This Is What Happens When You Call the Cops

Hands Not In Your Pockets, In Your Waist, or On A Toy: This Is What Happens When You Call the Cops

by

Abby Zimet, staff writer

Ferguson really is everywhere. These days it's surreally in Pontiac, MI, where an incredulous black guy was stopped by a cop for walking with his hands in his pockets, andrepeatedly in Cleveland, where this happened: Last month, a mentally ill woman died in police custody; last week, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot dead in a park just seconds, newly released video shows, after a rookie cop jumped from his car to confront him over a "gun" that turned out to be a toy; on Saturday, Rice's family held a vigil vowing "not one more death" with the pained families of two other black victims of police violence - Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, killed precisely two years ago after a high-speed car chase by 104 officers, 13 of whom ended up firing 137 shots at them, ultimately hitting both over 20 times and then claiming self-defense, though in fact neither was armed, which is why the city last month reached a $3 million settlement; and adding WTF insult to grievous injury, on Monday, nine "non-African American" members of the Cleveland Police Department filed a federal lawsuit over those shootings, accusing the department of violating their civil rights and treating them “substantially harsher” than African-American officers by putting them on three days of administrative leave and 45 days of restrictive duty made up of “menial and unpleasant tasks,” thus costing them lost wages, “impairment of their professional reputations, humiliation, emotional distress, mental anguish, and other serious damages.” Yes. They really did that. They really said they were victims who were being hassled for being white and shooting black people and what's the big deal anyway? If you can stand more news of cop atrocities across this fine land, you can check out Cop Block or Bad Cop No Donut. Or just watch a brutal new music video that captures, in all its caprice and savagery, what too often happens when you call the cops. Warning: Bloody distressing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlY9C6pzxKc

http://www.commondreams.org/further/2014/12/02/hands-not-your-pockets-your-waist-or-toy-what-happens-when-you-call-cops