Sunday July 26, 2009, 9:30 pm
An Idaho got a crash course in etiquette when dealing with police officers. Eight officers responded to a home where domestic violence was suspected. Officer #3 was having a bad day.

As Harvard Professor Gates recently discovered, it is very important to cooperate fully with police and always speak in respectful tones.

The Statesman printed a transcript of the Idaho sodomy event:

Officer #3: Do you feel this?
Complainant: Yes, sir.
Officer #3: Do you feel that? That’s my -
Complainant: Okay

Officer #3: *&^ Taser up your a%*s.
Complainant: Okay
Officer #3: So don’t move.
Complainant: I’m trying not to. I can’t breathe.
…

Officer #3: Now do you feel this in your balls?
Complainant: I do, sir. I’m not going to move. I’m not gonna move.
Officer #3: Now I’m gonna tase your balls if you move again.
_______

A minute later, this exchange occurred:

Officer #3: Okay, I’m gonna take this Taser out of your a**hole now. Are you going to fight with me?
Complainant: No, not at all, sir.

See the entire AP report at this link:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jnNgVpQqpNo__-jCHzb9eOYd53AgD99KF6PG4

Other news sources are reporting, also. Google this title:

“Idaho man sodomized by police Taser plans to sue”

The Boise Weekly quotes Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson as saying the allegation against the officer is “one of the most serious charges that an officer can face … It is an offense that is very likely to lead to termination.”

But the complainant’s lawyer, Ron Coulter, said that the officer in question is still walking his beat.

“I don’t think he should be back on the street, but then I’m not the chief of police,” Coulter told the Boise Weekly. “When you do things like he did I’m not sure that person’s even fit to wear a uniform.”

__________________

NOT SURE???

Sunday July 26, 2009, 10:24 pm
ANNOUNCEMENT: I usually have a good deal of trouble posting any Taser news to my friends in their email boxes and to groups.

Please assist by sharing with your friends. I posted at Town Crier. I will post to AIMI, AI, Human Rights Network, MJ, and DUO. Please post to other groups.

Sunday July 26, 2009, 11:17 pm
Noted. All I can do is shake my head. I'm speechless. Thank you Mary for sharing.

Sunday July 26, 2009, 11:56 pm
Kelli, my reaction as well!!!! Here in Canada the RCMP and all Police forces are getting new rules of engagement with tasers and have been told to get rid of the old models that put out extreme voltage, like the one used at Vancouver Airport.

Monday July 27, 2009, 1:08 am
Noted.
My original home is in thePacific northwest, and that includes the North Idaho panhandle, nowhere near Boise which is due extreme southern Idaho.
This is horrible, and that again the authorities sought to hide their dirty little deed needs to be addressed as well. To bring it to the light of day...sue the whole county and atate if he has to, but this type of law enforcement officer needs to be ejected and formally charged with sexual assault and rape charges

Monday July 27, 2009, 3:03 am
He was still on the job when the reports came out. This happened in FEBRUARY! It reminds me of Duranna Johnson, the transgender person who was beaten in the Memphis Shelby County Jail's booking area. She was beaten in Febrary, but the video was not published until June. By the time it was time to file her lawsuit, she was murdered -- in November. I hope the sodomy victim takes a lesson. Some criminals are on the wrong side of the bars.

http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com
.

Monday July 27, 2009, 6:11 am
I get so tired of getting censorship straightened out. Will someone please reactivate my Care2 Share

Michael Jackson's Death - The Conspiracy Theory

www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1179378

What is it? Is there truth in that? I was just documenting a news report, and I cannot understand why it cannot stay visible.

Monday July 27, 2009, 6:42 am
I sympathize with this man that was tasered if all the comments are true. If this is what happened, I believe the officer should be fired.

As far as professor gates, he should have co-operated and none of this uproar would have happened. I'm anxious to hear the tapes. Now he has got everyone stirred up when race had absolutely nothing to do with it. I would be happy that the police would answer a call if there was a 911 call that said someone was breaking into my house, which in this case there were 2 people trying to get in. obama was dead wrong to stick his big nose into this, making it a racial issue when it is not. I'm glad the officer has no intention of apologizing, he did nothing wrong. If anything, obama, the MA governor and gates owe him an apology. Also, I have not heard any outrage from obama or the WH about our border agent getting murdered. That hasn't been mentioned - but oh, he could send personal condolences to michael jackson's family and spend plenty of times on the gates affair. Let's hear it for the good guys, get off the soapbox about the others.

Monday July 27, 2009, 7:01 am
Not only should the officer be fired I agree with Wolfweeps. Criminal charges should be filed!
Pat... I fail to see why you are questioning the events. IF you read the article you will find this statement:
The February incident was captured by an audio recording made by one of the police officers at the unidentified man's home. The nasty thing was recorded by one of thier own. Thank you Mary.

Monday July 27, 2009, 7:08 am
We had a very nice young man tasered to death here in Nashville, TN a few years back...you might know his father's work...he was the songwriter who penned "Friends in Low Places" for Garth Brooks...I have a friend who has a pacemaker who lives in fear of getting tased...his doctor told him he probably would not survive this...if the police are not physically able to restrain someone, maybe they should seek employment elsewhere...This is such a sad story...hope this man recovers from this both mentally and physically..

Monday July 27, 2009, 7:47 am
**NOTED**

Unbelievable!!! What gives this officer the right to do such a thing?
What gives anyone the right to do such a thing?
He Should Loose His Job....

Thank You Mary......

Monday July 27, 2009, 9:12 am
This kind of thing is just unbelievable. You really have to wonder how cops can do this and think they will get away it, especially when one of the cops is recording the whole thing on tape so there is undeniable proof the guy isn't just making it up! I mean obviously a complaint is going to be filed. What gets into these cops heads where they think they have any chance in hell of getting away with this kind of thing?

Monday July 27, 2009, 10:26 am
OMG....this makes me sick to my stomach. My God. This officer not only needs to be fired, he needs to be brought up on rape and indecency charges, tried and then thrown in prison.

To serve and protect......yeah.....right. And police departments wonder why people no longer trust them????

Monday July 27, 2009, 10:59 am
Shame on these cops, aren't they suppose to bring honourable justice, not degrading justice... this is disgusting, and no ones deserves this sort of treatment at all.

Monday July 27, 2009, 11:21 am
Thank you, Care2 members and friends. Please note that the officer did NOT actually Taser the man's private parts. According to the report, the officer sodomized the citizen with the Taser weapon and also threatened to shoot the citizen's scrotum but did not actually fire the weapon.

I want to say thanks to Care2 News Network for this forum to let the public know about the issues that concern us and give appreciation to all of you who CARE and note this news. Through your participation, you show that you are concerned about justice and would prefer that our police officers have control over their tempers.

Blessings!

Mary
Mary

Monday July 27, 2009, 11:35 am
I want to go off topic for a moment to announce some good news for justice.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that defendants have the right to demand that forensic lab techs be eligible as witnesses at trial. That means there will be no further need for people on trial for a criminal matters to blindly accept the lab reports, but can now question their validity. Since this ruling, numerous cases have been throuwn out of court.

Monday July 27, 2009, 11:54 am
I am glad to hear this Mary. I do not believe that any officers should have tasers. They are coming in here in the UK, a country where people can be killed by police during demonstrations - even if they are not themselves demonstrating but just trying to get home - not that demonstrators should be killed. They want to try to stop people through fear of death from objecting to their actions. Civil rights have been removed. We have heard nothing further about the man who was killed recently. I hope that people in the know are following this up and not letting them get away with cold blooded murder.

Monday July 27, 2009, 11:55 am
I am horrified by this article. I hope to goodness this man will be charged. It is so horrible.

Monday July 27, 2009, 12:11 pm
Only someone who is subjected to such interference will appreciate what I report now. When I placed my last comment and hit "submit," it took a very long time for the computer to register the comment so I could look at it. When it did, the last sentence I input was missing, and other changes had been made! You have no idea what I go through trying to notify friends and groups about my news. But now to have my comments changed right before my eyes is too much. I wrote:

I want to go off topic for a moment to announce some good news for justice.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that defendants have the right to demand that forensic lab techs be witnesses at trial. That means there will be no further need for accused persons to blindly accept crime lab reports, but can now question their validity. Since this ruling, numerous cases have been thrown out of court. The High Court’s ruling should cut down on the number of wrongful convictions.

Monday July 27, 2009, 12:37 pm
scared to death, knowing we can have this violence pulled on us at any time, how much more assualting can an officer be? this is as bad as vigilante justice!
ty for the great news, otherwise Mary, but my God, the guy in this very article was already punished.

Monday July 27, 2009, 1:23 pm
I'm beyond disgusted...Terrie, I agree with everything you said & could not ahve said it better!

Monday July 27, 2009, 2:15 pm
This is rape. This "officer" should be sent to court and registered as a sex offender for life.

Monday July 27, 2009, 2:46 pm
Lets be very factual the AP report does not mention the word sodomy, you added that becuse paranoid rant sites like "Prison Planet and Queer Cop" said it, not AP. At least those sites did not alter or add text as you did.

I don't know who is worse the cop who threatened or the people to manipulate it to suit their agenda.

Shame on the cop and double shame on you for making it worse.

Monday July 27, 2009, 3:27 pm
If it is not rape, it is definitely assault with a potentially deadly weapon. Tasers have been known to kill, and they are not meant to be used inside a body. If it wasn't a cop, and cops didn't always "protect their own" , he would have been arrested for criminal activity. It shows the cop to be a freaky sexual predator. I don't understand why they keep him on the force. Who would want to work next to this creep?

Monday July 27, 2009, 8:43 pm
This is rape, and assault, and torture. Any sane justice system would make that police officer undergo a looong period of therapy until the officer overcomes their psychosis. Any sane justice system would never allow that police officer to work as a police officer again. Any sane justice system would never allow that police officer to get any weapons licences or use weapons again. And perhaps a long period of prison time and plenty of media reporting to send a message to other police officers that this behaviour is never acceptable?

Monday July 27, 2009, 8:55 pm
Bill, what do you mean about "alter or add text"?

As far as the word "sodomize," it is the term that was applied when this officer did it to a citizen with a broomstick. The judge and jury agreed it was wrong:

NEW YORK POST
December 15, 2008

Justin Volpe - the cop involved in one of the most sensational police-brutality cases in city history - has asked for a commutation of his 30-year prison sentence from President Bush.

The 36-year-old ex-cop, who notoriously used a broomstick in a precinct station house to sodomize victim Abner Louima, has sent a formal request - along with a small mound of letters of support - to the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney,

Monday July 27, 2009, 10:40 pm

Each and every cop ... REPEAT --- EACH AND EVERY COP that was there including the supervisor needs to be thrown in prison -- life with no parole--in with the general population.

You had 7 cops that had a sworn duty to stop ANY bad person and they did not because it was one of their own.

7 that stood there either enjoying it or hating it, but allowing it none the less.

So....that makes them all guilty.

The supervisor destroyed evidence so he's even worse.

They always talk about dangerous gangs, but how many dangerous gangs are there that are running around with the full support of the courts and have guns and cars and radios and tasers supplied to them by taxpayers?

If there is ONE good cop out there, let him or her speak up and say these monsters in uniform must be prosecuted.

But I won't hold my breath waiting for even ONE to speak up, they never do and never will.

"To Protect and Serve"

AHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I would be so ashamed to wear a badge right now, but to be ashamed you have to have empathy and compassion and morals.

One more time:

ANY COPS THAT THINK A COP THAT DOES BAD SHOULD BE PROSECUTED JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE SPEAK UP!

It's called enforcing the law and dispensing justice.

It's what you people are paid for.

It's what you people take an oath to do.

Monday July 27, 2009, 10:55 pm
Words fail me.This is totally wretched,and disgusting! The "policeman" need to be fired!!

Monday July 27, 2009, 11:10 pm
Thanks, everyone, for noting and sharing this news.

Elected officials care about what voters care about, and voters cannot care about things they do not know about. That is why independent media like Care2 News Network is so VITAL to democracy.

WHEN YOU READ ABOUT THIS INCIDENT, PLEASE CONSIDER WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THE VICTIM HAD BEEN A MENTAL PATIENT.

A MENTAL PATIENT may not have been as obedient to the officer’s commands. He may have hallucinated and thought the officer was some evil alien or terrorist (and perhaps he would be right). He may have tried to fight while the Taser was between his buttocks and escape. A mentally ill person in that position would likely have been Tasered to death, as many of them are.

Officials, PLEASE SCREEN OUR POLICE OFFICERS CAREFULLY. The victim to this abuse had the clarity of mind to be still while being assaulted. A mentally ill person or someone high on drugs or alcohol may have died. Please CARE.

ASSISTANCE TO THE INCARCERATED MENTALLY ILL
http://www.Care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI

Monday July 27, 2009, 11:22 pm
CONTACT INFORMATION -

The Boise Police Main Contacts Page

BOISE POLICE DEPARTMENT –– 333 N. Sailfish Place, 83704-0644

GENERAL INFORMATION ........................... (208) 570-6000

Or E-mail us at: police@cityofboise.org



CHIEF’S OFFICE

333 N. Sailfish Place, 83704-0644

CHIEF OF POLICE................................... (208) 570-6190

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 1:02 am
CARE2 MEMBERS -

HEAR THE ACTUAL TAPE OF THE TASERING AND SODOMIZING OF THE CITIZEN. SEE HIS PICTURE.

WARNING -- WARNING -- WARNING -- VIOLENT CONTENT, PROFANITY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ogk8fQ3Eo

What do you think about this? There was even a female officer among the eight policepersons who did this.

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 6:04 am
It´s noted with great sadness in my heart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 7:31 am
The only way to stop these cops from going to far is to lock their behinds up and put them in population where they are not protected. They would do that to me.Knowing that cops lie a lot why do we keep giving them the benefit of the doubt.I guess if the president would have spoke about this the right wing nuts and fox news would still complain.

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 8:49 am
This is horrible. I hope justice prevails. BUT....I don't get the reference to prof Gates.

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 9:14 am
Noted while muttering things I will not print regarding powermad sick people with badges and guns who have no Bz running loose in the populace-
much less have any authorty position. I agree with Simon W completely.

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 10:14 am
Thank you for commenting. The reference to Prof. Gates is made because of the similarity between his case and the man's. Both were arrested not for a crime, but for disobeying or disrespecting the police officers who came to their homes. The man in this article would not open his door. Prof. Gates came to his door, but was irate over police still wanting to question him even when he had given them I.D. and knew he was at home.

ANYONE who police feel are disrespecting them, even 72-year-old great grandmothers, get this kind of treatment.

To know how this ties in with Professor Gates, please see this share:

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1203750

Thanks!

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 10:18 am
This ties in with Prof. Gates because both men were home, both were not perceived as being cooperative with police, and both were arrested - not for a crime they did, but for disrespecting officers.

Many officers are on a short fuse. These were much worse than Sgt. Crawley, who arrested Prof. Gates, but the principal is the same. These seem to me to be retaliatory arrests. There are plenty of arrests like that, but you don't know it from reading the booking sheet. They are called "resisting arrest," or "disorderly conduct." Some even are called "assault against a police officer." See this share:

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1203750

Mary

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 11:31 am
CNN reported yesterday that Crowley, in his official police report, made up the part about "two black guys with backpacks". The 911 caller's attorney adamantly asserts she never spoke with officer Crowley, and definitely never referred to the men as black. There are so many things wrong with what happened, and lead back to the same reason Rodney King made headlines! Our culture doesn't learn from its mistakes from the past.

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 11:38 am
While police abuses continue every day, this current story goes way beyond that into the realm of torture, sadism, and severe psychological disturbance. This policeman needs to be taken off the street, away from the public.

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 11:52 am
Thanks, Suzanne! I did not know about the 911 operator saying that Officer Crawley was not told about 2 black men with backpacks. Well, why do you think he was at Prof. Gate's home? If the 911 operator denies the call altogether, then what's up?

I was disappointed that President Obama relaxed his stance against retaliatory arrests in the Prof. Gates matter. I think he did that because people were making it a racial issue, but it is not. Remember the little old lady the Texas officer tasered because he was insulted? The 72-year-old woman was white. Many people of all races are treated this way, although it does happen to black citizens more often. But no one is exempt.

Blessings! Thanks for sharing your viewpoints on this, members and friends. I learn much from your comments, and I pray that the public does, also.

Mary

Wednesday July 29, 2009, 12:57 am
Some sites on the Internet have the call that the woman made to 911 about Prof. Gate's home having two men on the porch. Nothing was said about either man being black or having backpacks, as Sgt. Crawley wrote in his report. I really think President Obama relaxed his stance too soon before all the facts were in. Prof. Gates said "There is nothing that I could have done to warrant the arrest." His taped interview with Oprah Radio about this incident in available at my sharebook.

All over America, people are arrested and some abused without any behavior on their part that shows they are deserving of such treatment. The man who was sodomized by Taser was white, according to the photo of him that is on YouTube along with the taped sodomy arrest. The 72-year-old great grandma who was Tasered for being irate with police was also white. Prof. Gates was black. It can happen to anyone of any race or age.

Mary

Wednesday July 29, 2009, 10:15 am
The title on this news story is so incorrect and false..I don't understand why one would have a need to be so misleading and dishonest here in the news stories..

The officer in this case clearly did wrong..very wrong..and needs to be removed from the force..However he did not SODOMIZE nor RAPE anyone..
I am assuming everyone here does know what sodomy and rape is..

This officer's behavior in this case was.. is.. absolutely unacceptable..and disgusting..But it is also his behavior alone.. And if anyone actually read the Ombudsmans report..they would see that all of the officers spoke the truth..So not sure why anyone thinks all officers involved should be charged..

The only two people who lied was the offending officer and the gentleman who was arrested..All of the other officers present spoke truthfully..which helped to bring this all to light so that the officer in question is shown to be clearly wrong..

As far as there not being any cause to enter and arrest the man..again..read the report..It was a domestic call..a child and a woman and a man..Police have no idea what they are walking into..Weapons..someone high on drugs..drunk..violent..They acted appropriately..for a code 3..And that is what was called in at first..

While there are clearly some who have no right to be wearing a police uniform.. there are also many good ones..

Unless of course one is just a cop hater..

But in any event..with all due respect..the title this news story has is a terrible farce..and I am surprised that no one has mentioned that..but rather just gone along with it blindly..

Wednesday July 29, 2009, 6:14 pm
noted thank you

Wednesday July 29, 2009, 6:32 pm
Thanks for the info. I wonder if all the other folks would be so outraged if a white cop did this to a white or if a black man did it to a white man??? Same reaction? I wonder. What was done here was a very bad act, and the officer should be punished. And the man should be punished for the domestic problem. If he hadn't been acting up, the cop wouldn't have been there in the first place. The gates thing was NOT racial until he made it that way. obama should have kept his mouth shut till he knew all the FACTS instead of jumping on it because the guy is black - oh, and a personal friend, besides. I'm beginning to think the whole thing was staged so he could make a big racial spiel to the black community. He's a smart conniver. I hope Sgt. Crowley does not go for a beer with those two. That's another thing, how tacky how one get - President of the United States having people over for a beer at the picnic table. For all he knows, Sgt. Crowley is a Christian that doesn't drink. I guess obama just assumes everyone does because he does. I cannot fathom ANY respectable President inviting people over for a beer at the White House!!! Talk about "un-classy". Things like this are why whites and blacks will never get along.....blacks are the racists, just can't push hard enough, and naturally, we resent it, who wouldn't? I might add, we support a lot of them out there that don't work, and now obama is trying to give them everything for free. We are getting fed up - I'm having a tea party!

Thursday July 30, 2009, 7:32 am
O M G....Can THEY SPELL LAWSUIT?????

Thursday July 30, 2009, 8:14 am
Dee,

no. 1, I am no cop hater.

no. 2, I did not say there was no reason for police to enter the residence, but there does not seem to be any reason to stick a taser between someone's legs and treat the man as he was treated.

no. 3, I am not well versed on sodomy - so perhaps you could explain to everyone why this act by the police officer does not qualify for that term.

no. 4, When you explain to me why the word is wrongly applied, please share it with hundreds of other people. You can put my title (that you find fault with) in your browser and pull up probably 200 links, and they ALL refer to this one incident. So please tell EVERYONE on the WWW why you feel the word is inappropriately applied.

I did not make up the story, and neither am I the originator of applying that term to what was done to the man. As I said, perhaps you know more about sodomy than the hundreds of others who are writing on this incident. If you want to share with us the difference between what is and is not sodomy, please go ahead and do so.

Mary

Thursday July 30, 2009, 8:24 am
Pat, regarding the Gates affair, you may not be aware of the latest news on that. The 911 caller did not enter race into the discussion or her report, Professor Gates did not either, and neither did President Obama. Sgt. Crawley is the ONLY one who entered race into the incident. Surprised? The 911 caller is so upset over the misinformation Crawley put on his report that she hired a lawyer.

Furthermore, racism is an issue in justice matters in America. President Obama is right to address all issues of concern to the citizens, especially since he took an oath of office to represent ALL the people and to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. I resent the idea that it is OK for him to address the issues that affect Native Americans, which everyone at Care2 and over the country applauded, myself included, but if he addresses an issue that affects African Americans with particularly, he is suddenly a racist.

President Obama suckled at a white breast. The people around his dinner table who he loves and cherishes are his white family members. How dare anyone falsely accuse him of being racist!?

Here is the news report about Sgt. Crawley's report:

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=104&sid=1726307
Gates' attorney, Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, said the tapes show that Crowley injected race into the incident.
"It wasn't from the 911 caller; it wasn't from Prof. Gates. The only reference we have to race is in Sgt. Crawley's report, which said two African-American men with backpacks were allegedly breaking and entering the home," he said late Wednesday.
Cambridge police Commissioner Robert Haas acknowledged that the police report contains a reference to race, but said the report is merely a summary of events. The arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, has said his information on the race of the suspects came during a brief encounter with Whalen outside Gates' house; she contradicted that Wednesday, saying she made no such description.
Gates' arrest for disorderly conduct in his own home by a white police officer sparked a national debate over racial profiling and police conduct. The controversy intensified when President Barack Obama said police "acted stupidly" when they arrested his friend.
Gates, whose disorderly conduct charge was dropped, has said he was outraged and has demanded an apology from Crowley; Crowley said he followed protocol and responded to Gates' "tumultuous behavior" appropriately.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 8:33 am
I want to remind everyone who thinks it is OK to arrest someone for being irate that last month, you thought it was awful for police to arrest a 72-year-old WHITE great grandmother for "tumultuous behavior" - after police Tasered her first.

You thought it was awful for police to barge into the home of a Phoenix blogger and ramsack his residence simply because of his behavior - blogging things the police did not like told about them - a WHITE blogger.

This is not something that only affects black people like Professor Gates. Many citizens who are WHITE, OLD, YOUNG, BLACK, or OTHER are similarly arrested for what police think is disrespectful tones of voice or disrespect. Because there is no law against having an attitude, they call it resisting arrest or disorderly conduct.

Professor Gates was black and it happened to him. I am not prejudice. Therefore I find what happened to the Phoenix blogger and the 72-year-old white great grandmother unacceptable, but no more so than what happened to Professor Gates.

I AM SURPRISED AT WHOEVER THINKS THIS IS A RACIAL ISSUE AND DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THAT PROF. GATES IS THE WRONGED PARTY.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 8:45 am
AND FOR EVERYONE WHO THINKS IT IS OK FOR POLICE TO TREAT CITIZENS ANY KIND OF WAY BECAUSE THEY FEEL OFFENDED, CHECK OUT THIS STORY.

I don't know what race the man is, and it does not matter to me. But this is the deaf mental patient who police beat, tasered, and pepper sprayed because they FELT INSULTED when he did not open the bathroom door immediately when they knocked at a Family Dollar store.

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/124877253351170.xml&coll=3

Just another one of many "beyond disturbing" stories. I think police should calm down and try to assess situations and seek peaceful solutions. We need to preserve jail for criminals -- not people who are home and police know there was no break-in.

Mental patients are treated like that all the time, because they don't respond quickly enough -- they don't comprehend quick, you see. So they are arrested for much of NOTHING. It makes me upset to think about.

Again I say, there is more police abuse toward black people in the U.S.A. than other groups. And anyone who says that police abuse or police profiling is not President Obama's business needs to tell me who they think the "WE" means in the "WE THE PEOPLE."

Do you mean to tell me that you think President Obama can address issues thar regard everyone but people who look like him, or you will call him a RACIST?

I do not appreciate that idea. And on election day, he would lose.

Mary

Thursday July 30, 2009, 8:59 am
AND I DID NOT MENTION THIS

BECAUSE I AM NOT PREJUDICE AND IT DOES NOT MATTER TO ME

BUT THE MAN WHO WAS SODOMIZED WITH THE TASER WAS WHITE.

Now perhaps even Dee will be able to agree this was wrong

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ogk8fQ3Eo

Thursday July 30, 2009, 9:21 am
DEE, I DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOU SAID,

"This officer's behavior in this case was.. is.. absolutely unacceptable..and disgusting..But it is also his behavior alone."

I do not think it is OK for eight police officers to go to someone's house and seven of them stand and do nothing to interrupt for about 10 minutes while the resident is treated this way.

I think they definitely did something wrong.

I think they violated their oaths of office to serve and protect.

I think the police officers who watched Rodney King get beaten were wrong.

I think the police officers who held Oscar Grant down while he got shot in the back were party to his murder.

I think that police who know what happened to my mentally ill brother in jail and withhold that information are wrong.

I think that if I saw you fall on your way up some stairs and I pass you by and do not help you pick up your things and see if you are OK, then I am wrong.

I think that if one's job is to enforce the law, then it is wrong to stand back and watch the law being broken and do nothing at all because it is another man in uniform doing the crime.

If you listen to this tape, you will see that the female officer was not holding the Taser between the man's legs, but she was very much involved in the affair.

Listen to it, please, before you decide everyone was innocent but the one who had the Taser.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ogk8fQ3Eo

Thursday July 30, 2009, 9:25 am
Mary Neal, for it to rise to the level of sodomy, he would have actually had to remove the man's pants, and stick the taser into his rectum. This did not happen here. And it doesn't even appear that the man's pants were taken off. Obviously, there is still no excuse for the what the cop did, and by placing the taser between his legs like that, it was very inappropriate and probably rises to the level of inappropriate sexual contact. But it was not sodomy.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 9:28 am
The part about the Taser crame starts mid-way through the tape.

In case you want to skip to that, start in the middle. The first part is the person who loaded the tape giving HIS OPINION regarding current events. I do not necessarily share his point of view, but merely want to share the taser tape with you.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 9:30 am
"and neither did President Obama. Sgt. Crawley is the ONLY one who entered race into the incident. Surprised? The 911 caller is so upset over the misinformation Crawley put on his report that she hired a lawyer."

That's not true. Obama most certainly DID play the race card. In the comment he made while addressing the issue, he stated "minorities are clearly still being discriminated against by police in many parts of this country". So Obama most certainly DID bring race into the picture.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 9:35 am
Is sex still sex if the man wears a prophylactic?

I only ask because it seems you are saying that because there was a barrier between the taser and the man's rectum - his pants - it is not sodomy. The pants were a thin barrier between the taser and the man's flesh, like a rubber would be.

The police man said he had the Taser UP the man's rectum. Does it matter how far inside the Taser penetrated? Read:

Officer #3: Okay, I’m gonna take this Taser out of your a**hole now. Are you going to fight with me?

But we will just call it "assaulted," OK? We won't call inserting a Taser inside the man's rectum "sodomy." I did not say it was inside - the officer did. Before you can pull something "out," it had to first get "in," right?

Thursday July 30, 2009, 9:45 am
I will leave you with this farewell -

God loves us all. Black, white, right, wrong, police officers, regular citizens, elected officials, homeless mental patients, rich, poor, young, old, big, little, smart, retarded, whatever!

We need to start treating each other with more love and respect. I am NOT anti-police. It is true that I bring such news to your attention from time to time, but the only thing that makes this news is that it is rare. Most police officers go to work day after day and they deal with all kinds of attitudes and don't fire their weapons, Taser anyone, or arrest people for irate behavior. Thank you, officers.

Many police officers are stressed. Some need more pay so they do not go to work tired from working two jobs, like many of them do. They may need more paid vacation time than other workers because of the high stress levels of their jobs and the IMPORTANCE to all of us that they be fresh enough to assess crisis situations quickly and respond appropriately.

God bless you, Care2 members and friends. Bless Sgt. Crawley, Professor Gates, President Obama, Officer No. 3, and abused citizens everywhere. Here is a rule that will get us through just about anything:

LOVE YE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU - Jesus Christ

Thursday July 30, 2009, 10:14 am
Panthera Leo,

Please define "enter." Enter is the same as "introduction" or "first." Whoever enters something into a conversation has to be the one who "introduced" it into the conversation. The person who introduced RACE into the Gates matter was indeed Crawley, himself. Just as I stated, it was not "entered" or "introduced" by Obama or by Gates or by the 911 caller.

You stated, "Obama most certainly DID play the race card. In the comment he made while addressing the issue, he stated "minorities are clearly still being discriminated against by police in many parts of this country". So Obama most certainly DID bring race into the picture."

Again, Obama did not "bring race into the picture." It was "brought into the picture" by Sgt. Crawley. Obama commented on it.

Why is it that because when your president and mine speaks on matters of race relations as they relate to police incidents, he is "playing a race card"?

Is anyone so self-deluded as to think that race is not a tremendous factor in the way justice is dealt out in this country? Or are you saying that my president should ignore and pretend not to notice that 40% of those on death row are black people, although they only comprise 16% of the population?

Is he supposed to pretend not to notice that most police violence is still aimed at people of color, or you will say he "played the race card"?

Is it racist to know that 1 in 9 young black men are in jail right this minute in America, 2/3 of whom were arrested for non-violent offenses like possession of small amounts of grass, while the former candidate for the presidency's wife was addicted to drugs, herself and never went to jail a single day?

Did you know that there was a study done among police officers to test their level of prejudice, and when asked who was the most likely criminal among some photographs, the white officers consistently picked the photos showing the dark-skinned people as being the likely criminals? Did you know that the darker the photographs were, the more often they were chosen as the likely suspects?

Is President Obama supposed to stay silent on these issues out of concern that he might OFFEND some of his white constituents by standing against racism.

President Obama is the CEO of America. If it is inappropriate for him to speak about a problem that affects so many of his constituents, who is supposed to do it?

No one?

Leave things as they are? Don't say anything about racial profiling? Ignore it and it will go away? Pretend it does not happen?

You are half-black, President Obama, so don't do or say anything at all that shows you recognize racism is still a problem in the U.S.A. Otherwise, you are not an elected official attemting to address an issue - you are "playing the race card."

Get real, people. IF PRESIDENT OBAMA CANNOT ADDRESS ISSUES REGARDING JUSTICE AND RACISM IN AMERICA WITHOUT BEING CALLED NAMES, WHO IS THE RACIST AROUND HERE?
.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 10:36 am
"Please define "enter." Enter is the same as "introduction" or "first." Whoever enters something into a conversation has to be the one who "introduced" it into the conversation. The person who introduced RACE into the Gates matter was indeed Crawley, himself. Just as I stated, it was not "entered" or "introduced" by Obama or by Gates or by the 911 caller."

Ok. So you are calling officer Crowley a liar. He entered into his police report what happened at the scene. If you are stating that Crowely is the one who brought up race, and Gates did not, then have already judged Crowely to be a liar (because your statement means he must have been completely lying on his police report).

"Or are you saying that my president should ignore and pretend not to notice that 40% of those on death row are black people, although they only comprise 16% of the population? "

Everybody who cites this statistic fails to take into account another statistic which is responsible for this: The homicide offender rate is 7.5 TIMES higher among blacks than among whites. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice). That means black people commit murder at a 7.5 TIMES higher rate than white people do. Sorry, that's just statistical fact. It's not racism, it's statistical fact. So is it any wonder that there are far more black people on death row than white people?

Thursday July 30, 2009, 10:39 am
.
There is a lot that is good and right about America.

There is much that needs to be addressed and corrected.

Justice issues involving African Americans is one of those issues.

Roughly 80% of those in solitary confinement this minute are black people.

Not all people have overcome their background enough to accept people as just being people. Even some who think they did overcome their grandparent's attitudes still have a way to go. That includes black people as well as white people.

We cannot correct problems if we pretend they don't exist - if we penalize our leaders who even acknowledge that the problems exist.

Do not feel personally insulted when someone points out the racism that exists. Do not feel personally insulted when someone says slavery happened, Jim Crowe happened - and not so long ago that this grandma who still loves to dance does not remember waiting until all the white patrons loaded the bus first.

I am not "playing a race card" by saying racism is a part of America's past and present. It still happens. I am not insulting anyone. I am stating a fact, like President Obama did. I am not a racist for speaking the truth, and neither was President Obama. We don't have to pretend these problems don't still exist. They do and they will until we admit they exist and address them.

I think instead of trying to silence President Obama or anyone at all on the issue of racism in our justice system, we should give him kudos for his concern about a serious issue that remains before this country.

You saw the film when Oscar Grant was murdered. I posted the video and you were all aghast. You do not know what it is like to be afraid for your teenage sons to walk out of the front door - not for fear of car accidents or robberies - but fear that police might accost them. Only black mothers feel that fear. And it is not because they are unreasonably paranoid, either.

Come on, people. We have a way to go to get to complete racial accord, but I did not think we were so far from reaching mutual accord to deal with this issue that we cannot even discuss it honestly and that we jump on our elected officials for even acknowledging that racism exists.

Let's be adults and face the truth. Only then can we make things better.

Knowing the truth does not equal hate. I know what happened and what still happens, yet I hate no one.

Blessings!

Mary

Thursday July 30, 2009, 10:48 am
Leo,

Please visit the site of the report at the link I gave. It is the 911 caller who denied that Crawley's report was accurate, not I. I have not left my house in ages. I only know what I read.

The 911 caller says the report is WRONG. She said she did not say there were African Americans at the door. She even played the tape, and she is not the one "lying."

Then Crawley changed up and said the 911 caller met him on Gate's lawn and said it then - there were African Americans going inside the house.

Again, the 911 caller disclaimed that. She said she did not even get a good look at the men, and she NEVER said they were African Americans. The 911 caller who Crawley supposedly quotes on his report is the one who is saying the man entered MISINFORMATION - not Mary Neal.

When reporters tried to call Crawley after the 911 caller was so upset over his MISINFORMATION that she held a press conference, Crawley did not comment. He did not return the call as of the last report I heard.

So don't pretend I am calling Crawley a lier. Judge for yourself.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 10:52 am
"Do not feel personally insulted when someone says slavery happened"

I am not personally insulted when someone says slavery happened. But what DOES insult me, is that 1,000 years from now, you will still be rubbing my great great great how ever many greats yo want put on there grandchildrens' nose in it as if they personally are responsible for it. I never owned any slaves. Yet you still rub our noses in it to this day as if we personally are responsible for it, even though it was 200 years ago. That's what insults me.

I agree lets be adults. And part of being an adult is realizing that not every arrest of a black person is racially motivated. Gates was being a jerk. He wasn't cooperating with police who were THERE TO PROTECT HIS HOME, and he was causing a scene. A white person doing the same thing would have been arrested as well.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 10:56 am
Mary Neal,

What link at what cite? The only links I have seen you provide are ones having to do with the taser incident. I haven't seen you provide any regarding Gates and the 911 caller claiming the police report Gates filed was inaccurate.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 10:59 am
You want to know what I think happened?

I think that when Crawley first heard that there was a possible break-in, his first thought was that some black people were committing a crime.

I think that Crawley subconsciously associates burglaries with African Americans.

I think he did not mean to lie on his report, but he just wrote what his mind told him - because he associates crime with blacks.

I think he is guilty of profiling, and did not even recognize that the classes he teaches have not eradicated that mindset from his own psyche.

Period.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 11:02 am
Do you see the post I made with the time noted as 8:24 a.m.? The reason I ask is because sometimes some of my posts on Care2 are coded not to appear.

Here is the link - http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=104&sid=1726307

Please tell me if you see the long post I placed at 8:24 a.m. by Care2 time.

Thanks.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 11:06 am
"Come on, people. We have a way to go to get to complete racial accord, but I did not think we were so far from reaching mutual accord to deal with this issue that we cannot even discuss it honestly and that we jump on our elected officials for even acknowledging that racism exists."

We can discuss it honestly. But that means you have to be honest as well. You cannot pull statistics like 40% of people on death row are black even though they are only 16% of the population out of context like you did (and so many other people do as well) and use it to say "That's proof that the capital punishment is biased against black people. Not when statistically, black people commit murder at at 7.5 times higher rate than white people do In the early 90s, it was closer to a 10 times higher rate. So given that, the the fact that 40% of people on death row are black really isn't a result of racial bias. It is simply a result of a statistical homicide rate among black people that is 7.5 times higher than among whites.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 11:16 am
Here is Professor Gate's taped interview on Oprah Radio: "I don't know of anything I could have done to justify Sgt. Crawley's reaction."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFhw_wIB4NY


Here is the 911 caller's tape on ABC News. Her name is Lucia Whalen:

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8184395

Thanks.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 11:22 am
Yes, I see the 8:24 am post. I will take a look at the link. Thanks.

Keep in mind when thinking that Crowley is guilty of racial profiling, that he taught a class on racial profiling at the police department for the last several years, and that it was black officers that nominated him to teach it. Apparently the black officers thought he was unbiased enough that they nominated him to teach this class. So we he would suddenly racially profile someone even though he has taught a class on the subject for several years is sort of strange.

I would also point out that I have had a somewhat similar situation with the police once (and I am white). I locked my keys in my car once and was trying to use a coat hanger to open the door. Someone called the police and reported it as a carjacking. Obviously the police were a little on edge when they showed up. I mean for all they knew they were responding to a carjacker who might be violent. But I simply cooperated with them, explained the situation, showed them documentation to prove it was my car and was registered my name and address. And that was the end of it. In fact, once the mistake was clear, the police even even opened the door for me and saved me $60 on a locksmith (I was having no luck getting it open myself). So, the lesson here is I simply cooperated with the police, realized they were just doing their job, and that understandably, they were a little on edge at first. In the end, we were all happy, and nothing came of it. Had Gates cooperated with the police,he would have had the same experience.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 11:38 am
"I think that when Crawley first heard that there was a possible break-in, his first thought was that some black people were committing a crime."

Mary..again with all due respect here.. In regards to the issue of Gates/Crowley..On the 911 tape the woman..Lucia Whalen.. who called in said..I see two men..She did not mention any race..and yes it was Sergeant Crowley who then asked..Well..are they black..white..or Hispanic..
That is what any officer would..should do in asking for a description of any suspect..To twist it around to say that Crowley brought "black into this" is also a lie..He was doing his job in seeking a description of a suspect..Nothing more..

What the woman..(Lucia Whalen) went through in the days following her call to 911..was to be harassed by people calling her a privileged white woman..a racist.. and there were even threats made to her over it..
And that is what brought the 911 call to light..In her very own words..

"I was called racist and I was a target of scorn and ridicule because of the things I never said," she said. "The criticism hurt me as a person, but it also hurt the community of Cambridge."

"Despite the trouble it caused her, Whalen said she would make the call again."

"I've had much reflection on that, and, yes, I would make the call," she said. "If you're a concerned citizen, you should do the right thing."


Gates..and Gates alone made a big childish issue out of it..He could have very easily have handled it differently..And President Obama..only added to the fuel by making the remarks he did in this issue..


There are clearly two people here..and only two people who made this about race..Obama and Gates..


On the issue of this news story..there was no sodomy..no rape.. done..and to say otherwise is a not just an extreme exaggeration..but a blatant lie..

Thursday July 30, 2009, 1:16 pm
Thanks, Leo. Did you see the long post I made at 8:24 a.m.?

Did you listen to the tape with the 911 caller - Ms. Whalen - saying that she did not make a report about African Americans in connection with Gate's home? (at the comment above)

Did you listen to Prof. Gate's report of the incident on Oprah Radio? (at the comment above)

I just want to ensure you have that information available.

Regarding the death penalty, I only read and quote news and studies. I have no personal knowledge about many of the things I write. Search on the Internet for incarceration and death penalty data regarding African Americans. You rightly point out that most recorded murders are done by African Americans, if you don't count wars.

Blessings!

Thursday July 30, 2009, 2:09 pm
Listen to the 911 caller, then read Crawley's report. Where is the conflict? She did not say African American, but he wrote that she did. Draw your own conclusions.

Regarding President Obama, I hope that all our elected officials will maintain their right to discuss any issues of concern to millions of Americans. It is ridiculous to try and deny the president that right by calling him a racist to when he addresses the disparity of treatment received by African Americans in the justice system.

ALL elected officials should be able to address matters of concern without feeling intimidated by people saying, "You would not care about that or mention that if you were white like me." That is what it means to criticize Obama for addressing an area of concern affecting millions of his constituents who are African Americans. He is not the one playing the “race card.” Those who would seek to silence him on this vital matter are using the race card to try to silence him and see that he does not use his power to effect positive change.

Regarding whether there is racial disparity in applying death sentences or incarceration, I got my data from the web. Please Google for it. If you choose to disbelieve the studies and reports you will find on the web from Amnesty International, the Innocence Project, Death Penalty Information Center, and credible university studies, that is your prerogative.

Regarding whether racism exists in the justice system in America, I say yes. Find a white whose handicapped member was SECRETLY arrested for three weeks until death six years ago - 6 years - and we are still denied any reports, explanation, or investigation. During the entire 18-day period Larry was missing, police denied repeatedly having him incarcerated until he died without his heart drugs.

Show me a white family who was denied any investigation or explanation for a death in government custody, but is stalked and persecuted to intimidate them into not asking about the death.

When you can show me a white family whose family member’s secret death was deprived of the investigative effort that the deaths and abuses of pit bulls get in America, then I might agree that we have arrived at racial parity and that President Obama’s attention is not needed to address racism in the justice system.

Thank you for contributing to this discussion. Your feedback was valuable and highly valued.

Mary

Thursday July 30, 2009, 2:36 pm
Thank you very much again, Care2 News Network, for providing this valuable forum for members to discuss issues of import.

Only by reading current events and discussing them can we share knowledge and insight. Even God said, "Come, let us reason together." Care2 makes it possible for members to rason together on important topics.

To all my friends and fellow Care2 members who took the time to note this news and/or comment on it, many thanks for being people who CARE.

Thursday July 30, 2009, 2:47 pm
I would like to correct one thing I wrote - I wrote "You rightly point out that most recorded murders are done by African Americans, if you don't count wars." I meant a higher "murder rate."

Dee, please feel free to think of the man in this article as being someone who was assaulted, if you prefer that term. To my idea, removing a Taser "out of someone's AH" implies penetration. But again, most people know more about sodomy than I do.

Mary

Thursday July 30, 2009, 2:53 pm
To those here who question whether this was rape or not, sexual abuse or not, or whether the police was right or wrong... who try to defend the police at all costs - even when they disrespect, terrify and torture citizens instead of protecting them (against themselves if needed) - watch this, because you might be next... or someone you know... no taser involved but just as horrible, as unacceptable! Shame on these so-called police officers - they do not protect citizens- they are sadistic monsters. To the victim, it amounts to RAPE even if it is not rape technically. Shame on the US system that allows such horrors to happen, and shame on those who deny such horrendous cases of police brutality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVJb_wkI7jk

Police Strip Search Innocent Woman - OHIO - October 2006

Thursday July 30, 2009, 3:02 pm
Innocents on death row - Statistics

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-and-death-penalty

Death Penalty: Wrongful convictions and race:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty/death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-and-innocence/page.do?id=1101086

Factors leading to wrongful convictions include:

* Inadequate legal representation
* Police and prosecutorial misconduct
* Perjured testimony and mistaken eyewitness testimony
* Racial prejudice
* Jailhouse "snitch" testimony
* Suppression and/or misinterpretation of mitigating evidence
* Community/political pressure to solve a case

Friday July 31, 2009, 2:14 am
Dee, I noticed some falacies that need to be cleared up in your last post:

You wrote -

"Gates..and Gates alone made a big childish issue out of it..He could have very easily have handled it differently..."

I DON'T THINK IT WAS CHILDISH FOR GATES TO WONDER WHY SGT. CRAWLEY WANTED TO KEEP QUESTIONING HIM WHEN HE HAD THE MAN'S I.D. AND KNEW THERE HAD BEEN NO ROBBERY. IT WAS TIME FOR THE POLICE TO SIMPLY LEAVE. IN ANY CASE, DEE AND WORLD, CHILDISH BEHAVIOR IS NOT A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY ARREST.

You wrote -

"There are clearly two people here..and only two people who made this about race..Obama and Gates."

SGT. CRAWLEY DID NOT MERELY ASK THE 911 CALLER ABOUT THE RACE OF THE PEOPLE GOING INTO THE HOME FOR A DECRIPTION. HE WENT AHEAD AND WROTE THAT THE 911 CALLER SAID THEY WERE AFRICAN AMERICANS WHEN THAT WAS FALSE. HE ENTERED THE RACE ON THE REPORT AS BEING AFRICAN AMERICANS BECAUSE WHEN HE THOUGHT OF CRIME, HE THOUGHT OF BLACK PEOPLE. THAT IS CALLED "PROFILIN." IT DOES NOT MATTER IF HE TEACHES CLASSES ON IT. LOTS OF PREACHERS TEACH GODLY LIVING ON SUNDAY, AND HAVE LOVERS OUTSIDE THEIR MARRIAGE AND STEAL CHURCH FUNDS. TEACHING SOMETHING DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN YOU LIVE BY WHAT YOU TEACH.

You wrote -

"On the issue of this news story..there was no sodomy..no rape.. done..and to say otherwise is a not just an extreme exaggeration..but a blatant lie."

THE POLICE OFFICER TOLD HIS VICTIM THAT HE WAS ABOUT TO MOVE THE TASER "OUT OF HIS A**HOLE NOW. PENETRATION IMPLIES RAPE TO ME. BUT I AM NOT A DOCTOR.

You wrote -

"And President Obama only added to the fuel by making the remarks he did in this issue."

PRESIDENT OBAMA IS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL. MANY PEOPLE OF ALL RACES HAVE THEIR RIGHTS VIOLATED BY POLICE EVERY YEAR - NOT JUST BLACK PEOPLE. THE TASER SODOMY VICTIM WAS WHITE, FOR INSTANCE. HOWEVER, THIS TYPE OF ABUSE AND RETALIATORY ARREST HAPPENS MOST OFTEN TO AFRICAN AMERICANS. THE 72-YEAR-OLD GREAT GRANDMOTHER WHO WAS TASERED FOR TALKING RUDELY TO AN OFFICER DURING A TRAFFIC STOP WAS WHITE.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO ADDRESS POLICE ABUSE, POLICE PROFILING, AND VIOLATIONS OF CITIZENS' RIGHTS. HE TOOK AN OATH OF OFFICE TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION OF THE USA. HE CAN ADDRESS ANY AREA OF CITIZENS ABUSE OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT HAS TO DO WITH GOVERNING THE PEOPLE.

IT WOULD BE WRONG FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA TO KNOW ABOUT A PROBLEM THAT ROBS CITIZENS OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS AND NOT ADDRESS IT.

Friday July 31, 2009, 2:46 pm
wow. sometimes i have trouble believing i am part of the same species as some people.

Friday July 31, 2009, 3:52 pm
This is to the Police Chief:Chief Michael Masterson:
My comment is as follows. .The Boise Police has done something that would probably kill someone for doing that same thing to their family member. No matter what the excuse there is none good enough for police to do such a thing. You were swporn to uphold, protect and defend. Do any of you have a conscience? A heart, a brain. You not only took your selves down to sewer level . You took your entire Dept. and the police Chief too. Your family , your children. The victims family. Do you realize the domino action with this type of behavior? You could start a riot. Do you really blame people for wanting you to have the most severe punishment possible. I live in Citrus county,Florida. I would like to say my county seems to be ok. I hope to GOD would never ever do such a thing. If they had .I would want them also receive the maximum punishment. Simply because you all should know better. Fire every last one. NO pay, No benefits. Trial by jury and then you go where you send other people for breaking the law. You are a disgrace to us all.

Friday July 31, 2009, 8:28 pm
Hello, Courtney. Some people do not think their way through a problem. They just adopt the attitude and conclusions that those around them have. Sometimes, folks are in denial. Some people were raised all their lives to think of police in terms of "Good morning, Officer Tim, you wonderful next door neighbor."

They don't realize that Officer Tim, who takes them their newspaper when it lands on his driveway and helped get the cat out of their tree, might have a totally different persona when he is on the job in another neighborhood.

It is hard for them to imagine the things that some police officers do and recognize that Officer Tim is the one at fault. The contridiction between their perceptions about police officers in general and the reality of what SOME officers are like is too much for them to handle. So they shut down and go into immediate denial, and no matter how obvious it is that Officer Tim was wrong, they deny, deny, deny.

Thanks for commenting!

Friday July 31, 2009, 8:31 pm
Hey, Judy! Thanks for your comments. Good points. They can't hear you in Boise, though. Please use the phone or email.

CONTACT INFORMATION -

The Boise Police Main Contacts Page

BOISE POLICE DEPARTMENT –– 333 N. Sailfish Place, 83704-0644

GENERAL INFORMATION ........................... (208) 570-6000

Or E-mail us at: police@cityofboise.org



CHIEF’S OFFICE

333 N. Sailfish Place, 83704-0644

CHIEF OF POLICE................................... (208) 570-6190

Friday July 31, 2009, 8:38 pm
Brigette, thanks for posting the data that you did. It should help some people recognize the problems. Those who are determined to cling to their perceptions will not believe or understand the data. That is fine, too. It is good to discuss these things and at least hear another point of view, whether or not we agree.

Blessings to everyone who noted and shared opinions on this news. Thanks again to Care2!

Saturday August 1, 2009, 1:04 am
Sadly this activity is not exclusive to the US. Whilst we all accept that police officers have complex path to tread and a difficult job that in the UK has more paperwork than an accountant to deal with everytime they arrest someone. There are some that seem to relish going overthe top in both actions and foul language especially when dealing with anyone who they consider guilty by being coloured or poor or foreign looking! there have been the high profile cases such as the innocent Brazilian electrician shot seven times in the head at point blanc rage on the London underground railway and the charity worker shot dead by Humberside police after driving the wrong way on a motorway and apparently being in poseession of a replica sword. Why in that case they did not tazer the man if they felt he was a threat noboby knows. Then there is the farcical extradition proceedings currently being processed ny the US against Glynn Mckinnon a man with variuos health issues who hacked into the Pentagons comptuter systems in search of UFO evidence! Who is to say this man will not be tortured by the more disreputible elements of the security services of the US or otherwise abused by the US police. The US Government should be giving him a medal for exposing the crappy security of their system or as the individual in question said complete lack of security. Why one wonders is the US Government acting so vindictively toward this man who did them a favour by alerting them to open door on their sytem which no doubt anyone from the Chinese to Al Qiueda could have walked through looking for something a little more harmful to the US than UFO reports! One suspects their is some grey suit behind the scenes creating smoke to cover their own laxity in leaving that door wide open!

Saturday August 1, 2009, 1:08 am
This is not quite the topic here but I 've just received it and thought it might be of interest to some:

Go On, Admit It
You Really Don't Like The Police, Either

By Ted Rall

Race long has been a classic predictor of attitudes toward the police. But high-profile cases of police brutality, coupled with over-the-top security measures taken since 9/11 that targeted whites as well as blacks, have helped bring the races together in their contempt for the police. In 1969, the Harris poll found that only 19 percent of whites thought cops discriminated against blacks. Now, 54 percent of whites think so.

For the entire article: http://informationclearinghouse.info/article23171.htm

(As for me I firmly believe that the police is needed. They should be respected - as long as they respect the citizens and their rights. If they become guilty of abuse, then to me they are worse than offenders, because they also abuse their position. And race should never be an issue).

Saturday August 1, 2009, 5:52 pm
Chris B, thanks for pointing out that the issue regarding overuse of force, profiling, and retaliatory arrests are not limited to the U.S.A.

POWER CORRUPTS; ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY

People need to dismiss the idea that anyone who criticizes police officers for breaking the law is a cop hater. Anyone at all who treats another the way the way the Idaho citizen was treated with the Taser weapon would be wrong. We must overcome the idea that abuse is allowable as long as it is done by officers of the law. In fact, they should be held to an even higher standard of protecting the law, even if the crime is being done by their fellows.

It is hard enough already for people to get relief after abuses of power by police. Generally, their "brotherhood" of other police officers, administrative supervisors, city officials, and the courts all back the police in abuse and wrongful death cases. In fact, classes are offered to police personnel to teach them how to get away with abuses of power called FORCED SCIENCE. Law officers have plenty of support, whether their actions were right or wrong.

When one of your fellow citizens is treated as Prof. Gates was or the Idaho Taser abuse victim, it would behoove people in the community to consider the facts in any given case and not automatically assume that because one man in a conflict wears a uniform and the other does not, the one wearing the uniform automatically is the one to support, because he is always right. That simply is not the case in every situation. Try to keep an open mind. Under every uniform is a person with all the human failings of any other person. They can be wrong, too.

Saturday August 1, 2009, 6:18 pm
Thank you for your post, Brigitte. I agree with you. We need police officers and we have many more who handle their responsibilities well than those who do not.

We solute all the officers who protect and serve society to their utmost ability and do so without violating citizens' rights and unnecessarily depriving citizens of life, liberty, and peaceful existence.

Thank you for helping to keep our communities safe and for leaving sentencing for crimes to the courts, while you cause as little harm to people as possible to apprehend and deliver them to be tried in a court of law.

Thank you for refraining from misusing your positions of trust to vent your personal frustrations. Thank you for stepping in when you see your fellow officers going too far in use of force and stopping them from crossing the line into actual cruelty.

TODAY IS THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WRONGFUL DEATH OF LARRY NEAL, a lifelong mentally ill heart patient who was secretly arrested in Memphis Shelby County Jail and incarcerated for 18 days while his social worker and family searched for him as a missing person. Police repeatedly denied that Larry was incarcerated, but did nothing to help his social worker or family search for this middle aged African American handicapped man who desperately needed his heart and psychiatric prescription drugs for survival. When Larry died, police immediately went to his home address and reported that he was dead and that he had actually been in jail during the entire period while his family agonized over his whereabouts. Police were tired of their enforced role of caretakers for the harmless mental patient.

Abuses of power happen, and when they do, oftentimes government does not step in to protect the citizens or their survivors, but to hide the crime, excuse the offense by police. Such is the case with the secret arrest and wrongful death of Larry Neal.

Despite six years of asking and two lawsuits against the family's wrongful death attorneys who were secretly working with the jail to dodge accountability for Larry's death, Larry's survivors have no records of his arrest, no explantion for his death, and are denied the investigative effort that followed Michael Vick's dog abuse.

Larry's case should show the entire world that as much as we need police personnel to keep our society secure, they are capable of great cruelty, and their wrong actions are protected in higher levels of government.

Taking a stand against police brutality is NOT the same as being a cop hater. The word "cops" and "brutality" are not synonymous, because there are hopefully many police officers who would never do to anyone what was done to my handicapped brother and to my family as we searched for him and since his demise.

May God bless you and keep you safe, providing for all your needs in Jesus' name.

Mary Neal

WEBSITE --- http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

Saturday August 1, 2009, 9:46 pm
Mary, I will say a prayer for you and your family tonight. I will pray about the loss of your beloved brother and that you and you family will find the answers you so badly need. No one deserves to lose a family member like that. I will also pray that you will again enjoy the freedom to move about and speak your mind freely as that is also something we all deserve. Thank you for all your wisdom and compassion that you share with us. I am sending this to you as a reply but in case you don't receive it I am also posting it on your news.

Your friend,

Stephanie

Sunday August 2, 2009, 2:33 pm
noted and thank you Mary.... wonder if the probable cause clause will help them here as well..... this has been law enforcement's out clause for too long...

Monday August 3, 2009, 2:45 am
Hello, CA.J! It has been tooooo long since I heard from you! How are you? How did everything go in your situation? I wondered about you and commented in your blog. Send me an email at MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com

Regarding the police officers in this case - THERE WERE EIGHT, NOT ONE - you might want to contact the chief of police in Boise. I posted his phone no. and email address above. News reports when something like this happen are plentiful, but the best way to get the follow-up info is from the source. It should be public information as to how the case is being handled.

This happened to the citizen in February, yet the news just got publicized, as far as I know. It would appear that the intention was to do nothing about the abuse, because the first reports I read said OFFICER#3 was still on the job when the news report was written. Perhaps with publicity, that has CHANGED.

I look forward to your email. Thanks for commenting on this news.

Monday August 3, 2009, 2:49 am
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The only good thing about this news story is that if the guy really was abusive, he is probably reformed now. This started as a possible domestic violence call.

Wednesday August 5, 2009, 1:59 pm
there is absolutely nothing good about this. there is never justification for any civil servant to uphold the laws of our nation by desecrating everything they're to defend by such lewd and malicious acts of violence. why do we never hear about this on the cable news outlets? maybe because it's actually newsworthy. keep the american people stupid and uninformed so that when stories like this surface on the internet, no one really cares because they're too busy tuning into the boob tube to see the latest story being hammered into the ground to no end by cnn, fox and msnbc. if people want change for the better and they voted for it this last election, get off your backsides and call up the senators from idaho, bombard the mayor's office in boise idaho, along with the police chief's office with phone calls and letters, the editor of their local newspaper and all the news outlets there to continue to cover this story and DEMAND these officers be held accountable. today a cop can charge into someone's home, kill the person sitting in their easy chair who's watching tv only to find the cops had the wrong house and the wrong person because they're so gun happy and ready to exercise their authority complex on all who are within their vision. and what happens to these cops? they're suspended WITH PAY for a brief period of time. if you think that doesn't happen, it does. it happens quite frequently everywhere in this nation and i can cite the times it's happened even in the city where i live. get angry and take your anger to phone calls and letters and emails and don't stop til something positive is done to make permanent positive change in this nation.

Wednesday August 5, 2009, 4:25 pm
What has been done to this person is inexcusable and it should not be diluted. This person was the victim of police brutality and there is nothing that says that punishment for being involved with the police is justification for sodomy.

Racial issues are just what they are and until we are able and willing to deal with the issues, they will continue to exist. For non believers, you won't believe it until your skin tone changes, therefore I see no reason to debate the Gates case. Do any of you think that if his skin were another color, it would not be automatically assumed that he was breaking into his own house. The officer probably would have helped him get in. But that is just my opinion and well the opinion of many others including some law enforcement members.

Yes, police are needed but we don't need rogue cops traumatizing citizens. Everyone is not guilty! That is one thing that we need to always remember...

Myself, having been a victim of police brutality know what it is like to be assumed guilty just because of my skin tone and my locality. Those were perfect indicators of guilt!!!! WTH!!!! I was sexually, physically, and verbally abused!!!! Go figure the mentality in society!!!! It's nice to advocate for victim's rights....It's just too bad that I received no advocacy....I have been my own voice even when I didn't have one.....Adversity MADE ME STRONGER as it will have to for this poor man.....

Noone deserves to be hurt by the people who swore to protect us irregardless of what preconceived notions invade some of our little minds.

And for those who think that slavery is not in existence...you may be right about that, maybe, but it still is in the hearts and minds of quite a few of our proud civilians....The rotten stench is astounding....

Wednesday August 5, 2009, 7:12 pm
Stephanie, thanks for your consideration and prayers.

Tonight I showed my mom all the members of Assistance to Incarcerated Mentally Ill - 201 now - and told her that because of Larry, more people are cognizant of the plight of mentally ill people being incarcerated and concerned about how they are treated by police officers. She looked at all of you and smiled, then we listened to "Amazing Grace" together.

About one in five Americans has mental health issues, and when they are in situations with police officers, they are frequently uncooperative and their reactions are perceived as being lacking in respect. Some die. They don't wear a sign saying, "I am mentally challenged. Please don't shout when you talk to me -- it confuses me more than I am, and I may not react quickly or appropriately to your commands."

AIMI members are pleased that we have been able to shed light on some of the injustices done to mental patients, and demonstrate to you the need for Change. One thing that would help would be for police officers to start caring more about their duty to citizens than to their fellow officers who are abusers.

Thank you again, Stephanie. Thank you CA.J for sharing your ordeal with everyone. I am so sorry you were treated horribly and glad that you remain strong.

Blessings!

Thursday August 6, 2009, 11:00 am
THE ATTACK AGAINST MY WRITING FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM INTENSIFIED TODAY.

NOWPUBLIC.COM WHERE 175 ARTICLES WERE PUBLISHED LOCKED ME OUT OF MY OWN ACCOUNT, PREVENTING MY ACCESS TO MY FULL OWN CREATIVE PRODUCT. THE REASON - THE "INDEPENDENT" MEDIA COMPANY RECENTLY TOOK CREDIT FOR DELETING MY ARTICLES, COMMENTS, AND PHOTOGRAPHS. I THOUGHT SUCH ACTS WERE BEING DONE BY CYBERSTALKERS OR BY SOMEONE ON NP'S PAYROLL WHO WAS MOONLIGHTING FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KEEP THE SECRET DEATH OF LARRY NEAL OUT OF THE NEWS.

WHEN THEY TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR SUCH ACTS THEMSELVES - AFTER MONTHS AND MONTHS OF MY WRITING ABOUT CYBERSTALKING -- I ASKED THAT THE MEDIA COMPANY IMMEDIATELY DESIST - ESPECIALLY SINCE IT CLAIMS IT CANNOT RECOVER DELETED PRODUCT (AN UNLIKELY ASSERTION). IN RESPONSE, NOWPUBLIC.COM LOCKED ME OUT OF MY ACCOUNT AND REPORTS THAT MY MEMBERSHIP IS UNDER REVIEW.

THE REAL PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE THAT MY MICHAEL JACKSON SERIES HAS GAINED OVER 40,000 READERS - IT IS NOT SO MUCH ABOUT MJJ AS IT IS A SERIES AGAINST ENFORCED H1N1 VACCINES.

IF YOU KNOW ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWYERS, PLEASE REFER THEM TO MY EMAIL ADDRESS - MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com

i just published a news article about this violation against my freedom of press rights which seems designed to hush voices against enforced H1N1 vaccines at Care2. Look for it in the Business News section.

pray for me. Standing for justice is risky business.. Last Sept. 27, I was followed to my neighborhood Chevron and accosted there by four vehicles and a USDOT truck. I called 911 and the police were a no-show for the hour while my 6-yr-old grandson and I waited there surrounded by numerous men who followed us approx. 6 miles from Kroger Grocery. My family had to come in two cars to save us. See a video about this at YouTube - COCHRAN FIRM FRAUD VIDEO 1 AND 2.

Thanks.

Monday August 10, 2009, 2:16 am
God bless you Mary for all that you do. I cannot stress this enough. You are such a wonderful human being with the biggest heart, best of ethics, such a huge tower of strength and inspiration. I have learned so much from you and continue to do so. You have all of my love and prayers and of course I constantly wish for you and your family peace and justice. At least Larry is in Heaven now where he suffers no more from any type of prejudice or pain. What happened to him and your family is unimaginably cruel but because of this terrible tragedy, I along with many others have learned so much about the plight of the incarcerated mentally ill which I would never have dreamt was such a horrid reality. Having this knowledge now gives me something to work towards correcting any way that I can. Anything I can do to contribute to changing this adds meaning to my own life and helps give me purpose, having a mental illness myself I have no trouble at all comprehending completely how easily this can and does happen. It could be me. The thought of it is terrifying. I am so glad to know you and feel honored to have you as my friend. Sorry for the response here being a bit late but my computer was down for well over a month and I am just now back online. I would very much like to read what you have written about Michael Jackson if you could tell me how and where I can access this information(?) Thanks so much again for everything..