Two Missouri Officers Charged in Brutal July Kidnapping and Beating

Remember, everyone in America is innocent of all charges until proven guilty in a court of law, no matter how dead their eyes may appear in their mugshot.

As soon as I heard the story, my only question was why, what was the backstory behind the individuals.  Why him?  Why now?

Because if there's anything anyone doesn't understand about America's racial history, this classic case really explains it.  While it's not being applied in quite the same way here, this story shows the exact mechanism of a "sundown town."  They draw a line in the sand.  They tell people not to be here when the sun goes down.  And if you are, FAFO.

It's very important that we understand specifically how this trick works.  Because the same mechanism gets employed in a variety of circumstances, including against sex workers for a variety of reasons. I recently discussed this in my review of The Killing Season. 

Because those journalists, despite the otherwise good work they did, were quite easily convinced that it wasn't real even while it was being explained to them by women who have had this experience while also being Holtzclawed.  He didn't believe that, either.  They couldn't be convinced that the one police officer whose name got dropped by every sex worker in ABQ could possibly have been a bad actor, because he said no.

Spectrum News

"Earlier this week, now-former officer Samuel Davis, 26, was charged with assault and kidnapping stemming from the arrest of a persistent shoplifting suspect at a Northwoods Walgreens on July 4. He's accused of driving the man to a remote location in Kinloch, beating him with his baton, using pepper spray and breaking his jaw. 

Court documents state after the handcuffed victim was put in the back of Davis' patrol car, Hill, who was Davis' supervising officer, returned to the store and made an incriminating statement to a store employee regarding what would happen to the victim. 
Hill nor Davis never activated their body cameras, according to court documents. They also didn't inform dispatch that they had a suspect in custody or write a report about the incident.
"Police officers who commit violence undermine the trust of the community. My office is working to restore that trust by ensuring a fair, transparent investigation and prosecution in cases of police brutality. Officers in St. Louis County have a host of tools to rely on in addressing individuals who commit non-violent offenses, including referring individuals to our Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program or making a proper arrest when public safety demands it. There is no excuse for this criminal conduct, and my office will prosecute these officers to the fullest extent of the law," said St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. 
Northwoods police chief Dennis Shireff told Spectrum News the victim was taken to Kinloch at the victim's request after the store decided it didn't want to prosecute him, and it had recovered the stolen merchandise.
Shireff said there were several other occasions where the man, who he said suffers from mental illness and was intoxicated at the time of the July 4 incident, would be taken to other locations, including a relative's home. 
Hill is being held on a $100,000 cash only bond."

When I worked as a paramedic we had a guy who we would get called to multiple times a day sometimes, us and the police both, often at Walgreens.  He would get so desperate for alcohol that he would open up some mouthwash, rubbing alcohol, or whatever he could get his hands on, and drink as much of it as possible before they could knock it out of his hands.  Believe it or not, we would often find him seizing in parking lots.

As much of a pain in my ass as that guy was, I would never in a million years want the cops to do that to him.  We had much worse, more abusive, more problematic people than the guy they're describing.  The situation they're charged with, if proven in a court of law, is unimaginable to me.

Remember when the Department of Justice found Ferguson, Missouri systemically racist?  Whatever came of that?