
Postmates courier beaten by SFPD while delivering burrito - davidmarin
http://sfist.com/2016/01/14/black_bicyclist_says_he_was_stopped.php
======
chrisbennet
I think officers must be coached to yell "Stop Resisting" while beating people
(who aren't resisting). I've noted it a few of these incidents.

[https://www.facebook.com/CopBlock/posts/10153729801870507](https://www.facebook.com/CopBlock/posts/10153729801870507)

[https://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/06/california-
cops-c...](https://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/06/california-cops-caught-
on-video-beating-non-resisting-man/)

[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/police-dash-cam-
video-...](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/police-dash-cam-video-
exonerates-nj-man-implicates-cops-article-1.1701763)

~~~
Semiapies
This is _exactly_ the case. It also turns up in shootings, when there's
footage.

~~~
MCRed
The purpose is to create evidence to support their affirmative defense that
the victim was resisting arrest.

Pretty much the definition of pre-meditation and also the very definition of
corruption.

------
michaelbuddy
Body cams would tell this entire story pretty well especially since 2 officers
were involved. Are we supposed to believe that San Fransicso doesn't collect
enough taxes to have working body cams on all officers running for the whole
shift?

Everyone wants more body cams. let's get them to stop the speculation all the
time.

on the police side though, more people need to understand that the cops ask
people all the time for ID and they say they don't have it. In WAY TOO MANY
cases they don't want to produce it because they have warrants for other
things. Cops get people night after night on small offenses and they have
warrants for bigger ones. Constantly. That's why he called in, because his
experience is the guy is likely hiding something.

I can't imagine not carrying my ID around if I'm an adult. I have to produce
it to make transactions.

~~~
swang
Do you live in the United States? In the U.S., despite what officers tell you,
you do not have to identify yourself when asked. The only exceptions are if
you're in a vehicle or in an airplane. And in some states they can demand if
you they believe you are connected to a crime (California is not such a state)

I am assuming SF considers a bike a vehicle so fair game I guess. But you
cannot just beat up or arrest someone just because they refuse to show their
ID. You cannot assume suspicion because they won't tell you who they are.
You're essentially saying if you got nothing to hide, you shouldn't worry
about telling police who you are.

One time I found a wallet on a sidewalk, I picked it up, saw there was ID. The
police station was nearby so I drove to turn it in. When a cop showed up (the
station was closed for the night), I explained to him that I found a wallet
and was turning it in. He asked me a couple questions and asked me if I wanted
to leave contact information, I hesitated, and eventually after the officer
assured me he didn't care, I said, "no." But during that moment I seriously
considered whether or not I had to assert my right to remain anonymous/not
show ID, especially since I was just trying to be a good Samaritan, and didn't
want to deal with any possible accusation of stealing money from the wallet
(it was empty).

~~~
threatofrain
I think it's questionable to have an analysis or perspective of the law that
principally considers the letter of the law. What people can or can't do
follows another kind of law, a subtle law, a subtle calculus.

That's the real law everywhere in the world. It's the law in China and it's
the law in the US.

Can you refuse to show your ID to the cops? Can you say to the officer, "Am I
being detained?" Don't just regard what the letter of some document says.
Regard the subtle law with the subtle calculus.

~~~
MaysonL
_Can you refuse to show your ID to the cops?_

Probably no (in practice), if you're black or Latino or lower class white. Or
anybody, in a drug-dealing neighborhood.

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tmnvix
Confusing title. I was expecting an article about a race to deliver a burrito
between a courier and a police car. What I found was a shocking story about
the abuse of police authority.

I know how this will sound, but I'm going to say it anyway; if this had
happened in almost any other western country there would be genuine surprise.
But this is the US, so although people are upset there is no real sense of
surprise. The US really needs to get its law and order officers to respect the
people they are paid to serve.

------
th0br0
Hmm... gofundme says "campaign not found"?

~~~
lambdasquirrel
Yea I'm worried about this guy. Remember how Aaron Schwartz couldn't request
help because it was against the law to do so?

~~~
zizee
This appears to be the correct link:
[https://www.gofundme.com/pedal](https://www.gofundme.com/pedal)

edit: actually, this campaign seems to have been retired, linking to a non
functioning campaign.

> This page will no longer recieve donations. All donations from this campagn
> will go towards the the overall goal of the new campaign. Thank you!

------
Animats
Another downside of the "gig economy". If he were a Postmates employee, this
would be a work-related injury and they'd be paying.

~~~
tomjen3
It seems like it should be the police who should be paying (out of their own
founds) and not his employer.

~~~
mikeash
Getting the police to pay out takes time and money, though. If this really
would count as a work-related injury (I'm skeptical) then this fellow would
collect from the employer, and the employer (or their insurance) could then go
after the police to recover the funds.

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powertower
I've looked at the video and I honestly do not see anything that would support
the events that this person is claiming to have happened.

I'm just curious, but does anyone else here have the same opinion?

I mean ... only 8 or 9 out of the last 10 of these types of stories turned out
to be everything but what the perpetrator + media claimed them to be
initially.

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johansch
Foreign perspective: I thought all of these corrupt racist police officers
were in the south (states). In SF? Really?

~~~
1123581321
Most Americans would name large northern cities like Chicago, NYC and
Philadelphia as hotbeds of police corruption. San Fransisco's police force is
pretty bad, though. They were just filmed shooting a slowly-walking man a
couple months ago, and it wasn't too surprising an incident.

Southern states have corrupt police but tend to be known for using drug trade
suspicion to confiscate cash and vehicles from immigrants. This is especially
the case in Texas.

Generally, the view of police in any state is dim, though. Only the very
smallest/low-density states seem to have few issues that make the news.

~~~
davidcelis
The Portland police force is also notoriously Not Great:
[http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/shootings.html](http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/shootings.html)

------
michaelbuddy
Found this cyclists full youtube video, it has some extra recording that's not
in the news broadcast - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vf-
ia2QhVU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vf-ia2QhVU)

I definitely have complaints on both sides of this. Mostly toward the cop.
Where I understand the cops strong desire to get ID from people, vet them,
they really need to pick their battles wisely when they can't get what they
want, especially for piddly shit. When you're in a big city, this piddly shit
is worthless. You just know that at that same time, a 911 call came in for
something significant such as a stolen vehicle and the dispatch probably said
"we'll have somebody there in an hour" while 3 cop cars roll up for a biker
using a cell phone and refusing to identify.

In the audio the cop is talking about taking the guy to jail for using his
phone on a bike. Even if it were illegal, it's a misdemeanor traffic
infraction at best. A traffic violation isn't something you go to jail for.
And the cop is willing to do an unlawful search. I guess I see the cops point
of view. Sometimes these stops yield people with warrants. Letting go a guy
who might have a felony warrant is not good either. But nobody with a felony
warrant is going to make an easy time for you.

My complaint about the delivery guy is why doesn't he give his name and get it
all over with? And later why does he resist the cops, kicking his feet etc.
Clearly he's getting detained at that point. Why would he put up a fight, like
he's going to win? Does anyone ever really get away from the cops? Not so
much. Heck these days you risk getting shot in the back too. If the cops were
more evil, all they'd have to do is shoot the kid and say the he was going for
their gun.

Once the other cops get the cyclist wrangled, Out of breath, the cop runs to
the cyclists delivery partner friend across the street. The friend asks the
cop why he did that and the cop said "All I wanted was his name, Do you know
his name" and the friend says "yes" After that brief exchange the cop goes
back across the street saying "everything I did was lawful"

Hmm, not sure about that. If I were his chief, he'd be on 2 week unpaid leave
and in 16 hours of scenario training paid out of his own pocket. Of course the
union would fuck that up somehow, because that's what unions do.

~~~
forgotpwtomain
> Found this cyclists full youtube video, it has some extra recording that's
> not in the news broadcast - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vf-
> ia2QhVU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vf-ia2QhVU)

> I definitely have complaints on both sides of this.

I don't know which video you're watching (I'm watching the very one that you
linked).

But I'm listening a guy screaming in pain on the ground held down by three
officers, while a third is hitting him with a baton. There is no absolutely no
reasonable complaint on the other side of this. This is assault and battery of
a defenseless man.

~~~
hitekker
Agreed. I would caution against taking the poster seriously.

>... A traffic violation isn't something you go to jail for. And the cop is
willing to do an unlawful search. I guess I see the cops point of view.
Sometimes these stops yield people with warrants. Letting go a guy who might
have a felony warrant is not good either. But nobody with a felony warrant is
going to make an easy time for you

The incoherency of this statement is a classic example of trying to introduce
doubt where none exists.

> If I were his chief, he'd be on 2 week unpaid leave and in 16 hours of
> scenario training paid out of his own pocket. Of course the union would fuck
> that up somehow, because that's what unions do.

A handslap for beating people to a pulp. How quaint.

The mental gymnastics for excusing cruelty are pretty rote. Start by saying
that X was slightly less culpable for a crime against Q, X's victims, even
though 99% of historians or experts say X was completely culpable for it. Keep
chiseling away at everything about and surrounding the crime. Perhaps by
saying that X was under the influence of Y, or that maybe there was Z
situation that caused X to do it... and once your audience agrees with every
small twist logic along the way: say X did nothing wrong. And then say Q, the
victims, deserved what X did. And then say that we should all do what X did to
Q, again. And again. And again...

This is the mentality of an apologist, a revisionist, and of course, a
monster.

------
forrestthewoods
"They should be terminated."

If only the governator were still running things.

