The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

"This Land" what is that, some teabag rag?

http://thislandpress.com/about/

For a paper who wants to promote peace and harmony and tolerance, they sure seem to have a lot of hateful articles.

"In a marked shift from the Bush administration, President Obama’s Justice Department is aggressively investigating several big urban police departments for systematic civil rights abuses such as harassment of racial minorities, false arrests, and excessive use of force."

Where does the article reference TPD?

The Politics Plus one doesn't. This Land Press has this gem: "Ultimately, “Misconduct City” is a powerful portrait of a police force struggling to adequately deal with its problems.
On Tuesday, May 31, This Land Press will release “Misconduct City: The Assault of Arthur Bradley Reveals a Culture of Chaos at the TPD” on its website. "

Understood, just trying to figure out the latest undulation from TTAC.

Understood, just trying to figure out the latest undulation from TTAC.

I'm honored that you took the time to read my "few but dated posts." You may want to brush up on your comprehension skills if you think I'm prejudiced toward the poor or any legal American citizen.

You must be good at making friends and making people feel welcome.

I'm honored that you took the time to read my "few but dated posts." You may want to brush up on your comprehension skills if you think I'm prejudiced toward the poor or any legal American citizen.

You must be good at making friends and making people feel welcome.

My comprehension skills make it possible to read between the lines.....

The lines you see in the mirror?

This?

(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHl7WRIndcMaJxUkCTxn5C7pUf8IoVYfUvftUHPckITdnTjSfv)

Yes, that is what I was refering to.

You are a meanie.. ;D

You are a meanieBULLY.. ;D

The Chicago police department has been found guilty of covering up the beating of a female bartender by a city police officer, and was criticized for honoring a "code of silence" in which officers cover up for one another's misdeeds.

The altercation was caught on surveillance tape, but Chicago police officers ignored the tape's existence and failed to mention in their police report that the assailant was a city cop.  Attorneys presented evidence, including hundreds of phone calls between Officer Abbate and other cops in the hours after the incident, that convinced the jury there was a widespread effort to cover up the attack.

Abbate was eventually charged and found guilty of felony battery and lost his job. On Tuesday, however, a federal jury went farther, condemning the entire police department as well as Abbate for covering up the crime.

Craig Futterman, a law professor at the University of Chicago who has studied the code of silence in Chicago: "The bulk of the Chicago police department isn't made up of officers who go around beating up bar maids and pummeling them gratuitously for no reason or in drunken rage." he said.
"Still, it's something that departments as a whole and police leadership tends to shy away from. I think the best police leaders try to take it head on, and they do have those conversations about what needs to be done, but they need to have support not just in the police department, but from the mayor, too. When you're dealing with an entrenched culture, the rank and file can just wait out that person," Futterman said.
"But for that (video), Anthony Abbate would still be a police officer today. If it became Karolina's word against Anthony Abbate … this case would have gone nowhere."

In dramatic testimony, Patti Chiriboga, an Abbate confidant, recanted her grand jury testimony that she passed along a threatening message from Abbate to the bar's manager that he would plant cocaine and falsely charge witnesses if they didn't drop the matter and give him the video.  The conversation was secretly recorded by the bar manager and played at trial.

Just days after the owner of Jesse's Short Stop Inn installed security cameras, Abbate went into a rage when Obrycka tried to prevent him from coming behind the bar. Abbate, who testified that he was drunk after downing multiple alcoholic drinks and shots, tossed the diminutive Obrycka to the floor and then whaled away at her with his fists and feet.

"Nobody tells me what to do," Abbate was heard proclaiming on the video repeatedly played at trial.

This civil trial at a federal court in Chicago was unusual. It was the first of its kind to focus almost wholly on the question of whether there is an ingrained code of silence — with most of the 2½ weeks of testimony devoted to that question.

The core issue they had to decide was not whether Abbate beat her, but whether the police culture emboldened him and led him to act with impunity in attacking her.
In the end, jurors not only found that other officers and Abbate’s superiors tried to cover up the attack at Jesse’s Short Stop Inn, but they concluded that Abbate’s knowledge of his fellow officers’ willingness to cover him created an environment that led to the attack on Obrycka.

Officer Abbate was convicted of aggravated battery in 2009 and sentenced to probation.

A Spokane police officer was sentenced Thursday to more than four years in prison for using excessive force against a mentally disabled janitor who died after being erroneously suspected of stealing money from an ATM.
Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle to four years and three months.
The 65-year-old Thompson was convicted last year by a federal jury of violating Otto Zehm's civil rights by using excessive force and then lying to investigators in the case.

Six years ago, Zehm was beaten and stunned by Thompson, then hog-tied and sat on by other officers until he passed out. The 36-year-old died two days later without regaining consciousness.

Zehm had committed no crime.
On March 18, 2006, police received a report that a man matching Zehm's description might have stolen money from an ATM. Surveillance video showed Thompson found Zehm inside a convenience store and immediately struck him repeatedly with a baton and shocked him with a stun gun.

Other officers arrived and hogtied Zehm, put a rubber mask over his mouth, and sat on him. Zehm passed out and died two days later without regaining consciousness. It was later determined that he had not committed the crime.
His last words were: "All I wanted was a Snickers bar," according to trial testimony.

Anger boiled in the community about the death of Zehm, but the Spokane County prosecutor's office declined to bring charges against any officers.
Amid continuing demands for justice, federal prosecutors eventually charged Thompson with violating Zehm's civil rights through use of excessive force and then lying to investigators.

Prosecutors also alleged the case involved an extensive cover-up by police. That investigation is ongoing.

Like father:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/courts/city-settles-suit-alleging-excessive-police-force/article_67c7d6c9-1234-5732-bb2a-18441f152e4f.html

Like Son:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crimewatch/tulsa-officer-fatally-shoots-man-during-traffic-stop/article_ad6f628f-ea06-5951-bdee-78162aec1655.html


And another killing, but more lax oversight today makes no throwdown necessary:

http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Community-gathers-to-remember-man-killed-in/_t--TyZnaUSnVSfJS03Ssg.cspx