Guilty Until Proven Innocent.

I realize that in a court of law one has to assume that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. On the street, where police officers put their lives on the line every day, I believe that the police should always assume that someone is guilty until proven innocent. Does that give the police license to beat or pepper spray every person they question? Certainly not! But when the suspect has a warrant out for his or her arrest and physically resists arrest, they had better expect a response.

The article below details one such arrest that occurred in the D/FW area where all of the suspect's family and friends are crying police brutality. I particularly like this comment from the suspect's sister: "This is completely unfair. A perfectly innocent man, practically dead just because of a ticket. This was not necessary." Do you think the suspect would be in the situation that he is if he had peacefully complied with the officers request? Of course not! While I feel sorry for the suspect and his family, I certainly don't blame the police for his predicament.

Do you think Rodney King would have been beaten if he had not led the police on a 100+ mph pcp induced car chase and refused to surrender once he was stopped? A point brushed over by the MSM since they only would show the most incendiary parts of the video, not the parts of the video that shows King acting like a wild-man on a PCP bender. By the way, has anyone checked on the progress of Mr. King since he received that hefty settlement? His rap sheet has grown to monumental proportions. Quality individual! Let's make him a national spokesperson for injustice. I wonder if Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton ever received their cut for assisting in the shakedown? Remember, "If it don't make dollars, it don't make sense."


Officers on leave over man's spraying
Police launch inquiry into arrest that led to hospitalization
07:58 AM CDT on Tuesday, August 9, 2005
By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News

Two Allen police officers were placed on administrative leave Monday and an investigation was launched, four days after a man they attempted to arrest had to be hospitalized.
Edgar A. Vera remained in critical condition in a brain-dead state on Monday, family members said. Mr. Vera's family said that the department's decision to suspend the officers comes after pressure and media attention over the weekend.
Dozens of people protested Sunday afternoon outside the Allen Police Department, calling for justice.
"Those officers should have been taken off the streets the day after," Luis Pacchioni said Monday from the waiting room at Medical Center of McKinney, where his cousin is being treated. "Those officers needed to be off the force. They should face criminal charges."
Allen police officials are conducting separate investigations through internal affairs and the criminal investigation unit. In the meantime, the two officers, whom Allen police refused to identify because of the pending investigation, remain on administrative leave with pay, said Allen police spokesman Capt. Robert Flores.
Mr. Vera, 45, of Arlington went to an Allen neighborhood Thursday night to pick up a relative who was not home. He waited in his car.
The two officers arrived in the 1500 block of Mahogany Drive in response to a call about a suspicious person. They discovered that Mr. Vera had an outstanding warrant from Irving, Capt. Flores said.
Police said Mr. Vera, an immigrant from Peru, resisted arrest and struggled against officers. After an "extended period of time," Capt. Flores said the officers used pepper spray on Mr. Vera in accordance to the department's use-of-force policy. The spray had little effect, and the struggle continued, he said. And then Mr. Vera stopped breathing.
Officers performed CPR and got a heartbeat. Then Mr. Vera was transported to the hospital. Medical Center of McKinney hospital spokeswoman Sandy Fulce said Mr. Vera was in critical condition on Monday but would not elaborate.
"It's hard to understand," Mr. Pacchioni said. "How do you put someone in this condition for a minor violation? ... This is something that happened two years ago, a ticket he forgot to pay. Now he's lying there brain-dead."
Capt. Flores said he sympathizes with the family.
"We never want anyone in the hospital," Capt. Flores said. "I really feel sorry for the family. I know it's difficult for them. I feel bad for them."
But Carla Vera, Mr. Vera's sister, said she doesn't trust the Allen Police Department.
"We think they drenched him in pepper spray because up until Saturday, when we touched his skin, it felt hot. ... That speaks of a whole lot of pepper spray that was applied on him," said Ms. Vera, 44.
That combined with the fact that the hospital threw away Mr. Vera's clothes make Ms. Vera wonder whether there is evidence of excessive force.
"This is completely unfair. A perfectly innocent man, practically dead just because of a ticket," she said. "This was not necessary."

Al Día staff writer Anabel Marquez contributed to this report.
E-mail tellis@dallasnews.com
ALLEN POLICY
Police departments generally have a policy detailing the escalation of the use of force. The Allen Police Department use-of-force continuum follows:
1. Verbal command: Police identify themselves and order the subject to stop; sometimes this is followed by an order for the suspect to put his hands behind his back or head.
2. Controlled restraint: Using an empty hand, the officer grabs the subject's arm, shoulder or other body part in an effort to handcuff hands.
3. Chemical agents: An officer uses pepper spray, for example.
4. Striking techniques: An officer physically hits the subject, usually aiming for large muscles in arms and legs in an effort to get control.
5. Impact weapon: Striking a subject with a baton.
6. Deadly force: Discharging a firearm a last resort after all other efforts have failed.