Chicago Police Executes Man On Video No Charges

Thought I was done with ATS for a while, and then saw this on Digg

2 cops held liable in screwdriver assault

A federal jury late Tuesday held two Chicago police officers liable for the unreasonable search of a man who alleged that the officers sodomized him with a screwdriver during a search for drugs.

Coprez Coffie, 23, had testified that the tactical officers used the tool on him in a West Side alley in 2004. His family hugged after the verdict was announced.

"Justice was served, it was," Coffie said after court. "Now you see what's going on. It's put to the light."

This is another example of the out of control Brutality in the Chicago Police State.
Sodomized with a screwdriver...

DocMoreau

Originally posted by Keebie
Gun, no gun, a right to self defense and the jacket what are you missing? Head shot yes not a good move but have you ever been in this position? Probably not.............

Gun, or no gun...? He was the only one with a gun! He walked over 50 feet to get 'involved' in the fistfight. And, yes he was surrounded by two individuals at the time of the incident, but why wasn't he on time, and in uniform. Why did he get involved without calling 911 first? What gun was he using if his service revolver was in his duffle with his badge and handcuffs? And how is it then self-defense when he was the one who entered himself into the altercation, and was the only person armed? In order for him to be 'carrying' the chrome gun to the station, he either needed to have had it concealed somewhere first, or people are just used to other people in regular clothes walking around with bright silver guns these days...

To me, either he is under-trained, or acting brutally and above the law. Not in self defense...
DocMoreau

Im from Chicago and I am not surprised to be seeing something like this. In my own personal experience I was walking down the street when this cop car pulled over to my side, and these 2 officers handcuffed me without telling me why! they treated me like some sort of criminal and showed me no respect whatsoever. Then they put me in the back of the car and drove me several blocks to some crime scene where a few witnesses were questioned about my appearance. Half an hour later, they released me and told me I was the "wrong guy" but I matched the description. I felt embarrassed and shocked at the same time. Cops in Chicago are corrupt!

I am not from Chicago and this is one of many reasons why i will never live or vistit "The Windy City." In watching this video how could the police or justice system not have gave this cop the death sentence. The off dudy cop not only pulled out the weapon with a threating manor but then lead on to shooting an innocent human being in the head. This proves how corrupt and unjust the Chicago police and justice system is.

Originally posted by DocMoreau

You made some good points.

And how is it then self-defense when he was the one who entered himself into the altercation, and was the only person armed?

Surely laws vary from state to state but I believe that in at least some states a person is not necessarily allowed to use gravely more force in self-defense than the threat or a person is required to attempt to remove them self from the situation first. May be this does not apply to law enforcement officers.

Originally posted by DocMoreau
To me, either he is under-trained, or acting brutally and above the law. Not in self defense...
DocMoreau

After some research I am going to void my previous statements for there was no gun ever mentioned by either the cop doing the shooting nor the witnesses and of course none was found. The cop’s statements are flaky at best and changed a good deal. He at one point suggested it was an accident, but the part that the department backed him on was he said the guy who was shot attacked him first, and that just doesn’t look right on tape. The cop also stated here were four or five of them and they stated something along the lines of “ you will need to kill us all for you are not arresting anyone you MF, we are going to take that gun and take care of you” something like that…and that does match the video at all.

There was a wide range of quotes as to what was said from witnesses and the term “punk” was used by the two guys towards the cops was common among the witnesses, but also “there is no need for that” referring to the gun was also heard by number of witnesses.

I’m not saying those two guys are good people, but I’m now thinking that cop was totally wrong in shooting that guy, but it was obvious the cop was not in control of the situation, and so we can Monday morning quarterback it all day long. That doesn’t change that the kid is dead by a mistake or something worst with no repercussions but a promotion, and that is a totally different wrong.




[edit on 22-10-2007 by Xtrozero]

Found the Illinois Criminal Code concerning peace officers

(720 ILCS 5/7‑5) (from Ch. 38, par. 7‑5)
Sec. 7‑5. Peace officer's use of force in making arrest. (a) A peace officer, or any person whom he has summoned or directed to assist him, need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. He is justified in the use of any force which he reasonably believes to be necessary to effect the arrest and of any force which he reasonably believes to be necessary to defend himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest. However, he is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm only when he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or such other person, or when he reasonably believes both that:
(1) Such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape; and
(2) The person to be arrested has committed or attempted a forcible felony which involves the infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily harm or is attempting to escape by use of a deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay.
(b) A peace officer making an arrest pursuant to an invalid warrant is justified in the use of any force which he would be justified in using if the warrant were valid, unless he knows that the warrant is invalid.
(Source: P.A. 84‑1426.)

Illinois Criminal Code

... force which he reasonably believes ... and it seems like arrest may have been playing into the situation.

Guess part of it is what is considered reasonable. Little overboard in my book but then I wasn't there in his shoes.

Edit: Note (1) and (2) in the above.

[edit on 10/22/2007 by roadgravel]

[edit on 10/22/2007 by roadgravel]

Ready4whatever, I had a similar experience while growing up in Texas.

One time my friends and I were walking down the street when we were stopped by a policeman, searched, told to get in the car and driven to an apartment complex where we were then accused of overturning a car in the parking lot! We were shocked to say the least. The cops (10-11 of them) seperated us.

Everyone in the complex was outside watching when the cop who'd stopped us pulled me out of the car and had me put my hands on the trunk. He then grabbed my hair with his pistol hand, and started screaming 2 inches from my face that he "knew we were the ones who did this" among a whole bunch of other things, and for no reason what so ever. (He was a pretty dumb cop, too. The gun in this holster wasn't even a foot away from one of my hands, and the safety was off! All the while he was busy screaming at me from the top of his lungs. Had I been a real criminal who didn't care about my life, I could have easily and quickly taken the gun and ended his).

While he was screaming at me I saw the looks on most of the other officer's faces, and they were just as shocked at his behavior. They didn't know what to do about their colleague "going nuts". In the end someone in the complex came clean and said we weren't the ones who'd done it, and we were released.

It was when we got back to our friend's house that we realized that the cop hadn't given our licenses back to us. Luckily, my grandfather was a retired investigator and was good buddies with the Captain. I told him about it and he went to talk to the Captain. Two days later, that same cop came in to where I worked and sheepishly gave me back our licenses and apologized.

I found out from my grandfather that he and the Captain had called the officer back from patroling, went down and inspected his car, and found several licenses from different people stuck in the plastic of the driver's side windows and many more in the glove compartment. This cop was a "Collector". He was told to return all of the licenses to the owners and apologize to each one in person, or he'd be fired.

My story pales in comparison to what happened to Pleasance (sp?), but it proved to me long ago that some serious changes in low justice powers need to be addressed! This was one of my experiences with a corrupt officer, and I'm sure everyone has a story. But let's not forget that all it takes is one bad apple to spoil the barrel. I've had really good experiences with cops as well, more than bad in fact.

... and that's my rant for the day

Originally posted by Xtrozero

After some research I am going to void my previous statements for there was no gun ever mentioned by either the cop doing the shooting nor the witnesses and of course none was found. The cop’s statements are flaky at best and changed a good deal. He at one point suggested it was an accident, but the part that the department backed him on was he said the guy who was shot attacked him first, and that just doesn’t look right on tape.

This is from the abc.com article, it sounds like the cop agrees with you:

In a deposition with attorneys for Pleasance's family, Weems says of the incident, "I wasn't in total fear of my life. No I wasn't in fear of my life." While saying he was trying to be truthful with OPS, Weems says, "I guess I made some mistakes." And most significantly when asked if he thought the accidental shooting was not justified, Weems replies, "It wasn't justified."

interesting story..if you think thats bizarre then you really need to see this video..its about 10 minutes but its real footage of American Citizens literally being handcuffed and dragged for commiting FREE SPEECH in Washington DC..its just shocking to see how corrupt the system really is! here is the video

Originally posted by twitchy

Originally posted by Brother Stormhammer
What we have here isn't murder, folks, and it's not, despite what you might think, "an abuse of power". What we have here is a cop who, to coin a phrase, screwed up by the numbers.

Yeah a cop who screwed up 'by the numbers', and MURDERED somebody. Look at the video and tell me at what point during this incident, you think it was justifiable to shoot the guy in the head.

Try reading what I wrote, and not what you want to see.

Nowhere in my post did I indicate that I considered the shooting 'justifiable'. I'm simply pointing out that while it isn't justifiable, it's also not murder (which would have required intent) nor is it an 'abuse of power', as had been alleged earlier in the thread. It was an officer in a bad situation, who panicked and blew somebody away. The fact that I can see how it happened doesn't mean I condone it. Personally, I wouldn't find a manslaughter charge unreasonable...though given the still frames posted above, I'm not too sure about that.

One thing that we all need to remember (that I mentioned in my original post) is that what WE see sitting calmly at our monitors is one thing. What the officer on the scene saw under the stress of a very rotten tactical situation could be totally different.

Originally posted by SR
'because if not, then they have just signed themselves up for a long time in prison, if not death row'.

The very reason that the majority are happy to let it continue the way it is as long as it doesn't bother them.

And what happens when there's no one left to defend you, and they come knocking at your door? What then? There's a slippery slope there. Can you see it?

TheBorg

Originally posted by TheBorg

Originally posted by SR
'because if not, then they have just signed themselves up for a long time in prison, if not death row'.

The very reason that the majority are happy to let it continue the way it is as long as it doesn't bother them.

And what happens when there's no one left to defend you, and they come knocking at your door? What then? There's a slippery slope there. Can you see it?

TheBorg

Exacatly that's why cops should not be relied on so heavily as the crutch of society so much and everyone hates on cops until they need one. How about some community action but then again as you've said it's 'a slippery slope' one which you can slide and slip both ways, You can do to much and then be as corrupt as the cops or do too little and be chatised for being ineffiencent. Power over others it just such a dangerous thing sometimes but someone has to step up and do the job.

After reading the law I would have a difficult time, if on a jury, not finding that this man acted outside the law. His actions show that his skills as a police officer should be questioned or at least his right to carry and use a firearm. I can't see the need to have used the deadly force. I suppose witnesses there had information that supported his actions.

Note to residents of Chicago - Don't upset this officer.

reply to post by eyewitness86


Just what exatly are you advocating here eyewitness? You should chose your words wisely before responding.

reply to post by runetang


A knife is worse. One of the first things that they teach you in hand to hand combat is that a man with a knife inside of 20 ft can KILL you before you are able to get a shot off.

Edit to fix my losey speellink.

[edit on 23-10-2007 by six]

I am advocating this: If faced with a situation where it is us or them, better them than us. If cops get so out of control that the system will not do anything about it, then someone must. If it came down to some filthy pig's life or mine, let the cop face God and explain his actions: the courts OBVIOUSLY do not protect us, so we must protect ourselves.

I think that it would be GREAT if some faction existed that would take bad cops out and disappear them if they did the kinds of murderous deeds that this one did. If a cop executes a citizen, what is so bad about an eye for an eye? Why should that scummy murderer walk free and laugh at us while the relatives grieve and weep for the lost lives taken by police murder? Why should the cops get away with murder?

In a just world, the system would taake care of us and protect us from murdering cops, but it does not. So, theoretically speaking at least, I would support an element, well funded and with all the facts, that went around disappearing bad cops. It would have INSTANT results: Most cops would think twice about violating our lives and rights if they knew that each case of cop abuse and murder would be reviewed by a committee and appropriate action dictated for the offending cops.

If a few disappeared and were never heard from again, or were capped on the streets and left with a warning message to others like them, we would see a great deal of very polite cops actually doing their jobs and not breaking the laws routinely and abusing us without fear of consequence. If cops feel that they can get away with murder, they will murder. If they can get away with perjury, they will perjure themselves. But, if the cops KNEW that if they kill a civilian that some very serious people will be examining the details and making a determination that will affect THEM, we would see a lot less of these types of incidents.

Cops fear ONLY force, and lawsuits. Lawsuits are a pretty feeble way of changing cop behavior: Most of the time the insurance companies pay the money and the filthy cops keep right on doing their evil deeds unchanged. the ONLY sure way to keep cops from abusing us is if they fear REAL and IMMEDIATE justice from citizens who will NOT sit back and watch decent Americans killed and abused by out of control pigs with a vicious and demented minds. Better them than us!!

reply to post by eyewitness86


First I dont like the way you throw "pigs" out there. You are doing nothing but generalizing all police into one catagory. It makes me question your intentions. Or is that your intention? Most cops DONT violate your life and rights. Because of the instant access to information now all you hear about is the bad ones. You never hear about all the good that they do every day in the millions upon millions of calls that they answer to every day. There are not as many bad cops out there as you would like, or want, to think.

They do have a system for bad cops. It is called the judicial system . Last I read this cop was not prosecuted by the judicial system, so just how did the judicial system let you down? Videos dont tell the whole story Never have. They are a very good PIECE of evidence. But just a piece, not the whole story.

So you are advocating someone with absolute power to cap a few cops as a message, but yet rail about how much power the cops have over your life. WTF????????? SO you are advocating something you are fighting against? What make cops any different that they dont deserve the same rights under the law that we as adverage citizens deserve? They are already held to a much higher standard than you or I.

Cops DO know that if they kill someone that there are consequences. There are VERY SERIOUS people who DO look into such matters. Speaking without knowledge of a subject you are guilty of.

Have you ever been on a ride along? Do you actually KNOW what they go through every day they work? Do you know what it is like walking into a apartment knowing full well that everyone in there wants you dead just because you enforce the laws? They DONT start off the day thinking "whose civil rights am I going to violate today?" They fear NOT going home to their family, friends, and loved ones.

So basically you are advocating anarchy. That all cops are bad, and just capping a few will scare the minutest minority of all cops into submission. Some America you want.

Originally posted by Brother Stormhammer
Try reading what I wrote, and not what you want to see.

Nowhere in my post did I indicate that I considered the shooting 'justifiable'. I'm simply pointing out that while it isn't justifiable, it's also not murder (which would have required intent) nor is it an 'abuse of power'

Intent? Maybe he accidentally shot the guy in the head. Happens all the time unintentionally I'm sure.
Abuse of power? Maybe cops all have the right to shoot people in the head for what looks like nothing more than a simple assault, but, come on, he obviously intended to shoot the guy, and that's second degree murder where I'm from. How is that not an abuse of power? He was a cop, he shot an unarmed man in the head and killed him. It's not ok.

reply to post by Blaine91555


Hi,

Well done Blaine91555 for catching that second guy in the vid with the gun, I thought there was something strange about the pair of them as soon as the video started, specially with the way he was holding that jacket and how they waited for the one guy to pass then followed after, obviously working as a team.
Why they resisted in the first place boggles my mind, cop or no cop if some guy is pointing a gun at me I would hit the deck and pray.

American cops operate zero tolerance so it’s simple, don’t mess with them. There job is vile enough as it is without some little prick giving them hassle.
I find it most amusing when so many people bang on about their rights to own guns then whine whenever somebody gets shot.

My view, not a good day to be a bad guy, somebody points a gun and tells you to hit the deck you do it, is that too complicated? Zero tolerance mean exactly that just shut up and do what they ask and they have no reason to shoot or arrest you.
If you’re clean what’s the problem?
It’s a #ty job and somebody has to do it.

People whine about some cop defending himself and innocent people when there are wars and God knows what else going on in the world, erm what’s the word, oh yes hypocrites.

Good night and thanks for being a great audience.