Special Needs Student Gets A Beat Down

[mrjarrell]

I came across this one earlier in the week and I wasn't going to post it, since I figure the Thin Blue Line guys would take it the wrong way. But it's now crossed the state line from Illinois to Indiana as a news story.
Here's the first part of this story. From CBS

DOLTON, Ill. (CBS2) A 15-year-old special education student was walking down a hallway at school when he says a police officer grabbed him and threw him to the ground. The teenager says he was beaten and nearly suffocated and much of it was caught on tape.

The teen told his story to CBS 2 Chicago reporter Dave Savini.

Security cameras captured the beating of Marshawn Pitts, who says the officer started shouting and swearing at him because his shirt wasn't tucked in.

"I was tucking my shirt in," Pitts said.

But it's what happened next that had Marshawn Pitts worried for his life. Pitts says the officer came at him suddenly.

"It was just like boom," Pitts said.

He says he was blindsided by the officer, thrown into lockers and struck repeatedly.

In the video, you can see that he gets slammed to the ground and his face smashed into the floor. His nose was broken. Pitts says he was bleeding. "All this on the outside of my mouth was busted," he said.

He calls this treatment violent and unnecessary, especially considering he was attending the Academy for Learning High School in Dolton for students like him with Special Education needs.

When he was younger, he suffered a brain injury and now has a learning disability. The school for special needs was supposed to help him and understand his situation.

"Yeah, but instead I got beaten on by police," Pitts said.

The officer in question was a Dolton police officer, and the hold he used on Pitts can be a dangerous one.

"The officer was in his face because he didn't have his shirt tucked in," said Pitts' attorney Ed Manzke. "That's the officer put in that school to protect these kids, and instead of doing that, this officer is literally assaulting this kid."

Zena Naiditch of Equip for Equality, a legal advocacy group that fights for the rights of people with disabilities, looked at the video and said the type of physical restraint used by the officer has killed students.

"It's called a face-down take-down, and kids and adults often die because they can't breathe," Naiditch said.

A Government Accounting Office report released in May, just one day before the officer's use of the hold on Pitts, found face-down take-downs led to at least 20 deaths nationwide.

Currently eight states prohibit the use of this hold. Illinois is not one of them.

More, plus the video at the source.

Now comes new information on the Illinois officer. From Carlos Miller:

The suburban Chicago cop who was caught on video beating a 15-year-old student for refusing to tuck his shirt last May is being accused of raping a woman while holding a pillow over her face. He also killed his ex-wife’s new husband last year by shooting him 24 times in front of their children while he was a cop for another suburban police department.
He was suspended for that incident and eventually found work with the Dolton Police Department, where he ended up beating the special needs student who weighed only 140 pounds, breaking his nose and lacerating his face.
A few months later, he allegedly threatened an Indiana woman with a knife. Then later raped her with a pillow over her face on September 14, according to the Chicago Tribune.
It is no wonder why the Dolton Police Department refused to release his name this week when the video of the student beating emerged.
Christopher Lloyd, 38, has been incarcerated in Indiana on a $110,000 bond since last month. He faces 20 years in prison for the rape allegation.
His ex-wife has also filed a wrongful death suit against him and the Robbins Police Department for the killing of her new husband in February 2008.
Chicago police accepted his claims of self-defense even though he drove to the couple’s home while off-duty and got into an argument with Cornell McKinney, before shooting him 24 times.
It is not clear whether he reloaded in that incident, but if he did, it would make it hard to believe he was acting in self-defense.
The suit claims the autopsy contradicts the police investigation. I’m sure it does. The Chicago Police Department should be sued as well.

What is it with Chicago? Do they never run background checks or do psych evals on these people? Someone protected this guy till he crossed the state line to do his crimes and Indiana cops took him down. Good on them. I hope this murderous SOB rots in prison. 20 years won't be enough time.

 

[Denny347]

It would be nice if you found SOMETHING NICE to post every once and awhile. I mean really? There is not political lesson or second amendment lesson to be had. An officer allegedly broke the law. Wow, it happens. It sucks. Move on. What interesting talking point could possibly be started? What interesting political discussion will result?

 

[SC_Shooter]

Denny, I've got it!

"Idiot who happened to have a job at the time of ___________ (fill in the profession you would like to bash), did something stupid, for which he will hopefully be properly punished." How's that for am interesting talking point???

 

[Big John]

I think somebody needs to take a break from babysitting.

Maybe Mr. Llyod could take over for awhile.

 

[mrjarrell]

Denny, I've got it!

"Idiot who happened to have a job at the time of ___________ (fill in the profession you would like to bash), did something stupid, for which he will hopefully be properly punished." How's that for am interesting talking point???

The guy didn't do something stupid. He did something criminal and was protected by the Chicago political system, like as not. He crossed over to Indiana and tried the same behaviours and is looking at 20. There's a difference between stupidity and criminality.

 

[Beau]

It would be nice if you found SOMETHING NICE to post every once and awhile. I mean really? There is not political lesson or second amendment lesson to be had. An officer allegedly broke the law. Wow, it happens. It sucks. Move on. What interesting talking point could possibly be started? What interesting political discussion will result?

This man possibly commited murder and got away with it. Put a beat down on a student for an untucked shirt. Possibly raped a woman after previously threatening her with a knife and you response is Wow, it happens. It sucks. Move on.

How about the pollitical discussion of the fact that this man remained a police officer for so long. The corruptness of some politicians and police departments. Their willingness to cover up for one of their own.

It would be nice if you found SOMETHING NICE to post every once and awhile.

Well maybe if it wasn't so easy to keep finding stories about this kind of abuse of authority he would have something nice to post about.

 

[RachelMarie]

This is sad.

The rest of the comments are stupid.


Oh, And FYI, there are plenty of good things said about LEO on this board too. It just seems you guys that complain about bashing of cops don't look hard enough to see the good things people are saying. It's annoying!

 

[mrjarrell]

It would be nice if you found SOMETHING NICE to post every once and awhile. I mean really? There is not political lesson or second amendment lesson to be had. An officer allegedly broke the law. Wow, it happens. It sucks. Move on. What interesting talking point could possibly be started? What interesting political discussion will result?

Guess you missed this:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo..._2nd_amendment/56240-someone_who_gets_it.html

See, this is why I avoided posting this earlier in the week. You guys take it personally. Guess that's too bad. I'm also guessing you didn't watch the video of that guy assaulting a kid and putting him in a dangerous hold. Aw, who cares? The little punk probably deserved it. Brain damaged or not. What can we take away from this, and more recent events in and around the Chicago area? Well, I guess we can take away that their police, unlike many other departments is rife with endemic corruption that is overlooked or condoned. Frankly, I'm glad my local sheriffs department and the nearby PD don't work from the Chicago book. Maybe some people think we'd be better off if we did? I sure hope that's not the case. Regardless. if this offends you, sorry about that. I'm sure you know how to not read something.

 

[SC_Shooter]

The guy didn't do something stupid. He did something criminal and was protected by the Chicago political system, like as not. He crossed over to Indiana and tried the same behaviours and is looking at 20. There's a difference between stupidity and criminality.

No argument whatsoever there. "Stupid" in my comment was fully intended to mean criminal act. Of course this idiot needs to be taken away and properly dealt with...no question.

My post was pointing out that there are just too darned many stories like this out there. Pick a group - cops, permit holders, politicians, coaches, teachers, etc. - and there seems to always be at least ONE of them in the news doing something stupid, unethical, illegal, etc.

The story never turns out to be about how an individual made a decision to do some terrible thing. It seems to always be how a 'member of XYZ group' did the terrible thing.

Again, no argument whatsoever that the individual involved committed a terrible crime and needs to be punished. I certainly wasn't trying to imply that the guy is anything but a criminal.

 

[Indecision]

That is insane. He rapes a woman, murders someone, but finally gets busted after beating the hell out of a 15 year old special needs kid.

 

[Denny347]

You guys take it personally. Guess that's too bad.

Yes I do take it personally. Sorry but I do. Many of us do.

I'm also guessing you didn't watch the video of that guy assaulting a kid and putting him in a dangerous hold. Aw, who cares? The little punk probably deserved it. Brain damaged or not.

No, I didn't watch the video. I don't need to view another messed up human doing terrible things. Humans are capable of the most horrible, deprived acts imaginable. Many of which I have viewed in person, so no I do not need to see a video of it. Why would you think I believed the kids deserved it. C'mon now. Once you realize that humans (LEO's included, fireman, teachers, burger flippers, politicians, officer workers, construction workers, you get the picture) are capable of such depravity, nothing will surprise you. Sadly it's a fellow LEO this time but again it is not astonishing since even we are not immune to such terribleness...no profession is.

What can we take away from this, and more recent events in and around the Chicago area? Well, I guess we can take away that their police, unlike many other departments is rife with endemic corruption that is overlooked or condoned. Frankly, I'm glad my local sheriffs department and the nearby PD don't work from the Chicago book. Maybe some people think we'd be better off if we did? I sure hope that's not the case. Regardless. if this offends you, sorry about that. I'm sure you know how to not read something.

 

[Jay]

There are good and bad in every profession, and in all walks of life. as has been posted. LEO's are expected to be held to a higher standard of conduct, and as sworn peace officers, it should be that way. Seems kind of silly to me for someone to spend much time, prowling around the internet, watching and waiting for a given profession to stumble, then deciding that it's their responsibility to chastise and ridicule those who haven't stumbled simply by association. Gee, maybe if I run the internet with copy and paste in hand, I might be able to expose what is usually obvious to most everybody else........ that the guilty need to be punished, regardless of their original occupation.

I actually got a speeding ticket once...... 20 years ago....... and ya know, I was actually speeding.

Then just a few years ago..... I was caught speeding again.... this time, the officer who looked like he was 12 years old, simply asked me to slow down, and have a nice day. I waited for the steel-toed boots, and taser assault, but they never materialized.

Now I'm confused.... I don't know whether to bash ALL the cops for the first ticket, or praise ALL the cops, because the kid let me off the hook for speeding. I've been very concerned about this decision for at least 10 seconds over the years. Perhaps I'll meet a monk high up in the mountains that will set me straight. Doubt that.... I'm too old to climb that high.

 

[ATM]

Guess you missed this:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/politics_laws_and_2nd_amendment/56240-someone_who_gets_it.html

I liked it, although the lack of any potential drama has caused it to sink into the forgotten archives.

Yes I do take it personally. Sorry but I do. Many of us do.

Why? Don't. One needn't associate themselves with the least common denominators of society based on as little as a shared vocation.
Bad people can get into any line of work, come from any background, and have a million random associations with countless other groups of decent people.
I certainly wouldn't "own" nor could I be offended by someone highlighting another's behavior unless I agreed with it. Even that would be a choice of association.

 

[The Meach]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzHjV0ZVEkk]YouTube - Dolton Cop Beats Special Needs Student On Camera[/ame]

The video was down on the CBS site. so here it is on youtube

 

[XMil]

What a hero. The kid is lucky this was caught on tape.

 

[printcraft]

Guy did not like the kid or what he was doing and beat his a**, it's simple.

He did not try to restrain the student in any way initially in the video.
The shove shows the intent. He put his coffee down and was going to
show the punk who was boss.

Only problem for him now this time was that his actions were caught on camera where in the past they were not.

I do not believe I've ever seen an officer shove someone into a wall like
to attempt to restrain someone, looks like his attitude got the best of him.

 

[hornadylnl]

I know the perfect punishment for that cop. Strip him of his badge and dump him in the middle of that kids neighborhood.

 

[1032JBT]

I came across this one earlier in the week and I wasn't going to post it, since I figure the Thin Blue Line guys would take it the wrong way. But it's now crossed the state line from Illinois to Indiana as a news story.
Here's the first part of this story. From CBS
More, plus the video at the source.

Now comes new information on the Illinois officer. From Carlos Miller:

What is it with Chicago? Do they never run background checks or do psych evals on these people? Someone protected this guy till he crossed the state line to do his crimes and Indiana cops took him down. Good on them. I hope this murderous SOB rots in prison. 20 years won't be enough time.

Might I say that one of the reasons it would be percived wrong is because you make a statement like the bolded part above. That statement had nothing to do with the news story and even when I try and look at it objectivly it still comes across as inflamitory. Not a slam towards you.....just an observation. I know that probably wont matter much to you because I am part of the "blue-line crew", but I will say I came into this thread and tried to keep an open mind. Oh well......it is what it is.


Now on to the actual topic of the thread. If what really happened is what was reported.......then I agree 20 years is not enough. Maybe tar and feather him and then put him in general population and let the other cons deal with him. And before anybody accuses me of siding with the cop, I am not. I said "if" when talking about the story because we have talked about the truthfulness of the media when reporting things. Sensationalism sells and sometimes the story is only half reported. Again with that being said.......if this is the truth, then he needs stiff, strong, and quick punishment.


Uh oh.....a cop not defending another cop???

 

[public servant]

While I see nothing defensible in the video that is shown...I would like to see the video in it's entirety...not chopped up, edited and editorialized. I doubt it would change anything...I'd just like to see it. Just let the entire video speak for itself.

I don't need an anchor person doing play by play for me or to tell me what I'm seeing. Just play the video in it's entirety and let people draw their own conclusions from those factual images.

 

[Joe Williams]

Yes I do take it personally. Sorry but I do. Many of us do.

Why? You don't do those things, so why are you taking it personally? Cops who commit crimes are more newsworthy because it's not supposed to happen. A cop with a record like this guy's is even more worth talking about, because there's a chance some of his fellow officers knew about it and covered for it. We both know it happens.

If you are taking it personal, you are making a mistake and you know that, too. You'll get ulcers.