Denver Deputies Cleared from death of Inmate Booker - CLOSED

[Colorado Luckydog]

He was startled when the deputy tried to grab him. He pulled back and this was a reason for the cops to say he resisted. Then, they murdered him. If that was my father, they wouldn't need to worry about a law suit. They would need to hire some more cops because they would have some missing. They choked the poor old skinny dude down and flat out murdered him. They are without a doubt above the law.

[hurley842002]

He was startled when the deputy tried to grab him. He pulled back and this was a reason for the cops to say he resisted. Then, they murdered him. If that was my father, they wouldn't need to worry about a law suit. They would need to hire some more cops because they would have some missing. They choked the poor old skinny dude down and flat out murdered him. They are without a doubt above the law.

Are you freaking serious?? Either you've had one too many cocktails, are partially blind, or just flat out crazy.

"If that was my father, they wouldn't need to worry about a law suit. They would need to hire some more cops because they would have some missing."

Enough reason for me to never sell you a firearm.

[Colorado Luckydog]

They flat murdered the dude. They choked the him to death because he flinched when she tried to grab him. They are above the law.

[sic_semper_tyrannis]

Let me just add that I have no vested interest in this argument either way. I simply have a long-simmering hatred of the media and enjoy fronting them off any chance I get. At least I will be up front and admit that I am biased against the media, as opposed to many other people who refuse to acknowledge their biases. For instance, there are many people on this site who are severely biased against law enforcement, and will exploit any opportunity they can to demonize police.

My bias is a result of years of direct first-hand experience, and I have become sickened with what journalism has become in this country. Objective, substantive, ethical, moral reporting is simply not how the media works today, and there are a variety of reasons for it. I have had the (dis)pleasure of watching first-hand as the local news channels report something, without hesitation, that they KNOW to be wrong. It is all about creating controversy and upping their ratings, nothing more. Growing up I always wanted to be a journalist, but now there is no way I would disgrace myself in that occupation, due to what the industry has become. I have also traveled extensively and am an admitted news junkie, so I have my own opinions about regional media reputations. I can tell you that when it comes to local news, in my experience, Denver has some of the absolute worst reporting in the nation. I mean, just downright deplorable. As a general rule, reporting gets less professional and increasingly biased and subjective as the size of the organization decreases (national media orgs are generally the most reliable and professional, while local outlets and alternative sources are generally the least).

The point being: Do the police screw up? Yup, for sure they do. Are there cops on the job that shouldn't be? Plenty, no doubt. Should corrupt LEOs be singled out and handled appropriately? Absolutely. BUT, I'll be damned if I'm going to be ignorant enough to let the media tell me what is and isn't police misconduct. EVERYTHING is police misconduct in the eyes of the media, so long as it sells ad space and brings in ratings. The media will vilify and demonize any poor bastard wearing a badge without hesitation, and conduct a "trial by media" of the officers actions regardless of whether they were right or wrong, and regardless of whether the media even knows the details of the incident to begin with.

[sic_semper_tyrannis]

They flat murdered the dude. They choked the him to death because he flinched when she tried to grab him. They are above the law.

You'd make a great field reporter for any of the nightlies. Maybe you could be Brian Maas's intern or something. Actually, I would LOVE to work with Valerie Castro... she is just downright gorgeous! Whoops, sorry, my mind went off-track for a second there. You obviously know the truth about what happened there, those murderous thugs decided to just up and kill the guy. That is exactly what happened. The deputies were bored and decided to murder an inmate. They also were excited about having their lives and careers held in limbo for almost a year, their names and faces plastered all over the news (did you catch the one channel that actually showed the one female deputy's Facebook page? Because that was somehow relevant?), receiving death threats, having to live with second-guessing and hate for the rest of their lives... yup, that's exactly what happened. Thank God there are people as rational and reasonable as you to put it all in perspective.

[Colorado Luckydog]

If he "attacked" you or me, the way he "attacked" them and we killed him, we would be prosecuted for murder. That's a fact and everyone knows it. They are above the law and there is not much we can do about it.

[sneakerd]

Colo Luckydog- you damage your argument and your own rep (whether you care or not) when you imply that you would go out and kill a few police officers if this happened to your dad. The dude fought the law and the law won. I don't care who you think you are or how fked up you are, when a cop puts his hands on you you do what you're told and go in the direction he wants you to go.

The chokehold they use is standard. They thought he was just out cold. Heart disease and cocaine killed him, with an assist by a legit control technique.

[Colorado Luckydog]

When your dealing with an old drunk coke head, maybe you shouldn't use a "standard choke hold". Maybe you should use your head. If they would have shown one sliver of compassion, the old dude would still be alive. They are above the law. I'm done.

[sic_semper_tyrannis]

If he "attacked" you or me, the way he "attacked" them and we killed him, we would be prosecuted for murder. That's a fact and everyone knows it. They are above the law and there is not much we can do about it.

That is NOT a fact, and everyone does NOT know it. And the context of the incident has no application to anything you or me or any other Joe Blow citizen would encounter. The deceased guy was a prisoner in a detention facility, and was subject to lawful orders given by the jail staff. The deputies are sworn jail personnel tasked with maintaining order in the jail and controlling inmates' movements. The deputies told the inmate he needed to go somewhere, and the inmate decided he wasn't going. The deputies then attempt to enforce the movement, and the guy decides to fight. His decades of cocaine and alcohol abuse have done quite a number on his body, and unfortunately his brain started a fight that his body would ultimately lose. Unfortunately, this occasionally happens to old worn-out drug addicts, as their bodies tend to have lower trauma thresholds.

Since you or me or Joe Blow would never be in a situation where we walked up to a person on the street and said "I order you to come here", and then fight with the person when he resists, the analogy doesn't make sense. It's apples to oranges. A deputy enforcing the law inside prison does not compare to you or me on the street, nor SHOULD IT compare.

[Colorado Luckydog]

The koolaid has become some good over the years, most don't even know it when it's shoved down their throats. I would be willing to bet that 50% of the inmates in this facility should not even be there but they are. You can bet that there is some hotshot DA that is boasting about his or her conviction precentage. BUT EVEN, if you are there, you would deserve better than that old drunk dude got. I can't believe that many LEO's jumped on top of a dude that my 12 year old could have handled. Then they proceeded to choke him for several minutes. Then they act like they did nothing wrong when he died. It's a bunch of bullshit and the Federal, State and local government needs an enema.