The taxpayers of Citrus Heights, CA just paid for a very expensive barbecue.
James Bradford Nelson received second and third degree burns over most of his torso, neck and face after he was thrown shirtless onto pavement heated up to 170 degrees by armed government workers – and held down, until skin began to melt off his body.
Nelson, who apparently suffers from schizophrenia, was reported to AGWs for acting strangely in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. He was not armed and had not committed a crime. But he attempted to get away from the AGWs, and for that received the third degree.
Literally.
The lawsuit subsequently filed by Nelson’s family states: “During this time on the ground Nelson was screaming and yelling in excruciating pain . . . the officers forced his head down onto the hot pavement, leaning onto it with such force that Nelson could not move it for relief, exposing the right side of his face and neck to the scorching heat of the concrete.”
Nelson was eventually taken to the hospital where he nearly died from kidney failure and shock; he retains lifelong disfigurement – and received a six figure bill from the hospital.
“Nelson nearly died from these injuries and required months of immediate care at the UC Davis Medical Center,” according to the lawsuit.
Citrus Heights officials finally agreed to settle – using $1.2 million of other people’s money. The taxpayers who had nothing to do with this atrocity got to pay for it.
According to the SacBee:
Two weeks ago, Citrus Heights officials quietly agreed to settle the lawsuit for $1.2 million and a written promise by Nelson and his attorneys not to contact the media or discuss the settlement.
The Sacramento Bee obtained the settlement through a California Public Records Act request to the city clerk.
The settlement, which includes a stipulation that $101,603.56 go to the California Department of Health Care Services “to satisfy the lien for the reasonable value of medical services provided to Nelson,” also states that the city and the officers sued for their actions that day are not liable for any wrongdoing.
The AGWs responsible have not been charged or even fired; they continue to Hut! Hut! Hut! – whoops, “serve and protect” – the community.
. . .
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Yet again, the police are held to a lower standard than private citizens.
“Cop holds BLACK MAN’S face Down on Hot Pavement”
You know, I am getting sick of this thing where every time cops engage in brutality or sadism against blacks, they make a big deal out of the victim’s race, but when cops do the SAME THING to white people you hear crickets (cf. Shaver, Daniel).
Cops are assholes and they beat the crap out of, abuse, and shoot white people ALL THE TIME, yet the only time you hear about police brutality is when the victim is BLACK.
I know we don’t need more laws, but perhaps we need one more: it is illegal for cities who are sued and either lose or settle the matter to require silence on the part of the victim or victim’s representatives. Clearly, the governments hiding their shenanigans and the consequences of those same actions are against the public interest.
I’d want to add that the perps be punished the same as if a normal had done the same thing, in this case, unlawful arrest, assault with intent, attempted murder, the list goes on and on. If I held someone down and this happened, in pretty sure that the city wouldn’t pay the fine and no punishment forthcoming for me, but, I’m not a armed government warrior, I have to answer for my crimes.
Hi Todd,
Amen.
I’ve argued this business many times with “conservative” (ex) friends of mine. These people – who claim they distrust the government – literally worship armed government workers, which is a very strange thing indeed. I point out that the government they distrust only has “teeth” because it has AGWs. That government tyranny flows from the barrels of AGW guns.
Crickets.
Maybe someone will explain to me why, as a matter of basic fairness (to say nothing of good sense) “law enforcement” isn’t held to the same legal standard of personal accountability as the rest of us?
Is that asking too much?
The sheep revere the government because they prefer having some form of authority to look out for them so as not to have to think or do for themselves.
So yeah, doing away with that would indeed be “too much to ask”.
The sheeple never grew up, that is, reached the “age of reason,” because the Public Fool System taught them blind obedience over critical thought. The Public Fool System was implicitly designed to PREVENT the population from growing up, creating Giant Toddlers in adult bodies clamoring to be “cared for” by a Synthetic “Parent.” A “free publicly-funded ‘education’ is one of the planks of Marx/Engels’ Communist Manifesto. The main lesson of government schooling is unquestioning obedience to, and worship of, Tyrants. The ubiquitous yellow buses should, in all honesty, should say, in black letters, “OFFICIAL TAX COLLECTION VEHICLE.”
The Public Fool System, together with the hypnotic Mass Media and the Fake Central Bank Money, all flowing from the tenets of Marx/Engels Communist Manifesto are truly the Reproductive Organs of the grotesque Leviathan State we see all around us.
The Moral Fabric of this society is now ON FIRE. The inexorably creeping coercive collectivism masquerading as “community” has enabled the rise of the Safety Cult which, in turn, has given rise to the totalitarian Convid Cult now sweeping the entire planet!
The settlement of this lawsuit should, AT THE VERY LEAST, have come directly out of the police/public employee Pension Funds, NOT THE TAXPAYERS!
Repugnant!
Eric, “the same legal standard of personal accountability as the rest of us”? It should be a higher standard since they are allegedly so well trained. There is plenty of legal precedent for holding professionals to a higher standard than ordinary individuals, especially in emergency situations. But of course, most people seem to believe that such a concept can’t be applied to heroes.
Hi Mike,
You’re right, of course! As a journalist, I am held to a higher standard than a person who sends in a letter-to-the-editor. When I was on The Reservation – working for a big newspaper – I was expected to get my facts straight and if not, then I’d be held accountable for it. Writers of letters to the editor don’t get fired for writing fact-free missives; journalist get fired if they publish fact-free “news” stories.
With regard to “law enforcement” – it’s common for these armed ignoramuses to not know the law – and to enforce made-up laws. Either ought to be cause for immediate termination and permanent prohibition from ever “serving” in that capacity again.
Paying for other peoples crimes (and this was a crime),,, the new American Justus system.
This will continue until those responsible are punished. The taxpayers have zero control over these thugs, in fact are at serious risk due to LEO’s aberrant behavior, and should not be held responsible for their poor judgement and crimes committed.
But……