So, the police are called to a home. A mother wants her emotionally disturbed son taken to a hospital for evaluation.
The first officer, Regina Tasca, arrives and talks to the young man. Backup arrives, and this is when things turn bad.
According to Office Tasca, the young man takes two steps to the left to peer at the cops and asks why another department getting involved. He doesn’t understand what the big deal was.
Well, he shouldn’t off opened his damn mouth and threatened the AUTHORITAH of the incoming officers, because, of course, they then proceed to do their jobs and beat the living tar out of the kid.
Here’s where things go from bad to strange. You see, in just about any other such story, what you typically find is the officers supporting each other no matter how much wrong doing is going on. Not this time. Officer Tasca intervenes, screaming at the police officers to stop!
She is the only cop there actually doing her sworn duty… AND now the department wants her gone. They are trying to fire her for stopping her fellow officers from using excessive force.
Usually even with direct video evidence of wrongdoing officers get put on desk duty, or get given what are essentially paid vacations, to the chagrin of the public.
Not this time. Tasca was immediately suspended.
I mean, can you say corrupt motherfuckers? They didn’t even care what their actions look like to the public at this point.
I don’t know if corruption is the right word. Presumably no one paid them off to deliver a beat down. Brutal, maybe.
I hope Tasca loses her job, not because she deserves to but because she won’t be safe in that department anymore, and she’s better off not being a part of it. And I hope she sues them and gets a very large settlement from the city.
The only criticism of her I would make is that she should have arrested the other two cops for assault.
Okay, I’m missing something here. I watched the video shot from the dash cam of the officers car. What I saw, (albeit it a short 2 minutes or so of the event) was two officers taking the individual down, and wrestling with him on the ground. I didn’t see them punching or beating the young man. They later showed two small bruises on the guy as evidence of the beating. I either missed the punching or it occurred off camera. What happened after the individual was subdued and in custody?
Well I’m convinced!!! Sounds like those media are lying to us. When will we get the true story about the dodgy Regina Tasca, thats what I want to know!
That video is worthless, we have nothing more than a takedown and none of the leadup. They make it sound like he was supposed to just get a ride for an evaluation. If ambulances and PD are being called in your probably have someone who is pretty hostile, combative, and or a danger to themselves or others. Without ALOT more information about what actions or discussion prompted the takedown this is not any kind of clear cut “bad cop” situation. Family members will always claim “he didnt do anything” and takedowns by LEO’s are rarely pretty. If thats all the bruises he has to show for it he is in better shape than alot of folks.
My question is what did she do to try and stop the other officers? Depending on what actions she took, her immediate suspension/termination may be warranted even if she was intervening in a questionable use of force situation.
One cop should be able to manage a non combative individual just fine, she called for backup. What inspired that call?
Good for her. Being a gay woman she may have had an idea what it is like being on the outside looking in, giving her more empathy. I hope hiring in the police changes to pick people like that. Cops sometimes seem to not know or care how disrespectful and scary they can be.
I read the article before I posted and she mentioned “policy” that still does not explain why the policy was invoked. Cops don’t randomly request backups with non hostile, non combative, easily managed individuals.
This week, in a similar call (“A mother wants her emotionally disturbed son taken to a hospital for evaluation”), an NYPD officer took a knife to the skull from the emotionally disturbed son. So yes, there is a reason to call in for backup.
That does not excuse firing an officer for doing what appears to have been the right thing. If anything, departments around the country should seek more officers willing to cross the “blue line”. Bad cops tarnish the reputation of all cops.
I am not questioning that backup may have been called for, in the video we see the officer sprint from his car to the yard. I was only an EMT for a few years but you don’t normally see much running from cops/firefighters/EMS types on scene. You dont get a charging tackle for just standing there doing nothing.
Will post cites later since I’m on my phone right now, but apparently the female officer in question has a history of disciplinary action from failures to assist officers when needed and appropriate. Assuming this is true, now we could just as well have a cop who is already on notice trying to save her ass and or fishing for a lawsuit to support her after an otherwise justified termination.
