Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread

[mhendo]

This is only marginally relevant to this thread, but it is an example of stupid behavior by some cops, and it might provide a bit of an amusing interlude in what is a rather depressing thread.

A woman reporter in Colorado called a local police department seeking some crime stats, and they called back and left a message on her phone. The cop that called back, however, forgot to hang up the phone, and he and a couple of colleagues proceeded to have a conversation about the reporter. The only officer identified in the transcript is the one who called her, a guy named Farnam:

**Farnam:** My wife worked at the Herald. She fucking hated that bitch.

**Second, unidentified police officer:** She hot?

**Farnam: **Not hot. I mean, she’s got an OK body. I mean...

**Unidentified 1:** Giant boobs.

**Farnam:** Fucking giant, dude. I mean, not like quadruple Ds or anything. But at least a solid set of Ds, probably double Ds.

**Unidentified 1: **You know what? It’s that UK fish and chips. UK women have big tits. It’s how they’re — how they’re grown over there. I don’t know why.

**Second Unidentified Officer:** She is, uh...

**Undentified 1:** Why do they have fucked up teeth? I dunno, but it happens.

**Farnam: **I didn’t look at her teeth. But she doesn’t have like a real pretty face at all.

**Undentified 1:** She’s from the UK. She’s got huge tits.

** Farnam:** Yeah, and her skirt was like seven and a half inches long. And just… extremely pale white. But, you know…

**Unidentified 1: **She’s a limey. A UK thing again. She literally grew up on a fucking island that’s always cloudy.

** Unidentified 2:** I don’t know why you have to be so hard on her.

There’s some other stuff, including a bit where one of the cops is playing with a dog, but that’s the key bit. You can hear the audio here.

According to the linked story, the current sheriff was elected on a platform of departmental reform, after the previous sheriff had been accused of domestic abuse. The new sheriff was also elected with editorial support from the reporter’s newspaper.

:smack:

[dasmoocher]

@BigAppleBucky

This Cop Throws A Huge Hissy Fit, Threatens A Group Of Teens For SMILING (VIDEO)

I see your TX cop and raise you with [this oldie but goldie from Baltimore](I find your lack of faith disturbing).

Police Officer Fired Over Questionable Confrontation, Would Have Gone Unnoticed Without YouTube Video

As a result of the massive publicity storm from the video going up online, Rivieri was suspended (with pay) a few days after the video went up in early 2008. More than two years later, a disciplinary panel cleared Rivieri of the most serious charges (“using excessive and unnecessary force” and “uttering discourtesies”) but guilty of failing to file a report about the incident or provide the kid with a “contact receipt.” The board recommended a short suspension. Instead, the police commissioner fired Rivieri, arguing that “his ability to interact effectively with the citizens of Baltimore has been seriously compromised.”

[mhendo]

I remember that one. I was still living in Baltimore when it happened. We actually had a pretty long thread about it here on the SDMB.

[Muffin]

Cops at the scene of the death of the shooter of the Virginia reporter and her cameraman made BBC reporter delete his footage or else have camera confiscated.

Reason for confiscating camera was that it was evidence.
. . .
But why they are then okay with deleting ‘evidence’ makes one question their reasoning.

[dasmoocher]

@mhendo

I remember that one. I was still living in Baltimore when it happened. We actually had a pretty long thread about it here on the SDMB.

Thanks for the link; I may have posted in the thread–I’ll have to check, now.

Yeah, I used to live within walking distance from the Inner Harbor a few years before (I commuted by MARC at Camden Yards), so the Baltimore angle caught my eye when it went viral back then.

Classic asshole going off because he’s being “Disrespected”; but he assaults a 14 year-old “punk” for the crime of calling him “dude”.

Jeff Lebowski would like a word.

[monstro]

Cop pulls a guy over for the crime of making eye contact with him, and he’s stupid enough to tell him so while being recorded.

[Fubaya]

This one is depressing. It’s not so much the fault of the police as it is “the system.”

Long story short, this 24 year old mentally ill man was arrested for stealing a Mountain Dew, Snickers and a Zebra Cake from a 7-Eleven back in April. He seems to have just stayed in jail until his court date a month later where a judge ordered him unfit for trial and ordered him to a mental hospital. The mental hospital was full so he sat in jail for 4 months. He didn’t eat or take his medication and he wasted away and died, probably from starvation.

He died August 19th and there was a short blurb in the news that an inmate had died but not another word until now. He was as overlooked in death as he was in life I guess.

[kayaker]

@Fubaya

This one is depressing. It’s not so much the fault of the police as it is “the system.”

Long story short, this 24 year old mentally ill man was arrested for stealing a Mountain Dew, Snickers and a Zebra Cake from a 7-Eleven back in April. He seems to have just stayed in jail until his court date a month later where a judge ordered him unfit for trial and ordered him to a mental hospital. The mental hospital was full so he sat in jail for 4 months. He didn’t eat or take his medication and he wasted away and died, probably from starvation.

He died August 19th and there was a short blurb in the news that an inmate had died but not another word until now. He was as overlooked in death as he was in life I guess.

Wow. I thought they force feed you in prison if you refuse to eat? Oh, right, that’s only if you announce your hunger fast is a protest.

[Muffin]

Arrested him for stealing food, and then incarcerated him until he starved to death.

[BigAppleBucky]

Bystander Shot by Undercover Police Officer Dies

A bystander accidentally shot by an undercover New York City police officer on Friday afternoon during an illegal firearms sting gone awry has died, the Police Department said on Saturday.

The bystander, identified as Felix Kumi, 61, was shot twice in the torso as the officer fired at a man involved in the botched sting. That man, a 37-year old who was not immediately named, was hit three times and hospitalized in serious condition. Mr. Kumi died early Saturday at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, according to the police.

Later in the story it says Mr. Kumi had possibly been shot in the head as well since a witness reported seeing him carried to an ambulance with a large bandage wrapped around his head.

Apparently there was a good deal of panic fire:

Terrance Raynor, the Mount Vernon police commissioner, said that several vehicles had been struck by bullets during the shooting and that one had gone through the front door of a nearby home. An employee of a nearby business, Renzo Auto Body, said gunfire had come through its windows as well. “Things went awry, and shots were fired,” Commissioner Raynor said.

It seems to me NYC cops need better training for these cases. They shoot way more than necessary and with bad aim to boot.

[septimus]

With the 10-year anniversary of the Katrina hurricane, a story of New Orleans police shooting 4 (and killing 2) innocent civilians and then fabricating evidence is back in the news.

[Projammer]

@dasmoocher

I see your TX cop and raise you with [this oldie but goldie from Baltimore](I find your lack of faith disturbing).

Police Officer Fired Over Questionable Confrontation, Would Have Gone Unnoticed Without YouTube Video

I’ll call kudos on the Commissioner on that one. I’m guessing he would have liked to have had Rivieri walked out when he first saw the video but that his hands were tied by contracts.

@Muffin

Cops at the scene of the death of the shooter of the Virginia reporter and her cameraman made BBC reporter delete his footage or else have camera confiscated.

I’m really looking forward to the day when cameras and phones immediately back up recordings to the cloud as as standard options rather than something to be purchased separately or an app to be installed.

[RickJay]

@monstro

Cop pulls a guy over for the crime of making eye contact with him, and he’s stupid enough to tell him so while being recorded.

Technically, the crime was making eye contact while being a black man.

[Projammer]

Really? I was under the impression the offense was DWB (driving while black).

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Projammer

I’ll call kudos on the Commissioner on that one. I’m guessing he would have liked to have had Rivieri walked out when he first saw the video but that his hands were tied by contracts.

I’m really looking forward to the day when cameras and phones immediately back up recordings to the cloud as as standard options rather than something to be purchased separately or an app to be installed.

You know that iPhones already do this, right? In Settings, go to iCloud and turn it on for Photos… every time you use the camera, it goes to the cloud.

[Projammer]

But what about video or voice recordings?

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Projammer

But what about video or voice recordings?

Yes, I think your video (since it uses the same camera) goes to the cloud. Voice memos do not (as of yet).

ETA: I’m checking on video now by using my phone to film and my iPad to watch… brb.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

From apple.com:

iCloud Photo Library stores every photo and video you take, making them accessible on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and iCloud.com. iCloud Photo Sharing makes it easy to show off just the photos and videos you want to just the people you want to see them. Invite your friends and family and they can add their own photos, videos and comments as well.

[doorhinge]

@RickJay

Technically, the crime was making eye contact while being a black man.

Technically, the violation was -

“Your turn signal, your turn signal was on but you didn’t turn it on 100 feet prior,” the Dayton officer is heard saying on the video Felton recorded on his cellphone.

According to the article linked by monstro.

[bobot]

@doorhinge

Technically, the violation was -

“Your turn signal, your turn signal was on but you didn’t turn it on 100 feet prior,” the Dayton officer is heard saying on the video Felton recorded on his cellphone.

According to the article linked by monstro.

I mean, I followed your black ass for like 2 miles just waiting for you to fuck something up!