Lakewood Sued For Civil Rights Violation

[Marguerite Harkness]

How did we not hear about this in NOVEMBER, when it happened???

Too many cops think they get a free ride and are hell-bent on violating (mostly black) persons' personal rights, and beating them up for no reason. It's happening EVERYWHERE.

She and her brother were listening ON HEADPHONES. How loud could this have been??

I watched the videos. The girl stood up and talked to the cop. She did not threaten him, physically (or verbally so far as I could tell.) Her face was decent, not threatening.

Looked to me like "nonviolent civil disobedience." Emphasis on "nonviolent."

He should be fired and the whole LPD should be retrained.

[mjkuhns]

We apparently have official findings that this was inappropriate and, now, that it brought discredit to the department.

And that this officer should not, at least, be policing the public library.

I would say that these are welcome, by themselves.

Among further steps that might be merited, maybe training or hiring procedures need to be revised? It seems like there is more of an issue here than Jones, alone. Maybe training could involve how to respond, respectfully and helpfully, when someone is injured.

I can't say for certain, but I would like to think that better policies here could—besides bringing credit to the department and just being the right thing to do—maybe reduce the likelihood of the city landing in another potentially costly lawsuit.

[Jim O'Bryan]

We apparently have official findings that this was inappropriate and, now, that it brought discredit to the department.

Matt

I am curious how the failings of one, or two bring discredit to a department?

From what I see, once the problem was identified and brought to light, the Police Department did everything in their power to answer the investigation.

There is no way to sugarcoat this event, but let's not tear down the credibility of an the entire department.

.

[Bridget Conant]

For a city that prides itself on its supposed "diversity," the city missed an important opportunity here. Instead, they kept this incident quiet, much like the serial rapist incidents, hoping it would go away.

How about taking a proactive stance and letting the community know what happened, that it was clearly unacceptable to administration and the safety forces, and that the officer was placed on probation and underwent "retraining." Or even better, that the city was going to provide additional training for ALL officers to insure they understood protocol.

That would have gone a long way in reassuring all of the city's residents that they are welcome hereand will be treated with respect.

As it stands, it looks likes the warning against "Driving While Black" is now "Reading While Black" in Lakewood.

[Michael Deneen]

A few thoughts:

How did we not hear about this in NOVEMBER, when it happened???

This is my top question. The incident involved a minor, but there still should have been a report (perhaps with name redacted....I don't know the legal procedure)
THis incident demonstrates how well City Hall can keep its secrets.....this was a very public event with witnesses, and it was caught on video.
Yet we only find out seven months later.

And that this officer should not, at least, be policing the public library.

I disagree on this. Off duty police are widely used in security...everywhere from concert venues to bars.
Despite this and all the high-profile incidents of recent years, I have much more faith in a trained police officer than someone from a private security company.

I'm trying to be measured in my response to this. The police's internal investigation apparently found that officer Jones used "excessive force" and violated department policy. Okay.

Kudos to the authorities that found him guilty. As we've all learned over the past three or four years, police misconduct usually goes unpunished. So the glass is at least partially full.

Lakewood's racism has consistently bubbled under the surface for decades.
Many of our so-called leaders, notably Tom Bullock and Fitzy, have harnessed that bigotry to benefit their campaigns.
Attitudes like "Protecting our borders" and keeping out "those people" have impacted this City Hall on a wide range of issues....from the relatively small (pit bulls) to the colossal (hospital).
Will this be the incident that pulls the scab off our local bigotry?

On a side note, I notice that Jen Pae's "Fake community" page has a thread on this topic.
This is one time that she won't dare edit or alter reader comments......she knows that the Cleveland area media is watching closely.

[mjkuhns]

I am curious how the failings of one, or two bring discredit to a department?

Well, according to Lakewood's news release, Jones was charged with "bringing discredit to the Lakewood Police Department." It doesn't say exactly what the hearing concluded, on that issue. It seems to me like a reasonable charge, though. My interpretation of "bringing discredit to" is that it's something entirely different from "destroying the credibility of." If one or two people in an organization do good things, they presumably bring some credit to the organization; if they do things like this it seems to me like their actions bring some proportionate measure of discredit to the organization.

And that this officer should not, at least, be policing the public library.

I disagree on this. Off duty police are widely used in security...everywhere from concert venues to bars.
Despite this and all the high-profile incidents of recent years, I have much more faith in a trained police officer than someone from a private security company.

I have no problem with off-duty police providing security at the library. I was referring only to Officer Jones; in my view, he definitely should not be policing the library ever again. If you feel differently, then I suppose we will in fact have to disagree.

[Dan Alaimo]

From the internal investigation:

An internal investigation into the incident found that Jones used excessive force, and that he should have de-escalated the situation and called for back-up before touching the girl, and that he violated the department's use-of-force policy, according to the lawsuit. The report recommended internal charges.

It is shocking to watch. While there is much that I can't see in the video and a side of the story that I don't see represented, the internal investigation would have seen and heard it all, including the officer's story. I accept their judgement about a terrible situation.

[mjkuhns]

There are more details in this Scene story:

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-he ... -last-year

I presume that it's mostly more-extensive reporting of what's in the court filing, or the attorney's press release. So consider it just one point of view, if you like. It doesn't seem to change the major issues which are already established.

[bentleymike]

As it stands, it looks likes the warning against "Driving While Black" is now "Reading While Black" in Lakewood.

Umm...Officer Jones is also African-American.

[Bridget Conant]

Makes no difference what color Officer Jones was as he was acting in his official capacity.

I'll direct you to an article to read:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatl ... le/384028/

[Pam Wetula]

Wow!

There is no reason to break anyone's jaw unless the officer was being physically threatened, which this officer was not. Even then, breaking a jaw is not a typical injury in an interaction between police & civilian.

I have personally witnessed policemen (I saw this in Cleveland 2 times) call for back-up, call for more back up and use as many officers as necessary to remove a person without hurting that civilian. In both cases they were adults with mouthy retorts to the officers. The Cleveland Police I witnessed remained very calm, never smart-mouthed back. The calmly handled the person in a manner that was efficient, effective and had the desired results (removal from a premises).

No cracking jokes, no injuries. I remember being very impressed by the obvious training and skills reflected in their actions.

I am sure Lakewood Police receive the same type of training. It is truly unfortunate that the officer in this situation acted inappropriately and actually hurt a young adult.

It is odd that we are just hearing about this now but not surprising since the lawsuit is probably the reason why we are even finding out the incident at all.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Makes no difference what color Officer Jones was as he was acting in his official capacity.

I'll direct you to an article to read:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatl ... le/384028/

Bridget


I believe it matters a lot in the "Reading While Black" meme circulating the social kangaroo court, er media.

My point of view, there is a record of the incident, videos as well, all turned over to public.

Court will take it from there.

Meanwhile 100yards away, real civil rights are being destroyed by Mayor and Law Director, who turn over nothing.

I give the men in blue a standing ovation for being open.

.

[Bridget Conant]

It's all real, Jim.

[Bridget Conant]

This is a colossal failure for the city of Lakewood's "Safety Director."

Michael Summers

There was no leadership exhibited here, no tackling this issue head on.

Instead, it the usual "let's sit tight and hope it goes away."

Did anyone call this family? Reassure them that steps were taken to correct this type of situation?

Now we have yet another lawsuit that quite possibly could have been avoided.

Where was that supposed "award winning" law director of ours?

[mjkuhns]

Did anyone call this family? Reassure them that steps were taken to correct this type of situation?

Now we have yet another lawsuit that quite possibly could have been avoided.

If anyone did so, I congratulate them for doing that much. I think that—given indications of the police department making some effort to put their house in order internally—this may be the most important question for the rest of the city.

Maybe this lawsuit could not have been avoided. But every effort should have been made to apologize to the Robinsons and set things right.

It doesn't seem like Ms. Robinson was in a fanatical rush to sue immediately, after all.