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Junior high students pepper-sprayed for dawdling between classes
At least three young people were treated at a local hospital Thursday when a police officer working the hallways at Jack Robey Junior High School in Pine Bluff Arkansas pepper-sprayed a group of students returning from lunch.
School superintendent Jerry Payne told the Associated Press that the officer used the spray because, in AP’s paraphrase, “students weren’t getting to class quickly enough.”
One mother, a volunteer at the school, says her daughter’s face swelled up as a result of a severe allergic reaction to the spray, requiring her to be hospitalized for several hours.
The Pine Bluff Police Department has issued no statement on the incident, which took place four days ago. A local television station has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the officer’s Use of Force Report.
Sounds reasonable.
(Source: itsthemusicpeople, via amodernmanifesto)
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High ResolutionHappy Land Day, 2012!
Hate is a strong word but ….
(via vinegarwilliams)
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Lee County Deputies Tied Suspect to a Chair, Gagged Him, and Pepper-Sprayed Him to Death
by Mike Riggs | reason.com
From Fox 13 in Tampa comes the horrifying story of Nick Christie, a 62-year-old Ohio man who was detained by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for being publicly intoxicated. While Christie’s wife asked that he be taken to the hospital, Lee County cops decided instead to strip Christie naked, tie him to a chair, cover his face, and then pepper spray him repeatedly, until he died:
The District 21 Medical Examiner ruled his death was a homicide because he had been restrained and sprayed with pepper sprayed by law enforcement officers. But to this day, nobody has ever been charged with a crime, and the Lee County State Attorney cleared the sheriff’s office of any wrong doing.
It’s been more than two and a half years and his wife still can’t accept what happened.
“I was shocked. This was something out of a horror movie,” says Joyce Christie. She said her husband was depressed and was showing signs of erratic behavior a few days before leaving for Florida.
She called authorities and pleaded with them to take her husband to a hospital and be given his medications. Instead, he was taken to jail for disorderly intoxication.
Her lawsuit alleges he was pepper sprayed 10 times over a 48-hour period, at times while in a restraint chair.
Monshay Gibbs was a deputy trainee at the jail at the time. In a video deposition, she testified that she thought the way Nick Christie was treated was excessive.
“He had a spit mask on and was naked,” she said on the video while under oath. Gibbs testified that Christie pleaded with guards to take off the spit mask because he couldn’t breathe.
Link via Radley Balko
[SOURCE] - WARNING, pretty graphic photo at the source.
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(Video) Jon Stewart on pepper spray: “Pepper spray has become America’s new car horn.”
Stewart shows a clip of Lt. John Pike pepper-spraying sitting students and says, “I just want to remind you that the shapes that the officer appears to be casually rustproofing are human peoples. With eyes and lungs! That is not a termite nest.”
“We’ve suddenly become a people who use pepper spray to alleviate minor inconveniences. Pepper spray has become America’s new car horn.”
From Monday, 11/28/11
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High ResolutionPepper Spray (my cartoon for the day!)
When parodies of this first started showing up, I was outraged. I could not reconcile the image of some asshat abusing his power and assaulting innocent, unarmed protestors. I even blogged about it. I had to seek some perspective from a friend and fellow blogger. Fortunately he was able to help me see why I may have been over-reacting a little. I pretty much still cringe when I see one, but I’m a little less hostile. Once again as stated here several times, I’m far from perfect.
So then this one shows up on my dash and gave me pause. As usual I started rolling it around in my head. Easy to dismiss as another funny take on this save the question asked, “Who would Jesus pepper spray?”
The more I read of and learn about those in opposition to the protests, the more I’ve realized that many of them are good Christians. If you ever want to be wrapped in the love of God, you should really spend some time in the comment sections over at Fox News. I was a Christian for over 30 years and I always find myself wondering if I was serving the same Jesus as they are.
I know not all Christian are hate mongers. I know many Christians were outraged by this incident. However I also know that major Christian voices, those who invade our televisions and radios once again have failed to step up and speak out about this. From the people who spend countless hours letting us know how homosexuality is a sin, not a word. Why would they? Protesting is wrong. Bucking the system of our Christian nation is wrong because you should pray about it not fight. Your God shall supply all you needs and so on. Right? I challenge these people to go read their Bibles again. Focus on the words in red. Jesus was all about changing things. If you want me to treat you like a good Christian, start acting like one. ~ Kim
(via religiousragings)
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Governor Jerry Brown to Agency that Trains Cops: Hold the Pepper
Dear Mr. Cappitelli:
As I indicated to you in our conversation today, I am seriously concerned that the rules governing the use of force, in particular the use of pepper spray, are not well understood in the context of civil disobedience and various forms of public protest. The recent “occupation” protests in cities throughout California and on campuses of the University of California underscore the urgency of articulating guidelines that are crystal clear and comport with constitutional requirements.
In view of widespread public concern, I am requesting that POST carefully review it’s 2003 Crowd Management and Civil Disobedience Guidelines (pdf) and, without delay, make whatever changes are necessary to ensure compliance with First and Fourth Amendment protections against excessive force.
Sincerely,
Edmund G. Brown Jr.(via vinegarwilliams)
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High ResolutionPetition Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly to Eat Pepper Spray on TV
A reasonable request… essentially.
(via namelessgenxer)
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"It’s like a derivative of actual pepper. It’s a food product, essentially."
-Megyn Kelly on Birth Control:
“It’s to prevent passing on my terminal vapid stupidity, essentially!”
Megyn Kelly, Fox News correspondent, responding to Bill O’Reilly’s question: ”Pepper spray, that just burns your eyes, right?”
(via reallyfoxnews)
Reblogging this and adding the lovely comment written by user yourfriendandmine on the Gawker page.
Megyn Kelly on fire hoses: “It’s a sports beverage, essentially!”
Megyn Kelly on police dogs: “It’s a family pet, essentially!”
Megyn Kelly on tasers: “It’s static cling, essentially!”
Megyn Kelly on rubber bullets: “It’s a pencil eraser, essentially!”
Megyn Kelly on hand grenades: “It’s a Fourth of July firework, essentially! God bless America.”Also, this woman is disgusting. Saying that she doesn’t think the cops did anything legally wrong and that the pepper spraying was just the cop using “reasonable force” just kills me. And, by the way, an administrative leave is basically a paid vacation.
(via pancakesystem)
Reblog for commentary.
(via socialistexan)
I just can’t rid my head of the image of a bunch of conservative students being pepper-sprayed for protesting tax increase or abortion and the inevitable outrage that we’d hear from these douche bag hypocrites. It would be just the event they would need in order to rail against a “tryrannical fascist government”. Just inagine a Tea Bagger rally being broken up with rubber bullets! Conservatives LOVE the government when it’s oppressing liberal ideas. The irony, it burns!
(via namelessgenxer)
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CONTACT:
Lt. John Pike’s PD: 530-752-1727 / (530) 752-3989
Chancellor’s office (530) 752-2065
Email: japikeiii@ucdavis.edu
Divine Irony
is a rich archive of religious delusions, scientific truths and political implications run by a liberal atheist science enthusiast.
"Tell people there’s an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure."
-George Carlin
“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed”.
-Albert Einstein
