Deputy Head Stomping A Suspect

Blood on Blood

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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hGENuNzd2V8

Orange County, CA - Video has been released which shows a deputy repeatedly head-stomping a suspect after emptying a magazine into him. The force was in response to the suspect attempting to murder another deputy.

The video has just been released as the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the deputy may be sued for using excessive force.

The incident happened in 2013 when Deputy Juan Lopez responded to a domestic disturbance.

Police were called when 21-year-old Connor Zion bit his mother and then started cutting his mother and roommate with a butcher knife.

Immediately upon Deputy Lopez's arrival, Zion charged him and started stabbing him.

Deputy Michael Higgins arrived to find Deputy Lopez on the ground with Zion repeatedly stabbing him.

Neighbor Mike Shackelford spoke with CBS2’s Stacey Butler about what he witnessed.

“The kid came up [from] behind him and hit him,” said Shackelford. “And then [the deputy] went down and he started stabbing him. Then the second officer pulled up and told him to stop. And he wouldn’t.”

Seeing Zion actively attempting to murder another deputy, Deputy Higgins opened fire on Zion, pursuing him while firing nine shots until Zion dropped.

Deputy Higgins then fired his remaining nine rounds until his magazine was empty; Zion was still moving.

Deputy Lopez was down after being repeatedly stabbed. Deputy Higgins was in a position where he needed to ensure that Zion was no longer a threat before providing potentially life-saving first aid to his partner.

Rather than taking the time to handcuff Zion and search him for weapons, Deputy Higgins stomped on his head three times and then ran to provide first aid to his partner.

Zion was pronounced dead.

Deputy Higgins saved the life of Deputy Lopez, and was awarded a medal of valor.

Zion's mother later sued, claiming that the use of force was excessive.

A three-member panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that while the shots could be determined to be justified, the head-stomping appeared to be excessive. This ruling allows the lawsuit against Deputy Higgins to go forward.

"...terminating a threat doesn't necessarily mean terminating the suspect," Judge Alex Kozinski wrote.
 

blakbearddelite

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Wow, that cop really put a ton of rounds into the guy, I've never seen that before. The guy was down and he put even more rounds into him. I get that he wanted to make sure the guy wouldn't get up because the officer's partner was down and needed medical attention...but damn!

Pretty sure the perp would have died even without the added head stomping.
 

Blood on Blood

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No issues with this head stomp.

Reminds me of a couple stories:

Step-grandfather was a City Cop. In the 1960s a thief in a warehouse shot his partner as they were chasing the thief on foot. When step-grandfather caught up to the thief he put 6 .357 rounds point blank in the thief’s chest. The thief was attempting to start his get away vehicle and allegedly reached for his gun. Investigation found the shooting justified.

Another City story for the 1960s, dumbass was throwing bricks at people from a two story roof top. Cops told the dumbass to stop, who didn’t. The dumbass accidentally fell off the roof.
 

Bob Kazamakis

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Excessive force period whether guy deserved it or not

These cops with all of their hours of supposed training are supposed to be "trained professionals"

*hold up I emptied a mag into him, let me head stomp him to make sure hes dead*

Sounds totally like department policy
I highly doubt you could of stayed calm and followed protocol 100% in this situation :rofl:


Internet super cop is here LOOKOUT
 

Bob Kazamakis

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So protocol means nothing when someone breaks the law? Wasn't aware that's how policing worked.

Man someone should let these courts know that so they stop wasting hundreds of millions of dollars each year in settlements.
I’m just saying you talk like you could of done better and I highly doubt you could of. A maniac running around stabbing the fuck out of people is going to get your heart racing and cloud your judgement.
 

093LZ

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So protocol means nothing when someone breaks the law? Wasn't aware that's how policing worked.

Man someone should let these courts know that so they stop wasting hundreds of millions of dollars each year in settlements.

See my other post; human factor dude, you cannot remove that from society. There is no training that can curtail human emotion and what it does to you. Not saying its right, but it is what it is. Its hard to describe, kinda like being with a hot chick and at the last second she tells you she has aids and you need to pull out. Do I scream, cry or bang my head off the wall? Its just impossible to recreate a deadly force scenario, to the T so we can correct it. We do everything we can in training but its never the same thing.

Ill give you a good example. I was a canine handler for 8 years there was one thing we could NEVER ever duplicate in training and that's a real street bite. Most people see a police dog bite the guy in the big marshmallow man bite suit and think hes really engaging the person. Well, no so much; the dog is actually biting the fabric which is the same as his toy, hes not biting the person, but the equipment. When its game time and you send your dog to bite someone with no equipment its like your kid batting in the bottom of the ninth, is he going to choke or hit the ball. Many times the dog goes in and fails to engage risking the safety of the officers and the public. But then there is that few that dont, like mine. That feeling, that confusion, the chaos the radio blaring, the sirens blaring, I have back up officers with guns behind me. My dog cant hear me, hes biting into a material hes never had before, human flesh (which we CANNOT train for) and I have a heart rate of about 180bpm.

Just saying man, you cannot train for every scenario. Until the police force is staffed by I-Robot, there is always going to be a possibility of error.
 

FESTER665

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I’m just saying you talk like you could of done better and I highly doubt you could of. A maniac running around stabbing the fuck out of people is going to get your heart racing and cloud your judgement.

What, you wouldn't be 100% calm, cool, and collected when you pull up and see a fellow officer having a knife plunged into him?

I get saying there's a need for procedure, but to think there's no chance for that to go out the window when the shit comes off the rails and shit happens that fast is totally asinine.
 

SMKE EM

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See my other post; human factor dude, you cannot remove that from society. There is no training that can curtail human emotion and what it does to you. Not saying its right, but it is what it is. Its hard to describe, kinda like being with a hot chick and at the last second she tells you she has aids and you need to pull out. Do I scream, cry or bang my head off the wall? Its just impossible to recreate a deadly force scenario, to the T so we can correct it. We do everything we can in training but its never the same thing.

Ill give you a good example. I was a canine handler for 8 years there was one thing we could NEVER ever duplicate in training and that's a real street bite. Most people see a police dog bite the guy in the big marshmallow man bite suit and think hes really engaging the person. Well, no so much; the dog is actually biting the fabric which is the same as his toy, hes not biting the person, but the equipment. When its game time and you send your dog to bite someone with no equipment its like your kid batting in the bottom of the ninth, is he going to choke or hit the ball. Many times the dog goes in and fails to engage risking the safety of the officers and the public. But then there is that few that dont, like mine. That feeling, that confusion, the chaos the radio blaring, the sirens blaring, I have back up officers with guns behind me. My dog cant hear me, hes biting into a material hes never had before, human flesh (which we CANNOT train for) and I have a heart rate of about 180bpm.

Just saying man, you cannot train for every scenario. Until the police force is staffed by I-Robot, there is always going to be a possibility of error.
I get that. And I honestly wouldnt have a problem if but for 2 things:

1) If a normal citizen did this they would be arrested and tried for manslaughter or something among other charges. The state rails citizens. Why not cops who are supposed to be held to a higher standard? The double standard is the problem.

2) Tax payers are always shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars a year on this. Because technically these guys are breaking protocol.
 

093LZ

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I get that. And I honestly wouldnt have a problem if but for 2 things:

1) If a normal citizen did this they would be arrested and tried for manslaughter or something among other charges. The state rails citizens. Why not cops who are supposed to be held to a higher standard? The double standard is the problem.

2) Tax payers are always shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars a year on this. Because technically these guys are breaking protocol.

Ill have to find the video, there was a MMA guy who was a store clerk and a dude attempted to rob him. The guy was unarmed and ran from the store (no threat) to escape. The clerk got a hold of him, head stomped him and choked him out. The response on the corvette forum "awesome, fuck that animal/Should have killed his ass/Justice served" So I threw in a quick "the clerk is a cop" the damn forum went wild. I dont believe there is a double standard because as a civilian you are judged by your peers and there is no way a peer will side with the criminal. When its a cop, they think its the matrix, that I have the ability to pause time, rationalize and execute.

The double standard, if anything is on us. This shiny ass piece of metal on my chest doesn't make me any better, but it makes me equal to society. Actually it makes me less because we have no expectation to privacy, but thats another rodeo.

And the shelling out of dollars is this fucking wretched piss poor government. We are pawns dude, just pawns. I listened to mancow this morning berate cops about tickets. Hey dickhead, how about you berate the senators who enacted these fucking laws!!!!!! I love how the bottom man, the cops are the blame for everything and our elected officials who enacted laws are immune.
 

Blood on Blood

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Only those who have been in a similar situation as that officer can relate to what he was thinking at the time.

Courts says he’s good.

A little extreme would have been cutting out the suspect’s heart, taking a bite and letting out a warrior’s cry. But, who am I to judge.
 

Blood on Blood

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Apr 6, 2005
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Ill have to find the video, there was a MMA guy who was a store clerk and a dude attempted to rob him. The guy was unarmed and ran from the store (no threat) to escape. The clerk got a hold of him, head stomped him and choked him out. The response on the corvette forum "awesome, fuck that animal/Should have killed his ass/Justice served" So I threw in a quick "the clerk is a cop" the damn forum went wild. I dont believe there is a double standard because as a civilian you are judged by your peers and there is no way a peer will side with the criminal. When its a cop, they think its the matrix, that I have the ability to pause time, rationalize and execute.

The double standard, if anything is on us. This shiny ass piece of metal on my chest doesn't make me any better, but it makes me equal to society. Actually it makes me less because we have no expectation to privacy, but thats another rodeo.

And the shelling out of dollars is this fucking wretched piss poor government. We are pawns dude, just pawns. I listened to mancow this morning berate cops about tickets. Hey dickhead, how about you berate the senators who enacted these fucking laws!!!!!! I love how the bottom man, the cops are the blame for everything and our elected officials who enacted laws are immune.



BOOM!
 

093LZ

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The head stomp was uncalled of, but hopefully thats where your guys come in pull you off/aside and take your weapon. You feel humiliated at first and betrayed; but when the adrenaline wears off and you think clearly. Thats what people never understand, our genetic make up is flawed and we will make mistakes. Dont give a shit who you are or what you do, push the right buttons and introduce unfamiliar stimuli you will break.
 

Blownbyyou

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I get that. And I honestly wouldnt have a problem if but for 2 things:

1) If a normal citizen did this they would be arrested and tried for manslaughter or something among other charges. The state rails citizens. Why not cops who are supposed to be held to a higher standard? The double standard is the problem.

2) Tax payers are always shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars a year on this. Because technically these guys are breaking protocol.



Ummm sorry but in regards to #1 no citizens would be charged with manslaughter in this situation....hell the curb stomping might not have been in video...(personally think the curb stomp was a little too mental all things considered) .

In regards to #2 I think that’s more of a judge jury problem... the kid stabbed two people multiple times.. there is no excessive force!
 

093LZ

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1) If a normal citizen did this they would be arrested and tried for manslaughter or something among other charges.

I forgot to mention this, I was the supervisor with a CCL shooting. She articulated that the person was substantially larger, had clenched fists and no weapon but charged at her telling her she was going to die. There are other details I have to leave out, but if this was a cop the outcome would have been "cop shoots unarmed black man".

We gave her a warm blanket, coffee and ensured she had sufficient family responding. We again and again ensured her she made the right decision, we supported her, the state supported her and society supported her. CCL members need to remember that its their god damn constitutional right (as you highlight) to protect themselves. Unfortunately, we need to exhaust every other mean before using deadly force because we are "trained". Laughable at best.
 

SMKE EM

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I've been in many fights in my life and even a shooting. Each time defending myself I was thinking clearly. Sorry if you guys let your emotions get the best of you in an adrenaline rushed situation and take things too far.

The head stomp showed he cant handle himself in a stressful situation and lost control.

And here we are thread full of people defending the same actions that wouldve landed a regular person in jail.

Im glad the perp is dead given his actions but this officer jist showed us he cant maintain a clear head under these circumstances. Facts are facts.
 
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