When cops mess up.

[Norm357]

I have been following this story here in Atlanta where a woman was arrested at Harsfield Airport for allegedly hitting an officer with her truck when the officer told her to move. She was violently taken out of her truck and thrown to the ground and handcuffed.

The city of Atlanta refused to bring charges against the woman, so the officer goes down to the county and files charges on his own alleging that the woman assaulted him when she hit him with her truck.

End of story right? Wrong! There is video of the arrest. The officer was not struck by the ladys truck. He just up and attacked this woman for reasons known only to him. In the last 12 months, this officer has had 24 excessive force complaints filed against him and yet the city felt that he was ok to be on the street.

Now of course, since there is video of the incident, the officer has been put on a desk and is under investigation.

I will post the story and video when WSBTV updates their webpage after midnight.

Moral of this post: Never forget, you have no idea who is watching!

[Piggy]

I wonder how many calls in the past hour she has had from attorneys.

[scott715us]

There are over 150 cameras at our airport alone. The video can really help us with an investigation. Our traffic officers are civilian personnel who can write parking tickets. I give them a lot of credit because they take some serious verbal (and sometimes physical) abuse. We have had two arrests on our shift involving our traffic guys getting purposely hit by an angry motorist.

I will have to definitely agree with you. The cameras are always watching. When we are out on a call that can possibly escalate, our dispatchers know where we are and the first thing they do is pan the camera to our position. The door swings both ways. This guy you're referring to should lose his job and not be able to put in for another LE position. Stay safe ;)

[Norm357]

This guy you're referring to should lose his job and not be able to put in for another LE position.

Yup

[canuckofapeach]

I wonder how many calls in the past hour she has had from attorneys.

She can probably cherry pick...

[Valor55]

In the last 12 months, this officer has had 24 excessive force complaints filed against him and yet the city felt that he was ok to be on the street.

If the video shows all that he is definitely in trouble (rightfully so). The only thing I would caution is that any toad can make an allegation of excessive force against you. How many were sustained against the officer and what discipline did he face? I get accused of excessive force all the time but I've never had a sustained allegation against me. Where there is smoke here there may not necessarily be any fire. Be carefull about dragging his past into this.

[Norm357]

If the video shows all that he is definitely in trouble (rightfully so). The only thing I would caution is that any toad can make an allegation of excessive force against you. How many were sustained against the officer and what discipline did he face? I get accused of excessive force all the time but I've never had a sustained allegation against me. Where there is smoke here there may not necessarily be any fire. Be carefull about dragging his past into this.

I have seen the video. Im pretty sure this guy is wrong. You get an average of 2 excessive force complaints a month?

[Norm357]

AHA! Found the story and video on another news site!

CLICK ME


11Alive News Wednesday obtained surveillance video of a controversial arrest at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The video shows an Atlanta police officer lifting a woman off the ground as he places her in custody.

Atlanta Police Internal Affairs investigators are still reviewing whether the officer on the video used unnecessary force.

Three weeks ago, Diana Dietrich-Barnes was arrested at the airport's passenger pick-up area. The arrest was captured by surveillance cameras.

The video shows Atlanta police officer Terrance Alexander pull her from the driver's seat and carry her to the back of her SUV, where it appears he lifts her up and flips her over.

"I have blocked a lot of that....I can't believe it happened,” Barnes said as she watched the tape for the firs time. “It’s making my hair stand on end.”

"She's absolutely manhandled and slammed to the ground for no reason, no valid reason that I can see,” said Barnes’ attorney Steve Lister.

With Barnes face down on the pavement, it appears another officer used a metal baton to move her arms so they could put her in handcuffs.

"I was begging them right there to let me sit up, [I] didn't want my mom to see me that way,” Barnes said.

According to the video, Barnes arrived at the airport just after 3 p.m. to pick up her mother.

She waited for about a minute before Officer Alexander approached. When he ordered her to keep moving, she says she had to back up her vehicle to avoid the truck parked in front of her.

That's when Officer Alexander claims she intentionally hit him with her side view mirror.

But after reviewing the video, police supervisors decided to let Barnes go free without pressing charges.

A few days later Officer Alexander went on his own to Clayton County Magistrate Court to take out arrest warrants against Barnes, but this week the district attorney and solicitor general both declined to prosecute.

"I can't get over it…it makes me mad,” Barnes said. "I just thank God this was all on tape."

Officer Alexander's attorney, Lecora Bowen, has a different view of the videotape. She told 11Alive by phone today that it shows her client laying Barnes on the ground – not slamming her to the ground.

Bowen also faxed statements from two witnesses who say Officer Alexander stayed calm during the arrest. She plans to ask a Clayton County magistrate judge to review the case Monday.

[Valor55]

Convict him on the video and the circumstances. Not his previous record. And yes, people accuse me of excessive force and harrassment constantly, it means nothing until the allegation is sustained by IA.

[Question]

I agree with Valor that getting accused of excessive force means nothing if they're not sustained.

But if the video proves that the officer was in the wrong, doesn't that give much more merit to the previous complaints? Common sense would tell me that this probably was not his first incident if he is proven to having done what he is accused of.

In that light, I believe his past is very germane.

[Question]

You cannot prove this incident based on his past, but you can have a very good view of his past based on this incident.

Hopefully, that makes sense.

[Norm357]

I agree with Valor that getting accused of excessive force means nothing if they're not sustained.

But if the video proves that the officer was in the wrong, doesn't that give much more merit to the previous complaints? Common sense would tell me that this probably was not his first incident if he is proven to having done what he is accused of.

In that light, I believe his past is very germane.

Exactly!

[Darin]

Damn! Did you see him pick her up and slam her?

[Valor55]

Each incident needs to be judged alone on the circumstances. If there are a lot of sustained complaints of excessive force I think serious discipline and retraining and possibly termination are appropriate. Especially in light of this current incident appearing to be unprovoked rage. Having a cop just snap and beat someone is baaaaad.

[vbgecko]

Another one that slipped through the "Psych Exam Crack" ... For anyone who knows me, you'll remember that those types of people are my biggest pet peeves ...

You can pretty much tell who those types of people are by whether or not they live in "LEO Land" 24/7 ... basically they just can't leave work at work ... they also are more likely to be those guys trying to be a tough-guy/hero both on and off the clock ...

Echo of Norm's advise about "you don't know who's watching you" ... and further add that its every man for themselves when your partner is doing something stupid ... If I recall correctly, there was an incident a while ago, of excessive force issues ... the officer was guilty and told his partner covered for him and low and behold, a security tape that the officers didn't know about surfaces proving both were lying ... that really put the partner up the creek as far as his career went ...