Police Use of Excessive Force By Bullet on the Rise Throughout the Country
The Intel Hub
By Michelle Jones
February 23, 2012
Use of excessive force by police officers in America is not anything new. Over the last 5 years there has been a steady rise in reports being filed by citizens claiming that their local police used excessive force in their cases.
Despite the high profile these cases receive on Youtube and other media sources, this trend continues to rise. With little repercussions from their actions, police officers are taking bold and aggressive measures everyday.
A new trend however has citizen cop watch groups concerned. Excessive force by bullet seems to be on the rise. Watch groups are noticing more and more officers using deadly force on unarmed citizens and in some cases on citizens who have not even comitted a crime.
Headlines from news papers across the country confirm that there is a real reason to be concerned about this up and rising trend.
On February 10, WUSA9 News ran a story about a 54 year old, Culpeper, Va. woman, Patricia Cook, who was gunned down by a Culpeper Town Police officer in a church parking lot at 10 A.M. in the morning.
Apparently Mrs. Cook was parked in the church parking lot and the officer was investigating a suspicious car report. What happened after that is still unknown with the officer claiming that Mrs. Cook rolled his arm up in the window and then preceded to drive off, dragging him and forcing him to shoot her for his own safety.
On the other hand, an eyewitness, who was doing some carpentry work in the house next to the church, refutes the officers accounting of the incident by claiming that he had a clear view of the entire incident and that Mrs. Cook had rolled her window all the way up and the officer had one hand on his gun and the other on the door handle when Mrs. Cook drove off and the officer opened fire.
Either way, it still seems logical to the average person that there were many alternatives that should have been used rather than the use of excessive force. Why didn’t the officer just blow the tires out with his gun ?
Why didn’t he just use the butt of the gun to break the window if his arm was trapped in the window. To unload your gun into the car killing the driver seems to be the worst choice yet the one this officer choose to take.
Sadly this incident replays itself across the country on a daily basis. In fact, a breaking news report from MSNBC on February 16th, exposed the fact that Officer James Peters of the Scottsdale AZ police, was placed on administrative leave after he killed an unarmed John Loxas, 50, with a single rifle shot to the head.
At the time Loxas was shot he was holding his 9 month old grandchild in his arms. There were no injuries to the child when Loxas dead body let the child fall to the ground. As if that wasn’t horrific enough, MSNBC also reported that this was the 6th person Officer Peters has gunned down in the line of duty.
It’s time to put an end to this growing trend. There needs to be justice served when an officer crosses the line between murder and doing his job. Yet we continue to see just the opposite happening nationwide.
New York City police, who are still receiving the back lash of anger from citizens when 18-year-old Ramarley Graham was gunned down on February 2nd inside the bathroom of his Bronx home following a foot pursuit by a team of plainclothes cops.
The teen was unarmed yet the NYPD quietly revised its Patrol Guide to add a clause that gives officers more leeway in the use of deadly force.
According to statistics found on the outstanding website Injustice Everywhere, law enforcement personnel commit more crimes per capita than the general public.
Shocking statistics that show how corrupt the law enforcement agencies have become.
Does the average American citizen have the right to protect themselves by force if necessary from a corrupt and out of control police officer?
I am happy to report that at least in one incident that took place in July of this year, officials concluded that citizen Jerry Chambliss of Diamond Head Arkansas was justified in his shooting of an officer who, while off duty, stalked his wife by following her home and then open fired on Mr. Chambliss who in turn shot the officer in the arm. (A clear act of self defense)
The difference here is that Mr. Chambliss used sound judgement in his decision to use excessive force and he shot to protect not to kill. Yet in so many cities the right to carry a fire arm is now illegal and if Mr. Chambliss had lived in one of those cities this story would have had a very tragic ending.
American’s have the right to bear arms and protect themselves and property from those who wish to trespass upon them. If it so happens that one of those trespassers is a law enforcement officer that should not matter if the officer is committing a clear crime at the time. Nor should a police officer be let go for cold blooded murder that took place in the line of duty.
Visit the Injustice Everywhere Website
http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/
This is what happens when we Americans send our police officers over to terrorist Israel to be trained, they act like Mossad instead of police officer’s who are hired to protect the civilians instead of kill or injure them. Any Police Chief that send their officers to Israel should be tried and convicted under the United states terrorism act for giving aid and comfort to a terrorist nation/state.WE should not have our officers trained in another country or in this case the state of Israel which is listed as a terrorist state in United States.When we do, they come back with such militant ideas like that of Israel, or even worse, communist ideas like that of Israel. No more officers trained in Israel! Yes it is happening all over the US and Israel is raking in the bucks to train our officers to be terrorist.
@rick, where do you get your facts? Israel is listed as a ‘terrorist state’ in the US? Are you insane?
You’ll be surprised to know that Israel is NOT listed as a ‘terrorist state’, they are actually considered one of America’s closest allies. Iran might consider Israel a terrorist state, but the US doesn’t. Get your facts straight.
Rick is right. They are training our civilian police with Israel tactics and training. Here is a video I did about that on youtube before the ” official ” media outlets reported about it.
Yes Israel is one of our closest allies but just like America make no mistake they are a terrorist nation. IMO.
Joe,
Here is the link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfstkWRMTcM
Good Grief, Rick. Loosen up that tinfoil hat you’re wearing.
Again, Rick is right about the way our police are being trained.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfstkWRMTcM
Probably not a correct assumption.
But, with Israel as a ‘friend’ who needs enemies – they only want to drag US into a new war that will result in the death of tens of thousands. To many people in the Middle East Israel is a terrorist and rogue country – uninspected and undeclared nukes (probably 200+).
They (Israel) had an opportunity to co-exist and they have decided to take what they want at the barrel of a gun, through the creation of ghettos, etc. You would be hard pushed to argue that Gaza is not a ghetto.
Nor should a police officer be let go for cold blooded murder that took place in the line of duty.
in the line of duty DOES NOT INCLUDE MURDER
It does when you kill someone who was unarmed. Mrs. Cook was killed by a cold blooded murderer not an officer on duty.
Just because you are on payroll and wearing a badge doesn’t mean you can choose to murder someone just because you wanted too. Lets say Mrs. Cook’s husband had a fight with her and she rolled his arm in the window the way the officer described and so he unloaded his whole gun clip on her. What would become of him ? MURDER charges, make no mistake of that. Wise up to the police state.
In Toronto Canada we just had a cop charged with murder. he was under investigation since 2010, where as standard practice he was placed on PAID LEAVE. (known as “vacation” to the rest of us peons)
This is why nobody believes the cops are out for justice. Let me repeat, while being investigated for WILLFULLY TAKING A LIFE DELIBRATELY AND NEEDLESSLY, he keeps his job, full salary and benefits, and walks free, simply told to take an extended vacation.
If you or I were to shoot somebody though, instantly we’d be in jail, no salary, and odds are no job waiting. This would be true during the investigation even if you’re INNOCENT.
Obvious double standards, yet people expect the cops to change? Why, since they have all the rules, and only cops charge cops. In my example, I doubt he’ll spend a single day in jail nor do I think he’ll lose his job, and even the family members interviewed say the same.
Now shoot a COP on the other hand…even in self defence, and your punishment will be swift and brutal, I promise you. The blue shield tollerates no cracks and i their minds, absolutely no dissent at all, even when the cop is being an unreasonable prick. They don’t EARN respect anymore, they DEMAND it…yet are shocked when they don’t GET it. Idiots.
So the point is when does this spill over to incidents when citizens respond to police brutality…can’t be long now given the fairy tale view of the US economy and the reality faced by the man and woman in the street.
All Americans have a constitutional RIGHT to defend themselves against excessive force. Remember Waco? All defendants were acquitted of murder because of ATF/FBI excessive force. Sure, the police department and immoral district attorneys will try their damnedest to get a conviction, but the right to resist is still there. If you are older, sick and just don’t give a shit, who cares about consequences? In the meantime, ALWAYS carry a camera to help protect others.