Police Brutality: A Good Samaritan Gets Stomped On And Thrown In Jail
There's a chilling and compelling long read on Medium about a San Francisco man who saw victims of a biking accident, tried to help them by calling 911, and became a victim of police brutality and was thrown in jail. Here's a small excerpt from Peretz Partensky's piece, "Good Samaritan Backfire or How I Ended Up In Solitary After Calling 911 for Help":
After 12 hours in jail, more than 6 of them in solitary confinement, the process of checking out was unremarkable. I signed a few papers. Retrieved my backpack. Confirmed the contents -- laptop, wallet, phone, books and keys."The charges will be dropped if you show up on Tuesday. If you don't show up, there will be a warrant for your arrest," I was casually informed.
"Deputy, should I have been here in the first place?"
"No"
It was almost too good to hear. "Then why did I end up here?"
"You have to consider the source." This phrase I remember verbatim.
"How do you mean?"
"I mean, there are a lot of young cops on the street, trying to make a name for themselves."
He did the important thing in the end -- file a complaint. (I interviewed a number of cops for my upcoming book and she says it is very important to do when you experience any sort of misconduct.)
So far, he's had no redress, but I'm hoping he will find some in the Court of Public Opinion -- and have it lead to some disciplinary action (ideally firing) against these officers:
I painstakingly retrieved all possible documentation, including: the police report, transcript of radio chatter, audio of my 911 call, security footage from Radius restaurant (handed to me freely by the owner), Rebecca's and Josh's feedback, and collected photos from the incident and my injuries.I presented all of this to the SF Office of Citizen Complaints. The filing party is not allowed to know the outcome due to the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights (POBAR) but may be notified if an internal investigation is initiated. Many months have passed since my complaint, and I have no sense of progress.
At this point, I'm left no choice but to present this case to the investigative court of public opinion, be it brave or foolish.
His conclusions:
In the hope that it might help some other idealistic, nerdy people from following me down that rabbit hole, I conclude with several public service announcements:•Don't call 911. Obviously, there are exceptions, but the sad lesson is, there are fewer than you'd think.
•Call Lyft to take you to the hospital. (Worked well when I broke my elbow.)
•Take such incidents to trial, where justice isn't veiled by the POBAR. It's not a matter of litigious vindictiveness. It's just the only available way. The SF Office of Citizen Complaints is not a valid alternative.
•Consider wearing a video camera at all times. It has been shown that when police wear cameras and are aware of being filmed, it moderates their behavior. As self reports of the need to use force decrease, so do complaints.
I didn't read the whole thing but it seems that it is the definition of police brutality and malfeasance.
When calling 911 is the last thing you want to do and semi-casual contact with police is almost more dangerous than contact with the criminals it is an indication that the system is breaking down.
Here's a commentary on the militarization of law enforcement.
Just something to consider.
Jim P. at February 16, 2014 5:25 AM
Rather than "never call 911". the smarter lesson here, is never talk to the police voluntarily.
If you are being questioned, the only thing you ask for is a lawyer, not water, not a doctor, nothing, just a lawyer, then shut the fuck up.
Isab at February 16, 2014 5:49 AM
This is why I dont care when people kill cops.
Because for every 1 out of 100 cops that break the law there is 98 who stand by in silence, except to harass the 1 in 100 who tries to do something.
lujlp at February 16, 2014 7:55 AM
This guy is a riot. Here are some of my favorites:
"Is this protocol?"
"I became dissatisfied with the lack of information."
While standing naked in a psychiatric holding cell: “Sir, Ma’am, could you please tell me… how long should I expect to be in here?”
"Forgetting would be disrespectful to the officers who don’t accept this behavior as commonplace,. . ."
Mr. Partensky is truly one of the most remarkable optimists I've run across lately.
Canvasback at February 16, 2014 8:09 AM
Mr Partnesky strikes me as the type of self-effacing idiot, who upon being informed of plans to beat and rape him would show up on time with a bat and lube so as not to offend those wishing to violate him.
Not for remaning calm when dealing with the asshole cops, but in being so 'understanding' and forgiving of his treatment
lujlp at February 16, 2014 10:19 AM
He called police into a drug area and had the bad luck of attracting a number for female cops, then he failed to take the opportunity to extricate himself, instead attempting to engage them with his biography. He does the same in jail and only later realizes that his weirdly obsequious behavior is aggravating the situation. I can see why the police thought he was high a/o crazy, though there was no reason to arrest him - unless he's leaving out something - that was just a vindictive abuse of power.
SF has a notoriously beleaguered police force. The SFPD is the whipping boy of the Progressive power structure in the city and gets very little respect or support, though they're expected to mitigate all of the problems that the Progressive's have engendered. The force is also filled with AA hires and has difficulty retaining seasoned officers. It's a no win situation and unsurprisingly has lead to an adversarial relationship between the police and the city.
This is why they send half a dozen officers to respond to someone having fallen off their bicycle. The additional officers aren't there to help the victim, they're sent to prevent people from harassing the officers attending to the victim. Peretz behavior unfortunately fell into the mould of someone who was likely to instigate trouble - he probably came off like your typical bratty SF hipster and the officers were obviously in no mood to deal with him.
norm at February 16, 2014 11:15 AM
Peretz behavior unfortunately fell into the mould of someone who was likely to instigate trouble - he probably came off like your typical bratty SF hipster and the officers were obviously in no mood to deal with him.
I know right? The unmitigated gall at being shocked that your friend, and the bike accident victim were attacked by police, the police telling you to go home and you pointing out that in order to do that you have to keep moving in the direction of the accident as you live past it?
What the fuck was he thinking trying the be reasonable?
This is why I wont care when someone kills norm.
lujlp at February 16, 2014 6:04 PM
Were you there?? - if so, can you tell me my why his friend wasn't arrested?
As I stated, I think his arrest was unjustified and an abuse of power. Being an earnest PITA is no cause to throw someone into jail. If his account is accurate, I hope that he follows through with the lawsuit.
But I'm also familiar with the neighborhood, and why the police are going to be skittish in that area. You can believe that police officers are uniquely evil individuals if you like, but a more realistic answer for why such abuses seem to have become more prevalent is likely going to factor bad training doctrines with unintended policy outcomes and a work environment that inspires this sort of adversarial mindset. Demonizing the police and hoping that someone kills anyone who disagrees with you isn't going to help resolve the problem.
norm at February 16, 2014 8:08 PM
It's San Francisco. The kind of town where Dianne Feinstein gets a concealed carry permit (issued by the elected Sheriff) but the plebes don't.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at February 17, 2014 12:04 AM
Demonizing the police and hoping that someone kills anyone who disagrees with you isn't going to help resolve the problem.
I dont 'hope' for people to die, if I wanted them to die, I'd kill them myself.
What I said is I wont care when it happens to you, or to cops.
lujlp at February 17, 2014 10:06 PM
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