Cops vs. National Guard? (Philly Confidential)

Cops vs. National Guard?

This one is complicated.

Allegations of police brutality are always tricky, from a reporting standpoint. Often times, when Simone and I get phone calls about someone claiming they were abused by cops, they fail to mention that they are convicted felons who punched, kicked or threatened a police officer during an arrest.

That doesn't seem to be the case this time out -- though out of fairness, I stress the word seem. The full story will be in Thursday's Daily News, but here's a summary: Angel Rodriguez is a 19-year-old kid in the National Guard. He's slated to ship off to Afghanistan in November.

A pair of cops were in Kensington on Tuesday night and tried to arrest a 20-year-old guy who had an outstanding arrest warrant for drug charges. The perp tried to get away and ultimately started hitting the cops with one of their own battons. A significant struggle ensued, prompting most of the neighbors on tiny Lippincott Street to fill the streets.

An officer assist call went out, and the neighborhood quickly filled with cops, too. One of the neighbors kicked and spit on a cop who tried to arrest him for disorderly conduct. Chaos. Rodriguez thought he saw evidence of police brutality in the midst of it all and starting videotaping from his second-floor window.

Rodriguez claims five cops spotted him, barged into his house, took and broke his camera and beat the snuff out of him, leaving him with a sprained ankle. The allegations have prompted an intense internal affairs investigation.

Obviously, it's not clear how this will all shake out. I've been out at a number of scenes where cops are quickly out-numbered by neighbors who think every arrest is police brutality. It's crazy and chaotic, and anything can happen. But if Rodriguez is telling the truth -- and no one from the police department seems to be discounting his claims -- it sounds like some cops got caught up in the moment and crossed the infamous thin blue line. The whole situation is further complicated by the fact that Rodriguez is slated to risk his life defending his country in a few short months.

Thoughts?

Posted on April 4, 2007 10:40 PM | Permalink

Comments (1832)

Mary:

The police clearly crossed the line by barging into the man's house without any provocation or cause. It is not illegal to observe and record public events (in the middle of the street). The police trespassed, assaulted and destroyed personal property. Sadly, this kind of aggregious behavior by police is becoming more common across the nation. They're behaving as if citizens revoke their civil rights whenever the police come on the scene. And you wonder why there is animosity between the police department and the public they're supposed to serve?

Posted by Mary | April 5, 2007 3:57 PM

Posted on April 5, 2007 15:57

Eric Gruss:

Awwww....poor baby :o( I want to know why these people are never there to record when people are selling drugs, shooting, robbing, and raping people. The guy was probably friends with the suspect. That entire neighborhood needs to be carpet bombed.

Posted by Eric Gruss | April 6, 2007 3:05 PM

Posted on April 6, 2007 15:05

Anonymous:

fuck you faggot ^^

Posted by Anonymous | April 7, 2007 2:31 AM

Posted on April 7, 2007 02:31

Gtown_teach:

wow... nasty blog responses. More nasty than what I usually belt out.

I agree that the cop shouldn't have invaded the guy's house and beat him up, but on the other hand, it seems that most cops are under this intense social microscope. Scrutiny from the public, from their own, and from random cell phones. The pressure must be insane. Sometimes I really think that if you get in a situation like that, you're deserving of a beating. Stay out of the situation, go in your house, and stay quiet. When people gather like that, watching an incident, it can easily get out of hand and everyone in the mix can be harmed. We at schools know this, and suspend students who gather around a fight.

Posted by Gtown_teach | April 9, 2007 2:18 PM

Posted on April 9, 2007 14:18

david:

Stepping back from the topic at hand -- cops vs. the kid in the guard -- I totally agree with Gtown. There was citywide support for cops after Gary Skerski was murder last spring, but it was short-lived at best.

Are all cops saints? No. But there are bad eggs in every bunch, whether we're talking about a police department, a newspaper, a baseball team or a high school.

Personally, I think there are a ton of good cops out there who willingly risk their lives every day trying to get bad guys off the street, and they too often catch grief instead of gratitude.

As far as the kid in the guard is concerned, I'm pretty sure he's allowed to lean out his window and watch craziness unfold below. It doesn't sound like he was adding to the chaos, so I'm not sure that he deserved an alleged beat-down.

As Philadelphia turns...

Posted by david | April 9, 2007 8:27 PM

Posted on April 9, 2007 20:27

eddi:

Yea id like to see one of those fat pigs join the army.They dress like theyre going to invade a country.Then bust someone for a nick of weed.I have a feeling if he had his military buddies the cops would have got took.They only rough up suspects when theyre handcuffed.Theyre pussies.Beating handcuffed people makes them feel tough,I hope they get fired.The fat ticket writing pussies.

Posted by eddi | April 18, 2007 9:01 PM

Posted on April 18, 2007 21:01

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