Today’s woeful tale is set in Houston, Texas where a former student of South Houston High School is suing the Pasadena Independent School District and an offending police officer after it emerged he had received a severe beating with a baton merely for cussing at the cop.
Channel 2 news notes that then 16-year-old Cesar Suquet ran into a confrontation with the police officer after the student’s cell phone was confiscated.
“I asked him why was he being such an [expletive] about it,’” Suquet told reporters.
That comment prompted the officer to go ballistic and beat Suquet down with a metal baton, striking him up to 18 times, leaving extensive visible bruising.
Suquet notes that much of the beating occurred while he was on the ground. “I got down on my knees,” he said, talking about how painful it was. “I couldn’t take it anymore.”
The prosecutor in the case, Mark Montgomery, told the news channel that there can be no justification for the cop’s actions. “I’m a former police officer with the Houston Police Department and I think this was not a reasonable use of force at all.” Montgomery said. He could have given him a ticket for abusive language, and instead he chooses to beat this kid,” he added.
“It’s just not right to strike a 16-year-old kid with a baton for calling you a name. We want them to review their policies and change that,” Montgomery urged.
The Pasadena ISD Police Department disagrees, however. After an investigation into the incident, the department defended the officer, noting that the student was “loud” and “resisted” when the cop tried to arrest him on charges of disorderly conduct.
Two points:
Why on earth do school districts have their own police departments? (Here in Utah, I’m aware of one district that has it’s own PD). How “police state” is that?
These days, “contempt of cop” is nearly the worst crime a person can commit. You simply aren’t permitted to put an officer in their place. Doing so risks a beat-down, arrest, or in the worst case, death.