Police Smash Teen's Eye

[MidtownGuy]

I saw this on the news last night and it made me very angry.
They smashed his eye 3 times, and stepped on his glasses.:mad:
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/investigators&id=5973539

[The Benniest]

Horrible.

Doing graffiti on a public light pole is one thing, but deliberately being beat up by the NYPD is a complete other. This kid is my age! (high school senior). I have no idea what I would do, or my mother would do, if this happened to me.

Was there any news on this this morning MidtownGuy?

-Ben

[MidtownGuy]

I didn't see anything else on it. Horrible story, I hope the guy's eyesight isn't permanently damaged by those thugs.

[ASchwarz]

This thread is so biased, it's crazy.

The thread should read "Teen claims brutal police; Police deny charges" or something.

The thread title would be no more ridiculous if it took the other extreme and said "Criminal runs from cops, fakes injuries and lies about police brutailty"

The issue is who do you trust?

I would trust a police officer's version over a teenager who we know is a criminal and runs from police when caught. There are plenty of scum police, but the facts show that the vast majority of brutality claims are lies.

Of course, the police could be lying and the teenager could be stating the absolute facts, but at this point all we have is our judgment.

[ZippyTheChimp]

a teenager who we know is a criminalHe has a criminal record?

[MidtownGuy]

Shwarz, did you watch the video with an observant eye to the boys speech and body movements as he related his story?
I'm absolutely convinced by his account. It is far more believable than that of the cops. if you can't tell by looking at his eye that it was punched, very hard, you should get an eye exam too. You're entitled to your opinion, but his eye is clearly NOT the result of a fall. That's evident upon examination of the injury.

[MidtownGuy]

No criminal record whatsoever. He has never been in trouble with the police. He looks like a very decent young man, except for the "tagging" on the sign he is accused of, which is hardly justification for being kicked and having his eye smashed in to the poiint of having surgery and persistant double vision.
They were undercover, he ran, they got pissed, and took it out on his face. When are they going to either get rid of these undercovers or use them correctly in conjunction with uniformed officers?

[MidtownGuy]

IF undercover investigators are spending their time chasing high schoolers for tagging, something is seriously wrong with that! In this city of millions, have they nothing more menacing to investigate than a 17 year old with a sharpie marker?

[BrooklynRider]

This thread is so biased, it's crazy.

The thread shows no bias whatsoever. A subject has be posted for discussion.


The thread should read "Teen claims brutal police; Police deny charges" or something.

Why? Because you say?

This is a user-driven forum and opinions are expected.


The issue is who do you trust?

I'll go on record as saying I trust the kids version.


I would trust a police officer's version over a teenager who we know is a criminal and runs from police when caught. There are plenty of scum police, but the facts show that the vast majority of brutality claims are lies.

That's quite a load of crapola coming out of a single mouth. Your post is the only one thus far that is clearly biased. You have made assumption upon assumption. In your own statements you make it clear that you are not predisposed to being objective.


Of course, the police could be lying and the teenager could be stating the absolute facts, but at this point all we have is our judgment.

If NYC cops did not have a loooong history of abusing the public, they'd get the benefit of the doubt. The FACT is that the friendly-neighborhood policeman of myth has been turned into a commando that is now charged with going after people to "protect us" from "urban terrorists" like this kid.

The cop ought to be tasered, thrown in a prison cell with oils on the floor at Pier 57, held for over 24 hours without trial, have his every move videotaped, put on a no-fly list, and be forced to be monitored on the sexual predators registry for assaulting a minor.

Oh wait, that's my dream. In reality, it goes the other way against the victim and the cop gets a bravery citation.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Of course, the police could be lying and the teenager could be stating the absolute facts, but at this point all we have is our judgment.Now, using your judgment, what's the plausibility of falling on your face and severely damaging only your eye? Wouldn't you think that your nose and/or your cheek would also show injury?

It's not hard to visualize.

[The Benniest]

They were undercover, he ran, they got pissed, and took it out on his face. When are they going to either get rid of these undercovers or use them correctly in conjunction with uniformed officers?
I'm sure I would do the same if I saw someone running straight at me (with force). This scares me a bit because I will be moving to the city as a young adult and do not want to end up in the hospital, having to have surgery because a stupid “mistake” by the NYPD. I want to be able to trust the local police and seeing this, this changes my opinion on them.

If NYC cops did not have a loooong history of abusing the public, they'd get the benefit of the doubt. The FACT is that the friendly-neighborhood policeman of myth has been turned into a commando that is now charged with going after people to "protect us" from "urban terrorists" like this kid.
Do stories like these happen frequently in New York?

Now, using your judgment, what's the plausibility of falling on your face and severely damaging only your eye? Wouldn't you think that your nose and/or your cheek would also show injury?

It's not hard to visualize.
This was actually said in the actual video by the elderly man sitting with the interviewer. And I agree, a simple fall would not have done this much damage, and other parts of his face would be scratched up.

[BrooklynRider]

I would compare NYC police brutality and abuse of power with the Catholic Church's pedophilia problem. It's just random instances. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of random instances.

[Ninjahedge]

Guys, in all fiarness, lets not do the same to these cops (calling them pedophiles and deviants) that AS was doing with the kid (saying he had a record, etc etc).

Stick to the crime that was committed, and do not make up other attrocities to stick to these guys.



As for the kid not knowing they were cops in the car, I have to call BS on that. But only if that car had its lights on. It was the only part of the story that he seemed unsure about.

I think he was tagging, these yahoos saw him and chased him. When he knew he could not get away, he dropped and waited for them, then was abused. Regardless of how he asked for the cops number, the cop showed NO professionalism in this and beat up a 2 bit punk for no more than minor vandalism.


The kid should get the sentance he got, but the cops should be charged for assault, at the very least...

[maline]

Taggers are often killed by rival gang members. The kid was right to run from a carload of strange men that were chasing him. Tagger or not, you should do the same.

The kid's criminal record is no relevant to his guilt or innocence. Criminal record is only relevant to the sentencing, which is if and after the kid is found guilty of a crime.

Anyone can find out his criminal record. Every teacher, coach, health care worker, and volunteer that works with minors or vulnerable adults must have a pre-employment background check. Background checks are available from many companies on the internet with almost instant reports, and they cover an amazing amount of information. Background checks of criminal records (http://backgroundsearch.com) can provide information about a person that includes Full name, Current address, Past addresses, Employment history, Current telephone number, Any property owned by the subject, Any locations visited regularly by the subject, Aliases or other names used by the search subject,


Resisting arrest is a nice catch all charge that the police use anytime they don't have much else to charge a person with. The first thing police do is to throw the person to the ground so that the police have complete control. Then the police can claim and melee they want want to. Did the kid brace his fall? Then some police can claim he was resisting arrest.