Moore: Shocking Police Beating Video Warrants Answers

Moore: Shocking Police Beating Video Warrants Answers

The now infamous Homer Street video, first reported on by GoLocalProv.com, in which a Providence Police Officer manhandles a disorderly, out-of-control woman and then commenced to strike her in the head multiple times with what appears to be a closed fist, was shocking and unsettling.
 
Make no mistake: I’m sure the woman did something wrong. The police report of the incident, which states that the woman was biting and assaulting the officer, though that’s not visible in the video (perhaps it happened before the video was shot), also states that the woman was destroying property at the residence where the incident occurred. Obviously, that makes the woman a less sympathetic figure.
 
Yet what’s not clear is whether the woman deserved to be thrown around and punched in the head repeatedly. Police Chief Hugh Clements, when questioned on the incident late last week, said that the use of force by the officer in that situation was “justified”, but that the question of whether the force used in that particular situation was “excessive” or not remains an open one. He indicated that there will be an investigation into the situation. And there certainly should be.
 
“Justified”?
 
In this particular situation, I have to agree with Governor Gina Raimondo, who called the incident, “deeply disturbing."
 
It’s hard to see why the particular officer in question needed to punch the lady in question. It seemed, to the untrained eye, as if he could have merely pulled her hands behind her back, put cuffs on them, and then placed her inside of a cruiser.
 
That being said: I’m not an expert in police work. I’ve never really covered police departments in more than a cursory way during my run as a news reporter. My background as a reporter focused primarily on reporting on government finance—not the police beat.

I have no living family members or close friends who are police officers, but my great uncle, James Griffin, who passed away last year, was a Captain in the state police in his day—the fifties through the seventies. He was (to put it mildly) a credit to the department and thought police officers should be held to high standards.
 
Level of Force
 
Because I'm not an expert in police work, perhaps there's some reason why the action was justified. Maybe there's something that we happened that cannot be seen on the video. I cannot be certain.

So that’s why it’s so important for the leaders of the police department, such as Clements and Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Pare to conduct an investigation and find out if there’s any logical reason for those head punches. The police officer in question should absolutely be given the chance to explain his actions and his mindset at the time of the altercation. And a determination must be made if the force use was excessive.
 
If the amount of force used was excessive, and it certainly seems like it was, than the officer in question should be reprimanded and punished, not only for the sake of the woman in question, but for the sake of the police officers in our capital city.
 
Most Police Officers are Heroic
 
There’s this notion out there that whenever someone criticizes a police officer they’re automatically “anti-cop”. It’s ridiculous. In fact, the opposite is true. Whenever someone defends an indefensible action it hurts all of the officers who do such an excellent job.
 
I’ve seen other individuals on social media and elsewhere state that the woman deserved a good beating for disobeying a police officer. That’s not true. And it’s certainly not the kind of society I want to live in.
 
Of course individuals should obey the police when they’re trying to bring order to an unruly situation. But disobedience isn’t carte blanche for the police to physically beat someone if that level of force isn’t required.
 
There are people in our society who believe that an individual becomes infallible the day someone gets sworn into the police force. That’s not the case. People from every single kind of profession make errors or lapses in judgment, or worse.
 
Time For Answers

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Let me be clear: I’m certain that the vast majority of the police force in Providence, as well as all of our other communities throughout the state are exemplary and a credit to our communities. Of course the police officers in Providence (and elsewhere) have a difficult job—one which I personally don’t want. I’m thankful we have people willing to do the job that folks like me don’t want.
 
That’s why it’s so important that when an officer does something to besmirch the good name of the all the other excellent officers it shouldn’t go unaddressed. If there’s no valid explanation for the level of force used in that video, justice dictates that Police Department leaders take action.

Russell Moore has worked on both sides of the desk in Rhode Island media, both for newspapers and on political campaigns. Send him email at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @russmoore713.