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COPS behaving badly

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bob
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#126

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Re: COPS behaving badly

#127

Post by RTH10260 »

Must be a very localized heat wave to affect only their police cruisers :think:
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#128

Post by neonzx »

RTH10260 wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 12:01 pm Must be a very localized heat wave to affect only their police cruisers :think:
Must have been. I live in south Florida and I've *never* seen police lift the hood of their vehicles even when they sit idling at a call for an extended time (ie >30 minutes).
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#129

Post by tek »

back in Mass it was very common to see State Police on boondoggle construction site road safety detail with the cruiser's hood popped slightly.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#130

Post by sugar magnolia »

It depends on which engine the cars have. Our local cop cars don't have to pop the hood (except the K-9 units) because we use off-the-lot vehicles. No need for the super charged interceptor engines because our cops can't participate in pursuits. The Highway Patrol does have the big engines and if they are stationary for an extended period they pop the hood. Nothing nefarious about it at all. Cop cars have a ton of electronics that put a strain on the system if not handled properly and nobody wants to be responsible for taking a patrol unit down for repairs.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#131

Post by LM K »

This is disturbing.

And yes, the cop lied in his amended complaint. He said he couldn't see the teen's hands ... video shows a very different story.

He can't.

Video at the link.

A Florida state trooper
repeatedly shocked a teen with a Taser in an incident the boy’s mother called cruel and unjustified.

On June 16, Jack Rodeman, 16, cut through bushes in his Fort Myers neighborhood to his girlfriend’s backyard, something the teens do often to see each other, his mother, Kristina Rodeman, told The Washington Post in an interview.

Florida Highway Patrol trooper George Smyrnios saw the teen dip into the bushes that day and followed him because he looked suspicious, according to arrest reports reviewed by WINK News.

After being stunned with the Taser, the teen was arrested and faces charges of loitering, marijuana possession and a criminal traffic citation for disobeying an officer.

The trooper’s actions, which were captured on video, come at a time of intense focus on police practices and interactions with communities of color. Kristina Rodeman, who is White, said her biracial son was racially profiled.

“Even if he wasn’t, the trooper’s actions were egregious, unjustified and cruel, and just absolutely outrageous,” Rodeman’s attorney, Derek Tyler, said, adding that “what he did was torture a child with no justification.”

An administrative review of the incident is ongoing, according to Aaron Keller, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

It is unclear whether Smyrnios has retained legal representation.

Video obtained by The Post begins with Jack Rodeman explaining to Smyrnios that his girlfriend lives at the residence and was going to come outside.

Smyrnios, with his Taser aimed, tells Rodeman that he didn’t follow instructions and then orders the teen to turn around.

Rodeman continues to use his phone, telling the trooper that he needs to call his girlfriend, when the trooper commands the 16-year-old to put his hands behind his back.

“I didn’t do nothing,” Rodeman says, while looking down at his phone.

Within seconds, Smyrnios uses the Taser on Rodeman, who falls and hits a brick fire pit.

As the teen writhes in agony on the ground, Smyrnios inches closer to him and instructs him to put his hands behind his back.

“I’m going to do it again,” Smyrnios says, and then releases another jolt.


Rodeman is handcuffed on the ground when his girlfriend comes out of her home and asks the officer what he is doing, saying her boyfriend is allowed in the backyard.

“For some reason, you think you can do exactly what you want to do, and you can’t,” Smyrnios says to Rodeman, with his girlfriend standing by and holding her face.

Smyrnios wrote in two arrest reports on the incident that the teen looked suspicious when Rodeman headed into the bushes and that he had personal knowledge of burglaries happening in the neighborhood.

In an amended arrest report, Smyrnios wrote that he couldn’t see Rodeman’s hands and that he was concerned that the teen had a gun, WINK News reported.


Kristina Rodeman said she was shocked when she saw the surveillance video, saying state troopers told her a different story.

“I didn’t know my son fell down, let alone hit bricks,” she said.

Kristina Rodeman said her son still has head and neck pain, although X-rays didn’t show injury to his spine.

The single mother of Jack and a 12-year-old daughter said she has had conversations with her son about how to interact with police but that he still gets “mouthy” with officials.

Because of previous run-ins, Jack is required to be detained for up to 21 days for the encounter, according to Tyler.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#132

Post by neonzx »

LM K wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 3:52 pm This is disturbing.

And yes, the cop lied in his amended complaint. He said he couldn't see the teen's hands ... video shows a very different story.

He can't.

Video at the link.
That's paywalled.

Here is the video for free:



He smacks his head on that firepit hard enough to knock one of the bricks off. :shock:
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#133

Post by LM K »

Thanks for posting the video, Neonzx! I tried to find a good one to post for non-subscribers of WaPo but didn't find anything I liked.

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Re: COPS behaving badly

#134

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Re: COPS behaving badly

#135

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Paterson cop charged with beating suspect didn’t activate body camera, authorities say
A Paterson police officer charged with assaulting a domestic violence suspect didn’t activate his body camera during the alleged attack, but it was recorded by another officer, according to court documents filed in the case.

Spencer Finch, 44, of Mahwah, faces aggravated assault and official misconduct charges in the May 26 incident in which a man was beaten and arrested in the hallway of an apartment building.

An affidavit of probable cause filed in support of the charges states Finch and another officer found the victim “out of control” and arguing loudly with the mother of his children.

In his report, Finch wrote that he told the man he was under arrest for making terroristic threats and ordered him to put his hands behind his back, but the suspect took an aggressive stance and clenched his fist.

Finch described the suspect as placing a hand around his torso, struggling and punching and kicking him for several minutes, authorities said. Once handcuffed, the man tried to headbutt Finch, who then kneed the man in the chin, Finch said in his report, according to authorities.

“Officer Finch (said) he did not activate his body worn camera ‘due to the severity and the fear that imminent harm and bodily injury would occur if the defendant gained entry into the apartment,’” the affidavit of probable cause states.


However, body camera video from another Paterson police officer at the scene captured a different scenario than what Finch described in his report.

The video shows the man “agitated, pacing and screaming into his cellphone, but he maintains his distance from the officers,” according to the affidavit.

“Officer Finch, in full uniform, advances on (the suspect). Finch does not tell him he is under arrest, nor does he tell him to put his hands behind his back,” states the affidavit.

Instead, Finch struck the suspect with an overhead, open-palmed strike to the face, authorities said. When the man fell to the floor, Finch struck him several times with his flashlight, the affidavit states.

When the man’s hands were cuffed behind his back and he was sitting in the hallway against a wall, he told Finch to “look me in my eye,” authorities said. That’s when Finch knees him in the face or chest, the affidavit states.

The man was taken to a nearby medical facility where he was treated for a cut to his chin and soreness to a shoulder, the affidavit states.

The flashlight Finch hit the suspect with “is not authorized by the Paterson Police Department,” authorities said.

Finch, who is also charged with tampering with public documents and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose
, is suspended from the Paterson Police Department without pay.

He is scheduled to appear at a detention hearing Wednesday in Superior Court of Passaic County, officials said.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#136

Post by LM K »

Spencer is facing 15 years.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/n ... s/3102967/


Finch has a record of using excessive force.

Paterson cop arrested on misconduct, assault charges
Paterson police officer Spencer Finch was arrested Friday on charges that he assaulted someone while on duty in late May and then filed a false report about what happened, authorities announced.

Finch allegedly struck the victim in the face, then hit the person multiple times with a flashlight and kneed the victim in the face, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.
:snippity:
Finch has been charged with official misconduct, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and tampering with public records. Finch, 44, of Mahwah, started working as a Paterson cop in 2003. His salary is $106,736, according to city records.

“Officer Finch maintains his innocence to the charges filed against him,” said Anthony J. Iacullo, his lawyer. “He has served the Patterson Police Department and the residents of that city for over a decade and a half. It is not my practice to comment on the specific facts relative to any case at this preliminary stage. With that said, we are confident that Officer Finch will be exonerated of the allegations against him.”

Finch becomes the third city cop within the past two months charged with using excessive force against members of the public. At the end of April, the FBI arrested two officers – Kevin Patino and Kendry Tineo-Restituyo – accusing them of assaulting a 19-year-old man in December and filing a bogus report to cover up their alleged wrongdoing.
:snippity:
Finch has been suspended without pay, the mayor said. Finch would resume collecting his pay after 30 days and then go on administrative leave, under provisions of Paterson's police union contracts.

Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim “Mike” Baycora could not be reached for comment.

During the past 13 years, Finch has been the target of four federal lawsuits accusing him of using excessive force against citizens.

In one of those cases, which happened in 2011, video recordings taken by home security cameras showed a group of about a dozen Paterson cops kick and beat two handcuffed shooting suspects who were prone on the pavement.
Paterson approved a $610,000 settlement in that lawsuit.

Two of the cases, which involved incidents in 2008 and 2011, were dismissed in the federal courts.

The fourth lawsuit is still pending. In that instance, the alleged victim, Justin Montgomery, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in November 2019 against Finch and the Paterson Police Department.

Montgomery said in his lawsuit that he and some friends were at the Quicks Deli in South Paterson on Dec. 22, 2018 when the store’s manager accused one of them of stealing ice cream. The manager then allowed Montgomery and the others to go to their van to get a receipt proving they had bought the ice cream, the lawsuit said.

While Montgomery and the others were inside the van, they suddenly were surrounded by police vehicles and confronted by officers with their guns drawn, the lawsuit said.

Finch allegedly grabbed Montgomery by a chain around his neck, yanked him out of the van and pushed him against a wall, the lawsuit said. Finch and other cops allegedly then struck Montgomery with hard objects – possibly flashlights or nightsticks. The lawsuit said the officers yelled, “Where are the drugs and guns?”

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Re: COPS behaving badly

#137

Post by sugar magnolia »

15 years works for me.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#138

Post by LM K »

Greeley police officer charged with assault for using chokehold on suspect

Greeley police officer
faces felony assault charges after two of his fellow officers reported he used a chokehold on a man he was arresting on a warrant.

Weld County prosecutors on Monday charged Officer Ken Amick with felony strangulation in connection with the arrest earlier this month of a man who threatened to burn down a municipal building.

Colorado legislators in June 2020 passed a law that bans law enforcement from using chokeholds

On June 7, Amick responded to the City Center North building after someone activated a panic alarm. Arriving officers learned the man also was making threats of arson, according to a news release from the Greeley Police Department.

Amick learned the man was wanted on a warrant and took him into custody in the lobby of City Hall, according to the release. As Amick walked the man out of the building, the man became agitated and complained of his handcuffed wrists hurting, police said.

“Officer Amick suddenly placed (the man) into a chokehold,” the news release states. “After several seconds, (the man) showed ill effects from this hold while being placed on the ground. A second officer attempted to intervene during this initial encounter.”

The man recovered from the chokehold and continued to walk to a patrol car. Amick then used knee strikes against the man’s leg after the man tried to grab his hand, the release states.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#139

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Former deputy Zachary Wester convicted on drug planting charges, taken to jail in handcuffs
JEFF BURLEW | Tallahassee Democrat

MARIANNA — Nearly three years after former North Florida deputy Zachary Wester first faced suspicions that he secretly planted drugs on innocent motorists, jurors convicted him on numerous charges in the crooked cop case.

A six-person jury on Tuesday split its decision, finding Wester guilty on 19 counts involving three of his alleged victims and not guilty on 48 other counts involving the other nine victims.

The jury announced its decision after deliberating more than seven hours Monday and Tuesday. In all, Wester was convicted on charges of racketeering, official misconduct, fabricating evidence, false imprisonment and possession of controlled substances and drug paraphernalia.

A six-person jury reached a verdict today in the drug-planting trial of former Jackson County Sheriff's Office deputy Zachary Wester.
Wester, 28, who has been out of jail on bond since his arrest in July 2019, showed little emotion as the jurors read the verdict for each of the 67 counts against him. Afterward, Jackson Circuit Judge James Goodman asked the defendant to stand up.

"Based on the verdict reached ... I am going to go ahead and adjudicate you guilty," Goodman told him.



https://eu.tallahassee.com/story/news/l ... 143472001/
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#140

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A Teen Was Having Car Trouble. A Sheriff’s Deputy Shot and Killed Him.
During a traffic stop last week, an Arkansas sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a teenage boy who was only armed with a neon-blue jug of antifreeze, family members told VICE News.

Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Michael Davis stopped 17-year-old Hunter Brittain near Cabot, Arkansas, at about 3 a.m. last Wednesday, and it’s still unclear why. Hunter had been having trouble with his truck when Davis pulled in behind him outside of a local auto repair shop and flashed his emergency lights, according to the account of a 16-year-old riding with Hunter at the time. When Hunter went to put the antifreeze behind his back tire so his vehicle wouldn’t roll into the officer’s, Davis allegedly fired at him.

“Before he could get there, he was shot in the neck,” Hunter’s uncle, Jesse Brittain, told VICE News. “We can’t begin to understand why he would take a shot at that boy.”

“We’re not going to stop until we have some answers, some justice,” he added.

The boy’s death has since sparked protests outside the sheriff’s office located near Little Rock. A Twitter post briefly detailing the shooting also went hugely viral over the weekend.

Early on June 23, before Davis stopped Hunter, an aspiring NASCAR driver from McRae, Arkansas, the teen had been fixing up his truck so he could make it to work on time, Jesse Brittain said.

Hunter had just fixed his transmission and taken the truck out for a test drive when Davis pulled him over, according to the teen riding with Hunter and his uncle’s knowledge of the incident.

“The shifting linkage in the truck was messed up, so when they pulled up, the truck was rolling back,” Jesse Brittain told VICE News.

That’s why Hunter went to get the antifreeze.

After Davis fired, Hunter “sustained a gunshot wound
and was transported to a North Little Rock hospital, where he later died,” the Arkansas State Police said in a short statement last week.

Jordan King, the teen with Hunter the night of the incident, told local ABC affiliate KATV that Davis didn’t say anything to Hunter before shooting him. Another deputy showed up and handcuffed King for hours, though Jesse Brittain said the teen, who’s also a family member, was never charged with any crime.

“All they were doing was working on the truck,” Jesse Brittain said.

Rebecca Payne, Hunter’s grandmother and his guardian at the time, told VICE News that authorities have told her little about what happened to her grandson. It wasn’t even the sheriff’s office that told her Hunter had been shot, but other people who were at the property where he was killed, she said.

“I guess I don’t trust any police right now,” Payne said. “Won’t nobody tell us anything. The body hasn’t been released. None of the information has been released to us. We’ve been told a lot of different things.”

Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley said in a video statement posted to his office’s Facebook page last week that “like everyone, I want to know exactly what happened.” He added that Arkansas State Police will investigate and that his office has provided the agency with body-cam footage, though it’s unclear how much of the incident was captured. The family has not seen any body-cam video.

“In potentially dangerous situations, deputies are often forced to make split-second decisions,” Staley said. “Second-guessing those decisions, especially when the facts are still unclear, is dangerous and unfair.”

But Staley also pledged to hold any deputy who broke the law or his office’s policies accountable. Davis is currently on administrative leave.

“We all want the truth. We all want justice. But I humbly ask everyone to avoid rushing to judgment until the investigation is over,” Staley said. “Sadly, on social media, some people are demanding I take action without waiting for evidence. That’s irresponsible, and I won’t do it.”
:snippity:
Ummm. Why does seeing a teen with a bottle of anti-freeze require a "split-second" decision? There's no indication that the teen was running at the cop swinging the bottle of anti-freeze in a dangerous manner.

Is it time to tell people to put up their hands as they exit a car and then slowly lay down on the ground when they see a cop?
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#141

Post by neeneko »

And, of course, if the truck DID roll towards the officer, police would claim he was trying to assault them and at best arrest him and at worse shoot him anyway.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#142

Post by Dave from down under »

Shoot him and the other child and then every witness for good measure.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#143

Post by sugar magnolia »

LM K wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:38 pm

Ummm. Why does seeing a teen with a bottle of anti-freeze require a "split-second" decision? There's no indication that the teen was running at the cop swinging the bottle of anti-freeze in a dangerous manner.

Is it time to tell people to put up their hands as they exit a car and then slowly lay down on the ground when they see a cop?
No, but he may have reached over into the bed of the truck with his hands out of view. We don't have enough information to know what happened.

I'm withholding judgment on this one until there is more information available from someone other than the kid in the truck and the uncle.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#144

Post by Patagoniagirl »

sugar magnolia wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:27 pm
LM K wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:38 pm

Ummm. Why does seeing a teen with a bottle of anti-freeze require a "split-second" decision? There's no indication that the teen was running at the cop swinging the bottle of anti-freeze in a dangerous manner.

Is it time to tell people to put up their hands as they exit a car and then slowly lay down on the ground when they see a cop?
No, but he may have reached over into the bed of the truck with his hands out of view. We don't have enough information to know what happened.

I'm withholding judgment on this one until there is more information available from someone other than the kid in the truck and the uncle.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#145

Post by John Thomas8 »

bob wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 11:58 am
That picture is from 2016. Weird.

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Re: COPS behaving badly

#146

Post by neonzx »

Strange case. Their not even publicly disclosing why the deputy stopped Hunter --- just saying a "traffic stop". :? :roll:

Something stinks and I understand why the family is demanding transparency and answers. -- it's been a week.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#147

Post by Uninformed »

Oops!

If you can't lie to yourself, who can you lie to?
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#148

Post by LM K »

sugar magnolia wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 7:27 pm
LM K wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:38 pm
Ummm. Why does seeing a teen with a bottle of anti-freeze require a "split-second" decision? There's no indication that the teen was running at the cop swinging the bottle of anti-freeze in a dangerous manner.

Is it time to tell people to put up their hands as they exit a car and then slowly lay down on the ground when they see a cop?
No, but he may have reached over into the bed of the truck with his hands out of view. We don't have enough information to know what happened.

I'm withholding judgment on this one until there is more information available from someone other than the kid in the truck and the uncle.
I agree that we need more info. It's been a week and the family has no info.

I will absolutely change my opinion if evidence is produced that is more supportive of the officer's actions.

Last week, the Sheriff said he didn't know how much of the shooting was captured on the officer's body camera. Members of the community are petitioning for "Hunter's law". The law would require that officers found not having their body cam in three separate incidents be fired. Body cams protect officers as well as the community.

It is possible that the entire event was captured on body camera.

As in the shooting of Lindani Myeni in Hawaii, the officer said nothing to Hunter Brittain before shooting him. That bothers me.

According to a witness, Brittain's truck had started rolling backwards towards the officer and Brittain was trying to keep his truck from rolling into the officer and his car. Brittain was trying to do the right thing. The officer shot without uttering one word.
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#149

Post by LM K »

Honolulu Prosecutor: Fatal shooting of Lindani Myeni justified; no charges will be filed against HPD officers

I've underlined info that is new. This new info completely explains why the woman who called 911 was freaking out. Myeni was saying some extremely creepy things. He was repeatedly asked to leave. Myeni spent 5 mins in the house.

Much of the speculation about Myeni was incorrect. I know some might disagree with that, but there were several witnesses.
Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm held a press conference on Wednesday regarding the fatal officer-involved shooting of 29-year-old Lindani Myeni.

Alm said the use of deadly force was justified in the April 14 police shooting and will not file charges against any of the three HPD officers involved.

In late April, Myeni’s widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City and HPD officers involved in his death. The lawsuit says responding officers were motivated by racial discrimination.

“We did not find any evidence that race played any part in this case,” Alm said on Wednesday.

New video released in June shows the moments leading up to the shooting in Nuuanu. Attorneys for Myeni’s widow published the doorbell, 911 call and unredacted bodycam footage online, claiming that it shows an entirely different story than the one HPD presented.

On Wednesday, Alm shared findings from a two-month independent investigation into the shooting using bodycam footage, stills and maps to explain why the use of deadly force was justified.

Alm says the bizarre string of events actually started about a half hour prior to the shooting at Kewalo Basin.

That’s where, at 7:42 pm, four other officers went to investigate a call for an unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, during which Myeni tried to intervene in the investigation, asked an officer for money for food, and tried to get into the back seat of an HPD vehicle.

After that incident, investigators say Myeni drove directly to 91 Coelho Way, where the shooting took place. Alm describes Myeni’s behavior that night as strange and bizarre. He adds that by the time Myeni fought with the three officers in Nuuanu, he should have known that they were police officers.

Alm says Myeni’s strange behavior continued when he went inside the Nuuanu house and told the woman who was staying there, “I have videos of you. You know why I’m here.” He then said he lived in the house, and a cat that was in the house was his. Alm says Myeni stayed inside for five minutes even though she asked him to leave several times and told him she was calling the police.

“And he said, ‘Tell them I’m from South Africa. I’m on a hunt. I’m on a safari.’ He lowered his feathered headband, and he said, ‘We’re hunting and there’s no time,'” said Alm.


Alm says Myeni told her that he is not afraid of the police.

“Him saying that I’m not afraid of the police, I think it’s a glimpse into what his attitude was toward the police officers or toward the police in general,” said Alm.

He adds that the street lights were bright, so it’s easy to see that the officers had their uniforms on. He said two of the officers fired at Myeni and that the shooting was justified because they tried using non-lethal means, but Myeni kept fighting, and the officers feared for their safety.

“Even after verbal commands, a firing of a Taser, yelling about Taser, actually getting shot by Officer 1, Mr. Myeni would not stop his attack on Officer 1,” said Alm.

There was speculation that Myeni might have been trying to go to the temple next door, but Alm says there are no facts supporting that.


“If in fact Mr. Myeni was looking for the temple, it would have taken him maybe a few seconds after getting into the house to realize oh, no temple, wrong place, turn around, leave,” he said.

The attorney for the Myeni family says he is still moving forward with the civil lawsuit against the City. In a statement he adds, “Mr. Alm’s focus on the shooting ignored the first action of ordering an unarmed person to lie on the ground at gunpoint. That is ordinarily the crime of terroristic threatening, kidnapping, or reckless endangering.”

HPD Interim chief Rade Vanic sent a statement saying, “We are thankful that two of our officers were able to return to work, and we continue to support our third officer as he recovers from his injuries.”
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Re: COPS behaving badly

#150

Post by sugar magnolia »

LM K wrote: Thu Jul 01, 2021 2:51 pm Honolulu Prosecutor: Fatal shooting of Lindani Myeni justified; no charges will be filed against HPD officers

I've underlined info that is new. This new info completely explains why the woman who called 911 was freaking out. Myeni was saying some extremely creepy things. He was repeatedly asked to leave. Myeni spent 5 mins in the house.

Much of the speculation about Myeni was incorrect. I know some might disagree with that, but there were several witnesses.
Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm held a press conference on Wednesday regarding the fatal officer-involved shooting of 29-year-old Lindani Myeni.

Alm said the use of deadly force was justified in the April 14 police shooting and will not file charges against any of the three HPD officers involved.

In late April, Myeni’s widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City and HPD officers involved in his death. The lawsuit says responding officers were motivated by racial discrimination.

“We did not find any evidence that race played any part in this case,” Alm said on Wednesday.

New video released in June shows the moments leading up to the shooting in Nuuanu. Attorneys for Myeni’s widow published the doorbell, 911 call and unredacted bodycam footage online, claiming that it shows an entirely different story than the one HPD presented.

On Wednesday, Alm shared findings from a two-month independent investigation into the shooting using bodycam footage, stills and maps to explain why the use of deadly force was justified.

Alm says the bizarre string of events actually started about a half hour prior to the shooting at Kewalo Basin.

That’s where, at 7:42 pm, four other officers went to investigate a call for an unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, during which Myeni tried to intervene in the investigation, asked an officer for money for food, and tried to get into the back seat of an HPD vehicle.

After that incident, investigators say Myeni drove directly to 91 Coelho Way, where the shooting took place. Alm describes Myeni’s behavior that night as strange and bizarre. He adds that by the time Myeni fought with the three officers in Nuuanu, he should have known that they were police officers.

Alm says Myeni’s strange behavior continued when he went inside the Nuuanu house and told the woman who was staying there, “I have videos of you. You know why I’m here.” He then said he lived in the house, and a cat that was in the house was his. Alm says Myeni stayed inside for five minutes even though she asked him to leave several times and told him she was calling the police.

“And he said, ‘Tell them I’m from South Africa. I’m on a hunt. I’m on a safari.’ He lowered his feathered headband, and he said, ‘We’re hunting and there’s no time,'” said Alm.


Alm says Myeni told her that he is not afraid of the police.

“Him saying that I’m not afraid of the police, I think it’s a glimpse into what his attitude was toward the police officers or toward the police in general,” said Alm.

He adds that the street lights were bright, so it’s easy to see that the officers had their uniforms on. He said two of the officers fired at Myeni and that the shooting was justified because they tried using non-lethal means, but Myeni kept fighting, and the officers feared for their safety.

“Even after verbal commands, a firing of a Taser, yelling about Taser, actually getting shot by Officer 1, Mr. Myeni would not stop his attack on Officer 1,” said Alm.

There was speculation that Myeni might have been trying to go to the temple next door, but Alm says there are no facts supporting that.


“If in fact Mr. Myeni was looking for the temple, it would have taken him maybe a few seconds after getting into the house to realize oh, no temple, wrong place, turn around, leave,” he said.

The attorney for the Myeni family says he is still moving forward with the civil lawsuit against the City. In a statement he adds, “Mr. Alm’s focus on the shooting ignored the first action of ordering an unarmed person to lie on the ground at gunpoint. That is ordinarily the crime of terroristic threatening, kidnapping, or reckless endangering.”

HPD Interim chief Rade Vanic sent a statement saying, “We are thankful that two of our officers were able to return to work, and we continue to support our third officer as he recovers from his injuries.”
That's wrong. Even a felony traffic stop allows for that. If officers weren't allowed to passively neutralize suspects, there would be a lot more dead people, both cops and suspects.

This case illustrates why patience is needed in ANY shooting investigation. A rush to judgment can be detrimental to anyone accused of a homicide, whether it is a civilian or a police officer.
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