White Cops Executing Minorities in Connecticut, Get Away with It
February 23, 2004
Should a White Police Officer get away with allegedly executing an African American?
...
Many African Americans and those concerned with Police Brutality and Civil Rights Abuses were alarmed over the case of Scott Smith, allegedly, chasing down an African American suspect, standing or kneeling on his back, shooting a round from his police sidearm shooting the suspect through the back.
To some obviously a brutal murder, to most police officers it seemed that it was too bad that Scott Smith may lose his job as a police officer.
Police should not police themselves. I know from experience, in Connecticut, police officers will refuse to even take complaints against another officer, refusing to even deny the accusations, nor to investigate them.
Try making a �false� complaint and see how fast police will react.
I have included an Associated Press piece and the same story told by a pro Police Officer site. The completely different accounts tells me that police should not be in charge of investigating and punishing other police officers for misconduct and illegal activities.
-Steven G. Erickson (Vikingas)
_________________
Jury convicts white officer in shooting of black suspect
Tuesday, March 14, 2000
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LITCHFIELD, Conn. -- A white police officer was convicted of manslaughter yesterday for shooting an unarmed black suspect in the back at point-blank range.
Scott Smith, 28, had been the first Connecticut police officer to be charged with murder for an action committed in the line of duty.
The jury acquitted the New Milford officer of murder but found him guilty of intentional manslaughter in the December 1998 shooting of Franklyn Reid. Smith could get up to 40 years in prison when sentenced May 5.
"A trillion, trillion, trillion thanks to the jury, for your courage to do the right thing," said Reid's mother, Pearlylyn Reid.
The officer said he shot Reid, 27, because he believed Reid was reaching for a weapon.
"When he made that classic move, I thought, 'Oh (expletive), I'm dead," Smith testified last week.
Reid was unarmed. A short folding knife was discovered in the pocket of a jacket found a few feet away from his body.
Smith shot Reid once in the back. Prosecution witnesses testified that they saw Reid sitting or lying down moments before the shooting; an expert testified for prosecutors that Smith's bootprint was on Reid's shirt.
Just before the shooting, Reid -- who was wanted for failure to appear in court -- had led Smith on a brief foot chase. Reid had also eluded another officer earlier in the day.
Smith shook his head when the verdict was read but made no other comment.
Despite the objections of Smith's lawyers, Judge Charles Gill allowed the jury to consider the less serious charges of intentional and negligent manslaughter, in addition to murder. The jury began deliberating Thursday afternoon.
Reid was wanted on charges of violating probation, telephone harassment and failure to appear in court. His criminal record included convictions on assault and sexual assault charges.
The charges against Smith initially brought protests from hundreds of police officers. His conviction follows the acquittals last month of four white New York City police officers in the shooting death of West African immigrant Amadou Diallo.
But the Reid case focused less on race than on the recent spate of suspects killed by Connecticut police officers.
Dwight and Pearlylyn Reid, who moved with their three sons from Jamaica to New Milford in 1986, had rejected an offer of assistance from the Rev. Al Sharpton, the New York activist involved in the Diallo case.
The opposing view found (here)
Is Rape not Rape if Committed by a Police Officer?
Do you have to be White and Male to be inside the Connecticut Police Hierarchy?
Posted by Vikingas at February 23, 2004 09:48 PM | TrackBackWell the police officer didn't get away with it. It sounds like justice was done.
Posted by: A.W. at February 23, 2004 10:00 PMA.W.,
please click 'on the opposing view'
I believe Scott Smith either got off on Appeal or is likely to.
What would happen if a civilian stood on another's back and shot the guy?
Police officers should not be able to steal, rape, and murder with little or no punishment.
Police officers decided in Connecticut that I could not propose legislation they didn't like and write letters to the editor critical of police in newspapers.
Police officers followed and harassed a woman I was dating, threatened me and told me to leave Connecticut, refused to offer me protection and service, and railroaded me to prison for being a crime victim on my own property.
I see that police can get away with WAY too much in Connecticut.
The CT Governor is in hot water as is the head of the Connecticut State Police, Arthur L. Spada. See a pattern?
I do, and I think Connecticut is a horrid place to live with the way it is now being run.
Posted by: Steven G. Erickson at February 23, 2004 10:10 PMMore discussion on Police abusing their powers and something even more scary, their use of the 'Matrix System' to snoop on whom they chose.
More on the story (here)
Posted by: Steven G. Erickson at February 24, 2004 07:04 AMI complained to Connecticut State Sen. Guglielmo and former Representative Mordasky about the lack of anything being done downtown about drugs and crime.
I specifically was upset about losing sleep, almost every night as teens were drinking in lawn chairs all night, fighting, making noise, wrecking my property, and sellind drugs all hours.
Stafford Police Officer Prochaska told me he, nor the courts, serve landlords when I tried to get him to take a felony property damage report as 2 tenants had left my property with the walls, doors, and windows smashed with a pile of urinated on trash with a crack pipe underneath (brought the crack pipe to Sen. Guglielmo to view).
I named the teens who were robbing those walking around with baseball bats robbing people in Stafford, Connecticut, and I don't think my allegations were even investigated until they almost beat a man to death with a bat.
I contacted Rockville Prosecutor Keith Courier and tried to have him pursue the case, he refused and I tried to have him fired.
Lana Thompson, and alleged prostitute moved into my apartment without my permission. I contacted Connecticut State Police and they refused to remove her and said what they usually said no matter whether I was assaulted, ripped off, threatened or what have you, "It is a civil matter."
I contacted Prosecutor Keith Courier about Lana. Lana then allegedly wore a short dress showing off her small waist and huge breasts. Courier then told me if I did not leave Thompson alone, he would go after me! I then tried to have Courier fired again. Lana is still allegedly wrecking apartments and bilking landlords out of thousands and thousands.
I then went to both Rep Mordasky and State Sen Gublielmo and proposed Civilian Oversight of Police as I wanted them to at least START doing their jobs in downtown Stafford Springs, CT.
After proposing that legislation to elected officials and complained about police and the judiciary in newspapers.
Rep Mordasky's aid told me to sell my property and leave Connecticut as she feared for me as she told me that police had told her they were going to retaliate for me proposing Civilian Oversight of Police and for my political activism.
I went to prison for testing Free Speech.
Posted by: Steven G. Erickson at February 24, 2004 07:22 AMBad Cop, no donut.
Posted by: at February 24, 2004 09:01 PM
posted by The Stark Raving Viking at 11/14/2006 05:16:00 PM
