Also see: What the Local Police State Looks Like
Make sure you Sig Heil your local police state!
"Davis says officers didn't use excessive force in man's death; Family urges US investigation" by Maria Cramer and Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff | July 1, 2008
Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis left myriad questions unanswered over the brief but fatal encounter between police and David Woodman, vows and calls for investigations rang through Boston.
In another twist to the case, officials confirmed that all nine police officers - eight patrol officers and a sergeant - involved in the confrontation with Woodman went immediately to the hospital after Woodman was rushed from the scene, to be treated for "stress-related injuries."
Oh, they were WORRIED, were they?
Davis vowed a thorough investigation into the actions of the officers, as the Woodman family questioned the differing times police gave for when officers noticed Woodman stopped breathing. Police later said Woodman went into cardiac arrest. Jeffrey and Cathy Woodman of Southwick have accused police of not providing their son prompt medical attention.
"The idea that he suddenly stopped breathing goes totally against his health and what we've been told," Cathy Woodman said in an interview with the Globe Thursday at the hospital. "The idea that [police] came to his aid, that's not true. They made this happen."
The death of the former Emmanuel College student recalled the 2004 killing of 21-year-old Victoria Snelgrove, the Emerson College student who died after a police officer shot a pepper pellet that struck her in the eye during a raucous Red Sox victory celebration.
Question, Americans: What if Mr. Woodman or Ms. Snelgrove was YOUR CHILD?
Think of HOW YOU WOULD FEEL THEN!!
Much of the focus of yesterday was on the 6 minutes that Woodman was lying on the ground after his arrest for allegedly drinking in public and resisting arrest.On the night of the occurrence, Woodman and his friends went to Boston Billiard Club in Kenmore Square to play pool and watch the game. Afterward, they headed home. Woodman's friends told the Globe he was carrying a plastic cup of beer as they passed a group of uniformed officers at the Fenway and Brookline Avenue.
One friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Woodman loudly said, "Wow, it seems like there's a lot of crime on this corner."
One of the officers yelled "Hey you," and several officers grabbed Woodman, pushing him against the fence and slamming him to the ground, the friend said.
"They dropped him really hard. It looked like he needed help," said the friend, adding that Woodman was motionless and quiet on the ground.
The officers then yelled at the friends that they would be arrested if they didn't leave, two of the friends said.
"We were so intimidated," said the first friend. "There were so many police officers we felt there was nothing we could do."
Yeah, what are you supposed to do, exactly?
Sig Heil and MOVE ALONG!!!
Howard Friedman, the lawyer for the family, said he believes at least 4 to 5 minutes passed before the police noticed Woodman was not breathing and began to administer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.
Davis said that Woodman tried to flee, resisted arrest, and was extremely drunk.
I, for one, am TIRED of LYING COPS and THEIR COVER-UPS!!!!
His friends said Woodman was drinking but was not intoxicated.
Friedman questioned why police's initial reports stated that as officers attempted to handcuff Woodman, they immediately realized he had stopped breathing.
Richard Serino, chief of Boston Emergency Medical Services, said yesterday that the first call from police for an ambulance at 12:47 a.m. was a low-priority call for a drunken man on the ground, who was already being attended to by officers. Then at 12:53 a.m., police urged EMS to "please push" because the man was unconscious, according to Serino, who said it became a top priority.
At the hospital, doctors realized Woodman had suffered significant brain damage. He was placed in a medically-induced coma, according to his family. He awoke June 23 and was able to speak and smile. But he was not coherent, Friedman said, and he had no memory of what had happened.
Police have given scant information to the family, Friedman said. "The Woodman family wants to know what happened to their son," he said.
Woodman had run-ins with the law. In June, 2007, he was arrested by Northeastern University police after allegedly jumping on top of car hoods and trunk, according to Boston police. A warrant was put out for his arrest after he missed a court date on the charges. Police union officials have said that is why Woodman might have tried to run from police.
Friedman said Woodman's friends denied Woodman ran.
He called on the department to release the names of the eight officers and sergeant on the scene that night.
"While they're so concerned about slinging mud about Dave Woodman, we haven't even been told the names of the police officers involved in this incident much less whether any of them have any allegations on their records," Friedman said. "We feel that if this is going to be an open investigation . . . the Police Department should let us know the names of the officers involved."
Yeah, the cops and the law and the state are out to get the truth.
Elaine Driscoll, police spokeswoman, said the names of the officers and their background will not be released until the investigation is completed.
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Truthfully, readers, and it is an accumulation of things, but my faith in any sort of government or institution at all has been completely shattered by all the things I've learned over the last two years.
And now THIS KID is DEAD because of the POLICE STATE built upon a DAMN LIE!!!!
You want to fix the problem of drunken rowdiness?
SHUT DOWN all the BARS and BRING BACK PROHIBITION!
Or will THAT FINALLY get Americans to get their heads out of their asses?
