Post: #1

Welcome to my city. Our favorite agitators are back in action. Yeah, the circumstances are suspicious. The guy also ran from police. Should they have gotten him medical help? Yes. Should he have ran from police? No. It's interesting that the article notes the violent agitators apparently were not from Baltimore. Hopefully more info comes out on that.

Article here

Quote:BALTIMORE – A protest over the death of Freddie Gray, who was critically injured in police custody, started peacefully with thousands marching through downtown streets before the demonstration turned violent and volatile.

The chaotic scene Saturday night prompted the first public remarks from Freddie Gray's twin sister, who pleaded for peace at a news conference alongside the mayor.

"My family wants to say, can you all please, please stop the violence?" Fredricka Gray said. "Freddie Gray would not want this."

On Sunday, police said 34 protesters were arrested and six officers suffered minor injuries. Police said extra officers would be deployed throughout the city over the weekend.

Just before nightfall Saturday, groups of protesters marched from City Hall to the Camden Yards baseball stadium, where the Baltimore Orioles played the Boston Red Sox. Fans were told to briefly stay inside the stadium until the police were able to clear an intersection outside of the venue.

Meanwhile, a smaller "splinter group" looted a convenience store and threw tables and chairs through storefront windows, shattering the glass. One group smashed the window of a department store inside a downtown mall and, at one point, a protester tossed a flaming metal garbage can toward a line of police officers in riot gear as they tried to push back the crowd.

Earlier, a group of protesters smashed the windows of at least three police cars and got into fights with baseball fans outside a bar.

Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said roughly 1,200 officers were deployed downtown and across the city to try and keep the peace. Batts said he believes the "very violent agitators" are not from Baltimore.

"I'm proud of our residents," Batts said. "The majority of the people here did a great job."

But Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she was "profoundly disappointed."

"Unfortunately a small group of agitators turned what was otherwise a peaceful demonstration into a violent protest. This is something that's unacceptable to me and everyone who lives in Baltimore," she said.

Fire officials said roughly 1,200 protesters gathered at City Hall Saturday afternoon to protest Gray's death, which has prompted near-daily demonstrations since his death on April 19. Gray was arrested one week before that when officers chased him through a West Baltimore neighborhood and dragged him into a police van.

Police acknowledged Friday that Gray, 25, should have received medical attention at the spot where he was arrested -- before he was put inside a police transport van handcuffed and without a seat belt, a violation of the Police Department's policy.

Gray, who is black, was arrested after he made eye contact with officers and ran away, police said. Officers held him down, handcuffed him and loaded him into the van. While inside, he became irate and leg cuffs were put on him, police have said.

Gray asked for medical help several times, beginning before he was placed in the van. After a 30-minute ride that included three stops, paramedics were called.

Authorities have not explained how or when Gray's spine was injured.

On Saturday afternoon, protesters gathered at the site of Gray's arrest in the Sandtown neighborhood of West Baltimore before making their way to City Hall.

Leonard Patterson, 56, said he drove from Manassas, Virginia, to be a part of the protest. Patterson said he decided to come after thinking about his college-aged daughter.

"I'm trying to do everything in my limbs, everything in my power, to make this a better world for her," he said as he held a drawing of Gray being hoisted from a police van to heaven by two angels. "I'm here to do what I can. Police brutality is as old as the 1950s, 1960s. It's still here."

Wearing a sign around his neck that said "I am Freddie Gray," 33-year-old Dante Acree joined thousands of others outside City Hall. Acree said he came out to the protest because "it could have been one of my kids."

"It could have been my brother, my father," he said. "I'd want the same support."

One of the protest's organizers, Malik Shabazz, the president of Black Lawyers for Justice, said the crowd exceeded their expectations, adding that protesters' anger is not surprising.

"This is a problem that has not been solved," he said. "When there's no justice, they tend to want to take matters into their own hands."

Post: #2

The one thing I always find confusing about riots is that they invariably end with the very city that the rioters hail from being damaged economically. I know that rioters don't go out with the intention of fucking up their own neighborhood but that always seems to be the result. Someone should set up a riot camp of some sort that would teach these guys how to do it the right way.

Shame that another man got blasted by the cops, but there has gotta be a better way to achieve justice that doesn't involve destroying the community.

Post: #3

(04-26-2015 11:40 PM)Fortis Wrote:  Someone should set up a riot camp of some sort that would teach these guys how to do it the right way.

Shame that another man got blasted by the cops, but there has gotta be a better way to achieve justice that doesn't involve destroying the community.

Well, people could always try to riot in another neighborhood and get blasted by the actual residents such as in Koreatown or post Katrina.

If raiding other neighborhoods over police brutality becomes a trend you can bet that gun ownership will skyrocket in adjoining neighborhoods.

Actual right wing paramilitary groups will form that will make the average hillybilly redneck with a hunting rifle look like boyscouts.

Post: #4

The cops are bullies and thugs. I live near there. I don't go into the city unless I have to.

But here is the thing: It's not called Bodymore, Murderland for nothing. And "The Wire" is not based on fiction but fact.

When you have a town like that, and a police force that has to deal with that day-in and day-out, how do you think the cops have to be to survive?

Yep, they have to be bullies and thugs because that who they're dealing with.

And although that does not excuse these cops from what they did, it does explain why they're this way. You can't have a town where people behave like it's Detroit or the Wild West and expect the cops to be mellow, polite Andy Griffith characters.

Neither the protesters or the media commentators seem to get this. But I'd like to put them in Baltimore and have them attempt to police the criminal element for six months and see what they're like after that.

Post: #5

There are parts of America that are such extreme shitholes that I don't see why anyone would willingly choose to live in those communities. That is unless you are provided with the 3rd world expat equivalent of a hardship package as compensation and reside behind heavily armed gated communities.

A large section of Baltimore, Detroit, Southside Chicago, East LA/South Central, etc.. are close to being post apocalyptic shitholes. Parts of core middle America are rotting away too. There's a lot of pics of Gary, Indiana that look like they were taken in war torn Bosnia circa 1996.

You could take a video camera and roll through those places in your interceptor in full mad max gear with skulls on spikes and you wouldn't look completely out of place.

Post: #6

(04-26-2015 11:37 PM)Sweet Pea Wrote:  Welcome to my city. Our favorite agitators are back in action. Yeah, the circumstances are suspicious. The guy also ran from police. Should they have gotten him medical help? Yes. Should he have ran from police? No. It's interesting that the article notes the violent agitators apparently were not from Baltimore. Hopefully more info comes out on that.

Running from police is not a crime, when the police haven't technically stopped you.

It all hinges on what's considered "Reasonable Suspicion."

Quote:As such, the court held that Jones presence in the high crime area, plus his flight from the officer amounted to sufficient reasonable suspicion to justify Jones’ detention.

Source: http://www.llrmi.com/articles/legal_upda...ones.shtml

So if you are in a crime-ridden neighborhood (e.g. a ghetto black neighborhood), and you run from the cops, that may give cops grounds to stop people. If you were in a low-crime area (e.g. a yuppie white neighborhood), and you ran from the cops, you might be in the clear.

Post: #7

(04-27-2015 12:23 AM)Basil Ransom Wrote:  

(04-26-2015 11:37 PM)Sweet Pea Wrote:  Welcome to my city. Our favorite agitators are back in action. Yeah, the circumstances are suspicious. The guy also ran from police. Should they have gotten him medical help? Yes. Should he have ran from police? No. It's interesting that the article notes the violent agitators apparently were not from Baltimore. Hopefully more info comes out on that.

Running from police is not a crime, when the police haven't technically stopped you.

It all hinges on what's considered "Reasonable Suspicion."

Quote:As such, the court held that Jones presence in the high crime area, plus his flight from the officer amounted to sufficient reasonable suspicion to justify Jones’ detention.

Source: http://www.llrmi.com/articles/legal_upda...ones.shtml

So if you are in a crime-ridden neighborhood (e.g. a ghetto black neighborhood), and you run from the cops, that may give cops grounds to stop people. If you were in a low-crime area (e.g. a yuppie white neighborhood), and you ran from the cops, you might be in the clear.

If I made eye contact with a cop and ran away from them in the same area he did, then yes, I would expect them to chase me. If I ran away from a cop in the cul-de-sac where I grew up, I still wouldn't be surprised if they chase me. In what world is that not suspicious?

Post: #8

It's not what's 'suspicious,' it's what the law considers Reasonable Suspicion. Which is up for debate, as with everything in law.

Post: #9

Reasonable suspicion = being a black man anywhere in the U.S. Why he ran is easy an easy question to answer it's usually better than sticking around to get your rights violated and ass kicked.... Welcome to my 'Murica

Post: #10

DOBA, what Baltimore police face could not be remotely as bad as what soldiers in Afghanistan and other wars have faced - the difference is that soldiers in Afghanistan know they'll get punished for slaying a few villagers or lighting korans on fire. So they don't pull those stunts too often.

The police, on the other hand, have had a pretty free reign on terrible behavior so long as they could plausibly dress it up as something neutral or benign. Being a shitty cop is accepted, if not standard, operating procedure.

If cops knew they couldn't get away with such things, they'd change their tune. Plus, if Bmore is still so dangerous, the mean cop tactics aren't very effective to beginnwith.

Post: #11

(04-27-2015 09:19 AM)Basil Ransom Wrote:  DOBA, what Baltimore police face could not be remotely as bad as what soldiers in Afghanistan and other wars have faced - the difference is that soldiers in Afghanistan know they'll get punished for slaying a few villagers or lighting korans on fire. So they don't pull those stunts too often.

The police, on the other hand, have had a pretty free reign on terrible behavior so long as they could plausibly dress it up as something neutral or benign. Being a shitty cop is accepted, if not standard, operating procedure.

If cops knew they couldn't get away with such things, they'd change their tune. Plus, if Bmore is still so dangerous, the mean cop tactics aren't very effective to beginnwith.

http://mindprod.com/politics/iraqabughraibpix.html[NSFW]

Post: #12

Yeah, I'm definitely not condoning whatever the police may have done to kill the guy. I'm just saying this guy made some poor decisions by running from the police. It's not like the officers pulled a gun on him and blew him away at first sight. Baltimore is still very dangerous, you're right. Most parts of the city I wouldn't walk around during the day, the trash (black, white and Hispanic) in the ghettos are animals, plain and simple. Baltimore is mostly a slum with a few nice-ish areas around the inner harbor and a couple other neighborhoods. Some of the slums are being gentrified but I still wouldn't want to live there right now--most of the people with money live in areas like Bel Air, Towson, Hunt Valley (decent sized Jewish community here), and all the bedroom communities Baltimore shares with DC. In fact, the majority of wealthy black families live in Montgomery County. It seems like only yuppies want to live there nowadays.

Another thing I think is worth noting is how the city trash has migrated out of the city and into Howard, Baltimore and Harford county over the past few decades (especially along the Route 40 corridor, which runs parallel and to the east of I-95), to towns like White Marsh, Edgewood, Riverside, Havre de Grace, Aberdeen, etc.

That's my two-cents on demographics of the Baltimore metro. I lived in one of those mostly white commuter towns that's right down the road from a poor, mostly black town. It really is like night and day going between the two, and there's a lot of underlying animosity on both sides of the tracks.

Post: #13

I will leave you gents with this:



We know that the cops are getting militarized and blacks do have to be more careful around them.

Still that character was no snowflake and the city was likely safer without him on it.

You might wonder why the media creates riots out of real criminals and is so incredibly silent when retired marines and innocent children playing with sticks (which resemble guns) get shot.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/03/justic...ain-death/ (cops were both black and white)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Tamir_Rice - hardly any protests after a 12 year old boy is shot playing in a park

We all know that the reason for it is mostly poverty, single motherhood households, glorification of thug culture, unemployment, lousy education, no future seen otherwise by those youth.
On the side of the police it's deliberate militarization of the force through a variety of measures.

The reason why the media generates that stuff and even NGOs paid by billionaires like George Soros paid for transport of protesters to Ferguson, well that is another one:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...tests.html

The truth is that divide and conquer is the rule. If black folk focus their anger on the police, destroy property and terrorize innocent people, then the elite can sleep content in their beds. Divide and conquer is the Game and any violent protests justify more surveillance, more militarization, more police state and more direct oppression.

But I am still amazed often that they don't pick the truly innocent shootings, because I guess it's more honorable to defend the life of a thug than a retired marine or a 12 year old boy. The plutocracy owned media and politicians are evil to the bone and cannot even organize protests around valid concerns.

Fuck them all and avoid being angry about what is happening - you are being played. More of that is yet to come.

Post: #14

Thanks Zelcorpion, major oversight on my part. I knew about his arrest record but I completely missed that it wasn't included in my linked article.

Post: #15

(04-27-2015 10:01 AM)Zelcorpion Wrote:  I will leave you gents with this:



We know that the cops are getting militarized and blacks do have to be more careful around them.

Still that character was no snowflake and the city was likely safer without him on it.

You might wonder why the media creates riots out of real criminals and is so incredibly silent when retired marines and innocent children playing with sticks (which resemble guns) get shot.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/03/justic...ain-death/ (cops were both black and white)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Tamir_Rice - hardly any protests after a 12 year old boy is shot playing in a park

We all know that the reason for it is mostly poverty, single motherhood households, glorification of thug culture, unemployment, lousy education, no future seen otherwise by those youth.
On the side of the police it's deliberate militarization of the force through a variety of measures.

The reason why the media generates that stuff and even NGOs paid by billionaires like George Soros paid for transport of protesters to Ferguson, well that is another one:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...tests.html

The truth is that divide and conquer is the rule. If black folk focus their anger on the police, destroy property and terrorize innocent people, then the elite can sleep content in their beds. Divide and conquer is the Game and any violent protests justify more surveillance, more militarization, more police state and more direct oppression.

But I am still amazed often that they don't pick the truly innocent shootings, because I guess it's more honorable to defend the life of a thug than a retired marine or a 12 year old boy. The plutocracy owned media and politicians are evil to the bone and cannot even organize protests around valid concerns.

Fuck them all and avoid being angry about what is happening - you are being played. More of that is to come.

What does his previous arrest record have to do with anything? The man was arrested for no apparent reason (I say no apparent reason because there is no charge) and while in custody his neck was broken....... I mean you say he was no snowflake and that maybe true but true but does a man have to be s snowflake for this to be considered unjust??? Does it only count as murder / unlawful killing if the victim was an angel???

Post: #16

Why was this guy even on the street with a rap sheet that long?

Post: #17

The problem with this story is that the police broke this guy's spine and voice box, yet claimed he did not resist arrest (after being caught) and would not reveal what crimes, if any, he had committed or was being charged with for more than a week afterwards.

Also, they claimed that he was fine getting into the van, then had a "medical emergency" while already in police custody. Somehow his spine had snapped in two and he smashed himself in the throat while riding to the station.

As Basil Ransom pointed out, it's a problem that we see time and time again with accountability. If these cops were not allowed to do this, then give themselves a week to figure out their story, it would stop happening.

Quote:$5.7 million is the amount the city paid to victims of brutality between 2011 and 2014. And as huge as that figure is, the more staggering number in the article is this one: "Over the past four years, more than 100 people have won court judgments or settlements related to allegations of brutality and civil-rights violations." What tiny percentage of the unjustly beaten win formal legal judgments?

If you're imagining that they were all men in their twenties, think again:

Victims include a 15-year-old boy riding a dirt bike, a 26-year-old pregnant accountant who had witnessed a beating, a 50-year-old woman selling church raffle tickets, a 65-year-old church deacon rolling a cigarette and an 87-year-old grandmother aiding her wounded grandson. Those cases detail a frightful human toll. Officers have battered dozens of residents who suffered broken bones — jaws, noses, arms, legs, ankles — head trauma, organ failure, and even death, coming during questionable arrests. Some residents were beaten while handcuffed; others were thrown to the pavement.

When pondering the fact that Baltimore paid out $5.7 million in brutality settlements over four years, consider that the payout in this case was just $95,000.

Lest anyone imagine that this investigation was the only tipoff of egregious misconduct among Baltimore police, more context is useful. The period covered in the brutality investigation came immediately after the FBI caught 51 Baltimore police officers in a scheme that resulted in at least 12 extortion convictions.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arch...re/391158/

Post: #18

(04-27-2015 10:08 AM)ElJefe1 Wrote:  What does his previous arrest record have to do with anything? The man was arrested for no apparent reason (I say no apparent reason because there is no charge) and while in custody his neck was broken....... I mean you say he was no snowflake and that maybe true but true but does a man have to be s snowflake for this to be considered unjust??? Does it only count as murder / unlawful killing if the victim was an angel???

I agree - I haven't looked into the case. If it was done by the police, then it was murder - no doubt about it.

His arrest record and character does shed a different light on it, because you don't know what he did around the time it happened and how it happened - pulled a shiv, tried to grab a weapon.

I am not excusing the police here - I am trying to shed light on it and pointing out that those riots don't appear out of thin air.

Why were there no more justified protests around the shooting of that 12 year old boy or the retired marine? Those cases were much more severe.

Besides - those kind of violent riots don't serve nothing, they destroy the city even more economically.

As far as the specific case is concerned - it's straight 101 police brutality, where they went overboard, but as Enigma pointed out above it's not uncommon with the Baltimore police - they do it to pregnant women as well as grandmothers.

Post: #19

You live in Baltimore too Sweet Pea? I actually know some people that were down there near the harbor. I even lived around certain areas in the city like "Down the hill" and Park Heights. I'm glad to have moved out of those shitholes while still a little boy.

It is likely that there was some brutality because Baltimore police are often awful and very corrupt. But either way the rational thing to do would have been to wait until we received all of the evidence of said brutality; then go after the cops responsible by filing complains to the mayor, governor, congress, or whoever. Doing this in a peaceful manner was the best option. Acknowledging the mistakes of the decease is recommended.

But we all know crowds aren't rational.

We still don't know everything about Freddie Gray's death but it doesn't matter because the outrage is in full force. Blacks will blame the white man for everything. People will scream "FUCK THE POLICE". We have people jumping on random cars. Thugs starting fights and destroying and looting stores. It's an exact repeat of what we saw in Fergusion Missouri. I've also read that Al Sharpton may be planning a visit. And let's not forget all of the racist that these events enable. I'm not just talking about blacks. Whites will come out in full force to criticize black culture and other stuff under a veil of contempt and racism.

It's hard not to become cynical at this stuff. When seeing this crap it makes me think we should hurry up and get to Mars as I may go there and never come back. But alas, I am fortunate to live in Baltimore county where it is much better than the.

Post: #20

(04-27-2015 10:01 AM)Zelcorpion Wrote:  I will leave you gents with this:

Notice how the vast majority of this rap sheet basically consists of bullshit crimes (IE: drug possession).

See my post in the Baltimore thread. The police are being militarized to a large degree because they keep creating more criminals. The police state needs a powerful army to enforce its existence, which is why we have the rise of the warrior cop.

Post: #21

It

(04-27-2015 10:16 AM)Zelcorpion Wrote:  

(04-27-2015 10:08 AM)ElJefe1 Wrote:  What does his previous arrest record have to do with anything? The man was arrested for no apparent reason (I say no apparent reason because there is no charge) and while in custody his neck was broken....... I mean you say he was no snowflake and that maybe true but true but does a man have to be s snowflake for this to be considered unjust??? Does it only count as murder / unlawful killing if the victim was an angel???

I agree - I haven't looked into the case. If it was done by the police, then it was murder - no doubt about it.

His arrest record and character does shed a different light on it, because you don't know what he did around the time it happened and how it happened - pulled a shiv, tried to grab a weapon.

I am not excusing the police here - I am trying to shed light on it and pointing out that those riots don't appear out of thin air.

Why were there no more justified protests around the shooting of that 12 year old boy or the retired marine? Those cases were much more severe.

Besides - those kind of violent riots don't serve nothing, they destroy the city even more economically.

As far as the specific case is concerned - it's straight 101 police brutality, where they went overboard, but as Enigma pointed out above it's not uncommon with the Baltimore police - they do it to pregnant women as well as grandmothers.

I disagree 100% no ones past (especially a non violent drug history which is clearly shown in your own post of his criminal record) gives any credence, justification, or slightly imaginable logic for what they did to him. All sinners have a future and saints have a past.

Post: #22

(04-27-2015 10:16 AM)Old Fritz Wrote:  You live in Baltimore too Sweet Pea? I actually know some people that were down there near the harbor. I even lived around certain areas in the city like "Down the hill" and Park Heights. I'm glad to have moved out of those shitholes while still a little boy.

It is likely that there was some brutality because Baltimore police are often awful and very corrupt. But either way the rational thing to do would have been to wait until we received all of the evidence of said brutality; then go after the cops responsible by filing complains to the mayor, governor, congress, or whoever. Doing this in a peaceful manner was the best option. Acknowledging the mistakes of the decease is recommended.

But we all know crowds aren't rational.

We still don't know everything about Freddie Gray's death but it doesn't matter because the outrage is in full force. Blacks will blame the white man for everything. People will scream "FUCK THE POLICE". We have people jumping on random cars. Thugs starting fights and destroying and looting stores. It's an exact repeat of what we saw in Fergusion Missouri. I've also read that Al Sharpton may be planning a visit. And let's not forget all of the racist that these events enable. I'm not just talking about blacks. Whites will come out in full force to criticize black culture and other stuff under a veil of contempt and racism.

It's hard not to become cynical at this stuff. When seeing this crap it makes me think we should hurry up and get to Mars as I may go there and never come back. But alas, I am fortunate to live in Baltimore county where it is much better than the.

Yeah, I'm about 25 minutes from Baltimore. My mom and aunt grew up in the city, my grandparents lived there since they were in their early 20s, my great-grandparents were born there. My other grandmother is from one of the towns on Route 40 back when it was nice. None of us live in the city anymore, and when we visit it's only to go to a select few places. Not to derail this thread by Baltimore is boring as hell. We have a good aquarium, a shit zoo, a good football team and a hot-and-cold baseball team, average to sub-par dining options, below-average girls...it's like DC with marginally less bitchy girls and no metro system.

Post: #23

(04-27-2015 10:25 AM)Sweet Pea Wrote:  

(04-27-2015 10:16 AM)Old Fritz Wrote:  You live in Baltimore too Sweet Pea? I actually know some people that were down there near the harbor. I even lived around certain areas in the city like "Down the hill" and Park Heights. I'm glad to have moved out of those shitholes while still a little boy.

It is likely that there was some brutality because Baltimore police are often awful and very corrupt. But either way the rational thing to do would have been to wait until we received all of the evidence of said brutality; then go after the cops responsible by filing complains to the mayor, governor, congress, or whoever. Doing this in a peaceful manner was the best option. Acknowledging the mistakes of the decease is recommended.

But we all know crowds aren't rational.

We still don't know everything about Freddie Gray's death but it doesn't matter because the outrage is in full force. Blacks will blame the white man for everything. People will scream "FUCK THE POLICE". We have people jumping on random cars. Thugs starting fights and destroying and looting stores. It's an exact repeat of what we saw in Fergusion Missouri. I've also read that Al Sharpton may be planning a visit. And let's not forget all of the racist that these events enable. I'm not just talking about blacks. Whites will come out in full force to criticize black culture and other stuff under a veil of contempt and racism.

It's hard not to become cynical at this stuff. When seeing this crap it makes me think we should hurry up and get to Mars as I may go there and never come back. But alas, I am fortunate to live in Baltimore county where it is much better than the.

Yeah, I'm about 25 minutes from Baltimore. My mom and aunt grew up in the city, my grandparents lived there since they were in their early 20s, my great-grandparents were born there. My other grandmother is from one of the towns on Route 40 back when it was nice. None of us live in the city anymore, and when we visit it's only to go to a select few places. Not to derail this thread by Baltimore is boring as hell. We have a good aquarium, a shit zoo, a good football team and a hot-and-cold baseball team, average to sub-par dining options, below-average girls...it's like DC with marginally less bitchy girls and no metro system.

Oh believe me I know. That's why I've been trying to secure a job in different states. I can't wait to leave.

Post: #24

(04-27-2015 10:25 AM)ElJefe1 Wrote:  I disagree 100% no ones past (especially a non violent drug history which is clearly shown in your own post of his criminal record) gives any credence, justification, or slightly imaginable logic for what they did to him. All sinners have a future and saints have a past.

It is true, that the crimes were mostly non-violent, although I am a bit puzzled about him being out of jail if he was indicted so often for distribution - I guess due to him being a minor? (BTW - I am for legalization[albeit control] of many drugs and the war on drugs is a joke)

That said - it's true - regardless of previous offenses he should have been treated like a snowflake - just with more caution and greater restraint, but not outright violence. (As far as rap sheets not being important - in his case I would say he could have still turned his life around if he stopped using drugs, got a solid job and a life away from his likely criminal friends.)

More how Swedish cops on holiday restrained 2 guys who started a fight in NYC subway - they are police who are as of yet not militarized to that degree, but they are no pussies either:

Post: #25

The mayor of the city campaigned in favor of a state law that would make it easier to fire cops, but it didn't pass. Its probably not easy to fire shitty cops until the law changes.

Given his rap sheet, cops probably had enough reasonable suspicion to stop him if they recognized him. That doesn't justify his treatment post arrest of course.