Dayton police taser, beat, pepper spray the mentally challenged?

[alienpi]

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/06/29/37770.htm

DAYTON, Ohio (CN) - Dayton police "mistook" a mentally handicapped teenager's speech impediment for "disrespect," so they Tasered, pepper-sprayed and beat him and called for backup from "upward of 20 police officers" after the boy rode his bicycle home to ask his mother for help, the boy's mom says.

Pamela Ford says her "mentally challenged/handicapped" son Jesse Kersey, 17, was riding his bike near his Dayton home when Officer Willie Hooper stopped him and tried to talk to him.

The mom says that "Prior to the incident described below, defendant Hooper knew Jesse and was aware that Jesse was mentally challenged/handicapped and a minor child."

Nonetheless, Ford says, Hooper "apparently took Jesse's speech impediment for disrespect ... [and] began yelling at Jesse and after Jesse attempted to communicate with him[.] Jesse, being a minor and mentally challenged/handicapped, turned and rode his bike back to his home in an attempt to ask his mother, Ford, to help him communicate with defendant Cooper," according to the complaint in Montgomery County Court.

On the way, the mom says, "A neighbor attempted to communicate with Officer Hooper about Jesse's disabilities and was told to go back into his home, or he would be arrested."

As Ford opened her front door, she says, Hooper and co-defendant Officer John Howard, "fired their Tasers, striking Jesse in the back with both probes."

"Once inside the house, defendant Hooper and defendant Howard began to struggle with Jesse, who was standing against the back door with his hands up in front of his face, saying 'Please quit, please quit.'

"On numerous occasions, Ford and a family friend, Christopher Peyton, informed Officer Hooper that Jesse was mentally challenged/handicapped, and that Jesse did not understand what was happening," the complaint states.

But the mom says the cops continued their assault: "Officer Howard utilized his Cap-Stun pepper spray and sprayed Jesse ... [and] struck Jesse with a closed fist in the upper chest area.

"Officer Howard utilized his ASP and repeatedly struck Jesse in the upper left side of his left thigh.

"Back-up units were requested to Jesse's house, wherein upward of 20 police officers from different jurisdictions were present.

"At no point, even after being advised of Jesse's mental challenge/handicap by Jesse's family and numerous bystanders, did defendant Hooper, defendant Howard, or any other police officer present, attempt to communicate with Jesse or explain in terms he could understand as to why Jesse was being chased.

"Jesse was handcuffed and hogtied before being placed in the back of a police cruiser.

"Jesse was charged with assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest, and obstructing official business."

However, "Jesse was declared incompetent by the Montgomery County Juvenile Court and the charges against Jesse were dismissed."

Jesse and his mom seek damages from the city and the two lead officers, for false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, assault, battery, excessive use of force, infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.

They are represented by Richard Boucher.

[Carwhore]

i hope they take that police department and city for a lot.

FUCK THE POLICE. All these bastards have this high and might attitude and think they can do anything they want.

(I'm not saying every cop is bad, i know quite a few)

[saralynn518]

I hope they get damages and the officers are put on leave withOUT pay or terminated. That's ridiculous overkill. Assault on a peace officer? The kid wasn't even threatening to him....he tried talking and then he rode away.

[shittygsxr]

DAYTON — The city’s Civil Service Board and the U.S. Department of Justice have agreed on a lower passing score for the police recruit exam after it was rejected because not enough blacks passed the exam.

The city lowered both written exams a combined 15 points that resulted in 258 more people passing the exam, according to a statement released Thursday by Civil Service officials. The agreement allows the city to immediately resume its plans to hire police and firefighters.

The original passing scores determined by Civil Service required candidates to answer 57 of 86 (66 percent) questions correctly on one portion and 73 of 102 (72 percent) on the other. The lowered benchmark requires candidates to answer 50 of 86 (58 percent) questions correctly and 64 of 102 (63 percent) of questions on the other.

A total of 748 people passed the exam under the new benchmarks. It is unclear the demographics of those who passed.

The passing candidates will undergo preliminary background checks and, once that hurdle is cleared, will be subject to an oral interview. Those dates have not been determined.

The Justice Department’s rejection of the passing scores last month delayed the city’s firefighter’s exam that was slated for April 2. A makeup date has yet to be set for the exam.

The city said it wants to put new hires on the street in both police and fire departments by next year to replace dozens of retirees that have left public safety forces near all-time lows.

[saralynn518]

dayton — the city’s civil service board and the u.s. Department of justice have agreed on a lower passing score for the police recruit exam after it was rejected because not enough blacks passed the exam.

The city lowered both written exams a combined 15 points that resulted in 258 more people passing the exam, according to a statement released thursday by civil service officials. The agreement allows the city to immediately resume its plans to hire police and firefighters.

The original passing scores determined by civil service required candidates to answer 57 of 86 (66 percent) questions correctly on one portion and 73 of 102 (72 percent) on the other. The lowered benchmark requires candidates to answer 50 of 86 (58 percent) questions correctly and 64 of 102 (63 percent) of questions on the other.

A total of 748 people passed the exam under the new benchmarks. It is unclear the demographics of those who passed.

The passing candidates will undergo preliminary background checks and, once that hurdle is cleared, will be subject to an oral interview. Those dates have not been determined.

The justice department’s rejection of the passing scores last month delayed the city’s firefighter’s exam that was slated for april 2. A makeup date has yet to be set for the exam.

The city said it wants to put new hires on the street in both police and fire departments by next year to replace dozens of retirees that have left public safety forces near all-time lows.

ffs!

[attentiongetter92]

Wow. Just wow. Stay classy Dayton.

[Wicked1]

Served the kid right. THat will teach him to be retarded...

Jk... but on a serious note, I think he should apply to be a Dayton Police officer: he would fit right in!

[John]

respect is EARNED, not given.

inb4 cops come in and tell us all how awesome these guys are.

also inb4 "a few bad apples"...

why is accountability not a part of police culture?

Edited June 30, 2011 by John

[John]

I hope they get damages and the officers are put on leave withOUT pay or terminated. That's ridiculous overkill. Assault on a peace officer? The kid wasn't even threatening to him....he tried talking and then he rode away.

lol they wont. you cant trust the cops to investigate themselves.

cops get to break the law with no punishments and a paid vacation.

[Bad324]

why is accountability not a part of AMERICAN culture?

fixed

[redkow97]

i hope they take that police department and city for a lot.

The officers and the city would have to have a lot to take.

The city of Dayton is a shit-hole. Their police force is under-funded, under-staffed, and I can assure you it's no one's first choice out of the academy. They're getting a lot of bottom-of-the-barrel officers.

ASSUMING THIS STORY IS COMPLETE AND ACCURATE, then the family is entitled to pretty much everything they're asking for. The intentional infliction of emotional distress complaint will be the one that's hard to make stick, but the rest should be pretty open and shut.

WTF is wrong with people? I'd love to hear what the police union has to say about this.

[redkow97]

while I tend to agree that the affirmative action stuff posted is complete horse shit, are we sure that these officers are 1) new, and 2) minorities?

[shittygsxr]

while I tend to agree that the affirmative action stuff posted is complete horse shit, are we sure that these officers are 1) new, and 2) minorities?

I was just pointing out that a department with issues should not be further lowering their standards to fill empty spots

[Disclaimer]

You get what you pay for... someone post financials for the Dayton PD.

[John]

fixed

what im trying to say is that in the vast majority of careers, if you are a fuckup, you get weeded out and either quit or get fired.

people dont want to work with fuckups. in my job, we definitely dont want them. they can cause a whole heap of problems. i dont want to be working next to someone who sucks at what they are doing.

however it seems that with police, when someone fucks up, all the other cops are right there supporting them.

why is this? why do they support the fucksups? why do departments want to keep these people on the force? are there not enough people waiting to replace them? is it because of the union? just cop culture? whats the deal?

[Bad324]

what im trying to say is that in the vast majority of careers, if you are a fuckup, you get weeded out and either quit or get fired.

people dont want to work with fuckups. in my job, we definitely dont want them. they can cause a whole heap of problems. i dont want to be working next to someone who sucks at what they are doing.

however it seems that with police, when someone fucks up, all the other cops are right there supporting them.

why is this? why do they support the fucksups? why do departments want to keep these people on the force? are there not enough people waiting to replace them? is it because of the union? just cop culture? whats the deal?

oh no i agree with you but wanted to span it out further and make a large generalization. The only job I know you can suck at more and not get fired is being a weatherman

[John]

to wit:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/phoenix-family-lawsuit-cops-shot-homeowner-intruder/story?id=8756441

cop comes into the house, accidentally shoots the homeowner, is recorded (phone was still connected to 911) talking about how to cover it up. then takes the guy he just shot outside, puts him on the hood of his cruiser and drives him down the street.

and the department said he didnt do anything wrong...

[redkow97]

I was just pointing out that a department with issues should not be further lowering their standards to fill empty spots

well, it's either lower standards or increase pay; and the latter isn't an option for Dayton.

I lived in Dayton from 2001-2005, and voted there for the 2008 Presidential election. The city was running a HUGE campaign to find financial support for their fire staff.

the statistics they had were ridiculous. They had to request help from neighboring fire departments something like 150 times in a single year. By contrast, the neighboring suburbs requested help from the Dayton Fire Department a total of 12 times. My numbers are surely off, but it was at least that skewed.

[idodishez]

cops get to break the law with no punishments and a paid vacation.

As does our president and the government

[lammiepie615]

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/06/29/37770.htm

DAYTON, Ohio (CN) - Dayton police "mistook" a mentally handicapped teenager's speech impediment for "disrespect," so they Tasered, pepper-sprayed and beat him and called for backup from "upward of 20 police officers" after the boy rode his bicycle home to ask his mother for help, the boy's mom says.

Pamela Ford says her "mentally challenged/handicapped" son Jesse Kersey, 17, was riding his bike near his Dayton home when Officer Willie Hooper stopped him and tried to talk to him.

The mom says that "Prior to the incident described below, defendant Hooper knew Jesse and was aware that Jesse was mentally challenged/handicapped and a minor child."

Nonetheless, Ford says, Hooper "apparently took Jesse's speech impediment for disrespect ... [and] began yelling at Jesse and after Jesse attempted to communicate with him[.] Jesse, being a minor and mentally challenged/handicapped, turned and rode his bike back to his home in an attempt to ask his mother, Ford, to help him communicate with defendant Cooper," according to the complaint in Montgomery County Court.

On the way, the mom says, "A neighbor attempted to communicate with Officer Hooper about Jesse's disabilities and was told to go back into his home, or he would be arrested."

As Ford opened her front door, she says, Hooper and co-defendant Officer John Howard, "fired their Tasers, striking Jesse in the back with both probes."

"Once inside the house, defendant Hooper and defendant Howard began to struggle with Jesse, who was standing against the back door with his hands up in front of his face, saying 'Please quit, please quit.'

"On numerous occasions, Ford and a family friend, Christopher Peyton, informed Officer Hooper that Jesse was mentally challenged/handicapped, and that Jesse did not understand what was happening," the complaint states.

But the mom says the cops continued their assault: "Officer Howard utilized his Cap-Stun pepper spray and sprayed Jesse ... [and] struck Jesse with a closed fist in the upper chest area.

"Officer Howard utilized his ASP and repeatedly struck Jesse in the upper left side of his left thigh.

"Back-up units were requested to Jesse's house, wherein upward of 20 police officers from different jurisdictions were present.

"At no point, even after being advised of Jesse's mental challenge/handicap by Jesse's family and numerous bystanders, did defendant Hooper, defendant Howard, or any other police officer present, attempt to communicate with Jesse or explain in terms he could understand as to why Jesse was being chased.

"Jesse was handcuffed and hogtied before being placed in the back of a police cruiser.

"Jesse was charged with assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest, and obstructing official business."

However, "Jesse was declared incompetent by the Montgomery County Juvenile Court and the charges against Jesse were dismissed."

Jesse and his mom seek damages from the city and the two lead officers, for false imprisonment, false arrest, malicious prosecution, assault, battery, excessive use of force, infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.

They are represented by Richard Boucher.

Police officers that blatantly abuse their discretion/authority make the jobs of other decent officers that much more difficult.

[20thGix]

The city of Dayton is a shit-hole.

Let me just say the city of Dayton in a shit-hole. Now thats worth repeating.

Alltogether now.......

[John]

well yea, if you are part of the ruling class the justice system works great for you. a slap on the wrist, a few yrs of non reporting probation, house arrest at your luxury condo in miami...

Edited June 30, 2011 by John
re: idodishez

[Disclaimer]

[chrisknight]

Those officers need to suffer the same and then some... They are not good police officers and need to be let go. Any "officer" of this caliber should be banned from working in law enforcement.

respect is EARNED, not given.

Agreed.

to wit:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/phoenix-family-lawsuit-cops-shot-homeowner-intruder/story?id=8756441

cop comes into the house, accidentally shoots the homeowner, is recorded (phone was still connected to 911) talking about how to cover it up. then takes the guy he just shot outside, puts him on the hood of his cruiser and drives him down the street.

and the department said he didnt do anything wrong...

Holy sh1t!

Edited June 30, 2011 by chrisknight

[ridinfast]

that same cop hooper beat my ass 7 years ago for nothing at all