“Use of force is never pretty”
by digby
I wonder how many real crimes were committed unmolested while the LAPD engaged in brutality against a skateboarder and wasted the time of dozens of police officers in the process:
Ronald Weekley Jr., 20, of Venice, Calif., told USA TODAY that officers broke his nose and right cheekbone and gave him a concussion after they tackled him from behind Saturday night. Video shows several officers restraining the Xavier University sophomore and one officer punching him in the face while he was face down.
The Los Angeles Police Department, however, maintains that Weekley resisted arrest after officers tried to stop him and discuss his traffic violation. After he ran from police, officers pursued him and used force — including “several punches” — until he was put into handcuffs, Commander Andrew Smith told USA TODAY.
Weekley admits he was riding his skateboard in the street, against on-coming traffic. But he said that there were no cars at the time and that in Venice it’s common practice, as with bikes, to ride in the street.
It is. I see it every day.
I don’t know the whole story — the preliminary word from LAPD is that the kid tried to run. But there’s no excuse for punching someone who is in custody with four cops on top of him which we can see clearly in that video. I don’t care if it was Charles Manson. But it wasn’t Charles Manson. It was a skateboarding college kid doing what skateboarders do every day in Venice.
On the other hand, I give the other officers at the scene credit for not escalating the violence as they did in Orange County last month. And there didn’t seem to be any attempt to take the video camera. So there are cops who know how to behave professionally. And, unfortunately, some who don’t.
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