# Be careful when yolu videotape cops beating suspects! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 12, 2002, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617 "2002-07-12T13:48:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/1 "2002-07-12T13:48:28Z")
In this unsettling follow-up to incident in inglewood , CA, where ciops were taped beating a teenage suspect,[CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/12/police.beating.crooks/index.html) reports that the man who videotaped the incident, having been arrested yesterday on “unrelated charges” was hospitalized for injuries suffered while in custody. You know, this is a really good way to blow the good opinion for policemen that was generated last year after 9/11. The police are supposed to be the good guys, arresting suspects, not beating them, still less beating bystanders who caught them in the act. What’s next? “Disappearing” suspects in custody? The old knock on the door in the middle of the night and being whisked away “im Nacht und Nebel”? Oh, right, that’s Homeland Security. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/2 "2002-07-12T14:06:46Z")
I think we’re jumping to conclusions here. > [@](#): > > Crooks was convicted of the three crimes in March 1999 and sentenced to seven months in jail but failed to report for the sentence, leading to the warrant for his address, the Placer County sheriff’s office said. > Masserman said. “He was strapped down,” but did not have any visible injuries. > > From inside the car, Crooks yelled at the top of his lungs, “Help! Help! Help! Help me!” as the SUV drove away. It is possible that this man has found a good way to avoid serving his sentence. He violently resists, gets a few bruises, and claims he was battered in retaliation. A good plan, if that’s what it was. I’m not saying that’s what happened. Just that we don’t know, and shouldn’t assume. But the cops should have been extra careful with this guy… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/3 "2002-07-12T14:18:02Z")
And [this transcript of Crooks on a radio show](http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/11/police.beating.radio/index.html) is pretty scary, too. He seems pretty paranoid, but I might be the same way in his position. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/4 "2002-07-12T14:22:29Z")
I’m surprised that this is the first thread on this subject since it happened, unless I missed something. ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/5 "2002-07-12T14:44:09Z")
I think the moral of this story is: Don’t become the focus of the national media with OUTSTANDING WARRENTS! > [@](#): > > The police are supposed to be the good guys, arresting suspects, not beating them, still less beating bystanders who caught them in the act. Yup, the arrested a bad guy who was trying to avoid paying for his crimes. If I were him, I’d sure as hell be screaming about police brutality, it could keep me out of jail. Lets face it, he’s already tried once to stay out of jail, him doing so a second time isn’t a very large stretch of the imagination. And I think why there weren’t any other posts on this subject is that it’s pretty clear he was arrested on outstanding warrents. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/6 "2002-07-12T14:50:03Z")
I think his arrest on outstanding warrants a few days after he videotaped cops doing something reprehensible is mighty suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/7 "2002-07-12T14:51:58Z")
I’m saying that I’m surprised there weren’t any threads on the cops that were beating a HANDCUFFED SUSPECT. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/8 "2002-07-12T15:04:46Z")
I don’t know whether the guy taken into custody was abused (it would be pretty dumb with the FBI and DOJ already involved in the first case). I did find it pretty stupid to pick the guy up in a big SUV with windows tinted so dark that it was impossible to see inside. I think they should have used one of those black helicopters we keep hearing about instead. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/9 "2002-07-12T15:05:16Z")
I don’t think it’s suspicious at all, that he got arrested, he brings attention on himself when he has outstanding warrants for his arrest. He was _convicted_ of the crimes years ago, and skipped out on the sentence. I don’t quite know what to think about him being injured, have to get more info on that one. On the punching of the handcuffed kid, the jury is still kind of out on that one, IMHO. I saw the clip, the kid’s hands are cuffed behind him right where the officer was standing. One trick I learned in Judo, is if someone grabs you in a bear hug from behind, trapping your arms, just bring your hands behind your butt, and grab the dude’s nuts. Works like a charm, this kid could easily have done something similar because of the relative body positions, which is what the officer’s attorney is alleging happened. > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, the attorney for the police officer suspended in the case said the teen-ager deserved to be punched because he grabbed the officer’s midsection. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/10 "2002-07-12T15:08:12Z")
> [@](#): > > I think his arrest on outstanding warrants a few days after he videotaped cops doing something reprehensible is mighty suspicious. It may be that the cops didn’t know where he was until he sufaced with the tape. I would have been surprised if the cops DIDN’T arrest him after checking his background. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/11 "2002-07-12T15:14:08Z")
He deserved to be punched in the head with that much force because he grabbed a cop’s nuts? I’m sorry, but I don’t think using that amount of force with someone you’ve arrested is ever acceptable. There are lots of different ways of handling a suspect that’s being unruly, but I don’t think punching them in the head is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/12 "2002-07-12T15:25:16Z")
The video not only showed a punch, **Cheesesteak** , it also showed an upper-body slam onto the trunk of the car. What did he do to deserve that? Doesn’t it seem a bit ridiculous to say that three (or four?) cops who have a young man in handcuffs, grappled between the lot of them, and two feet from a caged backseat needed to slam and punch him because he was “grabbing”? Toss him in the car, take him downtown, and add assault of an officer to the charges. Once they had the suspect restrained and cuffed they had NO right to assault him. bella ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/13 "2002-07-12T15:28:09Z")
> [@](#): > > He deserved to be punched in the head with that much force because he grabbed a cop’s nuts? To make him let go? Yes! If a guy has you by the balls and won’t let go, by definition, anything you do at all to make him let go is justified. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/14 "2002-07-12T15:30:02Z")
At some point, the cops have to take the highroad don’t you think? At some point the cops have to realize that their job is to take a guy into custody. Yeah, maybe the kid is a total prick, swearing, lunging, taking swings at the cop, and even IF it was necessary to slam his head against a car hood, once five cops have him held down, I think it’s sad for a cop to think: AND NOW I’m going to punch him in the face for good measure. That’ll learn him. Why are the cops sinking to hoodlum level? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/15 "2002-07-12T16:21:37Z")
I don’t particularly like the term “deserved” that was in my quote, but that’s how the link presented it. I’m no big fan of the police, nor do I enjoy the idea of them beating on people for no reason. However, I can’t say that they should just sit there and allow themselves to be attacked, either. If the kid continued to attack, even while handcuffed, I can’t fault them for continuing to use force. If the officer punched him for “good measure” rather than in direct response to the kid grabbing him, that’s just no good, and he deserves appropriate punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/16 "2002-07-12T16:36:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Wrong Girl \* > \*\*He deserved to be punched in the head with that much force because he grabbed a cop’s nuts? I’m sorry, but I don’t think using that amount of force with someone you’ve arrested is ever acceptable. There are lots of different ways of handling a suspect that’s being unruly, but I don’t think punching them in the head is one of them. \*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Belladonna_\*\* > The video not only showed a punch, Cheesesteak, it also showed an upper-body slam onto the trunk of the car. What did he do to deserve that? \*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by JarbabyJ_\*\* > At some point, the cops have to take the highroad don’t you think? \*\* To the Doperbabes above. I’ve _never_ said this before, and I hope you won’t think less of me, but…regarding the grabbage and the squeezing? It may be a guy thing: you might not understand. If someone has me by the family jewels, I’ll do whatever it takes to get them to stop. Just as I’ll never know how much childbirth apparently hurts, you might not realize the level of body-wide agony that those two little organs can generate. Regarding any punches _after_ the perp has let go (which isn’t the way I heard it)? They’re certainly _wrong_ morally, but it’s completely understandable. Unfortunately we’re unable to recruit perfect paragons of virtue or machines to be policepeople. Given the amount of pain the cop must have been in, I feel he showed admirable restraint. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/17 "2002-07-12T16:48:41Z")
Don’t you think that if the kid had grabbed the guy’s nuts the cop might have said something to that effect, claiming he did punched the kid to avoid further injury to himself? The cop hasn’t, so far as I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/18 "2002-07-12T16:49:25Z")
And where is your proof that he grabbed him by the nuts? The cops statement? Or do you just want to sincerely believe it. ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/19 "2002-07-12T16:55:02Z")
Umm yeah I agree with some of the guys here. If I was a cop and a cuffed suspect grabed my balls, you better believe I’d hit him until he let go. And if you watched the video the cop didn’t haul off and pound the kid in the head as hard as he could… I was a fairly small arm movement at a band angle to generate force. If the perp never grabbed said balls, then yes hitting him was TOTALLY unjustified. But if he had a double handfull of warm salty cop sack, then I kinda see the cop’s side here. Change the situation slightly, say the kid punched the cop in the kidney, wouldn’t the cop have the right to use force to restrain the kid? And compared to kidneys, testicles are a lot easier to damage. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2002, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617/20 "2002-07-12T16:59:22Z")
I see no evidence that Crooks was actually hurt from that CNN story. He had no visible injuries, and was taken to the hospital because he “complained” of injuries. If I was the police, I’d take him to the hospital too, just to prove that he wasn’t hurt. Any word on what resulted from the hospital visit? The arrest so close to the taping was because previously, they didn’t know where the guy was. Since they were “minor” offenses, the police weren’t actively looking for him. But you can be sure that when someone turns up with outstanding warrants, they get arrested. I would expect no less. And with a name like “Crooks”, what did you expect anyway? 😃 As far as grabbing nuts, if that teen actually did grab the officer’s boys, he was lucky to get off with a punch in the face and a slam on the car. Plus, when people are resisting with all their might, it’s not easy to be gentle with them. Slamming them down on the car is the only way to do it. You can’t place them nicely because they’re fighting you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/be-careful-when-yolu-videotape-cops-beating-suspects/118617.md?page=2)