DOLTON, Ill. (CBS2) A 15-year-old special education student was walking down a hallway at school when he says a police officer grabbed him and threw him to the ground. The teenager says he was beaten and nearly suffocated and much of it was caught on tape. The teen told his story to CBS 2 Chicago reporter Dave Savini. Security cameras captured the beating of Marshawn Pitts, who says the officer started shouting and swearing at him because his shirt wasn't tucked in. "I was tucking my shirt in," Pitts said. But it's what happened next that had Marshawn Pitts worried for his life. Pitts says the officer came at him suddenly. "It was just like boom," Pitts said. He says he was blindsided by the officer, thrown into lockers and struck repeatedly. In the video, you can see that he gets slammed to the ground and his face smashed into the floor. His nose was broken. Pitts says he was bleeding. "All this on the outside of my mouth was busted," he said. He calls this treatment violent and unnecessary, especially considering he was attending the Academy for Learning High School in Dolton for students like him with Special Education needs. When he was younger, he suffered a brain injury and now has a learning disability. The school for special needs was supposed to help him and understand his situation. "Yeah, but instead I got beaten on by police," Pitts said. The officer in question was a Dolton police officer, and the hold he used on Pitts can be a dangerous one. "The officer was in his face because he didn't have his shirt tucked in," said Pitts' attorney Ed Manzke. "That's the officer put in that school to protect these kids, and instead of doing that, this officer is literally assaulting this kid." Zena Naiditch of Equip for Equality, a legal advocacy group that fights for the rights of people with disabilities, looked at the video and said the type of physical restraint used by the officer has killed students. "It's called a facedown takedown, and kids and adults often die because they can't breathe," Naiditch said. A Government Accounting Office report released in May, just one day before the officer's use of the hold on Pitts, found facedown takedowns led to at least 20 deaths nationwide. Currently eight states prohibit the use of this hold. Illinois is not one of them. "So we don't actually know how common these incidents are, and that's outrageous," Naiditch said. Pitts says he was terrified and begged the officer to stop. "I couldn't breathe,'" Pitts said. "I was like, 'let me up.'" Naiditch says it shouldn't have happened. "He's getting a beating, and he's getting a beating on an issue that has nothing to do with danger, it has to do with dress code," Naiditch said. No one from the Academy of Learning in Dolton would talk to the Chicago station about the alleged abuse. Marshawn Pitts's attorney Ed Manzke says he has transferred to another school and is planning to file a lawsuit. The State Board of Education says no one from the school reported the use of forceful restraint to them. Source
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/attorney-video-shows-dolton-cop-beating-on-teen.html If you watch the videotape, it looked more like the officer and another worker (a heavyset woman to the right side) were both trying to communicate with the "victim" and he seemed to ignore them, continuing on his way. At one point immediately before the officer jumps him, the female staff member is seen attempting to grab him, tugging on his arm, and he forcefully pulls away. He seems to be willfully and purposely ignoring both the worker and the officer in their commands to stop him from walking forward. Was physical force justified? If a law enforcement official commands (with the authority granted him or her by the state) an individual to halt, and the individual blatantly ignored the command and attempts to flee, does the officer have the authority to detain with physical force? IMHO, yes. If anything, he should have been charged with disorderly conduct and failure to obey the commands of a law enforcement official. But, was the use of force in the manner that it was delivered, qualify as excessive? IMHO, yes to that too. The cop was clearly way over the top in the way that he shoved the kid into the lockers. The "victim" stated that he was "...tucking his shirt in." I do not see evidence of that on the video. He pulls his pants up but then continued to walk away. After being slammed into the lockers, the victim quite easily and immediately gets back up and assumes a defensive stance facing the officer. So the victim at this point, is clearly still not incapacitated, but physically confronting the officer. At that point the officer tackles him and several staff members join in to help him subdue the student. The "victim" stated that he was struck "repeatedly." I do not see evidence of that on the video. He was stuck once, and then all other physical contact was directed toward restraint, and not battery. Should the cop lose his job for excessive force? No, as he didn't strike repeated blows, nor did he use a baton or other blunt object. But he should be severely disciplined, ie 30 days no pay suspension, then placement on modified assignment with mandatory attendance in anger management. He should have tried simple restraining hand hold techniques first before allowing the encounter to progress or escalate to full body contact. The victim should be arrested for failure to follow the directives of a law enforcement official, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and whatever disciplinary actions the school code has. Should his lawsuit against the city prevail? Yes it should, but only for the excessive force. The officer rightfully stopped him but wrongfully applied too much force for the encounter. My final analysis? The kid was being a real dickhead, and the officer momentarily lost his cool. But what's going to happen is the officer will probably lose his job for good and the kid's family will probably win millions, not for his behavior, but for the officer's momentary lapse in judgment and professionalism.
I don't know the entire story but based on the situation especially if this is a special ed student, it was indeed excessive force used by the officer. It's not a matter of momentary lapse of judgment but this officer needs help for the way he reacted over such trivial matter. Firing is not a bad idea; students can feel safer if officers can attack them like that .. these are disable students who don't necessary have the ability to defense themselves.
