Not a model arrest
I watched the police arrest video and didn't see any brutality.
On the other hand, it didn't look like a model arrest, either. Two officers had a lot of trouble making one mouthy little punk get down on the "f---ing ground." Slapping him on the head and kicking him in the butt a couple of times wasn't very effective.
(You do have to feel for officers called on to deal with idiots like this.)
Maybe they should watch the Olympic judo competition for some pointers.
Or use a Taser next time.
The important point, though, is that there would have been nothing to watch at all if the suspect had gotten down on the ground like he was told. Repeatedly claiming "I'm down, I'm down" while he's still on his feet is just stupid.
He really should have been taken down.
Where was the officer who arrested Pop Kohanowich?
Comments (7)
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Must be a new record -- I'm agreeing with you for a second time today.
Could the officers have handled this arrest better? Sure. Was it police brutality? Absolutely not. This guy (who was suspected of brandishing a gun, btw) could've saved himself a lot of grief had he simply cooperated with the officers. In some ways, I thought the officers were pretty restrained -- they could've been a lot rougher.
However, while I disagree with this "Timothy X" about this being police brutality, I do applaud him for acting as a citizen watchdog. The more eyes we have on all branches of government (not just the cops), the more likely we are to get good, honest government.
Posted on August 14, 2008 11:04 AM
I'm agreeing with you back about Timothy X. It's good we have his video and a look at this arrest. Although he didn't give the full context.
Posted on August 14, 2008 11:11 AM
My only problem with this video is the amount of time it took to subdue the suspect, who was not very large, and outnumbered 2-1. I question the training that these officers receive in how to subdue someone. The kicks and punches as thrown by the officer would have been highly ineffective if they connected, they did not seem to in the video.
I hope this video can lead to better training in unarmed combat for our police force. I even know a few bloggers who could provide the training. It may not be Olympic Judo as the majority of Gi moves you see do not translate well to no-Gi, but those elements that do would certainly be included. It is a new world in unarmed combat, and our police officers should be trained appropriately.
Posted on August 14, 2008 1:16 PM
Axhandle is right: this was a highly ineffective tag team effort. I suggest watching some old video of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, Ole and Gene Anderson, to see how to properly manhandle such an individual. There was also an opportunity for a flying armbar that the one officer totally missed.
Posted on August 14, 2008 1:27 PM
I think the size of these two officers would lend more to techniques employed by The Hart Foundation. A flying arm bar would have been nice to see in that video.
Posted on August 14, 2008 4:39 PM
Would you please explain your distinction between slapped and punched?
Posted on August 16, 2008 2:30 PM
Open hand = slap.
Fist = punch.
Posted on August 18, 2008 11:35 AM