Alabama police are apparently prepared if Batman's nemesis The Penguin and his weapon-umbrella army ever attack.
"Officers who used pepper spray and a Taser to remove a man from a store bathroom found out only later he was deaf and mentally disabled and didn't understand they wanted him to open the door, police said Tuesday," the Associated Press reports. "A spokesman for the Mobile Police Department said the officers' actions were justified because the man was armed with a potential weapon — an umbrella."
Alabama's Press Register has more details:
After forcibly removing Antonio Love from the bathroom of the Azalea Road store, officers attempted to book the 37-year-old, on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a police officer, but the magistrate on duty at the jail refused to accept any of those charges.
....
Christopher Levy, a Police Department spokesman, said the officers didn't find out that Love had a hearing impairment until after they got him out of the bathroom and found a card in his wallet indicating he was deaf.
The officers' decision to take Love to jail — even after they discovered his disability — as well as their conduct throughout the incident is still under investigation, Levy said.
Use of the Taser and the pepper spray appear to be justified according to the department's policy, he said.
The paper reveals that "[n]o credentialed interpreter was ever made available," even though "[f]ederal disabilities law requires law enforcement to seek a translator" in such instances.
"Levy said an interpreter was called for but later cancelled when the officers learned that one of the responding ambulance workers knew sign language," the paper reports. "Late Monday, Love said, he was never told through an interpreter or shown on paper his Miranda rights — the right not to disclose information and the right to an attorney — required to be told to arrested persons."
"He didn't know it was a policeman until they busted the door in on him," his mother told the Associated Press. "He had a knot on his head from where it hit him."
The "internal investigation will include a review of Love's complaints that officers laughed at him after realizing he was deaf," the AP reports Levy said.
Alabama's Fox10TV reports, "The incident happened around 11:00 a.m., and when he was returned home, it was 4:00 in the afternoon. He was never arrested. Love's mom doesn't understand."
The following video is from Fox10Tv:
Why is this news when everyone knows it's legal for Officers to attack even arrest a black person for nothing. Look one black man was killed for giving the police his wallet and they said it was a gun. I've seen racism for 62 years and voting a black President in office wont stop racist or the KKK. Now these hate racist people are just coming out of the closet. Look no true Racist/KKK member wants to call a black man Mr. President. Police Officers are people and some are racist as we're seeing today. Now look for any excuse as to by a black man is illegal attacked or killed by the Police to be spinned into legal conduct or those famous words " nothing here let's more on".
A society is judged by how it treats the least fortunate in it's collective. We are truly now a society of sociopaths and psychopaths. This is what nearly 30 years of right wing "leadership" has done for us. When I was a kid this either wouldn't have happened, or would have been profusely apologized for by everyone in the city gov't. Now the cops laugh and no one in charge has anything to say about it at all. After nearly 30 years of gov't demanding that WE are all free agents, no responsibility for anyone else,and that THEY are free of ANY responsibility for anything that happens, anyone doing anything out of the ordinary for SOME is now a punishable offense even if that is just being abused by the cops.
This country has NO soul left. It's full of those who want to tell everyone else how to live, and that it's fine to be an individual as long as we all do it in exactly the same way. God, I'm fed up with this BS. How do you change someone's heart from being so cold and hard into something that will allow for some actual humanity? Hint: DON'T ask a republican.
McLean, Virginia -- My wife and I are sustaining members of the ACLU. It's the only way we know to help combat this kind of police brutality.
Paul Matthews
The Police state is alive and well in America.
Wake up America! The most dangerous threat you face every day is an encounter with a "law-breaking" enforcement officer. (Former prosecutor)
[...] Leave a Comment Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.Powered by WP Greet BoxRaw Story [...]
Every few days now, there is a taser issue. How is it the police continue to use this WEAPON to abuse? And by all means tase first and ask questions later. For crying out loud, when is there going to be some kind of consistent policy of when to use a taser?
The police in general seem not only to be bullies, but uninformed bullies. There is no possible excuse for the continual misuse of a taser. And this poor man with no weapon was tased anyway. Because they could, they did.
Wow! Headlin should read:
Mobile Cops taser Black deaf mute for taking too long in bathroom.
Please, washington press corps, don't put Obama on the spot by asking him what he thinks of this. Maybe these police are not racist (is the grand dragon southern?) but the certainly acted stupidly.
Lets not make this a race thing.
Dollar stores in and around Mobile are being robbed everyday.
Solution, turn the counters around.
Now as to the cops they very much overreacted as usual. They should have known the way the "suspect" talked that something was wrong and they need not take such action.
Having said that the Mobile Police Dept just graduated a huge class of rookies.
Look up NBC Mobile and read about the HUGE police chase that took place 7/24/09.
Automatic weapons fire in a very crowed area. One bullet striking a day care.
Guy was dead yet they kept shooting or should I say spraying bullets.
My daughters house was broken into, in Mobile.
At sundown the kids come pouring out of the "hood" on bikes most likley stolen they ride the streets until around 10AM. Then they go take a nap I guess.
I have told the police this they don't seem to listen.
I'm waiting to see the headline that says," Citizen justified in shooting out of control cop".........
Why were they bothering him while he was in the bathroom in the first place? Do they still have whites-only toilets in Crackerbama?
You know, it would be really nice to say, "Well, that's Alabama for you." But this crap is happening all over the country, and Canada and England. I read where they tased some kids last week. These Tasers need to be removed from the hands of the police; in fact, at the rate things are going, we might as well do away with police departments and pay mobsters protection money - same thing, and they'd probably be cheaper and more efficient.
Several factors are at work here. Use of steroids by officers and the training that has been used the last 10 years of domestic police by conducted by contractors such as Blackwater. Then the self protection/group think kicks in and every time they get away with it (ie we did nothing wrong, we followed procedures, and falsifying reports, governments defending their actions to avoid cash settlements) it becomes more overt, more common and more violent. The public must demand these officers are fired. Every single time. The public must take action against their individual government bodies to insure no one from the governor/mayor/councilman to police chief are willing to defend criminal behavior. It's not just blacks and Hispanics, it's women, the poor, disabled and children are being abused by criminals acting under the color of authority, and they're being protected by those who know better. This is one area where the public does have the ability to create change.
It happens more often then you think. FOr every time you hear about cops tasing someone who didn't deserve it, it probably happens 100 times and we hear nothing.
I'm more afraid of cops than any criminals.
Police are just human beings and given the average intelligence and emotional stability and maturity of most people... cops shouldn't be trusted to judiciously use instruments of torture like tasers.
BAN ALL TASER USE NOW!!!!
I read the story, wondering what in the hell would cause the officer to use such unnecessary and extreme force, that is until I scrolled down the page to see the still frame of the video clip, and the black deaf man, at the center of this disgraceful attack. At the very least, the officer should have simply used the key, that would open that particular door and take a peek inside, offering an apology if nothing was going on. But obviously the store manager and officer had in mind something quite different; a racist and inexcusable paranoia, that seems systemic among a large swath of American whites. Wait for the bigoted, prejudicial excuses to come from the stores manager, why I thought he was doing something illegal! and the justification for the assault by the officer, he was resisting arrest! In the south, not to long ago, they did the same thing, and had the same excuses, in how they would treat African Americans; how little has changed and how much I believe American society is paying for not dealing with it.
In LA several years ago, the cops shot and killed a 65-year-old mentally-disturbed homeless woman in the parking lot of a supermarket. The excuse? She charged one officer with a screwdriver. I guess he was too frightened? official? unresourceful? to simply get out of the way...
This country has become a goddam cesspool of stupidity and dunderheaded cruelty. I'll say it; I'm ashamed of my country. The United States of America has become a sad joke.
Now you might; I said, might see the shit that an everyday Black person in this Babylon (yes the one mentioned in Revelation) goes through. No tears are ever shed here when a cop gets a cap in his ass. And the racist defenders of the pigs in the Gates case?
Too bad he didn't shove that umbrella up the cops ass and open it. Nothing like a "Harry Piggins" floating over the rooftops.
All part of the militarization of the police due to the War on Drugs and Federal monies gong to local PD. The cops now view all citizens as their enemies . . . to be hated and feared. Shoot first, ask questions later, cover it up if an innocent bystander gets whacked.
The man was resisting harassment, and cops can shoot you for that crime.
This police brutality is a simmering tea pot soon to boil.
Isn't it in every policeman's district, union, and SOUL to address this before it becomes a national revolt?
Honestly, everyday there's a new escalated tale of police and their thug behavior against minorities, most frequently, a black person.
Enough already.
God forbid you ever have an epileptic or diabetic seizure in front of any of these assholes.
I witnessed a man get arrested for being what the police thought was drunk and disorderly in a grocery store a couple of years ago. Turns out he had a stroke and fell over into a rack of glass bottles. The amount of destruction he caused was the police officer's excuse for believing he was drunk.
Didn't bother to smell his breath, just assumed.
BTW the man survived and didn't sue anyone.
"Why is this news?"
Because it happened.
I've never been harmed by a "criminal" but I've been robbed and abused by the police on a couple of occassions. And I'm a white male in California.
The kind of people who are drawn to jobs where there is potential for violence and corruption are those kinds of people who get off on that, otherwise, they would choose a different occupation, like social worker or nurse.
Never, ever trust a cop, they are predators and everyone else is prey to them.
[...] http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/07/police-taser-use-on-disabled-man-justified-because-he-had-an-umbrel... [...]
[...] http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/07/police-taser-use-on-disabled-man-justified-because-he-had-an-umbrel... [...]
5 Vets RATM v Homeland Gestapo in a Police State
Future of a Nation that can not trust the Government & Propaganda Media?
How many times has the Government & Propaganda Media lied to you?
Chronic lying as career path or intellectual prostitution for paycheck?
Nader Paul Kucinich Gravel McKinney Ventura Sheehan Kaptur.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
Poodles, Puppets, Sham debates, Scam elections.
9/11 liars, AIPAC liars, Federal Reserve liars.
Speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil?
Greed & corruption or conscience?
Leaks from Whistleblowers.
perotcharts.com
This just brought tears to my eyes and heart. What a truly beautiful family. This is , as we all know, nothing new in America. But it is pitiful that it is still happening in this day.
America frightens me. I dont live there anymore, and I see it with a bit of perspective, which is interesting, to say the least. I see it as an expat, and as the rest of the world sees it and it is Ugly. There are terrible wars and abuses going on all over the world, and most of them , from Africa to Arabia to Central America are perpetrated by U.S. policy...America is a violent country . And it shows at home. Sorry .
big cops,small balls, must be steroids.
Why don't we all read the story FIRST from the source and not Raw news?
1. The guy was in the bathroom for OVER AN HOUR when the manager called the police.
2. How were they to know he was deaf and mentally challenged? What--Have him wear a sign so the police know to be careful? (see I can be PC too)
3. No I don't know WHY the manager didn't have the key
4. Looked to me the guy was BIG and could have been dangerous--If I were a cop I would rather keep my distance rather than have to subdue someone with a baton.
5. Why do we all HATE the people that keep the real vermin from running the streets?
- There are 10s of thousands of police/civilian interactions EVERY DAY and if we had one per day, it would be microscopicaly small percentage.
- One is too many when there is real fault but before we get all fired up--HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE SERVED? Military, Police, Fire?
6. BTW-They laughed and that was insensitive--But--you do their job for a day.
Ah people have been killed with screwdrivers and umbrellas.
Screwdrivers make an effective stabbing weapon. Prisoners make it more effective by using age old tricks to sharpen it to a point. Quite a few people are killed in prison by screwdrivers.
Umbrellas have been used not as only as stabbing weapons but also to beat people to death and this has been occuring for centuries. People these days are used to cheapo disposable umbrellas that break after a heavy rain storm. The old umbrellas that actually cost 50 bucks or more not only would make sure you not got wet at all but lasted for years and years.
Also the officers were called because the guy was in the stall for over an hour and not responding. Hello medical emergency that is why they were called. Places can and have been sued for not callling the police when someone was in the stall for that long because they were dying.
librepublican
On equal ground, the cops are "deaf and mentally challenged". Unless the man was also blind, he should have known that. So I guess he had it coming
Ah, CYA time for the cops, right?
Fuck your moderation RAW!
frank: "big cops,small balls, must be steroids."
I've had a subscription to Men's Health (the #1 mens' fitness mag in the world by order of copies sold monthly) for years and one month they ran an exposé on cops who juice and they said it's surprisingly popular among pigs, and also super-secretive because even fellow officers who work with juicers don't know about it, and they estimate as many as 25% of pigs juice.*
*'juice' is slang for 'use steroids'
An umbrella? Really? That's digging pretty deep into the manure pile of excuses.
I fully grasp the idea that basically anything can be wielded as a weapon, but most umbrellas would be a stretch in the hands of all but a relative few. Their body armor is going to protect their torsos from any that aren't created with the thought of being seconded as weapons, and if they have the time (an hour up until they got involved?) and have him contained, why not don extraction gear like that used in many prisons and remove him more methodically? Oops, that would give them more time to INVESTIGATE and find out what kind of situation they are actually dealing with and respond much more responsibly.
The guy isn't going to disappear, he's in a friggin restroom, outside of Hollywood and apparently the imaginations of these officers, people in a small room, stay in a small room and can be dealt with smartly and appropriately when desired. I hold no doubt that the use of tasers have spared many people from being shot, but that doesn't necessarily mean either would have always been the prudent response to some of those situations.
it is alabama
the man is black
why am I not surprised?
[...] http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/07/police-taser-use-on-disabled-man-justified-because-he-had-an-umbrel... [...]
librepublican, you are ignoring that the police claimed he was armed because he had an umbrella.! You are doing everything you can to defend the police. I see stories like this every day. The police are getting completely out-of-hand.
I would suspect most of the bad stuff they do is covered up successfully. Sometimes, they don't manage it -- and we find out about the horrors.
As a native Mobilian and one whose ancestors came to Mobile in the early 1800's, I am ashamed of my hometown. The rednecks who populate the Mobile PD give this beautiful city a very bad image. I haven't lived in Mobile for many years now; after living in more civilized cities, unfortunately, I don't think that I could or would ever return. So sad...so sad.
librepublican, you're a twit. Moron.
Apologist #31:
Why are you trying to assert your fears over the decision of a magistrate to not accept charges by law enforcement? Do you really feel you have any standing in this matter, other than you're entitled to your ignorance?
As the magistrate determined, there is no law I'm aware of which makes this an event requiring police; this is a civil matter:
"1. The guy was in the bathroom for OVER AN HOUR when the manager called the police."
I hope you never get the runs when you're at a store in Mobile; you might end up like the victim.
And, this is certainly not a justification for the thuggish behavior of your heroes in law enforcement:
4. Looked to me the guy was BIG and could have been dangerous
But, the worst indicator of your delusional mental state is:
5. Why do we all HATE the people that keep the real vermin from running the streets?
If you really believe your own tripe, you must hide under your bed at night and change your panties frequently because you are wetting yourself with fear. Your statement #5 above also indicates you have no understanding of the role of law enforcement (in this event, the police department). As has been established case law for decades (most begrudgingly admitted in state court after Rodney King riots in LA), it is not the duty of the police to "protect" civilians - their only duty is to clean up the mess and make arrests. Each time a law enforcement goon decides prior to a conviction to administer bullets, beatings, or tasers to a victim like this, law enforcement is actually committing a crime, which is different than "adhering to department policy". Until resolved in major court decisions, this law enforcement will continue to be administered.
This indicates you have never been in any of your heroic organizations, as well as being totally unrelated to the story:
HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE SERVED? Military, Police, Fire?
I was an air traffic controller in USAF during Vietnam debacle; sheriff's dispatcher, municipal and superior court clerk in California; worked for numerous private and public attorneys; worked as a registrar at a law school; later wrote software for San Diego police and fireman's insurance claims. These experiences formed my "hate" for your heroes. Observing them lie in court every day, and collecting their lies for presentation to court was very informative. If their lips are moving they are lying. I won't even bother to relate personal experiences suffered at the hands of law enforcement zealots. Firemen are truly heroes and should not be lumped together with the goon squads. And for mental/physical problems, police win hands down. Unfortunately, the myths about how dangerous law enforcement is are dispelled when one looks at the numbers. Law enforcement is about the 10th most dangerous occupation in the US - way behind farmers, construction workers, and fisherman. The real victims of this myth are civilians killed by law enforcement at almost 10 times the number of dead law enforcement (perfect example is BART cop murder in Oakland on New Year's).
In short, your ignorance allows crimes by law enforcement to continue.
Regards,
Mick
Why is it that some will defend cops no matter how badly they behave? You are not allowed to any get out of jail free cards because you CHOOSE to be employed in a high stress level job. Police for the record CHOOSE this career. They are not forced into it and as with any other chosen career if you perform badly you should be fired and if its to stressful you should quit. Stop making cops out to be monks or divinely inspired they are not. If you can't stand the heat get out of the frying pan. No more of BS about how tough a job they have. You don't get the right to abuse citizen as a side benefit and you don't get over forgiveness either if a cop is wrong he is wrong deal with it. Not all cops are wrong but those who constantly make excuses for them are the reason that bad cops flourish and the good ones get forgotten. Spend more of your time focusing on speaking about the good ones and less making excuses for the lousy ones.
This is just horrible. there is no reason those cops had to act the way they did. what the hell do we pay them for "to serve and protect". ha thats a joke. If they had any brains at all they would have asked a few qestions B/F macing and tasing this poor deffensless man. when a cop signs up to be a cop they no the risks there job involves. they should be ready to be thrown into harms way and even killed. instead they look at every citezen like they are going to harm them. so natuarally they always opt to go all rambo on everybody. shoot firts mantality. they should be ready to dive in front of any random citezen and take a bullet.
What a great day it will be when the tazers are turned on the police..
Now, HERE is a case where bigotry and intolerance propelled police to go overboard. Not that imbecile superstar academic from Harvard.
BIIIIIIIIIG difference.
"HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE SERVED? Military, Police, Fire?"
Telephone poles. Motorcycles don't have doors.
How brain dead must one be to think this has a blessed fucking thing to do with anything? I love you pumped up jingoistic pseudo-patriots when you start pulling this goofy shit.
I'm as entitled to an opinion as you or anybody else, Jack. I don't need your approval, and I surely as fuck don't live for your love.
If you require credentials for someone to have an opinion, I don't give a shit HOW you served, you're an asshole.
Oh, I know what's next. "I fought to protect your right to say what you want..." Oh please -- and I owe you deference for your imbecilic brainwashed opinions the rest of your failed miserable deluded life.
Besides, what fucking numbnuts believes our military is doing anything except mercenary work for the oil companies?
"Freedom" my ass: in case you haven't noticed, your pet chimp and his sidekick Cobblepot wiped their asses with the Constitution. Where the fuck were YOU while this was happening, Super-Patriot?
Thanks for your service. But do me a favor: don't "protect my freedom" any more. Wake the fuck up.
Cops are the collective goatse of modern civilization.
I will preface this entire post with this: The actions of the police once finding out that Love was deaf were despicable. The situation should never have escalated that far once the facts were known.
However, we live in a culture where a couple dozen stories that hit the press, among the thousands of police in the nation that do their job well, brings criticism on police in general. We find it comforting, not to mention infuriating, to look at the totality of the situation as known after the fact, and blame the police.
Im going to ignore the fact that Love is black. I see nothing in the story as presented here that would make me think it actually was a factor.
However, looking at what is presented in this article, and without more facts, I don't necessarily think the police over-reacted UP TO the point of finding out about Love's disability. Think about it without the benefit of hindsight.
They, for whatever reason, needed to talk to the man. They called him - he ignored them. They announced they were the police - he didn't seem to care. They broke in and he fought back. Now, we could say he was in his right to do that, but as far as the police knew, he knew they were police and was fighting them.
According to any police policy in this country, if the suspect knew they were police and fought back, they are allowed to use force to subdue him. Remember, at this point, they did not know of his disability. The harder he fought, quite possibly swinging his umbrella is he was truly scared, then - as much as is might think it barbaric, and once again they didnt know his disability - then yes, they might have tasered him.
I merely offer up a supposition based on the facts as listed in this article. More facts may come out later that invalidate this scenario; then again, they may not. Please try to keep all points of view in mind before grabbing upon a small sample of the most outstanding facts and drawing a hatred based conclusion from them.
This is appalling. I can't believe this poor guy got this treatment. Those dirty, stupid bastards! I hope a lawyer comes and helps this guy sue those f**kheads for millions, he deserves it.
[...] liberal jurisdiction and it DIDN'T happen in the south! Yeah....their "busts" are ALWAYS clean!!! [...]
Protect your family, friends and yourself by knowing your rights and knowing how the police operate. See: http://www.myspace.com/anonymousattorney
having served myself it breaks my heart to see this on the hole most of us in uniform know the sleepless nights the argument with yourself at 3am we are human too some of us dont want to be here but when you have to feed your kids what can you do ?????????? so a big understanding hello to all the chaps at melksham nick bloody awesome curry and thanks for the sweatshirt your a credit to the uniform
A*C*A*B
Go to hell, cops.
I know this man personally. He is not threatening. Actually, his smile is the only thing that is BIG about him! He does not carry himself as a thug.
I understand the police needed to be called. They acted out of ingnorance. They have a hard job and I don't want it. Most the time, it is NOT a sweet, Deaf man in the bathroom.
Please know that the local Deaf community has TRIED to educate the local police about working with the Deaf. I hope the police will be more open to it now that this terrible thing has happened.