Loading ...Support CAPA student brutalized by police
by Mountain Girl ~ January 26th, 2010. Filed under: City Council, Crime.
I guess I’ve been so wrapped up in zoning and mudslides lately, that I haven’t been paying enough attention to other news. I hadn’t absorbed the gravity of what happened to a CAPA high school student on January 11th while he was walking between his mother and grandmother’ house until this week. If you’re unaware of the details of the case, many local and national media outlets covered the story (read the Post-Gazette article here and Huffington Post’s coverage here).
Police said they thought Jordan Miles was concealing a weapon and when they confronted him, he resisted arrest. I guess that’s why they found it necessary to repeatedly kick him, beat him in the head and and pull out a chunk of his hair. It turns out the “weapon” the teen was carrying was actually a Mountain Dew bottle (Miles disputes this and says he wasn’t carrying anything).
Much like the recent case of Officer Hlavac dislocating his girlfriend’s jaw in self-defense, even if Mr. Miles were guilty of something other than walking in his neighborhood, this punishment doesn’t fit the crime. The Mayor made the wise decision in Officer Hlavac’s case to fire him because of a history of domestic violence. These three undercover officers were put back into uniform and reassigned pending further investigation.
If you’re from Pittsburgh or you’ve lived here for a spell, you can’t forget the 1995 case of 31-year old Jonny Gammage. Gammage, a cousin of former Pittsburgh Steeler Ray Seals, was driving Seals’ Jaguar in a predominately white Pittsburgh suburb. This aroused enough suspicion for five white police officers to pull him over, drag him out of the car and sit on him and beat him with flashlights until he stopped breathing. Only three of the five officers were charged with a crime. Officer John Vojtas of Brentwood was acquitted in a jury trial in November 1996 and charges were dismissed in July 1998 against Brentwood Lt. Milton Mulholland and Baldwin Borough Officer Michael Albert after two mistrials.
Fifteen years later, we can and must do better by young Mr. Miles. The Mayor is currently working with women’s rights groups to craft a policy regarding domestic abuse and city police officers. He needs to address racism within law enforcement in this city with the same commitment and fervor.
The folks over at 2 Political Junkies have developed an action plan for how we as citizens can support Jordan Miles. Check it out.
Action Plan in support of CAPA Honor student Jordan Miles
1. Attend the 9:00 a.m. news conference on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at the City-County Building, Fifth Floor in front of City Council Chambers.
2. Drop off (in person) letters of protest, with regard to the incident, to the Mayor’s Office.
3. Speak to City Council Members at the 10:00 a.m. January 26, 2010 regularly scheduled City Council hearing.
4. Speak to the City Police Review Board at the 6:00 p.m. hearing in City Council Chambers on January 26, 2010
Image courtesy of Post-Gazette
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January 27th, 2010 at 9:12 am
I think that it is pitiful that the police can do this to a person and still be looked at as good officers. A good officer does not beat someone. The police and politicians try to stick together no matter what. But it is really bad that it is so obvious that the police were wrong. I really don’t know why they would even say that Jordan ran, when he didn’t have anything to run from. He had a bottle of pop. I wasn’t aware that Mountain Dew was lethal!! So Jordan, if you read this, I hope you sue the sh*t out of those cops and the city. Our police system is so screwed up. They put these people in such a position of authority, they feel they are above rules.
January 27th, 2010 at 9:46 am
Terrible situation, but let’s not forget that in the past year there have been multiple incidents of cops being killed in the area which puts everyone on edge.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:08 am
It is no excuse because cops have been killed to violate the general public’s civil liberties. Stopping someone because they were walking down the street in a bad neighborhood late at night is not constitutional.
We can’t bend the rules because a couple of police were killed in the line of duty. The reactionary nature of our society will get us in more trouble than it is worth.
April 10th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Lets not forget that the police haven’t been convicted either. Except in the media. Let the facts come out first. so far there are accusations. And that is all.
April 11th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
I’m not buying the racist angle. If you are trying to make the argument that this had something to do with race or that the Pittsburgh Police Force is made up of racist cops, then you would be better served by using a more recent example to establish a pattern of behavior. As it stands, you are referencing something that happened 15 years ago and involved Brentwood officers.
July 9th, 2010 at 3:23 am
First, if a Police Officer instructs you to “STOP,”. You comply!!! For those of you who want to play the “Race Card,” and suggest this happened only because he was Black, I recommend you seek HELP!! ANYONE who does not follow or comply, and develops an attitude with recognized authority, places themselves in dire consequence. We had 3 police officers gunned down in a coffee shop ( by a Black man ) who had a racist agenda. I don’t hear some of you commenting on this. Don’t give me ” The cops act like their above the Law,” and all that other Blah, blah blah. Keep placing the Police under this kind of scrutiny and bias and don’t complain and whine when and if you need them after the treatment and misguided judgement some of you are displaying in your time of need. ( GOD Forbid ! )