FAQ 26: Police Abuse & Brutality

26a. Who polices the police?

26b. What are the various levels of police abuse?

26c. What is my legal recourse?

26d. What exactly are my rights when a cop stops me?

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anecdotes

Ever wonder why the black cops stood around and did nothing while Rodney
King was getting beat? Check out what happened to a couple of brothers
who did try to buck the system.

Three years ago, here in South Florida, Rory Middleton (a black police
officer) was at home babysitting when he heard a noise outside. He peered
out his window and saw a black man running away from 3 cops. Rory yelled
at the man to freeze. The man, Cardell Daniels, yelled back that the cops
were going to beat him up. Officer Middleton yelled back for Daniels to
get down on the ground, surrender, and he wouldn't be beat up.

Well, Daniels stopped running and predictably, the 3 white cops chasing
him beat him anyway. Daniels had to be rushed to the hospital to receive
3 staples to close the head wounds he received. Predictably, the 3 white
cops to a man don't remember hitting Daniels in the head.

Okay, so far, this story is not usual. What happened from then on is.
Officer Middleton, the black cop who convinced Daniels to stop running
filed a complaint against the 3 white cops charging them with excessive
brutality.

The results so far are obscene. The 'Professional Standards Committee'
found no probable cause to sustain charges against the 3 white cops.
Also, charges were dropped against Daniels.

In fact, only 2 cops were punished. Middleton, the black cop who got
Daniels to stop running, was charged with failing to aid his fellow
officers. You see, Middleton was expected to leave the 1-year-old he
was babysitting unattended and run outdoors to help three armed cops
'subdue' an unharmed black man.

Oh, yeah. The other cop who was punished was a black internal affairs
officer who was taken off the case for 'insubordination, untruthfulness,
and policy violations'. This cop refuses to appeal because, and I quote
him, "I can't appeal to a kangaroo court process".

The above information was taken from yesterday's The Herald in a story
written by Ronnie Green.

-- Ray Wood, rawood@rd1.racal.com 4/4/95