Bakersfield cops and CHP beat man to death while he begs for his life | Hacker News Reader

Bakersfield cops and CHP beat man to death while he begs for his life

bakersfieldcalifornian.com

35 pointsDiabloD317 comments

Was anyone on HN under the misapprehension that there was no police brutality in the US, or even that the police don't routinely murder people? There are 790,000 police officers in the US, and we're only just now barely starting to transition to a society that values oversight and controls over policing.

I think the answer to both questions is "no". Nobody is surprised by this.

And so I say there is very little value to this post, other than to generate a caustic political thread.

I'd also argue, as I have done incessantly on HN, that if every important social justice story that happened around the world, or even just in the US, or even just in California! had a hearing on HN, the front page would be nothing but social justice stories. There are other venues on the Internet that offer that kind of forum. HN isn't one of them.

I flagged this story, and I think you should too.

I think there's an element here that has a lot of relevance to HN, although it's not called out in the headline: The seizure of phones. I think we all understand that the evidence on those phones will never see the light of day, and that nobody will ever be prosecuted for its destruction. But it would be easy to prevent that outcome -- just ensure that the evidence is transmitted to the cloud before it can be destroyed. There are already apps that do this, but the ones I've seen aren't designed for a life-or-death situation, and can't be counted on to do it reliably. Do we have any that can?

Don't ever talk to or cooperate with the police except as a last resort. Police are more dangerous than organized criminals because they are immune to the law, and they know it. Never open your door for a police officer. If you must interact with the police, have a lawyer present at all times. It is literally a matter of life and death.

Cops break and enter and commit murder, with no criminal charges brought: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Kenneth_Chamberlain,....

Cop kills in cold blood, receives a 6 months jail sentence: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BART_Police_shooting_of_Oscar_G...

Minneapolis Gang Strike Force confiscates property for officers' personal use from minorities. No charges were brought against the officers: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/08/report_rampant.ph...

Good advice, but do try to know when to be in full defense mode and when not to be. If you're pulled over, reciting your rights and repeating "am I free to go" when asked "Do you know why I pulled you over?" is likely to result in a huge waste of time for everyone involved.

Choose your battles, folks.

No disagreement here. Sometimes you're forced into dangerous situations and must make the best of it. Some excellent advice from the previous director of the ACLU:

BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA

Do choose them carefully, though. A routine traffic stop is one thing (but only if it's 100% routine, i.e. you know what you did, and you've got nothing interesting in the car, and the cop doesn't ask to search, or ask you to get out.)

Beyond that ... best to play it safe.

In eloquent praise of the fifth amendment as I could not possibly formulate it better [1]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc

This is a serious, ongoing problem. Police assaulting people for photographing them is a DAILY occurrence. The Website "Photography is not a crime" documents this. http://photographyisnotacrime.com/

Specifically, they have some more details regarding this incident (not at the top since it's several days old): http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2013/05/10/california-depu...

It's also worth noting that following the incident, the police invaded the homes of the witnesses who recorded the brutality, and proceeded to harass them, without a search warrant, refusing to leave or allow any of the occupants to leave unless they surrendered the video[1].

[1]: http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x1891153965/Depu...

Beating people death and then intimidating witnesses into handing over evidence sounds like a police state to me.

So, organized crime (i.e. 'the mob') is evidence of a police state?

If the US were really a police state this either wouldn't be news (it happens all the time), or it wouldn't be allowed to be on the news.

I think there are many little police "fiefdoms" in the US. Bakersfield itself sounds like one.

I'll really love the day when everybody's photo and video services automatically upload to the cloud, so that this kind of evidence can't disappear by force of currupt cops. G+ auto-uploads all my pics and video, I think some other services do this as well. This is mostly a personal feature, but if my phone is ever seized during something like this, the evidence will still be in my control and not theirs.

It seems like one of the common things going on right now is the confiscation of the cellphones.

Are there any apps that take video and then immediately upload it to youtube or (better) a password protected site for later retrieval?

CATO institute maintains a website with police misconduct news from across the USA: http://www.policemisconduct.net

This story is disturbing on a number of levels. I'd be very interested in understanding what the law says about the general subject of making recordings of police activity in general.

Could a lawyer on HN explain the the current legal framework surrounding making video recordings of police activity? What are our rights? Can they confiscate equipment? Can they threaten and bully witnesses as reported in this article? Can they go as far as entering your home and, effectively, imprison you?

If one were to make such a recording, what are the five words you can say to a police officer that --assuming he is not a criminal with a badge-- would cause him to back off, leave you alone and not attempt to confiscate your property?

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