I’m the guy that put this video together. I just happened to check it and saw it had over 60,000 views. I was shocked; I really didn’t think an hour long video would survive on the internet. So out of curiosity I Googled a bit to see where it was embedded. I found this page and just finished reading the ongoing discussion. Normally I let people talk amongst themselves but I decided this time to make a few quick points.

1. This is not a ‘Documentary’. People calling it that are just creating a straw-man. No, I didn’t interview all of those involved and no, I didn’t include an additional hour of cops helping old ladies across the street. I’m just a guy that stitched together similar videos so all of them could be seen in a single location. Videos are a form of expression intended to evoke an emotional response. Education is a personal matter. You should never rely on a video to give you the information you need to make informed decisions.

2. Those that were hoping that there would be some pompous intellectuals sitting around discussing the matter are apparently missing the point. This is the introduction to the conversation that viewers are supposed to have, though I would rather that the blatant brutality would entice viewers to begin standing up for themselves and actively working toward repression of police power instead of gathering quotes from Wikipedia. That’s not to say such intelligent discussion isn’t needed, but passion is what is lacking in America. This is just like the main point of #1. If you want to see an intense discussion that actually addresses the core problem and leads to real change, start one.

3. I made this video for a few simple reasons. Essentially I had grown tired of people making excuses and treating the occasional leaked clip as an isolated incident that warrants nothing more than remark at the water cooler. I was curious to see how much the average apathetic individual could take before the light finally comes on and they realize there is a very serious threat that is growing exponentially. (plus its just a sad fact, the average Joe is more likely to watch a video than read a report) I researched each of these cases myself to the extent I felt was necessary so that I could verify the situation wasn’t misleading. I wanted to show only people suffering arrest and violence at the hands of police while not breaking any laws. This means that anyone of us could find ourselves in these situations at any given time. I’ve personally suffered abuse and false arrest (kidnapping). Nearly every one of my friends and family members also have similar stories. Anyone. Anytime. i.e. It CAN happen to you or your spouse... or your child.

4. Please avoid the “few bad apples” delusion. The ratio of cops that abuse to those that don’t is irrelevant and is a distraction (though I would contend that the claim that only a few are bad doesn’t stand up to real world scrutiny and yes I know some cops personally). The real problem is the mindset that is so pervasive here, not the number of 'bad' cops. The cop's belief that they are separate from and superior to the citizenry is only dwarfed by the much worse mentality that citizens have by actually believing that too (as well as the belief that abuse is acceptable, etc.) It’s this mentality that continues to create an atmosphere that can only result in creating ‘bullies’. Cops are human. Remove accountability and replace it with blind praise, sheepish obedience and a bullet proof vest… that will turn any man into a monster.

5. For those that are interested in the discussion aspect that is missing from this video, would like to see a list of most source material (both video and written reports) or if anyone would just like to know more about where I am coming from, then you can check out the supplemental blog I posted along with the video. It’s at MySpace, so it’s not like I’m doing this for ad revenue or attention. If nothing else, you may want to read the letter I received from a cop that watched the video. I posted it at the top of the blog.

Sorry for clogging up your comment section with such a long winded post. Once I start typing I find it hard to stop. There’s a lot to say and I barely scratched the surface. Anyway, I’ll leave you guys to continue the debate.

Thanks to everyone for watching and sharing this video. I hope that something good will come of it.
-BF

P.S. It’s come to my attention that the video isn’t very clear during one specific incident, because it happens so fast and the footage is so grainy. The boy that was beaten in the subway was shot in the back while another officer had the boy pinned down. He later died from his injuries.

>> ^quantumushroom:
If a terrorist attack occurs that could've been prevented by waterboarding intel from a captive, all blame goes to the American people who elected Obama who selected a bureaucrat for a job requiring different and specific experience.


Wiki on torture:
One well documented effect of torture is that, with rare exceptions, people will say or do anything to escape the situation, including untrue "confessions" and implication of others without genuine knowledge, who may well then be tortured in turn. That information may have been extracted from the Birmingham Six through the use of police beatings was counterproductive because it made the convictions unsound as the confessions were worthless.

This is why its not been used prior to bush and co. seeing how sucessful it is on 24. Cause its utterly fucking worthless, provides unsound intel, and can lead to false arrests and misallocation of resources chasing an endless rabbit hole of trails.

JACK BAUER IS NOT A REAL DUDE!!

Do some research on these guys first.

The guy in charge of all of it is a cop who's sister was falsely arrested. She had weed planted on her by an "informant" who later admitted in court what he did. She is still in prison serving a 8 yr sentence because of CROOKED cops.

That is what this is about. Cops breaking the law to enforce it is a slippery slope that we know how it ends.

>> ^southblvd:
This video shows one part of the entire situation. How do we know he wasn't giving the cops crap earlier on?


It is not against the law to record an arrest on public property, and that is protected by the 1st amendment.

He did not give the cops enough crap to warrant hard physical force. So your argument is invalid. Invalid because we would have seen the officers already arrest the man had he been giving the cops crap in the first place.

This foolish Idea that we didn't see enough to understand, we did see enough to understand the situation. Which was, people recording the arrest, the cop doesn't like it, and we have conduct unbecoming, not to mention false arrest, false imprisonment, violation of rights, and aggravated assault. I would even press up to attempted murder(Just to see what I can advocate for my client).

This videos establishes guilt in the civil court as preponderance of evidence, there is no question in that. However it would go to criminal court, I would say that the gentleman that was assaulted has got a great case against the officers involved.

Now there is another situation that we have to account for in this. That the person arrested did want to be arrested, and beaten. Meaning that they wanted to catch it on tape in order to seek a case against the officer.

Well, the officer is still wrong, however even though the situation may have been engineered by the man arrested, he did not break any law. The officer gave no lawful order, in that the man was on public property, and was leaving however slowly. A lawful order cannot violate the 1st amendment, therefore the officers order was not lawful.

>> ^SDGundamXeople who are claiming the U.S. is a police state or fascist nation need to go spend some time in North Korea and learn what a real police state looks like.


Ah, the always useful false analogy, the statist's best friend.

Since political oppression isn't as bad in the USA as it is in North Korea, it doesn't really exist, and shouldn't even be remarked upon.

Since we've seen, time and again, police brutalizing and arresting people - people who were often not even involved with the protests - only to see those people released by a juge without charges 36 or 48 hours later - it's no big deal.

Bunch of whiners. What's a little false arrest and police brutality?

It's American as apple pie.

Ugh. None of you, including myself, know enough about this situation to cast any calls on whether or not this was justified (the search)
@flavioriberio: immobilizing someone is NOT excessive force. For all we know, the officers had plenty good reason to suspect that this woman had a razor blade somewhere on her body, yet was unwilling to cooperate with the police.
"Everyone playing along" Again, it might have been fully warranted. Like someone said, even the female officers seemed to think that it was perfectly justified.

Just because she called 911, she is not automatically the victim.

Do you people really think that there's no way in the world that she was indeed attacking someone with a razor blade, and then called 911 on them? It could quite possibly be that who ever attacked her told the police that she had cut them with a blade, and had the cuts to prove it, and that the arresting officer couldn't find it. Therefore, she gets taken to jail where they search her clothes for a blade and fail to find one. They ask her if she has one or not, and she replies with a "Fuck you." They are then forced to perform a strip search to find the blade.

The video seems so traumatic because she is screaming bloody murder, and for all we know, the officers had every right to be doing that strip search. Should there have been males in there? No. Should she have been left naked? No. But none of you can tell me that she didn't deserve a strip search. For all you know, she was kicking any officer that tried to approach her, and that's why they were forced to restrain her. I'll reiterate: restraining someone is NOT excessive force. If they had a knee in her lower back and one on her neck, that would have been.

@Spoco: " Sorry, but a woman being forcibly stripped while in handcuffs should be screaming bloody murder... Just not on."


No, a completely innocent woman being forcibly stripped while in handcuffs should be screaming bloody murder. We don't know that this woman is completely innocent.

@Xax: "
I'm not sure what your point is. You fault her for screaming? Would the video be less disturbing if she were not?"

No, I don't fault her. I was merely stating that the video would have been less traumatic is she wasn't screaming.

@toast: "
Why didn't they reply to her when she asked what they were doing? No one in that room said a word.
And I think I heard one of the men snicker as he closed her door."

They might have already told her every reason why they were doing it. Maybe they just got sick of answering the same question 300 times.

"OF COURSE YOU WOULD SCREAM. You have no feelings."

Don't fucking tell me I have no feelings. I'm being objective. And no, I would scream IF I were indeed being treated badly. We don't know that she is.

@EDD: We don't know if it was a false arrest.

<cruise control>
THERE AREN'T ENOUGH FACTS IN THESE VIDEOS TO PRESENT A STRONG ARGUMENT FOR EITHER SIDE.

I think I'll follow choggie's example and take no side here.

Except, I will say this: I simply hope she sues the city and/or county as well slams all the sheriff's deputies and the sheriff individually with lawsuits for sexual assault, assault and battery, false arrest, intimidation and whatever else is possible.

I am the friendliest, most easy-going and reserved individual you will ever meet. But if my wife was treated like this (and watching this video made me realize it) I would definitely ruin the lives of the ones responsible. Think something along the lines of "Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel".