Oregon Cop Convicted Of Shattering Biker’s Collarbone With Kick Forgot Dashcam Was On

[KamaAina]

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2016/01/26/oregon-cop-convicted-of-shattering-bikers-collarbone-with-kick-forgot-dashcam-was-on-video/

In a baffling fit of rage, an Oregon State Police officer has been convicted of ramming his car into a stopped motorcyclist then kicking the dazed man so hard in the chest that he would need a metal plate and screws to repair his shattered collarbone and ribs. What State Police Captain Rob Edwards didn’t know was that his department have installed a functioning dashboard camera. It captured the entire shocking scene.

The 2012 incident with a chase that the victim says he didn’t know was happening. The first he learned of Edwards’ presence was when the cop was running directly into the back of his motorcycle, spilling the man from his bike. The man gets up with his hands raised only to find Edwards rushing at him with his pistol held sideways, probably imitating something he saw in a movie. The biker, identified as Justin Wilkens, barely had time to say “What did I do?” before Edwards kicked him square in the chest with such force that Wilkens would later learn he broke his collarbone and several ribs.

Edwards would later say that he was “frustrated” with Wilkens for not complying to his demands sooner (how?), and that he didn’t realize his car was equipped with a functioning dashcam....

It’s not hard to see why the dashcam was a bitter pill for Edwards — thanks to the footage his trial lasted all of three days and he was promptly convicted. He and his department will now have to pay $180,000 in damages. Bizarrely, Wilkens could have received more but the jury decided that a cop pointing a pistol at his head didn’t constitute psychological damages. How militarized has law enforcement become in America? A cop aiming sideways guns at complying suspects is now considered so routine that courts are suggesting people just get used to it.

[uppityperson]

1. Here's the link to the dashcam vid. Glad they have those.

[SheilaT]

2. While nothing justifies the kick,

the motorcyclists at least twice passes vehicles when he has a double solid line in the middle of the road. Plus, it looks like he may be speeding rather egregiously. Did the cop have his siren on? Can someone wearing a helmet like that simply not hear a cop? Don't motorcycles have review mirrors so that if the cop had his flashers on they could be seen?

However, things like this are why all police cars should have dashboard cameras.

[Quantess]

3. I also questioned the biker's judgment, but a plain old ticket would suffice.

No excuse for the kick, or for the gun pointed to his head.

Where was that, Salem?

[SheilaT]

4. I have no idea where in Oregon this took place.

But yeah, a ticket would have been good enough. Or maybe, just maybe, there are times a cop can just stop pursuing.

[tkmorris]

5. Why do you say "nothing justifies the kick"

Only to follow it up by listing things which some might use to justify the cop's actions? Those things are completely irrelevant. It makes absolutely no difference at all what this man was doing, or whether he heard anything. None. Zero.

[Bonx]

6. "State police investigated the incident...

and determined that the force used by Edwards was justified"

Don't know if I should laugh or cry ? :/

"Edwards acknowledged in his testimony that Wilkens had begun to comply with his commands when he landed the kick, but said he was unable to stop the kick because he “already had the muscles fired” in his right leg."



"Edwards also said he accidentally “bumped” the back end of Wilkens’ motorcycle as a result of possible “brake fade” — a term used to describe the loss of braking power because of overheating. But Regan reminded jurors in a closing argument that a brake expert testified at trial that brake fade rarely occurs in modern brake systems."

[lpbk2713]

7. But ... but ... he thought his life was in danger.

That's what they always said before dash cams.