That'll learn him!

September 19, 2007 7:02 PM

This just isn't a good week for police. Video included. On the bright side (however dim), no taser was involved this time.
posted by Mach3avelli (48 comments total)

Where's the video? I mean, it's certainly YouTube material.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:09 PM on September 19, 2007

I felt like I was supposed to drink everytime the words "David Snyder" appeared in that article.
posted by itchylick at 7:11 PM on September 19, 2007

Stay classy Hartlepool. Oh and I am sure it was the weed that made him do it.
posted by Mr_Zero at 7:11 PM on September 19, 2007

Who's the stupid cunt in yellow, filming and yelling at the victim while he's on the ground and handcuffed?

That's about as cut-and-dried as you can get, and there'll STILL be people posting in this thread how he "had it coming". Fucking monkeys.
posted by hincandenza at 7:12 PM on September 19, 2007

My god, so unnecessary.
posted by ageispolis at 7:13 PM on September 19, 2007

Also, is the "raw" video edited or something? It's pretty damn clear that David was walking away, and had done no motion to hit the marshall that could be seen on that video, and the marshall tackles him. Ted Penn- who from what I can clean is not exactly unbiased towards David Snyder- claims there was a hit, as does the marshall, but the video clearly shows nothing, and at an angle that any punch would have been virtually non-existent.

What's the back story on this? Why did this guy have "MOVE OUT" spray painted on his house? What kind of 'people' populate this Roseland hellhole?
posted by hincandenza at 7:18 PM on September 19, 2007

It's mind boggling what the police are doing these days. a couple of examples: Wheelchair bound mentally ill woman tasered to death. And A 70-year-old woman arrested over her unwatered lawn.
posted by nickyskye at 7:19 PM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

David Snyder said, “I'm a victim of a rogue cop a cop that should no longer be wearing a badge and he should no longer be on the streets. He is a danger to society.

From what I saw in the video it appeared that a police officer was kneeling on an unarmed man's back whilst striking him in the head with his fist.

Which is, by my definition, assault and police brutality.
posted by quin at 7:22 PM on September 19, 2007

I thouht it more of a bad week for civil society, than for the police.
posted by BeerFilter at 7:25 PM on September 19, 2007 [4 favorites]

Wheelchair bound mentally ill woman tasered to death.

I'm curious as to what happens with the body when someone is tasered. I understand it's a 50,000 volt shock that elicits severe muscle spasms, but say someone is gripping a knife or hammer (or book in the UoF case), does it tighten the grip or force it to be released when the shock is delivered? Also, are cops aware that complications may occur when using tasers, or are they trained under the guise that it's simply a "non-lethal" alternative?

It might shed a little light on this particular case.
posted by Mach3avelli at 7:28 PM on September 19, 2007

Didn't I see this on Jerry Springer?
posted by j-urb at 7:28 PM on September 19, 2007

I thought it more of a bad week for civil society, than for the police.


Sort of what I was thinking too. It's only a bad week for police if something gets done about this problem. Otherwise, probably a good week as everyone will be scared to shit of anyone with a badge.
posted by lazaruslong at 7:29 PM on September 19, 2007

Maybe NBC should start running PSAs about dealing with the police.

"Police officers are violent, territorial apes indigenous to most parts of the United States. If approached by a police officer, don't make any sudden movements or challenge its authority in any way, or a vicious (perhaps lethal) attack may result. The beast will carry you back to its lair, where you may have an opportunity to contact a human being and explain your plight.

The more you know!"
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 7:30 PM on September 19, 2007 [19 favorites]

The funniest thing would be if this whole incident was staged as a viral ad for New Balance (3:00 mark). They're always one step ahead of us!~
posted by Mach3avelli at 7:37 PM on September 19, 2007 [2 favorites]

Who's the stupid cunt in yellow, filming and yelling at the victim while he's on the ground and handcuffed?

I'm guessing from the dialogue she's the daughter of the councillor who ejected him.

Question: are American police officers prohibited from taking steroids? I ask because in general police officers are supposed to take comments in stride, whether or not the person being escorted out or arrested is being annoying or even abusive. The way the office reacted made me think that either that police officer has some sort of personal stake in what was being discussed at council, or he's on something like steroids which can (or so I understand) cause aggression and hair-trigger reactions.
posted by Zinger at 7:47 PM on September 19, 2007

The spectators were curiously indifferent to what was happening to Snyder.

The prosecutor filed charges against him earlier this year for for beating the snot out of a fellow councilman. It seems there's a lotta bad blood in that little town.
posted by nikzhowz at 7:49 PM on September 19, 2007

There's more backstory in this thread on reddit. Look for comments by "havesometea1".
posted by hupp at 7:51 PM on September 19, 2007

Pretty soon, they will all be using ray guns on us unruly citizens. Good times.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:08 PM on September 19, 2007

Sounds like the guy that guy beat down truly deserved it. If a citizen had done it, I might take that into account during sentencing. In fact I probably would take it into account 'cause it sounds like this Snyder guy was a grade A asshole and menace.

A police officer must be held to a higher standard. The police cannot go around assaulting people like that no matter who it is. I don't care if the guy rapes babies, the cops can't beat him up. I might do it, expecting to be prosecuted and hoping for a sympathetic jury, but a cop who assaults anyone under color of authority should have the book thrown at him.
posted by Justinian at 8:08 PM on September 19, 2007

Well, it looks like the whole town despised him, maybe deservedly. That's fine, whatever.

A cop does not beat someone in his custody. Period. Regardless of the circumstances, he should be prosecuted and fired. I fail to see why there should be any controversy about that. He's on video, repeatedly punching a man he has pinned to the ground, end of fucking story.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 8:10 PM on September 19, 2007 [2 favorites]

Guard Uses Taser on Man Holding Newborn. Suspect dies after shock from Taser..."Since 2001, more than 150 people nationwide have died after they were shocked by Tasers, according to an Amnesty International report released last week."
posted by nickyskye at 8:10 PM on September 19, 2007

NewsCenter16's camera then shows David Snyder on the ground outside the town hall with Officer Tiller on top of Snyder. There are calls for Snyder to stop resisting as the officer appears to pound Snyder's head.
posted by stammer at 8:10 PM on September 19, 2007

Who's the stupid cunt in yellow, filming and yelling at the victim while he's on the ground and handcuffed?

I'm guessing from the dialogue she's the daughter of the councillor who ejected him.

Stupid cunt? Hey, fuck you. This Snyder guy brutally beat her father, Ted Penn, knocking out 3 of his teeth, giving him a concussion and several cracked ribs, and bruising him over most of his body.

But I guess that makes her a cunt for holding a grudge.

None of which excuses a cop beating him down.
posted by Justinian at 8:15 PM on September 19, 2007

It's been an even worse week for punk kids.
posted by Poolio at 8:17 PM on September 19, 2007

The video won't appear (for me) in either firefox or IE. Anyone get it to work?
posted by mrnutty at 8:19 PM on September 19, 2007

Is that cop fired yet?
The cop claims the guy hit him in the hallway, yet when you see him leaving the council meeting he is carrying stuff in both arms.
All on video too. This guys lawyer is going to have a good time with that town council and police dept.
posted by a3matrix at 8:34 PM on September 19, 2007

I don't care if the guy rapes babies, the cops can't beat him up.

Pity that.
posted by three blind mice at 8:37 PM on September 19, 2007

Man, I watched it again. That cop should be fired and probably be facing assault charges.
So clearly out of line. I love how he is yelling "stop resisting" while laying into that guys head.
posted by a3matrix at 8:45 PM on September 19, 2007

At this point, each time I see a cop video I just think... So, is Europe currently allowing Americans political asylum?

...ducks...

seriously though... Fucking pigs. Why is this country going to shit so quickly? Is it just because so many people are carrying cameras that it seems so much worse daily? Does this shit usually happen unnoticed? Or is shit truly getting worse and worse daily?
posted by bobjohnsonmilw at 8:52 PM on September 19, 2007

@Hupp:

Agreed, everyone go read that thread at reddit. It's pretty funny/scary at the same time. It does provide A LOT of details about the back story.
posted by bobjohnsonmilw at 8:56 PM on September 19, 2007

bobjohnsonmilw:
I think it's the same as it ever was, but we hear more about things like this nowadays. More cameras, more cellphones, lots more media outlets.
posted by RussHy at 9:00 PM on September 19, 2007

Shit, then I wonder how bad we're going to find out it REALLY is.
posted by bobjohnsonmilw at 9:06 PM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

Mach3avelli: I've never (yet) been tasered by cops, but I have gotten shocked by an industrial threading machine with a faulty switch. I have no idea what the voltage/amperage was, but I know every muscle in my body went rigid and I couldn't turn loose of the machine until someone physically knocked me away from it.

So I'm guessing a taser would not cause one to drop one's weapon. Only a guess, I could very well be wrong.

Supporting my theory is my observation that the electricians I used to work with, who repaired control boxes on overhead cranes, would always touch a piece of faulty equipment with the back of their hand first, so if it was hot, the shock would cause their arm muscles to recoil, instead of locking them to the box in a deathgrip.

As for this kind of cop-on-citizen shockfest....I wonder how long it will be until I can wear a webcam that constantly streams video online? If we're going to have a Panopticon, I want my perspective represented, and not just the cops.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:22 PM on September 19, 2007 [2 favorites]

I just googled for ` test police for steroids ' and while it returned a few interesting news links, it also suggested that I had actually meant to type ` best place for steroids ' so I'm not really sure what to make of that.
posted by BeerFilter at 9:39 PM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

Also, here's one more story: Charlotte SWAT team kill a wheelchair-bound man.
posted by BeerFilter at 9:42 PM on September 19, 2007

I just read through the backstory hupp linked to, and I have to agree with local paper's headline. There's a town of 500 people acting so stupid they landed on Metafilter.
posted by letitrain at 10:25 PM on September 19, 2007

Roseland is pop 645 according to 2000 census. What in God's name could they be arguing about?

Wikipedia says the town has three council members an a clerk treasurer, but the neutrality of the article is disputed. These people need to get out more.

Also, apparently the guy Snyder called an "old fart" was beaten up by Snyder, Snyder's wife and Snyder's dad previously. "They surrounded me," Penn said Wednesday of the Snyders. "I could not resist. It was like a piranha on a piece of flesh."

Penn took Snyder's wife's seat. Seriously, what the fuck can these folks be arguing about? Whatever it is, it's hilarious!
posted by b_thinky at 10:48 PM on September 19, 2007

Seems like everyone in town hates the Snyders and is covering for the cop. Look at the last video "Ted Penn reacts" and Ted tells a far fetched story about how "I seen David go for the officer's head twice and that's when the officer had to react." But the video shows the cop just shoves him in the door and starts pounding on him for no reason.
posted by b_thinky at 11:06 PM on September 19, 2007

Exactly, b_thinky; I was noticing that too, that Ted Penn has (with backstory) an obvious motivation to lie. It's absurd: no one's a winner, they're all losers, just complete and moronic losers.

Basically, what letitrain said. A town so dumb, the whole lot of them are a joke post on community blogs.
posted by hincandenza at 11:47 PM on September 19, 2007

What in God's name could they be arguing about?

Everything and nothing, it seems.

Town resident Mike Schalk was the first ruled out of order by Dorothy Snyder who claimed he said something.

But Schalk was quiet, did not move and had said nothing at that point.

The person who spoke was Ross Catanzarite, seated two rows behind Schalk.

And when he stood up to tell Snyder he was the one who spoke, he was ruled out of order.

Then Snyder ruled Rosemary Penn out of order. Penn argued she had not made any comment and had only pointed.

In prior meetings, she has been ejected for saying "amen" after the Pledge of Allegiance.

But Snyder told Town Marshal Mike Howell to escort all of them out.

At the same time Cheryl Engel stood up and challenged, "He admitted he was talking," she said to Snyder. "So how can you throw out someone who did not talk when the person who did talk has admitted it."

About the same time Engel and Shirley Schalk, Mike's wife, were ruled out of order and Ted Penn had some comments as he left with his wife.

The South Bend Tribune has thrown open its archives so we can enjoy the absurd spectacle of Roseland's town gov't.
posted by nikzhowz at 12:18 AM on September 20, 2007

That's hilarious. It reads like a Monty Python sketch.
posted by Mach3avelli at 1:30 AM on September 20, 2007

I especially enjoyed the part where people kept saying "let the police handle it", while the cop was beating the guy on the ground.

Meanwhile, here in Muncie...
posted by Thorzdad at 5:41 AM on September 20, 2007

More police brutality with the taser: Teen repeatedly tasered for supposed disorderly conduct. Deputies subdue autistic boy with Taser.
posted by nickyskye at 8:14 AM on September 20, 2007

Cop orders unarmed Iraq vet to get up off the ground, then shoots him for trying to get up.
posted by Huplescat at 9:40 AM on September 20, 2007

How come cops always get paid leave? Why not unpaid leave and if we find you weren't at fault/in the wrong we will pay you.
The reddit thread sheds a lot of light on the Snyder story, but no matter what it reveals about his character that cop was clearly out of line.
posted by a3matrix at 9:50 AM on September 20, 2007

Wow, BeerFilter, that story about the SWAT team killing a wheelchair-bound man is pretty fucked up.
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:59 AM on September 20, 2007

Another one.
posted by cjorgensen at 12:48 PM on September 20, 2007

Tasered 17 year old bi-polar boy dies the next day. His crime?: holding a Bible and a cordless phone yelling, "I want Jesus!"
posted by nickyskye at 7:47 AM on September 21, 2007