Archive for the 'police corruption' Category

Irvine, KY Cop Karl Rifenbark Threatened My Life

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

This post was shared via CopBlock.org’s ‘submit‘ tab by Jonathan Bernard.

On the day of my interaction with Mr. Rifenbark, a woman and a man came into my home. They forced their way in and assaulted me and my wife while my children watched in horror. The man and the woman were clearly on some sort of hard drug, like bath salts. Their eyes were dead and they had a blank look to them. They were also slobbering at the mouth.

One of them managed to knock my little girl into a table, causing her to hit her head. When they finally did stop and exit my home through the front door, I jumped at the chance to slam and lock the door shut at which point the man and the woman pounced on the door, beating, thrashing, and kicking it to the point where it was going to break. I threw all of my weight against it holding it until cops could get there.

I instructed my wife to call the cops while I held the door shut. I then instructed my wife on what she should tell the police. I told her to tell them that there are two people trying to kill us, and that they should hurry. First 15 minutes went by, then 30, and then an hour went by – meanwhile, the man and woman were still trying their best to find a way into my home.

I instructed my wife to call state police instead, in the hopes they would be more responsible and actually come. Another 30 minutes went by, then a state trooper and an Irvine local cop, Karl Rifenbark pulled in at the same time. The man and woman had already run off. Mr. Rifenbark came to my door, and I was glad to see him. I thought, “Thank god for help,” and up until that point I had believed Mr. Rifenbark was a good guy. Little did I know that I would soon learn differently.

Rifenbark proceeded to ask me just a couple of questions about who it was and what they had done, so I told him. He said to wait here a minute and he headed out to the man and woman’s house. 30 minutes or so went by, then he came back; his eyes were now red as fire and glossy, and he said, “They said you broke into their house and assaulted them.” My heart sank a little and I said they were lying.  I explained that I weigh 120 pounds, and that the man who assaulted me weighs at the least 260 pounds. Why on earth would I kick in his door and assault him? Does that make any sense?

He then asked whether I had somewhere I could go. I pointed out that this was my home. He stated that I would need to find  somewhere else to stay for a while. My mind was blown, and I turned to my wife and kids and said to get our things and go.

We piled everything in the trunk and loaded up the kids in the car. We closed the doors and we were ready to go. I heard 3 knocks on my window; it was officer Karl Rifenbark. He asked that I step out for a moment and I complied. I exited the vehicle, closed the door behind me, and what happened next was shocking. He proceeded to say, “Did you call me a pussy?” I replied, “What do you mean? I never said anything of the kind, why would I do that when I called for your help?”

He then stated, “Someone said you called me a pussy. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll take off my belt and my badge and whoop your ass all over this yard.” Again my heart sank. There stood an officer of the law making threats on my life for a reason unknown while my daughters and wife stood by in the car not knowing that this officer was about to assault me.

Suddenly I had a moment of clarity. I thought, “if I respond wrong, he is going to beat me half to death in front of my children, same as the meth addict tried to do only an hour before he went over there and came back with red eyes… oh my god, this officer took the same drugs and as a result also became violent.” After having this thought, I just came out and said, “I swear on my life and cross my heart, man, I never called you no pussy or nothing of the sort.”

Mr Rifenbark then said, “Well, I don’t give a damn about your heart if I beat your ass and then take your ass to jail, understand?” I shook my head “yes,” at a complete loss. He then instructed me to get back in my vehicle and leave my own home, “or else,” he said. The unknown state trooper was standing there the whole time, laughing and smiling about what was said to me. A threat was made on my life and the trooper did nothing but enjoy it.

At the time, I had no license at all, but that didn’t matter to them; they instructed me to drive anyway and so I did. I drove so fast it scared me, as I was afraid that those two goons would catch back up to me and assault me in front of my wife and children after all. So, in the end we ended up going to Richmond to stay with someone for a while. On the way down there, a Richmond ‘Madison County’ cop pulled me over and said I was speeding 6 miles an hour over the speed limit. He went to his car, came back and said, “Okay, there is a warrant out for your arrest in Irvine, KY, but something does not look right about this warrant.” He continued, “I know this warrant is wrong and invalid, but the law says I have to arrest you anyway.” So, he did. I was released the next morning and told sorry. Sorry? Really? After some investigating and putting two and two together, I figured out that Mr Rifenbark somehow issued some sort of fake warrant for my arrest for which I did spend a night in jail. My little girls cried hard that night when I had to get into that cop car after all of that. After watching that man and woman assault their mommy and daddy, after watching the mean cop mistreat daddy, now here is another cop taking daddy away.

As a result, I don’t sleep anymore, I don’t eat well, and I have little or no trust of authorities or people. I don’t like public places anymore and I don’t like to drive. I feel like if I ever needed help again, I could never call the police out of fear that they too might bring harm to me or my family. So, when one needs help where does one turn?

Irvine, KY Cop Karl Rifenbark Threatened My Life is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Weinhaus Spywatch Disproves Folsom’s Claims

Saturday, April 13th, 2013

The text and pictures below were shared with Cop Block by a court-accepted forensics expert who has been reviewing the evidence.

For all related information see: http://CopBlock.org/JeffreyWeinhaus

Help Weinhaus get justice: http://WePay.com/Donations/Jeffrey-Weinhaus

Jeffrey Weinhaus was shot multiple times by Henry Folsom on September 11, 2012. Weinhaus was helivaced from the scene and later recovered. Folsom’s “official” story has been objectively shown to be full of holes. Yet Weinhaus faces eight charges, including seven felonies, and is scheduled for trial on April 30th.

Weinhaus should be freed from his cage, the charges levied against him dropped, and Folsom and his conspirators, be held accountable.

More on this angle from Laura Hausladen:

laura-hausladen-on-jeffrey-weinhaus

Background to the post below: Weinhaus didn’t trust Folsom so, in addition to the cell phone in his pocket that, with the help of his ex-wife, was capturing audio from the scene off-site, he also wore a watch with a built-in camera and had a video camera recording from his vehicle.

_______________________

After being shot, Jeff falls to the ground (face down). The spy watch on his left wrist captured the image below. Though it is only visible in 2 frames, it says volumes.

2012-09-11-mo-stclair-weinhaus-watch

Jeff was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and slacks. That left only a limited amount of skin exposed. We know that it would be impossible for the watch on top of his left wrist to capture an image of his left hand, and the limited rotation of the wrist would make capturing this image of his face or forehead impossible. That left only one thing…and that one thing is something that we really needed to know. -The image captured is that of Jeff’s right hand.

Here is my simulation.weinhaus-watch-recreate-1

Here’s a close approximation of where Jeff’s arms would have been positioned in order to capture that image.weinhaus-watch-recreate-2

And here’s Folsom right after he fired his first of 4-5 shots just one second before the image of the right hand was captured.2012-09-11-mo-st-clair-henryfolsom-shooting-jeffreyweinhaus

That kind of makes this impossible.henryfolsom-police-report-invalid

 

Weinhaus Spywatch Disproves Folsom’s Claims is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Audio Leaked from MO St. Patrol Employee Shooting of Jeffrey Weinhaus

Thursday, January 17th, 2013

Earlier today I received from an anonymous source audio from the Sept. 11th, 2012 shooting of Jeffrey Weinhaus by two Missouri State Highway Patrol employees.

For all related information see the meta-post: CopBlock.org/JeffreyWeinhaus

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop I (the outfit where the shooter(s) are employed): (573) 368-2345
Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C (the outfit investigating the actions of their colleagues down the road): (636) 300-2800

If you’re in central Missouri:

jeffrey-weinhaus-audio

Audio Leaked from MO St. Patrol Employee Shooting of Jeffrey Weinhaus is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Police on Playback — Copwatch in NYC

Thursday, November 15th, 2012

“We can’t count on the criminal justice system or the elected officials or the DA to hold the police accountability . . . it has to be the community.”

This video was uploaded to youtube.com/wagingnonviolence on October 2oth, 2012. Overall, it’s pretty solid. Good to see people connect on the ground and work to bring about a positive change not through, but around the system.

Good breakdown of on-the-streets tactics given at 3:19. A similar is given on the Copblocking 101 document.

In addition to capturing video, we encourage you to share it, to make others aware, and to work together to bring about accountability through peaceful means, like Call Floods.

For more related, check out the documents below, from scribd.com/copblock


Police on Playback — Copwatch in NYC is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Central Missouri Copblocker Jeffrey Weinhaus Shot by MO St. Patrol Employee(s), Airlifted

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

Updates will be posted here as they become known. If you know of any relevant details not-yet shared here, please leave them as a comment and they’ll be added.

4:25am September 12th, 2012:

From Central Missouri Cop Block:

jeffrey weinhaus central missouri copblock missouri state highway patrol Central Missouri Copblocker Jeffrey Weinhaus Shot by MO St. Patrol Employee(s), Airlifted

Jeffrey Weinhaus

It seems we have a developing story. Jeffrey Weinhaus [born October 6, 1966], a member of Central Missouri Copblock, has been gunned down by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Jeff was working on and had a lot of info incriminating info on surrounding Leos and various departments.

A friend and I, that both knew Jeff personally, were discussing this event and this is what he had to say…

“He named highway patrol cops by name. we have been exposing them all. we have been physically trying to wake the masses and start this party before they do. they start it, its game over from the start. he was armed, that is true. he was very fucking scared, and wasn’t leaving home without one. he was going to meet the troopers. there was no warrant, yet the news says there is, so meh. they called him there to meet and shoot him, and they did.”

From KMOV.com: Missouri trooper shoot suspect in St. Clair

A suspect was shot multiple times by a state trooper south of St. Clair on Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities.

The highway patrol is not releasing the man’s name but News 4 has learned he is Jeffrey Weinhaus.

We are told he was meeting with two troopers for a pre-arranged meeting, but came armed with a gun.

Weinhaus was meeting with two troopers from the MHP’s division of crime and drugs out of Troop-I in Rolla.

The meeting was taking place in the parking lot of an MFA gas station on Highway K south of St. Clair around 1 p.m.

The highway patrol says Weinhaus got out of his car armed and started walking toward the troopers.

There was a confrontation and the troopers opened fire.

Weinhaus was flown by helicopter to mercy hospital in st. Louis in critical conditon.

No officers were injured during the incident.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is currently investigating the incident.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop I (the outfit where the shooter(s) are employed)
http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/TroopHeadquarters/TroopI/index.html
P.O. Box 128
Rolla, MO 65402-0128
Phone: (573) 368-2345
Fax: (573) 368-2352

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C (the outfit investigating the actions of their colleagues down the road)
http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/TroopHeadquarters/TroopC/index.html
891 Technology Drive
Weldon Spring, MO 63304
Phone: (636) 300-2800
Fax:(636) 300-2741

Mercy Hospital
615 South New Ballas Road
St. Louis, MO 63141
(314) 251-6000

One of Jeff’s most-recent updates to his Facebook profile:

jeffrey weinhaus facebook screenshot central missouri copblock Central Missouri Copblocker Jeffrey Weinhaus Shot by MO St. Patrol Employee(s), Airlifted

11:10am September 12th, 2012:

Jeffrey Weinhaus spoke out against the injustice he saw, most of which came from judges, police, bankers and others. Though all his views may not mesh with everyone (who’s do?) he was spot-on about the corruption and double standards inherent in the criminals justice system.

He shared his perspective via a http://bulletinman.com and YouTube channel http://youtube.com/bulletinman, which has 157 subscribers, 87,000 channel views, and the following “About” language “The world as I see it. Jesus is coming and you are being lied too. Wake-up and realize your enemy is within.”

Below is his video posted on August 16th, 2012.

Related media:
Police critic is shot in run-in with Missouri patrolmen
by Jermey Kohler, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 12th, 2012
Gadfly figures he’s worn out his welcome in St. Francois County by Jeremy Kohler, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 30th, 2001

12:50pm September 12th, 2012:

I called Troop C of the Missouri State Highway Patrol to solicit more information about the incident that happened the day prior. Not too surprisingly, Al Nothum, the “public information officer”, wasn’t too public with the related information. Just imagine if this situation would have been different.

Do you think the names of the shooter(s) would have been withheld for so long? That the details surrounding an incident that caused a person to be airlifted to a hospital with two shots to the chest and one to the head would be summarized by saying a “confrontation” occurred? Might the shooter(s) in this incident be afforded double standards due to his place of employment?

3:45pm September 12th, 2012:

An update from Central Missouri Cop Block:

I need to make something perfectly clear about the current situation on Jeff. For him, it’s over.

Even tho he was going to meet with investigators and the fact he was shot down does NOT mean that his troubles are over once he gets out of the hospital. The cops will see to it that Jeff will be charged for something or that he will have acted out of the norm. Either way Jeff will be put in prison or committed, his war is over.

Cold, hard, messed up fact!

We need to step up and take hold of the information Jeff had or find out what it is that Missouri Leos are so worried about. We need to be on the front lines if we see something the police are doing wrong and report/film/spread the word about it. We need to be in the shadows gathering the information about wrong doing and if you have to write it down as to not forget the details.

Some of the best information is out there right in the open for all t see. It’s just that some fail to see it, others feel need to ignore it thinking it doesn’t pertain to them only to complain later, when it spreads, that they have been wronged. Sometimes the information is hiding in plain sight.

I as well as others have tried to get information about Jeff and of course are hitting the “No more information to be released” brick wall. As things come to light I will be posting them.

Peace and be safe.

4:00pm September 12th, 2012:

An overview video that gives a non-Statist Quo take on the incident.

Jeffrey Weinhaus’s website: http://bulletinman.com/
Jeffrey Weinhaus’s YouTube: http://youtube.com/bulletinman

 

10:00pm September 13th, 2012:

According to Jeffrey’s Facebook Page, he is still in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit at Mercy Hosptial.

One friend said that he “squeezed his wife’s hand” yesterday and another said that he opened his eyes yesterday evening.

Copblock will continue to update this story as we get more information.

 

8:00am September 14th, 2012:

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has released their version of the story:

DDCC: Officer Involved Shooting

MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop C Headquarters- 891 Technology Drive, Weldon Spring, MO 63304

NEWS RELEASE

For further information please contact: Sgt. Al Nothum
636-300-2800 ext. 3340
C2012-074A
September 12, 2012

EMPHASIS: Officer Involved Shooting

Captain Sarah L. Eberhard, director of the Division of Drug and Crime Control, informs the public of the following incident:

On September 11, 2012, members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control obtained a felony arrest warrant for Jeffrey R. Weinhaus, 45, of St. Clair, MO. The warrant was for possession of a controlled substance, tampering with a judicial officer, and possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana. Two DDCC officers arranged to meet Weinhaus in the parking lot of a business in Franklin County near his residence. Weinhaus arrived and then exited his vehicle. The troopers observed a holstered pistol on Weinhaus’ side. The troopers issued verbal commands for Weinhaus to move his hands away from his pistol. However, Weinhaus unstrapped the holster and began to draw the weapon. Fearing for their safety, the troopers fired at and struck Weinhaus. After securing Weinhaus, the troopers provided medical assistance until the arrival of emergency medical services personnel. Weinhaus was transported to a St. Louis area hospital where he is listed in critical condition. The Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control investigation is ongoing.

Interesting in light of the following that was submitted to Cop Block by one of Jeffrey’s closest friends:

He is still alive. He has opened his eyes and showing some signs of emotion… I’ll keep you updated. I will say this. There is a piece to this story that isn’t in the news…Jeff was on the phone when he was shot. We have a recording of the whole shooting, and the conversations that took place after he was shot. The person he was talking to recorded the whole thing. The cops stripped all Jeff’s personal belongings. His wallet, phone, wedding ring, all of it stripped and missing. They knew Jeff was recording. They just didn’t notice the phone to his ear…:)blank Central Missouri Copblocker Jeffrey Weinhaus Shot by MO St. Patrol Employee(s), Airlifted. Jeff wasn’t stupid. He called one of us, and we recorded the incident as it happened. The recording of the audio already has 50 copies made, in different places with contingencies in place. A lawyer has the master. This is gonna get ugly when we finally let this out. They murdered him, and we can prove it. Almost. I think he will live, though. I really do.

3:00pm September 14th, 2012:

It’s been reported to Cop Block that Mike Arthur – friend of Weinhaus – has been arrested. We’re trying to ascertain the charges levied and the individuals responsible.

Tonight at 8pm CST the TruthFindersNetwork will address the topic of Jeffrey Weinhaus, Mike Arthur and will be interviewing a Central Missouri Copblocker.

3:30pm September 14th, 2012:

 

 

4:30pm September 14th, 2012:

A comment left below by “Chris” noted:

I have created a Justice for Jeffrey facebook page to show support for him. He needs us at this time. http://www.facebook.com/justiceforjeffreyweinhaus

Central Missouri Copblocker Jeffrey Weinhaus Shot by MO St. Patrol Employee(s), Airlifted is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Central Missouri Copblocker Jeffrey Weinhaus Shot by MO St. Patrol Employee(s), Airlifted

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

Updates will be posted here as they become known. If you know of any relevant details not-yet shared here, please leave them as a comment and they’ll be added.

4:25am September 12th, 2012:

From Central Missouri Cop Block:

jeffrey weinhaus central missouri copblock missouri state highway patrol Central Missouri Copblocker Jeffrey Weinhaus Shot by MO St. Patrol Employee(s), Airlifted

Jeffrey Weinhaus

It seems we have a developing story. Jeffrey Weinhaus [born October 6, 1966], a member of Central Missouri Copblock, has been gunned down by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Jeff was working on and had a lot of info incriminating info on surrounding Leos and various departments.

A friend and I, that both knew Jeff personally, were discussing this event and this is what he had to say…

“He named highway patrol cops by name. we have been exposing them all. we have been physically trying to wake the masses and start this party before they do. they start it, its game over from the start. he was armed, that is true. he was very fucking scared, and wasn’t leaving home without one. he was going to meet the troopers. there was no warrant, yet the news says there is, so meh. they called him there to meet and shoot him, and they did.”

From KMOV.com: Missouri trooper shoot suspect in St. Clair

A suspect was shot multiple times by a state trooper south of St. Clair on Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities.

The highway patrol is not releasing the man’s name but News 4 has learned he is Jeffrey Weinhaus.

We are told he was meeting with two troopers for a pre-arranged meeting, but came armed with a gun.

Weinhaus was meeting with two troopers from the MHP’s division of crime and drugs out of Troop-I in Rolla.

The meeting was taking place in the parking lot of an MFA gas station on Highway K south of St. Clair around 1 p.m.

The highway patrol says Weinhaus got out of his car armed and started walking toward the troopers.

There was a confrontation and the troopers opened fire.

Weinhaus was flown by helicopter to mercy hospital in st. Louis in critical conditon.

No officers were injured during the incident.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is currently investigating the incident.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop I (the outfit where the shooter(s) are employed)
http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/TroopHeadquarters/TroopI/index.html
P.O. Box 128
Rolla, MO 65402-0128
Phone: (573) 368-2345
Fax: (573) 368-2352

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C (the outfit investigating the actions of their colleagues down the road)
http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/TroopHeadquarters/TroopC/index.html
891 Technology Drive
Weldon Spring, MO 63304
Phone: (636) 300-2800
Fax:(636) 300-2741

Mercy Hospital
615 South New Ballas Road
St. Louis, MO 63141
(314) 251-6000

One of Jeff’s most-recent updates to his Facebook profile:

jeffrey weinhaus facebook screenshot central missouri copblock Central Missouri Copblocker Jeffrey Weinhaus Shot by MO St. Patrol Employee(s), Airlifted

Central Missouri Copblocker Jeffrey Weinhaus Shot by MO St. Patrol Employee(s), Airlifted is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

D.C. Police Chief orders officers to not interfere with citizens recording them

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012

In what is sure to be hailed as a giant leap forward in the work against corrupted police officers, Washington D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier has laid down a set of guidelines for her officers to follow in the event of having their actions recorded.

To begin with, asking a citizen to stop recording violates their first amendment rights, and in no way should they be asked to stop, even if their tactical view is compromised because of it. The argument that people filming cops get in their way and bring danger to a situation is not only an outright and bald-faced lie, it is also the exact opposite of the truth. More cameras, (unlike, perhaps say, more guns) is bringing about a safer and more accountable society. No longer can the police hide their crimes.

The statement goes on to outline specific examples, saying that officers could not ask a citizen journalist for their I.D., hamper them from filming in any way, or arrest them.

The full statement, from Timothy Lee at Ars Technica: 

“A bystander has the same right to take photographs or make recordings as a member of the media,” Chief Lanier writes. The First Amendment protects the right to record the activities of police officers, not only in public places such as parks and sidewalks, but also in “an individual’s home or business, common areas of public and private facilities and buildings, and any other public or private facility at which the individual has a legal right to be present.”

Lanier says that if an officer sees an individual recording his or her actions, the officer may not use that as a basis to ask the citizen for ID, demand an explanation for the recording, deliberately obstruct the camera, or arrest the citizen. And she stresses that under no circumstances should the citizen be asked to stop recording.

That applies even in cases where the citizen is recording “from a position that impedes or interferes with the safety of members or their ability to perform their duties.” In that situation, she says, the officer may ask the person to move out of the way, but the officer “shall not order the person to stop photographing or recording.”

As a point of distressing information, the day after the statement was released, a man in D.C.’s phone was taken from him after photographing an officer. Though the phone was apparently given back to him, it’s memory card was not. D.C. officials say they are looking into the matter.

-Ethan I. Solomon

-Pictured is Washington Chief of Police Cathy Lanier

 

D.C. Police Chief orders officers to not interfere with citizens recording them is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Cops open fire with “non-lethal” weapons and attack…

Sunday, July 22nd, 2012


Cops open fire with “non-lethal” weapons and attack dogs into a crowd of families protesting police brutality and murder.  At first, the cops claimed the protesters were throwing rocks, then they claimed there was a garbage fire.  It doesn’t matter what bullshit they put out there.  Nothing can justify treating people this way.

Be forewarned, the video is graphic and frightening.  Infants and young children are seriously injured.

Uninvolved man who videotaped scuffle caged & charged with attempted murder

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

This post/video was submitted by WTF Magazine.

These days cops seem to have their own agendas, anytime a crime is committed. In this case the victims have some tie to the cops and not only do they escape any criminal actions for being an equal part in this scuffle, the person that catches the fight on video is charged.

Civil rights seem to not matter anymore to cops. You must obey them not obey the law. There are many more details that we could not cover in this video and there will be follow up videos to explain other aspects of what occurred. However when the victims say in their own words the camera men just video taped…

How is it they go after three life sentences only to drop the charges for lack of evidence.

We are not condoning the actions of anyone involved in the fight. We think all parties are just as responsible, but the cops had an obvious agenda because not all parties were charged. They would not investigate the perjury charges I attempted to bring. They had family that were cops and gov’t connections.

For more background, including a thorough overview by Jason Fyk, the owner of WTF Magazine and related documents view: Police State: Publisher Charged with Murder for Just Videotaping a Fight (VIDEO) or get in touch with him directly via support@wtfmagazine.com
shipley swinging 300x227 Uninvolved man who videotaped scuffle caged & charged with attempted murder

Uninvolved man who videotaped scuffle caged & charged with attempted murder is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights

Infographic: A Neutral Look at Police Brutality

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

A Neutral Look at Police Brutality, shared with CopBlock.org by Matthew Pelletier of http://Accelerated-degree.com cites outlets such as DOJ’s National Criminal Justice Reference Service for a somewhat inside look behind the thin blue line.

I love these infographics – they take seemingly-dry statistics and make them visually appealing, which helps in their overall objective of communicating information.

Let’s unpack this graphic:

  • Many of the stats speak directly to the culture that exists today in policing, a system that suffers from server perverse incentives since it is an artificial monopoly. In plain English that just means that while cops claim to serve and protect you the “customer,” they put themselves and their colleagues first. Turning a blind-eye to an overly-aggressive and heavy-handed colleague is the norm. As is ostracizing the rare (but increasing!) colleague who speaks-out against such actions. And that’s not surprising – police employees are sheltered from competition and any real mechanism of accountability (just check out the last data-point to see how responsive Chicago PD has been), save for withdrawing your consent. Fortunately, that’s the angle many are now advocating.
  • One caption near the bottom says: “79% of police feel that reports in the news media have caused the public to distrust law enforcement” – that level of distrust is earned. If the lamestream media didn’t default to giving a free pass to aggressors who wear a badge that number would likely be closer to 100% Just think of how most news outlets back off from asking tough questions or posting personal information when the accused aggressor wears a badge.
  • re: the “A few bad apples” portion – might these rates be higher if filing a complaint actually made any difference? Hell yes they would. Instead, most people wronged by someone wearing a badge realize that it’d be a waste of their time to file a complaint. Just how much justice can be had when the investigators and aggressor work for the same outfit? When the “rules” are created out of thin air and interpreted by their friends? When omitting or distorting the truth is so rampant that the word testlying is common vernacular. This is why Cop-Reports.com was created.
++ Click to Enlarge Image ++
Police Brutality Final Infographic: A Neutral Look at Police Brutality
Image Source: http://www.accelerated-degree.com
Related:
Police Brutality Statistics

Infographic: A Neutral Look at Police Brutality is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights