http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow4RU6PtslY

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/video-on-youtube-captures-scuffle-between-2-metro-police-officers-man-in-wheelchair/2011/05/23/AFcQYl9G_story.html

5/24/2011 1:08:31 AM

Quote :

"BONER JAMZ 04"

5/24/2011 1:13:27 AM

To me the story about the incident sounds legit to me.

From the video it looks like the guy was resisting and dragged the cops down to the ground with him, though I can see where there would be scrutiny.

5/24/2011 1:37:21 AM

I saw this on Training Day

5/24/2011 7:19:37 AM

That guy should learn the phrase "don't start no shit there wont be no shit"

5/24/2011 8:17:05 AM

it's clear the man struck the left officer in the face.

gotta love how all of the people in the comments section sympathize with the man just because he's handicapped. That doesn't mean he's excluded from the rules.

5/24/2011 8:19:06 AM

pwnd!!
DC Metro 1
Wheel Chair Guy 0

5/24/2011 8:28:43 AM

5/24/2011 8:41:29 AM

Is there not a longer article about that?

All that article says is that someone said the guy fell out of the wheelchair which is obviously not true...and then the police cheif said he had some concerns.

5/24/2011 9:14:54 AM

Did they drop kick him?

5/24/2011 9:26:25 AM

Quote :

"don't start no shit there wont be no shit"

The guy was not some innocent bystander. He was drinking (drunk?) and refused to accept his citation. You disrespect an officer you get thrown down on some concrete. If it would have been Fayetteville PD they'd have him restrained using the knee in the back technique with his head firmly pressed into the concrete the whole time.

5/24/2011 9:40:37 AM

This has been all over the news here the past couple of days. That homeless, disabled man is a fixture on U street.

When this was first reported, the police said he was resisting arrest, and fell out of his chair, causing minor scratches. Little did the police know they were being filmed. Then the video came out....

The video showing the police picking dude up out of his chair, and tackling him to the ground. Some " fall from his chair" eh? Dudes face is all bruised and jacked up too from where he was tackled on the metal grating. Minor scratches, eh?

I think the public outcry is because the statement by the police was shown to be an extreme exageration of what actually happened.

5/24/2011 9:46:30 AM

This is a little different than that story where a guy robbing a store ran out stabbed a marine and then suffered all these injuries from a "fall"

This is where the cops picked up a disabled guy from his wheel chair and threw him to the ground. I mean look at his legs when he is on the ground...it's clear they are legs used for walking, that's not what they'll do, one of these days those legs aren't gonna walk all over you.

5/24/2011 9:49:05 AM

Quote :

"This is a little different than that story where a guy robbing a store ran out stabbed a marine and then suffered all these injuries from a "fall""

For one thing, this one actually happened.

5/24/2011 9:50:44 AM

true...but it's different than that concept...

5/24/2011 9:51:27 AM

There was no confirmation that the Marines beat the stabber's ass, just that they did detain him.

Quote :

"I think the public outcry is because the statement by the police was shown to be an extreme exageration of what actually happened."

I'd like to think that, but reading the youtube comments ( overall) people are siding with the wheelchair dude because...he's in a wheelchair. You can see the cop on the left trying to handcuff him when he starts fighting back.

This guy got it right:

Quote :

"That guy punched the cop. Are you people blind? Those officers operated by the book and did not use excessive force. It doesnt matter who you are, you are still accountable for your actions. If you want to be drunk in public in? the middle of the day, resist arrest, and strike an officer in the face, you will get your a** kicked. It doesnt matter if your handicapped or not, you fight the cops and you suffer the consequences."

I agree the cops' statement was incorrect and sure, give some retribution for that, but I don't see too much problem with their actions.

5/24/2011 9:57:32 AM

yay dc

5/24/2011 9:58:01 AM

Let me clarify...

The public outcry I was speaking of is whats being said around town, people being interviewed on the news, neighbors offering support, etc....


Not youtube comments, a.k.a., the anti-SMRT

5/24/2011 10:02:56 AM

thought this was an interesting take on this whole situation.

Quote :

"DC’s public intoxication statute doesn’t set hard blood alcohol content (BAC) numbers the way driving under the influence laws do – in fact DC ST § 24-601* opens with a statement that the law is about minimizing harm. In order to accomplish this purpose and alleviate intoxication and chronic alcoholism, all public officials in the District of Columbia shall take cognizance of the fact that public intoxication shall be handled as a public health problem rather than as a criminal offense, and that a chronic alcoholic is a sick person who needs, is entitled to, and shall be provided appropriate medical, psychiatric, institutional, advisory, and rehabilitative treatment services of the highest caliber for his illness. This matters because we’re seeing a video blaze around the Internet today of a police encounter with a man in a motorized wheelchair-type device (often called by a trade name, Rascal). I’d be somewhat surprised if you haven’t seen it already, but it’s at the top of this article. We’re also seeing some poorly chosen words in describing the incident. I don’t mean talking about the use of force. The question of how this really played out is now certain to become a subject of interest and we can be sure that review boards will be involved. I’d contend that’s how it should be in any case where the amount of violence used by law enforcement seems at all excessive. The problem I’m talking about is that we’re seeing a description of how inebriated the man was by talking about “the legal limit.” but there’s the thing: In a case like this there is no legal limit. Photo courtesy of ‘alcohol and drug free work place’ courtesy of ‘ekelly80' I’ll leave it to you to decide whether the video portrays the “cognizance” that this is a “sick person” and whether this represents the “highest caliber” of care possible. I bet you can glean my position. But what you’ll note from the quote above – and from the entire statute if you care to look at it* – is that there’s no magic number where you’re above it and breaking the law and below it and perfectly okay. “Public intoxication,” like art and pornography, are largely in the eye of the beholder. The same goes for the other governing law: § 25-1001. Drinking of alcoholic beverage in public place prohibited; intoxication prohibited.* There’s nothing in here about hard numbers. It’s down to behavior. Well, behavior and danger. I suspect this is why we’re seeing Metro use this judgmental language and try to get it into the media: because when you look at the last section of 25-1001, you find something that’s going to be very important as this case shakes out. (c) No person, whether in or on public or private property, shall be intoxicated and endanger the safety of himself, herself, or any other person or property. (d) Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) or (c) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500, or imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or both. (e) Any person in the District who is intoxicated in public and who is not conducting himself or herself in such manner as to endanger the safety of himself, herself, or of any other person or of property shall be treated in accordance with Chapter 6 of Title 24. The point being that, unless you’re endangering yourself or others, being drunk in public isn’t a criminal offense. You have to be intoxicated AND “endangering the safety” of someone. Everyone else is supposed to be treated like someone suffering from a disorder and given a chance to get their act together. The man in this video is committing a crime by drinking that beverage, but whether he’s stone-cold sober or circulating pure ethanol in his veins has no bearing on 25-1001(a). He’s certainly not over some “legal limit” unless they’ve decided they’re going to charge him with operating that motorized wheelchair while inebriated. Talking about the man’s BAC can be a marginally useful thing if you want to talk about just how drunk the man is, though I’d contend it’s still pretty pointless. We all know folks who turn into raging loudmouths when they drink and we know ones who get weepy. It’s not a good indicator of how they’re going to behave. So what we’re left with when we talk about the “legal limit” is, unfortunately, is a great example of loaded language that implies a crime that isn’t there. There may be a crime that inspired this encounter – that’s for the court to decide – but it isn’t based on a BAC. Uncritically repeating this number is somewhere between lazy and deceptive. UPDATE 4:51p: Twitter reader eliotpayne points out to us that § 50-2201.05. Fleeing from scene of accident; driving under the influence of liquor or drugs only says ‘vehicle’ and that a past case, Everton v. D.C. establishes that bikes qualify for this charge. So the arrested individual could have been – or could still be – charged with this violation which certainly would involve a BAC. I didn’t link any specific article here, partly in an effort not to pick on anyone in particular and partly to make a larger point about what I feel is a common error when public intoxication is reported. As it turns out that might not have mattered – the start of my ire was this WTOP article which has since been edited (without indication that it was edited other than a timestamp of 3:12p, long after I originally read it – tsk tsk) to remove the mention of “legal limit” which it previously contained. That mention comes above paragraph 9 which states “He was arrested for assault on a police officer and drinking in public,” which WLDC alumni Dave Stroup says matches what the DC Courts documents indicate he was charged with. It’s the use of “legal limit” while talking about those charges – which have nothing to do with any BAC – that I take issue with and would like to see the media avoid. Talking about the individual’s BAC here is no more relevant than if he’d been charged with littering or violating a noise ordinance. It might have been why he did it or might not, but since it doesn’t make him more or less guilty it just muddies the water at best. At worst it’s an effort at institutional damage control that the media is uncritically helping with. * Sadly, the District contracts with Westlaw to provide access to the DC Code and their system doesn’t provide any support for linking straight to statute. The best I can do is provide you a link to title 25 and tell you to click on chapter 10 and a link to title 24 and tell you to click on chapter 6."

5/24/2011 10:03:16 AM

Quote :

"You disrespect an officer you get thrown down on some concrete."

Just out of curiosity...how often do you take it up the ass?

5/24/2011 10:36:36 AM

can we get some bolded passages up in this bitch?

Quote :

"The public outcry I was speaking of is whats being said around town, people being interviewed on the news, neighbors offering support, etc...."

Fair enough, that's definitely to be expected when the cops say one thing but really did another.

[Edited on May 24, 2011 at 10:39 AM. Reason : lkj]

5/24/2011 10:36:58 AM

^^never - you?

5/24/2011 10:51:50 AM

Where does he recharge his chair?

5/24/2011 11:14:59 AM

Quote :

"but I don't see too much problem with their actions."

they must have seen problem with their own actions, or they wouldn't have lied about it.

5/24/2011 11:25:05 AM

pretty sure the rule is don't swing at/hit a cop.

drunk dude in the wheelchair forgot that rule.


it might have been excessive force to some degree, but drunk dude started it.

5/24/2011 11:40:31 AM

swing at a cop, you deserve what youget

they got too much shit goin on to put up with that shit

5/24/2011 11:53:19 AM

I haven't heard a thing about this, which probably means that we're even more sheltered from DC that I thought here in Fairfax County.

5/24/2011 4:31:30 PM

Just heard on the news that the assault on an officer charge has been dropped

5/24/2011 10:09:36 PM

sounds like his assault and the police lying on the report cancel each other out. everybody wins!

5/24/2011 10:16:00 PM