SJPD on the national stage
X-What-A-Mess
San Jose's finest roll on a man with a knife call. (He has put the knife away before police arrive, but how can they know that?) They show up, tell him to stay put, and go into his room to look for his ID. He follows the officer into his own room. The officer strong-arms him back out into the corridor.
The video shows the man being Tased and struck with batons. At least one baton strike appears to have been made after the suspect is handcuffed. (This is not a slam-dunk, you can hit a suspect in the leg who is trying to kick you while in cuffs.)
I eat where the big trucks are parked. So I go to the policeone Web site to see what veteran law enforcement trainers have to say. I also check the comment pages to see what line officers are saying. Based on what I am seeing, taken with several grains of salt, this is NOT a clear cut police abuse of authority case. Investigation is sorely needed.
This is also NOT a good example of police work. Here's why:
What do you do with a suspect who is not obeying verbal commands?
a) Beat him down, Taser him, cuff him, hit him until he's quiet.*
b) Give clear, unequivocal verbal commands with nonverbal cues such as pointing.
c) Suspect a language barrier or other issue (such as autism), create defensive space, and try other communications techniques.
"SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO US!" is not the best verbal command to use, either. I also hear too many people talking during the initial confrontation.
Please note that a) is lawful. Also note that when the suspect quiets down, the police start talking him down. So compared to the Rodney King beating, for example, this is not that much even if an unlawful blow was struck. Actions outside policy should be sanctioned and actions outside law should be punished; but we are talking about the relative seriousness of the situation.
Officers are not required to passively tolerate threats to their safety. So when the suspect followed the officer into the room, from behind, the officer was well within his rights to defensively push the suspect away from him.
A tight hallway is not a good place to create defensive space. The officers get in each other's way. I have to wonder if that played a role in the decision to use batons. Certainly the report that the man had a knife did -- pepper spray is useful but it cannot be used to block.
As the suspect is a University student, let's give the officers a preliminary grade. C-
Not an A, not a B. Possibly a B- if it is determined that the suspect verbalized a threat. Perhaps a D if the officers were over-eager to Tase and struck even one unnecessary baton blow.
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