News & Analysis
'Another One Bites the Dust'
Noel Polanco, Unarmed Man Killed By NYPD, Was National Guardsman ... An unarmed 22-year-old man shot and killed by a New York City police officer during a traffic stop in Queens Thursday morning was a member of the New York Army National Guard, authorities said. Police said Noel Polanco was speeding and driving erratically near LaGuardia Airport just after 5 a.m. when he was pulled over by officers. New York Police Department sources initially told news outlets that as two officers approached the car, Polanco reached under his seat, prompting Detective Hassam Handy to shoot him once in the stomach. Polanco died shortly after being taken to a nearby hospital. – Huffington Post
Dominant Social Theme: Police officers are serious people and crime is a serious occurrence. In America, you can die even if you just go a little bit over the speed limit, or if law enforcement believes you might have been doing so.
Free-Market Analysis: This is a sad article posted at the Huffington Post but we have given this article a foolish and insensitive title to show how easy it is to get inured to this kind of police brutality.
There is no other description for it but "brutality." Over and over – almost every day now, it seems – there comes some report of an officer of the law shooting someone who has been stopped for a potential infraction as minor as a traffic ticket.
In too many cases, the individual is proven to have not actually done anything confrontational. The gun the individual was reaching for, or knife, or whatever, turns out not to exist. Yet these people bleed to death, or go into shock and die, or have heart attacks from tasers.
One is simply left with a series of victims commemorated often on YouTube. But what is even sadder is that while an initial video report goes up – or in this case an article is written – the follow-up is lacking.
We never find out about the officers themselves. Almost invariably they are placed on "desk duty" while an investigation is marshaled. But it is hard to find out the results of such investigations. It is hard to find out the aftermath of any of it.
Are the officers disciplined? Are they sent back out into the community to murder again? It IS murder, after all. There is no other word for it.
Civilians can spend the rest of their lives in jail if they shoot and kill someone. But officers who kill may be given back their guns, tasers and badges and released from their desks to go back out into the community. Presumably, this takes place if it can be reasonably shown the officer was in fear for his life.
Another one bites the dust ... like a bad pop song. Meaningless. Lives are destroyed ... for what? We are so inured to it that it barely registers.
Someone was stopped for speeding. Imagine dying because you were driving "too fast." Realistically, it doesn't even matter. Many studies have proven that driving quickly does little if anything to increase mortality and that enforcing low speed limits is basically a waste of time. Talk about a meaningless death. Here's some more from the article:
No weapons were recovered from the car, but a hand drill was found under the driver's seat, police said. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Thursday afternoon that a passenger in the car described as false the initial account that Polanco reached under the seat.
"The last thing she saw was his hands on the steering wheel," Browne told The New York Post. The shooting is now under investigation by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, a spokeswoman for his office confirmed.
Amanda Reyes, Polanco's sister, was shaken when reached by The Huffington Post on her brother's cell phone. She said her father had died earlier this year. "I already lost my father three months ago, and now my brother?" Reyes said. "There's nothing to say. I have nothing to say. I just feel hurt. There's only hurt."
According to an Army spokesman, Polanco enlisted in the New York Army National Guard in April 2008 and was assigned to the 156th Engineer Company out of Kingston, N.Y. He did not serve in Iraq or Afghanistan and had no record of misbehavior. He lived in LeFrak City in Queens.
Perhaps Polanco did mean to assault the officer with a drill. But probably not. He died because an officer thought he was driving too fast. He was shot because an officer supposedly misinterpreted his gesture – though the only witness says Polanco's hands remained on the wheel.
We cover the memes of the elite. Our theory – borne out by research and reporting – is that these dominant social themes are meant to scare people into giving up wealth and power to globalist facilities. The idea is to create world government.
In the past decade, what we call the Internet Reformation has made it much more difficult, in our view, for these power elite to propagate these promotions.
As a result, they've turned to three historical tools: War, economic ruin and regulatory authoritarianism.
From our point of view, the rising tide of police violence and brutality is no accident. It is being orchestrated to make people fearful and confused.
The idea is to make people so cowed by "officers of the law" that they will put up with almost anything – any degradation of freedom – to avoid being maimed or killed.
Even more perniciously, this sort of brutality acts as a kind of divide-and-conquer mechanism. People begin to doubt that they can have any impact on "their" communities and cease to believe they have the ability to affect public policy.
Their own civic enterprises become estranged from them. Their law enforcement officials become a kind of occupying force for the larger central government.
Enough police brutality erodes our ability to feel shock. It sends a message that we are insignificant beings in the scheme of things, that our lives are forfeit on the whim of authority. But what is even more worrisome is that such acts of violence erode the bonds of civil society itself.
Conclusion: Police are taught to believe the public at large carries within itself the ever-present seeds of incipient criminality. Citizens increasingly feel isolated by the very organs of government once created to keep them safe.
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Posted by johnblenkins on 10/06/12 03:58 PM
@Danny B, I look forward with some glee to your veritable feast of informative
links and insight. I Thank You Sir.
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Posted by Bobby7 on 10/06/12 07:38 AM
5% of Police officers are rogue Cops - unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable; a scoundrel or rascal.
In a godless, hedonistic nation it will get worse. God is not mocked, whatsoever a nation sows, it will reap!
Elementary, my dear Tony.
You can put it to music if you want to:
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN VERSE
Above all else love God alone;
Bow down to neither wood nor stone.
God's name refuse to take in vain;
The Sabbath rest with care maintain.
Respect your parents all your days;
Hold sacred human life always.
Be loyal to your chosen mate;
Steal nothing, neither small nor great.
Report, with truth, your neighbor's deed;
And rid your mind of selfish greed.
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Posted by clark on 10/06/12 01:32 AM
dotti wrote, "For instance, someone who wants to bully people would be drawn to police work. Hiring personnel is supposed to weed these out, but I'm sure it's not always easy to identify these people."
Spend some time at the two websites below, dotti - read the comments - and open your eyes, I don't mean to be offensive but your thinking is like a 10 year old girl on this one, very out of tune with the way the world works (as are most Americans):
Click to view link
and here:
Click to view link
DB wrote, "No, RR, Gandhi - whatever his wisdom - was not what he appeared to be."
Like I need another shock.
Please, do tell more.
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Posted by RR on 10/05/12 11:16 PM
M K Gandhi was perhaps also not what he appeared to be, probably true. Will the fog ever clear or is mankind truly lost. Will the PE be immune to the poor health of the human civilization. Will the son, daughter, nephew or niece of the PE one day themselves be facing the robocop or the drone ? Singularity is near.
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Posted by Danny B on 10/05/12 10:31 PM
"reached under the seat... shot in the stomach"
How do you shoot someone in the stomach while they are bent over an forward?
Here's a guy who had a misunderstanding with the LAPD;
Mulligan -- the Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Media for Deutsche Bank
Read more: Click to view link
Click to view link
I've had several run-ins with the LAPD. While I have had a gun to my head, I've never been arrested. It seems like a good idea to NOT scare the cop. They are usually on a power-trip so it's a good idea to go along with what they say.
Rodney King didn't seem to follow this.
The growing problem is that cops don't recognize your right to peaceful assembly. They mow you down with their horses. There is also an "US vs them" mentality. There are a percentage of cops who are attracted to the force because they get off on busting heads.
The cops are going to be really pissed off when they find that their pension funds are not there.
Click to view link
I just try to avoid them.
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Posted by RR on 10/05/12 09:52 PM
M K Gandhi is the shining example. His teachings of non violence should be essential reading for everyone.
Reply from The Daily Bell
No, RR, Gandhi - whatever his wisdom - was not what he appeared to be.
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Posted by RR on 10/05/12 09:31 PM
The guy who draws first lives! This is the official training. Also the message is that if you kill you will not be questioned. The world is changing, police, cameras, drones, cams, cell phones , siri, iris, the evil eye is everywhere. Singularity may be for real, or something close will ultimately be the blak swan event. The wheel of time will turn.
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Posted by johnblenkins on 10/05/12 08:51 PM
Bullies are drawn to authority, as authoritarian systems draw the cowards they are. They feed of each other.
Only last week two unarmed police women were shot dead on a supposed routine call, in Manchester UK. A terrible shocking crime, much sadness expressed by most across the country. Quite rightly so!
Over the last 15-20 years something like 350 people have died in UK police custody/charge.
As far as I an aware,No Police officer has ever gone to prison or in any meaningful way be held to account.
What reasonable man would presume all of those death to be without foul play.
The very few police in prison are generally there for theft, fraud or corruption. Almost never for violence against the public.
Any inquiry drags on for years and is conducted by some other police force (county/city)." Or Independent Police Complaints Department"
AS with our friends the banker who get away with blue murder. There are two laws, one for us and one for them.
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Posted by oldephardt on 10/05/12 07:11 PM
Unfortunately, it isn't just in police work that we see a rapid decline in the overall quality of those living and dining at the public trough - look at the do-nothing Congress we pay for - or the teachers who do such a great job that American children are falling way behind other, often third world, nations.
We see a central government unable to obey the laws of the land - we see total disregard for the Constitution, we witness a Justice Department that is probably the most un-just group of idiots ever allowed to breathe clean air, we see branches of government busily growing their very costly monopolies that, in the long run, contribute nothing to our quality of life, we see business hampered by tax rates that are the highest in the world while the same businesses are hobbled by excessive regulations...
in short, We The People better get our government back on the track designed just over 225 years ago or we shall all be working for them , our wayward government.
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Posted by Col on 10/05/12 06:40 PM
well now isn't that interesting... ..I keep my wallet under the seat since I had a dirt bag try & rob me at a set of lights.
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Posted by Bluebird on 10/05/12 06:39 PM
I have seen enough videos to believe this. I also have a cousin who is a policeman. I had not seen him for some years and we had a family gathering. I gave him a hug and told him it was good to see him. Then I asked if he was still a deputy (he is). He looked at me like I was something that needed scraped off his shoe and did not answer. That is the professional attitude they have. As a family member, I was fine to him. But just the mention of his job caused him to put on the tough guy hat. I now have the same contempt for him he showed me. I would say they have been taught we are ALL their enemy. "Protect and serve" got lost to "submit or else".
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Posted by ilpatino on 10/05/12 06:32 PM
I hope I did not offend you. A Madame, to me, is a married woman.
So, Ma'am, no, not all cops are bad. Just as not all bankers are bad. But policing is superfluous, just as banking is.
Just give me a gun, and a little understanding of money/wealth and I will be allright :-)
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Posted by dotti on 10/05/12 05:52 PM
[I'm still thinking on this, but on my way out to dinner! As you read this, don't assume that I am on the other side of this discussion.]
Okay. YouTube evidence suggests that instances of police brutality are increasing. If I were going to challenge this premise, I would say that because of the Internet it is merely reported more. This may or may not be a factor. Obviously, if someone has a video of police beating up a citizen, the incident cannot be denied.
Let's assume that your assumptions are correct and that there is a culture of brutality building-either intentionally or not-in the police across the nation.
Certain other things can be assumed as well. For instance, someone who wants to bully people would be drawn to police work. Hiring personnel is supposed to weed these out, but I'm sure it's not always easy to identify these people. Plus. I think most police forces would want to attract and hire people who are able to control people when they needed to-which could be interpreted as pushing people around. This would be a pretty powerful combination: giving someone who likes to control people virtually unlimited power-assuming, of course, that there are no 'reliable witnesses', and particularly no video.
Add in SWAT training and paramilitary training that would obviously enhance those qualities, forming a brotherhood that has reverence for and loyalty to a culture of violence. A kill or be killed mentality.
And don't forget that we citizens have long ago accepted that 'deadbeat dads' and 'drug lords' and 'child molesters' and similar offenders do not deserve the protection offered by our constitution.
And more recently even the most treasured 'habeas corpus' restrictions have been abrogated.
And you suggested that the Power Elite, who seem to have their fingers in every pie, are encouraging this divide between citizens and police-encouraging distrust. I would not doubt it. An 'Andy Griffith police force' could be a problem to them sooner or later.
You may have guessed I grew up in the 'law and order' generation. I accept that police have to be 'bossy' and controlling in order to do their job. But I do not condone crossing the line into brutality. I'm just not entirely sure how to define it in the present culture. We live in a culture of violence and disrespect.
Is there a problem? Yes. I would say that there is. And it needs to be dealt with. And particularly if there is a culture of 'us against them' that allows-perhaps even encourages-brutality.
But you cannot take every accusation by witnesses who are obviously biased as being factual. When a video starts while someone is being pushed around, I would have to wonder what led up to that.
I can imagine a scenario where our young skateboarder defied police and subsequently resisted arrest. Do I know that is what happened? No. Absolutely not. Would I trust the father to give an accurate report of what happened? Probably not.
We need testing to identify personality disorders before hiring. We need to weed out the bad apples-officers who have repeated complaints would be a target for investigation/dismissal. We need to encourage 'good men' (as in the Marines' recruiting program, 'We need a few good men.') to choose careers in police work.
We cannot do that if we create a culture of 'guilty until proven innocent' when it comes to an officer's behavior. They should also be protected under the law. And if they are not, the only recruits we will get are of the bad variety.
@Ilpatino, I have just read your comments. I am married, so I suppose that would make me a madame. I suppose the 'e' on the end distinguishes me from a female who employs-and sometimes is herself-prostitutes.
I agree with you that the term 'civil servant' has been corrupted.
I'm just not sure how police officers can act as 'servants' in all situations? Of course, the most brutal of all would probably consider themselves to be performing a public service.
I wish I had more time to think on this and refine/edit it a bit, but it's Friday night and my husband is taking me out to dinner.
I guess my point would be that police brutality is always bad. And it's probably not unreasonable to assume that it is increasing. But not every officer who is accused is guilty.
Can you agree with any of this?
Reply from The Daily Bell
"And you suggested that the Power Elite, who seem to have their fingers in every pie, are encouraging this divide between citizens and police-encouraging distrust."
We are suggesting it could be a deliberate policy, yes.
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Posted by ilpatino on 10/05/12 05:16 PM
Hi Mademoiselle Dotti. (Or Madame)
Most of the time I keep to myself. But there are bouts of "meddling."
Cops are "Civil servants." The word "servant" is the most important.
I see the evolution of Civil Servants being above "the law" every day. Violance is the name of the game. BUT, it's instructed violence. I still believe that if we were able to shoot back, that "instructed violence" would subside quite rapidly.
Gun control anyone?
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Posted by dotti on 10/05/12 03:15 PM
I'm really surprised that so many feedbackers gave this a high rating.
I have a hard time with this philosophy.
I have no doubt that there are some police officers that are either psychopathic or exercise poor judgment... and someone who is a complete innocent dies.
However, I have a hard time thinking that there are many cases where a police officer just murders someone--for driving fast. The witness would probably not be objective, although I cannot say that incorrect information was given. I have no way of knowing.
But, I suppose, the theory would be that the police officer pulled someone over for speeding; then just shot them for no reason?
I don't feel that I have enough information to make that decision. Does the Staff Reporter?
Reply from The Daily Bell
Dotti, just search for something like ...
- police shooting during stop -
You'll get over 150 million cites.
1. Police are being militarized via SWAT teams and other tactics developed for warfare.
2. The attacks on drug dealers - stops and frisks and house invasions - continue to go up, especially in the US.
3. Because of tasers, any interaction between an officer and an individual can turn deadly.
Videos posted to the 'Net increasingly reveal the extend of this violence.
It is less easy to cover such things up in the era of the Internet. But our point would be that the powers that be don't want to cover it up and maybe even want to broadcast it ....
Click to view link
From the RT article:
Is police brutality getting worse?
It appears the Los Angeles Police Department may find itself on the other side of the law. Civil rights groups are demanding federal investigators look into cases of excessive police force and brutality.
Questionable arrests, caught on video, are putting into question the old police motto of “to serve and protect,” and communities are fighting back.
The brutality of the Los Angeles Police Department can be seen in several videos posted online. One of the most recent, a cell phone video, shows 20-year-old college student Ronald Weekley, Jr. being pushed in the face and wrestled to the ground by four LAPD officers. Weekley’s father says his son’s only crime was skateboarding on the wrong side of the road.
“My son suffered a concussion to his head. He has a broken jaw bone right here. He’s having breathing problems,” said Ronald Weekley, Sr.
Weekley’s violent arrest is not an isolated incident. Surveillance video from earlier this year shows police slamming Michelle Jordan – a 34 year old nurse – to the ground. Jordan was pulled over for allegedly talking on her phone while driving.
In another recent incident, a 35-year-old, mother of two – Alesia Thomas – died in the back of a squad car while detained.
“One time, it’s an incident. Two times, you really do scratch your head and say that’s a coincidence. And then three times, this seems like a pattern,” said civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is asking the US Department of Justice to investigate the Los Angeles Police Department for its use of force.
“We have to get to the bottom of this or someone else is going to get killed or hurt," Crump said ...
Other US police departments are not immune to allegations of excessive police force. From Seattle, to New Orleans, to Newark, New Jersey, police violence is drawing public scrutiny.
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Posted by kenprice on 10/05/12 03:15 PM
As a former New Yorker I have fortunately had little interaction with the Police Department of that city. New York is the LEAST gun friendly city in the nation, while having the largest Police Department in the nation, if not the world. I may be wrong, but the last time I looked, the NYPD consisted of some 35,000 officers. There have been several such "mistakes" recently, including one in which an unarmed man, standing in the hallway of his home, was shot some 90 times (!) by 3 Police Officers, because he was holding something in his hands when they accosted him. The city (and state) of New York are rapidly becoming police states, where the residents (subjects) live in fear for their lives any time they have interaction with the police, otherwise known as the Gestapo.
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Posted by Abu Aardvark on 10/05/12 03:10 PM
DB: "The idea is to make people so cowed by "officers of the law" that they will put up with almost anything - any degradation of freedom - to avoid being maimed or killed."
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"Is Everything Illegal In America Today?"
Click to view link
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Posted by dotti on 10/05/12 03:03 PM
Test: Is the posting feature working now?
Reply from The Daily Bell
Yes.
