Mentally Ill People Are Four Times More Likely To Be Killed By Police

It is important to recognize at the outset that mental illness is not, in and of itself, a police problem. Obviously, it is a medical and social services problem.The traditional police response to people with mental illness has often been ineffective, and sometimes tragic.

► Police officers frequently encounter people with mental illness—approximately 5 percent of U.S. residents have a serious mental illness,^§ and 10 to 15 percent of jailed people have severe mental illness.  An estimated 7 percent of police contacts in jurisdictions with 100,000 or more people involve the mentally ill

►The picture above: (A framegrab from video that shows in-car Toronto Police Service video of the February 3, 2010 fatal shooting of Michael Eligon by Toronto Police Service. Eligon allegedly had scissors in his hands and was apparently suffering from mental illness.)

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Sources:
http://www.popcenter.org/problems/mental_illness/
http://www.popcenter.org/problems/pdfs/MentalIllness.pdf

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16 Year Old Gunned Down by A Police Sniper

"They brought an army to take out a 16-year-old boy. To kill a 16-year-old boy," said Nick Messina, the boy's dad, in an exclusive interview with CBS Atlanta.

Once again the heavy hand and dilapidated mindset of today's militarized police led to another innocent life being taken by the hands of so called "law enforcement".  Too many times do we hear of incidences likes this, where a different approach very easily could of changed the outcome.
“It was no outcome we would ever hope for,” Sheriff Roger Garrison said in May to the Cherokee Tribune. “Our negotiators worked feverishly, to the very, very best of their abilities to establish rapport with Andrew and it’s just a very tragic situation. There are no winners.”

'It just happened so fast, and then he went upstairs. He had the gun in his hand, and he had bullets in the other hand," Lisa Messina (Andrew's mother) said in the CBS interview.

Police cut the telephone line and sent negotiators into the house. On a recording made by Andrew, he can be heard telling the negotiators that he's angry and wants to speak to his father, according to an account in the Daily News. Soon after, a sniper with a large rifle entered the home. Minutes later, a loud blast was heard and Andrew was dead.

How many times have we heard of standoffs that last hours only to be resolved with no one dead? I know personally I have heard of quite a few.

The suspect is usually apprehended and dealt with from there. Why was this not the case here? Why were non-lethal means of putting an end to this situation not explored? This could not have been the officers’ only recourse.

Just some ideas that pop to mind are: rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, tear gas, flash/stun/concussion grenades, or better yet, just let his own father speak to him.

Andrew's Facebook Memorial Page

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Video: 12 Year Old Kid Puts Cop in His Place

A video that has gone viral since it appeared on Youtube features 12-year-old Jeremy Drew,
 a Las Vegas resident, calling out a cop for parking on the sidewalk.

Even though the cop is clearly in the wrong, he proceeds to ask the boy for his ID and his information just for daring to ask the arrogant, mustache-wielding public servant what the emergency was that warranted an illegal parking.

Kudos to you Jeremy Drew for putting this smug public servant in his place.

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Police Bust Legal Grower, Must Pay Back $210,000 For Destroyed Crop

A man jurors acquitted of multiple marijuana felonies has sued the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office after his 42 plants were destroyed, according to a lawsuit recently filed in 8th Judicial District Court.

Denver lawyer Rob Corry said his client expects to receive $5,000 per plant (totaling $210,000), based on what law enforcers have testified a marijuana plant is worth, in addition to attorney fees.

Kaleb Young, 34, had been growing the plants in a Wellington home in compliance with Colorado’s medical marijuana laws and during a warrant search in September 2010 had shown deputies paperwork authorizing him to do so, according to the lawsuit.

Young was arrested, and his plants, raw marijuana and equipment were among items taken during the search. He  had been under surveillance for five months after deputies followed up on a tip, according to filings in the criminal court case.The case went to trial, and Young was acquitted of all charges in November 2011. (Video below)

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Father Calls Cops on Son to Teach Him a Lesson, Police Shoot Son Dead

From: http://gawker.com/

A father's attempt to teach his son a lesson for taking his truck without permission ended in tragedy Monday after a local police officer shot the teenager dead.

James Comstock told the Des Moines Register he called the police on his son Tyler after the latter took the former's truck in retaliation for refusing to buy him cigarettes.

Ames Police Officer Adam McPherson reportedly spotted the lawn care company vehicle and pursued it onto the Iowa State University campus, where a brief standoff ensued after Tyler allegedly refused orders to turn off the engine.

McPherson eventually fired six shots into the truck, two of which struck Tyler who was later pronounced dead.

The official report claims the action was necessary in order "to stop the ongoing threat to the public and the officers."

Tyler's dad says he was unarmed at the time.

"So he didn't shut the damn truck off, so let's fire six rounds at him?" exclaimed Gary Shepley, Tyler's step-grandfather. "We're confused, and we don't understand."

James said his son had his fair share of minor troubles with the law, and was distraught over a recent breakup with his girlfriend, but was in the process of turning his life around, and was working on obtaining his GED at Des Moines Area Community College.

"He was a smart kid. He made his own computers. He was interested in IT," James told the Register.

The family's demands for answers got even louder following the revelation that a member of the Ames police department suggested twice that officers call off the chase.

"He took off with my truck. I call the police, and they kill him," James said. ""It was over a damn pack of cigarettes."

McPherson is currently on paid leave pending the results of his department's investigation.


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Police Taser Father Trying to Save 3 Year Old Son in House Fire

A three-year-old boy perished helplessly in a raging house fire in Louisiana, Mo., last Thursday as police officers tasered then restrained his desperate stepfather who wanted to try to save him from the deadly blaze.

According to a KHQA 7 report, the boy, Riley Miller, was pronounced dead at Pike County Memorial Hospital after firefighters discovered his body near the doorway to a bedroom in the destroyed home.

Riley Miller, 3

The boy's stepfather, Ryan Miller, was treated and released from hospital for burns to his chest while his mother, Cathy Miller, suffered burns to the cornea of her eyes, according to the report. All of this happened, according to Ryan Miller's mother, Lori Miller, after police had tasered her son three times for trying to save the three-year-old boy from the raging flames "He tried to get back in the house to get the baby," Lori Miller said. "They took my son to jail because he tried to save his son."

Ryan Miller's sister-in-law doesn't think the police handled the situation correctly and dismissed them as heartless for preventing him from trying to save the boy. "It's just heartless. How could they be so heartless? And while they all just stood around and waited for the fire department, what kind of police officer wouldn't try and save a three-year-old burning in a house?" said Emily Miller. "We've been going through pictures and he's just smiling in every picture. He was just a happy, go-lucky kid."

The report notes that the original 911 call came in at 12:58 a.m. at 405 S. Main Street. Firefighters arrived at the scene at 1:03 a.m.

City Administrator Bob Jenne said the fire started in a recreation room at the back of the house while the parents had fallen asleep watching TV and Riley was sleeping in his bedroom.

The parents reportedly escaped the burning house through a rear door in the building when smoke woke them from their sleep and they called 911. They then ran to the front of the house and Ryan Miller was trying to break down the front door as police and firefighters arrived on the scene. Jenne confirmed that he was stunned with a Taser and restrained.

State Fire Marshal Investigator Scott Stoneberger explained that a firefighter in full gear had attempted to enter the house but the flames were too hot.

In the aftermath of the fire, Cathy Miller promoted several photos of her dead son on her Facebook page, and friends and well-wishers shared in her grief.

"Praying for you Cathy. I too know the pain of losing a child, my heart goes out to you. I wish I were in town for the funeral, I'd love to pass on a hug...but know I'm sending one from Georgia," wrote Genevieve Ralph.

The boy's baby-sitter, Sheila Sapp, also called for prayers for his family on her Facebook page.

"I was Riley's Babysitter. I want to remind everyone that a beautiful little boy with a smile that would brighten anyone's day lost his life in that fire. His family needs your prayers," she wrote.

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Armored Military Vehicles To Patrol Wisconsin Neighborhoods

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Armored military vehicles of the type used to hunt for insurgents in Afghanistan are set to patrol roads in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin as part of a training exercise on behalf of the U.S. Army Reserve.

Model previously used to hunt insurgents in Afghanistan

“(Capt. William) Geddes said the U.S. Army Reserve wanted to alert the public to the training dates so residents are not alarmed when a pack of heavily armored military vehicles is driving around the county,” reports Sheboyganpress.com.

The exercises are being run despite the fact that troops driving the M1117 Armored Security Vehicles have already received their basic training. “They’re vehicles that these military officers might use if they’re deployed, patrol vehicles,” Geddes said, adding that the drills were to ensure that officers didn’t get “rusty” in handling the M1117s.

The vehicles, which have been used overseas in Afghanistan, are described as being “strange,” “intimidating” and “heavily armored,” while being the same size as a large SUV.

Local authorities have apparently not even been briefed about the planned exercises, which will run until August 17.

“Sheboygan County Administrator Adam Payne said he had not heard about the training exercises. Two city officials declined to comment, because they also had heard nothing about the training,” states the report.

Geddes urged citizens not to create safety hazards on the roads by stopping to gaze at the vehicles.

The increasing phenomena of military training drills taking place away from military bases and amidst the general public has led to fears that the American people are being acclimatized to accept a potential future declaration of martial law.

Back in June, residents in St Louis were shocked to see heavily armored U.S. Army vehicles patrolling neighborhoods as part of an exercise. However, the local media responded by featuring ‘vox pops’ interviews with people who supported the use of the military in order to “cut down on crime,” despite the fact that using the Army for domestic law enforcement is forbidden under the Posse Comitatus Act.

Advocating that America ape foreign countries where troops patrol the streets, one resident told Fox 2, “I think it’s the same way when you go to other countries…they don’t have police officers they have troops, and I think it kind of scares a lot of people…it might cut down on a whole lot of crime because they don’t know if they’re military or the police.”

“I think it’s fantastic because it might slow down some of the crime rate,” added another.

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Woman Arrested 4 Times In 26 Hours For Playing AC/DC Too Loud

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Huffington Post

EPPING, N.H. — Authorities say a New Hampshire woman has been arrested four times in 26 hours for blasting the AC/DC song "Highway to Hell" and other loud music from her home and for throwing a frying pan.

Police first issued a warning to Joyce Coffey on Tuesday afternoon at her home in Epping. They say they were called back an hour later and arrested her for the loud music.

Police say Coffey was arrested again five hours later. She was released and arrested again before dawn Wednesday over more loud music.

Police arrested her again after her nephew said he tried to remove some of his belongings from her house and she threw the frying pan at him.

Coffey was jailed Friday and couldn't be reached for comment. WMUR-TV reports a judge has recommended she use headphones.

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Police tasers handcuffed girl and now she is braindead!

This video showing cop tasering handcuffed girl helped clear 267-pound Trooper Daniel Cole of wrongdoing and have released this disturbing dash cam video that captured him tasing a 100 pound, 20 year old handcuffed girl in the back as she fled.
The Florida Department of

Law Enforcement

determined Trooper Daniel Cole's "use of force" was justified when he tased the woman last September at the FHP Pinellas Park Substation and cleared him of wrongdoing.

The fleeing woman, Danielle Maudsley, 20, suffered severe brain damage after hitting her head on the concrete and has been in a persistent vegetative state ever since.

The video shows Maudsley fleeing a back door of the substation with Cole following closely behind.

Maudsley was arrested for her alleged involvement in two hit-and-run crashes and driving without a license.

Cole brought Maudsley to the substation to complete his paperwork before taking her to the Pinellas County Jail, according to FHP reports.

As she enters the parking lot, Cole deploys his taser and Maudsley hits the ground hard, with her head slamming into the asphalt.

"What were you thinking? What are you, stupid?," Cole can be heard asking Maudsley on the video.
"I can't get up," said Maudsley.
"I don't want you to get up," said Cole.
"I can't get up," Maudsley said again. The last words Maudsley has spoken since being tasered.

On the video, Maudsley loses consciousness about two minutes after hitting her head.
Maudsley's mother said the trooper should have used other means to stop her daughter from fleeing.
"He was right behind her. He could've reached out," Maudsley said. "It was unnecessary."
The mother hired defense attorney Kevin Haylsett, who put FHP on notice for a lawsuit.

Hayslett said Cole violated FHP's taser policy which states:
"Fleeing cannot be the sole reason for the deployment."
"When you shoot someone in the back, and they're running away, all that force -- as you saw when Danielle's head hit the concrete -- that's why they don't allow you to do that, because you can have horrible tragedies like this," Hayslett said.

With any rule, there is an exception.

An Office of Inspector General Investigation Unit report states: "Although the FHP policy on Electronic Control Devices states that a member should not use the device on a handcuffed prisoner, it also provides that there may be situations that conflict with this policy."

The report goes on to state: "In this situation, Maudsley ... removed one of her handcuffs while in the back of Cole's patrol car, and moved her handcuffs from behind her back, to in front of her body, as she attempted to flee the FHP Station. In addition, Maudsley was running towards US Highway 19 which is a high volume road."

According to the report, Maudsley had oxycodone and cocaine in her system at the time.

"The Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted an independent review of the incident," FHP spokesperson Sgt. Steve Gaskins said. "Their investigation found that the trooper's actions were legal and within the scope of his duties."

"He would've been better off to use his nightstick on her than he would a taser," Hayslett said.

The attorney also pointed out that Maudsley only weighs about 100 pounds.

In the report, Cole said he chose to use the taser because he "felt she was more susceptible to being injured if he attempted to tackle her." Cole weighs approximately 267 pounds.

Hayslett called the dash cam video disturbing. "It's one of those videos -- when you see it and you watch her head hit the pavement -- that it's hard to get those images out of your head," he said.

Maudsley's mom said her daughter's prognosis is not good. She is likely to remain in a vegetative state.

Maudsley is now in a Ft. Lauderdale rehab center that specializes in severe brain injuries.

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Police beat woman so bad she calls 911 for help, then gets charged with assaulting the officers

By Gary Horcher

Kirotv.com


FEDERAL WAY, Wash. —

Federal Way Police are reviewing their use of force during a recent arrest in which a hearing disabilities was punched several times , while being restrained. Police, in turn, are recommending the woman be charged with felony assault to an officer.

Megan Graham told her story to KIRO 7, her face still black and blue and swollen from the beating.

"I had a concussion. I still have a hard time understanding how things got so out of control, so fast," Graham said. "It was a total lack of communication."

Last Monday, Megan Graham parked her car at a Federal Way apartment complex, where she was planning to visit a friend. She said as she was getting out of her car, she noticed a Federal Way Police car behind her.

"I understood that he saw me using a cell phone," said Graham. "I told the officer I was going to carry my dog thirty feet to a friend's apartment. I told him, hey, you can walk with me," she said. Graham says because the officer was speaking to her from his running car, she never heard his order to get back into her car. When the officer lunged and grabbed her wrist, she felt she was being attacked.

"I pulled my arm back, grabbed my phone and called 911 to call for help," she said. I told the officer I had mental and hearing disabilities, and didn't understand why he was trying to hurt me."

In 911 recordings obtained by KIRO 7, Graham is heard pleading the dispatcher for help.
"I was hoping other officers would show up to listen and deescalate the situation," Graham said.
In the 911 recording, Graham shouts at the officer: "You attacked me before you said anything! There is no point whatsoever for you to touch me like that, especially with my condition, so how dare you even touch me?"

The officer is clearly heard repeating "You are under arrest."

During the 911 call, another responding officer punched Graham several times in the face, and is heard loudly ordering her repeatedly to stop resisting. "I am not resisting," replied Graham. Graham says when an officer put his weight on her hip, which she says was previously injured, she reacted by trying to flip over. Federal Way police said she assaulted an officer during that struggle.

"That woman was not resisting, I saw it," said Graham's friend Deborah Fenwick, who saw the takedown. "That woman doesn't have a violent bone in her body. She's got a heart of gold. If she would have understood the officer's commands in the first place, she would have absolutely complied with him," Fenwick said.

In an email to KIRO 7, a Federal Way Police spokesperson provided the officer's narrative of the struggle.

"As the officer approached, Graham squared off against him in a fighter's stance and attempted to strike him with closed fists. (The officer) responded with closed fist strikes to Graham's face which brought her to the ground where she was handcuffed," the officer wrote. "It was horrible. I just didn't understand any of it, "said Graham, who denies trying to hit the officer. "I told him about my condition. Punching me over and over in the eye is obviously excessive force. He could have handled it a lot differently," Graham said.


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Emails Reveal Cops Getting Prizes Over Issuing Tickets

By Debbie Dujanovic

KSL.com

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — If you've ever gotten a traffic ticket, you know the sinking feeling you get when police lights pop into your rear view mirror. But what if you found out that citation could be tied to a police department ticket quota or prize contests?

 A series of Cottonwood Heights Police Department emails from 2011 and 2012 have recently been revealed and they discuss such quotas and contests.
Some of the emails show police administration offering prizes to officers for writing citations like "free car wash coupons for the next officer to impound vehicles that have no insurance."

 In another email, a contest announced a prize of gift cards to the officers who caught anyone tagging or spray painting graffiti. One Cottonwood Heights resident said he doesn't like the idea of contests for citations.

 "That doesn't make sense at all. They should just do their job, that's what they get paid for," Kevin Corkrey said.

 Another resident, Shelley Croft, said, "I would like to think that police officers could appropriately manage public safety without having a specific number of people they had to pull over."


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California cops sued for firing Taser at teenager's testicles

A black teenager is suing the city of Richmond, CA after a local police officer reportedly tasered him in the testicles. Andre Little, who was involved in the altercation at a train station with Officer Kristopher Tong, claims that both his civil rights and state laws were violated.

   According to the lawsuit filed, Little said that he was waiting for a train when Tong moved toward him and asked if he was involved with another group of teens, also black, according to the Courthouse News Service. That group had been “previously detained for questioning,” but Little denied that he was associated with them.

   Little claims that Tong then told him to move down to another section of the platform. When he refused, Tong and another officer reportedly pulled the teenager down to the ground as Little yelled that they had the wrong guy. At this point, Little’s complaint states, "Tong then pulled out a Taser and pointed it at [Little's] head.” The teen pushed the Taser away, but then Tong pointed the device at his scrotum, causing Little to shout, "Don't tase me bro! Please don't tase me in the balls! You don't have to do this!"

   According to the suit, though, Tong tasered the boy in the scrotum anyway, placed the teen on his stomach, and used the Taser one more time on his back. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled that Little did not sufficiently prove that Tong singled the teen out or was motivated by race. She noted the complained failed to describe Little’s position relative to other passengers at the station as well as the group previously detained by the police.

"For instance, the complaint is silent as to whether Little was standing next to the previously detained young men, or whether Little was away from the men and/or among other non-African-Americans who were not questioned by Tong,” Corley wrote.

   Still, Corley said that Little will be offered an opportunity to amend his suit in order to clarify the details of the situation.


“If it can be plausibly inferred that Tong approached Little and questioned him about his association with the detained African-American men because Little is also African-American, such racial animus provides the further plausible inference that Tong’s actions occurring in close temporal proximity — ordering Little to move down the platform and the use of force — were also motivated by racial animus,” the judge wrote.

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Flipping off Cops Protected by Constitution, Federal Courts Ruled

Flipping off police officers is constitutional, Federal Courts say

WASHINGTON -- A police officer can't pull you over and arrest you just because you gave him the finger, a federal appeals court declared Thursday.

In a 14-page opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that the "ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity."

John Swartz and his wife Judy Mayton-Swartz had sued two police officers who arrested Swartz in May 2006 after he flipped off an officer who was using a radar device at an intersection in St. Johnsville, N.Y. Swartz was later charged with a violation of New York's disorderly conduct statute, but the charges were dismissed on speedy trial grounds.

A federal judge in the Northern District of New York granted summary judgement to the officers in July 2011, but the Court of Appeals on Thursday erased that decision and ordered the lower court to take up the case again.


Richard Insogna, the officer who stopped Swartz and his wife when they arrived at their destination, claimed he pulled the couple over because he believed Swartz was "trying to get my attention for some reason." The appeals court didn't buy that explanation, ruling that the "nearly universal recognition that this gesture is an insult deprives such an interpretation of reasonableness."

Original Article - HERE by The Huffington Post

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Boy Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More

Explorers ready to enter a building taken by terrorists, in an exercise

IMPERIAL, Calif. — Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor.

The responding officers — eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 — face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots — BAM! BAM! — fired from behind a flimsy wall. They move quickly, pellet guns drawn and masks affixed.

How To Deal With Police - Cheat Sheet

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DEMAND YOUR RIGHTS - QUESTION AUTHORITY!

https://www.facebook.com/policethepoliceACP

DEMAND YOUR RIGHTS
QUESTION AUTHORITY!

4 Tips For Dealing With The Police

Cop roughs up store clerk and makes up false charges against the clerk

WASHINGTON (WJLA) - Dramatic footage is released of a D.C. police officer assaulting an employee at a store in Northeast D.C. because the employee allegedly made a sarcastic remark at the officer.

Officer Clinton Turner, 42, pleaded guilty to simple assault earlier this week in connection with the 2011 incident.

Turner is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 1. The offence carries a maximum 180 day jail sentence.

It all took place at the downtown Locker Room store at Minnesota and Benning northeast on January 20, 2011.

Store clerk Daniel Fox and the officers, who were seated in the store, were friendly at first. Then something happened. Fox became angry, gestured at the officers, walked away and sat down near the register.

Turner followed him, and according to court documents, said, “don’t let us get you locked up on your birthday.”

Fox replied, “why.”

"Say something else and will be locked up," the officer said.

Fox, sarcastically said “something else.”

Turner grabbed the clerk and started beating him, authorities say and the video shows. Court records say he pulled out clumps of his hair and put him in a choke hold and arrested him for assault.

The problem for the officer is that when authorities viewed the surveillance video, they charged him with assault. And after the beating, the video shows Officer Turner lecturing Fox.

"He could have talked to him in a more calm manner. Violence should never have been used in that manner," says D.C. resident, De-An Owen.

Initially, Turner’s partner was also charged but those charges were later dropped.

The defense attorney for Turner, James Rudasill, said: “It’s very unusual for a police officer to be charged when there’s not substantial injuries or injures requiring hospitalization.”

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Denver won’t pay victim in excessive force case, even though he won case

This is what happens when those who make the rules, enforce the rules.

                                                     

   

Man Alone in Car Killed by Police; Dies in Custody

Following a confrontation with several police officers, 41-year-old Raymond Johnson died in custody last week.

The problem started around 6 p.m. Friday in the drive-thru exit at a Burger King in Moreno Valley, California. According to a restaurant employee (who said she wished to remain anonymous for fear of police retaliation), Johnson sat immobile in his car outside the window after purchasing a milkshake.

The employee described his eyes as “glassy, like he was under the influence or mentally ill” and his overall appearance as nervous-looking: “Not that he was going to do anything to us, but that he knew he was supposed to move but his body and mind weren’t working right.”

After a few moments of flailing and exasperatedly trying to get the vehicle into gear, several Burger King employees helped Johnson push his car into the parking lot. Johnson then stepped outside and sat silently on a curb resting his head. Shortly after he climbed back into his car, police arrived.

KABC-TV Los Angeles reports:

Police say they were called to the scene for a man who appeared to be in an agitated state…According to investigators he refused to get out of his vehicle.

This is where cell phone video footage begins. Shot from a distance by a witness, it starts with an officer reaching into Johnson's car and striking him with what looks like a baton. Moments later, 5 to 6 officers surround the vehicle. One officer climbs on the hood and repeatedly kicks into the passenger seat while a witness asks "Are they stomping on his head?"

Authorities say Johnson stopped breathing after he was taken into custody and was pronounced dead an hour later. A coroner's report released last night found that Johnson suffered from an oversized heart, and that while he had sustained abrasions from the struggle, none of the injuries were life-threatening. 

Johnson's widow, Lawanda, expressed her frustration and confusion:

My biggest question is what happened? What led up to that, what makes you do that? He's one person; there's many of you...I just need answers.

On Tuesday, October 15, a local NAACP chapter pressed the Riverside County sheriff's department for more information on the incident, including whether any of the deputies had been placed on leave. Chief Deputy Knudson responded with a statement outlining the incident, which stated that the officers used pepper spray, a Taser, a baton, and kicking in an attempt to subdue him. 

A report also revealed that Johnson was not armed and none of the officers received serious injuries. One expert in police procedures — a retired senior supervisor with the LAPD — said the officers should have evaluated Johnson to see if he needed medical attention before resorting to force. 

Johnson, who worked as a plumber, had had run-ins with police and served time for drugs, but never for violent crimes. He is survived by his wife, mother, four children, and a grandson.


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The Prison Industry in the U.S.: Big Business or a New Form of Slavery?