Devolution
Member
What do you mean when? Back in the day they were pretty much a part of the local KKK chapter.
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68-Year Old Ex-Marine Shot After Accidentally Triggering His Medical Alert System
- Thread starter Cyrillus
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What do you mean when? Back in the day they were pretty much a part of the local KKK chapter.
FelixOrion
Poet Centuriate
Police forces have been corrupt for the longest time, this isn't anything new. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but didn't the Chicago gangsters have a virtual puppeteer's grip on the CPD during Prohibition?
JasonUresti
Member
This any surprise? Dog walking around wagging it's tail, shoot it.
Young black kid half your size talking shit in the jail as you walk him to his cell? Never mind that you have all the authority, better slam him face first into a cement wall and break his teeth.
Young teen girl acting bitchy? Grab her and slam her into her cell, then punch her several times, leaving her unconscious. Then, say she kicked you in the shin, after you banged into the toilet as you slammed your fist into her head.
60 year old woman on the phone with Onstar to get service for her broken down car? Interrupt her call and demand to see her license, then when she points out that she's done nothing wrong, curse at her and yank her out of the car. Then talk and get your lies straight with your partner so you don't get in trouble (only they didn't realize the women dropped her phone when they began to manhandle her, and Onstar recorded the whole thing, including them talking about getting their stories straight)
I think the biggest thing, is that most cops are cowards. They like to act like billy badass when they hide behind their badge, or are dealing with people that still have respect or fear for them. But, the minute that illusion of power and control gets threatened, is ignored by someone, they go off the deep end, and panic. They can't stand for people to question them, to doubt their place of supreme authority.
Of course, there are good cops, who can just sit there calmly and assess situations with a mentality that didn't stop it's maturation at the High School jock/bully level.
Thing is, even those "good cops" will close their mouths and back up their bad blue brothers for doing something wrong. All the incidents above, only reason anything came of it was they happened to be recorded. In each, either the surrounding officers went along with it, or just clammed up, and certainly didn't report it.
Young black kid half your size talking shit in the jail as you walk him to his cell? Never mind that you have all the authority, better slam him face first into a cement wall and break his teeth.
Young teen girl acting bitchy? Grab her and slam her into her cell, then punch her several times, leaving her unconscious. Then, say she kicked you in the shin, after you banged into the toilet as you slammed your fist into her head.
60 year old woman on the phone with Onstar to get service for her broken down car? Interrupt her call and demand to see her license, then when she points out that she's done nothing wrong, curse at her and yank her out of the car. Then talk and get your lies straight with your partner so you don't get in trouble (only they didn't realize the women dropped her phone when they began to manhandle her, and Onstar recorded the whole thing, including them talking about getting their stories straight)
I think the biggest thing, is that most cops are cowards. They like to act like billy badass when they hide behind their badge, or are dealing with people that still have respect or fear for them. But, the minute that illusion of power and control gets threatened, is ignored by someone, they go off the deep end, and panic. They can't stand for people to question them, to doubt their place of supreme authority.
Of course, there are good cops, who can just sit there calmly and assess situations with a mentality that didn't stop it's maturation at the High School jock/bully level.
Thing is, even those "good cops" will close their mouths and back up their bad blue brothers for doing something wrong. All the incidents above, only reason anything came of it was they happened to be recorded. In each, either the surrounding officers went along with it, or just clammed up, and certainly didn't report it.
Sexual puritanism meets an outdated wild-west romanticism. America is schizophrenic.
Democracy NOW!'s coverage of the story:
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny
The family members (specifically the son) have been allowed to hear the unreleased audio from the medical alert company, in which he says you can clearly hear him say, "Please leave me alone. I'm 68 with a heart condition, why are you doing this to me? Can you please leave me alone?" After which one of the officers calls him a racial slur and tells him to open the door.
The man's son is interviewed in the segment as well, in which he says there's audio of the medical alert company calling the police dispatch and asking to cancel the call because Mr. Chamberlain is okay, to which dispatch responds "we're not cancelling anything." Also, they advise the police to call his son, to which the police respond "we're not calling anyone, we don't need a mediator."
People can talk about how this is just a compounding if many misunderstandings, but even if that's the case, which I'm still not willing to concede at this point, at what point do we start holding our "peace officers" accountable when their misunderstandings result in the death of a citizen? And no, Paid leave (and even unpaid leave) are not sufficient punishments.
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny
The family members (specifically the son) have been allowed to hear the unreleased audio from the medical alert company, in which he says you can clearly hear him say, "Please leave me alone. I'm 68 with a heart condition, why are you doing this to me? Can you please leave me alone?" After which one of the officers calls him a racial slur and tells him to open the door.
The man's son is interviewed in the segment as well, in which he says there's audio of the medical alert company calling the police dispatch and asking to cancel the call because Mr. Chamberlain is okay, to which dispatch responds "we're not cancelling anything." Also, they advise the police to call his son, to which the police respond "we're not calling anyone, we don't need a mediator."
People can talk about how this is just a compounding if many misunderstandings, but even if that's the case, which I'm still not willing to concede at this point, at what point do we start holding our "peace officers" accountable when their misunderstandings result in the death of a citizen? And no, Paid leave (and even unpaid leave) are not sufficient punishments.
Omegasquash
Member
Murder for the killer, and as stiff a penalty/punishment can be applied to the other officers involved.
Wish his family the best.
Wish his family the best.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
You mean, they were not fucked up when the sheriffs used to stop Blacks in the south, so the local KKK, which they were apart of, could round them up and lynch them?
If you dig far enough, you'll see enough fucked up shit from police. It's just now we are seeing it for what it really is. The majority of police are good people but killing a 68 yo male, who could have been delirious, is not acceptable. Why not just back away? It seems they put all this effort into getting into his house when it could have taken 15-30 minutes to track someone else down. If he was breathing but speaking incoherently, it should be their job to get him out safely.
How long will the US be okay with police killing citizens before we all speak up about it?
Count Dookkake
Member
I am usually opposed to celebrating prison violence, but I hope that the killers get turned out.
That's fucking evil.
CliqWriter
Member
All these articles are making my hate cops. Esp, cause I live in Atlanta. Cops here are assholes. I feel bad for this old man's family and him.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
As has been said, until the Internet helped expose more of what happens in daily life across the country, these "bad things" didn't seem to happen to "good people".
Most abuse of power and authority in society is leveled against the poor, the outcast, the minority, and generally anyone whom "decent folk" can rationalize doesn't deserve sympathy. People, places, and neighborhoods that can be pushed out of sight and out of mind.
And the police generally seem to know it's a fine line they toe. They tend to be careful not to bother people that will get them exposed, if they can help it, unless you have a particularly stupid police officer.
There's a certain segment of any population that enjoys living within a bubble of moral myopia. They will appear to be kind and decent people, show concern for their fellow man, but will turn around and shrug at stories of abuse and killing if those stories are about places that are designated "bad". I don't know how many white, middle class Americans who have never so much as gotten a speeding ticket, shrug and mumble "scum" when they hear about a black person being shot by police in some far off inner city.
SquiddyCracker
Banned
I simply cannot fathom how this could all be a result of some serious misunderstanding on the officers part.
This is monstrous:
This is monstrous:
Brian Griffin
Member
That was totally justified, the cops didn't want to get blood on them. I mean who HASN'T murdered someone to avoid getting blood on themselves?
Fucking cops are out of control. These kinda stories almost make me support the idea of CCTV cameras everywhere, recording everything, at all times. Almost.
What the fuck, this is even worse than I imagined! It almost sounds like they wanted to go there to murder him; but why? Why pick on this old man? What did he do to deserve such treatment? Actually no, there is no justification for what happened. He was simply murdered. Police didn't need to be there and on top of that used deadly force where none was required. Actual murder charges need to be brought up for this.
Brian Griffin
Member
They need to release the tapes to the public.
Expect nothing more severe to befall the others involved, and that's being generous. There is an inarguable and indefensible lack of accountability in law enforcement.
A usual none of the officers involved will get punished or go to jail.
The problem is the type of people hired to become cops and then the culture of covering up each others crimes once you're in. We need to fix both.
Hiring high school bully jocks to become cops results in the kind of police force that exists today.
The problem is the type of people hired to become cops and then the culture of covering up each others crimes once you're in. We need to fix both.
Hiring high school bully jocks to become cops results in the kind of police force that exists today.
aggro crag
Member
What drives me crazy is that these cops were supposed to be out for a medical emergency. Not a fucking crime. So what's the deal with these guys? Get too many calls from Life Alert or some shit? They're like, nah, fuck Life Alert we're going to settle this shit now.
Absolutely senseless. The police spin afterwords is despicable. Immediately try to paint Kenneth Chamberlain as a knife wielding psycho. Terrible.
Absolutely senseless. The police spin afterwords is despicable. Immediately try to paint Kenneth Chamberlain as a knife wielding psycho. Terrible.
The Faceless Master
Member
Did you not read the article or watch the video? or even this thread? There are quotes from the audio and video that are pretty indefensible.
I wonder how long before a contrarian argument is made in this thread.
edit: we already have one! Record timing!!!
And everybody knows what happens when it gets hot.
edit: we already have one! Record timing!!!
And everybody knows what happens when it gets hot.
The audio's been released to the son, and it sounds pretty damning towards the police's conduct
Dreams-Visions
Member
Seriously, I don't understand why the police wouldn't use a taser if they were that worried? It would probably kill the old man too, but at least you can somewhat justify it if he was swinging knives. Putting 2 in his chest is...you want to punch someone.
The Faceless Master
Member
i only heard what the son said, waiting for the actual tapes.
echoshifting
Banned
They tased and beanbagged him before he grabbed the knife.
apparently they did use a taser, then a beanbag shotgun, and then live rounds. They prefaced all this by using a racial slur smh.
Deified Data
Banned
If indeed the old man grabbed a knife, it was obviously to protect himself from the gun-toting thugs breaking down his door despite his repeated assurances that he was OK.
A system needs to be put into place that allows civilians to protect themselves from police without facing criminal charges.
A system needs to be put into place that allows civilians to protect themselves from police without facing criminal charges.
SquiddyCracker
Banned
And that point, he should have every right to defend himself. Especially after he has repeatedly assured them that he is alright, and that he triggered the medical alert on accident.
GungHo
Single-handedly caused Exxon-Mobil to sue FOX, start World War 3
This is a major problem. I am a former Marine. One of my hobbies is shooting. So, I run into a lot of cops and have close friends who work as police. I get pretty pissed off when they refer to the public as "civilians" because that attitude underlines a great misunderstanding that law enforcement have about their place in society. They are not the military. They are not soldiers. They didn't take the Oath, and if they did, they're either no longer in the service or they're only reservists. They are civilians just like the rest of the public. They just have a badge and a charge to protect people. That is all that makes them special. But, they don't all see it that way and they put a hard demarcation between themselves and the people they serve, which those who do so believe obviates them from having any empathy with the people they serve.
Obviously, they need a Stand Your Ground Even If You're Black And Are Being Oppressed law.
echoshifting
Banned
He's coming right for us!
LowEndTorque
Member
What an infuriating story.
So many police officers are scum and we have known this for a long time, yet nothing really seems to be done about it. New legislation needs to be written that creates an entirely new and severely strict system to determine what people are allowed to become police officers.
So many police officers are scum and we have known this for a long time, yet nothing really seems to be done about it. New legislation needs to be written that creates an entirely new and severely strict system to determine what people are allowed to become police officers.
I am in general, supportive of law enforcement.
However, this shit is becoming all too common, wanna be military types just itching to shoot their guns. Why the hell were the cops even called instead of EMTs? Did they even know what they were responding too? Totally untrained (or just incompetent?) fools who have no business being cops....
I know its not the same as shooting a person, but its amazing how many stories you can find of cops showing up for a call, finding a dog, and just shooting them. Happened to my cousin, and from the news it happens almost daily. They almost seem to get their jollies by shooting a dog.
The new police motto, instead of "to serve and protect", should be "shoot first, ask questions later".....
However, this shit is becoming all too common, wanna be military types just itching to shoot their guns. Why the hell were the cops even called instead of EMTs? Did they even know what they were responding too? Totally untrained (or just incompetent?) fools who have no business being cops....
I know its not the same as shooting a person, but its amazing how many stories you can find of cops showing up for a call, finding a dog, and just shooting them. Happened to my cousin, and from the news it happens almost daily. They almost seem to get their jollies by shooting a dog.
The new police motto, instead of "to serve and protect", should be "shoot first, ask questions later".....
Deified Data
Banned
That...won't help. It's not always about who police officers are. It's about what they become.
Police were responding because the alert pendant was accidentally triggered without the old man saying why - could have been a burglary, etc. That's why they were there. What followed has no rational explanation.
samus i am
Member
This is absolutely terrible. Day ruined.
Makes perfect sense now.
Police respond to old man's pendant alarm, find only old man, no other choice but to tazer and shoot him dead. Got it.
I guess that is the new standard operating procedure......
I read this last night and actually got a lump in my chest. I don't have anything to add or anything good to say. It just makes you mad. Police seriously wonder why people have negative ideas about them. They seriously do, and they expect it, and have no idea where it comes from because they work so hard to serve and protect. "They're just doing their jobs."
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