And it looks as though there will be a criminal prosecution, if the victim pushes the charges. Apparently he and his attorney are negotiating now with the county government, maybe looking at a monetary settlement as well. Either way, that deputy is a gonner.

The “fleeing and eluding” stemmed from a traffic incident last fall, the guy drives a handicapped van, according to the police they tried to pull him over for erratic driving and he didn’t stop as quickly as they thought he should have. (In their writeup they described him as “dancing” in his seat, not likely for a near-quad.) He was charged with driving under the influence, even though he passed a breathalyzer, and released. When the blood screen came back clean, he was recharged with felony “fleeing and eluding.” Who knows why and it does seem way over the top, but once charged he did need to be arrested and booked, that’s the law in Florida as well as most if not all states for that kind of felony.

None of which justifies the behavior of that deputy, or the failure of the others present to report it. Hopefully they will all be severely penalized and the one deputy driven permanently out of law enforcement.

An interesting aspect here is the role of videotaping, which came up in the Great Skateboard Bust incident as well as in a number of other discussions here. The same technology that is, not without foundation, the cause of concern over potential authoritarian oppression of the citizenry also turns out to have a valuable role in documenting - and thus hopefully preventing to some degree - authoritarian abuse of the citizenry.

Technology is neutral; it doesn’t have an agenda or feelings. What we do with it, how its regulated, how it is controlled and interpreted, all of those things are what we need to sort out and the ubiquitousness of video cameras is driving a fascinating emerging discussion on how to negotiate civil rights in conflict.

is underway. Doesn’t excuse or answer for the bad behavior; and if there were 3 other deputies/supervisors in the room, one bad apple getting a dishonorable discharge doesn’t fix the problem either IMNVHO.

“Jones, who has been with the sheriff’s department since 1986, has been suspended without pay, according to the report. Supervisors who were there at the time of the incident have been suspended with pay,” according to the original story link.

Apparently the deputy became “irked” when the man wasn’t able to stand up out of his wheelchair at her verbal order during the booking.

As I would do with the RATS who approve waterboarding, so would I do with this deputy — out of the chair, into the floor (you can simulate paraplegia and quadraplegia with several methods; the cheapest is probably zip-ties judiciously arranged, the most lasting probably a variant on the drug cocktail used in lethal injections), and lie there with several people watching, doing nothing to help, because one jerk wanted to prove a point and other jerks were too cowardly to stop her.

We can admit that we’re killers … but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes! Knowing that we’re not going to kill today! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0

In Utah, they are trying to pass a bill to make police misconduct reports secret and withhold them from the public.

A new bill proposed at the legislature would allow for police to withhold misconduct reports from the public. Supporters of the bill believe that police misconduct should be kept secret from the public so to not discredit police testimony.

This partially stems from the taser video that ended up on YouTube. I’m willing to be this means anytime there is video showing wrongdoing, the police can just start a “misconduct investigation” and all evidence and videos go poooof.

Sure we are NOT living in a fascist police state. These are not the droids you are looking for.

Supporters of the bill believe that police misconduct should be kept secret from the public so to not discredit police testimony.

because, the Credit and Good Name of the police must never ever be questioned or besmirched by those messy things like facts and proof.

you know what else it reminds me of? when we used to have rich, armed, politically powerful clergy running around unfettered.* and you couldn’t say anything bad about them, and any “investigation” into their misconduct was private and internal. they burned books, evidence, witches, and the disabled too.

but anyone who’s ever been out at night in a black or brown or gay neighborhood knows about this kind of behavior. it’s par for the course, i’m sorry to say. if you “bother” them, they are one blue brotherhood out to make your ass sorry to be alive. i wonder if this guy was part of an activist or liberal community in any way.

*and yes, i know we also have those today. thankfully fewer.

but bad none the less. This legislator is a jerk, and this being Utah it says something when he stands out from the crowd in his jerkiness. He’s well-known as a homophobe and a racist, he popped off the other day with some racist crack so vile he literally had to make a run for it from his legislative colleagues, abject apology issued later in the day by press release.

He has a small clique he runs with but he doesn’t have broad support - in Utah, mind you; he is that bad - and not even the law enforcement groups are backing this. Sad that it would even be brought up, but there doesn’t seem to be any danger that it will go forward.

All of the Utah state police and sheriff’s organizations are pushing for more dash-cam and videotaping of police-citizen interaction and broader disclosure; this guy is sailing against the wind.

The Sheriff’s Deputy seen dumping the paraplegic out of his wheelchair has been arrested. She is charged with abuse of a disabled person, a third-degree felony that carries five years.