My Dad was a cop.  He teaches cops.  He’s the first to admit that cops do shitty things which they should be punished for.  But none of you have ever tried to arrest anybody.  I myself have.  It ain’t easy and you can get killed doing it.  Killed. 
What most people don’t know is that the police, in general are merely a reflection of society as a whole.  We don’t take care of our poor or disenfranchised, we don’t try to really solve recidivism and crime.  We don’t really have a solution to gangs or violence or drug use.  We as a whole, willingly and knowlingly apply a militaristic solution to these problems.  The people that sign up to do the work are trained that way.  They’re trained to make arrests without getting killed and while not trying to kill any one else.  You know you have to be a certain type of personality with some serious issues to want to police people.  Because we apply a militaristic “solution” to social problems and expect them to hold the line, you get some people who relish the opportunity to do their jobs.  For all you arm chair critics, who weren’t there, who don’t know what was going on, to judge the situation with half the information is just as rigid as a brutal cop.

Charlotte… why were you maced in the first place?

In Response to Mark Goff:

When a jackass is kneeling on your throat, your instinct is to try to get the jackass off of you (try it sometime).  The guy’s hands are on the cop’s knee until the cop starts punching him in the face.  Then the guy has the audacity to try to cover his face.  Maybe they should just shoot him for that, huh mark?

It blows my mind that anyone would defend the LAPD in any way.  It has been proven over and over and over that they themselves are committing the crimes that they are arresting people for. Hypocrits.  Mr. Cardenas was not in any way fighting back, he was completely pinned down, I’m just surprised his spine didn’t break due to the way they had him on the curb. It doesn’t matter if he was a gang member, it doesn’t matter if he was trying to resist arrest, police officers don’t have the right to repeatedly abuse them.  Arrest them, take them to jail, let the judge deal with it. Think, look at all the times LAPD have been caught on tape abusing suspects then think about all the times it’s happened where there was no video tape. Scary!!!

Its a natural reaction to hold up your arms when you can’t breathe, it relieves pressure from the torso.  These cops could have easily turned him over, he was in a prone position. There is no reason to lay your leg on someone’s neck after they are subdued and repeatedly punch them in the face as they cry an inability to breathe. 

I am a victim of unwarranted police brutality in a similar situation.  I was also not able to breathe after being maced and so I was attempting to kneel and gather air.  For this I was repeatedly kicked in the back even though I was already cuffed and kneeling at the feet of the officer.  I’m 5’5 130 lbs and the officer was 6’4 250 lbs.  My numerous requests for medical attention were denied and I was held in a parking agrage for hours until the sargeant realized my elder brothr was the mayor.  The entire incident left me completely distrusting of the police.  After filing a complaint, I was issued a resisting arrest charge and the squad tape turned up “missing”.  All this because the registration ticket on my car was expired!  I’m happy to see someone placed this on the internet for all to see, I hope it happens more often.  As far the officers, I hope right after being stripped of their badge someone kneels on their necks and punches them in the face a handful of times.

I understand this is a 21 second cut from the video. The FBI will have access to the entire tape and I’m sure they’ll be able to determine if any laws were violated.

However I note in the tape that we have seen, the demeanor of the suspect doesn’t appear to be confrontational. The suspect is lying on his back with an Officer sitting astraddle him at the waist,with his hips and lower torso hanging down into a gutter about 12 inches deep. His actions appear to be completely defensive in nature. If someone is trying to hit you in the face your natural response is to put your arms and/or hands in front of your face. Few people have the courage to keep their hands ot their sides if they know they are about to be struck. One Officer says, “Let go, let go of my arm!” The suspect says, “I can’t breathe,please!” Further indicating a non-confrontational attitude. I understand the origional charge, which is stated as the reason for his arrest was later dropped.

I support my law enforcement officers, However there have been enough examples of excess force to require that we continue to be aware of that possibility, and investigate all potential. wrong-doing.

If you bothered to watch the video closely, you would have seen that the man didn’t start to resist UNTIL the cop began the beat him IN HIS FACE. If you were being pummeled in the face, you would instinctively brace and attempt to cover your face.

So, I call bullshit on your ‘resisting arrest’ assumption. You were just looking for justification, because after all, all gangsters must deserve the beatings they get, right? Just like all women who dress “provocatively” were asking for it?

Yeah, anybody can see he’s ramming his head into the pig’s fist. The poor, beleaguered officer! What a dangerous life he leads! Why, anything he does is justified! Why can’t people just let cops beat up and kill people at will? What’s the big deal? Life isn’t pretty, so why can’t cops just make it worse and worse for people? I mean, that’s life, right? Life for non-whites, anyway. (Sorry to be so flippant after viewing such a disgusting display of police brutality, but I know that a large percentage of white Americans will respond in almost exactly that fashion - well, maybe a little less sarcastically, but you know what I mean. Plus, the cops will probably only be temporarily suspended with pay or given early retirement in Florida with all the Latin American torturers the US welcomes.)

RE: #37891

You have lost your mind. Punches to comply? Uh huh.

You need a reality check if you think that police can do that to people. This isn’t Russia.

Their breaking the law and I am sorry anyone has to even argue this. Watch the video. Where are they trying to get him to comply to? With his hands behind his back, as you say?

With them on HIS NECK?

D*%n right we need the F. B. I. looking at this.

Any gang member is a rodent and our police officers have to deal with them accordingly.
Any gang member has no useful purpose in society except leaving their rat droppings in our communities.

He’s resisting arrest.  He’s not letting his arms go to be cuffed.  These are punches to get him to comply.  He’s not choking, if he can say I can’t breathe, he can breathe.  Any F.B.I. investigation is a total over reaction.