Police Officer Who Confronted Black Man Picking Up Trash On Paid Leave

[Judi Lynn]

Source: International Business Times


By Vaishnavi Vaidyanathan
03/06/19 AT 11:33 PM

A Boulder, Colorado, police officer was put on paid administrative leave Tuesday after a video showing him confronting a black man picking up trash went viral, causing outrage.

The cell phone video, recorded by a neighbor on March 1, showed several officers confronting a black man picking up trash on his own property. One of them also had a gun drawn. In the 16-minute video, the man could be seen telling the officer, "You're on my property with a gun in your hand, threatening to shoot me because I'm picking up trash.”

In a statement, police officials said, "A Boulder Police Officer observed a man sitting in a partially enclosed patio area directly behind a 'Private Property' sign and initiated contact with the man to determine if he was allowed to be on the property.”

The unidentified man informed the officer that he lived there and also showed his identification card. The officer, however, detained him for further questioning. The man grew angry and the officer requested other officers to reach the spot saying the man was uncooperative. The man was holding a tool to pick up trash, however in the video, the officer could be seen referring to the object as a weapon.

. . .

Read more: https://www.ibtimes.com/police-officer-who-confronted-black-man-picking-trash-paid-leave-2772385

[vsrazdem]

1. Good. His actions were totally uncalled for and he should be reprimanded.

[Laffy Kat]

2. And fired.

He's in the wrong line of work.

[dalton99a]

3. Always a nice long paid vacation

and then nothing - or a promotion - or another job nearby

[trc]

4. Officer off camera stated: "You probably were profiled"

Ya think? Collecting trash while black gets added to the long, long list of ".......... while black."

This is infuriating.

[jcmaine72]

5. You know you have a great job when the penalty for being an incompetent sh*tbrain is to

be sent home to collect a paycheck.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. No more do-overs. Fire him.

[Baconator]

7. Ahh... my neck...

[sheilahi]

9. ouch

Coincidentally, after this video was posted an alarming outbreak of neck problems have been reported. Chiropractors businesses are booming.

[IronLionZion]

8. Paid vacation doesn't seem like much of a punishment

cops might do it on purpose when they want some paid administrative leave

Good that there is a video and witness or something much worse could have happened

[PatSeg]

10. You know

You might put it down to just a mistake, if the officer had just apologized, got in his car and rode away, but he called for a backup of eight cops. This was after it was made very clear that the "suspect" lived there.

It sure seems like so many of these awful stories show five or more police responding to nonthreatening situations. In New York, Eric Garner selling loose cigarettes required five cops, because apparently there is no real crime left in New York City anymore and they have nothing better to do.

Also in Colorado, six cops beat, tased, and pepper-sprayed a man who was in a diabetic coma, because they thought he was drunk. It would appear that diabetics must be very dangerous, as I've heard at least five such stories showing numerous cops beating up a person in diabetic distress. One guy was just sitting in his car:

So my point is that it is not just the obvious racial profiling that is disturbing, it is the general overall excessive presence of police in ordinary, nonthreatening situations. It feels like bored police looking for an excuse to be violent. It appears they are poorly trained and probably watch far too many cop shows on TV.

[packman]

11. A diabetic coma is exactly like a drunken trip

My blood sugar dropped to 40 requiring a EMT response to stabilize it; however , the first thing my wife asked as I was babbling, shouting and flopping around was, "Did you get into the liquor cabinet?" The next nite I had another blood sugar drop to 36 and was rushed to the hospital for four days of stabilization. The spiral into that diabetic episode reminded me of some really great drinking back in the 70's with my college mates except I thought I was going insane.

When I discussed this with my family doctor he said it is more common than one would expect. He told me about a woman who was driving down the wrong side of the highway and she was arrested for drunk driving, but really was in a low blood sugar episode.

Watch that blood sugar --

[PatSeg]

12. That must be terrifying

I can see how someone with low blood sugar could look drunk. What really bothers me about a lot of these stories is that five or six cops even thought it was okay to kick, punch, and tase someone they assumed was drunk. Since when is that an appropriate way to deal with an inebriated suspect?

Too often it just looks like they need an excuse to beat someone up.

[The Liberal Lion]

13. Well hell if all they get is a paid vacation for harrasing citizens

expect the harassment to grow.