[Mpls] MINNEAPOLIS: Officers facing brutality inquiry

[Alan Shilepsky]

There sure seems a lot of rush to judgement on this. I would prefer to see the results of the investigation before jumping to conclusions and taking sides.
In fact, it is regrettable that there are "sides." It could just be flawed observations, misunderstandings, or sloppy police work that doesn't rise anywhere near a "brutality" standard.

Here is what the Pioneer Press said:

"The [2] witnesses [looking out of their residence window] saw the officers 'manhandle' the [intoxicated] man, then leave him on the ground and speed away, Bellecourt said. The witnesses went out to check on the man, identified by Bellecourt as Ronald Lee Johnson, 32, and it appeared someone had urinated on him, he said. Johnson declined to comment."

What and how much did the observers see, and how well could they see through their (frosted?) windows? How well lit was the parking area? What does "manhandle" mean, esp. when you are dealing with an intoxicated person. I don't know, maybe they were holding him upright. The interpretation might be different from a person suspicious of policepersons generally, than from me, or from a cop.

Regarding the urination on the person. Did someone see a cop do it? Is it really likely? Could the person have urinated on himself, or could a drinking companion have done it back where the police picked the person up? These are possible, maybe even more likely, explanations.

And was it "subfreezing" or 0 temperatures. I walk outside without a coat sometimes when it is 25 degrees. I'm assuming the person was wearing winter clothes. And I leave lots of people outside their doors--esp. if they don't seem to want any further assistance from me.

No, I wouldn't be so fast to bash without benefit of more information, and an impartial investigation.

Alan Shilepsky
Downtown





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