Body camera footage has been released that shows police officers shooting and killing an unarmed man 10 seconds after contacting him when he appears to be complying with their orders.
The post Shock Video Shows Cops Kill Unarmed Man for Complying with Order to ‘Get Hands Out of Pockets’ appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
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A video has resurfaced apparently showing Philip Brailsford, the police officer who killed Daniel Shaver, violently abusing teenagers.
Aurora, CO — An innocent man settled a lawsuit this week for $110,000 after cops were seen on video deploying a taser in his back as he stood there with his hands up.
The incident happened in February 2016, when the victim, Darsean Kelley, and his cousin were stopped by police. Officers were in the area responding to a weapons incident at a nearby apartment building and Kelley happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Police had no description of the suspect and decided to harass Kelley and his cousin.
Kelley was naturally upset that he’d been targeted by police for no reason, so he was verbally expressing it. He never once physically resisted, however.
As the incident begins, police tell the two men to put their hands in the air. Both of them comply. Then the officer yells for them to interlock their fingers on top of their heads. At this point, Kelley continues to ask why he is being detained.
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The cops answer back by refusing to tell him why. Just as Kelley says, “I know my rights,” the taser is deployed into his back and he falls to the ground. Naturally, after police assaulted him for no reason, Kelley was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct — for asking a question and being tasered in the back. After spending three days in jail, he was bonded out.
The ACLU picked up his case and convinced the city to drop the charges against him.
“The body camera footage was indispensable in securing justice for Darsean Kelley,” John M. Krieger, a spokesman with the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, told Ars Technica. “Without irrefutable evidence of police misconduct captured on video, it would have been our client’s word against multiple officers, and the truth about what happened to Darsean would almost certainly have never come to light.”
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Predictably, the Aurora police department responded to the incident by exonerating all officers involved and wholeheartedly justifying the use of a taser in the back of an unarmed man with his hands up. In October, the department released its findings.
The IRB agreed unanimously with the findings of the Force Review Board that the use of force in this instance was reasonable, appropriate and within policy.
The IRB does not believe there is anything in this incident that warrants additional awareness, action or investigation.
Chief Metz has accepted the findings of the IRB and considers the matter closed at this time.
“The ACLU commends the City of Aurora for its willingness to come to the table in good faith to find a resolution that is fair to Mr. Kelley and beneficial for taxpayers of the city,” ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein said in a statement. “However, the decision of the Aurora City Attorney’s Office to fairly and promptly resolve this matter stands in stark contrast to the actions of the Aurora Police Department, which at every turn has refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing or need for policy change even in the face of public outrage and irrefutable video evidence of misconduct.”
However, the City Attorney does not agree with the ACLU and noted it. Aurora City Attorney Mike Hyman said in a statement that the city settled so it wouldn’t have to spend even more taxpayer money defending a lawsuit, reports Ars Technica.
“We disagree with the ACLU’s characterization of the events in this case and their unwarranted attack against the Aurora Police Department,” Hyman said Thursday. “This case was settled for the reason that many cases are settled—to avoid the cost of prolonged litigation. That cost would have far exceeded the value of the settlement.”
READ MORE: Police Said the Video Showing this Cop"s Excessive Force Did Not Exist, They Were Lying
In the Land of the Free, police can walk up to innocent people on the street, taser them in the back, charge them with a bogus crime, and this is called ‘justice’.
Charlotte, NC — Dramatic body camera footage was released this week showing officers pile on top of a suspect, hold a gun to his head, beat him into the earth, and threaten to kill him. The unarmed suspect’s only ‘crime’ was running away from police. To add insult to assault with a deadly weapon, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is defending the actions of the four officers who were caught on camera punching, elbowing, and threatening to shoot the unarmed man, James Yarborough, in the head.
According to the police report, the incident happened on March 26, when police stopped a car they suspected was involved in a string of larcenies. Yarborough was a passenger in that car.
Yarborough, who has been arrested in the past for unlawful possession of a firearm, explained that the driver of the car was trying to sell him a gun — a gun he did not want. He says he ran because he didn’t want cops to accuse him of possessing this gun which would have certainly ended up with Yarborough in jail.
After he was nearly killed and severely beaten, however, Yarborough notes that it was a poor decision to flee.
“The only thing I did wrong that day was run. That is the only thing I did wrong that day,” Yarborough told WBTV. “I regret running.”
However, because he ran, police chased him. And, when they caught him, they were less than accommodating, as videos from two body cameras show.
The first body camera shows the stop and then a several-minutes-long chase until Yarborough is brought down by officers.
The second body camera, worn by one of the officers on top of Yarborough, shows a cop hold his service pistol to Yarborough, who is unarmed and under several cops.
READ MORE: Cops Mistake Innocent Man"s Seizure for a Crime, Beat Him So Bad He Was Hospitalized for Days
“Don’t fucking resist,” one officer says to Yarborough just before a pistol is held to his head.
Once the gun is pressed to Yarborough’s head, an officer is heard saying “I will kill you, you understand? Give me your hand, now!”
As WBTV reports, Yarborough said he thought, in that moment, he may die.
“That moment felt like—it felt like it might have been my last day,” Yarborough said.
Yarborough was apparently having a hard time getting his arms behind him with 600 pounds of cop on top of him, and can be heard telling cops he is not resisting.
“Light him up, he don’t want to do it,” a cop can be heard saying of Yarborough being unable to put his hands behind his back.
Seconds later, we here a Taser.
“I knew it was over. I just knew it was over,” Yarborough said of that moment as he watched the video with a WBTV reporter.
As four cops held him down, Yarborough is laying on the ground, clearly not resisting. However, the elbows and fists continue to drop on his head. For four and a half minutes, the officers continue to beat Yarborough before putting him into handcuffs.
As WBTV pointed out, video and audio captured by his body camera show him telling the four officers on top of Yarborough to get off of him so he can put his hands behind his back.
One cop, who is standing up, even acknowledges this.
“Guys, Dunham, you have to come up so he can get it back there,” the officer standing over the group says. “He’s not going anywhere.”
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Clearly, these cops were acting as if Yarborough was resisting so they could dole out their brutality.
As soon as the officers stop beating him and get off him, he puts his arms behind his back and the situation is over.
WBTV obtained a copy of the CMPD reports which named the officers involved in the assault. The report also exposes the cop who assaulted Yarborough with his pistol for lying.
The reports identify Officer Jon Dunham as the officer who pressed his pistol to Yarborough’s head and threatened to kill him.
But Dunham’s report provides a different recounting of his actions at the beginning of the struggle with Yarborough.
“At this point I observed him shove his hand towards his waistband. He was completely uncooperative’ I believed he was reaching for a gun in an attempt to seriously hurt me or Officer Michaels; knowing that suspects are known to frequently place guns in the front if (sic) their waistbands, I drew my pistol and threatened to shoot him,” Dunham wrote.
Dunham’s narrative made no mention of the gun pressed to Yarborough’s temple nor his threat to “kill” Yarborough.
Aside from failing to mention the fact that he threatened to kill the unarmed man, Dunham’s description of Yarborough reaching for his waistband was also exposed as a lie. The video clearly shows Yarborough’s arms extended out in front of him.
“(I have) many disturbing impressions,” Charlotte attorney Jake Sussman said to WBTV immediately after watching the videos. “You’ve got three to four fully grown men driving this person into the earth, beating on him with elbows and fists, sticking a gun against his temple and threatening to kill him.”
READ MORE: LAPD Brutally Beat, Kicked, Tased Handcuffed Man on Video and Refuse Transparency
“I think if you show that to 12 people on the street, they would certainly think that there was a problem. There certainly seems like that was an unreasonable use of force,” Sussman said.
However, the CMPD disagrees. During their ‘investigation’ into the incident, they found no wrongdoing on the part of the officers. Apparently, holding your pistol to the head of an unarmed and surrendering man while threatening to kill him is in accord with department policy.
“When you look completely at the totality of the circumstances, you have to ask yourself ‘was that reasonable in that situation?’ and, based on everything, it was reasonable,” CMPD Major Stella Patterson said of the incident.
Yarborough was arrested and charged with misdemeanor resisting a public officer, assault on an officer inflicting serious injury and felony felon in possession of a firearm. However, after realizing that they clearly lacked evidence of any of these crimes, all three charges were dropped and Yarborough was released.
To make matters worse, Yarborough has attempted to report the officers multiple times but has been turned away every time.
“That’s a heck of a beating, man. You know, that’s a real life beating,” he said. “Even now I sweat in my sleep. I wake up looking out the window because I’m like ‘they’re coming to get me again.’”
Body camera 1: The Chase and the officer standing over the other cops as they beat Yarborough.
Body camera 2: The struggle on the ground and the pistol to Yarborough’s head.
