Cops corner guy after chase, then proceed to beat the crap out of him

[wicked]

Only problem is that there was a TV helicopter overhead, and it caught it on tape.

Video captures police beating suspect in New Hampshire - The Boston Globe

Oops.

I get that LEOs are in high-pressure, intense jobs. I can only imagine the emotions involved in that situation. But you gotta keep your cool -- and you gotta be smart enough to realize that if you're chasing a guy for an extended period of time, there's probably a camera nearby.

 

[LongTimeListener]

1991 called and wants to know, can't we all just get along?

 

[PCLoadLetter]

There need to be a few firings after that.

 

[wicked]

1991 called and wants to know, can't we all just get along?

Twenty-five years on, and cops still can't figure out that they might be on tape. I guess they've been too busy attending their Mensa meetings.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Big deal. They smacked him a few times to make sure he wouldn't fight back. He had it coming.

 

[exmediahack]

I'll be a bit of a snob on this.

Having been a news reporter for the last decade, I've dealt with plenty of police and sheriffs. Have enjoyed solid, professional relationships with the chiefs, sergeants, sheriffs and chief deputies.

Yet I've also met so many knuckleheads, usually guys under 30, who work patrol or on crime scenes.

I am not as unapologetically pro-police as in the past as I've had too many off-putting interactions with too many of them the last seven or eight years. I get that it's a high pressure job at times where you're constantly dealing with the same trouble spots each weekend.

 

[User 4332]

Sounds like a classic high speed pursuit syndrome case. Officer's adrenaline gets jacked up during the chase and they become more likely to respond violently when it ends.

Good departments will have some checks and balances in place to try to prevent it.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

I'll be a bit of a snob on this.

Having been a news reporter for the last decade, I've dealt with plenty of police and sheriffs. Have enjoyed solid, professional relationships with the chiefs, sergeants, sheriffs and chief deputies.

Yet I've also met so many knuckleheads, usually guys under 30, who work patrol or on crime scenes.

I am not as unapologetically pro-police as in the past as I've had too many off-putting interactions with too many of them the last seven or eight years. I get that it's a high pressure job at times where you're constantly dealing with the same trouble spots each weekend.

Yep. When I dealt with police the majority were great. Some were hyper-aggressive dip****s looking for a fight from anyone they spoke to. The dip****s were almost all under 30, usually with buzz cuts and sunglasses.

 

[justgladtobehere]

Why does the camera pull away as the beating went on? It comes across as protecting the police.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Why does the camera pull away as the beating went on? It comes across as protecting the police.

Probably just a knee-jerk reaction when it started getting ugly. Most chopper photos are conditioned to widen the shot if they think something bad is about to happen while live on TV -- for example, you don't want to show a clear view of someone getting shot. In this case it wasn't necessary, but they'll be pretty quick to get off a tight shot.

 

[DanOregon]

You would almost think that beating the crap out of a defenseless guy with a fist or a kick is taught at academies.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

Do suspects sometimes fake like they're going to surrender to get the police to let their guards down, then attack the police?

If so, are the police trained to see if that's what the suspect is doing?

 

[DanOregon]

Usually you have one guy on top of the guy to cuff him, maybe others kneeling on their legs and arms to keep them immobile. But punching and kicking is exactly the wrong thing to do since the guy could grab a leg or arm and it puts you off balance. But I guess since you have a bunch of people around you, proper tactics go out the window.

 

[Gator]

Probably not a popular opinion, but that's OK. My niece lives in the town where this fine gentleman, who had a warrant out for assault with a dangerous weapon, was apprehended, and it sure looks to be in a residential area. I can only think about if he, in some way shape or form, hurt my niece or others while flying up and down the streets. So if the local boys in blue take an extra few swipes at him, fine with me.

The problem here is, on most comment sections, the violator has now turned into a sympathetic figure. And that's just not right. Yes, the cops need to show restraint, but I'm also not about to flip out because some scumbag who contributes nothing to society caught a couple of blows to the head.

 

[CD Boogie]

You know what would have prevented this? If he had not run away from the police.

 

[Earthman]

What a chowdahhead

 

[bigpern23]

Probably not a popular opinion, but that's OK. My niece lives in the town where this fine gentleman, who had a warrant out for assault with a dangerous weapon, was apprehended, and it sure looks to be in a residential area. I can only think about if he, in some way shape or form, hurt my niece or others while flying up and down the streets. So if the local boys in blue take an extra few swipes at him, fine with me.

The problem here is, on most comment sections, the violator has now turned into a sympathetic figure. And that's just not right. Yes, the cops need to show restraint, but I'm also not about to flip out because some scumbag who contributes nothing to society caught a couple of blows to the head.

That's all well and good until it's you who's taking a couple of blows to the head after getting pulled over for speeding or some such minor infraction.

Our laws protect the rights of the guilty as well as the innocent. The more we let cops (or anyone else) violate the rights of the guilty, the more likely they are to violate the rights of the innocent.

I suppose the guy is lucky they didn't just shoot him.

 

[dixiehack]

Probably not a popular opinion, but that's OK. My niece lives in the town where this fine gentleman, who had a warrant out for assault with a dangerous weapon, was apprehended, and it sure looks to be in a residential area. I can only think about if he, in some way shape or form, hurt my niece or others while flying up and down the streets. So if the local boys in blue take an extra few swipes at him, fine with me.

The problem here is, on most comment sections, the violator has now turned into a sympathetic figure. And that's just not right. Yes, the cops need to show restraint, but I'm also not about to flip out because some scumbag who contributes nothing to society caught a couple of blows to the head.

If protecting the rights of the accused and/or guilty was an easy, instinctive response, we wouldn't have to write it into the law. It is entirely possible for mature people to want those rights upheld for the good of society, not because they're "sympathetic" to criminals.

 

[bigpern23]

If protecting the rights of the accused and/or guilty was an easy, instinctive response, we wouldn't have to write it into the law. It is entirely possible for mature people to want those rights upheld for the good of society, not because they're "sympathetic" to criminals.

To piggyback on your post (and my own), Gator, you absolutely should flip out that the cops violated this guy's civil rights, even if he is a criminal. The "what if my niece got hurt because of this guy, so the cops should have beaten him senseless after he surrendered" fantasy doesn't hold water in a just society.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

That's all well and good until it's you who's taking a couple of blows to the head after getting pulled over for speeding or some such minor infraction.

Our laws protect the rights of the guilty as well as the innocent. The more we let cops (or anyone else) violate the rights of the guilty, the more likely they are to violate the rights of the innocent.

I suppose the guy is lucky they didn't just shoot him.

All this guy did was speed? No wonder people are outraged.