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Cameras Watching Cops: Still A Good Idea

Legal Issues

from the the-bad,-the-worse-and-the-bumblefuck dept

Fri, Sep 26th 2014 12:29pm — Tim Cushing
Marlene Pinnock, the 51-year-old grandmother with bipolar disorder who was politely asked to refrain from walking on Interstate 10 with the judicious application of California Highway Patrol officer Daniel Andrew's fist (no less than nine times), has been awarded a settlement of $1.5 million from the city of Los Angeles. Further details on the settlement aren't forthcoming, but the issuing of a settlement generally means never having to say you're sorry -- most settlements are awarded without an admission of wrongdoing.

The CHP's statement notes that the officer involved has elected to resign, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll avoid facing criminal charges.
The CHP forwarded the results of its investigation of the incident to Los Angeles County prosecutors last month, saying he could face serious charges but none have been filed yet.
Left unaddressed entirely is the CHP's seizure of Pinnock's medical records, which occurred shortly after it became apparent she would be suing over the beating she received. Here's the recording of Officer Andrew's life-saving beating. Ask yourself whether this settlement would have arrived this quickly without this recording. (You already know the answer.)


Speaking of cops and cameras, it's a damn good thing State Trooper Sean Groubert didn't have the presence of mind to disable his dashcam before shooting a man in the hip for following his instructions.


Sean "Jumpy" Groubert may have thought the driver was reaching for a weapon, but he did just instruct him to get his license -- which happened to be in his wallet -- which happened to be in the car -- and presumably, the rest of his vehicle documents. Instead of allowing Levar Jones to comply, Groubert's weapon discharged (to use the Police Passive Tense) at least four times, hitting Jones in the hip and leading to a very surreal conversation in which the victim asks a perfectly logical question: "Why'd you shoot me?"

Fortunately, there was no extensive, drawn-out investigation. Groubert has been fired and charged with aggravated assault. Again: would Groubert still be employed if his camera hadn't been on or if the recording had vanished?

Finally, courtesy of PINAC, here's one of the nation's most incompetent cops hard at work.
It took almost eight painstaking minutes for the dimwitted cop in this video to realize he was being recorded, which was when he turned to the man with the camera and told him it was “technically illegal.”

But it also took the cop 24 hours before realizing he had forgotten to issue a citation to a man he had pulled over the prior evening, which is why he had the man meet him at the gas station the following night in an attempt to get the man to sign it.

"Technically illegal." Which means not illegal at all, but also means that the cop knows it (or thinks he does) but desperately wants the person recording to be more ignorant than he is and think that Officer Better Late Than Never is cutting him a break. Ridiculous.

The person who actually obliged this poster boy for law enforcement IQ tests points out that he really shouldn't be cited for something that happened 24 hours ago -- an interaction in which he was released by this same cop without a citation. The retort?
He also admits he routinely forgets to issue citations to people he pulls over, requiring him to track them down the following day to do so.
Um. Touché.

Again, the camera is the public's best friend. Hopefully this circulated footage will make its way back to the officer's superiors, who will hopefully assign him to an immovable desk that will never not be right where he expects it to be, even 24 hours later.
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Filed Under: cameras, police, police brutality

29 Comments

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Reader Comments

The First Word

“
Let's start holding cops financially responsible for willful misconduct. Garnish his wages until the full 1.5 million dollar debt has been repaid. It should only take him the rest of his life, with any remaining balance to be settled by his estate.
—Anonymous Coward
 ”

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  • identicon
    Soup is good food, 26 Sep 2014 @ 12:43pm

    I was told earlier...

    That watching cops was being a terrorist make up your mind which is it?!, I'm TRYING TO COMPLY PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 Sep 2014 @ 12:48pm

    I am totally amazed and dumbfounded in the same moment by actions caught on camera, in which courts decide that the evidence shown before your eyes is not as accurate as a cop's testimony where often the video disagrees with the cop's sworn testimony.

    We are so eat up with corruption from the lowest levels of policing to the highest levels of government it is incomprehensible that it works even in the most broken fashion. More and more I see money, politics, and industry have killed most traces of justice being equal.

    The best laws that money can buy in the form of making or enforcing. Always set against the average citizen.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Soup is Good food, 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:00pm

      Re: Corruption etc

      It's pretty easy to explain, we started to go really wrong in WWII( and I don't just mean the States here, though they are the worst offenders) we gave Children(let me re-iterate, CHILDREN) toy's and power on a scale not ever seen before, and it has continued, I watched WAR they other day and though it is dated (early 80's) it is clear how much all of this has been pretend( you just have to listen to the ones that stayed in the army after Vietnam), the cold war, Vietnam, all of it since WWII, Nazi's and ex-OSS people and their kids have been in power ever since, and now it has been taken over by THEIR kids, who grew up maximizing stats, they are the irritating rules lawyer kids that you didn't really want to game(PnP)with. It is unfortunately that simple, if you feel that as a civilization we are headed to Jr. High School, your right.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Padpaw (profile), 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:56pm

      Re:

      seems like your best safety is to get a gun for yourself. You can at least die taking out one of the corrupt bastards when they kick in your door for owning a gun, if you do not have a gun you can die in a hail of gunfire for holding a cell phone as that's a real threat too apparently

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:01pm

    Let's start holding cops financially responsible for willful misconduct. Garnish his wages until the full 1.5 million dollar debt has been repaid. It should only take him the rest of his life, with any remaining balance to be settled by his estate.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Soup is good food, 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:05pm

      Re: cops finacial reposnisble

      Or charge him with attempted murder, as it's clear that was his intent..

      Same laws or no laws that's the only real choice here

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    OldGeezer (profile), 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:03pm

    Cameras can help cops when they are right

    A few months ago there was a police shooting in Wichita KS and it was fortunate for the officer that it was seen on surveillance video. When a suspect was seen leaving a break in he was ordered to stop and he ran and fired a shot at the cop. Instead of shooting back he ordered him to drop the gun but he turned and pointed the gun again. It was then that the cop shot and killed him. Still, even though it was very clear that this shooting was justified there was a lot of whining because the suspect was black and the cop was white. People were saying "would he have shot him if he was white"? The question should have been would he have shot him if he wasn't pointing a gun at him to fire a second shot. The officer was cleared and returned to duty. If it had not been for the cameras this dumb criminal's family would have probably sued the city for millions.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:38pm

      Well there's your problem...

      Cameras are an absolute boon to good cops, providing backing evidence to support them and clear them of wrongdoing. For bad cops on the other hand, the last thing they want is any evidence on their actions beyond what they say happened.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Soup is good food, 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:42pm

        Re: Well there's your problem...

        Except that courts have already decided that a Cops word is more credible than video, so Cameras cannot help their immunity, they don't need help, they have it already

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:53pm

        Re: Well there's your problem...

        For bad cops...

        This is news: John 3:20

        For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2014 @ 8:03am

        Re: Well there's your problem...

        As bad cops always say before they want to illegally search your home, if you've done nothing wrong, then you won't mind me looking around.

        Cameras are an unbiased eye. They show good cops being good, bad cops being bad, lawbreakers and citizens upholding their rights. Anyone who is against them most likely has something to hide.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Padpaw (profile), 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:47pm

      Re: Cameras can help cops when they are right

      but that only works if the police do not deliberately turn off their dashboard cam before they go and "talk" to the suspect.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        OldGeezer (profile), 26 Sep 2014 @ 2:24pm

        Re: Re: Cameras can help cops when they are right

        This cop did not know at the time he was on video. It was the store's cameras that caught the incident.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      OldGeezer (profile), 26 Sep 2014 @ 2:34pm

      Re: Cameras can help cops when they are right

      There was another justification for the shooting. The suspect was running toward a busy intersection where civilians could have been caught in the crossfire. Also he could have carjacked someone stopped at the light. That didn't silence the critics saying "Why didn't he just shoot him in the leg?" That is not what they are trained to do. They are to stop the threat by shooting center of mass.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Padpaw (profile), 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:33pm

    now her family just has to endure a lifetime of police harassment in retaliation for making them look bad

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Whoever, 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:40pm

    Minor nit -- not the City of LA

    I don't see anything in the article to suggest that it is the City of Los Angeles that is paying the settlement. The "C" in "CHP" stands for "California". More likely, it is the State of California that will pay the settlement.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    That One Guy (profile), 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:47pm

    Remind me again, why did I pull you over?

    He also admits he routinely forgets to issue citations to people he pulls over, requiring him to track them down the following day to do so.

    That looks like a pretty clear 'Please fire me, I can't do my job' statement to me. Someone that forgetful probably shouldn't be in an important job like law enforcement.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Soup is good food, 26 Sep 2014 @ 1:59pm

      Re: Remind me again, why did I pull you over?

      I used this many times on my teachers in high school, the difference is it didn't work with them

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Soup is good food, 26 Sep 2014 @ 2:03pm

    Sort of off topic

    err, can someone explain why in my first post the "Name" is clear but on responses its partially overwritten?, is that deliberate or is it a bug in the comment system?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 26 Sep 2014 @ 2:16pm

      Re: Sort of off topic

      What part's overwritten? At a guess, if one of your comments had a problem, it's probably just a temporary glitch in the system.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Soup is good food, 26 Sep 2014 @ 2:25pm

        Re: Re: Sort of off topic

        No it's the Name part(I am posting annon), the comment itself is fine, it doesn't really matter it just seems odd

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Soup is good food, 26 Sep 2014 @ 2:28pm

          Re: Re: Re: Sort of off topic

          You don't see that where ident is overwritten why the name?

          Whatever webmasters do as you will, Just wondering...

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 26 Sep 2014 @ 4:35pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re: Sort of off topic

            I see this all the time; it seems to be when the "identicon" image shows up instead of the anonymous profile graphic. Looks like the template has the width set for the regular graphic, and the identicon image is wider, so goes underneath the text. The fact that the "image" is text garbles the text.

            [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Whatever (profile), 28 Sep 2014 @ 9:13pm

    Cameras watching cops is a great idea. Camera people getting in the way of cops and changing the course of action as a result is not. Using the camera to intimidate cops or threaten them personally is not.

    There is a line in there somewhere, and many of the "camera" types cross it regularly.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 29 Sep 2014 @ 12:44am

      Re:

      Your definition of "intimidate cops" is catching cops in the act.

      Not surprising, since cops have been proven to shoot people just for complying with the same orders given to them.

      So if a cop is about to shoot a bystander for no reason and someone whips out a camera, and the cop stops because he feels intimidated or threatened, to you that's a bad thing? Fuck the citizenry, right?

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Ninja (profile), 29 Sep 2014 @ 8:04am

      Re:

      When such line is clearly crossed the footage will suffice to prove the citizens holding cameras actually interfered with police work.

      There is a line in there somewhere, and many of the "camera" types cross it regularly.

      In your neverland maybe but in reality the cops actually have to walk quite a few foots before such cameras actually come within range to make any difference.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      nasch (profile), 30 Sep 2014 @ 7:18am

      Re:

      You always bring this up, yet I can't recall ever seeing a video of a camera user actually interfering with police work. Do you have any examples? If the "camera types" cross the line regularly, they should be abundant.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 Nov 2014 @ 5:01pm

    "to use the Police Passive Tense." Actually there is no such thing as "passive tense." There is "past tense" and there is "passive voice." "The gun discharged" is active voice.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]


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