Speaking of random acts of violence, here’s some lovely footage of an aptly-titled ‘Derby Beat Down,’ wherein three Louisville Metro Police officers beat the living shit out of a harmless drunk.
It appears as though excessive force was employed, and according to WLKY, LMPD Chief Robert White is officially looking into it.
The lesson? Just yell ‘Rape!’ at the top of your lungs and hope for the best…
6 Comments
whoa! slow down there. based on my viewing of the video, it appears that the guy was drunk out of his mind and was wandering around bugging people. It appears that the cops had warned him, culminating in them coming to haul him off to the drunk tank (a common infield occurrence). The cops used force (they are allowed to use force sometimes) when he resisted. Once he was cuffed, they hauled him away. That is based on what I saw. My sense is that you have no idea that there is a difference between “force” and “excessive force.” Do you believe that the police should be able, from time to time, to use force to subdue a suspect? Or should they simply walk away when someone acts like this guy? I am not a fan of the police in general, but come on now. Have you ever been to the Derby infield? The inmates literally run the asylum.
H Watterson: “My sense is that you have no idea that there is a difference between “force” and “excessive force.” Do you believe that the police should be able, from time to time, to use force to subdue a suspect? … Have you ever been to the Derby infield? ”
At the risk of splitting some ethically-gray hairs:
(1) Yes, there is a difference. It’s the same one that separates successfully pinning an obnoxious drunk belly first onto the ground from punching the helpless bastard in the neck after he’s no longer a threat. (Even if he wasn’t fully co-operating, wouldn’t a shot of mace have been better than the Mike Tyson approach? This is probably why the LMPD are “forced” to look into it)
(2) Of course the police should be able to apprehend people with force; criminals generally dislike being apprehended. That doesn’t mean they have the right to be dicks about it and hit a man when he’s down.
(3) Yes, I’ve been to the infield, and I will never go back.
Is someone screaming “Quit biting” over and over?…I couldn’t tell- but if the guy was biting an officer, that is definitely a factor that shouldn’t be overlooked.
I thought the cop was saying “fighting,” not “biting.” Certainly didn’t look like he was fighting.
I heard “quit fighting”.
I also can’t really believe all the bystanders laughing. I don’t expect anyone to try and physically defend the man by any means, but you’d have to be pretty sick* to watch that happen and think it’s funny.
*drunk?
Also, just noticed the knee to the back of the neck. That is how you accidentally kill someone. That cop is lucky that he was just caught on video, and not with a dead/ permanently disabled inmate on his hands.