Cop Watch
Tim Dees
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
A story in today’s Washington Post, syndicated through Reuters, sings the praises of “cop watch” activists that photograph and video-record the actions of police, using camera phones and inexpensive disposable cameras. The fruit of these roving reporters’ efforts has made national news recently in two incidents involving everyone’s favorite whipping boy, the Los Angeles Police Department.
One video clip showed an officer repeatedly punching a man in the face while he was lying on his back. The other was of an officer using pepper spray on a prisoner already in the cage of a patrol car. And, to no great surprise, both of them looked pretty gruesome and indefensible.
Unfortunately, the video clips only tell part of the story. According to LAPD Chief Bill Bratton, both suspects had actively resisted arrest and had continued to resist and be combative after they were apprehended. One had done everything he could to destroy the interior of the patrol car, and had spit in the face of the arresting officer. The man who got punched had refused orders to put his hands behind his back, and was continuing to refuse when the video was recorded.
This is a common tactic used in all sorts of media when the purveyors have an agenda of their own. Viewed in the most favorable light, this tactic is called “spin.” When it is analyzed more critically, it often amounts to a technique called “lying.”
Some years ago, a prison inmate sued a corrections officer for having struck the prisoner repeatedly on the head, using a heavy aluminum flashlight. Most of us would have to agree that this conduct, without any other information, is excessive and possibly even criminal. What the inmate neglected to mention in his complaint, and was brought out at trial, was that the corrections officer was reacting to the inmate having stabbed him in the shoulder with an improvised ice pick, and at that moment was trying to extract the weapon for another go at some more critical organ. It’s all in the details.
At trial, a clip like this would not be permitted as evidence without a foundation being laid, and if the video clip was only a portion of a longer version that showed the events before and/or after the more sensational portion, that would have to be shown as well. The viewing public seldom sees this, because news stories these days have to fit into 20-45 seconds of air time, and a story about what appears to be an excessive use of force is far less interesting when it is revealed to be a reasonable use of force.
The Washington Post story notes that Sherman Austin, the founder and head cheerleader of “Cop Watch LA,” which encourages people to make these recordings and promotes the ones he receives, has a “police record” at the tender age of 23. I don’t know of any other details here, mainly because further information about Mr. Austin is conspicuously absent from the Cop Watch LA web site. However, serious criminal conduct is a very common characteristic of the more outspoken critics of the police (I emphasize here: I know nothing about Mr. Austin’s “police record,” so please do not draw any conclusions about him personally), who resent the police for having caught them doing something they believe they should have gotten away with. If others are victimized by their actions, they tend to discount their value and their injury.
Chief Bratton said that he would not comment on the conduct of the officers portrayed in the videos until there had been a complete investigation and he had all of the facts. Bratton could have assuaged the outraged populace by condemning the officers, but he’s a better cop than that. He’ll wait for all the evidence to come in. The rest of America should, too.
Uses of force are never going to be pretty. In a perfect world, the police would have Star Trek phasers set to “stun,” which would painlessly drop a malefactor in his tracks so he could be held to account for his behavior in a civilized, humane manner. But, except for a few isolated cases where the occasional bad cop is involved, the cops respond to the level of force offered by the suspect with tactics or tools intended to overcome that level of resistance, and no more. And there’s always the option to just stop when the officer says to stop, and to follow his other directions, which very seldom result in any injury to the arrestee. I’d like to hear the question asked of police “victims” more often: “Why didn’t you just do what the officer said, and make your argument about what you did or didn’t do in court?” It’s so obvious, and it makes so much sense. In this imperfect world, I suppose that’s why we don’t do it.
Good job Tim, maybe some of the general public will read it and be informed.
Thank you. This is excellent perspective. I wish the mainstream media would put in the perspective of LEOs on these issues rather than anti-cop activists.
The latest from there is a student being tazed. I suppose they would rather have more violent methods used. No matter what is done it’s always the cops are too violent. I work in a hospital security force and know what comes through our doors. Trying to just ask someone to be compliant doesn’t always work.
Fantastic article, Tim! I read your articles all the time; and am ALWAYS impressed with your insight and ability to portray the truth for all the cop-bashing, liberals. You are a wealth of information on so many subjects; and I want to thank you for your dedication to officers and especially to officer safety issues! Bless your heart!
Another great article Tim, too bad the mainstream press won’t pick it up as it makes too much sense.
anti-cop activists are needed as much as the police due to this kinda behavior.
Great article. It’s sad so much of the population has not yet learned to see through this, to see the facts beyond what’s shown on tv [so obviously only PART of the story]…
Sherman Austin is not the “head chearleader” of Cop Watch L.A. He doesn’t tell people what to do. Decisions are made through consensus through a horizontal structure. The article states that Sherman is “A FOUNDER” of Cop Watch L.A. Not the head of the group. And if you want to know about the brothers police infamous record simply google his name “Sherman Austin” and you’ll read how the FBI fabricated statements , railroded him , and locked him up in prison for a year because he used to run a web site called Raisethefist.com. Aside from that he’s been stopped plenty of times for driving while black, walking while black, breathing while black.. etc. yeah so get your stroty straight fool.
Editor’s Note: This is just too easy…
Thanks Tim. I too saw the video of the Officer punching the guy in the face and as a highly experianced Officer who has been there, done that many times, the only thing I saw was two Officers trying to take a suspect into custody that was trying to fight and grab weapons! He was definately not under control so what is the problem? The face was the only part of his body offered to the guys so utilize it and take control.
Great article and thanks alot.I am a police officer and I have been there and done that.I was not videod,wish I was but who knows.I was involved in an arrest of a thug whom tried to stab me and then turned around and sued me.Not easy for me or my family to go through.The videos dont tell the whole story.You have to take evry thing into context but alot of times the Police are not given that oppurtunity.We are guilty until proven innocent.And in ref. to that B/S post from get the story straight that is all it is is BS. I am so tired of hearing this nonsense of stopping people while black.I am not saying that it doesnt happen but I think if it does it is very very rare and no different from being stopped while mexican,caucasian,asian,etc.Thanks alot,its peole like you why he have to fill out these absurd racial profiling sheets.I think it is very minimal. There are bad cops,there are bad apples in any employmnet field.I have never done it and never would but thanks to peole like you is why he have a more difficult job protecting others.Cant “profile” terrorists because we might violate their rights.B/S….Get off it,give it a rest,and quit crying because I dont think it really happens and I am tired of evrytime I stop a black person I hear those famous words”the only reason why you are stopping me is because im black”. No, I stopped you because you did something WRONG………………
Great article Tim. My comment would be “Why didn’t these officers have better tactics?” I am willing to bet that there are arrest and control instructors out there saying “There was a better way to gain control, why didn’t they have the training to use it.” Let’s hold the right people accountable: The department that fails to train their officers.
I couldn’t agree more, I think the answer to this problem is evident. First off, I have noticed the people most likely to make an ill-informed choices or opinions on a particular matter usually do this in other areas of their lives as well. These individuals are usually mentally and physically lazy, ignorant, and quick to pass judgement on others except when its concerning themselves. My solution is this: return to our values of yesterday (30+ years ago), due away with if it feels good then its okay mentality, and pass a law restricting the amount of children one family can have and make accountability the guide for punishments no matter what level its being distributed.
As a retired officer (1976-1997)I can only make these comments. My entire career was spent assigned to patrol public housing and since retirement I have been the director of security for those same developments. I found that most of the people who are not fortunate to live in other areas are law abiding citizens and really embrace law enforcement to make their neighborhoods safer. I am not just referring to community policing I am also referring to arresting the problem causers in those developments. Since Rodney King, law enforcement has been on the defense and, sad to say, has been forced to become more politically correct in their methods. Law enforcement officers are now forced to practice “antiseptic policing”, in other words go out and get the bad guys but don’t hurt anyone. Street cops know how impracticle this idea of policing is. I have to say that I place some of the blame for this discrediting of law enforcement on the chief’s and other administrators for not comming foward, defending their actions and, most of all, not educating the public. Law enforcement became voiceless while the anti-cops have been allowed to stand center stage without opposition. Additionally counting beans (statistics) does not make for good effective police work. The media assists in the public believing that the cops are brutes just looking for an excuse to beat someone. Most street cops agree that we are living in a society where the youth have been accustom to not being very disiplined. They have been allowed to ignore and disrespect their parents and teachers and people are certainly becoming more combative (when confronted by police) as compared to previous years. God knows they are certainly informed of their “rights” by every anti-police agency or group in the area.
OK. So in closing the police bashers should realize that the more restrictions that you may want to place on the police will only assist in making law enforcement, overall, ineffective. The cops become fearful of taking any action and get weaker while the criminals in the country become more organized. I would truly hate to see cops become so fearful of doing their jobs that when you call 911, no one shows up. Sorry if I became longwinded on this but people really do not understand how powerful criminals can become if we, the police, are not allowed to, or become fearful of, doing our jobs.
terrible article. you’re a complete moron, but then, what else would i expect from a pig. sherman austin’s “police record” by the way, refers to the fact that he was one of the first individuals ever proscecuted under the patriot act. ashcroft the facist had him thrown in prison for putting a hotlink to public information in his blog. he sopent 2 years in prison for that. this country in run by facists.
Moron’s Note: It’s so difficult to recruit good revolutionaries these days. The ones in my youth could spell “fascist” correctly.
Well written and articulate. Right on the money. The voice of reality in an ocean of media and activist BS.
‘terrible article. you’re a complete moron, but then, what else would i expect from a pig. sherman austin’s “police record” by the way, refers to the fact that he was one of the first individuals ever proscecuted under the patriot act. ashcroft the facist had him thrown in prison for putting a hotlink to public information in his blog. he sopent 2 years in prison for that. this country in run by facists.
Moron’s Note: It’s so difficult to recruit good revolutionaries these days. The ones in my youth could spell “fascist” correctly. ”
did you take your meds?
Sorry but I’ve seen them more resistant than the man in the face-punching incident and he was taken into custody without any injuries to either himself or the arresting officers.
It should prompt calls for more accurate training rather than useless outcries of police brutality. I’ve seen incidents where officers demanded a suspect turn over onto his back while they were literally knees and elbows on his chest and face. Sometimes the moronic parts of the media make a good point or two between their diarrhetic tirades.
We need people videotaping police encounters, because if the officers know their actions are being recorded, it will help them decide to be honest later after - the - fact.
How does punching a perp in the face (once twice or otherwise) convince him to surrender and allow himself to be handcuffed? I can understand using the spray on a man who is destroying a vehicle… But fists are more and expression of anger than anything.
It seems this is more of divide and subdue.
Cops do what they are told to do.
People should understand what they are angry at or afraid of. They fear the legal system, not the police.
First, the editorial comments about the sentence-level weaknesses of activists’ posts to this blog are a cheap shot, considering that the grammatically-challenged post by a self-identified police officer (”gGet the story straight part 2″) goes unchallenged. If you only make fun of the flaws of your enemies, you don’t come off as even-handed. Second, the discussion here shouldn’t be about any one specific incident of alleged police brutality–I am sure that use of force by police officers taken out of context may look brutal and still be justifiable in some cases; likewise, I am also well aware, particularly from off the record conversations with police officers, that power corrupts and some police officers commit acts of unwarranted brutality. Thus, the conversation ought to be about striking the right balance between law enforcement and protection of the citizenry. Simply taking sides, as most commentors seem to be doing here, won’t solve anything.
Third, Mr. Austin, as a US citizen has a right to videotape police officers. I would think that law abiding cops would welcome the monitoring. How is it different from the TV show “Cops” if there is nothing to hide? Granted the young man has a strong anti-police bias and there must be rules regarding the conduct of Copwatch–they must not interfere with police-work. But I have not seen any evidence or even allegations that Copwatch has interefered with police.
If I were a cop, I would invite Mr. Austin to ride a long with me & I would explain to him why I thought it was important for cops to obey the law since they are charged with protecting and serving. If cops don’t want to be in an adversarial relationship with young people, then they need to be less parental and condescending in tone and attitude. They also need to use restraint. And they should be paid more and trained better.
Finally, I wonder at the level of antipathy expressed by law enforcers here toward Copwatch–could it be that some cops are a bit worried that one of their fraternal order will be caught on tape doing something they can’t explain away even to themselves? Honestly, in a national climate where the government can wiretap citizens without a search warrant, it makes me proud to see someone trying to stand up for their rights. Let’s hope Copwatch doesn’t blow it and overstep the
bounds of their mission, and let’s also hope the police don’t violently retaliate against them.
99.9% of the police officers out there are really just trying to do their job in line with the law and the rules of conduct that govern them.
The issue that most of us average citizens have, is that that 0.1% DOES exist, and nobody wants to fess up to it.
Nobody denies that the job of enforcing the law in this country can be overwhelmingly stressful and difficult. It is a thankless job that puts the lives of those involved at risk day in and day out.
However, that is no justification for crossing the line.
The fact that no one wants to step up and say “yea, this 0.1% does exist, and it is a problem, and we need to correct it” simply makes matters worse. It makes the good cops look bad,
because rather than weeding out the bad seeds in the bunch, you turn a blind eye and say “well he was resisting”. How much resistance can someone really put up when they have one officer kneeling on their neck punching them in face, with another one on top of his torso restraining his arms and legs.
You can claim resistance all you want, but the fact of the matter is pretty clear to anyone who watches that video that the officers were clearly in complete control of the suspect, and it can be reasonably assumed that they could have slapped some cuffs on him at any time.
However, they didn’t do that. Instead they yelled “stop resisting” and continued to punch him in the face.
What happened to lead up to that situation is completely irrevelent. What matters is that they were in control of the situation, and rather than place the subject in custody - they chose to assault him.
Now sites like this one, rather than say “well - maybe it was justified because of what happened leading up to this - but this was an extreme reaction” - you turn around and say “there’s no problem here”.
I would think that videotaping police action would be welcomed by the law-enforcement community. I would think that this would be seen as an opportunity to show the public that the police are working in their best interest.
Instead, this type of activity is vilified by law-enforcement, in what an average citizen can only figure as an attempt to cover up that 0.1%.
In response to Citizen, first let me say, what exists in our culture today is an age group that has been raised without limitations or controls. Out of necessity of choice, households in America have become the solitary playgrounds of our youth. Moms going to work to pay for the bigger house, Dads working longer hours to pay for the fancy cars, and kids stuck without guidance. Add in the growing segment of society of single parent households that are primarily Single Moms and you have a culture with no exposure to Male authority figures. Numbers point out that most police officers are male and most offenders are male and those offenders have no respect for male authority because they never had to be accountable before. They have been told from day one that they are the man of the house and they believe that is true when out in the world.
If today’s youth had a stronger upbringing, a greater belief in God Almighty and fear and respect for His laws the numbers of crimes committed would be less. Everyone but the greatest fools know right from wrong, so it must be this disconnect from God and His design for Family that has lead to this dramatic decline in respect and observance of the law.
I am not a total supporter of copwatch, I am retired from the Fire/EMS profession but i have to comment, I feel both sides of this coin are not handling this well,
I live in Orlando,FL and the relationship between CW and OPD can be described as antagonistic.
OPD has recently announced to the Media and the public that they will begin encrypting ALL of their Talkgroups on a new radio system, while i Understand the need for Operational Security and Officer Safety, I cannot understand Why Chief Demings has decided not to allow the media or law abiding citizens the ability to listen to Talkgroups that really have no reason to be secure, OPD will not allow a “media area” in their comm center, they will only provide Houry faxes of LEO activity once an hour, this is not a good thing.
I have seen the issue from both sides, Law Enforcement expects the general public to understand what they go through, they want to have active community involvement, but the actions and attitude coming from the law enforcement community says otherwise.
As a society we need laws, as a result of laws we need people who will enforce those laws, but something has happend to create a situation of US vs Them
I am afraid if things progress as they are then the situation wil continue or get worse.