This is fucking disgusting and a perfect highlight of everything that's wrong with modern police tactics. We desperately need the same rules of escalation that basically all militaries (including...
This is fucking disgusting and a perfect highlight of everything that's wrong with modern police tactics. We desperately need the same rules of escalation that basically all militaries (including the US) use as a part of the law, so that officers are expected to follow it. We also need body cams, on every police officer. We shouldn't have to police the police, but it's gotten to that point and we need to finally start doing something.
EDIT: I wanted to highlight this particular quote, because it so succinctly points out exactly what the problem is. A potentially lethal weapon is being used to subdue a naked man in a shower in his own home who is not resisting in any fashion, and it's okay because they "had to get him under control".
I point out that the officers started Tasering him moments after the encounter started.
"Right, because they had to get him under control, so they could get him some medical attention," the district attorney repeats.
This quote is... disturbing and then... So it... doesn't count as murder? When someone dies when interacting with police, it should be considered murder - no matter what he was doing. Courts...
This quote is... disturbing
The officers then fired their Tasers at him 15 times, administering long, painful electric shocks as he screamed and writhed in the bathtub.
Then more officers arrived, and after dragging him, still naked, from his apartment, they held him down and he was injected with sedatives - midazolam at first, and then ketamine.
Moments later, Adam stopped breathing
and then...
No officers were prosecuted
So it... doesn't count as murder? When someone dies when interacting with police, it should be considered murder - no matter what he was doing. Courts should say if police action was self-defense.
The story of Ethan Saylor is brutal. I volunteered in care with two guys with Fragile X. If there's one truth in this world, its not to leave your clients alone if they don't want to leave...
The story of Ethan Saylor is brutal. I volunteered in care with two guys with Fragile X. If there's one truth in this world, its not to leave your clients alone if they don't want to leave somewhere.
Its a difficult position, but its not surprising that Ethan went back to the theatre.
As for the off-duty cops who were working security, they completely fucked up. Of all the disabilities, Down's is the most recognizable. There is absolutely no reason for them to put their hands on him.
Ultimately, the blame is definitely on the bad off-duty cops, but the situation could have been avoided if his advocate were present.
The part about people making pacts not to call the police was familiar - I follow a lot of disabled folks on Twitter (many of whom are activists by necessity because of things like this), and I've...
The part about people making pacts not to call the police was familiar - I follow a lot of disabled folks on Twitter (many of whom are activists by necessity because of things like this), and I've seen tweets recommending that you never call the police if someone is having a mental health crisis. (I say "recommend," but often the tweets are more like pleas, or begging - this stuff is life or death.)
Something I don't think I saw mentioned in the article is that the risk that a lot of disabled people face when interacting with police is even greater if they're POC, because they're a member of two or more marginalized groups that are often seen as "dangerous" by police. And language barriers can compound difficulties comprehending or responding to directions, contributing to interactions that police interpret as "noncompliance."
This is fucking disgusting and a perfect highlight of everything that's wrong with modern police tactics. We desperately need the same rules of escalation that basically all militaries (including the US) use as a part of the law, so that officers are expected to follow it. We also need body cams, on every police officer. We shouldn't have to police the police, but it's gotten to that point and we need to finally start doing something.
EDIT: I wanted to highlight this particular quote, because it so succinctly points out exactly what the problem is. A potentially lethal weapon is being used to subdue a naked man in a shower in his own home who is not resisting in any fashion, and it's okay because they "had to get him under control".
This quote is... disturbing
and then...
So it... doesn't count as murder? When someone dies when interacting with police, it should be considered murder - no matter what he was doing. Courts should say if police action was self-defense.
Well, he wasn't resisting after that, was he?
It IS disgusting, yes.
The story of Ethan Saylor is brutal. I volunteered in care with two guys with Fragile X. If there's one truth in this world, its not to leave your clients alone if they don't want to leave somewhere.
Its a difficult position, but its not surprising that Ethan went back to the theatre.
As for the off-duty cops who were working security, they completely fucked up. Of all the disabilities, Down's is the most recognizable. There is absolutely no reason for them to put their hands on him.
Ultimately, the blame is definitely on the bad off-duty cops, but the situation could have been avoided if his advocate were present.
The part about people making pacts not to call the police was familiar - I follow a lot of disabled folks on Twitter (many of whom are activists by necessity because of things like this), and I've seen tweets recommending that you never call the police if someone is having a mental health crisis. (I say "recommend," but often the tweets are more like pleas, or begging - this stuff is life or death.)
Something I don't think I saw mentioned in the article is that the risk that a lot of disabled people face when interacting with police is even greater if they're POC, because they're a member of two or more marginalized groups that are often seen as "dangerous" by police. And language barriers can compound difficulties comprehending or responding to directions, contributing to interactions that police interpret as "noncompliance."