To be glad i dont live in America having seen this on Sky News.

[sunshield]

Video: Texas Officer On Administrative Leave After Bikini-Clad Girl Detained
09:40, UK,
Monday 08 June 2015

This is quite shocking and telling about life in the US . A Policeman throwing a 14 year old girl on the floor then sitting on her "screaming" at her when she is obviously in pain with her hands in handcuffs. Worst of all he pulls is Gun out at Teenagers who have just gone to see what is happening offering no threat of violence or menace towards the police.

It seems the police officer is getting some "thrill" pointing his gun at kids. Is this typical behaviour of "law Enforcement" officers in the US or just that aimed at black teenagers. Sky News Website.

[BabyMurloc]

As others have said there are bad apples everywhere and you don't hear everything either. There's a huge case local to me atm involving a police officer. It's all over our local press that he is facing some very serious charges but you won't see it elsewhere.

[creighton]

the facts speak for themselves don't they?

[HeartsTrumpDiamonds]

Well the police officer has resigned and apologised.

Too little too late really.

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

I think that's pretty naive

That's your opinion. It's wrong, of course, but that's your opinion.

I think having worked almost 18 years in police forces in both the US and the UK that I have a fairly good insight into it. There are bad police officers just like there are bad doctors, bad teachers, bad of any profession. It does not make the police as a whole "bad."

Using specific examples of bad behaviour and saying it's all police is ridiculously childish.

[Vagndidit]

Considering most UK cops aren't armed enough to hurt a fly, doubtful this would happen here.

It does make me sad to see these things go down in my home country, but again, it's a BIG, BIG country and not all cops are bad apples. I have several family members in law enforcement back home and have nothing but the utmost respect for what they do.

[Vagndidit]

yoursfan,

a person who does nothing but read the Daily Mail may come to the same conclusions about life in the UK.

[creighton]

Alice, yourexperience will tell you that the so called good officers and the system covers up the wrongdoing of the bad ones allowing them to carry on. The one who resigned will keep his pension and get another job in the neighbouring police force. He should has been sacked. Had it not been for the film his bosses would be calling him a hero for facing down the 'thugs'.

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

why is it that police forces all over America act so violently towards black people?

You are aware, of course, that there are black police officers as well. And Asian, and Hispanic, as well as other minorities.

Yes, people ring police for white trespassers just as quickly as anyone else. Yes, people have stood by while a white person was arrested.

Are you just looking to stir up racial arguments or just stirring in general?

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

creighton Kindly don't tell me what "my experience" will tell me. MY experience is that the officer will get in serious legal trouble and likely lose his job. I've seen it happen before. I'll also point out that I've seen it happen while working in the UK for the police as well. Officer does something illegal, he loses job. You are just living and breathing all those assumptions, so I suppose you're not going to trouble yourself with actual facts or anything. Just jump to conclusions and start ranting.

[nigelslaterfan]

the worst thing is the excuses made for his behaviour by a police spokesperson.

there is no excuse.

If that had been a black officer treating a white member of the public in that way, I wonder if they would have defended his state of mind... I sincerely doubt it.

[blueBooby]

The whole video made me feel sad because I've heard it said before that black people in america should fear the police and this was like confirmation.

He was brandishing his gun about for no reason and to me, the way he was kneeling on the young girl was suggestive of sexual aggression and dominance.

Yes he was 'a bad egg' but it seems like their police force is made up of a lot of bad eggs.

[dontrunwithscissors]

The greatest problem is not 'rotten apples' in the US police force (and the criminal justice system generally). They can be dealt with. It's not just about police. The problem is that the entire criminal justice system is institutionally racist. Police brutality is just one part of a horrifying abuse of human rights. And, yes, I can say that with 20 years worth of dedicating my research to understanding the racialisation of crime and the criminalisation of race in the USA.

For anyone doubting this, read Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. America has 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's prisoners.

Goffman's book is very good.
www.ted.com/talks/alice_goffman_college_or_prison_two_destinies_one_blatant_injustice

www.ted.com/talks/bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk_about_an_injustice

If you want to understand why black people fear the CJS, watch this: {warning it contains horrific images of lynch victims): withoutsanctuary.org. A picture paints a thousand words. These lynchings were continued through to the mid 20th century. You can see from the fact that people aren't afraid to show their faces that nobody was worried about being arrested. They were able to act with complete impunity. Police, judges, and prison guards were often in the crowd. The belief that police are people to fear, rather than look to for help, is indelibly marked in African American minds.

Rainbunny: as I've said above. No, not every white person is racist. This is not an issue of individuals. It's a problem in American society, politics, and culture. The problem is that white America as a whole refuses to see how the criminal justice system reinforces racial inequality. Race sits at the very core of the American society in a way that many Brits just can not comprehend.

yoursan: for everything I've said, you're wrong. The USA has launched some incredible experiments in political culture and social equality. It has produced some fascinating and amazing people who have dedicated themselves to trying to create a democratic country. It is not, of course, the greatest democracy on earth, but anyone sitting smugly believing that Britain is any better needs to think again.

[dontrunwithscissors]

I just want to emphasise that the Without Sanctuary site is sickening so be warned. It does, however, shine a light on a national shame that is still glossed over.

[nigelslaterfan]

Hear hear downtrun.

I think Michelle Alexander and Bryan Stevenson are national heroes of the USA and their work is devastating to take on board.

The racism runs very very deep in the USA and it will take a profound cultural shift to change it. The criminal justice system in America is criminal in its institutional racism.

[lem73]

No of course not every white person in America is racist. To be fair I have dealt with black Americans who I would describe as racist. I think America is a deeply divided society. There have been some appalling cases recently. For me the worst was the Zimmerman case in Florida. A black teenager who was simply walking home lost his life for the crime of walking through a white neighbourhood. I would be terrified if I was the mother of a black teenager in America.

[MonstrousRatbag]

I have a lot of sympathy with what Creighton says, I simply don't think the 'bad apple' argument washes any more, and the hostiry speaks for itself, really.

That said, glib or unthinking generalisations are very harmful. loooking at the differences between different states and districts and how they respond to these incidents is instructive.

South Carolina has as difficult a history of race relations as anywhere in the US, but it has a much much better recent record of tackling police abuse and violence cases (white officer on black victim and also other types of cases). A South Carolina grand jury has just indicted the officer who shot a black man in that shocking recent incident and he will go on trial for murder.

I hope the new Attorney-General (2nd black person to hold the post, let's keep a sense of proportion about American diversity successes notwithstanding the anger about all these awful cases) looks at their successes in holding police accountable to see what lessons can be extracted for other states.

And while African-Americans suffer disproportionately to a massive extent, it isn't only a racial problem. A lot of the US media I like to read online have complained how militarised, violent and authoritarian their police are compared to police in other developed countries, including others where firearm possession is common. They seem to be saying that there is an across the board problem with how police routinely treat citizens, especially poor citizens of all kinds. I'm in no position to judge, but if true it is very worrying.

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

I have to laugh about people going on about how racist the US is. You've all seen the strides UKIP has made in the last year in the UK, right? The words "pot" and "kettle" spring to mind. The UK is in many ways just as bad, merely without the guns involved.

[dontrunwithscissors]

lem Strictly speaking, racism is defined as a society where one group holds power over another group, & is defined by racial characteristics. African Americans can individually act and think in prejudicial ways, but can not be 'racist.'

monstrous Obama and other black politicians are examples of exceptional abilities, unusual circumstances, and a dollop of luck. That's the danger in pointing to Obama and saying 'see! We have a black president. The struggle is over.' Indeed, in some ways, Obama has created a problem whereby conservatives can point to his success and argue that black poverty and inequality is a product of individual failure and the cultural pathology of the ghetto.

[dontrunwithscissors]

PS monstrous--I didnt mean to imply that you were stating that two black Attorney Generals has made everything OK, just that such exceptional cases can play right into the hands of anti-civil rights efforts. This was excactly the case when the Supreme Court struck down crucial parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act a couple of years ago.

[nigelslaterfan]

Alice, if you read Michelle Alexander or Bryan Stevenson you may change your mind, the criminal justice system in the USA is shocking in its built in racism. I don't think it is as bad here.

[MonstrousRatbag]

Obama and other black politicians are examples of exceptional abilities, unusual circumstances, and a dollop of luck.

I do get that. I'm a black exception in my field too, and I've had to deal with the 'You're here, so it's ok' argument myself.

My point still stands: on a thread where people are discussing whether all white Americans are racist, the very obvious and visible successes of some African-Americans (a small percentage certinaly, but far more than here) does bear mentioning.

[MonstrousRatbag]

Sorry about all the typos today!

[IKnowIAmButWhatAreYou]

How many "bad apples" do you have to have in a basket before you realise that the good ones are the rarity?

These incidents are only coming to light now because of phones and other recording media, and the fact that it can be shared before it can be deleted.

I dread to think how many innocents had been assaulted/murdered by the police before the advent of cameras on phones....

People like this cop should feel the full weight of the law & do the full stretch in jail.

Until transgressors are seen to be punished, the others will just keep on doing it....

[AliceDoesntLiveHereAnymore]

nigelslater I've worked in law enforcement in both countries and have seen things first hand. There are good people and bad people, just like in any other profession, and I have seen both types - both here in the UK and in the US. It doesn't mean I assume they're all bad though.

I assume, of course, that all those trashing the police as a whole will not be bothering them when there's an emergency.....