Toledo, Ohio: Police Abuse A 14 Year Old

Trevor Casey, a 14 year old child, was taken into custody by two Ohio Police Officers. During the process of making the arrest, the officers beat (busted nose and swollen lip) and choked the 14 year old until he was unconscious or partially lucid. I have worked in law enforcement for a very long time and have personally had to fight with many suspects that I have taken into custody. I have never met a man, let alone a 14 year old, who was beyond the ability to be successfully restrained by myself and another substantially sized officer, without having to resort to street fighting tactics with the exception of a person under a VERY strong influence of PCP. In fact; you are trained to use EVERY other option you have at your disposal (Soft hand techniques, Pressure-Point/pain compliance, Pepper Spray, Collapsable Baton, Stun Gun) before moving to life threatening tactics. Officers are taught a "Use of Force Continuum" which they are supposed to know backwards and forwards. The Continuum instructs you on what level of force in legally admissible under any given scenario. Then there is special training when dealing with juveniles. Most officers have no authority to do anything with a juvenile but arrest them when a crime is suspected; they can't question juveniles and most departments would punish any officer who is foolish enough to put their hands on a juvenile outside of the guidelines of the Continuum. Here's the video of the brutality.



Clearly this child was subdued well before the hand cuffs were applied. It appears that were it not for the fact that someone with a camera showed up, this child would have likely endured even more abuse. I have always said that if an officer is so afraid of the dangers and risks associated with being in law enforcement that they feel the need to act criminally to defend their selves, they should find another line of work. Inherent in the job is danger and risk of personal injury. Officers know this when they accept the job and no one ever tells them that they will never be injured or that they should expect to never be injured. Officer are told to expect to be injured at some point in their career and to be prepared to remain professional in the face of danger. Too many officers have the "I'm making home in one piece" mentality. Law enforcement is a field for empathetic soldiers which is not the same as military soldiers. Law enforcement officers are ideally, members of the community who have taken a vow to help defend the community against law violators within and from without. Officers are supposed to achieve this by acting as the ARM of the dispensers of justice (courts). The officer's job is to bring the suspect to a court where their innocence or guilt will be determined and punishment assessed. The ARM of the law must be strong and not easily intimidated by the possible risks associated with reaching into bad places and extracting bad people, safely and without causing them injury.

It is empathy that affords the officer the sensibilities necessary to achieve their goals without resorting to heavy-handed tactics. That empathy is derived from a sense of ownership and community because the officers should be members of the communities they work in. It's much easier to be understanding when it's your house that you are defending and your family members that you are bringing to justice. Also; if you live in the community, you sure as hell don't want to go around unlawfully attacking people, whom you and your family have to sleep and live amongst. Too many officers today are imports. They live in isolated communities or remote communities and they simply view what they do as a "Job" that they clock in and out of. Police Officers are part of the community and they need to be active participants in that community or the type of abuse witnessed in this video will only continue.

Thanks to Necole Bitchie for posting the video. I hadn't thought to blog on this until I ran across the video on her blog.