Good Cop, Sickening Cops

As both a veteran paramedic and a person disabled by mental health issues, everything about the below video sickens me.  I warn you it's terrible to watch.  The channel creator did excellent research on breaking down the legal issues.  I will actually transcribe everything former Officer Skelton said to the young man who was having a bad day with his schizophrenia, Mr. Thomas, when this anger-management case went off on him.

This sort of thing happens in departments that allow them to happen.  It makes me suspect they probably have multiple Holtzclaws running around, and they don't care about that, either.  Because when the lieutenant arrived on scene, he wasn't bothered by the despicable, obviously illegal behavior of multiple officers.

THE QUICK AND DIRTY:

The Lieutenant and the partner each got three-day suspensions.

The primary aggressor got fired, sued, and is facing a felony charge to which he has pled not guilty.

This portion is a verbatim transcript, omitting nothing former Officer Skelton said to the mentally ill citizen:

• Not now, come on.  You're under arrest.  I said you're under arrest, motherfucker.
• Get the fuck over here.  Get your motherfucking ass over here.
• Hands on the car.  Hands on the car, dickhead.
• Put your hands on the hood.  Have you ever had a real job?  Okay.  Yeah, you're about to have some work done.  [emphasis added]
• Hands behind your back, you're under arrest.
• This way.  [Where we going?]  Jail.  [For what?]  Vandalism.  [What I vandalize?]  The inside of the store.  You vandalized the inside of the store.  Sit.  Good.  [Other conversation]  No.  [Why not?] Cause I said so.
• Put your feet in.   Eat a dick, motherfucker.

Conversation between two cops:

• Lobotomy's sounding nicer, isn't it?
• Yeah, sure is.  Sure is.

I can't exactly hear what's said next.  The subject kicks the car door from inside. 

• SKELTON:  You kick my car again, I'm gonna foam you.  You understand me?  I'm gonna spray the fuck out of you, you worthless piece of incestuous shit.

Can you imagine how they used to talk to people BEFORE bodycams?  Also this person was cooperative the whole time despite his ongoing mental health problems, which these police were aware of because they had taken him to the psychiatric hospital earlier in the day.  

All this over vandalism.  No person was injured, only money.  The content creator points out that Officer Skelton has escalated to this level without even going into the store to verify that he had actually done anything, on the shopkeeper's word alone, no investigation at all. 

• Skelton calls dispatch to say that he's about to deploy pepper foam.
• He opens the door and sprays Mr. Thomas in the back seat, then rapidly shuts the door again.  Goes around the other side and sprays him again, closing the door.  They prepare to place him in a rib hobble.
• The cop threatens Mr. Thomas not to kick him again as he's placed into a rib hobble, and he replies, "No, sir.  Please put the window down."
• It's their departmental policy to relieve people's suffering after they're pepper sprayed, especially if they're entirely compliant as this person was.
• SKELTON:  For you?  Hell no.  Not after that.  You're gonna make me have to treat you like that after I tried to be good to you the first time, tried to take you somewhere to get you some help?  Then you're gonna make me be an asshole, now you're gonna ask me for a favor?  I don't think so."

Okay, I can only imagine the beatings the wife of someone like this might take.  First of all, butthole,  not doing him a favor by (a) taking him to the mental-health facility because hey, he's mentally ill which is why he allegedly causes problems at the store.  And (b) it's your department's policy to relieve him after he's sprayed, and not a favor you're doing him.  Lastly (c) that's what they're paying you to do, not a favor of yours. That citizen owes you nothing but the compliance he's been giving, you scumbag menace to the world.

• Skelton's use of pepper was excessive under his department's guidelines in the first place as the content creator discusses. 
• SKELTON:  He wanted me to roll the window down.  I probably should. 
• Other garbage cop who was okay with it all:  He was calling you "sir" after that point.
• SKELTON:  Yeah, he was. 

They do a little shop talk while the hobbled man suffers in the back of the closed vehicle.  They discuss that the one has never deployed his spray before, and whether they have "enough for a felony."

• SKELTON:  "That's the pepper doing its work."

I'm glad this person was both fired and sued.  Watching them stand around smiling and discussing potential charges for this young, mentally ill person while he suffers in the back of that closed vehicle makes me want to scream.  The money Mr. Thomas got wasn't enough.

Mr. Skelton is facing a felony and has pled not guilty.

Administrative (employee-level) charges were dismissed against Officers Sharman and Halteman.  Officer Bittick and Lt. McGowan each received three-day suspensions.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

WARNING:  Small children get put through the wringer over nothing.

Meanwhile, check out this excellent police officer.  He went to arrest this neighborhood menace at her home.  She escalated the situation to involve both her grandmother and her children. 

Unfortunately her grandmother shut the door on the police officer's foot.  He was very cool about it.  The worst he called her was, "You idiot," while begging her to release his foot from the fully-closed door. 

When the backup arrives to arrest the grandmother, an officer hurls her to the ground by her wrist.  The cop she just closed the door on immediately urges his coworker to be gentle with the old woman.  He understands that her PITA granddaughter has brought her into a situation that she didn't really have time to think through.  Unlike Mr. Skelton and his morally bankrupt former coworkers, this officer has the appropriate temperament to do this job.