Did you guys hear about the pregnant woman who was forced by cops to lie on her stomach?

[proud2BlibKansan]

I posted about it here a few days ago. It was just on MSNBC. I know this lady; she is a principal in my school district and she is one of the nicest people I have ever met.

She was in the parking lot of a JC Penney store and the employees in the store thought her car matched the description of a car driven by someone suspected of breaking into cars in their parking lot. So when she left, she was pulled over on an interstate highway and forced to get out of her car (While they pointed guns at her) and the cops made her lie on her stomach, even after she told them she was 6 months pregnant. To make it all worse, her kids were in the car and her 4 year old daughter was traumatized.

One of the local TV stations had the video up on their website but I can't find it there now. It was the video taken by the cops at the scene. One cop was very nice and the other was an asshole. He told her she was a clever thief, since she was pregnant (as if he didn't believe her!)

I am just outraged over this story. I am sick to death of cops acting like brown shirted thugs. This woman has probably never even gotten a traffic ticket. She is an upstanding citizen in our community and it is shameful that she was treated this way.

I was hoping that some of you had seen the report on MSNBC because I thought the police chief acted like a prick.

Here is the story in the paper:
http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/196443.html

[bdamomma]

1. terrible how police are victimizing everyone.

the poor woman.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. My kids were walking home from the store a few months ago and a cop hassled them

They were literally just walking down the street and a cop pulled over and asked for their IDs and wanted to know what they were doing. And they were walking down the street!! They said the cop said "You don't look like you belong around here". And the odd thing about that is that my kids are both white and we live in a suburb that is 99% white and this was a black cop! My kid said he wanted to tell the cop that he was the one who didn't look like he belonged around here.

[seabeyond]

16. i had a cop do that in front of my house with neighbor kids. i watched

and saw the intimidation the cop was using. i walked out and asked cop what was up. he really wanted to go after me too. regardless of the fear of his power to me,... still stood up for the kids. thankfully the cop didnt go balistic. but as an adult, how do we lower our eyes, tail between legs and allow this to happen to our children.

as an old parent, i am middle income, middle class,.... middle middle middle, i have tried from kids youngest of age to teach children respect for police, but in the process have run into a number of occassions where cops have used unnecessary intimidation for no reason what so ever. as a parent, i started teaching my chldren that no.... one cannot trust the police. one cannot be fearless when it comes to the police. one cannot expect reasonable behavior from the police. so like all threats we encounter in life, with cops, walk wary.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. We have had a number of bad situations with suburban cops

The worst was my younger son's boy scout leader who was a cop. He pulled my older son over and all he could pin on him was that it was 12:30 at night and he thought that was too late for a 17 year old to be out at night. So, since he knew our family, he took my kid into the police station and called us at 1 in the morning to suggest we let him stay in jail overnight. And again, his only offense was being out at 12:30 at night!

So we hussled out of bed and went and picked up our son. He had a friend with him and we offered to take him home too but the cops said no, his parents had to come. And again, his only offense was being out at 12:30 at night! And no, there is no curfew here.

So I filed a complaint with the police dept and that not only went nowhere but this cop kept pulling my kid over every time he saw him. We even filed a complaint with the boy scouts. My younger kid eventually quit the boy scouts just over this asshole cop.

A year or so later, this cop got fired for beating up a drunk woman he had picked up on a DUI. She sued and he lost his job. Good riddance as far as I am concerned.

Another time in another suburb here, I got pulled over and the cop wanted to know why I was in his city and where I was going. It was 9:30 at night. He asked what I did for a living and I told him I was a teacher and he said well didn't I need to go home and get ready for school tomorrow? I kept asking him if it was illegal to drive down the street in this town at 9:30 at night and he kept threatening me with taking me in for disrespecting a police officer! He didn't give me a ticket, and I wasn't doing anything wrong. So next day, I filed a complaint with that police dept and of course, never heard a word about it.

I can also tell numerous stories about cops hassling us while we are protesting. I am so sick of this brown shirted thug mentality.

[trueblue2007]

45. I hope she SUES the police force for millions.

She deserves a HUGE settlement!!! POLICE ARE PIGS. I saw it during the Vietnam marches.....the marches against Iraqi war and every day incidents.

[DS1]

2. like any other profession, cops have their share of dumb motherfuckers

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Dumb motherfuckers who have the power to hurt people

[datasuspect]

10. dumb motherfuckers who can shoot you for no reason

[Bake]

18. And who are armed with lethal weapons.

Bake

[mzmolly]

33. Therein lies the problem.

We are at the mercy of "dumb motherfuckers" with guns and heavy metal clubs. Not good.

[tblue37]

40. And Tasers. Don't forget tasers. These

a**holes do love their Tasers.

And now we should hear from the regular posters who always show up to defend the use of Tasers and strong-arm tactics against 6-year-olds, 80-year-olds, 71-year-old deaf and blind women and their 94-year-old mothers, diabetics in comas who don't respond immediately to barked commands, and scissors-wielding people in wheelchairs. (BTW, I have a whole collection of articles documenting these cases and others, and there are certain posters here at DU who defended the cops' use of Tasers and force in every single one of those cases.)

[mzmolly]

43. I don't doubt it a bit.

I remember reading about how cops shot a 100 pound woman with a knife who suffered from mental illness. She was not approaching the police she was frightened and in her mind grabbed the knife in self defense.

My husband is a diabetic and he punched a paramedic in the midst of a reaction, thankfully no one shot him.

Scary shit.

[tblue37]

39. I think that a lot of people go into the profession specifically

because they are power trippers and the gun and the badge give them so many opportunities to act out.

And now that our social environment actively encocurages such police state behavior, it has just gotten worse.

We really do need to start taking our country back from the brownsirts with badges.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. That's the sad truth

Yet they're who we rely on to uphold our laws. I've never had an issue with holding police to a higher standard of conduct then most other professions. If they cannot meet that standard they need to find another profession.

[MindPilot]

12. Yes, but unlike all the other dumb motherfuckers...

police have the legal power to use force.

I think that falls in the "higher standard" category.

[DS1]

24. Yes, that's the unsaid part of my post

Cops have a higher responsibility to weed out the morons. Too bad we're talking about a profession where a guy WASN'T hired because he scored too high on the aptitude tests.

Waterbury, CT if you want to look it up

[MindPilot]

42. I remember that, it was sent to me by a cop friend.

She was particularly shocked because she works for a department that REQUIRES a four year degree to even apply. Curiously enough they have never had an excessive force complaint.

[seabeyond]

17. too many. more now than ever... because as a society we are allowing

allowing,... the cops to push our expectations and demands further and further. we as a society are creating this and allowing this. we have allowed it because it is the old adage,.... them, not me and fear

[Clark2008]

3. Is the baby OK?

If not, your friend will own that police force in a year or two. Not that that's any consolation.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. The baby's heartbeat was way up the day after the incident

[malaise]

5. Just saw her

DWB is a serious offense. The police chief was shameless. One assumes they would simply ask for her license, registration and insurance papers. That is how cars should be checked. America has gone stark raving mad. I hope she sues them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Wasn't he an ass?

I about died when he told the reporter to ask the questions and he would answer them. And he was just dodging a question!

His police dept has a really bad reputation here in this area. And with dickheads like that in charge, no wonder.

[malaise]

20. Until people wake up this will continue

He really annoyed me.

[Neecy]

51. no kidding

I walked into my living room just as the video was airing on the local news, and almost immediately I guessed it was the Independence PD. Not that long ago another video showed them repeatedly tasering someone who was prone on the ground and not resisting - an Iraq war veteran, no less.

You get the police department you deserve. When I was phone banking for Kerry I hated getting Independence phone lists - lots of Bush-loving jackasses and the ONLY person I ever spoke to who considered voting for Kerry was drunk. It's heavily freep and they love authoritarian cops - until they end up the victims, and the way IPD is acting that's just a matter of time.

Ol' Harry Truman must be reeling in his grave.

[PDJane]

9. having once married a member of the constabulary

When I was really young, full of hormones, and somewhat stupid, I would have to say that anyone who really wants to be a police officer needs to be scrutinized very, very, very carefully before being allowed that kind of power.

There's a really strong seige mentality in the police, along with a complete willingness to abuse folks; that's one of the reasons that divorce rates are so high in the department.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. And the Patroit Act just gives them more power

[LSK]

13. I saw it posted yesterday or the day before here

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Oh I agree

And remember this is the same city where the pregnant woman who was miscarrying was taken to jail when she asked repeatedly for medical care. That was KCMO cops and they got fired. This was Independence, MO cops, but same metro area.

[aquart]

23. No. They don't.

In my city, they died for us, and I don't take that language from anyone.

[riqster]

25. Your city is an exception to the rule.

I have yet to live in such a place. Count yourself fortunate.

My attitude, like yours, is based on experience.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. That doesn't give them to the right to engage in racial profiling

and treat people like criminals.

[Madspirit]

36. ...and you'll do what about that language?

Oink Oink Oink...the only thing I don't like about calling cops "pigs" is that it insults a perfectly nice and intelligent animal.

I've been bullied by those suckers. I WILL call them whatever I want.
Lee

[opihimoimoi]

19. and peeps wonder why cops are called PIGs...

[originalpckelly]

26. These assholes seem to have forgotten they work for us, not the other way around.

What a bunch of bastards, my brother was forced to do a similar thing one night after coming home from work. The police said he matched the description of some criminal they'd been searching for in the area, and they pulled him and his (now) wife over and made them get out of their car and surrounded him with guns drawn.

That all might be understandable if my brother had looked anything like the criminal suspect in question, however it was quite the opposite. He didn't even come close to matching any of the description.

I remember when he called, he was just completely fucked up, even though he tried not to act like it. Poor guy. I just cannot even believe the bastards would do something like that.

[Contrary1]

27. There is a video here:

From KMBC:

http://mfile.akamai.com/12884/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2007/0720/13718461.200k.asx

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. How convenient - that isn't the whole video!

In the original UNCUT video, one of the cops accuses her of being a clever thief by disguising herself as a pregnant woman.

[Contrary1]

30. Here is another video:

http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=3814079

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. I wonder what happened to the video taken by the police car that was right behind her car?

You would be able to see more of what actually happened in that video. Where is it?

[RebelOne]

35. You really can't see anything. You only hear them talking.

All I saw was a flashing light, a police car and 2 cops. She was not visible.

[NaturalHigh]

31. I haven't seen it...

but I would advise her to get a lawyer and sue. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior.

As for all of the threads denouncing the police as pigs, most of them are very good civil servants who are not paid nearly what they're worth. Aren't these the people who we're supposed to call to save us in lieu of owning one of those evil handguns?

[shadowknows69]

34. I was really hoping that was the start to a cheesy joke

I guess the police in this case are the joke. "To serve and protect"

[Madspirit]

37. k&r and shameful. ...n/t

[tblue37]

38. I saw it when it appeared on the news several evenings ago.

I was furious, too. Of course, she is African-American. It reminds me of the Marine who said that Marines consider all Iraqi males to be the enemy. I think cops consider all African-Americans to be criminals.

Several years ago two of my students, both well-muscled African-America men who were walk-ons on our football team, returned to their student apartment complex at about 9:30 p.m. after several hours of studying on campus. As they pulled into their designated parking spot and got out of the car with their backpacks, they were forced to the ground and handcuffed while several cops pointed guns a their heads.

A couple of hours earlier, unbeknownst to them, there had been a (questionable) report of a drive-by shooting at the complex. The cops had been told that the shooter was African-American, so of course that meant ANY African-American was automatically a suspect.

I wonder whether they would have done this to every young white man coming home with his bag full of books to a student apartment complex if they had been told that the suspect was white.

One of the young men was the son, cousin, and nephew of cops and planning to become a cop himself. In fact, that is exactly what he is these days—a cop. When he was in my English 101 class as a new freshman, he told me he had never been harassed by cops for being Black. I told him it would probably happen eventually, but he was so idealistic back then he didn’t believe me. But that very Thanksgiving, he and his brother were pulled over back home on Chicago for “Driving While Black” and shoved around and mistreated. When he came back to school after break and told me about it, he was obviously heartbroken.

When he told me about what happened to him and his roommate in the parking lot of their apartment complex, he was still freaking out about it. He said, “They were ready to shoot me in the head! If I had said one word or moved an inch they would have blown my brains out!”

So watching the news report about what happened to that woman and her little girl made me furious on two levels—I was outraged for her, and it reminded me of what happened to my students that night just because they dared to come home at night after studying at the library.

[mnhtnbb]

41. The answer is in the story: she's black and was racially profiled.

I lived in St. Joseph (an hour north of KC) for six years. When I first moved
there, I thought I was moving to the midwest. BIG mistake. MO is definitely
the South. My husband reminded me of the Dred Scott decision and how MO was involved.

[conspirator]

55. Unfortunately I knew she had to be black n/t

[kikiek]

44. I like those video cameras. They expose bad cops as much as film criminals. I hope they are fired.

No excuses in my opinion.

[Horse with no Name]

46. I was sickened by it

And knew that if the occupant of the vehicle was someone that looked like Vitter or one of THOSE kinds...the cops would have apologized and gone on their merry way.
I hope she wins her lawsuit.

[AX10]

47. Yes, we should be allowed to use force against law enforcement...

in the name of self defense!

[misanthrope]

48. Since NBC is fond of Law & Order spin-offs why don't they start...

..."Law & Order: IA" to see how that would do?

I normally am bored by cop shows but I'd damn sure tune in each week to watch crooked cops get nailed to the wall even if it was only fictional. They could illustrate all the stuff that goes on in departments around the nation, the blue wall of silence and everything citizens need to know about these folks that are given the power of life and death over every one of us.

[piedmont]

49. The MSNBC anchor asked the chief if he was embarassed. He wasn't, and he was a total dick. nt

[Stinky The Clown]

50. I'm sure I'll be scolded for this, but it was a racial incident, pure and simple

We'll hear all kinds of reasons justifying it, but the essential facts are it was a black woman who was pregnant forced by a white cop to lay on her belly in the street with her kids looking on.

The chief was on teevee today saying it was the cop reacting to the information he had available to him .... the plates of her car (misreported, apparently, but broadcast to the cops on patrol) were listed as wanted.

Okayfine .... pull her over and detain her. Cuff her even. Frisk her. Call in the National Fucking Guard. Whatever. But why on EARTH put her face down in the fucking street in front of HER KIDS? She told the cop she was 6 months pregnant.

I saw the woman on teevee. She's guilty. Of being black. <--sarcasm in case it isn't obvious

[illinoisprogressive]

52. this is not the first time KC has done this. a few months back

they manhandled then jailed a woman miscarrying.
I grew up in KC and wonder what the hell is going on there.

[DeSwiss]

53. Pigs

K&R!!!

[Luna_C_06]

54. Sadly this doesn't surprise me.

Where I live, some (notice I didn't say all) cops confiscate other people's pot, then either smoke it of sell it themselves.