Black mom 8mo pregnant tazed!!

[The Dragon]

You both have very valid points. On one hand the police is a menacing force in the Black community, always have been. They have been the main reasons for the onslaught of a many riots in the inner cities, and of course the use excessive force, mainly on us. Many a innocent people have been brutalized and murdered unrighteously by the police.

But on the other hand, why give them a reason to use excessive force on you and possibly kill you? Hell, cops have killed us for absolutely no reason at all; You have to realize the power in front of you and I just can't see myself or loved one getting beat or killed when they/I could have walked away with was a traffic ticket, regardless of the fact that you were actually guilty of a traffic violation or a victim of "driving while Black."

There is a time, season and a sound reason to fight back. We have to learn to make better decisions.

[Corals]

Originally Posted by The Dragon

You both have very valid points. On one hand the police is a menacing force in the Black community, always have been. They have been the main reasons for the onslaught of a many riots in the inner cities, and of course the use excessive force, mainly on us. Many a innocent people have been brutalized and murdered unrighteously by the police.

But on the other hand, why give them a reason to use excessive force on you and possibly kill you? Hell, cops have killed us for absolutely no reason at all; You have to realize the power in front of you and I just can't see myself or loved one getting beat or killed when they/I could have walked away with was a traffic ticket, regardless of the fact that you were actually guilty of a traffic violation or a victim of "driving while Black."

There is a time, season and a sound reason to fight back. We have to learn to make better decisions.

couldn't have put it better myself.

[Great Ursus]

A friend of mine monitors the police and their activities around the city since his own brother was brutalized and eventually died of his injuries, he's got a police scanner and meticulously writes down their activities via their calls. He's noticed a severe increase in their responses on our side of town (which happens to be most of this city) and has also noticed much of their actions such as this one are mostly unsolicited. He sited a time when a grandmother was threatened with a tazing for only asking where to get her grandson out of jail. With most northern police forces still overwhelmingly white and their beats the opposite, it goe without saying there is an element of race predjudice involved.
But, then again, don't pregnant women have like 6 times the strength of nornal women ;)

[Istlota]

Originally Posted by The Dragon

...There is a time, season and a sound reason to fight back. We have to learn to make better decisions.

I would word that differently. I would say _always_ fight back, reserving _physical_ resistance as a last resort.

What would really help us would be if we could ever admit how terrified most of us are of the police. We treat police the same way we would treat a sleeping rabid dog. We tiptoe around that mad dog in hopes that it will not wake up and eat us. But, that is an unwise approach to take with a bully.

A bully knows, once you show him you are afraid of him, that he can pick on you from then on without suffering consequences.

You know why cops snap so quick from speaking in a normal tone to shouting at you at the top of their lungs? They are trained to behave that way because they know it will intimidate most people. This is the same reason they are required to wear those Nazi gestapo looking uniforms and boots even on the hottest of summer days. The whole idea is not to _serve_ the public, but to _intimidate_ the public into passivity.

We fail to realize how much fear the police have of us. If we understood their fear, we would understand what they already know -- which is that the only power they have over us is that which we choose to give them.

Take a close look at the following picture. Who is actually in charge of the situation? Who is actually controlling the actions of those around him, the cops or Dr. King?

[afrocentric]

@islota, show me what you are saying because from looking at the picture, it seems that the police is arresting him for sitting at the whites only table while his wife watch. he wasn't resisting or talking violently or nothing. he was letting them do their job.

[Meroe]

Some here say Leslie should be held accountable for actions, perhaps. But the sheriff's deputy should also be held accountable for the inappropriate use of force. The pigs allegedly claim Leslie "raised" her hand. This perceived threat is not battery on a peace officer. There must be some use of force by Leslie against the deputy for this statute to be battery.

The first level for the use of force by the cop should have been OC or pepper spray if Leslie was truly combative. But this cop went straight for the taser. Tasers are generally used for people who are resisting arrest or physically combative - which Leslie was neither. And in many cases tasers aren't used on people who are combative because tasers have been documented as being potentially deadly in some situations. So the whole story sounds bogus to me. Hopefully some attorney will take up this case for Leslie pro bono

[Dark Kent]

Originally Posted by Meroe

Some here say Leslie should be held accountable for actions, perhaps.

I'm not saying she should be accountable for her actions, tasing a pregnant women is way out of line. I'm saying she should have used better judgement when dealing with the cops. These types of police brutality stories are in the news everyday and have been for decades, so we all know what can happen when you struggle or mouth off to the police.

[The Dragon]

Originally Posted by Istlota

I would word that differently. I would say _always_ fight back, reserving _physical_ resistance as a last resort.

What would really help us would be if we could ever admit how terrified most of us are of the police. We treat police the same way we would treat a sleeping rabid dog. We tiptoe around that mad dog in hopes that it will not wake up and eat us. But, that is an unwise approach to take with a bully.

A bully knows, once you show him you are afraid of him, that he can pick on you from then on without suffering consequences.

You know why cops snap so quick from speaking in a normal tone to shouting at you at the top of their lungs? They are trained to behave that way because they know it will intimidate most people. This is the same reason they are required to wear those Nazi gestapo looking uniforms and boots even on the hottest of summer days. The whole idea is not to _serve_ the public, but to _intimidate_ the public into passivity.

We fail to realize how much fear the police have of us. If we understood their fear, we would understand what they already know -- which is that the only power they have over us is that which we choose to give them.

Take a close look at the following picture. Who is actually in charge of the situation? Who is actually controlling the actions of those around him, the cops or Dr. King?

I believe most of us are of the understanding that we are speaking of situations where there is just you and poo-poo. Of course we should make complaints about misuse of power later on, but when face to face with these cops we need to remain as calm as possible.

Your pic speaks of a totally different situation. And who is in control, as far as I can see? The police.

[Lediamand]

Originally Posted by The Dragon

I believe most of us are of the understanding that we are speaking of situations where there is just you and poo-poo. Of course we should make complaints about misuse of power later on, but when face to face with these cops we need to remain as calm as possible.

Your pic speaks of a totally different situation. And who is in control, as far as I can see? The police.

You said it Dragon, these cops don't need reasons to use force against us, and when we do give them a reason they will go all out on us, and then make themselves look like the victim. But to taze an 8 month pregnant woma ins the lowest of the lows.

[The Dragon]

Originally Posted by Lediamand

You said it Dragon, these cops don't need reasons to use force against us, and when we do give them a reason they will go all out on us, and then make themselves look like the victim. But to taze an 8 month pregnant woma ins the lowest of the lows.

MOVE members experienced harassment, police brutality against men, women and even children. A pregnant woman was beaten into miscarriage and at one MOVE protest, a 3-week-old infant was trampled to death by police. In 1978, dozens of police surrounded their house. MOVE members sheltered in the basement. When police opened fire, one officer was killed: the wound’s downward angle makes clear he was not shot from below—that is the MOVE basement—but, from so-called “friendly fire.”
Pulse of the Twin Cities - Locally Grown Alternative Newspaper

I am never surpised by what I hear concerning the police and how low they will get.