Here’s an example of why some kids run when they see the cops.
Three DeKalb County (GA) police officers have been indicted on numerous felony charges in connection with the alleged beatings of three teenage suspects in their custody. A grand jury has returned a total of 15 counts against Blake Andrew Norwood, Arthur Parker III and Sgt. Anthony Remone Robinson. The charges include battery, aggravated assault, making false statements and violating their oaths, and racketeering. The alleged beatings occurred in December 2010 and November 2011.
Two of the officers, Norwood and Parker, were arrested last November and resigned in the face of being fired. Robinson, who allegedly ordered the beatings, has been on administrative leave since the incidents were brought to light by another DeKalb officer.
According to coverage in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the racketeering charges were brought because the alleged pattern of behavior by government agents “constitutes an enterprise” under state law, DeKalb County District Attorney Robert said this case could affect the officers’ other arrests. James also noted, “There was an attempt to cover up after this took place, trying to get individuals to lie about Mr. Williams spitting on them.”
According to news reports:
On Nov. 15, 2011, Norwood and Parker beat a handcuffed Travarrius Williams so badly the 18-year-old suffered internal injuries and a broken tooth, prosecutors allege.
“Both of them punched me in the face,” Williams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News. “Then they slammed my face into the windshield.”
Williams said he was especially concerned that the two officers who allegedly beat him were ordered to do so.
“When people get high in authority, they feel like they’ve got power over anybody,” he said. “The police department is really just like another gang.”
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(Williams’s attorney Brian Spears) said behavior like that allegedly exhibited by the accused officers causes young black men and adolescents to fear police.
“That’s why we run when we see them,” Williams said. “We don’t run because we did something wrong. We run because they’re going to beat us or they could shoot us.”
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