Miami-Dade Police Thwart Juvenile Puppy-Carrying Ring

[Traitorfish]

Black 14-year-old Carrying a Puppy Tackled and Choked by Police for Giving Them a "Dehumanizing Stare"

New cell phone footage shows Miami-Dade Police officers aggressively pinning an unarmed teen to the ground while choking him. His alleged crime: giving the officers “dehumanizing stares” and “clenching his fists.”

Fourteen-year-old Tremaine McMillan says he was feeding his puppy and playing on the beach with some friends when cops riding ATVs approached him and asked what he was doing. The "peacekeeping" officers say they saw McMillan roughhousing with another teenager, told him it was “unacceptable behavior,” and asked where his mother was. When McMillan walked away, they chased him on ATVs, jumped out, pinned him to the ground and arrested him. According to police reports, McMillan “attempted to pull his arm away, stating, 'Man, don't touch me like I did something.'" See footage of the incident, captured by McMillan's mother.

...

Police charged McMillan with resisting arrest, a felony, and disorderly conduct. The teen’s attorney entered a plea of not guilty for his client and asked the court to reconsider the charges. The judge did not grant him his request.

McMillan’s 6-week old puppy, who suffers an injured front paw, did not make the police report.

“At this point we are not concerned with a puppy,” said Zabaleta.

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liber...ed-and-choked-police-giving-them-dehumanizing (Footage of the incident included in the link.)

But let's not pretend America has an issue with race, okay?

 

[MobBoss]

But let's not pretend America has an issue with race, okay?

Because Miami-Dade county = all of America.

amirite?

From CBS: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/05/28/teen-says-police-overreacted-to-incident/

Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta told D’Oench it was just after 11:00 am on Memorial Day on Haulover Beach when officers saw McMillian slamming another teenager on to the sand.

“They told him that behavior was unacceptable,” said Zabaleta. “He walked away and officers followed him. They asked where his parents were. He said he was not going to take them to them. When he started to leave the beach area, officers had to get off their ATVs to detain him. He had closed arms, clenched fists and pulled his arm away.”

“Once he was approaching the road, the officers restrained him. Again his body language was that he was stiffening up and pulling away,” said Zabaleta. “Now you’re resisting officers at that point and when the hands are swinging and you are resisting officers, at that point you have to be taken into custody.”

So, if we presume that this kid did indeed slam another teen to the ground in view of the Officer, and reacted as they allege, then where is the racial element of this? Are you alleging they only did this because this kid is black?

We are only presented with video showing the officers subduing the kid, not of any behavior alleged by either side prior to that. Of course this is going to be a classic 'he said/she said' issue with the video not really showing all that much.

But since there isn't any single allegation that race was a factor in either side; where do you see the racial element at play here? Just because the kid is black and that's it?

 

[Formaldehyde]

But let's not pretend America has an issue with race, okay?

It is a good thing it wasn't at night in an Orlando apartment complex.

Here's a Youtube version of the news report:


Link to video.

 

[_random_]

I mean, I do think it's reasonable to say that Florida is exceptionally insane on these issues, but things similar to this but less egregious are damn near ubiquitous.

 

[emzie]

Because Miami-Dade county = all of America.

amirite?

When I had throat cancer, I found it very reassuring that it wasn't whole-body cancer.

 

[Goodfella]

Maybe if they find out he smoked marijuana in the last few weeks they'll have a case.

 

[MobBoss]

When I had throat cancer, I found it very reassuring that it wasn't whole-body cancer.

I imagine one would indeed be relieved that such a cancer was localized and hadn't metastasized to the rest of their body in effect ensuring their demise.

 

[Patroklos]

They had every right to stop him and ask about the rough housing, that will get you kicked off any beach I've been to. The OP article says he ran from the cops, the second says walked. Either will get you detained, only one should get you detained like on the video.

Also head lock =\ chocking. The video clearly shows he was not choked.

 

[_random_]

I imagine one would indeed be relieved that such a cancer was localized and hadn't metastasized to the rest of their body in effect ensuring their demise.

But still disconcerted that they, you know, had cancer.

 

[Azale]

But I'm sure he did pot or made gangsta signs in facebook photos, so he probably deserved it.

 

[Traitorfish]

So, if we presume that this kid did indeed slam another teen to the ground in view of the Officer, and reacted as they allege, then where is the racial element of this? Are you alleging they only did this because this kid is black?

We are only presented with video showing the officers subduing the kid, not of any behavior alleged by either side prior to that. Of course this is going to be a classic 'he said/she said' issue with the video not really showing all that much.

But since there isn't any single allegation that race was a factor in either side; where do you see the racial element at play here? Just because the kid is black and that's it?

Because the kids is black, because the cops are white, because the cops are cops, because Florida is Florida, and because Traitorfish is a lad of cynical disposition.

You may not agree, and you're entirely free not to. But the fact that you would object in these terms, not with a "huh?" but with a "you can't prove it!", suggests to me that you know exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[Formaldehyde]

The family's version of the events conflicts completely with the police version:

MIAMI (WSVN) -- The family of a South Florida teenager is accusing Miami-Dade Police officers of crossing the line when they arrested the 14-year-old on the beach.

At juvenile court Tuesday, Tremaine McMillian's family argued, the teen was in the water nursing a puppy with a bottle, and that's when police overreacted. But officers told a much different story that led to a charge of resisting arrest with violence.

McMillian was slapped with that charge Monday afternoon after a witness shot cell video of two Miami-Dade Police officers holding the teen down on the ground. The incident happened near Haulover Beach. "He started choking me, and as he was choking me, I urinated on myself because I couldn't breath," said McMillian.

His family said, just before all this happened, McMillian had been playing in the water with some of his friends. He said he was holding his 6-week-old puppy when officers came up to him and asked what he was doing. Miami-Dade Police said the reason officers approached McMillian is, because they saw him roughhousing with another teenager.

When they approached him, police said, they realized there was no sort of altercation or fight going on, but they continued to ask McMillian where his parents were. McMillian said he turned to lead officers to his mother who was on the beach with him. That's when, both McMillian and his mother said, police on ATVs chased him, cut him off and then held him to the ground. His mother, Maurissa Holmes, said, "I ran over there and said, 'That's my son, that's my son. Can you get off of him? He can't breath.' And they said, 'Wait a minute. You all stand back, stand back.'"

He was coming to show the officers where I was at, and for them to just jump off the ATV and grab him and throw him to the ground like that and put pressure on his neck and make him urinate on himself, you don't do that."

"I was at the beach playing with my friends," said McMillian. "That's when the police had told us to stop, so I asked, why, and he told me, because he said so, and I asked why again. That's when he told me, 'Show me where your mom's at.'"

McMillian said he was cradling his puppy Marco when it all went down. He said he was obeying officers and only wanted to lead them to his mom. His mother said, "As he was walking along the beach, the catwalk where the picnic area is, the police officers were on their ATVs, and my son was walking, and they jumped off their ATVs, grabbed him and slammed him to the ground."

According to the police report, officers said McMillian got combative and clenched his fist. Police wrote, "He attempted to pull his arm away, stating, 'Man, don't touch me like I did something.'"

Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta explained, "All of that body language alone is already letting the officers know that this is a person that is now obviously getting agitated and can become violent."

McMillian counters, "How would my fist be balled up and I had the baby bottle inside my right hand, and my puppy inside my left hand when I was feeding him?"

McMillan is now trying to fight that charge. There is a July 16 trial date set for this case. Prosecutors stand by police and believe they were within their right to detain McMillian and had fair reason to believe that McMillian was not following their orders.

Meanwhile, McMillian said, the police reaction was so rough police injured his puppy's leg in the process of detaining him, as the boy had been holding the dog during his detention on the scene. "This one right here," says the teen as he rubbed the white pup's left front leg, and the dog becomes agitated, audibly yelping. "See when I touch it?"

McMillian is being represented by a public defender, and they hope the cellphone video will help them win their case.

 

[MobBoss]

Because the kids is black, because the cops are white, because the cops are cops, because Florida is Florida, and because Traitorfish is a lad of cynical disposition.

So in other words, there isn't anything to really indicate that this is a racism issue. Thanks for clearing that up.

You may not agree, and you're entirely free not to. But the fact that you would object in these terms, not with a "huh?" but with a "you can't prove it!", suggests to me that you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Actually, what I'm talking about is a simple knee jerk reaction to label an issue as racism simply because one of the parties involved is black.

I'm not saying 'you can't prove it'.....I'm asking WTH in this story leads you to believe this was racially motivated. Apparently the only thing that does is your 'cynical disposition' and nothing more.

But still disconcerted that they, you know, had cancer.

Sure. It's still cancer after all, however, cancer isn't the death sentence that it was just decades ago with things like early detection, and more effective treatments, you're survivability rate is much better today than it was.

But if you really want to continue the lame ass straw man its better done in another thread.

 

[Formaldehyde]

There is a different local news video at this website:

Family accuse police of brutality during teen's arrest

McMillian was slapped with that charge Monday afternoon after a witness shot cell video of two Miami-Dade Police officers holding the teen down on the ground. The incident happened near Haulover Beach. "He started choking me, and as he was choking me, I urinated on myself because I couldn't breath," said McMillian.

The puppy was apparently underneath him as all this was occurring.

I can see how he must have been perceived as being such a threat to the cops while holding this puppy and a bottle for him to drink.

 

[Perfection]

What are you gonna do, cops will be cops.

 

[Formaldehyde]

It is just a shame someone didn't aim a cell phone at the cops a minute earlier.

 

[Berzerker]

ah yes, the crime of "resisting arrest"

seems these cops over reacted when they couldn't figure out the kid was taking them to his mom after they asked for her whereabouts

doh

 

[Formaldehyde]

I'm just surprised they didn't tase the heck out of him for not complying with their every whim. I guess they felt they didn't have enough physical activity for the day yet.

 

[MobBoss]

ah yes, the crime of "resisting arrest"

seems these cops over reacted when they couldn't figure out the kid was taking them to his mom after they asked for her whereabouts

doh

Do you really think that was what was happening?

 

[Berzerker]

of course, even the cops said they asked him where his mom was and he turned and headed in her direction and thats when they thought he was trying to leave the scene