Six Officers Caught on Video Beating Restrained Man
In regard to the video of a group of police violently assaulting a young man, prominent attorney Jomo Thomas made public statements condemning police violence and systemic corruption while participating in a recent episode of the OMG radio show’s “Plain Talk” segment.
Jomo reacted to the now-viral video (which includes six police officers severely physically abusing a young man) by calling the assault “an absolutely brazen display of callousness.” Thomas explained that this behavior is indicative of a lack of training, and not simply that.
As Thomas described himself being “totally shocked,” when viewing the video (one minute and twenty-seven seconds), the young man was subjected to extreme physical violence while handcuffed and restrained; he was kicked in the stomach by multiple police officers, struck numerous times with a baton, and thrown across the street by aggressive police.
Additionally, Thomas noted that one officer actually pulled out his weapon on the handcuffed and restrained victim.
According to reports, the victim resides in Lodge Village and suffers from mental illness; however, prior to the attack, the victim had been taken to a clinic for evaluation. Regardless of whether the victim’s history and past infractions justify anything, Thomas emphasized that nothing can justify how the police treated that individual. “Even if he had committed murder, nothing would have justified what those police officers did to that man,” Thomas emphasized.
Regarding another common defense offered for why some police commit crimes—i.e., that they represent the minority of “bad apples”—Thomas methodically deconstructed this explanation. As Thomas pointed out, each police officer present during the assault was equally responsible. There were six officers on duty when the assault occurred. Did none of those officers say, “Men, I don’t think we should do this. That isn’t right.” No one did. Therefore, according to Thomas, there are six bad apples in total.
With regard to the police high command, Thomas heavily criticized their response to the incident. He characterized their official response (a news release) as a “meagerly worded statement” that constituted little more than an exercise in Public Relations.
Thomas indicated that police officials issuing promises of conducting a “thorough investigation” is merely a delaying tactic designed to conceal such incidents from the public eye. The video itself provides sufficient proof of wrongdoing and therefore does not require an extended period of time for an internal review to complete.
Instead of a protracted review process, Thomas insisted that the offending officers be removed immediately from service, lose their pay pending resolution of any subsequent criminal proceedings, and face criminal charges.
Thomas stated publicly that based on the video alone he believes the officers involved should face serious consequences including at least criminal charges for wounding with intent. “Those officers intended to hurt that man and they should face a jury and go to prison,” Thomas declared. Additionally, Thomas publicly encouraged the family of the victim to file civil suit against the State.
Thomas utilized the opportunity to emphasize that this particular instance represents neither an isolated incident nor is it representative of random events. Rather, it exemplifies the broader societal problem of entrenched police immunity. In addition to discussing this specific incident, Thomas provided examples of several other disturbing incidents involving alleged misconduct by police.
For example, just recently Thomas defended a client whose head was broken by police; apparently, officers forcibly entered the man’s home to retrieve him so he could appear before a judge without wearing clothes stained with blood. During testimony in court Thomas displayed images of his clients’ obvious injuries; however, both the judge and prosecutor dismissed the injuries as simply an “allegation.”
Thomas recounted the story of a man named Okino who was shot in the foot by an officer. Although the State was ordered to pay well over $100,000 as compensation for damages suffered by Okino, the officer remained employed by the Department and received praise as a leader after completing FBI training.
He mentioned CJ Weekes’ death and an incident involving a fifteen-year-old boy from St. Lucia who was assaulted by an officer; however, instead of facing disciplinary action for his role in the assault, he was promoted.
Thomas additionally attacked oversight institutions; specifically, he referred to the Police Civilian Complaint Board as a “farce” that consistently ignored allegations of abuse.”