Sandy, Utah: Friend of Ours: Assaulted by the Police
On Saturday, there was a motorcycle/car accident near the home of friends of ours, in Sandy, Utah. Our friend, Andrew Mismash, tried to help the motorcyclist who was injured and bleeding.
At some point shortly thereafter he was assaulted on his own property by the police and arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest...all because he "talked back" to the police when they told him to shut up and butt out. He didn't assault the police...he didn't threaten them...he just stated his mind.
I didn't know that voicing your opinion was grounds for assault from those who are hired, yes hired, to "Serve and Protect". An assault on the citizenry, a good Samaritan no less, by those with weaponry on their hips...guns and night sticks as well as tasers...on your own property...in front of friends, family, your own children, and neighbors...all because you objected to the treatment that an accident victim was receiving.
My questions...exactly who is going to protect Andrew from an unjust arrest? Who is going to protect him from the police next time, when he disagrees with a ticket or some other matter of opinion with a member of the standing police authority? Who is going to protect him, when someone continues to steal tools out of his yard and his work truck? Who is he going to call, when he needs help? Who is he going to call, if this is who will attend him when he needs someone to "serve and protect" him and his family??
Be aware that there is strong language in the videos.
http://sandymanbeaten.wordpress.com/
By the Way...here is the Sandy City Police Departments Mission Statement:
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The Sandy City Police Department's mission is to provide the highest quality of police service to citizens and visitors of Sandy City.
We will strive to ensure public peace by: preventing crime; detecting and arresting criminal offenders; protecting life, property and the rights of all persons; regulating and controlling traffic; maintaining police records and communications; providing animal services; and other responsibilities as indicated by statute, City ordinance, or Department directives.
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I'm sure there are good policemen in Sandy City...there have to be. It's a good city, a good place to live, and there are a lot of really wonderful people there. But this was not displayed on this past Saturday in front of the Mismash home. This was not displayed in the throwdown that took place in the garden bed by the blooming trees following a car accident. This was not displayed in the complete lack of people skills that were displayed by the portly, gray haired cop who is shoving Andrew against his truck or by the other cops who were not stepping in to resolve the situation in a more tactful and peaceful manner.
I mean, is it true? Do cops really just look for opportunities to toss the citizens around whenever possible? Do they really only look to generate revenue, pilfering the pockets of any human crossing their boundaries by giving them tickets and pulling them over to harass them?
These are not things I want to believe, but honestly, I'm not seeing much different.
Here are some phone numbers if you need them:
Sandy City Police Department10000 S. Centennial Parkway
Sandy, UT 84070
Tel: 801-568-7200
Fax: 801-568-7190
Police Administration: 801-568-7214
Press Information: 801-568-6086
Training Division: 801-568-7240
Maybe we should all call the Training Division and let them know that their Customer Servicing & Interacting With the Citizens training modules are just really not working very well and that they might want to implement some case samples and scenario training one-on-one sessions before siccing all of their new recruits out on the public...
I mean...it's just a thought...Don't throw me to the ground, shoving my face into the dirt and kick me in the kidneys over it or anything like that...I mean this is just a dialogue right?...
Maybe not so much as we think it would be or should be.
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ADDENDUM...Additional Details of the Story...
Update on the motorcyclist...the man wandered around stunned and injured, bleeding from around his eye socket (20 stitches) with the paper towels that Andrew had given him, while the cops took Andrew down and threatened to taser him. None of the police officers on site, took out their 1st aid gear and assisted the motorcyclist. Andrew was the only one who gave the injured man anything to block the bleeding, prior to being thrown around by the police.
Andrew was booked into the County jail, with assault on the three officers who were sitting on top of him, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He eventually ended up in the ER and can hardly walk due to all of the bruising and had boot prints on the back of his arms that matched the boot prints in the mud in the garden. He had a ringing headache due to being elbowed in the back of the head by one of the cops. At the ER he was told he had deep tissue bruising and that he needed to be very careful with his arms and keep an eye out for blood clots or anything unusual.
All of the cops said that he had gotten in the face of the truck driver that hit the motorcyclist...when in fact, all witnesses (and there were several) indicated that Andrew, in fact, had not gone anywhere near the truck driver (who was across the street), and was only in attendance to the motorcyclist who was injured.
When the first policemen arrived on scene, they did not attend to the injured man, but instead were talking to the truck driver. The motorcyclist asked the police for assistance. The cops told him to go sit down, and that "sh** happens" and to wait his turn. This is what Andrew disputed and said as much. The cops told him to shut up and stay out of it and came across the street towards him.
Andrew backed off, and started to walk away into his yard, at which point 2 cops grabbed him and shoved him up against his truck and started yelling at him. They let him go briefly, Andrew again walked away, that is when they took him down in the garden and pig-piled on him and proceeded to brutalize him.
And just as extra icing on this disaster of a cake...this was in front of the children...4 for Andrew and 5 for his brother, they (Andrew & his brother Sam, along with a few of the kids) had just brought dinner home...so 9 children in total...all crying inside, no doubt catching glimpses of the scuffle through the picture window. I'm sure this incident has helped to create love and trust between the children and the police...they won't be afraid to talk to a cop if they need help or anything else moving forward, do you think?
If you fight in front of children, you get domestic abuse charges leveled against you...what about the police? Again the exception?...Just a thought.
2 comments:
Great article. You make many great points. I have been studying our Constitution and our rights as citizens for a long time, and in the wake of this police abuse, I continue to go back to one thought. The third principle of the 28 Principles of Liberty as found in the book The 5,000 Year Leap were ringing loudly in my ears. "The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders."
This principle is described in detail. Benjamin Franklin said, "There are two passions which have a powerful influence in the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power and the love of money. Separately, each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but when united in view of the same object, they have in many minds the most violent effects. Place before the eyes of such men a post of honor, that shall at the same time be a place of profit, and they will move heaven and earth to obtain it."
I know that police work does not have excessively high profit, but it is often thought of as a post of honor. But,if we allow the elected officials to continue to cover-up the dealings of their own, then we have a corrupt post. That elected official is well paid. Who would do the investigating of the Sandy Police Department? Is that the job of the Salt Lake County Sherrif’s office? I wonder who is over them? There must be checks and balances in everything.
There are a lot of good police officers. But there are bad ones as well. It needs to be the responsibility of the officers that KNOW what really happened to have the courage to do the right thing, for the right reason, at any cost. It is time to stand up for virtue and destroy corruption. It may be painful for some in the process, but this process must begin.
“For there is really no other occupation in which human virtue approaches more closely the august function of the gods than that of founding new States or preserving those already in existence.” Ebenstien from Great Political Thinkers.
I plan to write an article that debates the principles behind this issue. We must focus on the principles. I am grateful to Andrew Mismash for standing his ground and telling his story, even when the media bias is clearly on the side of the police department. They are lying, and anyone that knows Andrew, knows they are lying. Andrew is one of many victims of this type of abuse. It is an abuse of power. If the men in blue truly are that afraid of normal citizens for stating an opinion, then they need to be removed from their post. And men of virtue should be placed in it instead. The days of staying in power or office or position are over just because you’ve “put in your time.” It is a post of honor, and must be treated as such, or you should be removed.
I call upon the other officers to re-think their stories. I call upon them to come forward with the truth. Stand up for something right. No matter the cost. When our founding fathers set up this great land, individuals burned their own shops to the ground rather than allow the British to get to it. They sacrificed personally for RIGHT. Are you willing to sacrifice for what’s right? Come forward.
The S.T.A.R. Forum
http://www.thestarforum.wordpress.com
Good post. Right now here in GB the police are under scrutiny following the incidents at the G20 protests. Many thanks.
Greetings from London.
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