Citizens employ you and pay your salary to protect them. To prevent crimes. To find the culprits of crimes that you could not prevent and to bring these culprits to justice. The public expects you to carry out these duties in a lawful and humanitarian way. Do you understand what that means? You cannot stop and harass a black guy for jumping a red signal on his way to see his dying mother-in-law in a hospital. You cannot shoot someone who surrendered and who is in your custody in his back and kill him. You cannot beat a 16-year old black girl to pulp when the person you are looking for is an old white prostitute.
And you know what else? You cannot viciously kick a guy in the face when he has already surrendered and is lying face down before you get there.
"I'm looking into it, and I don't have all the facts yet," said El Monte Police Chief Tom Armstrong, who watched the video in a KNBC-TV newsvan.
"I worked internal affairs for four years and I have learned that you do not make a decision in a vacuum," Armstrong said. "I do not know what was in the mind of that officer, as to why he did that. I saw the individual turn his head toward the officer."
As for the officer with a flashlight seen striking the suspect in the video, Armstrong said, "...it appears (the suspect) had his arm underneath his body. You cannot see what was in his hand."
"This is going to be looked into, and it should be. ...I'm not here to make a decision or tell you what that officer did was overtly wrong until I know all the facts," Armstrong said.
Dear Chief Armstrong, are you telling us it may have been OK for that cop to kick the guy - who was lying face down - viciously on the head just because he turned his head towards the officer? Did the cop feel threatened by the way he looked at him or by something the guy said to him? I? If so, then the guy is too paranoid to be a cop. Get rid of him, we do not want paranoid freaks like this carrying a gun and patrolling our streets.
Stop being cowards and pricks while on duty. Otherwise get the fuck out of the force - this is not the job for you.