“pending the outcome of a full and thorough investigation”=until this blows over.
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Unnecessarily inflammatory headline. She was punched only after resisting arrest, perhaps spitting or otherwise assaulting the officer.
None of these are good reasons for punching her but they are better reasons than underage drinking.
Inflammatory fake news is destructive even when it is for a good cause.
This officer was clearly in the wrong and deserves shaming; no need to exaggerate his transgression.
Uh… no there aren’t.
Cops are not supposed to PUNCH you.
Y’all are watching too much Law & Order I swear.
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The Supreme Court disagrees. Again not in this case but the circumstances are what determine when it’s appropriate so they are important.
The U.S. Supreme Court established that that a police officer who has probable cause to believe a suspect poses a threat of serious harm to the officer or others may use deadly force to prevent escape. (Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985).)
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Seriously consider what you posted. Are you really trying to say extrajudicial execution would be A-Okay with you for a civil misdemeanor?
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But does any of that suggest what you said above:
Police force is justified to defend the police officer or someone else from violence or to subdue someone who is fleeing arrest, and then only if the force is proportional to the circumstances. Police force is not justified by someone spitting on the officer a minute ago any more than it is justified by underage drinking. Those are two examples of things that don’t justify punching someone in the head.
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Deadly force = guns, aka shooting people, which last I checked we were ALSO against that, in general.
If a cop can punch someone hard enough that it classifies as “deadly force” then they need to document every time they make a fist, just like the do every time they take out their gun, and every time they take out their taser.
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At some point the USA’s ridiculous drinking age needs to be addressed.
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There are times that deadly force, including punching, is justified. This is not one of them. I see no inconsistency.
Name them, then. Tell me exactly when beating someone to death is “justified.”
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Perhaps they should try ensuring that their officers cut back on the 'roids. I am not saying this individual was a user, but it’s a known problem.
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The issue is that you said that being spit on is a “better” reason for punching her than underage drinking is. In the context of the responsibilities of an on-duty police officer, it is not a better reason. Both reasons are simply invalid. The supreme court case you linked doesn’t dispute that.
If they had already been convicted of assault and we were talking about their sentence, I think in that context being spit on would be a "better’ reason for punching someone - more understandable, more sympathetic. But right now they haven’t even been charged (I doubt they will be, if they are I doubt they will be convicted). The idea that the spitting (which we have no good evidence happened) is relevant feels like trying to inch away from the idea that this was just criminal assault.
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The goal of lawful deadly force is to stop the threat, never to beat someone to death.
For example here is an incident where it would be justified for the police to punch someone:
https://www.cnn.com/videos/justice/2016/05/20/minnesota-officer-attacked-dash-cam-video.wcco
A person spitting is not in itself such a threat but if the officer had been disabled with say a kick in the groin and then was having bloody spit repeatedly forced into their mouth that would be a situation that could warrant a punch. It would be better if the officer could defend otherwise such as turning their head away and only if that were not possible and the threat was ongoing would deadly force be warranted. Again this situation was not that.
But you said that punches are deadly force, and the only way that works is if you beat someone to death with your fists.
So which is it?
Also, is this really the hill you want to die on? The “its totes ok for cops to punch teenage girls in the head repeatedly” hill? Thats a really odd hill to want to die on. And oddly specific.
Are you a cop?
If you are you have to tell me.
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I agree with most everything else you wrote, and I acknowledge that this quote is surely true for you and many others. But I am resolute that this was just criminal assault. My intention behind raising the spitting is that it is an assault, perhaps even battery. I want to live in a world where assault is more likely to provoke assault than underage drinking. I want to live in a world where fake news is called out and people can make up their minds based on reality rather than a hyped up fantasy. My beef is with the headline, not any victim of police brutality.
The idea that reality feels like it inches away from justice is corrosive and dangerous. Cops should never exaggerate the cases for their actions and we should not exaggerate the cases for seeking justice. The headline saying beaten for underage drinking is an exaggeration of what happened. Thank you for your apparent commitment to reality.
No; force does not have to lead to death to be deadly.
I am not a cop; in fact I am someone with a deep distrust of cops ever since they violated my rights multiple times. I do have a bias toward rule of law and rule of facts over feelings.
I think reality goes towards justice. But reality is an incomprehensible totality ultimately beyond our reach. What parts of reality we choose to focus our attention on at a given moment can inch us towards or away from justice. If we all watched that tape and just looked at the sky we’d all be observing reality, but none of us would even be aware of the assault.
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