As I watched this video of a young Latino brother being detained and kicked in the head while a white officer makes hurls some sort of racial epithet at him, the first thing that came to mind is what may be in store for all those folks in Arizona who may find themselves in similar situations…It’s one thing when an elderly person is pulled over, but when young teenagers are stopped and detained in way too many instances the cops go off.. For those apologist and disbelievers who think what I’m saying is far fetched..I invite them to look at the policies that started under LA police chief William H Parker where he recruited officers from the South who held racist attitudes and made it a point to make sure officers engaged young Black and Brown folks by age 15 to make sure they understood the police were the ones in charge.
Those policies continued under police Chief Daryl Gates who passed away two weeks ago. Both Gates and Parker are seen as iconic and many departments adapted their policing policies. How this relates to this Seattle situation is that what is shown on this video is outrageous to some but all too familiar to folks in the hood, many who can tell you horror stories of being roughed up by police at young ages. We see this here in the video where the man in question is innocent and yet offered no apology or medical attention. What’s gonna happen with detainees in Arizona?
The other thing that was disturbing was seeing a Black and woman office on the scene doing nothing. The woman officer actually partakes in the brutality. The Black officer doesn’t do anything. It would be interesting to see what he and other officers reported. Did they note the abuse or lie in their reports? Should there be some sort of law on the books to make it a crime if an officer sees another officer commit a crime and not say anything? In any case many of us fought to have more women and people of color on the force thinking they would bring a sensitivity and attitude that would help change entrenched cultural practices… Not seeing those two officers intervene makes you wonder if all those efforts were wasted..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g1uvG5WoX0
Seattle Detective Apologizes for Racial Epithet
(May 8) — A Seattle police officer offered a tearful apology after being caught on camera kicking an innocent man and using a racial epithet.
The video shows a group of officers standing around three men who are lying on the ground. Seattle Police Detective Shandy Cobane shouts, “I’m going to beat the [expletive] Mexican [expletive] out of you homey! You feel me?”
Cobane later kicks the man in the head and another cop kicks him in the hand.
The detective sobbed as he gave a news conference on Friday to apologize to the Latino community, his colleagues and the city of Seattle, The Seattle Times reported.
“I know my words cut deep and were very hurtful,” Cobane said. “Please know that I am truly, truly sorry.”
The video was shot by a freelance videographer at around 2 a.m. on April 17.
The incident in question took place as officers were investigating an armed robbery in Seattle’s Westlake neighborhood. The 911 call reporting the crime had described the suspects as Hispanic
The man attacked was not involved in the robbery. After officers let him go, the freelance videographer asked the unidentified man why he had been beaten.
“I don’t know. They knocked me down and kicked me in the head,” he responded.
Cobane and another officer have been placed on administrative leave. The city’s police department is carrying out an internal investigation, according to the Times.
Seattle police learned of the event a few days after the incident, and launched the investigation soon after, according to the AP.
Cobane, a 15-year veteran of the police force, said he never imagined he would “do anything to bring such notoriety to my department. Sadly, I did.”
Unfortunately another far too familiar event that will be forgotten by the masses.
Meanwhile in the REAL WORLD:
2 dead, 4 wounded after Oakland hip-hop event
Victoria Colliver,Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writers
Sunday, May 9, 2010
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(05-09) 16:36 PDT OAKLAND — Two young men were killed and four women were injured, one critically, after a gunman opened fire early Sunday in a West Oakland warehouse that had been converted into an unlicensed music club, police said.
More Bay Area News
* 2 dead, 4 wounded after Oakland hip-hop event 05.09.10
* Police: snipers had no choice in standoff 05.09.10
* Violent home invasion in Mission 05.09.10
* S.F. robber sprayed victim 05.09.10
The shots rang out at 2:45 a.m. after a CD release party in a building of corrugated metal that has no sign but is known as The Ware House, at 34th and Chestnut streets near the California Hotel.
Guests at the event – which was scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. and had been publicized on fliers and the Internet – celebrated a CD by Oakland hip-hop artist Zulu the King.
The performer, otherwise known as Xavier Lowery, said the release party ended peacefully and he left the warehouse to get something to eat. By the time he returned to socialize, he said, the assault had happened.
“I feel bad for the families,” said Lowery, 28. “How do these mothers feel when their child is not coming to see them for Mother’s Day? It’s these senseless acts of violence we don’t need.”
Oakland police said a 19-year-old man from Oakland and a 24-year-old man from Modesto were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. None of the victims have been identified.
A 36-year-old woman was taken by ambulance to Highland Hospital in Oakland in critical condition, said Officer Holly Joshi, a police spokeswoman. She said three other female victims, two who are 20 and one who is 21, transported themselves to the hospital and are expected to survive.
Police have not released any details about the suspect or suspects or determined a motive for the shooting. While saying the venue was unlicensed, she said she did not know if anyone affiliated with it would face punishment.
Efforts to reach the building owner were unsuccessful.
Adam Ivey, a jazz musician who rents studio space in the building, was in another room when he heard shots fired and described the ensuing scene as “pandemonium.”
“I don’t know exactly what went bad but I heard stories about it being a turf war,” said Ivey, 29, of San Leandro. “I’ve never experienced anything like this firsthand.”
Ivey said the warehouse had the potential to be a gathering place for people in the neighborhood to play and learn music. Recently, he said, the facility hosted a birthday party for a 13-year-old boy.
“When you try to do something positive and you get this kind of result, it’s really sickening,” he said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Oakland police homicide section at (510) 238-3821.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/09/BA4R1DBUGD.DTL#ixzz0nUOHDrbT
Thank you Jose, for reminding us that we have out of control thugs on both sides of the law. The problem is that the police work for us, though, Jose. As horrific as the killings at that hip hop event were, the murder wasn’t paid for by the people, as the abuse by the officer in the video above was, likewise the murder of Oscar Grant and the so many other times police have abused and/or killed citizens. Murder is bad no matter how you cut it, but when it’s committed by someone who works for the tax payers, and the weapon used is payed for by the tax payer, it is even worse., because the blood is then on all of the citizens’ hands.