A reminder: following the Rampart Scandal (1998-2000), where corruption of the LAPD, the District Attorney and California judges was uncovered, the US appointed an "Overseer for Civil Rights" in Los Angeles. That distinction was shared by Los Angeles, Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, and the California prisons over the past decade. In retrospect, the "Overseer", who held office from 2001-9, was only a fig leaf, nothing more.
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CRIME
5 LAPD OFFICERS UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER FEMALE COP KICKS WOMAN IN THE GENITALS & SHE SUFFOCATES TO DEATH
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LOS ANGELES
(TheBlaze/AP) — The Los Angeles Police Department is having a tough week.
Yesterday, TheBlaze reported about
two police officers who may have used excessive force when they body slammed a
woman into the pavement.
Now,
there’s yet another story about police brutality brewing. At least five police
officers are under investigation after a woman died during a violent arrest in
which an officer stomped on her genitals, police Chief Charlie Beck said.“I take all in-custody death investigations very seriously,” LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “I am confident we will get to the truth no matter where that leads us.”
Alesia Thomas died July 22, after she left her 3-year-old and 12-year-old at a police station, surrendering custody because she was a drug addict who could not care for them, according to Deputy Chief Bob Green.
Police tracked down the South Los Angeles resident and were trying to arrest Thomas on suspicion of child endangerment, police said. The incident was caught on a patrol car camera.
One officer knocked her to the ground by sweeping her legs out from beneath her and two other officers then handcuffed Thomas behind her back and attempted to lead her to a patrol car, according to the department’s official report. Two other officers also arrived at the scene.
Green said Thomas was a large woman and officers used a “hobble restraint device” — a strap that was wrapped around her ankles.
Green confirmed to the Times that during the
struggle to get Thomas into the back of the patrol car, a female officer kicked
Thomas in the genitals. Once Thomas was in the car, the video shows her
breathing shallowly until she draws her last breath.
KTLA-TV
is reporting that the woman suffocated to death during the incident:
[go to below link to
pull up KTLA-TV video]
The Los Angeles Times has more:
The department’s official account said the officers immediately
notified paramedics. It is unclear whether the officers attempted to
resuscitate her and how much time passed before paramedics arrived to render
medical aid. Thomas died shortly after being transported to a hospital. [...]
Four police officers and the sergeant were removed from field
duties immediately after the incident and investigators from the department’s
Internal Affairs unit opened an investigation into the death, Green said. One
arm of the investigation will collect evidence prosecutors will consider when
deciding whether to bring criminal charges against any of the officers, while
another will look into whether the officers violated the department’s policies
on using force and other aspects of taking a suspect into custody.
Beck
wants to investigate whether she was intoxicated at the time of the
altercation, or if her death may have been caused by a medical condition.As mentioned, this is the second incident of alleged brutality that was caught on video and that is being investigated this week. In the previous case, two officers were shown slamming a handcuffed mother and wife to the ground. Beck announced Wednesday that he was transferring a captain from his command in response to that incident.
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