[Vision2020] Did Anyone See this in the Local Newspapers?

[Ted Moffett]

Yes.

Civil rights lawsuits regarding law enforcement using "excessive force" are
like, as Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), sent to terminate the command
(assassinate) of Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), phrased it, in the Vietnam
war film "Apocalypse Now," "Charging a man with murder in this place was
like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."

Not that I think the suit regarding Kavanaugh is without merit... But law
enforcement have presumed immunity.  And function under a code of silence or
even explicit altering of the truth, regarding the questionable conduct of
other law enforcement personnel.  Given the extent of Kavanaugh's suffering
and/or injuries, I doubt this case will amount to much.  The officer
commanded that he
"get down on the ground" and might assert he had reason to believe Kavanaugh
was a threat.  Kavanaugh did not comply with the officers command.

At least Kavanaugh was not killed nor did he suffer long term physical
injury, from what I have gathered. In 2006, Otto Zehm, in Spokane,
Washington, an innocent wrongly identified as involved in the possible
commission of a crime, was killed by the actions of police.  Consider the
brutality and disregard for care displayed toward Zehm in this case, yet the
officers involved have yet to face any serious local consequences, though
Federal charges are now under way:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/22/spd-officer-indicted-otto-zehm-death/

“These are not matters that we do with any sort of glee,” said McDevitt,
while also criticizing local media’s coverage of law enforcement. “But where
there is no local action, or where the results of the state or local
proceedings are insufficient to vindicate the federal interest, a federal
prosecution may be sought.”
--------------------------
 Feds say accounts of fatal police encounter with mentally ill janitor in
Spokane were altered
http://blog.oregonlive.com/nwheadlines/2010/04/feds_say_accounts_of_fatal_pol.html
------------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett


On 5/7/10, Wayne Price <bear at moscow.com> wrote:
>
>  by KREM.com
> krem.com
> Posted on May 7, 2010 at 4:10 PM
> Updated today at 4:10 PM
>
> PULLMAN, Wash. -- A federal trial date has been set in the excessive force
> case against a City of Pullman officer.  The civil rights complaint accuses
> Pullman Police Officer Rueben Harris of tasering Ed Kavanaugh "without any
> appropriate justification whatsoever."  The case will go to trial on October
> 18, 2010.
> On a snowy night in Pullman in January of 2009, Kavanaugh was stopped by
> Officer Harris because an acquaintance he was walking with was reported to
> have kicked a car mirror.
> Video taken from Harris' taser gun shows Kavanaugh standing with his palms
> up facing Harris asking him to "wait a hot second" as Harris maniacally
> yells at him to get down on the ground.  Apparently Kavanaugh's
> non-threatening request to wait a second did not sit well with Harris.
> Harris tasered Kavanaugh as he stood with his palms up, sending him to the
> ground writhing in agony caused by thousands of volts of electricity.
> Even the car owner, who witnessed the incident, was outraged by Harris's
> conduct.  A "victim impact statement" submitted to the court by the owner of
> the vehicle, characterized the tasering of Kavanaugh as "disturbing" and
> "premediated."
> Kavanaugh was visiting Pullman from his home in Wenatchee when the incident
> occurred.  All charges against him were promptly dismissed.
> Kavanaugh's Pullman attorney, Steve Martonick, says he got involved in the
> lawsuit because he thinks Harris possess a danger to the community.
> Kavanaugh is also represented by well-known civil rights attorneys Ed Budge
> and Erik Heipt in Seattle.
>
>
>
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