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Video: Motorist Robert Leone Beaten by Pennsylvania Troopers
In Bradford County, Pennsylvania, protesters are calling for justice for Robert Leone, who was reportedly assaulted by five Pennsylvania State Troopers.
A March 2010 video of police arresting Leone has gone viral after being posted last week by Larry Hohol, an author -- and former Penn. cop -- investigating the case (video below).
Pennsylvania State Police said Leone led them on a low speed chase after a hit and run and resisting arrest.
The dashcam video shows Pennsylvania State troopers blocking Leone’s driver’s side door.
Another trooper climbs on top of the car and tases Leone through the roof. He later lands on Leone with both feet.
One of the police officers reportedly broke his hand while hitting Leone, who also claims he was kicked and tased repeatedly.
Police claimed that Leone left the scene after hitting another car, and then refused to stop when officers tried to pull him over.
They also say that Leone was fighting back, but the video never appears to show resistance.
This week, protesters held signs, chanted and called for a national investigation into the behavior of five Pennsylvania State Troopers.
Leone was convicted of simple assault, resisting arrest, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer and accident involving damage for the hit and run.
Now, he's filed a civil suit in federal court against the Borough of Towanda, Pennsylvania State Police and the five troopers involved.
Leone says his civil rights were violated and he was brutally beaten and assaulted. His parents say he was denied medical attention.
District Attorney Daniel Barrett says Leone resisted arrest: "The other people that may have opinions on the evidence weren't there. They can have whatever opinions they want. But that's why we have courtrooms here and not just plazas out front."
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Comments
District Attorney Daniel
District Attorney Daniel Barrett, Your a disgrace sir and as a US citizen I demand you step DOWN from your position as D. A. IMMEDIATELY if you even have a CELL in your body that feels that NO MATTER whether he attempted to resist or not, the fashion in which this man was treated was excusable and that the officers present on scene were correct and justified in their behavior! Imagine if this was your child or loved one....as for your sarcastic remarks about courts and plazas,..you sound like an ignorant asshole not an educated attorney that we should respect. You should refrain from the smartassness...its not becoming on anyone.
@District Attorney Daniel
@District Attorney Daniel Barrett: You said: "Leone resisted arrest: "The other people that may have opinions on the evidence weren't there. (I guess the DA doesn't consider Video and Audio of the Assault by the Troopers evidence, must just been opinion.) They can have whatever opinions they want. But that's why we have courtrooms here and not just plazas out front."
That's right and in that court room your OPINION will be trumped by the video and audio evidence of the criminal State Troopers committing assault on a defenseless man.
By the way, if he could the defendant would have been justified in protecting himself with deadly force.
I wish he would have had an assault rifle and shot them all dead.
Chuck
"Persons who had a dogmatic
"Persons who had a dogmatic belief in religions and adhered to the teachings of absolutist and perfectionistic religious groups, tended to be more frequently and more intensely emotionally disturbed than those who followed less dogmatic religion (Ellis, 1986). Authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism were positively correlated, with scores on authoritarianism significantly related to those on ethnic and racial prejudice, hostility toward homosexuals, and punitiveness in prison sentencing (Wylie & Forest, 1992). According to Parker (1990), dogmatism and orthodox belief were incompatible with ethical acuity."
Welcome to the new Police
Welcome to the new Police State which is America, or I should say formerly America. Every day it appears that cops walk around with more arrogance and hubris, and less concern for anybody except fellow cops. I see it at shooting ranges, I hear it in their off-duty conversations, and I see it in thir swagger, even the cops in my small city. btw cops, not all of you, just most of you.
See cato.org/raidmap
Hey where'd glenn bec- i mean
Hey where'd glenn bec- i mean founder church go? That was fun, I miss him already:(
More DBAG cops throwing their
More DBAG cops throwing their weight around, gettin off on the power and massaging their own bloated egos. Should be lined up
Please remember, it is not
Please remember, it is not the place for police officers to deliver any "punishment" whatsover. If tried and found guilty of a crime, a person is sentenced for the crime.
All these cops were to do was use the minimal force necessary to get the guy into the police car, read him his rights, and to the station for booking.
Any force beyond that is excessive. It is almost impossible to conceive that these men were not capable of subduing and cuffing this guy without delivering any injury whatsoever. One on legs, one with knee between shoulder blades, one cuffing... (really, they train you to do this stuff...)
Cops are trained and required to keep a cool head in all situations. These guys lost it completely... They are trained to step away the moment they can't control themselves.
It is at the very least unprofessional and unnecessary for them to scream obscenities at him. It is so far beyond the pale for them to demand "What the F&$# were you thinking?!?!?" We knew the one guy had completely lost all sense of reason when he demanded that the guy ordered him to answer yes or no to the question, the asked an openended question.
If the suspect did spit on one, the cop doesn't get to deliver an immediate physical punishment, he gets to file the incident in the report, and if convicted of an assault, he does jail time for it.
The bottom line is, for whatever reason, this kid was completely out of line not simply pulling over, likely mentally ill...and he deserved to be tried on that charge, and a judge will decide the punishment...none of that give cops the right to mete out any punishment. Under no circumstances should a cop EVER deliver a good beating...no matter what the arrestee does...minimal force to get him in the car, that's all.
No matter how offensive the arresstee's conduct, officers may not retaliate or punish...They simply have to arrest and report.
A final thought to remember, adequate services are no longer provided to the mentally ill...people who used to receive inpatient services are now on the streets. Their behavior can be extremely offensive, and cops must remember they are sick people, not bad people in need of a good beating.
lawyergirl: "Please remember,
lawyergirl: "Please remember, it is not the place for police officers to deliver any `punishment' whatsover. If tried and found guilty of a crime, a person is sentenced for the crime."
That's the theory, but in practice police have always made an exception for infractions committed against police. (For example, in the 1990s I read in the newspaper about a young man who had killed a cop, whose lawyer arranged for him to publicly turn himself in. People commented that this was the first time anyone could remember of a New Orleans cop-killer living to stand trial.)
I do find it sad that he had to spend time in prison for the bogus charges the police had to accuse him of in order to justify beating him up. When police brutality was more generally accepted (i.e., until the 1960s) they didn't have to resort to that.
I agree with you nearly
I agree with you nearly completely. At the end though, you really did point at the problem. Many people, not just cops, feel that any behavior can be corrected by "a good beating." It may make the beater feel better, but the beaten one will be worse for it in every way, physically, and mentally.
I didn't see any of the
I didn't see any of the 'beating' the Guy that put together this proaganda tape saw. The door was in the way and all I could see was some scuffling. The guy obviously spit in the Officer's face because you could hear him say that he was sorry for it. Cops are human and any Douche that would spits in your face....sorry he needs a little beat down. The Guy that put this duped tape together said that he was a former Pa. Cop. Sounds like he has an axe to grind. He didn't put together a very convincing arguement to me.
Wow, you can hear the audio
Wow, you can hear the audio so clear at that time that the officer accuses him of spitting on him (infact, its in the report by that officer that Leone spit a "lugi" on him) a lugi infact, but, you can hear Leone breathing as well as the officer in that clip of the tape, CLEARLY LEONE did not spit on the officer. Also, he CLEARLY tells the officer he did not spit on him but he is saying sorry apparently due to the lack of knowing what to say at this point and they are beating him, so all he can say is sorry. Although the passenger side door is open, you can see his body movements and CLEARLY, this is not a man attacking anyone, and you didnt see the beating as you say, but I am sure you saw that officer JUMP off onto Leone's back from the top of that car. What more do you want to see? As far as Larry H. is concerned, HE DID NOT PUT A DUPED TAPE TOGETHER. Its tape from the dash cam SLUGGO...he cannot make it up....and with a name like that, you seem to be involved or want to be involved with law or military and at that, you seem to be one of those that would be there, participating in abusing this man "sorry he needs a little beat down"...shame on you Sluggo!
Comparing this case to Rodney
Comparing this case to Rodney King is ludicrous. Causing a hit and run accident, resisting arrest are going to bring consequences. I seriously doubt a civil case in Federal Court will support the contention that this guy's civil rights were violated. He wasn't profiled.
you just might want to watch
you just might want to watch the entire vidio! he was not the driver involved in a "hit and run" that was so miner that the oficer dealing whth it didnt even file a report! they never read him his rights, they refused him proper medical care, after beating him several times! yes his rights were violated!
He got what he deserved as
He got what he deserved as they all do. Young punks who think they are hot stuff, defy the law and go on to greater crime. Rodney King should not have just been beaten, he should have been beaten to death for what he did. Black, White, or Green has nothing whatever to do with it. Both of them were criminals hurting other people and being beaten to death was too good for both of them.
I come to bring Life, and Life more Abundantly! We need more Conservative Believer children born to save this country.
Yep, "beaten to death".
Yep, "beaten to death". That's really what you have learned from your bible. I suspect you would be a hateful, violent person even without your religion. All that has done is reinforce your nature.
Almost every time I see hate and violence, even killing, brought into a discussion, it is by a "good christian." I have personally been threatened with violence and even death by more than on religious zealot. Fortunately, they are usually cowards and never try it except in groups. Even then, they always want someone else to go first.
It's really laughable how they are so willing for someone else to be hurt but don't want to risk their own skins. That sounds just like you.
First off, he got what he
First off, he got what he deserved as they all do. Young punks who think they are hot stuff, (playing his radio at top volume to drown out the sirens) defying the law and later going on to even greater crimes.
Rodney King should not have just been beaten, he should have been beaten to death for what he did that day. Black, White, or Green has nothing whatever to do with it. This is not about race. Both of these smart-alecks were criminals hurting other people, and being beaten to death was too good for either of them.
NOW LET'S ANALYZE THIS: WHY IS THIS THE WAY IT IS? Fact is, we now live in a de-facto police state, whether we like it or not, and as it stands now, there is little anyone can do about it.
This police state was brought down on us by Democrats who dismantled a fairly humane law abiding society that existed up until the 60s. At that point, in a hundred ways, they pushed us over the red-line into the arms of a police state.
We have to face it. That is always the problem with the Democrats, Socialists, Progressives, and Leftists, or whatever they choose to call themselves from day to day.
They dismantle a fairly humane system, because it allegedly is not humane enough, and the result is NOT a more humane system, but a far less humane system.
This suits them fine, because they then can proceed to TOTALLY dismantle the "system" and replace it, as it INEVITABLY is replaced, with anarchy, and then a heavy dose of the usual Communism and/or Fascism-Nazism.
So, Democrats and their look-alikes, by making the "PERFECT" the enemy of the "GOOD" take a society from a state of relative imperfection into the dark night of the total imperfection of absolute hell, complete with Gulags and Concentration Camps.
This is what results when we allow Democrat Pacifistic do-gooding "Humanitarians" sissies to start the ball rolling downhill, beginning with the dismantling of society in the name of more, and more justice and fairness.
NOTE: This process is how both Hitler and Stalin came to power.
I come to bring Life, and Life more Abundantly! We need more Conservative Believer children born to save this country.
@FOUNDER CHURCH You need some
@FOUNDER CHURCH
You need some serious medications! Please seek psychiatric help for you and those around you who have to see and listen to you! You are a mentally twisted SOB!
"Persons who had a dogmatic
"Persons who had a dogmatic belief in religions and adhered to the teachings of absolutist and perfectionistic religious groups, tended to be more frequently and more intensely emotionally disturbed than those who followed less dogmatic religion (Ellis, 1986). Authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism were positively correlated, with scores on authoritarianism significantly related to those on ethnic and racial prejudice, hostility toward homosexuals, and punitiveness in prison sentencing (Wylie & Forest, 1992). According to Parker (1990), dogmatism and orthodox belief were incompatible with ethical acuity." http://www.doc.state.ok.us/offenders/ocjrc/95/950725c.htm
ILLITERATE TWIT ALERT! Luvs
ILLITERATE TWIT ALERT!
Luvs jesus, do ya??? Amenahhhh!
Do all of us a favor and have yourself spayed before you spawn another litter.
Talk about illiterate. Your
Talk about illiterate. Your illiteracy condemns any viewpoint you may want to have. You offer nothing.
I come to bring Life, and Life more Abundantly! We need more Conservative Believer children born to save this country.
And you understand less than
And you understand less than nothing.
You're still a sanctimonious twit.
Well, now, aren't you a
Well, now, aren't you a sanctimonious (look it up) piece of shit! You're a mockery to any and all religions, so go back into your hole and disappear!
You are one of the God hating
You are one of the God hating Sodomites for sure. And your profanity adds ignorance to your lack of other finer qualities.
I come to bring Life, and Life more Abundantly! We need more Conservative Believer children born to save this country.
How do you know someone is a
How do you know someone is a sodomite? Or is that the worst insult you can imagine? Well, a sexually-obssessed mentally-deranged person can probably do nothing else?
FYI, how can an atheist hate god? No god ever existed. Do Greenpeace members hate Paul Bunyan for cutting down so many trees? "Hate God" is nothing more than more hate speech by religious nut-cases. But logic and truth have no place in your world, do they?
"Persons who had a dogmatic
"Persons who had a dogmatic belief in religions and adhered to the teachings of absolutist and perfectionistic religious groups, tended to be more frequently and more intensely emotionally disturbed than those who followed less dogmatic religion (Ellis, 1986). Authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism were positively correlated, with scores on authoritarianism significantly related to those on ethnic and racial prejudice, hostility toward homosexuals, and punitiveness in prison sentencing (Wylie & Forest, 1992). According to Parker (1990), dogmatism and orthodox belief were incompatible with ethical acuity."
http://www.doc.state.ok.us/offenders/ocjrc/95/950725c.htm
You are one of the most
You are one of the most illogical, obstinately ignorant poster I have ever seen.
Let's just address the "hate god" bullshit. How can anyone hate what they do not believe has ever existed? Do environmentalists hate Paul Bunyan?
What I do hate is willful stupidity such as yours.
You are a bigoted, stubbornly stupid right-wing nut case. You hate Obama and try to blame Democrats for everything. Keep in mind, the government has grown more during Republican administrations than in Democratic ones, excepting little incidents such as WW II.
I do agree with you that we are living in a de facto police state, especially since 9/11. Keep in mind on whose watch this happened. Were the Patriot Act, the TSA, and Homeland Security created under Obama?
Your determined stupidity adds to your willful ignorance about everything.
I wonder that it took 5
I wonder that it took 5 officers to subdue him. I also find it hard to believe that he is driving, a police car with flashing lights is behind him and it "never occured" to him to stop? I really couldn't see what was going on, but his face looks pretty rough. Thank goodness for the courts.
It isn't as easy as one would
It isn't as easy as one would think to handcuff someone that really doesn't want you too. The guy appears to give them a good fight at it. Spit in someone;s face....you should get the crap kicked out of you.
This has become more and more
This has become more and more commonplace in recent years. Police too often believe they are above the law. We need to remind them that they are not. They should be tried and spend many years in jail.
The only thing that has
The only thing that has become common place is people fighting and attacking the Police. They are our first line of defense in this violent world in which we live. A guy won't pull over, fights with them when he gets out, then spits in an officers face. That's worthy of an ass kicking. Why should the Police have to stand and take that crap? I bet this Douche doesn't spit in an Officer's face again. So a good lesson learned.
Thanks to ubiquitous cameras
Thanks to ubiquitous cameras we've seen countless examples of police abuse. Hosing seated peaceful protesters with pepper spray, beating a young girl on her way to school, kicking a prisoner in the head who's already handcuffed and face down on the ground, dousing peaceful protesters with pepper spray even though they were already contained. These are just examples that I have seen video of in the past year. Don't get me started on all of the examples of police brutality that weren't taped.
I can't repeat this enough times. Just being suspected of breaking a law DOES NOT justify police beating you to the point of hospitalization. Just exercising your constitutionally protected right to free speech DOES NOT justify getting hosed with chemical weapons. Even spitting on a cop DOES NOT give them justification to beat a handcuffed prisoner. This isn't my opinion, this is the law. cops have gotten out of hand in this country and idiots like you who back their right to beat someone unconscious for minor traffic infractions are encouraging them to keep going further.
Don't ask for any sympathy when you get crippled for running a red light.
Something wrong here. This
Something wrong here. This guy is White. These beatings only happen as racially motivated, right? Are the cops Black? No Blacks can't be racist, remember? Only Whites can be. So the fact is that these beating take place because the perpetrators risk the lives of the public and the cops and seriously piss off the cops. They often makes comments to further inflame the emotions of the cops. Bottom line if you play this game, expect to pay the price. Otherwise pull over and accept the ticket or simple arrest as the case may be.
Oh, quit whining! The excuses
Oh, quit whining! The excuses you make, and the need to deny who and what you and other authoritarian types are, would be hysterically funny if it wasn't so central to the conservative personality (which correlates with items on the authoritarian or RWA Scale at a very strong r = .83)
Because its no longer acceptable to beat gays up you start whining that it's /your/ marriage that is now under attack because the law says you can't mistreat them."Whaaa!!!!They won't let me spread rumors and tell lies about homos anymore! Poor, poor me!"
Because you can't force fundie Christianity down everyone else throat you start whining that it's your right to religious expression that is under attack! "Whaaa! They're attacking the poor Xmas trees now. If they don;t bring back school prayer, then obviously the next logical step is for Sharia Law replacing the Constitution as the Law of the Land!" (WTF????)
Nobody but you said the type of attacks seen above happened only as a result of racist cops attacking blacks. But by imagining they do claim such a thing you are able to say to yourself and your fellow thugs that maybe...if they're wrong about these attacks only happening to blacks, then they are also wrong about there being racist white cops at all! That every one of these "supposed" attacks was probably the result of police acting to protect themselves and the public against a drug-fueled madman who would surely have hurt and killed others if we hadn't selflessly and righteously done what was necessary to apply the law. Pukkkkke!!
Did you even bother to watch
Did you even bother to watch the tape? What risk to the troopers? "Seriously piss off the cops"? Pissing off a cop is stupid, as evidenced by the troopers' criminal activity in this tape, but it is not illegal. "Expect to pay the price"? Unfortunately, the taxpayers may end up paying the price for this one, though I am hopeful that a judge will also make each trooper personally liable in the civil suit through which Mr. Leone will receive millions.
Like so many of these
Like so many of these incidents, the entire truth may never be known. On the surface, he was clearly running to evade arrest.
I wonder that it took five armed officers to subdue him, though. From his mug shot, it would seem that he had been severely beaten. I doubt he received any of those injuries in the crash. If he did, it's unlikely he could have driven the car due to damage to the car.
As it was specified to be a "low speed" chase" how could they think he was endangering anyone?
This is far from over, for certain.
Sir, you obviously didn't
Sir, you obviously didn't finish watching the video - I know, it's over 37 minutes long and some folks time span is difficult for that length of time!
He didn't have an accident; this was a case of mistaken identity!
Actually even a low speed
Actually even a low speed chase can be extremely dangerous. It's not only the offending car that you have to worry about but how other cars react to him. I have seen many accidents that have been caused just because people crane their necks to see what is going on and forget to look in front of them. Also it frustrates a lot of cops more because pit maneuvers are a bit less effective at low speeds. But yeah when you have somebody fleeing at any speed it becomes a number one priority to all officers in that area. Just wanted to point that stuff out
Cops can't win. If they
Cops can't win. If they hadn't tortured this guy, people would take it evidence of racism when they do it to black suspects who try to flee.
You've got to be kidding me?
You've got to be kidding me? Cops can't win? They aren't supposed to win. They're supposed to protecting us from Constitutional violators. Not becoming criminals themselves.
Protecting us from
Protecting us from Constitutional violators, really? Don't think so. If that was the case Obama would get the electric chair. They are to protect us from bad people that break the criminal code or acts of crime. Just like this douch was doing. Fight the Cops and they should fight back.Not the same world we use to live in.
I'm pretty sure that you are
I'm pretty sure that you are missing the entire point of his comment.
fsilbur's comment is fatuous.
fsilbur's comment is fatuous.