Tag Archives: Abuse of Power

US

Cop Breaks 10-Year-Old’s Leg Then Sexually Assaults His Mom Claims Lawsuit

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Court documents claim officers of the NYPD’s 63rd Precinct came to Krystle Silvera’s home looking for an ex-boyfriend at 7 a.m. on Jan. 30, 2013.

Silvera’s mother, a 61-year-old lung and brain cancer patient, answered the door, but couldn’t understand why the officers were there. That is when Silvera’s 10-year-old son picked up his moms phone and attempted to record the events taking place as he was “fascinated by the police, he looks up to them”, according to his mom Krystle Silvera.

The events alleged in court documents to have followed are extremely ominous. The officer, in violation of established case law, attempted to violate the child’s right to film by assaulting him according to the suit. Ms. Silvera is quoted by NY Daily News as saying, “I heard my son screaming, ‘You can’t do that! You’re hurting me! Don’t hit me!’ ”

According to court papers the cop kicked the boy in the shin breaking his leg. Her son was then put in handcuffs and restrained until they later realized he was only a child and removed the 10-year-old’s restraints.

It was during this commotion that Ms. Silvera, who had been getting her 5-year-old ready for school upstairs, ran downstairs dressed only in underclothes and into the commotion attempting to ensure her son was safe. The suit alleges Ms. Silvera, was grabbed by a cop who pulled her outside into the bitter cold. While putting her into restraints her breast came out exposing a nipple piercing.

“The officer flicked the piercing, he flicked the ring up with his finger on my right breast,” she said. “He said, ‘Is this what mothers look like these days?’

Then, in a common police tactic employed to cover up violations of individual’s rights, the police charged Silvera with assaulting the cops. She was released on $1,500 bail after being held for two days.

Upon her arrival home she noticed her son’s leg was swollen and bruised prompting her to take the boy to Kings County Medical Center, where an X-ray revealed his leg was fractured

Anthony Ofodile, the family’s attorney said, “I’ve seen a lot of police brutality cases, but nothing as low as this, kicking a 10-year-old boy.”

The events alleged to have transpired, paint an out of control police force with no respect for the constitutional rights or safety of the citizens they serve. The courts have consistently affirmed that photography is not a crime, and that individuals have a right to film law enforcement officers in the carrying out of their official public duties. Regardless of the child’s actions, there is no reason for a 10-year-old boy to have his leg broken by an officer of the law for the legal act of filming as the suit alleges.

Ultimately, it’s taxpayers that pay the costs associated with these suits, relating to alleged officer misconduct, such as this. The time has come to hold accountable the rogue officers that bring disgrace upon the shield. For more information on what it means to put the constitution first as a law enforcement officer visit Oath Keepers. To learn more about your rights when dealing with law enforcement visit Cop Block.

Follow Jay on Facebook and on Twitter @SirMetropolis

Politics, US

VIDEO: Cop Brings Gun to a Snowball Fight Could Cost NYC $10 Million

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In February of 2010 off duty NYPD officer, Sgt. Adonis Ramirez, 34, after being hit by a snowball in the leg, drew his concealed weapon on a group of young men and ordered them to kneel against a fence. He now stands accused of false arrest and battery.

Inconsistencies in his story have been revealed during his recent testimony in a $10 million dollar civil suit brought against the NYPD.

In his initial report to officers Ramirez claimed that while walking, “he felt himself get struck on the back by multiple snowballs.” While testifying in court last Tuesday he admitted that it was only “one” snowball and that it struck him in the leg.

He then went on to claim that he didn’t recall telling police that the young men had chased him, although he had stated in police reports that he feared for his “immediate safety”. Previously, Ramirez had claimed the group chased him down the street and threatened him while pelting him with multiple snowballs.

Ramirez also changed his statement about how long it took him to draw his weapon after being hit a snowball, from an earlier estimate of over a minute, he revised that to 15 to 30 seconds in court testimony.

It appears that Ramirez was forced to amend his statements after surveillance footage surfaced that contradicted the officer’s version of events about multiple snowballs being thrown and the men chasing him.

Manuel Rondon, 22, Christian Perez, 23, Johnathan Rodriguez, 26, Anthony Aquino, 19, and Ariel Lopez, 21, were all arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, attempted assault, menacing, and harassment and were forced to spend the a day and a half in jail.

The alleged weapon in question… a snowball.

None of the young men had ever been in any trouble before. 18 year old Ariel Lopez said, “We’re innocent, we didn’t do anything wrong and he overreacted.” Manuel Rondon went on to state, “I felt that at that moment one of us was going to get killed or shot.”

The attorney for the five young men claims that Ramirez, “made up facts. He never got hit with a snowball. This guy brings a loaded gun to a snowball fight. It’s an incredible abuse of power by a bully with a badge,” said attorney Neil Wollerstein.

Eventually all charges against the young men were dropped by the Bronx district attorney.

According to Ramirez, while he may not have had all his facts straight, he felt a possible threat existed and that his actions were fully justified, claiming, “I was outnumbered, and I wasn’t taking any chances.”

In the “officer needs assistance” call made to 911 to get assistance from New Yorks finest, to protect this officer from the brutal snowball “assault”, Ramirez can be heard telling the young men, while held at gunpoint, “Do not move, Do not move. You brought this upon yourself. You want to be a d–k?” His words come off as strikingly retaliatory rather than based on a fear for his own personal safety.

The abuse of authority and lack of training exhibited in this case are stunning. Mr. Ramirez must have missed the memo that badges don’t grant extra rights. The militarization of the police across the US has seemingly created a pandemic of officers acting as though they are above the law they are sworn to uphold. Hopefully, Officer Ramirez, the NYPD, and the city of New York get the memo on this one.

Follow Jay on Facebook and on Twitter @SirMetropolis

Politics, US

Police Brutality? Woman’s Face Seriously Injured During DUI Arrest

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An unsettling dashcam video from August 10 shows a possible police brutality. The footage was recorded during a “routine” DUI traffic stop.

The video, initially released by the Tallahassee Democrat, shows Christina West, 44, having her head slammed against a police car. She is then taken to the ground with force. The incident took place after West crashed her car into a house on Kilkenny Drive in Florida.

The footage is “very disturbing,” said State Attorney Willie Meggs. In fact, he said it was “one of the most disturbing videos” he has ever laid eyes on.

“I am extremely upset. This is a very disturbing situation to me, and I’m dealing with it,” said Meggs.

West’s face sustained serious injuries as a result of the arrest. She was treated for “a broken orbital bone, along with a swollen eye, bloody nose and cuts to her arms and legs.”

woman beat by police

West appears to resist arrest in parts of the video. But the nature of her interaction with the police in that specific moment is not entirely clear from the footage.

The bigger question is whether these kinds of injuries should have resulted from any kind of resistance she may have given to arrest. In the video, there are at least two police near her and possibly as many as four on the scene. With two to four police officers on the scene, why is it that they could not have found a way to put her in the cruiser without damaging her face?

Police are currently conducting an “internal investigation” to determine the extent of fault of the various parties involved.

Politics, US

He Has No Drugs And Knows His Constitutional Rights

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Across the nation yesterday and likely all throughout this weekend, local law enforcement will be putting up DUI checkpoints.  The idea behind these checkpoints is that they help to get drunk drivers off of the roads.  Unfortunately, time and again we see that these checkpoints do very little in that regard while managing to trample over the constitutional rights of sober drivers.

Today, I was alerted by a viewer to this video as he asked for help sharing it.  It was taken not even 24 hours ago by a young man in Rutherford County, TN by the name of Chris Kalbaugh.  Chris was stopped at one of these checkpoints last night and as you will see in the video he complied with the law.  The whole time Chris was recording his encounter with police.  Over and over his constitutional check-pointrights were violated and once again he was told the same thing so many of us have heard over and over: that we must sacrifice our liberty for safety.  In Chris’ case, none of the conduct by police in this video made him or anyone else on the roadways in Rutherford County any safer.

Here is the video and a quote from the Rutherford County Libertarians Facebook page:

“As we speak, video of police abuse here in Rutherford County is being viewed by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, thanks to reddit picking it up. Concerned citizens are flooding the phone lines and email inboxes of the local sheriff’s office, police department, and highway patrol. Hats off to fellow member Chris Kalbaugh for asserting his constitutional rights.”