OFF THE WIRE
Cecily Duran shared this post via CopBlock.org’s submit page.
As Alex Landau -age nineteen- and his passenger, Addison Hunold -age
twenty one-, made their way down the street for some late-night burgers,
a police car pulled in behind Landau, flashed its lights, and called
for Landau to pull his car over. The officer made his way over to
Landau’s window, said he’d made an illegal left turn, and asked for his
license and registration. Landau explained to the officer that he had
left his wallet at home, but offered the officer his proof of insurance
and his Social Security number. As the officer went to check out the
information given to him, Landau and Hunold waited in the car, both of
them feeling nervous. The two had just come from a party where some
people were smoking weed, not to mention that Hunold also had a
container full of weed in his pocket. Both Hunold and Landau feared the
smell of marijuana was noticeable enough for the officer to detect.
When the officer returned, Landau’s suspicions were proven right as
the officer asked for the two to get out of the car to be searched for
weapons or drugs. Hunold guessed the officer would find the weed anyway,
so he handed over his container before even being patted down. The
officer then asked Landau if he could search his car, and Landau
approved. While the officer searched the front seats, a second cop car
pulled over, occupied by male officer Randy Murr, and female officer
Tiffany Middleton. When the first officer finished searching the inside
of Landau’s car, he took his keys and walked towards the trunk. Landau
cautiously stepped forward with his hands raised behind his head, and
asked the officer if he had a warrant to search the trunk.
According to a civil rights complaint filed in court, the two cops
who had just arrived went after Landau and grabbed him by both arms. The
complaint notes that Officer Murr looked at Landau and said, “You don’t
have your license,” then punched Landau in the face, causing both
Officer Murr, Landau, Officer Middleton and the original officer Ricky
Nixon, to lose their balance and tumble into the curb where the officers
then continued to punch Landau. During the fight, Hunold screamed for
them to stop, yet the brutal abuse continued.
It was when Landau faded in and out of consciousness that other cop
cars pulled onto the scene, some standing idle and watching, others
deciding to join in on the fight. During this long moment of torture for
Landau, he seems to remember one horrifying detail: during the brawl,
he recalls feeling the tip of a gun pressed to his temple. Shortly after
this shocking realization, Landau blacked out. When he began to regain
consciousness, he had already been dragged away from the crime scene
where he remembers hearing an officer say, “Where’s that warrant now,
you fucking nigger?” Landau remembers feeling someone behind him,
putting him in handcuffs while an officer said to him, “You don’t know
how close you were to getting your fucking head blown off.” Hunold was
no longer on the scene, and there were approximately 8 officers now
surrounding Landau, chatting and laughing as though the police abuse
they had just witnessed was simply a casual event.
Alex Landau, a 23-year old African American man, was just one victim
of thousands. From April of 2009 to June of 2010 alone, 5,986 cases of
police misconduct were recorded in the United States, 60% of which
consisted of excessive force through the use of firearms, 6.2% resulting
in false arrests. Today our prisons consists mostly of men, the
majority of which are African American or Latino. Several guesses as to
why this is can be related to the societal pressure young men of color
face, where being “tough” means never backing down to anyone, never
exploiting their partners to the cops or ever allowing anyone to
disrespect them. Other guesses are directed at the media and their
influences on young men, where Lil Wayne and Drake are encouraged for
their profanity, inappropriate behavior and catchy simple-minded lyrics
such as the song “Love Me.” It is these artists and others similar who
catch young people’s attention, influencing their style, personality and
behavior. Yet, while the statistics regarding the differences between
white and African and Latino prison percentages are quite close, the
attitude wafting from most police officers are determined by the
suspects’ race and their emitting appearances.
First and foremost, it should be noted that the job of a police
officer is not an easy one. Police officers have to face stressful and
frustrating situations that may be very often or very scarce, police
officers face heavy pressure to meet society’s expectations and are
entrusted to do the right thing and to put their lives on the line every
day. Yet even though these are difficult tasks, some wonder if these
requirements are crutches used for those facing court due to breaking
procedure. In the case of Alex Landau, racial discrimination couldn’t
have been more obvious. As for David Hudson, co-founder of DC Cop Block,
he himself has encountered first-hand experience of men of color being
targets for law enforcement. He says that, “As an African American
29-year-old male I can say yes, I am a victim of police brutality and
harassment a lot. I’ve been kicked, punched, pepper sprayed, and
choked.” As for any form of recurring violence, paranoia and mistrust
can seep into those in society who have faced racial discrimination from
their police officers. In situations such as protests and strikes,
police officers are known to weapon themselves with pepper spray, guns,
and tear gas. These weapons of choice damage the citizens through both
physical and chemical abuse, and result in citizens feeling threatened
by officers in our society. Hudson states, “Yes, I do feel threatened by
the presence of law enforcement, especially when I’m alone. The reason
why is because the law enforcement feel [that because] they have badges
[it] gives them extra rights. They are taught to shoot first and ask
questions later.” The problem with this ideology in our law enforcement
system is that it creates room for corruption, preventable deaths,
racial profiling – a term for a tactic where one is targeted by law
enforcement due to the color of their skin – and overwhelming conflicts
in low income communities where crime rates are much higher than those
in high income communities.
Some people may wonder why the issue of racial profiling has not been
addressed, and the answer lays with justifications for reasonable
actions by law enforcement. Officers either do not admit or do not know
that they are profiling. One officer of the San Leandro Police
Department who wishes to remain anonymous notes, “Do I stop people
because they’re black? No. Do I stop people because they’re Hispanic?
No. It had nothing to do with race, you committed a crime.” While this
is true for some police officers in the United States, this could also
be used as an excuse for their departments meeting their monthly quota, a
prescribed number of how many tickets need to be distributed or arrests
to be made. As for Alameda County supervisor Richard Valle, his
justification for people accusing police officers to be known for
excessive force was that putting a badge and a uniform on does not
ensure that a police officer will not lose his or her temper; “We’re
only human, police make mistakes too.”
Alex Landau and David Hudson are but two living victims of over
hundreds of victims related to police abuse. Yet there have been cases
of victims who were not so lucky, whose families had to mourn their
losses to the barrel of an officer’s gun or the fists of men with
badges. Kelly Thomas died July 10, 2011 by the hands of three Fullerton
police officers. Rodney King, in 1991, was severely beaten by LAPD
during a riot, and later pronounced dead from a drowning accident. Oscar
Grant, shot by ex-cop Johannes Mehserle, died on New Years of 2009.
Melvin Jones III, lived through yet experienced an unnecessary beating
by ex-cop Jeffrey M. Asher. Malice Green was beaten to death by an
ex-detroit cop. Anthony Baez, 29 years old, was choked to death by
Officer Livoti in 1994. Noel Polanco was unarmed and fatally shot by New
York police. David Hudson relives a short story of police abuse during
2010: “I was pulled over for speeding. The officer walked up to my truck
and opened my door. Then he began to choke me because I told him he was
wrong for opening my door.”
It is important to say that not all police officers have overstepped
their positions, thus explaining why some may feel that there are
misconceptions about law enforcement. One officer stated a
‘misconception’ that is used regularly against police officers, “[The]
most common is we’re all mean and use excessive force.” An anonymous
officer of Hayward Police Department says, “[A common misconception is]
that we cover or are willing to lie for each other.” This power to use
excessive force is one people fear. Where some may be afraid to stand up
for the belief that officers are corrupted, others prefer to take
action into their own hands. Hudson states, “I came across some folks
with sad stories and I just got tired of watching videos of police
brutality. My, and others’, rights were being violated, so after doing
some research on how to file a complaint form and “get justice the right
way,” two years later I found myself on Copblock.org. We all want
justice and police to [be] held accountable for [their] actions.” For
those like Hudson, police abuse was not something that could be
disregarded or pushed to the side. Alex Landau, too, couldn’t let the
abuse go, and filed suit against Officer Murr, Officer Middleton and
Officer Nixon. After fighting his case in court for years, Landau
received compensation for the brutal beatings he had received, is now
working in movements against police brutality and racial discrimination,
and is inspiring others in our country to believe that it is possible
to speak out against police injustice.
Cecily Duran
