14 Officers Indicted on Assault or Cover-Up Charges in Beating of Black Men
Source: New York Times
14 Officers Indicted on Assault or Cover-Up Charges in Beating of Black Men
Nathan Bills Bar & Restaurant in Springfield, Mass. Six off-duty police officers and the bars owner are accused of assaulting four African-American patrons down the street from the bar.CreditCreditCharles Krupa/Associated Press
By Adeel Hassan
March 28, 2019
A Massachusetts grand jury has indicted 12 current and two former officers of the Springfield Police Department who are accused of beating a group of four black men after a barroom dispute or participating in a cover-up of the assault.
The announcement by the state attorney generals office and the F.B.I. on Wednesday is the latest blow to the police force in Springfield, the states third-largest city.
Last fall, two other police officers in the city were indicted on charges of using unreasonable force while arresting two Hispanic boys. They have pleaded not guilty. Additionally, the Justice Department is investigating whether the Springfield narcotics unit routinely used excessive force and violated residents civil rights.
Wednesdays indictments stem from an April 2015 confrontation that began inside Nathan Bills Bar & Restaurant, when one of the black men whistled at a bartender to get her attention. One off-duty officer thought the man was whistling at his girlfriend, an officer who was also off duty at the time, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the four black men.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/us/springfield-police-black-men-fight-lawsuit.html
DirtEdonE
(1,220 posts)The pig was probably more pissed off at his girlfriend's positive reaction to being whistled at by a real man.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)This crap happens more than what is reported.
DFW
(54,057 posts)One time my wife were in a train from Philadelphia to New York. It was a thru train to Boston, and about 10 minutes before departure, two guys with heavy New England accents got onto our car, started moving other people's luggage around to accommodate their own, and hurling nasty racial epithets at the black steward responsible for the car. He didn't say a word, but stepped out of the car for a few minutes. He returned with two giant security officers who made the two assholes grab their luggage, and roughly escorted them off the car. When they were out, the steward made just one comment: "they ain't ridin' today."
The passengers erupted in spontaneous applause.