Auschwitz_Part_II
08-06-2004, 01:05 AM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5583027/
CINCINNATI - A police watchdog panel voted Monday to accept its investigators’ findings that three officers who repeatedly struck a black man with nightsticks to subdue him shortly before he died used excessive force and [size=4][color=red]should be severely disciplined.[/color][/size]
Cincinnati’s Citizen Complaint Authority also accepted findings that the three officers and four other officers involved in the arrest of Nathaniel Jones followed improper procedure and should undergo retraining.
“Mr. Jones’ death was clearly the result of several tragic mistakes,” CCA Executive Director Wendell France said. “We cannot and will not say that any of these officers acted with any malice.”
Jones, 41, died Nov. 30 shortly after a confrontation with police in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant. Video from restaurant surveillance cameras and a police cruiser showed that Jones knocked over one officer before others jabbed or struck him more than two dozen times with nightsticks. The 350-pound Jones stopped breathing shortly after he was handcuffed.
Jones was at least the 19th black man to die in violent confrontations with Cincinnati police since 1995. In 2001, there were three nights of rioting after an officer fatally shot an unarmed black man who was wanted on misdemeanor charges when he ran from officers. The officer was acquitted of criminal charges.
A coroner ruled Jones’ death a homicide, but said that did not mean police used excessive force. The coroner found the struggle caused the death, and that Jones’ enlarged heart, obesity and drugs in his system contributed.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Michael Allen has said the officers will face no criminal charges.
The recommendations from the CCA will be forwarded to Cincinnati’s city manager, Valerie Lemmie, who will decide whether to accept them.
Police Lt. Col. Richard Janke said police officials would not comment until after the department’s separate internal investigation is completed.
Sgt. Harry Roberts, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, said the police union was “shocked and outraged” by the panel’s findings.
The Cincinnati chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People found in April that Jones bore responsibility for the actions that led to his arrest because he had taken drugs that can produce aggressive behavior, but chapter President Calvert Smith said police [size=4][color=red]could have backed off and let Jones calm down rather than engage him.[/color][/size]
Now tell me, does this look like the cops engaged "mr. jones" and could've backed off?
http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/03/61/76/image_276613.jpg
CINCINNATI - A police watchdog panel voted Monday to accept its investigators’ findings that three officers who repeatedly struck a black man with nightsticks to subdue him shortly before he died used excessive force and [size=4][color=red]should be severely disciplined.[/color][/size]
Cincinnati’s Citizen Complaint Authority also accepted findings that the three officers and four other officers involved in the arrest of Nathaniel Jones followed improper procedure and should undergo retraining.
“Mr. Jones’ death was clearly the result of several tragic mistakes,” CCA Executive Director Wendell France said. “We cannot and will not say that any of these officers acted with any malice.”
Jones, 41, died Nov. 30 shortly after a confrontation with police in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant. Video from restaurant surveillance cameras and a police cruiser showed that Jones knocked over one officer before others jabbed or struck him more than two dozen times with nightsticks. The 350-pound Jones stopped breathing shortly after he was handcuffed.
Jones was at least the 19th black man to die in violent confrontations with Cincinnati police since 1995. In 2001, there were three nights of rioting after an officer fatally shot an unarmed black man who was wanted on misdemeanor charges when he ran from officers. The officer was acquitted of criminal charges.
A coroner ruled Jones’ death a homicide, but said that did not mean police used excessive force. The coroner found the struggle caused the death, and that Jones’ enlarged heart, obesity and drugs in his system contributed.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Michael Allen has said the officers will face no criminal charges.
The recommendations from the CCA will be forwarded to Cincinnati’s city manager, Valerie Lemmie, who will decide whether to accept them.
Police Lt. Col. Richard Janke said police officials would not comment until after the department’s separate internal investigation is completed.
Sgt. Harry Roberts, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, said the police union was “shocked and outraged” by the panel’s findings.
The Cincinnati chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People found in April that Jones bore responsibility for the actions that led to his arrest because he had taken drugs that can produce aggressive behavior, but chapter President Calvert Smith said police [size=4][color=red]could have backed off and let Jones calm down rather than engage him.[/color][/size]
Now tell me, does this look like the cops engaged "mr. jones" and could've backed off?
http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/03/61/76/image_276613.jpg