have to be told what to do... and by a copper....they're trying to remove the riot which causes a potential risk for all of us... indiscriminatly... where as police dont pose that threat !!!

 

[imamartian]

"He could have been trying to get away home for all you know"

... yeah right !!!

 

[Blasphemous]

have you never seen footage of rioting scum swarm around a copper who's gone down, or been taken down? and kicking the **** out of him?

or nice young men 'exercising' their right arms, by seeing how far they can launch half housebricks or bottles full of petrol (towards a line of coppers)

I certainly have. Your point being? What's good for the goose.... may be?

get real Blas... sometimes you have to be told what to do... and by a copper....they're trying to remove the riot which causes a potential risk for all of us... indiscriminatly... where as police dont pose that threat !!!

Last time I looked I was 'real'. Your last line is laughable... 'where as police dont pose that threat'. Well they certainly posed 'that threat' to that lad.

You know Martian, if they hadn't tried to cover this up with lies I MAY have been more sympathetic but they lied from the minute they took the lad to jail.

A bit more info for ya... http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/universit...-mckenna-intends-sue-police/story?id=10369269

Their Commanding Officer isn't best pleased...

Police Chief Outraged by Video

Prince George's County Police Chief Roberto Hylton has suspended one of the officers who's been identified on the tape and launched an investigation into the incident.

"I was outraged," said Hylton. "I was very disappointed at the conduct that I saw on the part of my officers on the video tape."

Hylton said that other officers involved in the beating will likely be fired...

He ain't defending any of this Martian.

 

[Blasphemous]

"He could have been trying to get away home for all you know"

... yeah right

At least we're starting to agree.

 

[imamartian]

have you never seen footage of rioting scum swarm around a copper who's gone down, or been taken down? and kicking the **** out of him?

or nice young men 'exercising' their right arms, by seeing how far they can launch half housebricks or bottles full of petrol (towards a line of coppers)

I certainly have. Your point being? What's good for the goose.... may be?

get real Blas... sometimes you have to be told what to do... and by a copper....they're trying to remove the riot which causes a potential risk for all of us... indiscriminatly... where as police dont pose that threat !!!

Last time I looked I was 'real'. Your last line is laughable... 'where as police dont pose that threat'. Well they certainly posed 'that threat' to that lad.

You know Martian, if they hadn't tried to cover this up with lies I MAY have been more sympathetic but they lied from the minute they took the lad to jail.

A bit more info for ya... http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/universit...-intends-sue-police/story?id=10369269[/QUOTE]

I don't condone unnecessary violence from the police. And i accept it does happen. But as i have said before on this site.... there will always be a bad copper (or poorly trained one - or whatever), but there will always be a doctor that kills people, or a solicitor who charges a bit too much, or a mechanic who exagerates the car problem, or the cleaner who nicks a bar of chocolate off of an office desk....etc etc.... the scenario you're describing is a bit like blaming the dentist for the pain you feel in your mouth whilst he mends the teeth you haven't cleaned before...

cr@p analogy.... but i still have no time for people who.... mill about.... dance.... stand... or anything in a situation where the riot police have turned up !!!!
Typically the real crims scarper... and your left with political activists, and those people with a real ego problem, those with a grudge against authority, and those who like a ruck..... oh and drunk, blind, or mentally ill people (all of which should be lead away by carers)!
The ego likes to think it's god, but it won't win against the law....

 

[Blasphemous]

Yep I agree about the 'there will always be a bad copper' etc. There are (thankfully), lots of good coppers and that is why when we see such incidents they must be dealt with severely. It is also why I believe such things should be shown. The Police Commander (and I assume the rest of the force), are thoroughly ashamed and want these people out of their force.


Oh and you're spot on.... that was a 'cr@p analogy'!

 

[imamartian]

Oh and you're spot on.... that was a 'cr@p analogy'!

 

[skitzee2k]

...doesn't look like that much of a riot. They could have taken him out better than that without so much violence.

Anyone that has seen my posts here will know that I don't attack authority for no reason. This student, while being a complete dick, didn't seem to NEED those 10+ blows when he was already in the fetal position. I don't know all the facts, so I will not condemn him being taken to the floor...but that is a little excessive.