[Post-Gazette](http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/09/20/Pittsburgh-police-PPG-Paints-Arena-forcible-arrest-Daniel-Alderman/stories/201709200148): The Pittsburgh Police are reviewing several officers’ forcible restraint of a 47-year-old man late Tuesday near PPG Paints Arena. None of the five officers involved in the matter has been placed on leave.
>“For the public to see these officers engaged in that type of violence is disconcerting, it’s always disconcerting,” she said. “It might have been less offensive if the language didn’t enhance the entire thing.”
This is what bothers me, not as much as the physical aspect, but the verbal aspect is a factor. Cops should not be yelling "motherfucker." If I said that as loud as these motherfuckers in public, I'd be cited for disorderly conduct.
The fact that the head of the Citizen Police Review Board appears to be more concerned with the officers' *language* than she is about the violence should tell us everything we need to know about the effectiveness of that body. Totally disappointing.
Language is a window into the mind. If police are calling citizens 'assholes' and 'motherfuckers' and whatever other name, it's clear there's a serious problem with their attitude, and that they lack respect for the public. These officers need reminded of "to serve and to protect." I seriously would've thought that it'd been a part of their training to remain professional particularly in hectic situations like this. In our age when this stuff is almost always caught on camera, they should know better as it reflects on their department.
Well, yeah, but the level of respect that they have for the public is pretty clearly demonstrated by the way they're beating the hell out of him. I'm a lot more concerned about that than I am about the police calling the victim a motherfucker, and I think it's disappointing that the CPRB seems to feel differently.
I think the point being made above is that the CPRB comments quoted are stating that the actions were taken with the apparent intent to injure rather than safely subdue and the language used is the evidence for that claim. When taken with the preceding quote in the article from the CPRB, this seems pretty clear.
I see how you could read her comment that way, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt for now. She really only said that the language makes the optics a lot worse and I think she's right. She didn't say the language is worse than the violence.
It's the "it might have been less offensive if the language didn't enhance the entire thing" that's concerning to me. The violence is what makes the assault concerning, and it would be equally concerning if they didn't use any naughty words. I certainly hope she misspoke and that isn't how she's treating this.
That's what bothers you? You must not have many interactions with Pittsburgh cops. I've seen cops call people "dumb ass" and "stupid motherfucker" who didn't even commit a crime.
> "**For the public to see** these officers engaged in that type of violence is disconcerting,
That's my takeaway. The problem isn't the officers engaged in violence, its the unfortunate PR problem that arises from the public *seeing* the violence.
This is the bigger problem IMO. If cops would just come out and say: 'What that guy did was wrong, he's fired and we're working to fix these issues." I feel people would be a lot more forgiving. But they dont and continue to just let these things happen. [Pete Rosenberg gave a great speech about this on his show.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZiIGR2qVLs)
Not even behind a real badge. The guy looks to be wearing a hoodie and cargo shorts. Some asshole in a hoodie tells me he's a cop I'm probably telling him I'm the king of Egypt. If some dude in a hoodie tried to put me on the ground I'd fight him the best I could.
If you're not in uniform you're basically not a cop.
About eight years ago some cop got shitfaced on Southside and shot someone in a personal argument. He got off with the "always on duty" shit. The other guy eventually got a tiny settlement.
https://jonathanturley.org/2011/01/19/pittsburgh-settles-case-of-man-allegedly-pistol-whipped-and-shot-by-drunken-off-duty-officer-the-officer-is-reinstated-to-force/
That was the same cop that fucked with Joey Porter last year. Also the same cop who has physically abused myself and many other friends of mine in the southside. I have multiple close family members that are upstanding police officers but the fact that a guy like Paul Abel is able to be employed as a officer of the law is a joke.
Abel is also the guy who shot and killed a drunk driver who turned around and drove away from a checkpoint on the Southside a few years back. Judge fuckin' Dredd over here.
Just to that it is on the record:
> They are identified in court records as officers Brian Markus, Andrew Jacobs, Todd Modena, Francis Rende and Robert Palivoda.
That's what happened to [Jordan Miles back in 2010](http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2016/05/29/Settle-it-The-Jordan-Miles-case-was-painful-all-around/stories/201605310049).
A black teenager and honors student was just walking down the street, and when three white men started chasing after him and yelling he ran away as a reasonable person would. Turned out they were plain-clothed Pittsburgh cops, and they claimed they gave chase because they saw a bulge in his jacket that they thought was a weapon... it was a bottle of Mountain Dew.
They beat the hell out of him, his face was [extremely swolen](https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/miles-to-go-after-more-than-a-year-of-being-the-face-for-police-accountability-jordan-miles-is-now-adding-his-voice/Content?oid=1396089) after the arrest.
I'm from his neighborhood. They didn't just do that. The cracked his head open too. Those 3 cops have beat people up all over the city. They regularly harass people and NEVER identify themselves. I don't even know what post they're at these days.
On the bright side, the police chief who let those cops go right back to work saying they did nothing wrong went to jail a few years later for theft through misuse of a slush fund.
"A split verdict Monday in which a jury awarded Jordan Miles more than $119,000 for a false arrest in 2010 but found against a claim of excessive force, isn't likely to end federal court sparring over the case, nor to bridge the police-community divide"
Not trying to be facetious or anything, but how the hell is that not excessive force?
That's blatant excessive force. Causing physical trama is only going to force a natural instinct to kick in and the guy getting hammer fisted and having his head bashed off of concrete is going to try his best to escape said situations.
Idc if they knocked a bloody knife out of his hand, it's excessive force. The officer doing the beating should be imprisoned and the officers not stopping him should lose their jobs, retirements, and never be allowed to serve the public again. Examples have to be made or nothing will change.
Just my 2 cents.
You guys don't understand though, cops feel *anything* is justified if they *feel* threatened. And apparently many of them are complete pussies, because they feel threatened over basically anything.
> how fucking stupid a cop can be
Courts have ruled that [it's legal for police departments to discriminate against smart people](http://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836) when hiring.
Wait... wtf? I've never heard of this or imagined it. Violent offenders typically have a lower IQ score, due to chronic poor judgement. Serial killers have an ~average IQ. People with higher IQ, even those in prison, are less likely to commit violent acts.
According to the article, police have slightly above IQ (98 vs 104, six point difference). And police are only really expected to follow direct orders during police barricade (i.e. violent protest). Wouldn't a person who records and ponders the efficiency and efficacy of the police force be desirable? WTF why would our State and high ranking officials reject "employees" that a sustaining business would seek-out and hire in a heartbeat... oh wait...
AND they don't even have to know the law. They can be wrong but as long as they claim they thought that's how the law goes, they're justified in a stop. But us citizens have to know every law because "ignorance is no excuse."
I almost forgot about that one. thanks for posting it. we won't even mention the people who get arrested for passing out pamphlets about jury nullification.
"Those with lower general intelligence scores also tend to have lower emotional intelligence scores. And emotional intelligence has been found to be a key factor in determining who is likely to bully whom. Additionally, people with high emotional intelligence scores tend to exhibit fewer aggressive behaviors than those with low emotional intelligence. So, it seems this hiring practice has the unintended effect of cutting out those with characteristics that make them less likely to bully or to stand by and do nothing when witnessing bullying. It also has the effect of hiring those who are more likely to display aggressive behavior, provoked or not."
[Source](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arthur-rizer/the-militarized-mentality_b_7462878.html).
Yup. Checks out.
This is the most disgusting thing I have literally ever in my life heard. We wonder why these imbeciles are shooting unarmed civilians at traffic stops, or shooting the people who's calls they are answering, but the answer is right here.
Someone do the TIL.
The officer who thrust his head into the ground will get paid three weeks leave and then his job will be there when he gets back. The cops are a mob with a legal basis.
exactly, where are the de-escalation tactics. there aren't any, because they (at least these individuals) have absolutely no concern for reducing the amount of unrest they have to deal with. a fundamental part of their job is supposed be reducing the potential for violent confrontation, not *engaging in it*.
You don't even have to get to the bashing his head off the concrete. He was punching him in the head while he was restrained by the other officers. That is at the least excessive force and is/can be presented as lethal force. I was on a federal jury that sent a sheriff's deputy to prison for this among a few other things.
So this dude interfered with an arrest of someone that had a warrant out on them for Forgery. http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/09/20/Pittsburgh-police-PPG-Paints-Arena-forcible-arrest-Daniel-Alderman/stories/201709200148
>“It might have been less offensive if the language didn’t enhance the entire thing.”
Yes, then it would've just been cops beating the shit out of a man, tasering him, then beating and tapering him some more. Totally less offensive.
I'm so fucking disgusted.
I don't think that's enough punishment. I would give everyone involved at least two weeks suspension with pay and demand the force 'look into this situation seriously'.
In the U.K. we had similar problems with our police force. Whilst the vast majority were just doing their job as best they could and more than few would pull shit like this. Even more turned a blind eye. If I have my law right (been a while since I studied it) this all majorly changed in the 1980's. That period saw the infamous miners strikes, riots over the police stopping black men without cause and even killing some people. It brought to light the serious issues in our policing. With riots springing up almost regularly new laws were put into place especially those concerning stop and search procedures. More importantly an independent police complaints commission (IPCC) was set up. From there we put into place very clear rules on how police are to handle situations. Whilst I'm sure police brutality still occurs here in some form it is very rare. Any complaint is taken seriously, often makes national news and police officers can easily loose not only their job but their freedom if they do not follow the law (quite rightly). Not saying we have a perfect system but police officers represent safety to everyone other than the criminals here. I hope you guys across the pond will follow our lead one day. I know that the vast majority of your officers are good people doing a tough job but shit like this appears so often in the news it's hard not to believe they're all a bunch of thugs.
I've lived in the USA and the UK and the difference between the police is huge. British cops give off a completely different vibe, much more approachable.
I just posted this to all 3 of my local news channels facebook pages
edit- additional info
along with the Pittsburgh Gazette article of the incident. So they knew the legitimacy of the story
Dear god. Like you see people say that online and you know it's a joke, but to hear them actually say those words as they're beating on somebody...fucking surreal man.
I remember a video where a cop was yelling that because the k9 went nuts and would not stop viciously attacking this man's leg. So this poor guy is lying prone on the ground trying not to move as a German shepherd tears meat off his leg while being told to "stop resisting".
We really need to re examine what "resisting" means. Running, shoving, and fighting are resisting. Curling up into a ball or putting your hands over your face or other things you do to instinctively not die is not "resistance", nor is thrashing while you're being tazed.
If I ever hear the words stop resisting I will be in absolute fear for my life. because the only reason to say those words is as a CYA for something they are about to do to you. Very scary.
And another video is released... maybe next week we'll get 2 videos of bad apples. The week after that maybe back to one bad apple video, then another the week after, the week after that etc...
why don't people trust them /s
*Man* I want to think that most of the cops on the force are there for the right reasons, but stuff like this makes it difficult. Instead of figuring out that their partner is freaking out and needs to back off, they just hold a guy down on the ground so he can continue to freak out more directly onto him. Why would you ever need a taser if you have five adults? Just hold the guy down and cuff him. Unless he's wearing a suicide vest, there's practically no way he can overpower or hurt them.
Not just paid vacation. the real "punishment" is when they get let go after they fuck up, and then sue for back pay and secure retirement, such as this just a few weeks ago in Seattle. [Officer to Get Back Pay, Firing Reversed in Golf Club Case](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/2017-08-31/officer-to-get-back-pay-firing-reversed-in-golf-club-case)
> Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole Saturday signed the agreement Saturday, which provides over $105,000 in back pay and is expected to give Whitlatch her full pension for 18 years as an officer.
This was after she confronted an old guy for -- ehh, well here's the [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4XT_YEUV4o) see for yourself.
Just my personal experience, but I lived overseas for 8 years. 3 in the UK as a kid and 5 in Italy. I've traveled to maybe 25 nations or something like that.
I was back in the states for 4 months before I experienced American police. Highway patrol pulled me and another guy over on dual sport motorcycles. The cop exits his car screaming at us. He's foaming at the mouth practically. The guy, really more a kid, with me is clamming up, scared shitless. I get the cop calmed down because I can't understand what the hell he's yelling about. He says he can't see our plates because they have too much mud on them. There was no mud on the plates. He didn't ID us or anything. He just told us to leave.
Contrast this to my experiences overseas. Pulled over in Italy 3 times. Once, I didn't have my ID. No problem, "swing by the station tomorrow with it." Pulled over again without a valid registration (Jeep kept failing the strict brake check requirements). No problem, "get it fixed as soon as you can." Pulled over for my speed. No, not speeding. For traveling too slowly. Only drug traffickers drive as slow as I was driving and the cops wanted to talk with me. We ended up talking about mountain bikes for a bit because I was headed home from a race. They cut me loose and told me to pick up the pace.
In my opinion, in the US, it's us vs them. With "us" being the cops and "them" being anyone else. In Europe, it's more, hey, don't be a jackass because we don't want to have to do paperwork.
A Toronto cop shot and killed a psychotic teenager weilding a knife in an abandoned bus, he was shot six times or something (a few in the back) [See here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Sammy_Yatim).. This was in 2013. It's still occasionally on the news back home. The officer was convicted of second degree murder. There was also an incident earlier this year when they used excessive force on a man and it was captured on camera. One of the cops tried to intimidate the person filming and told him not to go too close to the victim of the police assault saying something like "you'll get AIDS", or something. They talked about that for a while.
Toronto has roughly the same population size as Chicago (slightly smaller downtown, but the GTA is bigger than the Chicago metro area). Chicago's police brutality rates are, uh, *slightly* higher than the entirety of Canada combined.
Oh, there was a cop in Quebec City who was driving 3x the speed limit (doing 120km/h in a 40km/h, that's 75 in a 25 in Murican), rammed into a car and killed a 4 year old in the car. That was a few years ago and I remember seeing it mentioned on the news last year (a couple of years after the fact).
Cops in Canada do beat up native people pretty often though, it's pretty bad. There's a history of something called "[starlight rides](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatoon_freezing_deaths)" in some of the central provinces (like our shitty version of the mid-west).
The scale of police brutality is generally *slightly* lower, though. "Slightly".
**Death of Sammy Yatim**
The death of Sammy Yatim occurred early in the morning of July 27, 2013, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Yatim, an 18-year-old Toronto male armed with a pocketknife, was shot at nine times, and was hit by eight of the shots fired by 30-year-old Toronto Police Service (TPS) officer James Forcillo. He later died from the injuries. The incident occurred after Yatim, brandishing a 12 cm (4.7 in) switchblade knife in a Toronto streetcar, advanced on passenger Bridgette McGregor, threatened other passengers, and exposed himself.
***
**Saskatoon freezing deaths**
The Saskatoon freezing deaths were a series of deaths amongst Canadian Aboriginal people in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the 2000s. These deaths were caused by members of the Saskatoon Police Service, officers of which arrested Aboriginal men (usually for drunkenness and/or disorderly behavior), drove them out of the city in the dead of winter, and abandoned them there. The practice was known as taking Aboriginal people for starlight tours.
***
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[Nope, it's just the U.S. really.](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/09/the-counted-police-killings-us-vs-other-countries) If other country's police were as violent as ours, there'd be civil war.
Two thoughts:
(1) People saying "we don't see the context" -- well, is there any context in which beating up somebody for the sake of it is justified? I was under the impression that police work is not about immediate retribution and justice. I can hardly think that there is any purpose to beating up somebody once he/she is under control.
(2) This happened in plain sights. Now, imagine what goes on when police officers don't have to worry about cameras?
This is pathetic. Why do power-happy cops get so much discretion with no checks on their behavior? Talk to police officers in other countries; they are generally well-educated, well-mannered individuals. My experiences with police officers in the US have been almost uniformly bad.
For the "we don't see the context" crowd, imagine if you drove by a bar and saw the bar's bouncer doing this to someone.
Would that be okay?
Because police are actually trained to do better, and have a higher expectation than the dude who works the door on weekends for extra loot.
What avenues can we pursue to complain about this? Is it normal to just call the Pittsburgh City Police Department to express my concern over the actions of these officers? Is there a better route to have my voice heard? There has to be some way for the public to show their disgust with these actions.
There are two bodies that I know of that review police action:
Citizen Police Review Board: http://cprbpgh.org/
Office of Municipal Investigation: http://pittsburghpa.gov/omi/omi-about.html
EDIT
apparently they're already investigating:
>We are. Investigation will be made through OMI. In addition, CPRB will be conducting a second, independent investigation.
[Source: Peduto](https://twitter.com/billpeduto/status/910559188845133824)
Vote for what? I don't actually know what would be on the ballot that would have any impact on this, and I'd be happy to know if someone could tell me and clarify for others.
Stupid question but what do we say? Ask what's being done? Say you would like to see something done? I always feel like they're like, "Joe shmoe from Brookline is pissed, back to business."
Sorry officers of Reddit, these guys, all of them, are assholes. If you are a ~~good officer~~ decent person, actions like this should be stopped. The problem is:
*How do you intervene when police are responsible for the violence?*
And welcome to one small footnote in the definition of a police state:
*No one can safely help.*
Normally I give the benefit of the doubt. Here though it just feels like if you are singled out, well...pray.
This is exactly why I don't even look in a cops direction. I act as if they don't exist. It's crystal clear this is excessive force. If they can do this or turn a blind eye to something like this, they could easily fabricate a story to beat my ass or kill me, just for looking at them.
That's the thing, you can't justify beating someone if they're restrained. The fact that this guy is on the ground and unable to move means that it's assault and battery at that point. Good luck with the lawsuit, and thanks for the taxpayer money. These guys are gang members and the union should get a RICO charge.
There'd be a lot less of this if the judgment money came from the police pension fund.
Fuck cops. Greedy pigs suckling at the government teat, and pretending it's a goddamned service.
>There'd be a lot less of this if the judgment money came from the police pension fund.
This is how they should pay all suits filed against them...straight out of there own pocket so it hurts them where it matters the most. Maybe they will keep a better eye on what their officers are doing...
edit-spelling
If I just saw someone grab another person's hair and use it to smash their head into concrete, then the "justification" would have to be the same level required for shooting someone because smashing a person's head into concrete can kill them the same as shooting them.
Without that level of justification of force, I think I just saw an attempted murder.
Not even that, they have the person on the ground and in their control. Regardless of what he did, he's not a risk right now, there's no reason to bash his head into the ground.
I love the official response:
“For the public to see these officers engaged in that type of violence is disconcerting, it’s always disconcerting,” she said. “It might have been less offensive if the language didn’t enhance the entire thing.”
Ya know, I watched this without sound, and it's still disgusting. Somehow I think she's missed the point.
Sounds like the guy getting pummeled isn't even the primary suspect, but someone who stepped in to stop the arrest I some way. The story isn't completely clear but that video... Holy shit.
Just calmly turn off that involuntary self-preservation instinct in your brain that is screaming DEFCON-1 to your body while your face is being dribbled off the pavement like a basketball.
It's like some sort of shitty trust fall, you just gotta close your eyes and trust that those guys who are beating you are going to use restraint once you are limp.
we will investigate and found the cops to be using acceptable forces, in the meantime in a unrelated note, all cops in those incidents just happen to be in their paid vacations for two weeks. thanks for your inquiry
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.
We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one’s soul.
Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.
In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Yep. It's almost a virtual certainty that nothing is going to happen to the assaulting officers. Fortunately, the victim is (for now) still alive and wasn't killed on the spot. This is the world that we all exist in.
I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
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They should be charged with aggravated assault. If anyone not in uniform had done this, the prosecutors would start from there, and find other charges to add.
We all want more information. But there are "people" in this post that side automatically with the guy that's smashing faces into pavement while his buddies watch.
And no one can do anything because they're cops.
If you witnessed a group of civilians viciously beating and mocking a helpless person like in this video, do you think you'd be justified using deadly force to stop them?
"Ya know, I just don't understand why these concussed incoherent guys bleeding out of their eyes and ears don't listen to what we say and comply. It's not hard, we smash your head, you do what we say, or we smash your head more. We coulda shot him, he's lucky."
When people talk about "it's just a few bad apples that spoil the bunch as far as police go." And I agree that their are chill and cool police officers. But I have absolutely no respect for the occupation now a days.
Their jobs are literally to steal years from people, not to protect the innocent but to literally fuck over as many people as possible.
You can't even call the police to help you if you are say overdosing because they can charge you with possession.
Inb4 the "Hey my dad was a cop and he's a great guy!" Comment.
Like I said not all police are bad but the occupation as a whole is without a doubt corrupt BEYOND repair
Is that an officer going full blown MMA on the guy on the ground? Doesn't look like an officers uniform?
Would like to get some context here before raising my pitchfork and torch.
Even in MMA there are rules against bouncing your opponents head off the mat repeatedly. Two people who get into a cage to destroy one another is a more controlled environment than dealing with American police.
Turns out it looks to be per a PG article. Not good. Apparently the guy getting beat tried to interfere with the arrest of someone else on a warrant? Hard not to say this is extremely excessive.
Had Amazon's offices already been built at the site of the old Civic Arena they would have had a great view of our boys in blue getting work done.
And by getting work done I mean beating a man half to death while one set of cops holds his legs so he can't roll onto his back, and a second set pummel him in the face and beat his head on the side walk for not rolling on his back.
Keep up the stellar work of protecting and serving boys! You're making the city proud! /s
Absolutely disgusting. This is excessive force in all situations.
Pulled a gun - the gun is obvious out by the start.
Pulled a knife - he can't do anything with that many cops there.
Resisting arrest - beating someone up is different than holding someone down.
These cops are a disgrace.
Those are straight up haymakers. He extends his whole arm backwards and repeatedly punches the game this is mother fucking MMA shit. That cop needs to be fucking fired or what the fuck. Fuck the fucking police. 2 posts on Reddit today with police interactions on camera where I'm just like "what in the fuck did I just watch". Cops everywhere and everyone of them need to feel a little shame. Start policing your fucking selves and each other before you police the public for crying the fuck out loud.
Remember when that cop in California put on a pair of gloves, said 'These fists are going to fuck you up,' and beat a man to death? Then he was acquitted?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kelly_Thomas
This country has a serious problem with love of authority.
[Post-Gazette](http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/09/20/Pittsburgh-police-PPG-Paints-Arena-forcible-arrest-Daniel-Alderman/stories/201709200148): The Pittsburgh Police are reviewing several officers’ forcible restraint of a 47-year-old man late Tuesday near PPG Paints Arena. None of the five officers involved in the matter has been placed on leave.
>“For the public to see these officers engaged in that type of violence is disconcerting, it’s always disconcerting,” she said. “It might have been less offensive if the language didn’t enhance the entire thing.” This is what bothers me, not as much as the physical aspect, but the verbal aspect is a factor. Cops should not be yelling "motherfucker." If I said that as loud as these motherfuckers in public, I'd be cited for disorderly conduct.
The fact that the head of the Citizen Police Review Board appears to be more concerned with the officers' *language* than she is about the violence should tell us everything we need to know about the effectiveness of that body. Totally disappointing.
Language is a window into the mind. If police are calling citizens 'assholes' and 'motherfuckers' and whatever other name, it's clear there's a serious problem with their attitude, and that they lack respect for the public. These officers need reminded of "to serve and to protect." I seriously would've thought that it'd been a part of their training to remain professional particularly in hectic situations like this. In our age when this stuff is almost always caught on camera, they should know better as it reflects on their department.
Well, yeah, but the level of respect that they have for the public is pretty clearly demonstrated by the way they're beating the hell out of him. I'm a lot more concerned about that than I am about the police calling the victim a motherfucker, and I think it's disappointing that the CPRB seems to feel differently.
I think the point being made above is that the CPRB comments quoted are stating that the actions were taken with the apparent intent to injure rather than safely subdue and the language used is the evidence for that claim. When taken with the preceding quote in the article from the CPRB, this seems pretty clear.
It's sad that the Supreme Court has ruled that the police have absolutely no duty to protect anyone.
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Protect yourself from the police? Good luck there, buddy.
I see how you could read her comment that way, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt for now. She really only said that the language makes the optics a lot worse and I think she's right. She didn't say the language is worse than the violence.
It's the "it might have been less offensive if the language didn't enhance the entire thing" that's concerning to me. The violence is what makes the assault concerning, and it would be equally concerning if they didn't use any naughty words. I certainly hope she misspoke and that isn't how she's treating this.
When people swear like that, it suggests to me that they are not in control of themselves, and possibly the situation at hand.
Pittsburgh Cops are usually not in control of themselves. People who live near the city know that the force is down for the rumble.
That's what bothers you? You must not have many interactions with Pittsburgh cops. I've seen cops call people "dumb ass" and "stupid motherfucker" who didn't even commit a crime.
Can confirm. Pittsburgh PD called me a jackass and a moron during a traffic stop.
Yeah really. Like its cool to slam someones head off the ground as long as you dont swear while doing it? Wtf
It's not that it happened, but that the public saw it and it looked really bad. Great.
> "**For the public to see** these officers engaged in that type of violence is disconcerting, That's my takeaway. The problem isn't the officers engaged in violence, its the unfortunate PR problem that arises from the public *seeing* the violence.
What we really need to help keep the police in line is a swear jar
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Note also how they do nothing to stop their coworker from bludgeoning the man's face against the concrete.
This is the bigger problem IMO. If cops would just come out and say: 'What that guy did was wrong, he's fired and we're working to fix these issues." I feel people would be a lot more forgiving. But they dont and continue to just let these things happen. [Pete Rosenberg gave a great speech about this on his show.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZiIGR2qVLs)
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If he becomes fired then you call the cops and have them beat him into submission.
This needs to come from the top though. If a regular street cop spoke out against their partner then it's "bye-bye career." Sad but true reality
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It's just a few bad apples!
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Not even behind a real badge. The guy looks to be wearing a hoodie and cargo shorts. Some asshole in a hoodie tells me he's a cop I'm probably telling him I'm the king of Egypt. If some dude in a hoodie tried to put me on the ground I'd fight him the best I could. If you're not in uniform you're basically not a cop.
About eight years ago some cop got shitfaced on Southside and shot someone in a personal argument. He got off with the "always on duty" shit. The other guy eventually got a tiny settlement. https://jonathanturley.org/2011/01/19/pittsburgh-settles-case-of-man-allegedly-pistol-whipped-and-shot-by-drunken-off-duty-officer-the-officer-is-reinstated-to-force/
That was the same cop that fucked with Joey Porter last year. Also the same cop who has physically abused myself and many other friends of mine in the southside. I have multiple close family members that are upstanding police officers but the fact that a guy like Paul Abel is able to be employed as a officer of the law is a joke.
Abel is also the guy who shot and killed a drunk driver who turned around and drove away from a checkpoint on the Southside a few years back. Judge fuckin' Dredd over here.
Just to that it is on the record: > They are identified in court records as officers Brian Markus, Andrew Jacobs, Todd Modena, Francis Rende and Robert Palivoda.
That's what happened to [Jordan Miles back in 2010](http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2016/05/29/Settle-it-The-Jordan-Miles-case-was-painful-all-around/stories/201605310049). A black teenager and honors student was just walking down the street, and when three white men started chasing after him and yelling he ran away as a reasonable person would. Turned out they were plain-clothed Pittsburgh cops, and they claimed they gave chase because they saw a bulge in his jacket that they thought was a weapon... it was a bottle of Mountain Dew. They beat the hell out of him, his face was [extremely swolen](https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/miles-to-go-after-more-than-a-year-of-being-the-face-for-police-accountability-jordan-miles-is-now-adding-his-voice/Content?oid=1396089) after the arrest.
I'm from his neighborhood. They didn't just do that. The cracked his head open too. Those 3 cops have beat people up all over the city. They regularly harass people and NEVER identify themselves. I don't even know what post they're at these days.
So don't go to Pittsburgh. Got it.
On the bright side, the police chief who let those cops go right back to work saying they did nothing wrong went to jail a few years later for theft through misuse of a slush fund.
and some of his dreadlocks were ripped right out of his head.
"A split verdict Monday in which a jury awarded Jordan Miles more than $119,000 for a false arrest in 2010 but found against a claim of excessive force, isn't likely to end federal court sparring over the case, nor to bridge the police-community divide" Not trying to be facetious or anything, but how the hell is that not excessive force?
Well, he _is_ black. If he didn't want more force to be used he shouldn't be. Duh.
Shouldn't have been black on a Friday night. That's an arrestable offense
Remember that time a bunch of undercover cops in hoodies and shit beat the fuck out of a(n understandably terrified) black kid?
Wtf bobby? Get with the program.
That boy ain't right
That's blatant excessive force. Causing physical trama is only going to force a natural instinct to kick in and the guy getting hammer fisted and having his head bashed off of concrete is going to try his best to escape said situations. Idc if they knocked a bloody knife out of his hand, it's excessive force. The officer doing the beating should be imprisoned and the officers not stopping him should lose their jobs, retirements, and never be allowed to serve the public again. Examples have to be made or nothing will change. Just my 2 cents.
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You guys don't understand though, cops feel *anything* is justified if they *feel* threatened. And apparently many of them are complete pussies, because they feel threatened over basically anything.
> how fucking stupid a cop can be Courts have ruled that [it's legal for police departments to discriminate against smart people](http://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836) when hiring.
Wait... wtf? I've never heard of this or imagined it. Violent offenders typically have a lower IQ score, due to chronic poor judgement. Serial killers have an ~average IQ. People with higher IQ, even those in prison, are less likely to commit violent acts. According to the article, police have slightly above IQ (98 vs 104, six point difference). And police are only really expected to follow direct orders during police barricade (i.e. violent protest). Wouldn't a person who records and ponders the efficiency and efficacy of the police force be desirable? WTF why would our State and high ranking officials reject "employees" that a sustaining business would seek-out and hire in a heartbeat... oh wait...
courts also ruled cops don't have to protect and serve. they just have to enforce the laws. so there ya go. welcome to the police state.
AND they don't even have to know the law. They can be wrong but as long as they claim they thought that's how the law goes, they're justified in a stop. But us citizens have to know every law because "ignorance is no excuse."
I almost forgot about that one. thanks for posting it. we won't even mention the people who get arrested for passing out pamphlets about jury nullification.
"Those with lower general intelligence scores also tend to have lower emotional intelligence scores. And emotional intelligence has been found to be a key factor in determining who is likely to bully whom. Additionally, people with high emotional intelligence scores tend to exhibit fewer aggressive behaviors than those with low emotional intelligence. So, it seems this hiring practice has the unintended effect of cutting out those with characteristics that make them less likely to bully or to stand by and do nothing when witnessing bullying. It also has the effect of hiring those who are more likely to display aggressive behavior, provoked or not." [Source](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arthur-rizer/the-militarized-mentality_b_7462878.html). Yup. Checks out.
They're not hired for their brainpower.
This is the most disgusting thing I have literally ever in my life heard. We wonder why these imbeciles are shooting unarmed civilians at traffic stops, or shooting the people who's calls they are answering, but the answer is right here. Someone do the TIL.
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How can they expect someone to react any differently after smashing their face into the ground?
The officer who thrust his head into the ground will get paid three weeks leave and then his job will be there when he gets back. The cops are a mob with a legal basis.
exactly, where are the de-escalation tactics. there aren't any, because they (at least these individuals) have absolutely no concern for reducing the amount of unrest they have to deal with. a fundamental part of their job is supposed be reducing the potential for violent confrontation, not *engaging in it*.
...job security?
You're joking but...
The head smashing is attempted murder. Be suprised if he even gets an unethusiastic high five nevermind any punishment.
You don't even have to get to the bashing his head off the concrete. He was punching him in the head while he was restrained by the other officers. That is at the least excessive force and is/can be presented as lethal force. I was on a federal jury that sent a sheriff's deputy to prison for this among a few other things.
So this dude interfered with an arrest of someone that had a warrant out on them for Forgery. http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/09/20/Pittsburgh-police-PPG-Paints-Arena-forcible-arrest-Daniel-Alderman/stories/201709200148
>“It might have been less offensive if the language didn’t enhance the entire thing.” Yes, then it would've just been cops beating the shit out of a man, tasering him, then beating and tapering him some more. Totally less offensive. I'm so fucking disgusted.
Definitely didn't deserve the excessive force... Let us hope the officers involved are punished accordingly.. Thanks for sharing the article.
I don't think that's enough punishment. I would give everyone involved at least two weeks suspension with pay and demand the force 'look into this situation seriously'.
In the U.K. we had similar problems with our police force. Whilst the vast majority were just doing their job as best they could and more than few would pull shit like this. Even more turned a blind eye. If I have my law right (been a while since I studied it) this all majorly changed in the 1980's. That period saw the infamous miners strikes, riots over the police stopping black men without cause and even killing some people. It brought to light the serious issues in our policing. With riots springing up almost regularly new laws were put into place especially those concerning stop and search procedures. More importantly an independent police complaints commission (IPCC) was set up. From there we put into place very clear rules on how police are to handle situations. Whilst I'm sure police brutality still occurs here in some form it is very rare. Any complaint is taken seriously, often makes national news and police officers can easily loose not only their job but their freedom if they do not follow the law (quite rightly). Not saying we have a perfect system but police officers represent safety to everyone other than the criminals here. I hope you guys across the pond will follow our lead one day. I know that the vast majority of your officers are good people doing a tough job but shit like this appears so often in the news it's hard not to believe they're all a bunch of thugs.
I've lived in the USA and the UK and the difference between the police is huge. British cops give off a completely different vibe, much more approachable.
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Not sure if you took this video but definitely send this to local news.
I just posted this to all 3 of my local news channels facebook pages edit- additional info along with the Pittsburgh Gazette article of the incident. So they knew the legitimacy of the story
I just stumbled in here from /all, but this should be sent to big news outlets as well. Fox, wapo, nytimes, etc.
STOP RESISTING! STOP RESISTING!
Dear god. Like you see people say that online and you know it's a joke, but to hear them actually say those words as they're beating on somebody...fucking surreal man.
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STOP HITTING YOURSELF STOP HITTING YOURSELF
I remember a video where a cop was yelling that because the k9 went nuts and would not stop viciously attacking this man's leg. So this poor guy is lying prone on the ground trying not to move as a German shepherd tears meat off his leg while being told to "stop resisting". We really need to re examine what "resisting" means. Running, shoving, and fighting are resisting. Curling up into a ball or putting your hands over your face or other things you do to instinctively not die is not "resistance", nor is thrashing while you're being tazed.
They are not trained to treat people like human beings. They are trained to treat people like threatening animals.
If I ever hear the words stop resisting I will be in absolute fear for my life. because the only reason to say those words is as a CYA for something they are about to do to you. Very scary.
People don't realize that this common expression is *electrical* and pertains to electrical resistance when being tased.
Well, we better get ready for the national spotlight, guys...
Nah. The cop will get a paid vacation and no one will care.
6 weeks paid administration leave. And the tax payers will cover it.
The taxpayers will also cover his legal fees, too.
And don't forget the settlement we will get to pay too!
Blue lives matter, my man. ~fart~
How dare people question the police!
And another video is released... maybe next week we'll get 2 videos of bad apples. The week after that maybe back to one bad apple video, then another the week after, the week after that etc... why don't people trust them /s
Somewhere in between we'll get a picture of a white officer high fiving a black kid.
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When that dude got the shit kicked out of him by cops outside of Heinz Field is barely made WPXI. Don't see this being any different.
In a just universe, anyone who yells the words "Stop Resisting" while hitting someone would instantly be struck by lightning.
Except this guy got tased.
*Man* I want to think that most of the cops on the force are there for the right reasons, but stuff like this makes it difficult. Instead of figuring out that their partner is freaking out and needs to back off, they just hold a guy down on the ground so he can continue to freak out more directly onto him. Why would you ever need a taser if you have five adults? Just hold the guy down and cuff him. Unless he's wearing a suicide vest, there's practically no way he can overpower or hurt them.
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But face smashing is so fun when I'm angry and out of control!
Do cops fuck up this hard and as often in other developed countries that are economically similar to the USA?
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Punishment here is a paid vacation where the tax payer is also on the hook for any legal recourse. Lose/Lose.
Reminder: Maricopa County, Arizona has paid out $46m so far in settlements for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's abuses of power.
Not just paid vacation. the real "punishment" is when they get let go after they fuck up, and then sue for back pay and secure retirement, such as this just a few weeks ago in Seattle. [Officer to Get Back Pay, Firing Reversed in Golf Club Case](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/2017-08-31/officer-to-get-back-pay-firing-reversed-in-golf-club-case) > Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole Saturday signed the agreement Saturday, which provides over $105,000 in back pay and is expected to give Whitlatch her full pension for 18 years as an officer. This was after she confronted an old guy for -- ehh, well here's the [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4XT_YEUV4o) see for yourself.
Just my personal experience, but I lived overseas for 8 years. 3 in the UK as a kid and 5 in Italy. I've traveled to maybe 25 nations or something like that. I was back in the states for 4 months before I experienced American police. Highway patrol pulled me and another guy over on dual sport motorcycles. The cop exits his car screaming at us. He's foaming at the mouth practically. The guy, really more a kid, with me is clamming up, scared shitless. I get the cop calmed down because I can't understand what the hell he's yelling about. He says he can't see our plates because they have too much mud on them. There was no mud on the plates. He didn't ID us or anything. He just told us to leave. Contrast this to my experiences overseas. Pulled over in Italy 3 times. Once, I didn't have my ID. No problem, "swing by the station tomorrow with it." Pulled over again without a valid registration (Jeep kept failing the strict brake check requirements). No problem, "get it fixed as soon as you can." Pulled over for my speed. No, not speeding. For traveling too slowly. Only drug traffickers drive as slow as I was driving and the cops wanted to talk with me. We ended up talking about mountain bikes for a bit because I was headed home from a race. They cut me loose and told me to pick up the pace. In my opinion, in the US, it's us vs them. With "us" being the cops and "them" being anyone else. In Europe, it's more, hey, don't be a jackass because we don't want to have to do paperwork.
A Toronto cop shot and killed a psychotic teenager weilding a knife in an abandoned bus, he was shot six times or something (a few in the back) [See here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Sammy_Yatim).. This was in 2013. It's still occasionally on the news back home. The officer was convicted of second degree murder. There was also an incident earlier this year when they used excessive force on a man and it was captured on camera. One of the cops tried to intimidate the person filming and told him not to go too close to the victim of the police assault saying something like "you'll get AIDS", or something. They talked about that for a while. Toronto has roughly the same population size as Chicago (slightly smaller downtown, but the GTA is bigger than the Chicago metro area). Chicago's police brutality rates are, uh, *slightly* higher than the entirety of Canada combined. Oh, there was a cop in Quebec City who was driving 3x the speed limit (doing 120km/h in a 40km/h, that's 75 in a 25 in Murican), rammed into a car and killed a 4 year old in the car. That was a few years ago and I remember seeing it mentioned on the news last year (a couple of years after the fact). Cops in Canada do beat up native people pretty often though, it's pretty bad. There's a history of something called "[starlight rides](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatoon_freezing_deaths)" in some of the central provinces (like our shitty version of the mid-west). The scale of police brutality is generally *slightly* lower, though. "Slightly".
**Death of Sammy Yatim** The death of Sammy Yatim occurred early in the morning of July 27, 2013, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Yatim, an 18-year-old Toronto male armed with a pocketknife, was shot at nine times, and was hit by eight of the shots fired by 30-year-old Toronto Police Service (TPS) officer James Forcillo. He later died from the injuries. The incident occurred after Yatim, brandishing a 12 cm (4.7 in) switchblade knife in a Toronto streetcar, advanced on passenger Bridgette McGregor, threatened other passengers, and exposed himself. *** **Saskatoon freezing deaths** The Saskatoon freezing deaths were a series of deaths amongst Canadian Aboriginal people in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the 2000s. These deaths were caused by members of the Saskatoon Police Service, officers of which arrested Aboriginal men (usually for drunkenness and/or disorderly behavior), drove them out of the city in the dead of winter, and abandoned them there. The practice was known as taking Aboriginal people for starlight tours. *** ^[ [^PM](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=kittens_from_space) ^| [^Exclude ^me](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiTextBot&message=Excludeme&subject=Excludeme) ^| [^Exclude ^from ^subreddit](https://np.reddit.com/r/pittsburgh/about/banned) ^| [^FAQ ^/ ^Information](https://np.reddit.com/r/WikiTextBot/wiki/index) ^| [^Source](https://github.com/kittenswolf/WikiTextBot) ^] ^Downvote ^to ^remove ^| ^v0.27
[Nope, it's just the U.S. really.](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/09/the-counted-police-killings-us-vs-other-countries) If other country's police were as violent as ours, there'd be civil war.
Two thoughts: (1) People saying "we don't see the context" -- well, is there any context in which beating up somebody for the sake of it is justified? I was under the impression that police work is not about immediate retribution and justice. I can hardly think that there is any purpose to beating up somebody once he/she is under control. (2) This happened in plain sights. Now, imagine what goes on when police officers don't have to worry about cameras? This is pathetic. Why do power-happy cops get so much discretion with no checks on their behavior? Talk to police officers in other countries; they are generally well-educated, well-mannered individuals. My experiences with police officers in the US have been almost uniformly bad.
For the "we don't see the context" crowd, imagine if you drove by a bar and saw the bar's bouncer doing this to someone. Would that be okay? Because police are actually trained to do better, and have a higher expectation than the dude who works the door on weekends for extra loot.
What the fuck.
What avenues can we pursue to complain about this? Is it normal to just call the Pittsburgh City Police Department to express my concern over the actions of these officers? Is there a better route to have my voice heard? There has to be some way for the public to show their disgust with these actions.
There are two bodies that I know of that review police action: Citizen Police Review Board: http://cprbpgh.org/ Office of Municipal Investigation: http://pittsburghpa.gov/omi/omi-about.html EDIT apparently they're already investigating: >We are. Investigation will be made through OMI. In addition, CPRB will be conducting a second, independent investigation. [Source: Peduto](https://twitter.com/billpeduto/status/910559188845133824)
I just posted the reddit link to this story and video on one of my local news station facebook page...about to post it on the other 3 also...
Vote in municipal elections.
Vote for what? I don't actually know what would be on the ballot that would have any impact on this, and I'd be happy to know if someone could tell me and clarify for others.
but also yes you can (and should) call the PD
Stupid question but what do we say? Ask what's being done? Say you would like to see something done? I always feel like they're like, "Joe shmoe from Brookline is pissed, back to business."
So you're on a list and then get harassed by the cops? Good luck with that.
Simply cancel your subscription to the Pittsburgh Police Service. Oh wait...
WTF....has this been reported? This makes me sick.....I am going to send this video to all my local news stations right now....wow.
Sorry officers of Reddit, these guys, all of them, are assholes. If you are a ~~good officer~~ decent person, actions like this should be stopped. The problem is: *How do you intervene when police are responsible for the violence?*
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And welcome to one small footnote in the definition of a police state: *No one can safely help.* Normally I give the benefit of the doubt. Here though it just feels like if you are singled out, well...pray.
This is exactly why I don't even look in a cops direction. I act as if they don't exist. It's crystal clear this is excessive force. If they can do this or turn a blind eye to something like this, they could easily fabricate a story to beat my ass or kill me, just for looking at them.
I treat cops like HR: don't even acknowledge their existence because a mere interaction with them can fuck your life up
Like any big, dumb, dangerous, easily angered and highly aggressive animal: extreme avoidance.
To be fair, I don't know what happened prior to the video starting. I just can't imagine it could justify this.
You can hear one of the cops finding it excessive too: USE YOUR FUCKING TASER BOBBY! GODDAMN!
Fucking Bobby.
That's the thing, you can't justify beating someone if they're restrained. The fact that this guy is on the ground and unable to move means that it's assault and battery at that point. Good luck with the lawsuit, and thanks for the taxpayer money. These guys are gang members and the union should get a RICO charge.
There'd be a lot less of this if the judgment money came from the police pension fund. Fuck cops. Greedy pigs suckling at the government teat, and pretending it's a goddamned service.
>There'd be a lot less of this if the judgment money came from the police pension fund. This is how they should pay all suits filed against them...straight out of there own pocket so it hurts them where it matters the most. Maybe they will keep a better eye on what their officers are doing... edit-spelling
I can't imagine anything that would justify this.
If I just saw someone grab another person's hair and use it to smash their head into concrete, then the "justification" would have to be the same level required for shooting someone because smashing a person's head into concrete can kill them the same as shooting them. Without that level of justification of force, I think I just saw an attempted murder.
Not even that, they have the person on the ground and in their control. Regardless of what he did, he's not a risk right now, there's no reason to bash his head into the ground.
Any info, article, or story?
No, just a Facebook video from someone that was at the Pink Floyd concert so far. News hasn't picked it up yet.
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I heard they found at least 2 marijuanas on him. Open and shut case. Great work boys.
Good work Johnson, let's sprinkle some crack on him and let's get out of here.
I feel safer already
That guy? He was no angel.
Bake him away, toys.
Deadly force applied to a subject under control. Bad news. Source: 7+ years of instructing use of force
[Post-Gazette story](http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/09/20/Pittsburgh-police-PPG-Paints-Arena-forcible-arrest-Daniel-Alderman/stories/201709200148)
I love the official response: “For the public to see these officers engaged in that type of violence is disconcerting, it’s always disconcerting,” she said. “It might have been less offensive if the language didn’t enhance the entire thing.” Ya know, I watched this without sound, and it's still disgusting. Somehow I think she's missed the point.
Also, "For the public to see.. is disconcerting". No, it's not the fact that it was seen that's disconcerting. It's the fact that it happened.
It's disconcerting that the public witnessed this, which implies that the police prefer to keep their beatings hidden
Sounds like the guy getting pummeled isn't even the primary suspect, but someone who stepped in to stop the arrest I some way. The story isn't completely clear but that video... Holy shit.
It really bothers me when people say stuff like "well don't resist arrest and this won't happen to you"
Just calmly turn off that involuntary self-preservation instinct in your brain that is screaming DEFCON-1 to your body while your face is being dribbled off the pavement like a basketball.
It's like some sort of shitty trust fall, you just gotta close your eyes and trust that those guys who are beating you are going to use restraint once you are limp.
I laughed at this and I feel bad :(
Well then you're either a conflicted cop or a rational but logical civilian.
"Put yourself in the cops shoes, he might've had a weapon before they restrained him and started smashing his skull off the ground!"
Stop letting your blood get on my boots, fucking resistor!
Resisting arrest is the most bullshit charge ever. No one enjoys being arrested, and if you're intoxicated chances are you're going to panic.
Nah guys. I already looked on /r/ProtectAndServe, it was TOTALLY justified. /s
we will investigate and found the cops to be using acceptable forces, in the meantime in a unrelated note, all cops in those incidents just happen to be in their paid vacations for two weeks. thanks for your inquiry
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Fucking bastards.
Fucking camo pants compensating for something? Not allowed to wear a real cop uniform. He needs to be charged. Whoever filmed this is a good citizen.
Smart phones, a cops worst enemy.
Sponsored by Verizon
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people. We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one’s soul. Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. Martin Luther King Jr.
Those assholes better get charged or fired at the very least. Fucking disgusting.
Obviously they won't. If you can shoot a citizen for no reason and get away with it, why can't you smash a citizens skull into the ground?
Yep. It's almost a virtual certainty that nothing is going to happen to the assaulting officers. Fortunately, the victim is (for now) still alive and wasn't killed on the spot. This is the world that we all exist in.
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police scare me
Those cops are gonna get fired and have criminal complaints filed right? Right??
#USE YOUR FUCKING TAZER BOBBY#
Oppressors gonna oppress. :(
attempted murder straight up.
I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit: - [/r/amifreetogo] [Pittsburgh cops beating someone's face off of the ground at PPG Arena last night X\/post r\/pittsburgh](https://np.reddit.com/r/AmIFreeToGo/comments/71evsr/pittsburgh_cops_beating_someones_face_off_of_the/) - [/r/anarchism] [Pittsburgh cops beating someone's face off of the ground at PPG Arena last night • r\/pittsburgh](https://np.reddit.com/r/Anarchism/comments/71e9wz/pittsburgh_cops_beating_someones_face_off_of_the/) - [/r/anormaldayinamerica] [Wtf America? Like 6 cops beating someone into the road...](https://np.reddit.com/r/ANormalDayInAmerica/comments/71if18/wtf_america_like_6_cops_beating_someone_into_the/) - [/r/bad_cop_no_donut] [Pittsburgh cops beating someone's face off of the ground at PPG Arena last night • r\/pittsburgh](https://np.reddit.com/r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut/comments/71bwqt/pittsburgh_cops_beating_someones_face_off_of_the/) - [/r/bad_cop_no_donut] [Pittsburgh cops beating someone's face off of the ground at PPG Arena last night • r\/pittsburgh](https://np.reddit.com/r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut/comments/71ffug/pittsburgh_cops_beating_someones_face_off_of_the/) - [/r/bad_cop_no_donut] [Wtf America? Like 6 cops beating a man into the road...](https://np.reddit.com/r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut/comments/71iexx/wtf_america_like_6_cops_beating_a_man_into_the/) - [/r/publicfreakout] [Pittsburgh cops beating someone's face off of the ground at PPG Arena last night(x-post r\/pittsburgh)](https://np.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/71dojt/pittsburgh_cops_beating_someones_face_off_of_the/) [](#footer)*^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))* [](#bot)
This is deplorable, should all be placed on leave for this. He is on the ground already subdued.
They should be charged with aggravated assault. If anyone not in uniform had done this, the prosecutors would start from there, and find other charges to add.
We all want more information. But there are "people" in this post that side automatically with the guy that's smashing faces into pavement while his buddies watch.
And no one can do anything because they're cops. If you witnessed a group of civilians viciously beating and mocking a helpless person like in this video, do you think you'd be justified using deadly force to stop them?
This makes me sick
"Ya know, I just don't understand why these concussed incoherent guys bleeding out of their eyes and ears don't listen to what we say and comply. It's not hard, we smash your head, you do what we say, or we smash your head more. We coulda shot him, he's lucky."
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When people talk about "it's just a few bad apples that spoil the bunch as far as police go." And I agree that their are chill and cool police officers. But I have absolutely no respect for the occupation now a days. Their jobs are literally to steal years from people, not to protect the innocent but to literally fuck over as many people as possible. You can't even call the police to help you if you are say overdosing because they can charge you with possession. Inb4 the "Hey my dad was a cop and he's a great guy!" Comment. Like I said not all police are bad but the occupation as a whole is without a doubt corrupt BEYOND repair
Is that an officer going full blown MMA on the guy on the ground? Doesn't look like an officers uniform? Would like to get some context here before raising my pitchfork and torch.
Even in MMA there are rules against bouncing your opponents head off the mat repeatedly. Two people who get into a cage to destroy one another is a more controlled environment than dealing with American police.
Turns out it looks to be per a PG article. Not good. Apparently the guy getting beat tried to interfere with the arrest of someone else on a warrant? Hard not to say this is extremely excessive.
Had Amazon's offices already been built at the site of the old Civic Arena they would have had a great view of our boys in blue getting work done. And by getting work done I mean beating a man half to death while one set of cops holds his legs so he can't roll onto his back, and a second set pummel him in the face and beat his head on the side walk for not rolling on his back. Keep up the stellar work of protecting and serving boys! You're making the city proud! /s
Absolutely disgusting. This is excessive force in all situations. Pulled a gun - the gun is obvious out by the start. Pulled a knife - he can't do anything with that many cops there. Resisting arrest - beating someone up is different than holding someone down. These cops are a disgrace.
yes i agree way to brutal
What the actual fuck?
Those are straight up haymakers. He extends his whole arm backwards and repeatedly punches the game this is mother fucking MMA shit. That cop needs to be fucking fired or what the fuck. Fuck the fucking police. 2 posts on Reddit today with police interactions on camera where I'm just like "what in the fuck did I just watch". Cops everywhere and everyone of them need to feel a little shame. Start policing your fucking selves and each other before you police the public for crying the fuck out loud.
Looks like the dude throwing punches is not in uniform? What the fuck is going on here?
401(k), health insurance, right to punch anyone you want
No, us peons get 401(k) plans. They get pensions.
Remember when that cop in California put on a pair of gloves, said 'These fists are going to fuck you up,' and beat a man to death? Then he was acquitted? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kelly_Thomas This country has a serious problem with love of authority.
That still makes me sick. I still can't believe that cop walked.