At least six Ferguson, Mo. police officers have been named in lawsuits accusing them of excessive use of force in the past few years, according to a Washington Post report.
In the four lawsuits involving Ferguson officers, all but one victim was black and just one officer was African-American, the Post reported.
According to the Post, one Ferguson officer faced three internal investigations and two lawsuits during his time with another police force about 10 years ago. He was accused of violating civil rights laws and of using excessive force. He was demoted after one of the complaints was verified, and then later hired by the Ferguson police.
A former St. Louis, Mo. mayor and police chief told the Post that the lawsuits against Ferguson officers signal a widespread problem in the city’s police force.
“The cases themselves are fairly extraordinary — so is the volume,” Clarence Harmon told the Post. “It’s prima facie evidence of discriminatory practices. I would be surprised if Justice didn’t make a recommendation that they be placed under scrutiny.”
In a 2012 lawsuit, a Ferguson officer allegedly hog-tied and choked a 12-year-old boy in the driveway of his home as he was checking the mail. The lawsuit accuses two officers of using “unreasonable and excessive” force.
Read the full Washington Post report on the lawsuits against Ferguson officers here.
Can you (literally) say, “Smoking gun”?
All the actions signal a culture of occupation. It is the kind of stuff you would expect from occupation troops in a war zone, not what you would expect from a civilian police department.
The sad thing is, I expect all these fuckers to walk when they should be doing serious jail time.
Well thank goodness this seems to be a problem localized to a single small town with a power structure that looks more like something from South Africa in the 70’s than modern America. Because I’d hate to think that this represented some kind of national problem. Thank you WaPo, thank you, for putting this into proper perspective as a micro rather than macro problem. For a while there I was very much afraid that I might have to engage in some unwelcome introspection and examine deeply internalized beliefs and attitudes about race.
“In a 2012 lawsuit, a Ferguson officer allegedly hog-tied and choked a 12-year-old boy in the driveway of his home as he was checking the mail. The lawsuit accuses two officers of using “unreasonable and excessive” force.”
Mmmm. Okay. What would be reasonable and un-excessive force to use on a 12 year old checking their mail ?