Tape shows New Orleans cops beating black man

[Genesis]

How about innocent until proven guilty.  Why are you so quick to condemn the cops without all the evidence? 

Because it's not the cops that got beaten up is it? It's not like he had a weapon or anything. If he resisted arrest, does it take 4 officers to beat him up and subdue him? Don't think so...

[Charity Case]

pilferk, all semantics aside, the point being made here is we come to this board and see certain members start threads that deal with specific issues like cops beating someone in NO or mistreatment of prisoners of war in Iraq.?

Sure we start threads on such issues. But such threads form about 1% of our total posts. However, u (and some others here) seem to post only in these threads. How come I never see u post in any other section?

What other section is of interest? ?Please don't tell me that anything that happens in the GNR section is of interest. ?Only once in a blue moon is there anything to discuss. ?And the simple fact of the matter is that I rather enjoy the exchange here.

pilferk, your point is well taken and make sense. ?It just seems to me that certain posters get a kick out of being as anti-American as possible. ?I'm sure I'm not the only one who agrees with that. ?But as I said before, I enjoy the exchange here. ?It is good escapism during the day for 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there. ?I guess you are right that if we all agreed on a topic it would be over quickly. ?I just doubt that we woujld all agree on some of these topics that you think would have unanimous agreement. ?Maybe I'll start a thread one of these days and see.

[Genesis]

What other section is of interest?  Please don't tell me that anything that happens in the GNR section is of interest.

Yeah, this just so happens to be a 'Anti-Bush, Anti-Iraq' board. Forget other sections. I don't see u post in other threads even. Telling.

And the simple fact of the matter is that I rather enjoy the exchange here.

That's exactly it.

[pilferk]

What other section is of interest? ?Please don't tell me that anything that happens in the GNR section is of interest. ?Only once in a blue moon is there anything to discuss. ?And the simple fact of the matter is that I rather enjoy the exchange here.

pilferk, your point is well taken and make sense. ?It just seems to me that certain posters get a kick out of being as anti-American as possible. ?I'm sure I'm not the only one who agrees with that. ?But as I said before, I enjoy the exchange here. ?It is good escapism during the day for 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there. ?I guess you are right that if we all agreed on a topic it would be over quickly. ?I just doubt that we woujld all agree on some of these topics that you think would have unanimous agreement. ?Maybe I'll start a thread one of these days and see.

Yes, SLC (lets call the elephant in the corner the elephant, eh?) likes to "stir the pot", in a sense.? Again, it's not Anti-American...it's that he likes (no matter what he might say) the exchange he gets here.? He posts things he knows will garner discussion (and probably a bit of what he knows will inflame the conservatives).

Again, we could all post articles about things we'd all agree on...but not only would it be boring, the threads would be dead quickly.

How about we get back on topic before the mods YANK us back.

[gilld1]

An article in the paper this morning interviewed the victim and he said he was sober and just out looking for cigarettes.  He's a retired school teacher that was in NO to check on his house and possessions.  I'll agree that the police have been worked to death down there and they have not had time to collect themselves but it has been just as streesful for the residents too, so I don't think that excuse holds much water.

also, little has been said about the cop that attacked the press guy and cursed him out in a tirade.  The cops seemed bent on something....

[Buddy J.B.]

oh boy...... . After all these traumas in this world, why can't God watch Superman more often? I got a serious question though. Would all of you still think these cops were jerks if they beat up a white victim, chinese , italian, puerto-rican instead of an african-american? That seems like it's the only reason you hate the cops because they beat up a black man.

[SLCPUNK]

September 14 2003 at 06:30PM Would all of you still think these cops were jerks if they beat up a white victim, chinese , italian, puerto-rican instead of an african-american? That seems like it's the only reason you hate the cops because they beat up a black man.

Nobody said they hate cops.

Any man getting beat down by the cops I am against.....


Those on this thread say we should let the jury judge the police who did this. OK, the same should go for the person arrested. The jury should judge them, not the cops. They do not have the power to be the cop, judge, jury, and punisher all in one.

Fuck those cops who did this.

[Sterlingdog]

Keep in mind that the police actually have the right to hit people, if its necessary to subdue, arrest them, or for the officers own safety.  Most would rather not engage in fighting, because they get hurt too.  What a jury will decide is if the police used excessive force, that is, did what they did cross a line of what was necessary?  It certainly looks like that in this case, but unless you are on the jury watching the whole tape and hearing the evidence, you don't know. 

Most people only saw the same 10 seconds of the Rodney King tape and were lead to believe it went on and on in the same fashion.  Those of us who saw the whole tape actually saw a very different story.  That is why I believe the officers in that case were originally acquitted. 

Like I said, it sure looks bad for the officers involved.  And I hope they are dealt with appropriately.  But the simple fact that they were seen hitting someone doesn't make them guilty of using excessive force.  I haven't seen the entire tape yet, so I haven't made my own judgement, I'm just going by what I've heard. 

[SLCPUNK]

This guy is a 64 yr old elementry school teacher, that said he hasn't had a sip of alcohol in 25 years. Hey, even if he was out of line, did they really need to use that kind of force on a retired old guy?

Look at this guy....what a maniac!  I'm suprised they didn't have to taser him too......

[Sterlingdog]

Look at this guy....what a maniac!? I'm suprised they didn't have to taser him too......

They should have tasered him.  Then they wouldn't be in trouble.  Pepper spray works good too.  I'm all for taking out the bad guy with the least amount of danger to the police.  That doesn't mean I think they should beat the hell out of an innocent man.  But I have a hard time feeling sympathy for criminals.  The police might be wrong, and if so, they will be punished.  But I won't feel sorry for that guy.  No matter how sweet he looks.

[SLCPUNK]

Look at this guy....what a maniac!  I'm suprised they didn't have to taser him too......

  The police might be wrong, and if so, they will be punished.  But I won't feel sorry for that guy.  No matter how sweet he looks.

You don't feel bad that the old man was beat down by two cops?

[Sterlingdog]

You don't feel bad that the old man was beat down by two cops?

No not really.  What was he doing that they wanted to arrest him in the first place?  Because I'm quite certain he wasn't strolling down the street minding his own business.  I feel bad that a few cops who can't control their tempers make people think badly of all police.  That upsets me far more.

[SLCPUNK]

You don't feel bad that the old man was beat down by two cops?

No not really.  What was he doing that they wanted to arrest him in the first place?  Because I'm quite certain he wasn't strolling down the street minding his own business. 

I thought arrest meant innocent until proven guilty? Just because he was arrested doesn't mean he was guilty, giving a green light for an illegal beatdown.

What if that was your Dad getting beat? Would you still stay the same thing?

[Sterlingdog]

I thought arrest meant innocent until proven guilty? Just because he was arrested doesn't mean he was guilty, giving a green light for an illegal beatdown.

What if that was your Dad getting beat? Would you still stay the same thing?

First off, I didn't say he deserved it.  And I didn't say it was ok.  I just said I don't feel sorry for him.

My dad was a cop.  He doesn't put himself in situations where he's likely to get arrested.   And my entire life, my main concern was that my dad make it home every night.  And before anyone dare suggest he would beat anyone illegally, understand that he was an incredibly well respected officer in that community.  He's probably very bothered by this video and would disagree with me on this point.  He treated all people with respect, which is why he was a good cop and I never could be.  But for me,  what it comes down to is that a police officer's life is more valuable to me than a criminal's.  And I don't feel sympathy for people who get injured when they commit a crime.  I just don't.  Don't do anything wrong, then you don't have to worry about getting roughed up by a bad cop. 

[D]

I would have to see the video from the beginning

Cops have a dangerous job, my brother is a cop and he has been drug by a moving car down the highway at 50 miles an hour before


they risk their lives so I dont have to, so i say if they beat this guy, he probably deserved it.

most cops are good cops, some cross the line but when u are risking your life, I dont think I am the one to sit here and judge them.

I agree with Sterling here 100 percent.

Some of u on these boards are so ridiculous u make me laugh.

u dont know if a guy is gonna blow your head off when uwalk up to that car, u dont know if he is gonna stab u or what.

There are police academy rules

If a suspect resists arrests, u arrest them by any means necessary.

if he fought the cops, he got what he deserved.

most cops arent gonna beat someone for the hell of it.

If he hadnt resisted, he wouldnt have got beat.

people turn the video cameras on to capture the very end of things and it makes it look worse than it is.

Rodney King deserved to get beat worse than he did to be honest.

The cops are doing their jobs, they are under a lot of stress, and are dealing with a lot of dangerous people.

its easy to judge when u arent the one having to do the job.

I got all the respect in the world for cops and they shouldnt go to jail for this.

[Axl_owns_dexter]

Is one guy getting beaten by a cop really national news anyway?  Local news for sure.  However, the only thing this story is going to do is inflame black people across the country.  Especially when the media doesn't report the WHOLE story.  Sometimes the media has to take some type of responsibility for what they deem national news.  Sometimes I think the media actually wants an open race war with the way they report things.

[gilld1]

Yeah, it's the media's fault that the cops beat up an old man.  The way some of you guys rationalize a person getting beat is beyond me.  Nobody, regardless of color, religion, etc., deserves to get beat like this man or King.  When other officers are saying it was too much then you know it was, but yet some of you still defend the actions of cops.  Cops can't walk on water.  If it were a group of black cops beating a white old man what would you say? 

[D]

Some of u are so Naive


What if that guy was high on Crank or Meth?

guess what, he'd have the strength of ten men.

u werent there u dont know
U can watch part of a video and make a decision

thats bullshit.

other officers are tryin to cover their asses which is why they are sellin their brothers down the river.

if a cop beats someone, 90 percent of the time, its probably justified.

Im not saying there arent bad cops, but for 3 to do it in the open, i just believe the guy did something to provoke it.

[Rain]

Some of u are so Naive


What if that guy was high on Crank or Meth?

guess what, he'd have the strength of ten men.

Well if we know he hasn't been drinking for 25 years there are poor chances he was high on something.
And the guy was 64 

u werent there u dont know
U can watch part of a video and make a decision

thats bullshit.

other officers are tryin to cover their asses which is why they are sellin their brothers down the river.

if a cop beats someone, 90 percent of the time, its probably justified.

Im not saying there arent bad cops, but for 3 to do it in the open, i just believe the guy did something to provoke it.

I don't get it defending the cops to that point ... in Europe I guess that the beating on itself is blameworthy, guilty or not guilty the cops just don't have the right to beat up people.

[SLCPUNK]

I thought arrest meant innocent until proven guilty? Just because he was arrested doesn't mean he was guilty, giving a green light for an illegal beatdown.

What if that was your Dad getting beat? Would you still stay the same thing?

  He doesn't put himself in situations where he's likely to get arrested.   

That wasn't the point.