Here's the scene:
A 48-year-old man --an architect -- and his wife, on the way home from a Bible study have an accident because the man suffers a diabetic attack.
Sadly, some gang members arrive on the scene and take advantage of the situation. Ignoring his medical condition, they beat the man mercilessly and subjected him to torture before relieving him of his wallet. He died at the scene.
The rest of the story:
Who did this to the man? Was it members of Hell's Angels, or Crips or Bloods or some other street gang? No, this gang wore police uniforms.
They beat him with their batons and subjected him needlessly to the torture of tasers and pepper spray.
Here's the story as reported by Courthouse News:
Johnson suffered a diabetic attack sometime after 8:15 p.m. that night, after calling a friend to tell him he was leaving his Bible class, according to the complaint in Baltimore County Court.
He suffered a diabetic attack, crashed on the I-795, and his car came to rest against the guardrail in the median near the merger with I-695.
According to the complaint, when State Trooper Davon Parker arrived and tapped on the window, and Johnson managed to lower the window, Parker pepper sprayed him in the face.
Johnson then got out of his car and Parker clubbed him at least once in the knee. Defendant Officer Loss (fnu) then arrived and whacked Johnson at least twice with his club, the complaint states.
Baltimore County Police Officer Nicholas Wolferman then arrived, whacked Johnson "at least three times" with his own baton, then he and Officer Loss "grabbed Mr. Johnson and threw him over the guardrail," Johnson's widow says.
She claims the very first officer on the scene knew or should have known that her husband was suffering from a medical problem.
Nonetheless, after throwing him over the guardrail, the cops applied pressure points to his ears and armpits, she says. Three more cops arrived, including Baltimore County Officer Andrew O'Neill, who Tasered Johnson twice. Officer Loss then punched him in the face and the six officers managed to handcuff him, the widow says.
Eight more cops arrived, and someone took his wallet, which included a medical alert card about his diabetes. Nonetheless, the cops forcibly held him down, though he was not resisting, and was handcuffed, his wife says.
"Upon information and belief, there were approximately 52 individuals that responded to the scene," according to the complaint.
The widow claims Johnson was Tasered at least three times, while he was lying on his back, helpless, surrounded by police. He became "motionless and speechless" and was pronounced dead within an hour of cardiac arrest.
He was the 10th person to die since 2004 after being subjected to police electroshock in Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reported in a story about Johnson's death.
Christian commentator Gary North wryly observes:
In earlier, more innocent days, the first trooper to arrive would have taken the man to a hospital. But that was then. This is now. First, start with pepper sprtay when he rolls down the car window. If he gets out of the car club him. Is he refuses to get back into the car, it’s taser time. That will do the trick. Usually.
If not, do it again until he stops moving.
Thirty years ago, I recognized the us-them mentality displayed by some police officers. Over the next couple of decades it seemed to become even more common.
Since 9/11, however, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies have fanned the flames of hysteria among the nation's police departments. More and more, they seem to view the general public as the enemy.
In Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, the police became tools of arbitrary power. Instead of protecting the people from criminals, they saw their mission as protecting their criminal government from citizens.
So sad that we seem to be moving in the same direction. Kudos to those officers who serve as salt and light in the midst of political corruption and administrative darkness.
A 48-year-old man --an architect -- and his wife, on the way home from a Bible study have an accident because the man suffers a diabetic attack.
Sadly, some gang members arrive on the scene and take advantage of the situation. Ignoring his medical condition, they beat the man mercilessly and subjected him to torture before relieving him of his wallet. He died at the scene.
The rest of the story:
Who did this to the man? Was it members of Hell's Angels, or Crips or Bloods or some other street gang? No, this gang wore police uniforms.
They beat him with their batons and subjected him needlessly to the torture of tasers and pepper spray.
Here's the story as reported by Courthouse News:
Johnson suffered a diabetic attack sometime after 8:15 p.m. that night, after calling a friend to tell him he was leaving his Bible class, according to the complaint in Baltimore County Court.
He suffered a diabetic attack, crashed on the I-795, and his car came to rest against the guardrail in the median near the merger with I-695.
According to the complaint, when State Trooper Davon Parker arrived and tapped on the window, and Johnson managed to lower the window, Parker pepper sprayed him in the face.
Johnson then got out of his car and Parker clubbed him at least once in the knee. Defendant Officer Loss (fnu) then arrived and whacked Johnson at least twice with his club, the complaint states.
Baltimore County Police Officer Nicholas Wolferman then arrived, whacked Johnson "at least three times" with his own baton, then he and Officer Loss "grabbed Mr. Johnson and threw him over the guardrail," Johnson's widow says.
She claims the very first officer on the scene knew or should have known that her husband was suffering from a medical problem.
Nonetheless, after throwing him over the guardrail, the cops applied pressure points to his ears and armpits, she says. Three more cops arrived, including Baltimore County Officer Andrew O'Neill, who Tasered Johnson twice. Officer Loss then punched him in the face and the six officers managed to handcuff him, the widow says.
Eight more cops arrived, and someone took his wallet, which included a medical alert card about his diabetes. Nonetheless, the cops forcibly held him down, though he was not resisting, and was handcuffed, his wife says.
"Upon information and belief, there were approximately 52 individuals that responded to the scene," according to the complaint.
The widow claims Johnson was Tasered at least three times, while he was lying on his back, helpless, surrounded by police. He became "motionless and speechless" and was pronounced dead within an hour of cardiac arrest.
He was the 10th person to die since 2004 after being subjected to police electroshock in Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reported in a story about Johnson's death.
Christian commentator Gary North wryly observes:
In earlier, more innocent days, the first trooper to arrive would have taken the man to a hospital. But that was then. This is now. First, start with pepper sprtay when he rolls down the car window. If he gets out of the car club him. Is he refuses to get back into the car, it’s taser time. That will do the trick. Usually.
If not, do it again until he stops moving.
Thirty years ago, I recognized the us-them mentality displayed by some police officers. Over the next couple of decades it seemed to become even more common.
Since 9/11, however, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies have fanned the flames of hysteria among the nation's police departments. More and more, they seem to view the general public as the enemy.
In Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, the police became tools of arbitrary power. Instead of protecting the people from criminals, they saw their mission as protecting their criminal government from citizens.
So sad that we seem to be moving in the same direction. Kudos to those officers who serve as salt and light in the midst of political corruption and administrative darkness.
