3 Cops Caught On Tape Brutally Beating Unarmed Michigan Man With No Apparent Provocation

[damnedifIknow]

On January 28, Floyd Dent was arrested in Inkster, Michigan and charged with resisting arrest, assault and possession of cocaine. The charges seemed unusual considering Dent had worked at Ford for 37 years and had no criminal history.

A video of Dent’s arrest, released today, reveals a far more disturbing picture. It shows Dent being dragged from his car, placed in a chokehold and struck 16 times in the head. Dent was also Tasered three times.

In all, 10 cops arrived at the scene. They were all white, according to Dent’s attorney. "

*According to the police, when Dent exited the car he said, “I’ll kill you.” There is no audio recording of the incident. The officer who had Dent in a chokehold says that Dent bit him, but he did not seek medical attention or photograph his alleged injury.

Dent says the bag of crack cocaine the officers claim they found was planted and, according to his attorney, there is unreleased video which shows the officers planting the drugs. The officer who repeatedly punched Dent was “was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for planting evidence and falsifying reports” in 2003. He was ultimately found not guilty.

“I’m lucky to be living. I think they was trying to kill me, especially when they had choked me. I mean, I was on my last breath. I kept telling the officer, ‘Please, I can’t breathe,’” Dent said in a media availability today. "

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/03/25/3639158/3-cops-caught-tape-brutally-beating-unarmed-michigan-man-no-apparent-provocation/

[Paulie]

1. Lucky to be alive

Given all the cops on scene wonder what the radio chatter was before the lights went on was.

[DetlefK]

2. #notallcops

[Ed Suspicious]

3. I agree. No Tall Cops should ever get away with this. No short ones either.

#goodcopswhoenablebadcopsarebadcops

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. Never thought I would smile in this thread, but. . .

[daleanime]

26. Humor definitely helps....

but I like your #tag better.

[uponit7771]

39. +1

[stillwaiting]

6. We have a HUGE problem with police culture throughout our nation, and THIS is your response.

No empathy. No compassion.

A defense of cops.

Cop culture props up and defends/shelters guys like those in this video just about everywhere in our country. Again, we have a huge problem.

[DetlefK]

10. First...

This: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NotAllMen

Second, I see no difference between the killer-cop and the child-molesting priest. Both memes originate from the extraordinary breach of trust perpetrated by a person whose sole purpose is being trusted. It's not the quantity of the crime, it's the quality.

Third, really, not all cops are bad. I've read an AMA with an anonymous cop and he was really nice and straightforward and sad about the bad apples ruining the reputation of cops. Out of the 20-30 questions, two were just: "Die, you pig!" You could feel the rage and disgust of those commenters towards the cop.

Fourth, the police being a part of society has upsides (empathy) and downsides (corruption):
http://www.cracked.com/article_22208_6-things-i-learned-broke-police-force-in-lawless-town.html



It all boils down to the one question. Always the same question.
"Who watches the watchmen?"

[Yo_Mama]

15. Indeed it does. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

I quote Juvenal not to be pedantic but to point out how long this question has been around.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quis_custodiet_ipsos_custodes%3F

Bad cops are a danger to good cops as well as the public, but we're not doing that well at weeding out bad cops.

[DetlefK]

22. Would we even want a solution?

There have been computer-simulations how to reduce the number of gun-related crimes in a society. Surprise: The best solution was to keep guns out of the hands of civilians. But the US will never see this implemented because tradition has a higher priority than desired results.

Now, imagine there were a way to put "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" into mathematical terms (philosophic computation is an obscure emerging scientific field, only a few years old).
Imagine we would find a solution, but that solution would require us to completely restructure our society, moving away from the time-tested concepts of executive, legislative, judicature, ruler and ruled.
Would we rather destroy and rebuild everything we know or would we decide that it's too much effort and costs too much money and is just a conspiracy and after all God said that...

[Yo_Mama]

24. Yes, we would want a solution.

Because we will never get rid of a society with malefactors. There is a natural rate of mental disturbance/imbalance, then you have young thrill-seekers, etc.

And I greatly distrust computer simulations. They embody and legitimize the assumptions involved, which don't always work out in practice.

The UK did pretty well at removing guns, but they have a growing violence problem, some with guns and some without. You don't remove violence from a culture by removing one of the weapons involved.

The training for older police officers was quite different - I think it is possible to change police culture, but it will be a slow and difficult process.

[Savannahmann]

34. There is a problem with your assertion.

First, it is exceedingly rare to see one police officer testify that the use of force was not justified. Normally, they cooperate in the activity, and write similar lies in the reports to back up the others. Now, if most cops are "good" how could the bad cops expect to get away with it? In these videos do they turn and look around to make sure the other cops around them are the ones who will back up the activity?

In this incident five police officers all told the same story, but the five officers were from two different departments. Obviously there was little chance of an opportunity for collusion beforehand. Little chance of the opportunity to get to know the others well to insure they would fall in line. So obviously, falling in line is the norm, and stepping outside is the exception.

It's the situation of routine lies. Police regularly shout things hoping the camera doesn't see well or that witnesses will report what the officer was shouting to justify the violence.

In this video the police have a hand signal for planting evidence. So the action is so routine it is known to the officers by a hand signal.

In this one, the dashcam shows that the man is sitting there hands up in total surrender. Yet the police continue to shout that he's reaching for their guns, and resisting as they pummel him.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/police-dash-cam-video-exonerates-nj-man-implicates-cops-article-1.1701763

Now I admit it's not all cops. In one incident, the police testified that the one who fired was not justified in doing so. Yet, despite the testimony of four police officers, all of whom had a good view of the incident, the officer who murdered an unarmed man has not been charged, because the department refused to cooperate with the DA investigation.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026179292

So even when we have an obvious murder, no arrest much less a conviction because the Department shall not be judged.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026402791

Any questions?

[raven mad]

64. The blue line stands.

Unfortunately.

[bvar22]

61. In the USA, we have organizations to "watch the Watchnm,

this is the task assigned to Internal Affairs.
Unfortunately, in most cities, IA has been captured by the criminals,
and is just another step in the cover-ups.

[uponit7771]

31. It should be #allCopsHaveAccountability not something to displace blame away from the bad apples

[Spitfire of ATJ]

4. I'm picturing US cops going over to England....

Can you imagine the reaction to seeing them pile on someone over there like they're former high school wrestlers?

[bonniebgood]

9. Im always had the picture in my mind as "pile on" like a bunch of wild

dangerous lions strategically surrounding and piling on attacking their prey.
cop in question was charged in '2003' for planting drugs on suspect and found not guilty? by the justice department? why wasn't he charged with illegal drug possession? better still why is he still on the job. This IS the problem. They can't get rid of their own bad apples. Mayors, cant do it, city government cant do it. the DOJ can't do it. It's going to be the public to do it period.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1wski9_lions-dangerous-attack-on-animals-lions-fighting-to-death_animals

[notadmblnd]

17. he was fired from the Detroit Police force. He went down the road to Inkster and they hired

him.

[uponit7771]

32. +1

[bemildred]

7. Perverts, bullies, and criminal gangs operating under color of authority.

That is our police, and that is the drug war.

[notadmblnd]

8. if you go to clickondetroit.com there is video and it clearly shows a cop pulling a baggie

out of his pocket. Also, this cop (known to Detroiters as Robocop) was fired from the Detroit Police force as a result of his brutal actions while working for the city.

This is exactly what happens with these pigs. Abusive cop leaves or gets fired from one place then skip on down the road to the next town.

[bonniebgood]

11. why isn't it illegal for a cop to possess illegal drugs? there is only

3 things, all illegal he can do with it. Use, Sell or Plant.

[notadmblnd]

14. That's a damn good question, hopefully the guys attorney is sharp enough to ask that question today

They have a meeting scheduled with the city of Inkster's attorneys

[notadmblnd]

16. I believe the judge in this case has already dismissed all charges against Mr. Dent

Somehow, I don't think these cops are going to get away with this one.

[daleanime]

28. Good lord, I hope not.....

[notadmblnd]

52. Mr. Dent is the victim here and yes, I am almost certain that the judge dismissed the charges

[daleanime]

56. Mr. Dent isn't the one(s) who should be infront of a judge.....

[notadmblnd]

57. I agree. But I do think the cop will be standing in front of one soon.

[damnedifIknow]

30. I hope you're right

I've thought that same thing before though and was severely disappointed.

[uponit7771]

36. The cop will given a paid vacation, promoted, given a medal and heralded among his peers...

...and in the end offered large sums of money.

That's the rule, the exception is accountability

[notadmblnd]

51. I think he's gonna do some time

Michigan isn't Missouri. Both the officers that beat Malice Green to death about 10 years ago, got time, I think this one will too.

[99Forever]

12. Fucking pigs.

(With apologies to actual porkers.)

Think of this the next time they ask you to show concern for them.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

40. yes

the ones that do not stand against this are just as guilty

[Dont call me Shirley]

13. Floyd...

This is getting so old with these violent abuser skinhead cops. Somebody send them to rehab for anger/rage disorder, please!

[marym625]

19. They should all be incarcerated

[Dont call me Shirley]

21. Agreed, marym. Incarceration as it is today just makes people worse. They are not rehabilitated.

They come out of prison better criminals.

We need to develop effective means of rehabilitation. We need to develop programs that actually help people heal so that they may want to work to become better people who help their communities become better places to live.

Criminality must fall out of popularity! Good must become cool again!

[marym625]

18. When the FUCK will this end?!

This is outrageous. Inexcusable.

The Christian zealots that are screaming about ISIS killing Christians should be screaming about this. More people of color are beaten and killed by law enforcement right here than ISIS has killed Christians.

Why isn't the DoJ doing something? Why isn't our government doing something? A really great speech in Selma about civil rights is all well and good. But when nothing is done about the worst acts of racism in our country, it means absolutely nothing. Worse yet, it makes the speech an outright lie.

We beat, arrest, convict and incarcerate people of color, black men more than others, at an alarming, despicable rate. The fact that whites do more drugs and are stopped and arrested less often, should be all that is needed to look at every single cop, prosecutor and judge that has an uneven ratio in each of those areas

This has to end!

K&R and thank you for your post

[Takket]

20. "officer who had Dent in a chokehold says that Dent bit him"

yeah, bullshit.

The cop probably put his arm over Dent's face while Dent was screaming for mercy and pressed it against his teeth, and this was "biting" to the cop.

[turbinetree]

23. Failure

Why isn't there a public review board independent of this stuff, you have an organization investigating its own self, that like having the fox in the chicken house, and they wonder why people don't trust the law---go figure.
Let me get this correct an officer was under suspension of planting drugs and got off ---why?
How many other arrests has he been involved in when there are drugs, he already has the one proverbial strike.
And he now is sitting behind a desk, ---really.
In the private world of business, you sign a code of ethics, take diversity classes sign that, do other measures to meet the compliance of law's and business operations so that the company is in compliance with the civil rights of the employees ---is there something wrong with this picture.

[uponit7771]

35. This is the low hanging fruit answer IMHO to stopping these often recorded abuses by LEOs...

... an independent review board of citizens not connected to the PA or the LEOs

[Android3.14]

25. The investigation on practices in Ferguson needs to occur nationwide

I'm reading the March graphic novels about the civil rights movement, and it is time once again for good people to stand up to these systemic abuses of poor people and persons of color.

[Rex]

27. Roaming bands of klansmen with badges and guns.

He is VERY lucky to be alive.

[uponit7771]

37. +1

[azmom]

55. +1

[beam me up scottie]

29. One officer “was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for planting evidence and falsifying reports”

The officer who repeatedly punched Dent was “was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for planting evidence and falsifying reports” in 2003. He was ultimately found not guilty.

Of course he wasn't guilty.

What does a cop have to do to lose his job?

[uponit7771]

38. Join Isis and execute someone without a face mask in front of a judge while carrying a nuke

... I don't know...

At this point I don't see it ever happening with the current infrastructure

[beam me up scottie]

41. And even then he'd only have to go down the road to get another one.

Absolutely disgusting.

[uponit7771]

42. YES!! I just read that... omg, how in the world!?! Are the PDs that short of staff?!!?!?

[beam me up scottie]

43. You mentioned accountability above.

That's a big part of the problem, "It was one bad cop! How were we supposed to know?"

[damnedifIknow]

44. Makes a person wonder if Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde is pulling them over

No way of knowing for sure.

[beam me up scottie]

45. If you're a black man it's probably going to be Hyde.

Ten of them in this case.

Thank the FSM for cell phone video.

[Xyzse]

58. Be clean, and stand up for someone being beaten?

[beam me up scottie]

59. That would certainly make him a target for other cops.

Not that it wouldn't be a refreshing change...

[Xyzse]

65. Yep, that just sounds sad.

[Octafish]

33. That is how police now treat citizens as a matter of routine.

Who do they think they are?

[libdem4life]

46. I am so weary of knowing the race of the "criminal" even before the article

is read. Second, and to me the most disturbing of all, is that these cops are behaving like this knowing full well they are being taped.

Add to video and audio, Civilian Review mandatory for any injury requiring medical assistance, along with officer accountability (paying for hospital bills or lost work, for instance) and suing the PD would cure this situation quickly.

Just how long does it take to "investigate" this? Answer: until the community forgets about it. The Chief also referred to an innocent man as The Prisoner.

I know, I'm a dreamer...but it's something to move toward.

[joeybee12]

47. Oh come on, this never happens...

in other western countries, that is.

I hope the guy sues the efff out of them.

[Comrade Grumpy]

48. Shit like this makes it hard to have any sympathy for cops whatsoever.

Karma's a bitch, officer.

[salin]

49. nauseating.

How many times does this have to play out?

None of the arriving officers intervene?

Nope - let's taze the guy - this one cop is beating him down so it must be justified.

Just nauseating.

[progressoid]

50. Fuck.

[Liberal_in_LA]

53. kick for justice for beating victim

[hifiguy]

54. It's that 90% of worthless rotten shitheel kkkops

that ruin things for the other 10%.

Banksters and kkkops are the only two legally protected classes of criminals. NO accountability, EVER, and they continue on their merry way doing the same horrible shit over and over.

[Savannahmann]

60. Modern Police work.

Beat some people half to death, shoot some people for "sudden motions" and plant some evidence. More people are learning, and more people are getting outraged.

[realFedUp]

62. Kick

Coz outside all the other news, this needs consequences.

[raven mad]

63. So, here we are, 15 years into the 21st Century -

and this SHIT still happens.

I am wondering if there is any hope left alive in this old world. I keep wishing, just keep on..........

[damnedifIknow]

66. Why would a person do something like this?

I've asked that question before and the only thing I can come up with is mental illness. Why was he hired in the first place by this PD knowing his history? What about background checks and tests to determine his mental fitness? I don't know but in my book it would take someone superbly mentally unfit to do this to another human being just for the hell of it.