This has got to stop - warning upsetting police violence

[Jeroen]

Terrifying, its hard to watch, I am still shaking as I type.
It happens in Europe, where I live, as well.

[tazkcmo]

1. I will NEVER call the police

for ANY reason. They are more dangerous than the "criminals".

[yesphan]

2. This isn't Europe.

[Jeroen]

3. You are right, its not.

I wrote that this kind of police violence is also happing in Europe.
Its a global phenomena.

[yesphan]

4. To Serve

and Protect !

It would be nice if the observers could walk up to the cops and say "that's about enough, you can stop torturing the subject" and the
cops would say "hey, we're here to serve and protect, OK, we'll stop". No, instead the observer(s) would be beaten and tazed as well.

What can the populace do to protect itself from this brutality. I notice they don't tend to brutalize each other, but we can't all become cops.

[Jeroen]

5. It will only get worse if there is no political will to change it

I noticed that all these police man where larger than average, bold and wearing sunglasses.
And they seem to love those blue plastic gloves made famous in Abu Ghraib.

[yesphan]

6. At least one woman cop

was present. Roid rage ? I think so. I've been screamed at by a jacked up cop and was worried for my health until another cop stepped in on my behalf and calmed him down.

[Jeroen]

10. Glad to hear that you didn't get hurt n/t

[zeemike]

7. The woman filming it said "I'm so scared"

Which is exactly what it is all about...to make you afraid of them so you will comply with what ever they want.
As Machiavelli said, it is better that the ruler be feared than loved...and our leaders seem to be following The Prince.

[Jeroen]

9. Indeed, makes you wonder what's in store for us 'peasants' n/t

[heaven05]

13. what's always been in store for us peasants.

[Scuba]

8. The cop with the baton needs to be criminally charged...

... and the man on the ground needs to file a zillion dollar lawsuit against the PD.

[canuckledragger]

11. This kind of thing isn't going to stop

Until people take matters into their own hands and riot against thugs like this.

I'm not advocating violence, but pointing out that nothing seems to keep cowards like this in check.

Barely anything happens to bad cops, they rarely get the discipline/firing/financial repercussions they deserve for actions like this and there's not enough of the 'good' cops standing up against this kind of abuse.

That being said...I believe cops like this will continue to abuse their 'authority' and people will figure they have nothing left to lose BUT to stand up to them anyway they can.

To avoid this, I think a special kind of reform is in order. Fire the cops that have a history of unneeded violence, psychological screening and the like to get rid of and keep the sociopaths away (I'd advocate for screenings at least twice a year for cops on duty as well) as well as random drug testing by 3rd parties. Mandatory cameras with sound and video on both cop and vehicle, with recordings stored offsite with a neutral party to prevent tampering, etc.

Cops like this have abused their 'authority' for far too long, it's time for some drastic measures to reign them in. They've EARNED it.

[packman]

12. Then again....

And for another perspective
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Long-Beach-Police-Defend-Caught-on-Camera-Violence-222317191.html

While no fan of the pseudo-military thugs posing as police, there are truths and there are truths. Seems like many on DU have a predilection toward posting one-sided videos. In this case, follow up would have given some balance.
I've seen hopped up, drugged addled , drunk characters do some amazing damage to themselves and others and was thankful to have seen them under control.

[Jeroen]

15. It definitely brings this incident in perspective

That said, I still think the officers used excessive force.

[snort]

14. Fuck the Pigs