Why Threatening Bad Cops Makes No Sense

Depiction of a group of vigilante "baldknobbers" from the 1919 movie "The Sheppard Of The Hills".
Baldknobbers were groups of vigilantes in Arkansas and Missouri who were responsible not only for attacking horse thieves, but also murdering their critics and their families, as well as several racially motivated lynchings in the mid to late late 1800's and early 1900's.

An act of police misconduct is nothing more than vigilantism. In fact, there is no difference between a police officer beating someone they suspect might have committed a crime as a form of "street justice" or you beating someone up if you suspect they committed a crime.

When the world sees acts of police brutality, it evokes a strong reaction on several levels for most people. It makes us fear what police could do to us, it makes us wonder at the kinds of people we entrust with the power to enforce our laws, it causes us to question whether our justice system is still just, and it creates a sense of outrage that a person can get away with a crime just because of their chosen occupation.

Needless to say, there are numerous reasons why videotaped images of a 15-year-old girl being attacked by King County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Schene sparked strong emotions across the globe. It also takes little effort to understand the outrage the video of Oscar Grant's death created when it made it into the public square.

So strong, in fact, that the lawyers for Schene and Mehserle both reported that those officers, their families, and the lawyers themselves began to receive death threats after the stories went public.

But... what does it make any of us if we lower ourselves to the same level as an officer who we believe has committed a crime when we seek to circumvent the law and threaten the lives of those officers, their families, and those who's job it is to defend them in court?

Does it not make us exactly the same as those officers when we stoop to their level and try to be judge, jury, and executioner just like they did?

After all, how just is it when we seek to answer an injustice with injustice?

Aside from the ethical considerations, making threats against officers accused of misconduct is ultimately counterproductive on a number of levels... worst of all these is that it gives police unions the ammunition they need to pressure legislators into enacting new laws that let them hide acts of misconduct and escape justice without any public scrutiny...

In other words, threatening officers such as Paul Schene and Johannes Mehserle not only makes you the same as they are... it gives the future Schenes and Mehserles the ability to do the same things those officers are accused of without the fear of being caught...

Threatening officers accused of misconduct creates more misconduct, not less. It creates more injustice, not less. It gives them more power, not less.

It is, ultimately, wrongheaded to seek to become that which you seek to fight. Just as it is wrong for a police officer to resort to illegal tactics in the course of their job, it is wrong for us to resort to illegal tactics to answer those acts of injustice. In other words, it is wrong for us to become them in answer to what they have done.

So, for any of you out there who might think about threatening an officer who was accused of misconduct, or their families, or their lawyers.... please don't, because all that will accomplish is to create more monsters and make it harder for us to spot acts of misconduct... not to mention that it turns you into the very same monster that you seek to fight.

Don't believe me? Just see what happened in Baltimore when an officer received threats after a video of him attacking a teenager was released to the public.

Sure, the system as it is might let all these officers get away with such upsetting acts... but the answer is to fix the system so that they are treated like any of us are when we stand accused, not think yourself above it like those officers did when they broke the law under the guise of enforcing it.

If you think otherwise, you might as well put on one of their uniforms now, because you're more like them than you'll ever know.

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 03-05-09

Trial Against Another King County Deputy Begins Monday
Just days after the world was outraged by video taken of a King County deputy assaulting a 15-year-old girl, another King County Sheriff's Deputy, Don Griffee, is due to face charges in court on Monday for allegedly punching a handcuffed suspect in the back of his cruiser while questioning him over charges that ended up being falsely reported by a woman who felt spurned by him.

The man, Johnny Bradford, was detained on allegations of domestic assault until deputies discovered that the woman who called them had made everything up and ended up charging her for filing a false report. However, deputies had slammed Bradford to the ground when they detained him and deputy Griffee allegedly held him down with his foot on Bradford's neck. Then Griffee took Bradford to his cruiser and, when Bradford denied the allegations against him, Griffee allegedly turned and punched him in the face while he was cuffed.

Officers noticed Bradford bleeding from the mouth after he was taken out of the cruiser but Griffee denied hitting him. Bradford was taken to the hospital to get treatment for a severe cut on his face. Bradford has filed suit against the county so the state's attorney general's office is handling the case against the officer, who is currently on paid leave just as officer Schene is while facing charges for attacking a 15-year-old girl in a Sea-Tac holding cell.

Brutal Police Beating Caught On Tape In New Orleans
Carlos Miller at Photography is Not a Crime posts about a couple who took some disturbing video of New Orleans police officers brutally beating a suspect. While it was too dark out for the video to pick up much discernible visible evidence of the beating, you can hear the person being beaten beg and plead for officers to "Please! Stop! Please stop hitting me! Oh please! Don't hit me no more!"

Officers claim that he brandished a weapon at him and his family admits he's been in trouble with the law before, but they also say he didn't have or carry a gun. Officers were heard laughing and joking about the beating and mocking the man's pleas, then asking the man if he wanted another five minutes of being beaten.

Chicago Woman Wins $261,000 Police Brutality Lawsuit
Robin Petrovic won a $260,000 civil rights judgment against the Chicago police department over a 2005 incident where she had called police to report being attacked and ended up being attacked by the police as well after she refused to sign a blank police report that officers could have filled in with whatever they wanted to later.

One of the officers accused of beating her, James Chevas, had racked up over 50 complaints, including several for brutality, during his career with the CPD. Petrovic claims an officer hit her on the back of the head when she refused to sign and that officer Chevas then repeatedly cussed at her as he kicked her in the head and groin while she was handcuffed. She was then charged with assaulting an officer, which was later dropped.

Speaking of Chicago Cops With Histories Of Abuse
Chicago Police Chief Jody Weis has been found to be in contempt of court and has been given until 8:45am Monday to release the names of Chicago Police officers who have had at least 5 complaints filed in the last 9 years.

Weis refused the judges order to turn over such records in a stunt to gain the support of Chicago's police unions but now might find himself in jail for flaunting the law instead of enforcing it. The list was requested by lawyers for Donna Moore who is suing the department over claims that a Chicago officer, Robert Smith, assaulted and arrested her 11-year-old and 13-year-old sons when they had a dispute with Smiths son at a playground.

In that list are some officers who have racked up an incredulous 60 complaints or more and Moore's attorneys intend to give this as an example of how Chicago's police department protects officers with histories of abuse and, thus, encourages more bad behavior like that exhibited by officer Smith. It's doubtful that Weis faces jail if he continues to refuse the judge's order, though the city may face fines for refusing to release the lists.

Ft. Lauderdale Police Declare It's Legal For Them To Assault Citizens For No Reason
Charges of assaulting an officer against Joshua Ortiz in Ft. Lauderdale Florida have been dropped after a video showing what really happened came to light.

The video, (link here) shows Ortiz standing in an elevator when one officer comes up to him and then slugs him, then other officers flood into the elevator and start punching him several times while bystanders are terrorized by other officers.

Ortiz was left with two black eyes, a broken nose, and several other bruises... Officers were, of course, unscathed and an internal investigation that also reviewed the tape found officers had acted within departmental policy by beating up people who didn't pose any threat.

Two Prince Georges MD Officers Suspended After Brutality Video Clears Latino Man
Rafael Rodreiquez was accused of balling up his fist and punching an officer in the stomach during a traffic stop for illegal running lights in Prince Georges County, MD on October of 2008.

But, after tape of the incident was obtained by an investigator for Rodreiquez's defense, the charges were dropped and now two Prince Georges county officers might be facing charges instead for pepper spraying, repeatedly clubbing, and slamming Rodreiquez against his car during the stop... all without any apparent justification other than that Rodreiquez wanted to talk about the citation since he claimed another officer told him the lights he had were legal.

Groups Hold "Free Carl Eller" Rally in Minneapolis
The Minneapolis-based Communities United Against Police Brutality held a rally in support for ex-NFL player Carl Eller who was convicted of misdemeanor charges of DUI and assaulting an officer over an April 2008 arrest in which he claims officers lied and that he was the victim of excessive force.

His defense attorneys are currently fighting to get the case reheard after they received evidence from the city after the trial which they had requested before the trial. That evidence, they say, proves that officers lied about what happened the night they arrested Eller in his own driveway. That evidence is the GPS record of the officers' location and the route they took that night to arrest Eller, which apparently contradicts their testimony in an number of places.

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 03-04-09

Picture taken outside of the US Federal Courthouse in Seattle Washington

LOCAL NEWS:

US Department Of Justice Looking Into Video-Taped Beating of 15-Year-Old Girl In King County
Karl Mansoor at Blue Must Be True reports that justice officials are looking into the videotaped beating of 15-year-old Malika Calhoun by King County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Schene. A spokesperson from the local division of the DOJ told reporters that they first saw the story when the rest of us did on Friday and, that after talking about it over the weekend, they decided to maybe look into the matter... even though they were apparently made aware of the case back in December when charges against Schene were being considered by King County prosecutors...

Given their strange response in this case, their handling of the case against King County Sheriff Deputy Brian Bonnar (which the DOJ lost), and their tepid response to constitutional rights violations in the King County Jail... I'm not inspired with much confidence by this announcement.

Officials Refuse To Investigate Threats Made Against Local Blogger
Tacoma Washington officials have refused to look into complaints that a West Palm Beach Florida police officer sent threats to a Tacoma-area blogger who covers cases and advocates for victims of Officer-Involved Domestic Violence.

So far, FBI, DOJ, West Palm Beach Florida, and Tacoma Washington officials have all refused to investigate the allegations that several different sites reported on late last year, this site included.

Local Crime Victim Starts Blog About Crime Victims Program Issues
An area man has started a blog about his difficulties getting help from the State of Washington's Crime Victim Program which is supposed to help victims of crime who have lost their jobs and need medical care due to crimes they have suffered.

The man, Ric Castellanos, attempted to stop a fleeing shoplifter at a local Fred Meyers after the shoplifter tackled a worker he knew, only to be run over by the shoplifter's get-away vehicle, a large SUV.

He suffered several injuries from the incident, including PTSD and other permanent injuries that require medication and therapy... all of which he cannot afford since the injuries also make it so he can't keep a job.

For trying to do the right thing, he's been rewarded with having to sleep in a shed and suffer his injuries without any assistance from the state program that was supposedly designed to help people just like him.

PEW Research on US Corrections System Released (PDF Download)
PEW's research indicates that 1 in 31 adults in the US are under some sort of correctional control, whether it's probation, parole, jail, or prison. Further tipping the scales, 1 out of every 18 men and 1 in 11 blacks are reportedly in the system. Last year's report cited that a bit more that 1 in 100 Americans were confined in the corrections system.

Washington State does a bit worse that average, ranking 17th in the US with 1 in 30 of it's citizens in the system. Washington state spent $917,000,000 last year on it's prison system, or about 6.3% of it's general fund.

The report suggests that corrections budgets should be the easiest to slash by turning more towards alternatives to jail and prison and doing more preventative and anti-recidivism efforts instead of building more prisons and jails... which is the goal of an effort underway in Seattle with the I-100 initiative.

STORY UPDATE:
Here are two more stories that make us wonder what should we really tell our children about trusting police officers?

Oregon Officer Pleads Guilty To Sexually Abusing Young Child
A Turner Reserve Police officer in Oregon has plead guilty to sexually abusing a girl, now 13, over a period of five years. Brian Livingston plead guilty to charges of unlawful sex with a minor, sexual abuse, and official misconduct in a Marion County Circuit Court and now awaits sentencing.

The reserve officer worked in a department of 3 FT officers and 6 reserve officers and only resigned recently after being on leave since August of 2008 when the allegations were first reported.

Florida Officer Arrested On Charges Of Sexually Abusing Minors
Arcadia Florida police officer Kenneth Bennett was arrested on eight counts of unlawful sexual acts with minors, two counts of official misconduct, and three counts of contributing to delinquency of minors.

The charges stem from an investigation by Florida's Department of Law Enforcement in November of 2008 that revealed the officer had sex with minors, provided them with alcohol and drugs, and altered police department documents.

The officer resigned in the middle of an internal investigation over the allegations and is currently in jail.

NATIONAL NEWS:

Hartwell Georgia Man Speaks About The Police Beating That Cost Him An Eye
Hartwell GA man who lost an eye during a brutal police assault claims the whole thing started when an officer asked for his ID, the officers claim that he was beaten because he verbally threatened the officers.

So, at worst, this man was beaten so badly that he lost his eye just because of something he said, not anything he did. Sound reasonable to you?

New Orleans Attorney's Lawsuit Over Mistreatment During Katrina Dismissed
New Orleans attorney Ashton O'Dwyer was an eccentric lawyer by all accounts. He had a penchant for angering government officials, especially Supreme Court Justice Kitty Kimball who, during the aftermath of Katrina, declared that "Somebody has to shut that guy up; he's giving us all a bad name."

Sure enough, for his boisterous ways that included declaring his home an independent nation and calling his opponents in court "scumbags" and "corrupt" he was taken from his car, in his driveway, to a temporary holding area called "Camp Greyhound" and locked in a metal cage where officers repeatedly fired beanbag rounds at him and peppersprayed him for 16 hours... and then released him without charges.

The injuries he documented appeared to back up his case when he filed a civil rights case against the state and the officials he says were complicit in having those officer abduct him and torture him that night, but a judge disagreed and dismissed his case.

This Is How It Usually Goes...
Broward County Sheriff's Deputy Lazaro Mesa was accused of stomping on a bar patron's head repeatedly while bouncers held him down until the man lost conciousness. Photographs of his injuries taken at the hospital even showed a footprint shapped abrasion on his face... but officer Mesa never filed a use of force report, which meant he claimed he never used force to arrest Anthony Monaco that night.

The Sheriff's department, located in southern Florida, fired Mesa after conducting an investigation that concluded that he falsified reports to cover up his use of excessive force that night...

But an arbitrator has overruled that disciplinary action at the behest of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association and has ordered the department to reinstate him and give him restitution for back pay, benefits, and seniority by saying that the department failed to show just cause in firing him.

Surprised? Well, this is how it usually goes even when police departments do try to fire problematic officers... just like I've told you here.

An Anatomy of How Police Frame Suspects?
Kenneth Hudson was convicted of stabbing Shanna Van Dyn Hoven to death in Outagamie County Wisconsin, but now a new trial may be in the works because of disturbing evidence that police and prosecutors may have conspired to frame Hudson.

Allegations made in Hudson's motion for a new trial include:

• That blood found on Hudson's leg, torso, and hands were found to be animal blood when tested at the state's crime lab, not human blood.
• That prosecutors claimed Hudson had the victim's blood on his hands but no blood was found on the driver's side of his car.
• That two vials of the victim's blood were taken during an autopsy, but only one was turned over to the crime lab and that, on the same day as the autopsy, the knife was taken out of evidence by a police officer.
• That officers claim Hudson tossed the "blood soaked knife" on the floor of his truck, but no blood was found where officers claim the knife was tossed or found on the truck cab floor and that officers made no mention of a knife in the truck in their initial reports.
• That officers said Hudson didn't assert his right to a lawyer even though audio of his interrogation shows he repeatedly demanded one.

Resetting Expectations in the Malika Calhoun Case

The Vice of Injustice and Virtue of Justice
frescoes at the Arena Chapel in Padua by Giotto

The video (here) of King County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Schene assaulting 15-year-old Malika Calhoun has left many outraged. People all over the world are presuming that the deputy will be fired and even convicted of some criminal offense that will land him in prison for some period of time.

People also presume that Malika will win a civil suit and are wondering at the millions this deputy's apparent lack of self control will ultimately cost the cash-strapped King County government.

...even though none of these presumptions are even close to the reality of Seattle.

Let me be clear, there is a strong possibility that all of these presumptions are misplaced.

In fact, based on all the recent case history available, it is unlikely that the deputy will be found guilty of anything.

It is unlikely that the county would be able to fire him even if they tried.

And it's likely that Malika will, at absolute best case, stand to possibly win $250,000 in a civil case, if she doesn't settle for something half of that before hand... or lose the civil case she hopes to file... even though the criminal and civil defense for the deputy, which the county will pay for, will cost more than double anything Malika stands to win as compensation for what she suffered.

Why?

Let's address each aspect by looking at each presumption and compare them to similar recent events.

1.The deputy will be convicted and go to prison.

In Seattle it is rare that police officers are charged in similar cases. When they are, it is rarer still that they are convicted. Even then, when a conviction seems likely they plead down to lesser misdemeanors that carry deferred conviction deals that wipe their records after a year of good behavior, with no jail time.

Given that the deputy only faces a misdemeanor already, even if convicted it is exceedingly improbable that he would spend any time in jail even if this went to trial and he were convicted. For which, the county would be stuck with prosecution AND defense costs which may exceed $300.000 no matter what.

For an example, look at the last trial which was against King County deputy Brian Bonnar on federal civil rights violations based on accusations that he used excessive force when he allegedly beat a handcuffed woman after a car chase. While other officers testified against him, prosecutors still could not gain a conviction and the case cost the county nearly $400,000 in defense fees.

2. The deputy will be fired.

It is unlikely the deputy will be fired, especially if he is not convicted and, even if he is, a misdemeanor conviction is not enough on its own to fire him based on state laws and precedents that protect officers.

Let's be clear. Even if King County Sheriff Sue Rahr did fire him, the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) would likely force King County to reinstate him with back-pay and additional penalties as it's likely the deputy would be able to argue that other officers who have done the same, or worse, were not fired thus his firing would be discrimination.

It's likey he could do this because, in the past, King County has been very lax in how it disciplined officers ad that established a precedent for how future disciplinary actions are viewed by the police union-friendly PERC board. So, even if the county tried, it is unlikely that they could fire him.

For an example of this problem, just read the Conduct Unbecoming series in the Seattle PI.

3. Malika will win millions in a civil case.

First, it's important to understand that Seattle and King County use the same private lawfirm to defend themselves and their police officers from civil rights suits. While the officer's attorney, Anne Bremner, has drawn criticism for arguing that the video seen around the world doesn't tell the whole story. She, and her firm, are very ruthless in how they defend against police misconduct lawsuits.

They are so effective that they have only lost one case in a decade and that suit cost the city twice as much in legal fees than the award of $269,000 that was given to Romelle Bradford who was wrongfully arrested and punched by a Seattle Police officer.

There are a number of cases that they have settled, but those only net their victims half as much at best, such as the case of Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes who was savagely beaten and falsely arrested outside a nightclub in Seattle. His case settled for half as much as Bradford won, $185,000, even though Alley-Barnes clearly suffered far more serious injuries and both were entirely innocent of any crime.

(For a list of the latest known lawsuits to settle or win in Seattle, refer to here)

This case is somewhat different because Malika wasn't subjected to a false arrest. Therefore, if the case even makes it to trial and if it won, I think we would see an award of $100,000-$150,000, if that. If it settles, maybe $75,000.

Latest litigation outcomes against Seattle's PD

In any case, nothing close to a million.

Of course, I don't want this to be the way that it is. Nor do I think that it's right that the state of Washington and Seattle/King County put such a small price tag on our civil rights when they are violated.

But the harsh reality here is what it is and the sooner people understand what the realistic outcomes of this disturbing case are, while this case is still in the spotlight, the more hope we might have in improving the situation here in convincing people that changes are needed.

Of Being A Better Advocate

Life lessons come at strange times, but the important thing is to be aware of them for what they are and to learn what they are there to teach you.

Today I almost ended up on The Ron Reagan Show which airs on AirAmerica radio. The producer wrote me and asked if I would be willing to talk with them about the Malika Calhoun story and, presumably, the accountability problems in Seattle and King County which enabled deputy Paul Schene to beat up a 15-year-old girl in a SeaTac holding cell.

Well, I'm a modest and very soft-spoken person, especially since I was assaulted and then mistreated by police here in Seattle. That, plus the brain injuries and PTSD from that event affect me still and have all but crumbled any of the self confidence I ever had. This, of course, makes it difficult for me to do interviews, especially live interviews or any public speaking.

It wasn't always that way. In school I had a deep, resounding voice which landed me, for better or worse, in the role as narrator in any school play or choir activity and often had the theater teachers begging me to try out for roles.

But that changed after I became a victim of misconduct, so when I replied to the Ron Reagan show's producer I told her the truth; that I might not be the best pick and I gave her a lot of names to check with instead.

Sure, I still offered to step in if they couldn't get anyone else to represent the victim's side of the debate, but I was honest when I told them I get nervous doing interviews and might not do well live instead of just jumping at the chance and saying "yes".

I wasn't able to listen to the show, but I did pop in to their chat forum for a second to see what the audience reaction to the interviews they did would be.

I knew they were having the King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg on, which I thought would be ok since the man has the unenviable task of trying to prosecute a police officer in a city that, up to now, has been eternally unwilling to convict one.

But, apparently, instead of any of the people I suggested, they appear to have had a member of the police guild on instead, which seemed to really infuriate the listeners as this ended up being an utterly one-sided story in favor of Paul Schene... again, at least judging by the chat members' reactions to the interviews.

...Disappointing. But, ultimately... entirely my fault.

I've always said here that I know I'm not the best suited person to write this site, but despite my flaws I do happen to be the only person willing to do it and that someone has to do it.

...the life lesson is that I must apply that line of thought to all aspects of being an advocate for victims of police abuse and detainee mistreatment.

Next time, if there is one, I won't be so mamby-pamby about it and I'll do whatever interviews that are offered with all the conviction I can muster.

Even though I deserve heaps of derision for not speaking out when I had a chance to do so. All I ask is that, if I still don't live up to the task, please don't be too hard on me for trying to be a better advocate for police misconduct victims when others wouldn't.

After all, someone has to do it, even if that only someone is as flawed as me.

What Do We Tell Our Children About Police Brutality

From early childhood our children are taught to trust the police. We tell our sons and daughters that if they are lost that they should look for a police officer to get help. Our schools warn our children to be wary of strangers and to seek the police if a stranger tries to lure them away...

But, more and more, I worry that the strangers we should warn our children to stay away from might include those that wear a police uniform as well.

After all, how do we reconcile the contrasts between the picture of a friendly officer helping a child, like illustrated above, and that of the brutal reality of a child, (now identified as Malika Calhoun) being viciously beaten by a sheriff's deputy on the news as we've all seen recently?

Our children give us questioning looks when seeing this or hearing discussions about it. They are confused, they are told to trust the police but here is a police officer harming a child... or other stories that have also been in the news recently:

• Washington DC officers accused of stealing toys meant for underprivileged kids.
• A Palm Beach Sheriff's Deputy wanted for allegedly raping a child.
• A Police chief in Virginia caught in an online child sexual solicitation sting.
• A police officer from Alabama accused of transporting kids across state lines to rape them.
• A King County Sheriff's Deputy videotaped brutally attacking a 15-year-old girl.

How do we explain to our children why they should trust the police after they see or hear stories like these? Should you tell them they should still trust the police when they know of family members who have been abused by the police or even when they see police brutality themselves like these fifth graders did in Seattle?

Or, should we be teaching them something else in the light of this brutality, that they should treat the police as they do any other stranger, as unworthy of their trust?

Seattle and King County are prime examples of how difficult it is to honestly tell a child they should trust police when we know our city and county cannot even fire the officers that they know are dangerous and supposedly want to fire.

For just one example take the case of King County Sheriff's Deputy Denny Gulla, who has been accused molesting three different 14-year-old girls but who remained a deputy even on top of other complaints like assaulting prisoners, making a pass at a high school senior, videotaping a gang beating for his training video and pulling over his lover's husband and threatening to shoot him in the "mother-fucking face."

As far as we know, he's still a deputy in the King County Sheriff's department since it was only last year that they finally put him on a brady list, but still couldn't fire him. How do we tell our children to trust the police when the one they trust could be officer Gulla or the officer who beat that young girl?

All these stories, when also tied to one's like officer Gulla, show that some deeply disturbing people can become police officers and remain in authority even after developing a history of alleged abuses against children.

Which leads me to wonder whether I would be a responsible parent for telling my children to trust the police instead of fearing them like they should any potentially dangerous stranger on the street.

After all, it's been proven that even the strangers in uniform can harm our children as much, if not more than, any other stranger who offers candy to children in a dark van could.

Perhaps it would be more responsible for us to instill in our children the cold hard realities that most of us already understand... that the police are not here to protect and serve us...

the police are here to protect and serve themselves.

Until that changes, until a real system of accountability and disciplinary transparency is created, none of us are safe... not even our children.

So, what do you plan on telling your children?

What Happens To Justice When There Is No Video

 

Map of vistors reviewing our post about the video of King County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Schene beating a 15-year-old girl

The video of a 15-year-old girl being ruthlessly beaten by a much larger King County Sheriff's Deputy sparked interest across the globe, as it rightly should. Many don't believe that such abuse happens, and even with such videos there are many who still say that the girl, and any others brutalized by police, must have deserve it for some reason or another.

It makes us mindful of how far a climb we still face in convincing people that police accountability and transparency is necessary to protect the public from those that are entrusted with power to enforce our laws, lest they become lawless themselves. When even brutal videos like this cannot persuade many that abuse happens and shouldn't happen... what else can we do?

But more to the point, and I hope those reading excuse my brutal frankness, the girl that you see in that video is lucky.

No, she is not fortunate for being assaulted by a deputy that refused to control his rage, even when he knew full well that his actions would be recorded. But she is fortunate that her case was one of the very few that are recorded by video... and doubly so that this video actually made it into public view.

For every one case like this, there are hundreds that are not filmed, that are not witnessed, and that never reach the light of public view.

Even so, even when cameras record police brutality here in Seattle, Washington (in the middle of King County), and even when an internal investigation concludes such assaults were excessive force, and even when, as was true in Schene's case, the officer is less than truthful about such events, such as what happened in Mark Hays' case here in Seattle last year... there is still often no justice to be had.

If having video is a steep hill, imagine the cliff one faces when the brutality or mistreatment they suffer at the hands of police or jail guards is not recorded. imagine how hard it is to keep that to yourself for the rest of your life while knowing that if you tell others you'll be judged to have "deserved it somehow."

Imagine never being able to trust in the police again, knowing that you could never call them if you were the victim of a crime out of fear of being attacked again.

Imagine, being one of the hundreds whose story is never told, who never find justice, who never have lawyers take their case, or people all over the world demanding justice for them... but, of course, justice is not just a sack of money given to a victim to pay for their medical bills and the suffering they went through at the hands of the police. Nor is it just about holding the officer who did the crime to account.. it's more than that.

In response to the video I received a few messages from readers who felt the need to tell their own stories, one of which agreed to have it published...

I forgot the year but it was in the mid 80's. I wish I would have done something about it then but I was young and stupid.

I had been at the J&M cafe in Pioneer Square with fisherman friends from Alaska. We drove up to capitol hill, (a section of Seattle), to a house where a guy I met lived to see if his sister wanted to come with us for a little more fun on the town.

We pulled up to the house and I got out of the passenger side of the vehicle and went up to the house, knocked on the door and a guy answered and said no one was home.

I walked back to the car and got in and the driver started the car and all of a sudden police lights went off behind us. We had not moved at all. The police officer went to the driver's window and asked for license and registration. He immediately came to my side and tapped on the window. I rolled it down and he said step out of the vehicle.

I had a lit cigarette in my hand and as I got out he said put that cigarette out. I took one more puff and threw it down and the next thing I know the officer jumped me and threw me to the ground. (He) started hammering my face in the pavement as he kept saying "I said get your hands behind your back!" My hands were already behind my back but he kept beating me!

As he continued the beating he put the handcuffs on and pulled me up by my hair. Another officer had arrived and grabbed me and slammed me on the hood of his patrol car. A car was coming down the street and he immediately grabbed me by the hair again and walked me to the middle of the road. He slammed me on the hood of the oncoming car after they came to a stop. And he yelled! "This is what your going to look like if you don't get the fuck out of this neighborhood!"

They loaded me into a squad car and charged me with resisting arrest and threatening an officer. My face was covered with blood. They released me in the middle of the night from a holding cell with no medical attention.

I had a public defender come to my court hearing sometime later. He said that the officers statement reflected his concern that I was going to burn him with my cigarette. I remember the judge as she looked at the paperwork shaking her head and then calling my attorney up for a private conversation. At that point all charges were dismissed and my attorney said that's it, it's over. The charges were dropped.

I wish there was something to this day that I could do about it! They should have paid for what they did. God knows how many more people were beat by those officers. This had a profound effect on my life and the fact that I have no regard for law enforcement.

Thanks for providing a venue online to share this information. This is the first time I have talked about it since the incident.

You see, justice is supposed to be about returning a victim's life to as close to as it was before that person became a victim of another person's crime. It's also supposed to act as a deterrent for others who might think of committing the same crime in the future.

Yet, for victims of detainee abuse, there is never either, even when they win a civil suit. Because effective reforms never come that would help prevent future attacks. Officers often remain on the force to attack others in the future. And the victim must now face the world with the understanding that, while police might be there to protect others from criminals, nothing really protects them from the police.

Without reforms, there is no justice... and without video, for many, there isn't even acknowledgment that they were the victim of a crime... there is never anything even close to a normal life ever again.

The girl you've seen in that video still faces a tall hill to find a life that approaches normal again, even though she's lucky that the video was recorded and released... The rest of us, in the absence of video, still sit at the bottom of a cliff wondering if change will ever be possible when videos like this can't even move a molehill.