Shocking video shows housing cop beating man

Shocking video shows housing cop beating man

www.nypost.com

Harvin, wearing a white doo-rag and t-shirt, is seen on the tape rushing to enter the building, where his mother lives, before London shuts the door.

That’s where the two begin an encounter that would end with Harvin drenched in blood and bruises from more than 20 baton blows and kicks to his upper body — the final few of which rained down on him even after London and his partner had managed to handcuff the injured man.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is another one of those cases that is likely going to create a lot of debate and divided opinions...

Without the audio, it leaves a lot to try and piece together.

Who is telling the truth here? What exactly took place?

It appears as if this housing 'cop' is trying to prevent this guy from visiting his own mother, and my guess is that it is on his appearance, which is sad imho.

But the amount of force and trauma used does make me raise an eyebrow, especially after the guy is cuffed.

Guy was an Iraq vet too. Violence abroad, then more at home. Sigh...

www.nypost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

While I do find the force excessive,I do see that in the beginning the guy pushed the cop,after that we see the cop with his hands out by his sides in a wth fashion.
The guy goes to walk away and the cop puts his hand on his chest in a stay where you are kind of thing.
The guy walks away and ignores the officers.
He brought it upon himself with what my eyes see.

The force is a bit much tho.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


Yes, I do agree that the guy appears to be combative from the onset.

But I do wonder if there are extenuating circumstances that we are missing out on, due to the audio track not being engaged. Things such as:

Did the officer try to block this guy from entering the building? And if so, on what grounds? His appearance?

Not saying this did or did not occur, but there may have been something in the lead up to the altercation that we are unaware of.

Not the smartest idea to get physical with an armed 'authority' figure I will agree, but what if said figure was trying to prevent the man from seeing his own mother? This may have led to the guys resistance?

Not saying this is the case, nor condoning the man's actions, just playing devil's advocate here...

Baton training specifically states you never strike the head of an individual.

Cops are trained to strike the points of the body such as elbows, knees, shoulders, etc etc.

This cop needs to be off the streets.

Rule #1
LEO says "STOP"
you comply and stop.

Rule #2.
If LEO say stop and you TOUCH HIM, then expect to go to Rule #3

Rule #3
Expect to get the crap beat out of you, go to jail
and remember Rule #1

I won't be surprised when the guy "comes out of hiding" and that cop ends up dead.
It'll be spun like some travesty, and the guy will go down as a crazed terrorist.

I wonder how many other people that cop's beaten like that.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


Really, nobody can tell what happened, based on there being no audio. This video is from 2008, so this has taken a long time to get to court.

I will wait until there is more to this story, before passing judgement on who was right, or wrong.

Having lived in, and near a Chicago public housing area, for many years, I can say, these guys that have to guard these places, take their lives into their own hands every day, to do a job. Not an easy task, and the fact this supposed victim, was an Iraqi vet, does not give him the right to have an attitude with the coppers!

Here is an article about Cabrini Green, in Chicago. Way back when, people driving on expressways in Chicago past it, used to have pot shots taken at them from snipers in the place. How do I know? I have a friend that heard something while driving by there one day, and got home, to discover bullet holes in his car! People are being evicted outta the place now, because it's unsafe, but part of the problem has always been crime.

chicagoist.com...

Citing crime and safety issues as a primary concern, the Chicago Housing Authority issued 30-day eviction notices to the 31 families still living in the Cabrini-Green building at 1230 N. Larrabee Street.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


Yeah you are right...with no audio it is tough to call.
One thing I do agree with is what another poster wrote about obeying the police.
They are in control of the situation and you must follow orders and not touch them.
Now from what I saw in that video I think they need to learn to take control over themselves in situations like this.
That was too much force used without reason.

[edit on 23-6-2010 by DrumsRfun]

Is it expected that we the public have to be absolutely perfect in the presence of authorities or risk abuse?

What amount of questioning a policeman's actions is allowed, if any?? If a cop tries to stop me from going where I want to go, and I have done nothing wrong, to what extent can I resist? Only mildly, or very politely, or not at all?

Just because they have the clubs and weapons, does that give them carte blanche to do whatever they want, when you've inadvertently roused their suspicion but have done nothing wrong? I don't think it should mean that you have to genuflect, curtsy and generally kiss ass either.

Of course the sane thing to do is to be polite, answer questions, and generally cooperate, but to be human, nervous, afraid and do or say stupid things should not warrant billy clubbing.

Originally posted by wayno

Of course the sane thing to do is to be polite, answer questions, and generally cooperate, but to be human, nervous, afraid and do or say stupid things should not warrant billy clubbing.

Without knowing the full story, who's to say? This guy did not co-operate. For all we know, his Mom had a restraining order out against him.

Often not, there is more to a story, than is fully told, and while I don't like the fact this guy was beaten, we don't know the full gist.

Perhaps he had been warned not to visit there.

I guess we will all have to wait and see, with the results of the trial.

What the hell is a housing cop? Is it a rent a cop, i.e. security? Well I'm just glad I don't live in an area that needs a cop at the front door.

reply to post by Xtrozero


In Chicago, they used to be actual policemen that were assigned to the beat. Not sure if they have renta cops now, but the job is very dangerous.

Housing of that type in any city, is disgusting. People don't own it, so, it goes to crap, real soon, and unsavory types that are perpetual to that type of lifestyle are the tenants.

It's not as pleasant as when JJ Walker, made it look good in the sitcom! Very dangerous, and disgusting places. While not all tenants are bad, most are the proverbial dregs of society, especially inner city.

Originally posted by Violater1
Rule #1
LEO says "STOP"
you comply and stop.

Rule #2.
If LEO say stop and you TOUCH HIM, then expect to go to Rule #3

Rule #3
Expect to get the crap beat out of you, go to jail
and remember Rule #1

Sorry but more often than not, like in the video above, the cops are TOUCHING first.


Here's Rule #4:
If you're a d-bag cop and go around messing with people, harassing them and beating them for no good reason (and someone talking smack to you is NOT A GOOD REASON -- IT'S CALLED FREEDOM OF SPEECH ---PIG---) then guess what the people are going to do? I'll give you a hint: they're not going to bake you doughnuts.

While we don't know the details involved, clearly a strike to the face with a steel baton, followed up by 13(my count) strikes is brutal and excessive, imo. So many of these vids show other officers pulling the aggressive officer off of the subjects saying "that's enough, stop the beating partner," as if the officer doing the beating is out of control and can't stop himself. This is the attitude that does the most damage to public perception, an out of control authority figure excessively beating the hell out of someone. I would rather see a taser or pepper spray than a brutal beating. Before the officer struck the subject, the other officer was grabbing the subjects arms from behind. I am just saying a strike to the head of someone like that is out of line/control!

I realize also that cops are exposed to the worst aspects of society and I imagine most of them have a built up reservoir of disgust and frustration and sometimes an incident cracks their dam, releasing their angst all at once. I understand the pinned up frustration and I am grateful for leo's service overall, but the individuals that can't control themselves when the dam gives way need to be relieved of their duty.


Police Brutality: NYC Cop Beats War Veteran Senseless


Peace


[edit on 23-6-2010 by speculativeoptimist]

Originally posted by Blanca Rose

In Chicago, they used to be actual policemen that were assigned to the beat. Not sure if they have renta cops now, but the job is very dangerous.

Housing of that type in any city, is disgusting. People don't own it, so, it goes to crap, real soon, and unsavory types that are perpetual to that type of lifestyle are the tenants.

It's not as pleasant as when JJ Walker, made it look good in the sitcom! Very dangerous, and disgusting places. While not all tenants are bad, most are the proverbial dregs of society, especially inner city.

That is why I resit to comment on the situation. People react to their environment and what many of us see as harsh, brutal, extreme is everyday living to others. Today that cop is the bully and out of line, and tomorrow it could be him laying in a gutter because someone didn't like his looks. Hard way to live for everyone there....