Tweet
Originally posted by MutherjuggZ
View Post
-
Thankfully I've never had to deal with anything like that, but I've met Matt in person and talked with him a number of times. He's DEFINITELY one of the good ones. We don't see eye to eye on every issue, but if all police officers had his moral code, the world would be a much better place!!! -
-
-
Police audio key part of murder charges against Calif. officerProsecutors allege audio is evidence that Fullerton police Officer Manuel Ramos murdered Kelly Thomas
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — As Fullerton police Officer Manuel Ramos approached a homeless man at a bus stop in July, he did what members of his department have been doing for a decade. He clicked on an audio recorder normally used to capture witness statements and exonerate officers accused of misconduct.
But prosecutors say the recorder captured something entirely different: the officer murdering a defenseless man suffering from schizophrenia.
Police agencies across the country are increasingly using audio and video devices to collect evidence, and they played a crucial role in prosecutors bringing murder charges this week against Ramos and an involuntary manslaughter count against a colleague, Cpl. Jay Cicinelli.
The violent encounter with Kelly Thomas was captured on surveillance video, but prosecutors say it was only when they paired the images with police audio that they understood what they were seeing. They said Thomas was pummeled, shocked with a Taser, beaten with a stun gun and taunted by Ramos as he stood over the victim and declared: "Now see my fists? They are getting ready to F you up."
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas called that statement — and the fact it was recorded — a turning point.
"This encounter had changed from a fairly routine police detention into an impending beating at the hands of an angry police officer," Rackauckas said. "Ramos instilled in the victim a reasonable fear that his life was in danger."
Fullerton uses a device sold by Riverside-based Versatile Information Products Inc., which contracts with electronics-maker Olympus to customize standard digital voice recorders.
At the end of each shift, officers transfer files onto a server that backs them up as long as needed. The devices, used by hundreds of police agencies, do not let officers edit files, and they show if anything has been deleted.
Device salesman Stephen Gaskins said the units cost about $300 a piece, with the software to back up the files available separately.
"Expensive, but not as daunting as what lawsuits cost," Gaskins said, referring to the frequency the devices provide evidence to exonerate officers wrongly accused of misconduct.
About 700 other police departments across the country have gone a step further, equipping officers with tiny body cameras to record interactions.
In Oakland, where the department is under federal supervision following a case where four officers were caught planting drugs on suspects, police supervisors view the cameras as a useful extra check on officers.
The Los Angeles Police Department is spending $20 million to install video and audio systems in its squad cars. Officers will be wirelessly miked and a computer starts recording every time the emergency lights are activated.
Even before Fullerton police started using audio recorders, the department employed dashboard video cameras and microphones, but these proved unreliable, Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said. Recorders are now standard issue and officers are taught to switch them on every time they interact with a member of the public.
"In just about every investigation that goes to court, one of the common requests is that (prosecutors) want the (audio)," Goodrich said.
In Los Angeles, after some initial concerns private conversations between officers would be recorded, the police officer's union has embraced the technology.
EmailPrintCommentRSS
September 24, 2011
Police audio key part of murder charges against Calif. officer
Prosecutors allege audio is evidence that Fullerton police Officer Manuel Ramos murdered Kelly Thomas
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — As Fullerton police Officer Manuel Ramos approached a homeless man at a bus stop in July, he did what members of his department have been doing for a decade. He clicked on an audio recorder normally used to capture witness statements and exonerate officers accused of misconduct.
But prosecutors say the recorder captured something entirely different: the officer murdering a defenseless man suffering from schizophrenia.
Related Articles:
2 Calif. cops charged in homeless man's death
Calif. police training eyed after mentally ill man dies
Related content sponsored by:
Police agencies across the country are increasingly using audio and video devices to collect evidence, and they played a crucial role in prosecutors bringing murder charges this week against Ramos and an involuntary manslaughter count against a colleague, Cpl. Jay Cicinelli.
The violent encounter with Kelly Thomas was captured on surveillance video, but prosecutors say it was only when they paired the images with police audio that they understood what they were seeing. They said Thomas was pummeled, shocked with a Taser, beaten with a stun gun and taunted by Ramos as he stood over the victim and declared: "Now see my fists? They are getting ready to F you up."
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas called that statement — and the fact it was recorded — a turning point.
"This encounter had changed from a fairly routine police detention into an impending beating at the hands of an angry police officer," Rackauckas said. "Ramos instilled in the victim a reasonable fear that his life was in danger."
Fullerton uses a device sold by Riverside-based Versatile Information Products Inc., which contracts with electronics-maker Olympus to customize standard digital voice recorders.
At the end of each shift, officers transfer files onto a server that backs them up as long as needed. The devices, used by hundreds of police agencies, do not let officers edit files, and they show if anything has been deleted.
Device salesman Stephen Gaskins said the units cost about $300 a piece, with the software to back up the files available separately.
"Expensive, but not as daunting as what lawsuits cost," Gaskins said, referring to the frequency the devices provide evidence to exonerate officers wrongly accused of misconduct.
About 700 other police departments across the country have gone a step further, equipping officers with tiny body cameras to record interactions.
In Oakland, where the department is under federal supervision following a case where four officers were caught planting drugs on suspects, police supervisors view the cameras as a useful extra check on officers.
The Los Angeles Police Department is spending $20 million to install video and audio systems in its squad cars. Officers will be wirelessly miked and a computer starts recording every time the emergency lights are activated.
Even before Fullerton police started using audio recorders, the department employed dashboard video cameras and microphones, but these proved unreliable, Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said. Recorders are now standard issue and officers are taught to switch them on every time they interact with a member of the public.
"In just about every investigation that goes to court, one of the common requests is that (prosecutors) want the (audio)," Goodrich said.
In Los Angeles, after some initial concerns private conversations between officers would be recorded, the police officer's union has embraced the technology.
"In the vast majority of cases, the public is going to see the police officers being very restrained and very professional, and that's a positive," Los Angeles Police Protective League president Paul Weber said.
Another piece of high-tech evidence came from Cicinelli's Taser. By downloading information on the weapon, investigators determined he used it three times in "drive stun" mode, pushing the device directly into Thomas. Then he used it a fourth time, firing darts from weapon and shocking Thomas for about 12 seconds.
Cicinelli then allegedly smashed Thomas about the face with the Taser. Cicinelli's attorney Bill Hadden said he had not received any discovery in the case but claimed prosecutors had gotten a lot of facts wrong. He said he would be making a fuller response in the coming weeks.
Ramos's attorney, John Barnett, has disputed prosecutors' account of the confrontation with Thomas. He says when his client made the threat about his fists, he was using a subtle type of force to get a suspect to comply. Ramos was responding to a transit hub in the suburban college town after someone reported seeing a homeless man breaking into cars.
In all, six officers were at the scene but the other four were not expected to be charged. Cicinelli's device and that of one other officer were not activated, though police say it's not unusual for an officer to forget to switch on the mechanism if they are responding to an unfolding emergency.
Comment
-
Security video with audio released of the full event. Those cops were fucking animals!
One officer admits to beating his face in with his taser. The altercation starts around the 15 minute mark.
Last edited by Steve; 05-09-2012, 12:06 AM.Comment
-
Originally posted by Steve View Post
It says you have to sign in to see the video.
I'm not sure I want to be that disgusted. Again..Comment
-
Wow. Just the latest example of the power of the badge and the mentality that it breeds.
And I really like the river of blood.Comment
-
Originally posted by mikec View Post
Just remember, there are over 800,000 law enforcement officers and the overwhelming majority did their job professionally yesterday.
I don't get the mentality that every officer is corrupt or engages in malfeasance.Comment
-
Agreed that the majority did their job well. The difficulty for the general public is that we never know when we're going to encounter the bad apple. Kind of like how you guys never know when you're going to do so. The part that sucks for the regular Joe is that the cop has the power of the badge and can cover it up. Had it happen to my mother in law just next door when she was rear ended by a cop. The brothers in blue showed up and next thing you know she was written a ticket and it was her fault, this after the cop got out of his car and apologized. This guy just lost his life, she only lost money.Originally posted by 03trubluGT View Post
Bottom line is that it shouldn't happen. Period.Comment
-
I just watched that video. WOW. Just hearing that guy screaming made me not wanna eat breakfast.
police officers:
" you see these fist?"
"choke him out"
" i ran out of options so i got the end of my tazer and smashed his face to hell."
Originally posted by 03trubluGTComment
-
Exactly...it's the 99% of bad officers that make the good 1% look bad. Seriously...do you honestly think any of us would trust you to admit how screwed up LEOs can be? The biggest problem isn't with the 75% that do a proper job 80% of the time, it's with the protection of their own corrupt and lack of punishment.Originally posted by 03trubluGT View PostComment
-
The cops must be the retarded ones if they are unable to contain this guy without this kind of force. Kinda like parents who "just dont know what to do". The idiot cop doesn't know what to do, so he thinks with his dick and beats the shit out of a homeless man.
On another note, I have little respect for cops in small afluent towns, i.e. Keller, Southlake, Coppell etc. The cops who work in big cities and actually fight real crime are of good use. These toy cops arresting kids for not using a turn indicator 100ft before a turn, or some kid that has a personal g, cops who radar, (not saying big cities dont) make me sick.
Dylan
Originally posted by 03trubluGT View PostComment
-
I've seen this more than once and don't fully understand it. Police yelling "put your hands behind your back!" ...meanwhile they have he person who is supposed to do it in such a position that they can't get one or both arms there. Physically impossible.Originally posted by MR EDDComment
-
It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up. If you watch the ideo it will make you think twice about possibly defending those animals.Originally posted by 03trubluGT View Post
One of the officers was charged with 2nd degree murder and another with involuntary manslaughter.Comment
-
Oh, I've seen how screwed up some can be.Originally posted by Ruffdaddy View Post
Being a member of a department of over 1,500 gives me exposure. I've seen a few dozen officers disciplined/fired/arrested for misconduct.
How about:
Wesley Lamb
Chuy Cisneros
Ruben Ruiz
And that is just to name a few. If you think covering up for a co-worker is worth wasting 20 years of work, then you are an idiot.Comment
Comment