Nothing has changed since my last memo, except now, there are even more cameras out there.
I bring this up, yet again, because another cop has lost his job after being caught on camera committing a particularly egregious and violent criminal act.
From the Chicago Tribune:
Skokie officer charged with shoving woman resignsThe Tribune reported: "Hart’s attorney, Jed Stone, said that he believes people are judging the officer too harshly based on a video circulated widely online. Stone said what Hart did was not 'an intentional act' and it wasn’t a crime."
A Skokie police officer charged with shoving a woman face-first into a cell bench has resigned rather than face possible firing, village officials announced today.
Skokie officials had told Michael Hart last week they would seek to fire him, and his resignation took effect today, according to a news release from the village. In late October, Cook County prosecutors charged Hart with aggravated battery and official misconduct.
[...]
In an episode caught on video in March, Hart shoved Cassandra Feuerstein from behind into a police station cell after the officer became irate that she wouldn’t look into the camera for a booking photo following a drunken driving arrest, prosecutors said. Feuerstein, of Chicago, fell and hit her face on the bench, breaking her eye socket and loosening teeth, according to prosecutors.
Not a crime? Really?
Watch the video below. At 1:51 we see Hart push the woman into a holding cell with enough force to break her eye socket and loosen her teeth. It doesn't appear to be all that serious until you look at the tape at 2:38 and see a pool of blood on the cell floor.
What makes Hart's case different from other cases of stupid cops getting caught on video is that he wasn't done in by a citizen with an iPhone.
He was caught in the act of committing a crime by the jail's surveillance system. And now he's out of job.
Still not convinced?
Check out the video report below from a Columbia SC TV station.
An off-duty county deputy named Paul Allen Derrick was drinking in a bar when he tried to "arrest" another patron.
But first he had to go out to his vehicle to retrieve his gun, badge and handcuffs. And that's when things went terribly wrong. And it was all caught on camera.
Derrick ended up losing his job, too.
Now, go on out and do your job. But remember, you're being watched.
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