Tuesday, 24. June 2008, 13:15:13
Police
The Wichita police first entered the home of
Donnell Williams on a false report of a shooting. Williams is hearing impaired and was in the tub at the time. When he exited the bath in just a bath towel, he found himself facing drawn guns. He tried to point at his ears to show that he was deaf. Despite the fact that he was virtually naked and not acting violent, the police went ahead and tasered him anyway for good measure.
Amazingly, Deputy Chief Robert Lee of the Wichita Police Department could muster only the most lame response:
“Police wish it never happened, but with the information they had at the time, their choices were limited.”
I guess the other choices would be bullets!
Tuesday, 24. June 2008, 12:56:37
Police
A trained nurse, Rachelle Jackson ran toward the sound of the crash. A Chicago police car had collided with another vehicle and was starting to smoke, two officers still inside. Fearing an explosion, she quickly pulled one officer from the passenger side.
She never imagined her act of kindness nearly six years ago would land her in jail for more than 10 months on charges that she robbed, battered and disarmed a peace officer.
After pulling Officer Brogan, the passenger, from the wreckage and helping her to a nearby stoop, police approached Jackson and told her that the driver's weapon had been stolen. When she was asked to go to the police station for questioning, she thought it was as a witness to the accident.
Instead, Jackson was accused of the theft. She was held for two days with little food and water and was threatened with violence until she agreed to sign a statement police had prepared for her. She was then charged and spent more than 10 months in the Cook County Jail awaiting trial.
"This was an innocent woman who saved a police officer from a burning car," said Chris Smith, who tried the case with Dan Alexander. "There were many heroes out there who helped the police, but they all turned into suspects because some guy ran away with the gun."
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