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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Oh no, not the po po!

This is not typical behavior by police officers.

Which is precisely why it is news.

And of course, it is news because it is negative in nature.

But it should be news, because it is so outrageous that it demands our attention.

An article by Dan Fastenberg describes what happened one morning in Dekalb County, Georgia:

"According to CBS Atlanta, it all began late in the evening of Friday, June 26, when a group of eight officers from DeKalb County in Georgia reportedly appeared at Natania Griffin's house at 1:30 a.m., and threatened to break inside while banging on the door with the gusto of actual intruders.

"Griffin's 23-year-old son Donovan Hall whipped out his cellphone and videotaped the incident, later posting the 19 minutes of footage to YouTube. On the video, men can be heard making statements like, 'I am going to kill you,' 'I am going to tase your a**,' and, 'I wish I could cane both of y'all' when the family resisted the men. Griffin can be heard breaking into hysterics while shrieking, 'If I'm dead in the morning, you'll know why. Do not trust DeKalb County police.'

You can watch a short clip of the incident at the above link, and of course there is more on Youtube.

So why did eight officers come banging on the door of a peaceful house in a peaceful neighborhood in the middle of the night when people were sleeping?

According to the article, the police came to arrest Griffin for "not paying a $1,000 civil fine that was 15 days late."

Wow, heck of a use of resources there, no? And why not arrest him, if need be, when he goes to the store or something?

Unfortunately, the story will create the misconception that this is how police tend to behave (which they don't).

But fortunately, it will shed light on the fact that there are police who, in violation of the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, do take their job far too personally and take out their frustrations on innocent people like this family.




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