Nile Rodgers: "This is 1 reason why people are protesting. Imagine if that were you" (warning video)

[Dennis Donovan]

Link to tweet

Nile Rodgers ✔@nilerodgers

This is one reason why people are protesting. Imagine if that were you. The police have the person subdued. People of color are typically treated unfairly in all areas of life.

Embedded video

7:38 AM - Jun 5, 2020

Why. We. Fight.

[dewsgirl]

1. K and R

[Arkansas Granny]

2. Poorly trained dog and poorly trained officer. Both need to be suspended.

Also, why do the other cops rush in to restrain the man's legs while he is bring attacked by the dog?

Fire the whole lot of them!

[RandiFan1290]

4. To cause more pain

They stretch the feet out with the top of the foot on the ground and put pressure to cause pain.

[FarPoint]

6. I agree...

The Shepherd is suppose to nip at the buttocks and Follow Commands!

[Arkansas Granny]

7. And release on command. The officer has no control over his dog. Worthless and dangerous.

[FarPoint]

9. Absolutely..

I myself have a Shepherd ..Carson...he follows commands!

[PatSeg]

13. That is the 2nd video I've seen in two days

of a police dog attacking a suspect and not letting go. It is horrifying to watch.

So many people think they are safe because they are white and middle class, but if it can happen to that young man, it can happen to anyone. I've seen videos of cops tazing a handicapped man in a wheelchair, beating on a man in a diabetic coma, throwing a pregnant woman to the ground, and tazing an elderly woman for talking too much. The odds of it happening to you are certainly increased if you are a person of color, but once we allow police to use violence and cruelty to control some people, eventually they expand their abuse to all people.

If any one of us is not safe from police brutality, then not of us are. One only need to look at authoritarian police states throughout history to know that is true.

[NJCher]

30. right before Ferguson

If any one of us is not safe from police brutality, then not of us are. One only need to look at authoritarian police states throughout history to know that is true.

Six years ago or so, right before Ferguson, I was leaving campus after teaching a class and a cop stopped me because I moved into the left lane because of a bus crowding me out from the right hand lane. It was momentary, and I'd intended to move back after I passed the bus.

This militaristic little gestapo type gave me a lecture and I cut him short. I was not especially nice, I will admit. When I shut him down, I got the distinct feeling he was considering smacking me. That is the moment I knew our police forces had turned. And yes, hell yes they will hit white people, even women, even the elderly.

I took the case to court and eventually won, but only after four separate occasions of sitting in night court. It was onerous, to say the least, but I learned something very interesting. In a city of 13% African Americans, about 96% of the court's cases each of those four nights were African Americans. Oh yeah, and get this: they pick on professors from the university, too. I saw numerous professors there who told me about their cases, none of which merited anything like court.

One night I couldn't get into the court and had to wait by the money window. What an experience that was: I saw person after person come up and shovel money into the court's coffers for late fees. And it was not without comment, either. Every person who gave them money knew full well that it was preying upon African Americans to pay the expenses of the city.

After court I talked to an African American man about it. I said when are we going to blow this crooked system sky high? And then Ferguson happened, like the very next day.

When they resume court after Covid, I may pay a visit to see if the racial disparities still exist and if they do, raise the issue with the appropriate political representatives. We have some good minority representation here who I think would be willing to help.

[PatSeg]

33. Good for you for pursuing your complaint

Sometimes it is intimidating to go after cops because they've been known to harass people who file complaints against them. They're often vindictive and tenacious when someone crosses them. Years ago, I had a boss who was told by the local police that they knew his vehicle and license plate number, because as a merchant he chose not to support the police fund. Really subtle.

What the police in Ferguson did to the Black community wasn't just violence and intimidation, it was extortion. They were bleeding the community dry financially. The stories were horrific and many of their victims couldn't afford legal representation. Even if they could, the police likely would retaliate. Racism for the Ferguson police department was apparently profitable.

Corruption within any police department becomes like a cancer. Any cop who fights it or reports it could face serious, even deadly consequences. This is when we need the federal government to step in, which is what the Obama administration was trying to do, but Trump stopped those programs. I lived many years in Chicago and I know first hand how nasty and pervasive police corruption can be. Mayors would come and go (well after Mayor Daley), but the tight knit brotherhood of cops lived on. And by the way, most Chicago police jobs were patronage positions, so the corruption was just passed down from one relative or friend to another.

[Rebl2]

16. Exactly!

No reason for that dog to be on him like that.

[StarfishSaver]

18. I'm tired of hearing about "poorly trained" officers

As if training were the problem. If this were about poor training, they'd also regularly be treating white people like this.

Training is NOT the problem. Derek Chauvin didn't kill George Floyd because he wasn't trained properly. These officers didn't sic a dog on a restrained black man because they were poorly trained. They did this DESPITE their training. They did it because that's how they choose to treat black people. They did it because they knew that their peers and superiors would let them get away with it.

This isn't a training problem at all. This is a white supremacy problem.

[druidity33]

34. Actually they were trained...

Minnesota police were trained specifically to use "non-lethal" choke holds like the one Chauvin used. IT WAS IN THEIR MANUAL. See Talking Points Memo for the story... i haven't seen it anywhere else.

[Nevilledog]

36. [phone]

[Mariana]

23. Not good enough. Imprison the whole lot of them.

This is nothing to do with their training, or lack thereof. They're using the dog to torture that man because they enjoy it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

29. They were following their training. Cop dogs are trained to bite and hold.

[Arkansas Granny]

31. They are also trained to release on command. Either the handler didn't give the command or

the dog didn't obey the command. Once the person is subdued, the dog attack should be ended.

[riversedge]

3. That dog would not let go and I can not tell if the cop was trying to get the

dog to let go. so horrible

[SamKnause]

5. Cops should not be allowed to use dogs or horses.

They are extremely abusive to both.

[ms liberty]

8. Wow, that makes me so angry

The man was not resisting and the cop was mishandling the dog. Why had he not commanded the dog to stop? What was he doing with the dog, would the dog not release? That man's arm could very easily be broken; when a dog shakes its head with prey in its mouth like that it's a kill move. If my memory is correct, an adult GSD's jaw can exert approximately 750 ppi pressure, imagine that on a human arm. I don't know if the cop or the dog is badly trained or both, or if the cop is just being cruel and vicious. The cop obviously should not have the responsiblity of a GSD, a breed that demands training and an owner experienced in handling dogs with that level of intelligence, size and physical power even in a family setting.
It is disgusting that this is happening.

[Duppers]

22. That is no damn way to get a dog to release!

This IS the COP'S FAULT.

This makes me furious!! Damn dumbassed cop should know how to handle a dog. He obviously does not know the dog.

[ms liberty]

25. I know I've never seen it before either

And I've had GSD's in my life for more than 50 years.

[Fla Dem]

10. Does anybody know where this was? Has it gotten any press/media coverage?

Is the Mayor or police commissioner looking into the situation? Just unacceptable and an abuse of power.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

27. The footage is from a few years back, in San Diego.

[Johnny2X2X]

11. Shoot the dog!

I am a dog lover, but that dog was doing terrible damage to a helpless man and couldn’t be stopped. Shoot it.

[ChiTownDenny]

15. FFS!

[ramen]

12. Video is down. Anyone know of a mirror? nt

[bringthePaine]

14. unconscionable thug bullshit!

[Old Crow]

17. Jesus. (N/T)

[Harker]

19. If the dog went for his neck

he could easily and quickly be dead.

[LiberalArkie]

20. The cop was just agitating the dog , and never issuing the release command.

[ChiTownDenny]

21. +1

[Duppers]

24. +100

[ms liberty]

26. That is what I suspect as well. n/t

[WhiskeyGrinder]

28. There is no release command. Once a police dog bites, it holds on until the cop

gets it to release its jaws through force. Takes awhile!

[Bayard]

32. Poorly trained cop, poorly trained dog

The cop is like a kid that's handed a loaded weapon, but is not trained to use it properly. He shoots it, then doesn't know what to do with the results.

These dogs are supposed to be taught to chase down a suspect, then hold until his handler catches up, and tells it to release. If he was trained by a qualified professional, I'd be surprised. Its not the dog's fault the situation got out of control. And the other cops are NOT helping.

Our big guys will still sometimes get into a spat (ever tried to pull two 150 pound dogs apart?) We've found the most effective tool is to keep a small air horn around. Breaks it right up. A cop dog handler should not have to resort to that with a well-trained dog. About the only other thing he could have done, especially with a dog that only weighs 60 pounds, is take it by the collar and lift straight up, feet off the ground. The dog will let go when it has to open it's mouth to gasp for air. Again, the dog gets the short end of the stick for poor training, but better than tearing this poor man's arm off.

[shanti]

35. That made me

sick to my stomach.