Mental illness or acceptable behavior

The law enforcement professions attracts some unique individuals. Some come to the job with a willingness to help people and make society a better place for all. Then there are those who have ulterior motives, which leads to highly publicized cases of police brutality and killings. There have been many scholarly articles written regarding the latter. Dr. Joy Leary has her own take on it. View the video and make your own decision about why police officers want to "serve and protect."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arhsDUjktW0

Good police work or over reaction?

The fact that you are a gun owner, and an upstanding citizens, does not mean that you will not be mistaken as a criminal by the police. The following is an unfortunate incident, and the man should be happy to be alive. The conclusion of the investigation is controversial, but then again this is law enforcement. Please read the article and view the video and chime in with your thoughts.

PHOENIX (CN) - A homeowner says a Phoenix police officer shot him six times in the back during a 911 home-invasion call, and the 911 tape recorded the officer's partner saying, "That's all right. Don't worry about it. I got your back. ... We clear?" The family says the officers were not aware that the 911 call was still recording as they spoke about covering up the shooting.

In their complaint in Maricopa County Court, Anthony and Lesley Arambula say an armed intruder "crashed through the front window" of their home on Sept. 17, 2008 and ran into one of their son's bedrooms.

Anthony, worried about his son who was still in his bedroom, says he "held the intruder calmly at gunpoint" and called 911.

Phoenix Police officers already in the neighborhood heard the crash of the Arambulas' window. When they approached the house, Lesley says, she told Sgt. Sean Coutts that her husband was inside holding the intruder at gunpoint. Lesley says Coutts failed to pass on that information to the two other officers.
Inside the house, the Arambulas say, Officer Brian Lilly shot Anthony six times in the back while he was still on the phone with the 911 operator - twice when he was on the ground.

The officers ran into the bedroom after Anthony told them, "You just killed ... you just killed the homeowner. The bad guy is in there."

The complaint states that Officer Lilly "admitted that it was only after Tony was laying, bullet-ridden, on the ground that he assessed the situation. The 911 tape continued to record what happened even after Officer Lilly unloaded his weapon into Tony, including Officer Lilly's post-shooting, one-word 'assessment': '****.'

"Tony believed he was going to die; the 911 tape records his plaintive goodbye to his family: '... I love you ... I love you.' Then Tony made what he believed was a dying request to the officers; he did not want his young family to see him shot and bloodied. Officers callously ignored his request and painfully dragged Tony by his injured leg, through the home and out to his backyard patio, where they left him bloodied and shot right in front of Lesley, Matthew and Zachary."

The Arambulas say the officers later dragged Anthony onto gravel, then put him on top of the hot hood of a squad car, and "drove the squad car down the street with Tony lying on top, writing in pain."

According to the complaint, Lilly can be heard on the 911 tape telling Coutts, "We ****ed up." Lilly says on the tape that he did not know where Anthony's gun was when he shot him and that he "opened fire because he heard loud noises and saw someone who looked like he might be the 'Hispanic' male they were pursuing" before getting to the Arambulas' house, according to the complaint.

The complaint states: "Sgt. Coutts knew that officers has just shot up and likely killed an innocent homeowner and the husband of Lesley, with whom he had spoken before entering the home, instead of the armed intruder. Sgt. Coutts was quick to commence the cover-up of their terrible mistake. Sgt. Coutts asked Office Lilly where Tony's gun was at the time Officer Lilly had opened fire on Tony. Officer Lilly admitted that he did not know where Tony's gun was: 'I don't know. I heard screaming and I fired.'"

Lilly later told a police internal affairs investigator that Anthony had pointed his gun in his direction, "in the 'ready' position," the complaint states. But Anthony Arambula says he was facing away from the officers, who could not have even seen his gun.

The complaint continues: "Still not knowing that he is being recorded n the 911 tape, Sgt. Coutts interrupted Officer Lilly's admission and apology with his assurance that the cover-up would commence: 'That's all right. Don't worry about it. I got your back. ... We clear?'"

After the shooting, the Arambulas say, the Phoenix Police Department treated them "like suspects in a drug bust," denying Lesley, Michael and Zachary information about Anthony's condition and denying friends and family members access to him at the hospital.

Anthony Arambula survived, but continues to suffer pain, which he expects will last for the rest of his life.The City of Phoenix and Officer Dzenan Ahmetovic also are named as defendants. The Arambulas seek punitive damages for gross negligence, civil rights violations, failure to supervise, excessive force, deliberate indifference to medical needs, false arrest, and emotional distress. They are represented by Michael Manning with son Morrison Hecker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwxyAfHvxtg&feature=related

What the hell is he doing?

I understand getting publicity to showcase something good about either yourself or something that you're representing. However, the recent television and Youtube appearance by Mayor Cory Booker is truly sad and disturbing. He is making a joke of what is going on and Conan O'Brien is using Newark as satirical fodder. Mayor Booker can better utilize his time by staying off the air, getting back to work, and try to stop the increasing violence in the City of Newark. However, if he were to do that then he would not be doing what he got into politics for and that is to make a joke of Newark and a name for himself. How about this Mr. Mayor, instead of banning Conan O'Brien from Newark, why don't you bar criminals and murders from the city, who wreak havoc on the good taxpaying citizens. Wake up Newark.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZSSBUWJm0o

Police abuse or justified behavior?

The camera never lies. The Passaic Police Department has to eventually address the behavior of its officers when they encounter individuals with mental health problems. Never one to Monday morning quarterback, but this particular incident is very disturbing. Today, the officer involved in the attached video was indicted and will face a jury of his peers, if he does not reach a settlement. If you look at the video, pay particular attention to this officer's partner. What responsibility does she bear in this incident. I have my thoughts, so please share yours.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLemcvH6vx4

Female cops: Are they different or not?

For those who have heard my speeches over the years regarding females in law enforcement, my position has not changed. I believe that females bring a different perspective to the profession, which makes it better. I have also talked about the increasing number of females finding it very difficult to overcome the stereotypes that continually excluded them. I know that it is difficult to exist in a predominately white male profession, but I still believe that they have what it takes to do well.

Like most professions, you are going to have some who discredit the organization. I recently encountered that person, who left me with a bad impression. I will not cast a wide net and will only direct my comments toward this person. I was at a university driving around the parking lot looking for a particular building. I did not notice that the traffic patterns were painted on the ground. Unbeknownst to me, I was traveling the wrong way down a parking isle. I was not going fast and observed all of the traffic coming my way. No one beeped their horn or motioned to me that I was doing anything wrong. I then made a right turn and was about to pull into a parking spot before I was motioned by a university police officer to pull up to her vehicle. I did so without incident.

As we sat next to each other in our cars, the officer asked me if I was aware that I was driving the wrong way. I told her no, and that I was looking for a particular building on the campus. She looked at me incredulously and asked me again if I was aware that I was driving the wrong way. Again, I told her no, but this time I was met with an attitude that I could not explain. I was very calm and mild manner. I did not want to get into a confrontation, but it appeared that she wanted to make sure that I understood my transgression, which I did. We went back and forth for about a minute before she gave me the directions and allowed me to go on my way. The reason that I am writing about this is because I did not expect this attitude from this woman. My question is, "Am I unfairly judging this female police officer?" Should I expect more from her because she is a female? I would expect this behavior from most male cops. What say you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOMnxaVbrgc

Brick City: Real or imagined?

The City of Newark is getting some truly remarkable news coverage, but for all the wrong reasons. I watched tonight's second installment of "Brick City" on the Sundance channel. I expected to see the blight and distress that many inner cities go through, and that murders are being committed often enough that people are afraid to walk the streets. However, what I saw were a few individuals attempting to make it seem like Newark is on the rebound, and its citizens are going to be the recipients of all its success. Noting could be further from the truth. The fact that many of these businesses coming into Newark are there to take advantage of those that chose to stay, during the good and bad times, speaks volumes of exploitation. Amiri Baraka put everything in its proper perspective when he called out Mayor Cory Booker for his disingenuous acts. I will reserve judgment until I am able to watch the rest of the installments, but from what I have seen so far, it does not say much for how the people are going to prosper.


Update: I watched the third installment and was impressed with Ras Baraka and Todd Warren. I appreciate the love and respect that they show for the students at Central High School. The rest of the political posturing is sickening. I understand why the average person dislikes politicians and the police. I will wait for the fourth installment tonight.

Do I have to go in the house?

I have always been perplexed when the law enforcement community can't get a handle on crime, they take it out on the law abiding citizens. The City of Paterson is trying to implement a curfew to curtail the recent murders and increase in crime. I can understand that the police are frustrated, but will this really work? There has got to be a better way. How about putting more police officers on foot patrol in the high crime areas. I am quite sure they can find a few officers sitting behind a desk to help facilitate the needed personnel. Other states have tried this and it did not work. To resolve this problem will take more than just telling people to go in the house. Most people want to be outside so that they don't hurt someone within their own family. It will take a concerted effort by the government to create jobs that pay more than minimum wage and
individuals to be more responsible for their actions.