Really??? I'm very disappointed. You won't ask for it to be shut down? On what basis? This is not a political discussion. As a Canadian who has often travelled to Phoenix, I absolutely believe that this is as travel related as the posts on the Mexican forum about law enforcement issues there, as pointed out by bizaro86. If I am pulled over by a police officer, for whatever reason short of being suspected of armed robbery, I expect to be treated in a professional manner.
If you read the full background story, the little girl picked up a Barbie doll and apparently left the store with it. It was apparently called into the police by a third party, not the store. Even after the fact the store was not concerned. So yes there was a reason, albeit very minor, for the police to have pulled up to question the family. And yes, there are always two sides to every story. There are also several other videos on line that cover the incident from other vantage points.
What I do find disturbing is that you seem to take no issue with the absolutely foul language used by the officers and the violent manner in which they manhandled the father and the pregnant mother. That was my main point. They actually escalated, rather than de-escalated the situation. While officers must certainly be cautious for their safety, under the law in both our countries someone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
I normally have great respect for the police, having been raised as the son of an air force officer and who considered joining the RCMP. I also have many friends here who are members of the Toronto Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and the RCMP. I am very certain they would condemn the unprofessional manner in which these officers conducted themselves, particularly the abusive language. Absolutely no excuse for that at all, IMO.
"Avoid posting about politics, religion, or contentious social issues"
Anyway...
Understand that the standards for what constitutes brutality vary widely.
What is considered “Excess" lies in the eyes of the beholder. What may be defined as objectively reasonable in one city, state or country may not be in another.
If we consider two Supreme Court decisions, one being "Tennessee v. Garner" and the other being "Graham v. Connor" the court decided the framework for determining when and what force may be needed and what force may be considered reasonable. Granted, these cases addressed "deadly" force but, have been noted in other cases when non-deadly force was used.
Unlawful Flight from Pursuing Law Enforcement Vehicle can be classified as a felony offense in Arizona. Unaware or at least not noted in the report is if the officers had reason to believe that theft involved violence of any kind, either before or during. Not knowing if it did or didn't they must consider, for their own safety that it did, and if the individuals refused to stop for the officers, this can be considered a felony. The key to both the legal standards, defense of life and fleeing a violent felony, is that it doesn’t matter whether there is an actual threat when force is used. Instead, what matters is the officer’s “objectively reasonable” belief that there is a threat.
Is this the case with this? I have no idea because, I was not there before the filming or during the theft.
The courts have ruled that the job of a police officer is to protect people from violence, and if you’ve got a violent person who’s fleeing, you can shoot them to stop their flight. I'm glad for all involved however, the the officers didn't decide to shoot them and let the courts decide if it was justified.
Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line. If you don’t want to get shot, tased, struck with a nightstick or placed on the ground please, just do what the officer tells you to do. That is not place to argue with them or call them names and don’t complain that they can’t stop you or threaten that you’ll sue them. Everything can be handled in just a few minutes.
How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?
