If you can’t watch the video, a plainclothes policeman grabs an EMT who is attending her patient, spins her around, slams her into the wall, handcuffs her and drags her outside. All for the “crime” of accidentally hitting his car (which was parked where it shouldn’t be) and taking care of her patient before providing the cop with her id. The cop has been suspended. (Strong is the big University of Rochester teaching hospital in the city.)
We have a big problem with police behavior in Rochester, but the new civilian Police Accountability Board is a mess and a shitshow, with the (male) administrator on leave and accusing the (now resigned) head of the board of sexual harassment. As of a couple of weeks ago, they’d been an agency for a year and a half, but hadn’t reviewed a single case.
The EMT was released without charges. In New York, it’s a misdemeanor to interfere with an EMT performing their duties. I wonder (not really) if this cop will get charged.
Our Failed Media Open Thread: Some Modest Proposals
West of the Rockies
What’s the A-hole’s name? He should be publicly shamed. Glad he’s suspended.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Reminds me of the Salt Lake City female nurse, Alex Wubbles, who was arrested by a cop for refusing to do a blood draw on an unconscious patient. That was also completely outrageous behavior. That officer was fired for his actions and afterwards said he wasn’t sorry in the least for what he did
ArchTeryx
That patient dies, that cop should be hit by a wrongful death suit so big that the taxpayers of Rochester CAN’T be used to bail him out.
Grumpy Old Railroader
So I have a great nephew in the local (40k population) police department. I always thought our local police were the exception to the rule, Then at a casual family gathering the officer had perhaps one beer too many and revealed that pretty much every Latino in our community is viewed as a “perp’ by the PD. I was sad, mad, shocked and disappointed. I don’t think I will every view him or the PD the same.
KSinMA
Maybe sonebody will send that video to Gov. Hochul.
HinTN
@Grumpy Old Railroader: Back in the day we called them Pigs. Same as it ever was
Dangerman
Hope Sargent Asshole can do his job (if he doesn’t get fired) without ever going into the Hospital again. Hospital Admin and Security will be highly unamused.
Martin
Revised flag
Honus
Suspended. With full pay and benefits no doubt. He should have his fat ass beaten to a pulp and never work as a cop again. Maybe he can get a job sucking shit from porta johns.
Suzanne
@Grumpy Old Railroader: I have a few people I knew growing up who became cops. Every single one of them was terrible and I have no reason to think they outgrew it. All of them were the type of man who enjoyed dominating other people. One of them was my friend’s boyfriend in eighth grade, and back then, his aspiration was to be a US Senator, so maybe we dodged a bullet.
MagdaInBlack
That kind of temper makes me think Sargent Asshole needs some blood testing done.
Ohio Mom
If this cop was parked where he shouldn’t have been, maybe he should be ticketed (retroactively) for that. Just for fun.
I was enough of a child of the 60s (born a little late to be full-fledged) that I’ve had a life long antipathy to cops. I haven’t yet seen any real reason to reconsider.
One of my worse predictions was asking why anyone needed a camera in their phone. Cell phones are the only thing that just might lead to police reform.
Another Scott
Keep I assuming it won’t be too long when it become burned into everyone’s DNA that there are cameras everywhere. Don’t do stuff that you wouldn’t want you spouse, boss, entire town, and late-night comics to see. Don’t be a jerk, don’t be cruel, don’t be mean, don’t abuse others, and don’t be stupid.
But I keep being disappointed.
Cops seem to have not learned that yeah, Rodney King’s beating was filmed and the cops got off. But that was 31 years ago. Things have changed – a lot.
Maybe someday…
Grrr…,
Scott.
MagdaInBlack
@Ohio Mom: I share your age group and antipathy.
SFBayAreaGal
I’ve been following this ex policeman talking about incidents like this. He also shows and explains our basics rights covering the 1st and 4th amendments in dealing with the police. I highly recommend taking a look. His web page is We the People University. He is also on YouTube.
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
I have a suggested solution for this police officer, but I can’t openly express it because it involves the Second Amendment being acted upon by one of those Oathkeepers that have been pretending to be all about fighting tyranny….
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Martin: 
God, some of the fucking idiots in the replies:
“I hope you never have to call the police”
“Not ALL police!”
Ugh. But that revised TBL flag is brutal
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
2 of my buddies from HS time became cops.
I rode along with one of them one night and haven’t spoken to him since. That was just over 50 yrs ago. I wasn’t impressed with his demeanor or concept of legality.
The other one retired about 20 yrs ago after being a CHP for 30 yrs. I had lunch with him about 2012 and he told me that cops started to change a lot around 1990 and that he couldn’t wait to finish his 30 and retire. He dislikes cops about as much as any non criminal I know.
Anotherlurker
@Grumpy Old Railroader: Same with my nephew. NYPD.
He is a great disappointment to me. 24 instances of excessive use of force, one disciplinary action in his 20 years on the force.
He is a great disappointment to me. The rest of the family worships him as a hero.
Spanky
@Ruckus: Police forces have been harvesting war vets since at least Gulf War One. My cousin was a Marine who served in the taking of Fallujah. Now he’s a cop in an Eastern city, and after all, what’s the difference between Fallujah and an inner city in the US?
We don’t talk anymore.
RSA
@Ruckus: You’ve told this story in more detail before, and it was memorable. Thanks for sharing your experience.
LeftCoastYankee
Good thing cops are really good at solving crimes… Oh wait….
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
Next time a Rochester cop is bleeding out (a rarity), maybe the EMTs will take their time…
phdesmond
@Martin:
a rough image, for an appalling reality.
Alison Rose
They get so mad when people say ACAB, and yet they keep doing their level best to reaffirm it.
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
@LeftCoastYankee:
Clearance rate on major crimes should be compared to overtinted window/wide turn/broken taillight stops. If the ratio is under 1/10, a committee of 10 gets to groin kick the mayor, the civilian safety director and the police chief in that order.
Tony G
@Spanky: I guess there’s a logical correlation there. The first Iraq War in 1991 was the first major U.S. war with an all-volunteer military — so instead of reluctant draftees they were guys who had signed up to kill people and blow things up. And afterwards many of them became cops. (Or maybe cops have always been this bad, but there was no video evidence in the past.)
Honus
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I’m 67. Let’s just say I’ve been around. Recently thought about the number of times I’ve felt safer after the cops showed up. The answer was zero.
pat
I m certainly not trying to excuse police behavior, like what we saw in that video, but I have to wonder what sort of mind set develops when you begin to believe that anyone anytime you approach them could be carrying a weapon.
But they do seem to attract some unsavory characters, as evidenced by the comments here.
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
@Tony G: Cops were always this bad. Ubiquitous cameras are simply revealing it.
When I was a baby public defender in the late 80s, our running joke was the combo charge – resisting and criminal mischief, bleeding on the officers shoes/uniform trousers, biting knuckles and embedding teeth in the officers’ corfam shoes (requiring replacement). Saw it over and over.
Of course, that was pre-camera.
White folks in the prosecutors office and white folks on juries never believed it. They didn’t believe that evidence got stolen, either.
prostratedragon
@pat: An EMT?
Alison Rose
@pat: I mean, if he’s afraid an EMT in a hospital might be packing, I’d say he’s not of sound enough mind to be a cop.
Urza
@Tony G: It may be getting worse since they seem to be attracting the personality traits into policing, but its still mostly about there being no cameras in the past so everyone just accepted the police report.
Citizen Alan
@Suzanne:
I’ve had exactly the opposite experience. I’ve had 3 friends who went into police work. All 3 of them were college educated and highly intelligent. All 3 of them were moderate to somewhat liberal when they went in. And all 3 of them became basically basically fascists within 5 years.
Honus
@Alison Rose : if he goes into an ER and grabs an EMT that is attending to a patient, throws her against a wall handcuffs her and drags her outside he is unfit to carry a gun or a badge. Whether or not the EMT is packed is irrelevant. That was a complete off the wall battery and abuse of authority. He should not only be suspended, he should go to prison. I know, fat chance.
Citizen Alan
@Alison Rose : All cops are bastards. Because to be a good cop, in my opinion, the cop has to be willing to stop bad cops from doing bad things and, if necessary, testify against them. And not one cop in a 1000 is willing to do that. Joe Serprico was a good cop. And he had to flee the country to avoid being assassinated by the NYPD.
gwangung
@Citizen Alan: And this is why the institution and culture needs to be razed to the ground, and rebuilt from the foundations up.
LeftCoastYankee
@Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg:
I’d vote for that!
Tenar Arha
@pat:
1) so yeah as said above by prostratedragon, an EMT in their uniform
2) I’ll believe that cops are actually afraid of people with weapons when they stop rolling up on & then suddenly shooting unarmed black people, and stop gently persuading heavily armed white men to drop their weapons, & then arresting them.
baruch weisman
Cut and dry case. Berserk racist cop commits wild attack on Medic during life saving procedure. Warrants kick in ass and placed among hungry caged carnivores.
Charges with assault and battery; attempted murder: falsification of events; dereliction of duty by not executing assignment,etc. The DA can easily throw the book at him for a prime example to the KKK dirtbags hiding behind their badges. The camera does not lie. The video can not be altered.
caphilldcne
This makes me ill. I’ve had relatively good experience with DC cops when I’ve really needed the. (a break in at my house and it wasn’t clear if they were still there or not and a brutal assault on my street that I interrupted) but I’m white and I only ever call if it’s an absolute emergency. The impunity and lack of accountability is really troubling.
MobiusKlein
Is it even worth noting the cop was not ever wearing a mask in the ER?
Starfish
Police Accountability Boards are undermined at every level from creation or implementation.
You can create a useless police accountability board. Give them no investigative powers.
You can create a useless police accountability board. Take many recommendations from the police as to who should sit on the board.
You can have a useless police accountability board. Make sure the person who is running the board is aligned with the police.
You can have a useless police accountability board. Have them spend a lot of time on the basic definition of things and not looking at any cases.
I would dare say that most of them are terrible and do one or more of the things above to be useless.
Splitting Image
@Ohio Mom:
I was also unhappy about the sudden prevalence of camera phones when they were first rolled out and the complete lack of privacy that they seemed to be heralding.
But eventually I realized the same thing you did. Each video of a cop kneeling on a man’s chest or planting a gun after shooting him is key to solving this problem.
mr perfect
It’s always male on female assault with these assholes in blue. Anyone does that to my wife gets a visit later from me. I trained with a self defence instructor for 19 years who was ex police and ex military and trained SWAT/ERT units.
James E Powell
FTFY
kalakal
That’s appalling. I hope he and the department get sued into the ground.
I’m getting real culture shock over this, dog knows the British police aren’t angels but they do actually generally operate as police, not as an occupying force in hostile territory.
SFBayAreaGal
Cops are trained to look at all of as the enemy. They are not your friend.
Ruckus
@Spanky:
The bad cop had not served a minute in the military.
I also served in the Shore Patrol for about 6 weeks towards the end of my enlistment. Never once carried a projectile weapon and the only people in the Shore Patrol at Long Beach Navy Station that did were the gate guards – all Marines. Basically the job was dealing with drunks. I carried a night stick and the E7 Marine I worked for and rode with on occasion was unarmed. Not that that would have kept him from being able to stop and arrest just about anyone in the Navy. And somehow he could sense drugs better than any sniffer dog. Also was not too fond of smart ass.
JWR
A co-worker came from a family rife with L.A. county sheriff’s deputies. At least one of them was involved in the Rampart scandal, and went to prison. Then there were the good ol’ days of L.A. police chief Daryl Gates, who I just found out went to the same high school as me. Woo feckin hoo. My mom used to exchange greetings with him on his morning runs, but the man was a racist arsehole to the core. I and my friends had a few run ins with
thosesheriff’s deputies, which was how I came to think of them as domestic terrorists. This was the late 1970’s. ETA for clarity.Ruckus
@Tony G:
There has never been a time when all cops were good human beings. There was a time when many were reasonable. My sense is that the ratio is now reversed at best. Because there still are good cops but seemingly most of them act like they are judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one ugly asshole.
Kelly
Interesting to think about. Two of my best whitewater rafting buddies in the 1990’s were cops. We went on a bunch of classic whitewater trips. Regularly had other cops in our parties. Pleasant company, always solid boaters, good team work. Lost my cop buddies to FOX news after they retired. No cops in my circle for 15 years. FOX news has ruined many folks as well as cops.
Ruckus
@Kelly:
I think faux news has had an extremely bad affect upon this nation. Even just the way they present the daily news but especially the “talk” or major fucking bullshit shows they air. The second thing was the gangs had started to become major issues to be used against the attempt to curb racism, at least in the LA area. I owned a business 3-4 miles south east of downtown LA and the LAPD was about as racist as possible to be without white hoods. Newton precinct, which was the one I was in would ride around in unmarked cars with 5 cops, all over 6 ft, and stop and harass black pedestrians. They did this once to a black woman walking down the street by herself across from my business. I thought they were going to beat the shit out of her with their nightsticks. She remained cool and they didn’t touch her but I can imagine what she was thinking. I know I was thinking that I would have gotten the shit beat out of me and I’m as white as casper.
StringOnAStick
@Kelly: What you and Ruckus say certainly matched my experience, and identifying FOX as the underlying cause does as well. FOX becoming common was when my ability to speak GOB and redneck while working with those types no longer worked. Prior to that I was the exotic blonde geologist lady,after that I was obviously a liberal and not in my proper place.
HumboldtBlue
Animals are always welcome here.
Meet Emmanuel.
Ruckus
@Spanky:
Long before that.
Vets have been through boot camp where they learn, like it or not, hierarchy/command structure/rank/camaraderie and inside/outside structure. For example in the navy most non lifers I knew were not exactly major Navy supporters (there was a war and draft on…) However ship to ship relations were like the next town over high school, no matter what you thought of your HS, the one next town over was worse. If you are trying to build a strong structure, especially during a time of stress, that’s something most vets are familiar with.
opiejeanne
@Citizen Alan: Frank Serpico?
sab
Living in Akron, we have been rethinking about the police a lot. We thought ours had serious problems but were mostly okay. ( We judge our cops against the incredibly low bar of Cleveland cops, who are feral.) But then this murderous chase of a decent young Black man with a bad tail light. My community is gobsmacked. And that includes retired police we know. We can be shocked, but nevertheless it happened, so something is beyond seriously wrong here.
I am middleclass white with stepkids who were a bit wild. I am 68 and I personally have had three traffic stops in my life that were extremely courteous. My stepkids have had worse encounters that the kids deserved (drunk and extremely disorderly) and the cops always got them under control and safely home even when they didn’t deserve it. So we have had pretty much good experiences even when we were behaving extremely badly.
Every Black person I know has had a bad experience with local cops. Ranging from rude to outright scary. Mostly traffic stops. That shouldn’t have happened. Stops for stupid transgressions that no white person has evered experienced. Stopped for no turn signal? Stopped for driving in the bike lane when there are no bikes? Just bullshit annoying stuff. The people who are most afraid are the disabled, who cannot respond promptly to police orders. Like if they have MS and move slowly. This used to be an annoyance. Now it is a source of terror.
My husband went to an inner city Catholic School, so he has had cop friends since kindergarten. He and they are in their seventies. They all agree the cops have changed. The unions are nuts. They are protecting their guys, but they have absolutely no interest in doing anything to protect the policed communities.
So the union is detrimental to good policing. For example, what shift you work depends on your seniority. Old experienced cops work 9 to 5. The rookies are out at night on the dangerous shifts by themselves. So slightly more experienced than rookie cops are training the rookies. In the Jayland Walker killing the most experienced cop had six years experience, and most of them were slightly over a year.
This is a huge change. It used to be that rookies rode for years with an experienced cop (like on TV). This isn’t reality and hasn’t been for a long time. Why did this happen? Cities have no money in contract negotiations. All they can give up now is control. So the union controls staffing and scheduling.
Another problem is many of the new recruits are returning war veterans. The higher level cops we know thought hiring veterans would be great but instead it has been a catastrophe. They go into their patrol neighborhoods like an occupying force. This is new. They used to think of them as “their” neighborhoods. No longer.
And the big bear in the room is guns. My husband’s close police friend spent 40 years on our urban police force and fired his gun once and was shot at twice. Now guns are everywhere. My dad’s nurse’s aide has spent the two years sleeping on the floor under her bed for fear of gun violence. And the rookie cops are out there every weekend fighting that.
Then they ( the cops) go to the polls and vote Republican ( more guns.)
It’s a mess. Good and bad guys all around. But the Black community is really being hurt, and most of them are just trying to raise families in safety.
sab
Looked up on their website. Starting Akron police get $61,000+ including the police academy. That’s a respectable wage.
I know a bunch of longtime retail workers who make a third of that. Without tips.